Please note this review will contain spoilers for the previous books in the War for the Rose Throne series.

“Even then, even back in Abingon, I had been building my legend. I think I have been doing that my entire life, truth be told.

The legend of the devil Tomas Piety.”

The Princess Crown Royal is dead, becoming the Ascended Martyr who sacrificed herself for the good of her country, her people. Or so it is believed, and Our Lady take you if you don’t believe. Dannsburg had always been a dangerous place but even more so now as even the slightest offence would see you hanging. This was the time our Tomas Piety lived in, a time of political upheaval, a time where Dieter Vogal ruled with an iron fist and coveted ultimate power. Though Tomas has come a long way from the slums of Ellingburg, to mob boss of the Pious Men, to Priest, knight and Queen’s Man, he now faces his biggest challenge. Firstly he must return to Ellingburg and secure the streets from the Northern Sons and Skanian uprising, and then he must return to Dannsburg and outmanoeuvre Vogel, for he simply cannot let a tyrant rule the Rose Throne, can he? 

Priest of Crowns begins not long after the dramatic ending of Priest of Gallows. McLean wastes no time in getting his readers knee-deep in Queen’s Men politics, their shady dealings and their lies. We see Tomas, using every ounce of knowledge and experience he’s gained being in their service start to unravel the truth, and he doesn’t like what he finds one bit. Immediately McLean raises the tension as we watch Tomas tread on very thin ice. However, news from Ellingburg, focuses his attention in another direction, and though he is no longer in charge of the Pious Men, he returns with Bloody Anne to find the Northern Sons wreaking havoc on what was once his streets, where he was prince. We have watched Tomas rise throughout each book, but in this final instalment Tomas Piety reconnects with the man he used to be, arguably the man he will always be. A soldier, a ruthless killer, a man who will do whatever it takes.

“‘There’s a thing you have to understand about us old cunts,’ I said as I looked the lad in the eyes. ‘We were once young cunts like you, full of piss and vinegar, but now we’re tired and we ain’t got the energy for a long fight any more. That means we’re going to fight dirty and end it fast.’”

In the first half of the novel we see Tomas and his brother Jochan make some amends to their estranged relationship, and I thoroughly appreciated this, I had missed Jochan as he’s only featured briefly in the previous instalment. It was lovely to see his character find a sense of peace within his family set up with his lover Cutter, and his wife Hanne, yet we also see the other side of the coin and are shown he’s still as troubled as ever. After all, the effects of a life of violence and abuse never quite leaves you. In many ways Tomas finally grows to understand his brother, finally has a taste of what it’s like to be inside his mind. Once again, McLean gives us a deep psychological account of what warfare does to a veteran, the imprint it leaves upon them. “Battle shock, it’s just battle shock” was the repeated mantra whenever Tomas lost track of his own actions, lost control of himself, which in this final act, was very often. Tomas Piety is haunted by Abingon, the smell, sights and sounds never far from his mind no matter how far he pushes it away, no matter how much success, wealth or power he gains.

Tomas Piety has always been a man who demands respect, a man you wouldn’t dare double cross. Looking back at the entire series we’ve watched him make some dark choices which resulted in much bloodshed, men and women dying on his orders, yet there was always something about Tomas I found extremely likeable, something that made me root for him. He was never bigoted towards others, he had zero tolerance for violence against women, and then there was his fatherly affection towards his son Billy, and most of all his friendship with Bloody Anne. As I’ve always said, Tomas is no hero by any means, he may use the right man for the right job to achieve his goals, but his decisions and actions have always seemed justified. He’s seen his fair share of hardship and so seeing him rise above that, to go beyond a street urchin pleased me in many ways.

Yet in Priest of Crowns his actions became less justifiable, the consequences became too damn high, and in all honesty the way he began to treat people close to him, those who had stood by him from the very beginning, angered me immensely. I had to reevaluate my perception of his character and ask myself, had this been the real Tomas Piety all along and I just chose not to see it? Sure, he fought for ‘the good of his country’ but who’s idea of good? His plans of revolution felt a lot like it was just bringing war to his own country, the very thing he’d always said he’d wanted to avoid. That is the fantastic complexity of McLean’s characters, they have a myriad of sides to them, they are characters with demons as he’s always illustrated, it’s just we don’t always see those demons with true clarity. 

Did I feel comfortable with the way Tomas Piety’s story arc ended? Not in the slightest and I don’t believe we’re meant to. But did I appreciate what McLean was showing us all along with his character? Absolutely. After finishing Priest of Bones in my review I questioned Tomas’s true motives and I guess now I got my answer. This is Tomas’ memoirs after all, and it’s an honest portrayal of what gaining power costs you in the end.

Priest of Crowns is a bold, explosive conclusion with a real gut-punch of an ending. McLean will leave you thinking of our Tomas Piety long after you’ve closed the last page. 

“Sometimes a leader has to make hard decisions, and the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes, inevitably, the decision will be the wrong one.”

Review copy provided by Ella at Jo Fletcher Books. Thank you for the copy!

Priest of Crowns is out now.