Hi everyone! Petrik from Novel Notions here.

We have an exciting post today. Novel Notions will be hosting the cover reveal to Until the Last by Mike Shackle! This is the third and final book in The Last War series by Mike Shackle. In addition to the cover art below, I also had the chance to ask Mike Shackle his thoughts and feelings on the cover art and being done with the final book. This is one of my favorite series, and I’m so looking forward to reading this novel. Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Mike Shackle, and also the cover reveal to Until the Last!

Cover art designed by Tomas Almeida

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THE TIME HAS COME.
SEKINOWARI – THE LAST WAR – HAS ARRIVED.

The breakneck conclusion to the trilogy that started with We Are the Dead. To beat the ultimate evil, sometimes the price is more than you can pay . . .

The war with the Egril has changed Tinnstra forever. A coward no more, she’ll go to any length to defeat every last one of her enemies.

Zorique has grown into her powers. It’s time for her to lead her army into Jia and spearhead the fight for her homeland.

But at what cost? The Egril emperor Raaku – the Son of Kage himself – is waiting for them. And he intends to destroy Zorique, Tinnstra and all their allies.

They will need to put everything on the line if Jia hopes to see the dawn.

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1. So Mike, what do you think about the cover art? From my perspective, this is the most terrifying cover art for your series so far. Does it capture the tone of the book?

It’s scary isn’t it? Each book has featured the Big Bad on the cover, from the skull-masked warriors who first invaded Jia on the cover of WE ARE THE DEAD, to Lord Bacas, the head of the Chosen, on A FOOL’S HOPE. Now, we’ve got the worst of the lot waiting for us in UNTIL THE LAST — Emperor Raaku, the son of Kage. The man who will stop at nothing to win Sekanowari, the Last War. From the beginning, I’ve tried to remain realistic (as much as you can when you have flying demons and characters who shoot lightening from their fingertips) about life in war-time. In my mind that makes everything terrifying to begin with. And now, in this book, we’re in the end game with everything to fight for and everything to lose. No character is safe, not even the ‘stars’ of the story. But, as much as the villains own the covers to the series, the real heroes are the ordinary people inside, forced to fight through no choice of their own to protect their homes and their families. That theme has been the heart of each and every book and UNTIL THE LAST is no different. UNTIL THE LAST is scary, it’s nerve-wracking, it’s exciting, it’s thrilling, it’s heart-breaking, it’s pure escapism and, hopefully, it’ll have you turning pages, cheering out loud and maybe wiping away the odd tear.

2. Judging from my experience of reading the your previous two books, I’m sure it will keep me compelled again. I’m curious. Did you have any say in the cover art?

Gollancz are always incredible to work with on every level and, when it comes to the covers, I really appreciate that they ask my opinion. It’s always an exciting process seeing characters from my imagination come to life and they always do such an amazing job.

3. Until the Last is the last book in The Last War (can I say last again?) trilogy, how are you feeling about this?

There’s a part of me that doesn’t quite believe it’s over and I’m still a little freaked out that people are reading the book. This was a hard one to write on many levels, especially as the world spun out of control as I was starting it. (I admire anyone who managed to be creative on any level over the last two years.) In many ways, it seems like yesterday when I first wrote about a coward trying to survive in an occupied country and now we’re here, 600,000 words later, and that coward is now a mighty warrior with everyone’s hopes on her shoulders. Tinnstra, Yas, Jax, Ralasis and all the others have lived inside my head for five years and it’s sad to say goodbye to them. I only hope I did justice to their tales.

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I want to give my special thanks to Mike Shackle and Gollancz for allowing Novel Notions the honor to host the cover reveal for Until the Last. As someone who adore this series, it means a lot to me that me and Novel Notions are given this opportunity. I look forward to reading it as soon as possible!

Thank you everyone for checking out this post!

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Until the Last official release date: 21st July 2022.

You can pre-order the book on: Amazon

Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!

My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Amanda, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Ellis, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, Oliver, Reno, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawna, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.