The Golden Enclaves
A Novel
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4.5 • 679 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.
FINALIST FOR THE HUGO AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Paste, Publishers Weekly
The one thing you never talk about while you’re in the Scholomance is what you’ll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it’s all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we’ll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.
And now the impossible dream has come true. I’m out, we’re all out—and I didn’t even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother’s prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn’t kill enclavers, I saved them. Me and Orion and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: We saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere.
Ha, only joking! Actually, it’s gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war. And the first thing I’ve got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The action-packed conclusion to Naomi Novik’s Scholomance trilogy is everything we’d hoped for and more. Determined to change the horrifying fate that’s been prophesied for her, outcast teen sorceress El and her former classmates embark on a harrowing winner-takes-all journey. As her young heroes explore the magical world, confront terrifying obstacles, and navigate touchy interpersonal relationships, Novik gives us a thrilling fantasy that poetically explores themes of love, loss, duty, family, and destiny. We loved how Novik develops all of the magical communities that her valiant band of graduates encounter. We wholeheartedly recommend starting with the first book in the trilogy, A Deadly Education, to get the most out of this exhilarating read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Novik dazzles in her brilliant and compulsively readable final Scholomance fantasy, which picks up immediately after the events of The Last Graduate. Galadriel "El" Higgins has successfully trapped 92% of all wizard-hunting monsters, or mals, in the magical boarding school Scholomance, now her alma mater, and led her fellow students to safety—all except for her enemy turned true love, Orion Lake. El's desperate attempts to save Orion from a fate worse than death in the belly of the same "maw-mouth" monster that ate her father can't succeed unless she gets power from the enclaves, groups of privileged wizards living in protective pocket universes. However, several enclaves have mysteriously vanished into the void, the powerful London enclave is under attack, and the New York and Shanghai enclaves are on the brink of war. To save Orion, El and her classmates must first save the world they have struggled so hard to rejoin and a future threatened by dangers built into the foundations of the enclaves themselves. This exquisitely well-crafted work engages deeply with genre classics like the Lord of the Rings and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas while offering up its own detailed and original world full of clever parallels and a fascinating magical catch-22. Novik beautifully closes out El's and Orion's character arcs, paying off on groundwork laid in previous installments, and her focus on hope, resilience, and collective action makes this finale as moving as it is satisfying. This is a knockout.
Customer Reviews
A Stunning Conclusion to a Must Read Trilogy
The Golden Enclaves is the stunning conclusion to The Scholomance series. In this novel, El, Orion, and their allies had successfully saved the entire student body from the Scholomance, but there was one problem. There was one person left behind. El was determined to get back into the school to rescue him, and she enlisted her friends and the help of the New York Enclave to do so. Meanwhile someone was attacking enclaves and many lives were being lost. With her book on Golden Enclave spells, El and her friends found themselves racing around the world to stop more enclaves from disappearing. Who would have thought that the girl prophesied to destroy the world might actually be the one to save it? This book was so much fun. Abrasive El hadn’t changed that much despite everything she accomplished at the Scholomance, but she had good friends who were willing to support her unconditionally as she embarked on her quest to save the young man she loved and the rest of the world while she was at it. The dedication that this group of young adults shows to this selfless goal is admirable. They all continued to grow as human beings, learning to work together and use the skills they gained during their terrifying years of education. Lovers of fantasy cannot miss this amazing book and the trilogy as a whole. I suspect that no one will expect the outcome of this venture and the true story behind Orion Lake. I am voluntarily submitting this review after reading a complimentary copy of this novel thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey.
And thirdly…
Nice wrap up to the series. A bit forced at the end, but consistent.
So good!
Made me cry and laugh and feel every emotion in between. A good ending to this series, with lots of questions answered and loose ends tied up. I will miss El and the gang.