Review – The Golden Tower (Magisterium, Vol 5) by Holly Black, Cassandra Clare (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: September 11, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-0545522403
Stand Alone or Series: 5th book in the Magisterium series
Source: Bought
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Callum Hunt has been a hero and an outcast, a force of good and a portent of evil. While the doors of the Magisterium have been open to him, he has never felt entirely welcome. If anything, he has felt others’ resentment . . . and fear.

Now, as he begins his final year at the magical school, his place is less certain than ever. With one unique exception, he is estranged from most of his friends. A furtive darkness still hounds him. And the greatest challenge he will ever face is right around the corner.

In this monumental conclusion to the Magisterium series, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare push Callum to the brink of annihilation, showing how magic has the ability to both save and doom, create and destroy.”

This is the fifth, and final, volume in the Magisterium series. As with the last book in the series I felt like this one was really short, almost more novella than book. I also felt like this was more a laying out of predictable events than an engaging story.

Callum returns to the Magisterium to find himself shunned. However when the Magisterium finds out that Alex has returned as a Chaos Devoured, they plead Callum for help. Additionally Callum is trying to figure out how to tell Tamora that Aaron’s soul is still alive and in Callum’s body.

I had some trouble engaging in this story despite its short length. It just seemed so predictable and the writing style was really simple. I felt this way about the fourth book too. While, I am glad aI finished the series…I wasn’t super thrilled with this book.

Overall this was an okay end to the series. It wraps things up well in a very happy, happy type of way. I thought the story was too short, predictable, and boring. I also felt like the writing style was over simplified; I felt this way about the 4th book too. I would recommend this series to middle grade readers who enjoy adventure, magic, and fantasy. I don’t think adult fantasy readers will enjoy it as much because of the over-simplification and predictability.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Goodreads Reading Challenge