Review: The Last Troupe by Ben Faulk

January 11, 2026

Synopsis:

For a century, the realm of Navea knew only peace. The Spell of King Rygard stripped evil from every heart. Monsters vanished, crime ceased, and wars became the stuff of legend.

Then the Spell shattered.

Darkness has returned in every form imaginable. The world now faces creatures born of shadow, men drunk on power, and whispers of a forgotten king clawing his way back into the world.

Amid the chaos, one unlikely group refuses to stand by – The Last Troupe, a traveling circus of performers and misfits. They brought joy to the towns across Navea, but now their stage has become a battlefield. The Last Troupe is a sweeping tale about courage, finding your family, and dealing with a world turned upside down.

Review:

A world where no evil is existing. What happens if the spell responsible is broken? Sounds like an interesting premise for a story. At least this is what I was hoping for.

We meet a group of circus performers. They all come from various backgrounds and did not have it easy in life. Them being different is what is holding them together and allows a tight bond between them. They have become a family looking out for each other.

When the bell is suddenly broken and a show suddenly turns violent, they get ask by a stranger to join them on his quest to stop the evil and because they look like a capable group of people, that’s what they do. They follow him, run into various angry people (with humans never learned to control the bad side of them, violence, and crime immediately pop up just basically days after) and must battle them. Once one is taken down, they move on to the next.

The idea sounded so good on paper. Was the spell responsible for showing the bad side of people or was this always lingering? They execution was a bit disappointing to me. I’m ok with simple concepts if they keep me entertained. It felt a bit too much of we are the good ones, we can help, we will help. Everything sounded just a bit too easy and simple to me. The characters had potential, but we only got a glimpse of their backstory and why they are who they are. It was still entertaining but could have been more.

🌙 Recension: The Last Troupe (The Shattered Age #1) by Ben Faulk
📚 Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Fiction
📅 Release Date: January 13, 2026
📗 included in Kindle Unlimited
📱 Read as: Kindle
💸 I received an advance review copy for free by NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 212
⭐️ 3/5