Darksoul

I was lucky enough to get a review copy of Godblind back in 2017 and remember being absolutely blown away by it, particularly how a varied cast of characters came together, and how dark themes were explored (in quite unsettling ways). I remember thinking, 'I must read the sequel' and as is so often the case I never got round to it and nearly eight years later here I am.

I've been interested reading the reviews and how many reviewers think that this book is superior to the first and how a lot of things wrong with the first are better here. I didn't really get that feeling. Part of the problem for me was the distance perhaps. I think if I had read this shortly after reading the first book I would have loved this, as it was I struggled to connect to most of the characters here so perhaps didn't see the character development or feel the emotional pull when things happened.

The author makes a brave choice - picking up the plot from the end of the first book and setting the second entirely around the siege of Rilporan - the city of the current king, facing armies of his son and the Mireces (essentially a 'viking' like race who worship Dark gods of blood and lust). The setting of the siege means that there is a real sense of chaos, of danger, of fluctuation as the defenders struggle to keep their enemy at bay. There is a sense that the situation is hopeless, but now and again, slivers of opportunity present themselves. I loved feeling that I was in the city and noticing how the landscape shifts as another point is attacked, as a raider throws up a ladder or rams a gate. The only criticism I think I have, is that the novel is so fast paced over nearly 400 pages in really short chapters is that I was feeling a little exhausted by the end and was kind of willing the book to end rather than feeling that the book was building to a crescendo.

Perhaps because I knew in advance of the third book in the trilogy, I really got the impression that I was reading a 'middle-bridging' book and wouldn't get a resolution. It's kind of a bugbear for me with series - they should always work as self-contained novels.

Similar to the first book, each chapter is from the perspective of a different character, and most chapters take about five minutes to read so it's pretty speedy. I was also able to recollect most of the different characters and their relationships relatively quickly. I guess a lot of what I like from the first book resonates here - the gods are very real in the world and whilst being all powerful they can also be harmed. The book is very violent too (in the sense of a medieval battle and a bit of torture) but it's not particularly shocking, and if anything, whilst Stephens can write a good fight scene there are hundreds of pages of it here.

What I appreciated from the first book was it's treatment of gender and sexuality. Without getting into spoiler territory I loved the treatment of same-sex love and the recognition that whilst it is 'punishable by death' in a war, where good people die and people lose everything it's all a bit pointless to care about who loves who.

It's true that I couldn't put the book down and really enjoyed reading it. I just wasn't wowed. Hopefully I'll get to the third in the series and check out more by the author.