Locklands

A Novel

By: Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by: Tara Sands

Length: 21 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The jaw-dropping conclusion to the acclaimed Founders Trilogy, from the Hugo-nominated author of Foundryside and Shorefall

“It’s so rare to love every single book in a trilogy, to admire the aim, precision, and storytelling stamina this much.”—The New York Times Book Review

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, The Quill to Live

Sancia, Clef, and Berenice have gone up against long odds in the past. But the war they’re fighting now is one even they can’t win.

This time, they’re not facing robber-baron elites or even an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread over half the globe—one that uses the magic of scriving to control not just objects but human minds.

To fight it, they’ve used scriving technology to transform themselves and their allies into an army—a society—unlike anything humanity has seen before. With its strength at their backs, they’ve freed a handful of their enemy’s hosts from servitude, and even defeated some of its fearsome, reality-altering dreadnoughts.

Yet despite their efforts, their enemy marches on. Implacable. Unstoppable.

Now, as their opponent closes in on its true prize—an ancient doorway, long buried, that leads to the chambers at the center of creation itself—Sancia and her friends glimpse a last opportunity to stop this unbeatable foe. To do so, they’ll have to unlock the centuries-old mystery of scriving’s origins, embark on a desperate mission into the heart of their enemy’s power, and pull off the most daring heist they’ve ever attempted.

But their adversary might have a spy in their ranks—and a last trick up its sleeve.

And to have a chance at victory, Sancia, Clef, and Berenice will have to make a sacrifice beyond anything that’s come before.

©2022 Robert Jackson Bennett (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Compelling, full of action, and has characters to care about . . . Locklands completes another excellent trilogy from an author producing some of the most original and compelling fantasy in the genre.”—New York Journal of Books

“Bennett provides a poignant but uplifting conclusion to his spellbinding, fast-paced Founders Trilogy, expanding the complex world with more innovative concepts and new characters.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A thrills-and-spills conclusion to the adventures of Sancia Grado. Bennett concludes his Founders trilogy . . . with characteristically high-spirited mayhem. Great fun, with nonstop action.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Fantastic conclusion

Loved it! Well written, and unbelievably read aloud. 5 stars! Looking forward to whatever this author does next.

In which Lesbians create a perfect new world order

This book 📕 did things to me I found myself ugly crying at 2am whilst listening to the final chapter. I had a feeling going into it would be rough but trusted the writer to stick his landing. It was darker than the previous entries in this series and it was broader when it comes to big world concepts. Not gonna lie, there were moments in which the magical system got so complicated it was hard to follow. The narrator Tara Sands did an excellent job acting this story with a nuanced and emotionally complex performance. I loved her voice inflection for Sancia, Berenice, and Clef.

The story follows what’s left of the foundryside limited crew from shorefall night. We get another time jump eight years into the future this is plot device that allows the author to grow the characters off page and introduce new concepts to the magic system. The characters have matured and we get a lot of Berenice doing the heavy lifting in terms of action sequences. So if you are a big Berenice fan she is to Locklands what Patroclus is to “the Song of Achilles.”

I loved Berenice as a character and was happy to see her take charge of the Foundryside crew. The book had me on edge from beginning to end. I felt exhausted for these characters. All you want is that happy ending and for everyone to be okay but that’s not what this book is. I think that is what makes it tough to read. There was something joyous in the heist driven found family elements in the first two books. This last book sucks a lot of hope off the page with just how desperate the characters are to survive.

This book had a lack of Sancia which is an odd thing to say given she is the protagonist of the first two books. In trying to convey a larger message on the affect of technology on civilizations we lost some of that shiny charm that made me fall in love with this series. Finally, it feels like the Sancia and Berenice love story needed more of a wrap up beyond a few meager sentences in the epilogue. It was a solid conclusion. However, I wished they could’ve at least had an on page kiss in that epilogue.

A beautiful finale to a great series

The story is great, at some points it lost me for a bit but nothing major. Some plot twists can be anticipated but they don’t ruin the story. I really enjoyed the ending, it’s bitter sweet and gives us a full circle that is gratifying. I’m glad I started listening to this when the first one was released.

From a story perspective, I gave up trying to understand the complex logic. It was easy to follow in the other two books but for this one, sometimes they would just throw some new information that you just have to accept. Not a major problem but it felt like and adaptation to the magic system to accommodate the size of the story and where the author wanted to go.

Worthwhile read,

But I found some of it tough going.

The narration seemed to drain the characters of nuance. If I repeated their words in my head, as if I'd just read them, I found myself appreciating the dialogue, and the story, much more.

I found the middle sections awfully plodding, but the last quarter much more engaging, reminding me of the sparkle of the first book.

I'm glad that I stuck with it, but recommend reading rather than listening.

Non stop

This is a non stop roller coaster that propels you forward non stop. Well done

Masterful storytelling + skilled voice acting

“Locklands” concludes The Founders Trilogy with a resounding flourish. What an artful, intricate, cinematic plot full of characters who are powerfully unique and refreshingly unexpected.

The world building is flawless, with a universe that has one foot in theoretical physics and fantastical fringe science. Each character has a beautiful progression, and I appreciated that the author didn’t obsess over themes of betrayal like so many do in fantasy/sci-fi.

Absolutely masterful storytelling, with a climatic conclusion and heartbreaking epilogue (in the best kind of way).

The audiobook narrator is a gifted voice actor (this series was no easy task to translate into spoken word) and meters the pace in a way that encourages comprehension of the complicated science of scriving. 5+ stars.

Disappointed

Do any of you remember if a single character was happy at any point in this book? Did any character even laugh? I really loved the first two books but this one from the onset felt like total slog. If my first two questions didn’t give it away it was also a total downer. I guess there is kind of a happy-ish ending. Well, for everyone else…the main characters get like two words for their happy ending. If that wasn’t clear I’m a bit disappointed in the same way water is a bit wet.

Not as good

Not nearly as good as the first book, not as good even as the second. Still, well performed (albeit the whining of almost all the characters)... and if you were expecting more of the story, you get it. I wish it would have concluded with better storylines, deeper characters, less exclamations and at large, more engaging writing.

Satisfying conclusion to the saga

The whole Foundryside saga was a refreshingly innovative approach to magic with cyberpunk undertones. Two things make you stick around : people you end up caring about a lot and logical escalations in the magic. This 3rd book brings both to a satisfying, not cheesy, not crazy end. A rare balance.

There are still bits that are too long. Sometimes the protagonists seems to reach a conclusion obvious only to them. But then there you appreciate also the time spent in describing what is going on when the world everything goes mad.

I hope RJB has the wisedom to leave this world be now. it's a perfect trilogy.

Worth Reading

Not as good as the 1st book but def better than the second. It was interesting and the characters were thoughtful and interesting.