Today’s review is about THE LAND OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD by Shauna Lawless. It’s the final book in the Gael Song trilogy. This review has spoilers for CHILDREN OF THE GODS AND FIGHTING MEN and THE WORDS OF KINGS AND PROPHETS.
Author: Shauna Lawless
Series: Gael Song, #3
Age Category: Adult
Publisher: Head of Zeus — an AdAstra Book
Publish Date: September 2, 2025
Print Length: 592
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The Land of the Living and the Dead Synopsis
Synopsis
With war on the horizon in medieval Ireland, everything is at stake for mortal and magical folk alike. The third volume in the critically acclaimed GAEL SONG historical fantasy series. A LoveReading Book of the Year!
THE OLD WORLD WILL DIE IN FLAMES.
Ireland, 1011 AD. The mortal kingdoms rise up against High King Brian Boru as they seek to wrest his crown from him. Yet the real struggle is between the two magical races of Ireland, the Fomorians and the Descendants, eternal enemies who both seek dominion over the mortal world.
Gormflaith, King Brian’s queen, remains unmasked as the powerful Fomorian she is. Gormflaith plans to gain mastery over Ireland and destroy the Descendants in one fell swoop… but she cannot do it alone.
The Descendants are bitterly divided. Fódla, a Descendant who was once part of King Brian’s inner circle, must use this division to thwart a treacherous plot long in the making – even if it means sacrificing herself. But with other lives on the line, can Fódla reveal the evil in time?
As secret schemes come to deadly fruition, the only possible outcome is war. Ireland has bled red and often, but the coming clash will change the course of history for ever.
The Land of the Living and the Dead Review
I received a free, digital, advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher. My review is my own and reflects my honest opinion about this book.
THE LAND OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD is the final book in the Gael Song trilogy. While the characters and their relations with each other were not fresh in my mind when I stepped back into this world, Lawless, once again, did a fantastic job with little reminders smattered throughout the text. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for me to feel mostly up to speed with each character and which side they were on in this epic story.
I really appreciate the long game these characters play and that Lawless didn’t rush them through the plot. It helps, perhaps, that the main characters have long lives. They can afford to take it slow to make sure everything plays out as they want it to. The two main characters here are Gormflaith, a Fomorian, and Fódla, a Descendant. There are a few chapters from other points of view. For the most part, though, the reader follows these two immortals.
Gormflaith remains a mostly unloveable character. However, Lawless invites the reader to have some sympathy for her considering Gormflaith carries the fate of the Fomorians on her shoulder. There are some moments where the reader witnesses moments of emotional turmoil in Gormflaith. But she knows what she must do and soldiers on for the good of her race. Fódla remains Gormflaith’s foil with her calm and gentle, yet strong, personality. She is free from Tomas’s hold and Broccan is older and able to take care of himself. So now she grapples with whether to finally live for herself or stay with her people.
The politics and long game of the villains in THE LAND OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD were very interesting to follow. I’m very impressed that Lawless could keep everything straight! There are a lot of moving pieces between the Fomorians, Descendants, Irish kingdoms, and Vikings. Lawless also did a great job describing the battle scenes, which usually tend to make my eyes glaze over. But the pace kept moving and the battle scenes didn’t get lost in extraneous details about who clashed for how long.
Lastly, Lawless showed no mercy in this finale of the first trilogy. I hated to see what happened to some characters. But that is sometimes what makes a good book–when the author knows they need to do some heartwrenching damage to their characters. As such, THE LAND OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger. Luckily, the first book of the next trilogy is out now and I look forward to picking it up.
Rating: 4.5
Content warnings: sexual content, death, blood, gore, violence, war
Reading format: Kindle e-ARC
