It’s been several years since I read The Wolf. Before reading this one, I listened to the first two on audio book to refamiliarize myself with the world and the characters. I’m glad I did: there’s so many shifting alliances, new characters, and names to remember, not to mention those who fall along the way.

I had really mixed feelings about The Cuckoo. While being completely gripped – as I’ve been with the other two – there was a heaviness to this one that made it hard going at times.

I’m trying to keep this review spoiler free. Let’s just say an event happens halfway through the book that I didn’t see coming and totally changes the dynamic for the second half of the novel. Other characters take centre stage for a while and it shifts the entire book.

It felt there was a lot more politics in this one. The challenges of ruling rather than the passion of battle, especially in the second half. This slowed down the pace and made it more a chore to get through than I’ve noticed in the previous instalments.

The Cuckoo is also not one you want to read if you are expecting a happy ending. The trouble with following the story from both sides of the war all along as you know that someone is going to lose eventually (despite hopes in book two that they all might come out okay). But I didn’t expect the losing side to lose, well, so spectacularly. I guess it made it a refreshing read: I knew from book one that just because a character was loved didn’t mean they would make it through. So there was always the expectation that not everyone would make it through, but still… I had to just sit with it a few moments before I could continue.

The slowing of pace and extreme events meant I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first two. That being said, I still found it a gripping read that I didn’t want to put down, even at the times when it felt like hard work. I’m also satisfied by the ending in the way it rounded everything off nicely – no ambiguous endings or leaving things unresolved.

Under the Northern Lights is a solid series for those who enjoy historical fiction (ancient Rome/Greek style battles) and fantasy blended in together. Powerful characters that you love, strong characters that you love to hate, it’s a compelling read that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

This is the third and final book in the Under the Northern Sky trilogy. The Cuckoo is a solid final entry in this trilogy, although quite dense at times. The writing is good and the character development in this final entry is well done. If you are looking for a historical fantasy series to try, then I'd recommend checking this one out.

This was a well plotted third book in a trilogy that worked well by itself and I would recommend the book to people who enjoy David Gemmel books. The action in the book was fast paced and made sense.

I would read more books by this author and would enjoy it if he wrote a viking story.

The ebook was designed well and neatly printed. I would recommend a different body font as the provided one made my eyes cross ocassionally.