The Titan of Twilight

The Titan of Twilight is the final novel in the Twilight Giants Trilogy written by Troy Denning and set in the Forgotten Realms. Once again the story follows the adventures and turmoil of a small cast of characters as they deal with giants and giant kin. They’ve dealt with kidnapping ogres, a beguiling ettin backed by an army of frost giants, and now they’re about to come up against their biggest thread yet: a giant god. If you thought killing a giant was hard, you haven’t seen anything yet.

In this story, Tavis and Brianna have to deal with a firbolg prophecy that states one of her twin children will unite all of the giants against the kingdom, bringing doom to them all. As if worrying about one of her children being the antichrist of the Realms wasn’t bad enough, she also has to deal with a plethora of complications. First off, one of the giant gods has taken a personal interest in her pregnancy and wants to kidnap her children for his own interests. Secondly, all the giants have allied with the Titan of Twilight and are more than happy to help him destroy everything that stands in his way. Thirdly, the giant kin have decided the only way to avoid all this chaos is till kill Brianna’s children. This leaves the Queen of Hartsvale with hardly any allies, and with foes who want to kidnap or kill her children.

Along the way, Tavis and Brianna will have to survive some harrowing events. There are massive battles with fire giants, firbolgs, verbeegs, formorians, storm giants, and several battles with the Titan of Twilight himself. There’s even a battle with undead giant gods. Denning ramps up the action to the highest levels yet in the series. Tavis and Brianna’s allies are hard pressed to make up the difference. Avner has to dig deeper than ever before, and Basil manages to procure an item so powerful that it might prove the undoing of its wielder.

The main characters also have to go through some levels of suffering that only readers of Denning’s other books can truly cherish. In a setting where magic is available, Denning is the type of writer who likes to use it as a tool to prolong the suffering of his characters. Poor Tavis has to take a pummeling at the hands of towering giants. Bones can be crushed, flesh can be frost bitten, and bodies can be stabbed and beaten all because the permanent damage can be undone with a nifty health potion or healing spell. Best of all, Tavis can do it all over again in the next chapter! But none of that is exactly new. Tavis has certainly gone through all of that in the previous two novels in the series. Fear not fellow readers, Denning manages to think up all new levels of pain that make those other experiences look like cake walks. He even shares the pain with Brianna whose forced to give birth to giant sized twins. For readers who like Denning’s stories, you’ll get a kick out of what he pulls off in this one.

One final thing worth touching on is the Titan of Twilight. Troy does something a little different in this book by giving readers some passages from the Titan’s viewpoint. Furthermore, the Titan is not really a badguy. Troy’s characterization of him is more an issue of someone whose desires are contrary to those whom he’d force them upon. The Titan has his reasons for doing what he’s doing, and they’re not all that bad. But it’s always a matter of what lengths you’re willing to go to accomplish a goal that determine just who you are. In this case it’s up to the reader to decide if he’s a badguy or simply misunderstood. Either way, the passages from his perspective are very fun to read and add a lot of depth to the story.

By itself, The Titan of Twilight is a good book. For fans of the series, you’ll get more Tavis, Brianna, Avner, and Basil action. There’s also more fun with giants and combat with the mighty storm giants. As the culmination of the escalating events, the series ends on a positive note and one that’s left open for more storytelling possibilities. I give the book a healthy five out of five metal bikinis. As a whole, the Twilight Giants Trilogy is an enjoyable read and will certainly open your eyes to the world of giants. In that regard, it’s definitely uncontested.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.