The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik

The Last Graduate

By Naomi Novik

  • Release Date: 2021-09-28
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
4.5 Score: 4.5 (From 809 Ratings)

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The specter of graduation looms large as Naomi Novik’s groundbreaking, New York Times bestselling trilogy continues in the stunning sequel to A Deadly Education.

“The climactic graduation-day battle will bring cheers, tears, and gasps as the second of the Scholomance trilogy closes with a breathtaking cliff-hanger.”—Booklist (starred review)

HUGO AWARD FINALIST • LOCUS AWARD FINALIST • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Polygon, Thrillist, She Reads

In Wisdom, Shelter. That’s the official motto of the Scholomance. I suppose you could even argue that it’s true—only the wisdom is hard to come by, so the shelter’s rather scant. 
 
Our beloved school does its best to devour all its students—but now that I’ve reached my senior year and have actually won myself a handful of allies, it’s suddenly developed a very particular craving for me. And even if I somehow make it through the endless waves of maleficaria that it keeps throwing at me in between grueling homework assignments, I haven’t any idea how my allies and I are going to make it through the graduation hall alive. 
 
Unless, of course, I finally accept my foretold destiny of dark sorcery and destruction. That would certainly let me sail straight out of here. The course of wisdom, surely.
 
But I’m not giving in—not to the mals, not to fate, and especially not to the Scholomance. I’m going to get myself and my friends out of this hideous place for good—even if it’s the last thing I do.

With keen insight and mordant humor, Novik reminds us that sometimes it is not enough to rewrite the rules—sometimes, you need to toss out the entire rulebook.

The magic of the Scholomance trilogy continues in The Golden Enclaves

Reviews

  • A solid entry for the middle of the Scholomance

    4
    By xaxnar
    The Scholomance series is slated to be a trilogy, making this book the middle volume. In trilogies that’s the hardest one to pull off. The author has to build on the story setup from the entry book without recapping it too much, and go on to set up for the conclusion in the final volume. But the book also has to stand on its own. Novik succeeds with a story that continues the development of her characters as they move on to face challenges that take things to a new level. There are some good plot twists and surprises capped at the end by a real cliffhanger - just as the first volume did. If there is one drawback to the story, it’s the way the main character El spends a lot of time filling out events with extra details and observations that provide a lot of context, but at the cost of slowing the story down at times. But, this also sets the stage for revelations and insights as the story progresses - and puts a fair number of “Chekhov guns” on the wall. Quite a few of them are likely to go off in the final volume. This series is a hero’s journey - coming of age tale; we get to see El and the cast of females around her play out what is more often the kind of story reserved for male characters. The one primary male character, Orion Lake, gets fleshed out a bit more, but we also get to see how limited his life has been. He’s only starting to realize how much more there is to living towards the end of this book. In a way he demonstrates how narrow the classic ‘young hero’ can be as a clichéd stock archetype. A good read - which makes the wait for the final volume all that more irritating.
  • El is my new hero.

    1
    By BASF15
    A magnificent and heroic triumph of magical human beings. You will want to be them, to know them and aspire to be as noble. El is my hero!!
  • Ow my feelings

    5
    By PhyrexianGod
    Wow just about broke my heart and now I gotta wait for the next one 🥲
  • I’m giving up

    1
    By JLOJOD
    I eagerly anticipated this book. Unfortunately, a significant portion was descriptions of the same things from the first book—a total slog—but I hung in there. Then came the completely unsatisfactory ending that is unabashedly designed to get you to buy the next book. I give up…I’m not doing it.
  • Brilliant , spellbinding, endlessly creative

    5
    By stratton100
    Naomi Novik dances in the footsteps of JK Rowling but with the upgrade of a gorgeous sense todays diverse world. Page turning excitement, intricate world building ,and exuberant passion. I read the last page four times in a row. She writes with such confidence and joy . I savored every chapter and long for the next book already.
  • The Last Graduate

    5
    By Lanerhamm
    El rewrites the narrative for Graduation. Tremendous! Can’t wait for the next book. Who was the last graduate?
  • Amazing as Always

    5
    By RingOfWords
    Every book by this author is incredible with this series being her best. I highly recommend it.
  • Nope

    3
    By zaibunisa sahiba
    Just don’t invest time in this book, the utter waste of time,
  • Simply amazing

    5
    By Texan gaming
    I picked up the Temeraire series as a teenager and haven’t been disappointed with the authors since. The life she breathes into her series makes it hard to put down a book. The pacing is just want you want. Slow enough to get you sucked in the beginning and then by the end, you’re being reeled in, hook, line and sinker. Looking forward to the next book, no matter the wait.
  • A work of magic in its own right

    5
    By AlloraLee
    From the prose to the character growth to the Diablo hue, everything is weaved together wonderfully

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