Finally, the Silent Queen speaks. In the last instalment of the Erebus Sequence, Den Patrick lifts the veil on one of his most intriguing characters. The Girl On The Liar’s Throne focuses on Anea, who seemingly betrayed her ideals and her brothers at the end of the last book of this brooding fantasy.
It’s hard to say much about the plot, as Patrick opens his final episode with a game-changing twist. But we can say that all is not as it seems, and when Anea’s brother Lucien declares war against her, the evil Erebus’ masterplan for the Italian Renaissance-like realm of Landfall is revealed.
Anea proves to also be worth the wait, having evolved from a relative innocent into a warrior over the course of the trilogy. Though she’s not as deft with a sword as previous series protagonists Lucien and Dino, her cool rationalism proves to be just as dangerous as their fiery tempers. Whereas they were fighting personal battles, Anea is waging a moral crusade, and will sacrifice anything to achieve it.
In a break from the other books in the series, Anea is not the only POV character. Rather stylistically, Patrick has set chapters up so plot threads parallel one another, with the novel’s ending mirroring its beginning. But Patrick is an author that is chiefly concerned with character, and he does a surprisingly good job of rounding out every member of his enlarged cast.
As the final book, nit-picking fans might be disappointed that Patrick doesn’t reveal all of Landfall’s secrets. But while we may never know why the seemingly medieval castle’s catacombs are full of futuristic machines, The Girl On The Liar’s Throne rounds off the series broad theme of flawed, outcast characters finding self-acceptance.
