The Immortal Heights

By: Sherry Thomas

Narrated by: Philip Battley

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

Iolanthe and Titus' mission comes to its thrilling end in the third book in the Elemental Trilogy - perfect for fans of Cinda Williams Chima and Kristin Cashore - which Publishers Weekly called "a wonderfully satisfying magical saga" in a starred review and Kirkus Reviews said "bids fair to be the next big epic fantasy success".

In a pursuit that spans continents, Iolanthe, Titus, and their friends have always managed to remain one step ahead of the forces of Atlantis. But now the Bane, the monstrous tyrant who bestrides the entire mage world, has issued his ultimatum: Titus must hand over Iolanthe or watch as his entire realm is destroyed in a deadly rampage. Running out of time and options, Iolanthe and Titus decide to act now and deliver a final blow to the Bane that will end his reign of terror for good.

But getting to the Bane means accomplishing the impossible: finding a way to infiltrate his crypt in the deepest recesses of the most ferociously guarded fortress in Atlantis. And everything is only made more difficult when new prophecies come to light, foretelling a doomed effort....

Iolanthe and Titus will put their love and their lives on the line. But will it be enough?

©2015 Sherry Thomas (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

Absolutely wonderful conclusion!

I basically worried about every single person’s death in THE IMMORTAL HEIGHTS. No spoilers there — I was just so, so worried about how it would end. I basically just felt like the Battle of Hogwarts was going to happen at any minute and I feared for all of my beloved characters. There are constant prophecies that show impending incidences but the concept of a prophecy is up for interpretation depending on the character. Are they a certain future that you can’t avoid? Are they a future you need to actively try to accomplish? Are they an overall picture that could come true but you still decide your own destiny? It was really neat to see how one prophecy after another popped up and how they were worked into the story. There’s a long-standing one that we hear from the beginning of the first book that I worried about the whole series and we do finally get to see how that one plays out.

There were plenty more twists in this book as well! Like the thoughts I had in THE PERILOUS SEA, some twists worked brilliantly and tied so well with every character and concept and others felt juuust a little cheesy for some reason. I still loved the whole thing and I don’t know the best way to describe it but it was like almost one step too far and was a little overboard. Still, the ideas behind how to tie all of this together were so impressive!

The ending was a whirlwind and literally everything that the series had been building towards, including pretty much every concept from every book and I loved that. I just really enjoy how these books all tie together instead of being plot 1. Plot 2. Plot 3. It was truly an overarching plot that carried readers from one book to the next, even if the settings were quite different and characters came and went.

SERIES THOUGHTS

These books were just so entertaining and so enjoyable. I LOVED the relationship between Titus and Iolanthe, romantically and how Titus kept calling her his closest friend and most trusted confidant. I really enjoyed how they had such a strong friendship and bond as well as a romantic connection. All of the relationships throughout the series were just beautiful and I loved all of the different types.

I do think the world building was probably the element that was just a little lacking throughout the series. The plotting was done really well and I always enjoyed how everything came together but there were times that I wanted just a little more history or a little more structure or a little more setting and I think those things really could have shot this book to a super-love status. I still loved all of the books and just felt so at home reading them but it was something that I noticed.

This was a great series to binge-read and I truly binge read them, not pausing to read anything else in between. I think that probably helped my overall enjoyment of the series since I didn’t have to stop and wait for a new book to be published, losing some of that memory of what happened in a previous book like I always do. I also loved how the settings and happenings were quite distinct from book to book so even as I was binge reading, I was able to keep them separated in my mind.

AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS: I listened to all three of these books on audio. Philip Battley narrates them and sadly he doesn’t narrate much else that I could find on Audible. I just loved his narration! He has a delightful British accent and a deep, clear voice which was so enjoyable to listen to. His voicing of the characters was quite distinct and it was nice that Iolanthe was described as having a gravelly sort of voice so he didn’t have to put on a super soft, breathy act for her. He picked up on that beautiful, beautiful sarcasm and banter and the tone and volume of each scene was just perfect. I loved his narration and I’m so sad that he’s not a big audiobook narrator because I’d love to listen to more from him!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

My Thoughts on The Immortal Heights

Great story and Great narrator. Really enjoyed this fantastic ending to this amazing trilogy. I absolutely recommend it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A Gripping Conclusion....

This is the third in the trilogy... a gripping and fast paced adventure with many twists and unforeseen turns. Mr. Battley is a wonderful narrative with a soothing voice, yet able to distinguish between characters easily.
I didn’t want to stop listening and finished over a few days... somewhat fittingly on Memorial Day... in honor of all those who fought so bravely for our often taken for granted freedoms!
Thank you to Ms. Thomas for a thrilling adventure, and for reminding us that with freedom comes sacrifice and much determination.
I would love to see a sequel of this story...perhaps even a follow up trilogy!
Well done!

Sad It's Over

I am so glad I decided to reread these books! Philip Bartley did an amazing job! The Bane is so Truelove evil, it chills you. I loved it. I wish Sherry wrote more like these. Brava!

adored this series

I loved this series so much. the last book is just as good as the first. I love a good strong female lead that makes her own choices. The storyline was new and exciting and the relationships between characters were genuine and so endearing. MUST READ.

Great book epilogue takes away

Excellent book and really deserves a 4 to 5 however the overextended epilogue ends up detracting from the overall story. Well the epilogue was certainly necessary there was no reason for it to be so drawn out. Other than that truly a good read. Strongly suggest you get the whole series

beautiful story

through to the very end this story enthralled me. the characters, the suspense, the plot... this story was absolutely beautiful in every facet of it's telling.

Satisfying conclusion

I listened to all three books within a week, and I enjoyed the journey. This last book takes the group to a battle with the Bane, as expected. I won't reveal what happens, but it was a satisfying end. A couple of characters were lost, some were revealed, and some lived happily ever after.

interesting

little hard to follow at times but still a pretty good read. i would recommend it.