Chaosbound by David Farland

The world of the Runelords is drastically changed. It has been magically combined with a parallel world, causing widespread destruction and chaos. Lands have sunk below the sea and elsewhere mountains have risen from it. Thousands have died, and humankind faces extinction. Borenson and Myrrima must journey to save their realm from total devastation, but the landscape is not all that has been altered. In the change, Borenson has merged with a monstrous creature from another world, Aaath Ulber. Not only is he transformed physically, but his behaviour also begins to evolve - he is becoming a berserker warrior. And as the dark rulers of this new world play a byzantine game of politics, this warrior is now the most significant pawn in that game.

So, this is as of right now, the last book released in the series, ironically exactly a decade ago as of when I post this. Farland has stated that he is still working on the sequel, but it's been a decade, so we'll see. He clearly isn't intending this to be the last book, but we'll see what happens.

So, I definitely enjoyed this book a lot. Definitely more than Worldbinder, and after seeing the whirlwind of characters in some of the recent books, it was nice to see familiar characters returning. I had missed Borenson, and so it was nice to pick his story up again. I liked reading what happened in other parts of the world, and seeing a wider impact of the binding.I ALMOST feel sorry for the wyrmlings being manipulated by the larger forces around them, but they appear to be quite happy to be manipulated. Another sticking point for me is the huge numbers again. The numbers of warriors and speed of production would be impressive in an industrial society, and this is clearly not that, so it strains credulity. The battle scenes are good, and I do like the political infighting among the followers of Lord Dispair. I do like the examination of the morality of killing those who aren't yet a threat, but who you know will become a threat if allowed to live. And, I do enjoy the set up for an even larger battle, but then that goes back to the numbers problem I already mentioned. and regarding the fact that we're still waiting on the next book for a decade, I definitely hope to see the next book completed. I'm hoping we're not left with an uncompleted series, with the conclusion of this epic battle left unwritten. Farland has had some health issues from what I've read, so we'll see what happens, and given the scale he describes, this is only the very beginning of the war to come.

I highly recommend this book, and look forward to its sequel.