Also by this author: Legacy of Ash, Legacy of Steel, Legacy of Light, The Darkness Before Them , The Fire Within Them
Series: The Soulfire Saga #3
Published by Orbit on April 15, 2025
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Set in a world of ancient myth and dangerous magic, The Lie That Binds Them is the heart-pounding conclusion to Matthew Ward's Soulfire Saga, where a thief dares to seek vengeance against an immortal king—and finds herself on the path to war.
The kingdom of Khalad is ruled by a new and brutal despot and its rebels scattered across its vast lands. With folk hero Vallant missing, Kat is now the leader of the rebellion.
When an assassination attempt rattles the kingdom, Kat turns to a powerful new ally for help. The cost of victory will be high, but time is running out to save Khalad.
The Lie That Binds Them by Matthew Ward wraps up his “Soulfire Saga” trilogy with a perfectly tied, shiny new bow. Not a squished one from the bottom of that cellophane bag you purchased from a dollar store four months ago. We finally see the end for Kat, Tanith, Damant, their allies, and their enemies. This novel is everything I could’ve hoped for, even if it did have a weakness here and there. It always took me a couple chapters to enter Ward’s world. But when I was inside the book’s pages, it didn’t let me go. The Lie That Binds Them left me with a smile on my face and peace in my heart.
Firstly, I should have reread the second book. The Lie That Binds Them picks up immediately after its prequel lets off, and unfortunately, I couldn’t remember where that was. The first chapter features Kat, but she’s not seen again until you reach the halfway point of the novel. Instead, we’re introduced to a new character named Mirzai to provide a new POV. I didn’t really like adding an entirely new perspective, with a background Ward then had to write out. He would’ve been fine as a secondary character, observed from the perspectives of Tanith, Damant, and Kat. By the end of the novel, we finally understand our main players—their every facet. Ward should write a masterclass for character development.
Forty-five minutes from finishing the novel, I had no idea how Ward would be able to wrap everything up. So many questions ran through my mind, but Ward did it, and it wasn’t rushed. Ward forced nothing. He ripped out my soul when certain characters took their last breaths, but their deaths made sense…even if I did not want to see them go. The book’s ending? Perfection. The book’s overall pacing might’ve been slow at times. A little convoluted, maybe, but most epic fantasies are. You must trust the process and let the picture take shape. And my, my, what a beautiful picture Matthew Ward paints.
If I had to choose, my preference order for this trilogy: The Fire Within Them, The Lie That Binds Them, and finally, The Darkness Before Them. I think Ward’s newest novel refers to something out of his “Legacy Trilogy,” but it’s been too long since I read them to be confident in that assessment. The Lie That Binds Them by Matthew Ward is everything you’d hope for in a trilogy’s conclusion. I will undoubtedly revisit his “Soulfire Saga”—and it’ll probably be sooner rather than later!