I'm giving this book 2 stars, it probably rates 2.5 but I refuse to round up on this one. It was just sooooo slow, first of all, and I couldn't get behind some of the major character changes here. But I predicted the whole

Spoiler

the gods of the Circle and the Pentadrian gods are one and the same

business way back in book 1. Spoiler tags going forward because who knows.

Spoiler

Let me just say first, that I absolutely hated Ellareen. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why the gods chose her - she was a fanatic who didn't question anything they told her, and I can't stand that. I liked that Danjin was still around and that he was still thinking and worrying about Auraya, but the ending! Really, Danjin?? You weren't going to keep Auraya's ring to ask her about what actually happened to the gods? I know he's devoted to them, but that is so out of character.

What's next? I know we got Reivan's POV to see Nekaun and the Voices and all that, but what a useless character. He didn't give you creepy vibes, Reivan? The Voice you served, in particular, and all of the other Voices are being vocal about there being something off about him, and you just keep thinking about how you might love him? How were you surprised when he showed his true colors? So stupid. I found myself skimming most of her chapters. Give me more of the other Wilds and Emerahl instead. She was basically the only thing keeping me reading this book.

I don't even have much to say about Auraya here except that I'm glad she stopped being stubborn about the gods. She was a 'blah' character to me, a little too self-righteous at times.

Anyway, very disappointed in this series, will not read again.

This is the concluding part to an average fantasy series. Plot was moving in the direction I thought it would in the second book, and nothing came out of the blue. Trudi Canavan can be frustrating to read sometimes, and one I would recommend for a younger audience.

SPOILER FREE
It’s difficult to review the final book in a trilogy without giving away any spoilers, so I will do my best to summarize!

Trudi Canavan ties up the loose ends of The Age of Five Trilogy in Voice of The Gods. All the secrets and mysteries that have been hinted at and explored in the previous two entries finally come together. Some are satisfying, others aren’t quite what I was expecting.

THE SECRETS BEHIND THE WILDS AND THE GODS ARE MY FAVOURITE PART OF THIS BOOK
The whole series – and the ending of Voice of the Gods was almost perfect. I would have liked to see more, to be honest. Not a new book or anything, but more than the epilogue we were left with.

If you have enjoyed Priestess of the White and Last of the Wilds, then you will love this book because it brings everything together.

The characters have all finally grown and evolved into driven, independent people, rather than going along with what’s been happening around them (not naming names for the specifics of that point).

Voice of the Gods is an exciting finale and I’m sad that we will see no more of this world, but this story satisfyingly ends at a point that doesn’t leave too much more to be answered.

Overall, this is one of my favourite fantasy trilogies, and one I think should be more mainstream. More people need to read and enjoy these books!

View the full review at The Fantasy Review

'Voice of the Gods' continues right where 'Last of the Wilds' leaves off, and neatly wraps up the loose ends. I was more eager than in the last to read about the Wilds, but as a result, the rest of the threads (the White and the Voices) mostly dragged. The book ends very shortly after the final resolution, and I wish there was more about the future of Wilds. The plot/story arc is well written, but not particularly surprising since I feel the hints were less subtle. Although I had so many theories in the end, the fact one of them was right probably doesn't mean much. Overall, I really liked the trilogy with the second book as my favorite.

While i enjoyed this trilogy as a whole, couldn't help finding myself getting a little bored by the third book, it was all becoming a bit predictable and the ending felt a little abrupt to me. They introduced a new species in both the first and second books, then seemed to mostly forget about them in book 3 except for very minor roles that felt more like oh yeah better mention them once or twice.
I enjoyed the stuff with the Wilds and would be interested in reading more about them though, their story could well continue...

It was pretty good, certainly very interesting fantasy - Canavan obviously has a taste for the 'rational'. I found it very difficult throughout this trilogy to manage the continual cutting from character to character, it seemed like every chapter (if not more frequently) began with the character you least wanted to go back to, having been through about 5 other characters' storylines since last reading about them. I also had a problem really caring about the people and the world, I'm not sure if there just wasn't enough description or if it was somehow unrealistic. Certainly I couldn't understand a lot of the characters' continued convictions (whether romantic - Reivan and Nekaun - or 'religious' - Auraya's continued piety).

I wonder if I missed out on some of the punch of the way it ended because I saw a lot of it coming, it seems to me that it's probably best for teenagers really. I enjoyed the ending, but I expect I might have been bowled over by it if I was a bit younger. That's all right though :)

I preferred The Black Magician Trilogy :P

It has been years since I first started this trilogy and it was one I just needed to finish off, especially before trying some of Canavan's other series.
Unfortunately, I couldn't go over my previous reviews to jog my memory (nor could I find any spoilery videos reviewing said books) because it seems I've only given them star ratings, and lower than I feel I should have, when I think back on how fond I am on these books, yet these can both be explained by what I believe to be that I read these before I got a Goodreada account/early into having an account.
Anyway, as I read some fellow Goodreads reviews, I was happy to note that characters and plot came back to me, which was very helpful and it came back quicker than I expected as I dived in and began reading the last novel in the Age of the Five trilogy.

The random bit at the beginning threw me. I wasn't sure why it was there, it wasn't even a prologue and it was regarding something much later in the plot. I guess it acted as a taster of what to come and introduce that intrigue as to how we'd get there.

Even after a lengthy break were I read a few other books in that time, getting back into the plot felt so easy. The characters felt so familiar, the progress of the story felt gentle but not insubstantial.

I love that it takes a really interesting question of what could happen if there was a way to get rid of the idea of gods and religion (how would that affect mortality and ways of living) and backed onto an epic fantasy setting really excellerates that idea and leaves much to ponder on.

The political interest regarding war, religion and tensions with characters were amazingly well fleshed out and I thoroughly had a great time unpicking all the plots and seeing what was to unravel. I feel a little sad leaving this world behind but I'm really excited to try Trudi Canavan's other books!

An excellent finale to the trilogy!

Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén

4,5 Sterne für ein recht spektakuläres Finale.

Am Ende ging es mir jedoch etwas zu schnell. Anfangs hat sich die Story so langsam fortbewegt und es hat ewig gedauert, bis Auraya ihre blinde Treue überwinden konnte, und dann kam plötzlich alle Enthüllungen und Veränderungen Schlag auf Schlag.

Vor allem gibt es auch so viel, das ich am Ende gerne noch gesehen hätte.
Ich mochte die Beziehung zwischen Auraya und Danjin und fand es schade, dass es nach Mirar kaum noch Interaktion zwischen beiden gab und Danjin keine Chance bekommen hat, Aurayas Handeln zu verstehen. Deshalb hatte ich darauf gehofft, dass er am Ende die ganze Story hören und verstehen würde, dass sie eigentlich die Einzige der Zirkler war, die alles richtig gemacht hat. Stattdessen hat er sein letztes Vertrauen in sie mit ihrem Ring zusammen weggeworfen. Es tut mir leid, dass es so enden soll.

Auch die Reaktion der anderen Weißen auf die wahre Geschichte hätte mich interessiert. Ich hätte gerne gesehen, wie Juran, Dyara und Mairae erfahren, was Auraya getan und wie sie alle gerettet hat und dass die Weißen ihr zu Unrecht misstraut haben. Ich hätte ehrlich gesagt auch gerne gesehen, wie Rian und Ella als die Fanatiker, die sie sind, angesichts der Wahrheit den Verstand verlieren. Ein bisschen Schadenfreude muss schon sein.

Was ich mich außerdem frage, ist, ob alle Weißen und Stimmen nach wie vor Gedanken lesen können und das ein Überbleibsel der Kraft der Götter ist, oder ob Imenja auch eine potenzielle Unsterbliche ist. Andererseits können die anderen Unsterblichen das ja auch nicht – mit Ausnahme von Auraya, die ebenfalls einmal von den Göttern Kraft bezogen hat.

Den Epilog mit dem Schöpfer fand ich witzig.

"Ob dieser Schöpfer existiert oder nicht, er kann die Dinge unmöglich in so großem Stil verpfuschen, wie die Götter es getan haben."

Da sowohl die Idee des Schöpfers als auch die „Beweise“ und Begründungen sehr an den christlichen Gott erinnern, habe ich das sofort als kleinen Seitenhieb verstanden.
Mit dem Wissen, wie sehr ein nicht-existenter Schöpfer die Welt verpfuschen kann, fürchte ich, dass den Leuten in Ithania noch einiges bevorsteht. Aber vielleicht war das Ganze ja unsere eigene Vorgeschichte…

A good enough end to the trilogy. However, it did feel that this final book dragged on too long. I'd figured out the twist about half way through and found the story carried on a bit tediously after that. Was happy with how things wrapped up in the end, though.