My day job has been particularly stressful lately. I’ve been working weekends and at night after my family goes to sleep. It’s made me behind in a number of non-work activities. Except for reading. Reading is an escapist activity for me. I read books with my son as part of spending time with him. When I have a few moments to myself, I sneak in some fiction reading to de-stress. There is value in reading strictly for pleasure. I find myself drawn to humor, to cozy books, and to, interestingly enough, mysteries. But seeing The Last Vigilant by Mark Latham, I was drawn in by the cover, and I felt drawn to it. It reminded me of the fantasy books of the late 90s when I was plunging into the SF&F world. But I was surprised by the opening sections and see that I misjudged it. This is a grimdark book; yet, it dragged me into the story and provided those de-stressing escapes that I craved. What drew me in was Holt Hawley trying to be an idealistic hero in a world drowning in corruption. What I needed was to read about a hero, not an anti-hero, in dire straits. Mark Latham provided that story, and it was very entertaining.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.
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TL;DR
The Last Vigilant by Mark Latham is an entertaining addition to the grimdark oeuvre. While it’s not pushing the boundaries of the genre, it’s a tale that’s well told, though not for the squeamish. Recommended.
From the Publisher
In a world where magic is forgotten, monsters lurk in the dark woods, and honorable soldiers are few, this utterly gripping epic fantasy tells the story of an out-of-practice wizard and a hot-headed sargent who are thrust into the heart of a mystery that threatens to unravel their kingdom’s fragile peace.
Shunned by the soldiers he commands, haunted by past tragedies, Sargent Holt Hawley is a broken man. But the child of a powerful ally has gone missing, and war between once peaceful nations is on the horizon. So, he and his squad have been sent to find a myth: a Vigilant. They are a rumored last survivor of an ancient and powerful order capable of performing acts of magic and finding the lost. But the Vigilants disappeared decades ago. No one truly expects Hawley to succeed.
When he is forced to abandon his men, he stumbles upon a woman who claims to be the Last Vigilant. Enelda Drake is wizened and out of practice, and she seems a far cry from the heroes of legend. But they will need her powers, and each other, to survive. For nothing in the town of Scarfell is as it seems. Corrupt soldiers and calculating politicians thwart their efforts at every turn.
And there are dark whispers on the wind threatening the arrival of an ancient and powerful enemy. The Last Vigilant is not the only myth returning from the dead.
Review: The Last Vigilant by Mark Latham
Holt Hawley of the High Companies is a man haunted by the past and despised by the squad who serves under him. But he’s a soldier, and he was given the job of finding a mythical Vigilant. Though other Vigilants exist in Hawley’s world, they’re shadows of the ‘real’ Vigilants. It has become a title akin to sheriff, but supposedly there’s a real Vigilant, and it’s Hawley’s job to find them. In Archduke Leoric’s realm of Wulfshael, a child has gone missing, an important child, who if not returned, could start a war with the neighboring kingdom. In searching for the Vigilant, Hawley discovers a betrayal that shakes the foundation of his very being, and it’s just the first as he attempts to find the missing child. Only what he finds is a realm where children haven’t been safe for a long time.
The Last Vigilant by Mark Latham is third person grimdark fantasy. There are three different point of view characters for this story that are unique voices. The Last Vigilant is filled with betrayal, death, and hardship. The story moves along at a fair pace with an interesting mystery. It’s a standard secondary world fantasy. While it’s not pushing the boundaries of the genre, it’s a tale that’s well told, though not for the squeamish.
Corruption
One of the key themes of this book is corruption. Whether governmental, religious, or personal, corruption is everywhere in Wulfshael. While there is a metaphysical battle between being analogous to angels and demons occurring in this world, the corruption that readers see isn’t divine or magical. It’s all too human. Ambition, greed, jealousy, even the need for approval, all appear to drive others to dark places. Latham’s world is one that has fallen from a time of ideals. The darker side of the human soul has taken over, and though some battle for good, corruption seems to be winning.
The corrupt sheriff wields his authority to enrich himself and attain more power. The Lord Abbot corrupts the archduke away from his duties to his people. The commanding officer of the Third High Company allows his soldiers to discriminate based on economic class.
Holt Hawley
In this world of corruption resides Holt Hawley, a flawed man trying to do his best. He lives up to his own standards and tries to follow his own morals. Sometimes this leads him to do things he’s not comfortable with, and other times it makes him a bit naive. But Holt is a good man, and he’s a good character. He tries to live up to his ideals in a world that is corrupted, and that makes for good fiction. The sins of his past and the station of his birth follow him throughout the novel, and it’s interesting to watch Holt try to navigate that.
Enelda Drake and the Vigilants
Enelda displays some mystical powers, and they become more powerful as the book moves along. But, for once, I’m not as interested in her mystical powers as much as her observational ones. It seems the Vigilants trained her to see the world in a fashion reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. She is working on the mysteries present in the book through observation and building the human story of Wulfshael.
Conclusion
Mark Latham’s The Last Vigilant is a good addition to grimdark literature. It’s a tale well told with interesting characters in an interesting world. It’s not pushing the boundaries of the genre, but it is an entertaining read worth exploring. Recommended.
The Last Vigilant by Mark Latham is available from Orbit Books on June 24th, 2025.
© PrimmLife.com 2025