Published in 1986 by Arbor House, The Darkest Road is a fantasy novel written by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. The novel is the culmination of the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy that follows the five young heroes in their fight with dark forces. It weaves in the Arthurian mythology with characters including King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere, who play significant roles in the final story.
In the previous installment, Maugrim and Jennifer’s son, Darien, leaves to search for his father and a sense of acceptance. The war between evil and good continues as the Unraveller and his dark armies ambush and fight with the people of Fionavar. The core of the story is Darien’s decision to either join the light or his father and his dark forces. After Kim uses the Circlet of Lisen on Darien and finds out he embraces evil she informs Jennifer to speak to him. However, Jennifer allows Darien to leave and seek his truth by giving him the free will to choose his side. When he finally faces his father, Maugrim learns that his son binds him to the tapestry hence he can be killed. He threatens to kill his son to protect his immortality, but Darien chooses the light and manages to destroy his father.
In the final book, the stakes as higher since the triumph of Rakoth Maugrim will affect and destroy other worlds akin to what is happening in Fionavar. Publishers Weekly wrote, “The concluding novel in Kay's trilogy, The Fionavar Tapestry, opens as the fantasy world's magically prolonged winter yields to spring but a spring where showers bring death, emptying entire cities.”
