Dan Sugralinov's The Final Battle Volume 2 (Disgardium Book #14)
A Book Review
I’m going to start this review off by righting a most grievous wrong, a crime against humanity, and an abomination before God. I hate to do it that way but, as either one of the world’s most wonderful daughters (those being my daughters of course) can plainly tell you, the old man is not and never has been afraid to call a stinky-toes a stinky-toes. So here it is: Dan Sugralinov’s The Final Battle Volume 2 (Disgardium Book #14) is actually the fifteenth book in the series. I would know, because:
A.) I have read and enjoyed them all.
and
B.) I can count.
SIGH
Part of my frustration is the fact that, when I first started the Disgardium series, I was told that it was a “Complete Twelve Book series,” but, come the end of Book 12 I read a note that said something along the lines of “Sorry, got too long. Split it in half. See the conclusion in Book 13, then there was a note at the end of that book and a book at the end of “Book 4 Volume 1” and, put bluntly, as much as I never wanted this series to end, I’ve been looking to forward to finding out how it ended for probably a couple of years now.
I realize that what I just said makes no sense, unless you love to read long series. If you do you get it. If you don’t love long series, you don’t. That’s life in the big city, I suppose.
I will say this much though: Unlike other experiences I’ve had, and written about recently, The Final Battle was actually worth the wait. This was what I wanted and/or feared. Sugralinov did justice to his characters and his world. It was awesome seeing that. As the guy who saw Grayson Carlyle get jobbed, and who felt robbed at the end of the Earth’s Children I’ve been burned a bunch of times. I can, however, sit here and attest that Sugralinov has left precisely zero scorch marks on my behind. For that I am intensely grateful.
It should go without saying, but just to make sure: The Final Battle is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a standalone novel. You don’t read this thing if you haven’t read the rest of the series. That’s not exactly an onerous task. They’re all great books. But really, when the book starts at the only point it could have after the book before it did and ties up loose ends going back to the beginning of a long series, you can’t appreciate it without having experienced all of that beforehand. Seriously, this is a book with a deep background.
That isn’t to say there’s nothing to The Final Battle in and of itself. There is a lot going on here. There’s the big battle for one. Sugralinov didn’t just pick that title out of a hat. There’s a ton of character development, or maybe it’s just that it’s already occurred and just became obvious. I’m not sure. I do know that main character Alex Sheppard AKA Scyth does some things that show massive amounts of maturity and, given the fact that he starts the series as a minor, that’s saying a lot. Dude became a man at some point while I was looking straight at him and I’m not sure when. It’s obvious though.
The action sequences in The Final Battle are everywhere and they are awesome. Given the game mechanics, they make sense, too. Scyth is pretty OP (that’s Over Powered for you non gamer types) by this point in the series, as are more than a few of his opponents. Things get a little crazy, but that’s a good thing. Sugralinov has managed to write his battles in a way that makes sense but isn’t predictable, and that’s the essence of how a good author writes.
There were a couple of times where I had to put the book down, close my eyes and see if I could do a better job of picturing things in my head. I’ve spent lot of my life gaming and it was very easy to do. Sugralinov painted the pictures so well with his words that I could watch the scene play on the backs of my eyelids like a movie. It felt like I was there. Granted, the technology used to play Disgardium doesn’t exist yet but if it ever does. that’s what I want it to feel like.
Scyth has been known as a Class A Threat, since the first book. I thought I knew why in about the fifth or sixth book. I was right, but I was wrong. There’s more to what’s going on here than I realized. I loved it. It’s hard to be surprised fifteen books into a series, but Sugralinov managed it.
A lot of the surprises came from the fact that the fantasy aspect of The Final Battle left the game and became part of the “real” world. I liked that part about it. Ready Player One introduced us to a world where in-game economics effected the real world, but this was the first time I remember seeing the magic cross over. It was done in a way that made a massive impact on the story and I loved it. And it hit me in the feels too.
There are only a few moments in books that really stick with me for years after I’ve read them. It’s a matter of too much exposure over a lifetime. There are some things that happen at the end of The Final Battle that I will probably never forget. Some of them are good things. At least one, not so much, although it made sense given the logic of the Disgardium universe. That’s really all I can ask for. And, honestly, this isn’t a series where I expected a happily ever after.
All in all, I’m impressed. This is the part where I would usually talk about downloading the next book in the series, but there won’t be a next book in the series. Suffice it to say I’ll be checking out something by Sugralinov soon. I think he has a series or two that actually IS completed. Maybe I’ll check one of them out.
Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Satisfied Customers
The Final Battle Volume 2 (Disgardium Book #14)
Dan Sugralinov
Magic Dome Books, 2026
The Final Battle Volume 2 (Disgardium Book #14) is available for purchase at the following link. If you click the link and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
The Final Battle Volume 2 (Disgardium Book #14)
And, in case you didn’t listen to me the first few times, here is a link to the first book in the series so you can get started on your journey.