Scan barcode
ltschell116's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
willrefuge's review against another edition
4.0
7.5 / 10 ✪
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/01/21/the-sapphire-altar-by-david-dalglish-review/
Newly crowned as the Vagrant—the self-proclaimed protector of Thanet—and well on his way to becoming a god, Cyrus has had enough, storming out on the rebellion and refusing to speak to Thorda ever again. On his own now, he stalks the capital streets, still enacting the Vagrant’s vengeance, driven by the grinning mask and silver crown and an ever-growing bloodlust.
More worrying still, Cyrus can now manifest the grinning mask even when he’s not wearing it. Not to mention the voices that whisper to him in the dark.
But the Vagrant isn’t the only god on Thanet.
The Heir Incarnate has arrived on the isle, ready to begin his ascendance. Rumors persist of resurrected Lycaena, now a goddess of blood and death. The slain Endarius still lives on through Mari, battling gods humbled by the Everlorn Empire. And somewhere on the island, the ghost of Dagon lurks, the former god of Thanet ready to once more reclaim his rightful place.
So many gods on such a little island. Surely they’ll play nice.
—
“ Some gods live on after their deaths, and some die while they yet live. “
—
A decent followup to the Bladed Faith, the Sapphire Altar continues the telling of Cyrus and the Vagrant’s tales in an interesting manner—however, not quite in the way I was hoping.
After the revelations of Book 1, I was hoping for a deep-dive into just what it meant to be a god. With Cyrus competing with the Vagrant’s growing influence, I expected a much more internal struggle, one that was only partly addressed in text, and not with any semblance of urgency. What I was hoping for was a spiritual journey, a mystical journey, and a reflection on what it means to be human. I had hoped this would combine with the burgeoning story of revenge to create something new and unique, and highly immersive. As it is, we get really none of the spiritual journey, glimpses of the mystical one, and the continued bloody swath of revenge from the first book. Don’t get me wrong—the Sapphire Altar is still a good read, I’d just hoped that the series was going in a different direction.
Whereas Cyrus is the focal point in the first book, in the second he splits the stage with Keles—Rayan’s daughter and former Paladin of Lycaena. Her story seemed to be… hasty. Not as well written or thought out as previous arcs; I found some of her decisions brainless if not nonsensical, but I suppose such is the same of humanity.
While I wasn’t enjoying this read as much as its predecessor, there was still the inclusion of interesting characters Rayan and Eshiel and Sinshei that kept me reading. Fortunately, at the… 65% mark everything devolved into chaos (the good kind of chaos). It was then that the story finally hit its stride. And drank me in. As weak as I found the middle of the Sapphire Altar, the end was strong enough to make up for it. Multiple jaw-dropping twists, lies and betrayal, mystery, mayhem, and more—the conclusion is packed with content. It’s just a shame that more wasn’t done to flesh the early and middle bits out; the book went from a borderline snooze to heart-pounding in just a few chapters. Needless to say, this makes the pacing seem wild and strange, and the story itself a bit episodic in its portrayal.
TL;DR
While it isn’t shaping out to be the author’s greatest series ever (I’d vote for both the Shadowdance and Keepers’ over it to be honest), Book #2 of the Vagrant Gods delivers an interesting, ofttimes exciting adventure—immersive if you enjoyed the events of the first book and wanted nothing more than more of the same. For me, it was a bit of a letdown. I expected so much more from the relationship of Cyrus and the Vagrant: a spiritual journey into what it meant to be mortal or a god. Instead it’s the continuing tale of rebellion, with some metaphysical bits thrown in. Which is fine, just not what I was hoping for. Either way, it’s a good, entertaining, interesting read that I’d recommend for returning fans of the author and/or the Bladed Faith. Looking forward to the series’ conclusion, expected in 2024!
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/01/21/the-sapphire-altar-by-david-dalglish-review/
Newly crowned as the Vagrant—the self-proclaimed protector of Thanet—and well on his way to becoming a god, Cyrus has had enough, storming out on the rebellion and refusing to speak to Thorda ever again. On his own now, he stalks the capital streets, still enacting the Vagrant’s vengeance, driven by the grinning mask and silver crown and an ever-growing bloodlust.
More worrying still, Cyrus can now manifest the grinning mask even when he’s not wearing it. Not to mention the voices that whisper to him in the dark.
But the Vagrant isn’t the only god on Thanet.
The Heir Incarnate has arrived on the isle, ready to begin his ascendance. Rumors persist of resurrected Lycaena, now a goddess of blood and death. The slain Endarius still lives on through Mari, battling gods humbled by the Everlorn Empire. And somewhere on the island, the ghost of Dagon lurks, the former god of Thanet ready to once more reclaim his rightful place.
So many gods on such a little island. Surely they’ll play nice.
—
“ Some gods live on after their deaths, and some die while they yet live. “
—
A decent followup to the Bladed Faith, the Sapphire Altar continues the telling of Cyrus and the Vagrant’s tales in an interesting manner—however, not quite in the way I was hoping.
After the revelations of Book 1, I was hoping for a deep-dive into just what it meant to be a god. With Cyrus competing with the Vagrant’s growing influence, I expected a much more internal struggle, one that was only partly addressed in text, and not with any semblance of urgency. What I was hoping for was a spiritual journey, a mystical journey, and a reflection on what it means to be human. I had hoped this would combine with the burgeoning story of revenge to create something new and unique, and highly immersive. As it is, we get really none of the spiritual journey, glimpses of the mystical one, and the continued bloody swath of revenge from the first book. Don’t get me wrong—the Sapphire Altar is still a good read, I’d just hoped that the series was going in a different direction.
Whereas Cyrus is the focal point in the first book, in the second he splits the stage with Keles—Rayan’s daughter and former Paladin of Lycaena. Her story seemed to be… hasty. Not as well written or thought out as previous arcs; I found some of her decisions brainless if not nonsensical, but I suppose such is the same of humanity.
While I wasn’t enjoying this read as much as its predecessor, there was still the inclusion of interesting characters Rayan and Eshiel and Sinshei that kept me reading. Fortunately, at the… 65% mark everything devolved into chaos (the good kind of chaos). It was then that the story finally hit its stride. And drank me in. As weak as I found the middle of the Sapphire Altar, the end was strong enough to make up for it. Multiple jaw-dropping twists, lies and betrayal, mystery, mayhem, and more—the conclusion is packed with content. It’s just a shame that more wasn’t done to flesh the early and middle bits out; the book went from a borderline snooze to heart-pounding in just a few chapters. Needless to say, this makes the pacing seem wild and strange, and the story itself a bit episodic in its portrayal.
TL;DR
While it isn’t shaping out to be the author’s greatest series ever (I’d vote for both the Shadowdance and Keepers’ over it to be honest), Book #2 of the Vagrant Gods delivers an interesting, ofttimes exciting adventure—immersive if you enjoyed the events of the first book and wanted nothing more than more of the same. For me, it was a bit of a letdown. I expected so much more from the relationship of Cyrus and the Vagrant: a spiritual journey into what it meant to be mortal or a god. Instead it’s the continuing tale of rebellion, with some metaphysical bits thrown in. Which is fine, just not what I was hoping for. Either way, it’s a good, entertaining, interesting read that I’d recommend for returning fans of the author and/or the Bladed Faith. Looking forward to the series’ conclusion, expected in 2024!
leslie_mg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookish_withsky's review against another edition
3.0
Let’s appreciate the brief summery of the first book in the beginning. Not a lot of fantasy books do that, but I think it would be super helpful. Bonus points for that, thoroughly loved it.
The fact that I enjoyed this one makes me realize I should probably go back and reread the first, since I did not give that one a great review. This is was interesting and fairly well written. I did not have a bad time. I think the fact that I am ready/willing to retry the first book because of how well I enjoyed this one speaks volumes.
The fact that I enjoyed this one makes me realize I should probably go back and reread the first, since I did not give that one a great review. This is was interesting and fairly well written. I did not have a bad time. I think the fact that I am ready/willing to retry the first book because of how well I enjoyed this one speaks volumes.
leedolee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A fun read! Once again, I thoroughly enjoy the world and lore. The characters, new and old, were a delight to read about! I look forward to the final book in the series to see how this tale concludes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Classism, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Torture, Xenophobia, Gore, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, and Violence
utterlyreading161823's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nathans_fantasy_reviews's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The tl;dr: I know we all hate being told “It gets better in book 2!”. Well, this is a situation where it ACTUALLY gets better in book 2! The Bladed Faith was a middling, average read for me that was mired by its lengthy training montages, thinly drawn characters, and shallow plot. The Sapphire Altar is anything BUT those things. Dalglish finds the heart of the story and the emotional core of the characters here, imbuing this series with the depth that it has so rightly deserved. Combine that with some badass action sequences involving a bunch of gods, and you’ve got a sequel that is definitely worth your time. Epic fantasy readers should add this to their TBRs ASAP.
My full review:
If there has been a bigger glow up between a first and second book of a series, I don’t know about it.
I was a bit critical in my review of The Bladed Faith, noting that the book was building an interesting (and violent) of gods, heroes, villains, and everything in between. However, I felt that the violence almost felt gratuitous in the way that that David Dalglish was using colonialism as a kind of window dressing to a standard, action-packed epic fantasy rather than truly digging into what colonialism actually is and how it operates. I debated whether I really even wanted to continue the series, but the reveal at the end of The Bladed Faith piqued my interest just enough (and peeled back some layers of depth that the book hadn’t highlighted before) to keep me reading in The Sapphire Altar.
And I am so freaking excited that I did.
The Sapphire Altar belongs in lists of the best epic fantasy of the 2020s, and its only fault is that readers will have to endure The Bladed Faith to get to it. Everything I disliked about the first book – the endless training montages, the abundance of violent scenes that messed up the pace, shallow characters, and a superficial plot – are magically fixed here as Dalglish finds the groove of what this story should be.
There is no middle book syndrome here. The story moves, it develops, and it SOARS.
The Sapphire Altar picks up after just a small time jump, which gives many of the characters time to reflect on the events of The Bladed Faith. This allows for a couple of things that were sorely lacking in that first book. First, it provides space for the characters to contemplate on all of the terrible stuff they have had to go through and do in the name of justice. While Dalglish doesn’t wade into the murky ethical waters in the way other authors writing similar stories do, he starts to show the impact and drag that all of this is having on his characters. This leads into the second major improvement – the character depth. The characters were thinly drawn in the first book, feeling more like pawns that existed only to advance the plot. The action and plot were cool, but I felt no emotional connection to the characters. Here, the characters jump off the page as three-dimensional and well drawn people. I cheered for them, cried for them, and sometimes (depending on the POV) despised them. Dalglish gives each of them unique personalities, needs, wants, and lived-in, embodied existences that were more than just how many redshirts could they tear down. Dalglish finds a true emotional core in this volume, whether it is the love between Stasia and Clarissa, Mari’s battle with her own identity, Arn’s troubled fraternal relationships, or Keles’ troubled relationship with her own faith.
It might be that last one – Keles’ complex personal, political, and religious journey – that was my favorite throughout the book. I could tell in The Bladed Faith that Dalglish wanted to say something about faith, but those themes never seemed to materialize. Exploration of the gods and faith are in full swing here. Remember that opening sequence in The Bladed Faith where the evil empire killed the lion and butterfly gods? There are so many cool sequences with the gods here, and the epic potential of Dalglish’s drawing of the gods is put to full effect (I will say, however, that the godly cliffhanger at the end of book 1 doesn’t really go anywhere, which was just a touch disappointing). There are so many just awesome god vs. god sequences that are awe-inspiring in just how freaking cool they are.
At the same time, Dalglish also doesn’t just use the gods as cool pawns for this action set pieces. The Sapphire Altar also dives into issues of faith. What is faith? At what point can faith be broken? How much can we permit our faith to be tested, and is it faith if it is not tested? Dalglish’s characters are met with a lot of religious and spiritual quandaries in this book as readers are confronted with the differing perspectives and self-interests of characters like Keles, the priest-figure Eshiel, the god-whisperer Mari, and more. This is a book about individual religious faith, but also the larger social functions and implications of faith – what happens when a nation becomes united by a faith? What happens when a culture loses its religious identity? What is the role of faith in both political control and political resistance? Without losing its intense pace or “cool” factor, The Sapphire Altar finds times to explore these issues as the social and political situation of this series becomes ever more complex.
If you were a bigger fan of The Bladed Faith than I was, you also have nothing to worry about. While the action sequences are less numerous here, there is still PLENTY of action to be had. Better yet, they aren’t trapped up in endless training sequences as the characters and the plot are allowed to run at full sprint.
The Sapphire Altar ends with an intriguing cliffhanger involving one of my favorite characters from the book, and I cannot wait to dive into The Slain Divine to see how Dalglish brings this all home. If he can maintain the depth and quality of The Sapphire Altar, it will for sure be a finale for the ages (and imagine if he can raise the stakes again!). If you are the type of person who doesn’t mind making your way through an ok book to get to an amazing one, add this absolutely epic series to your TBR.
My full review:
If there has been a bigger glow up between a first and second book of a series, I don’t know about it.
I was a bit critical in my review of The Bladed Faith, noting that the book was building an interesting (and violent) of gods, heroes, villains, and everything in between. However, I felt that the violence almost felt gratuitous in the way that that David Dalglish was using colonialism as a kind of window dressing to a standard, action-packed epic fantasy rather than truly digging into what colonialism actually is and how it operates. I debated whether I really even wanted to continue the series, but the reveal at the end of The Bladed Faith piqued my interest just enough (and peeled back some layers of depth that the book hadn’t highlighted before) to keep me reading in The Sapphire Altar.
And I am so freaking excited that I did.
The Sapphire Altar belongs in lists of the best epic fantasy of the 2020s, and its only fault is that readers will have to endure The Bladed Faith to get to it. Everything I disliked about the first book – the endless training montages, the abundance of violent scenes that messed up the pace, shallow characters, and a superficial plot – are magically fixed here as Dalglish finds the groove of what this story should be.
There is no middle book syndrome here. The story moves, it develops, and it SOARS.
The Sapphire Altar picks up after just a small time jump, which gives many of the characters time to reflect on the events of The Bladed Faith. This allows for a couple of things that were sorely lacking in that first book. First, it provides space for the characters to contemplate on all of the terrible stuff they have had to go through and do in the name of justice. While Dalglish doesn’t wade into the murky ethical waters in the way other authors writing similar stories do, he starts to show the impact and drag that all of this is having on his characters. This leads into the second major improvement – the character depth. The characters were thinly drawn in the first book, feeling more like pawns that existed only to advance the plot. The action and plot were cool, but I felt no emotional connection to the characters. Here, the characters jump off the page as three-dimensional and well drawn people. I cheered for them, cried for them, and sometimes (depending on the POV) despised them. Dalglish gives each of them unique personalities, needs, wants, and lived-in, embodied existences that were more than just how many redshirts could they tear down. Dalglish finds a true emotional core in this volume, whether it is the love between Stasia and Clarissa, Mari’s battle with her own identity, Arn’s troubled fraternal relationships, or Keles’ troubled relationship with her own faith.
It might be that last one – Keles’ complex personal, political, and religious journey – that was my favorite throughout the book. I could tell in The Bladed Faith that Dalglish wanted to say something about faith, but those themes never seemed to materialize. Exploration of the gods and faith are in full swing here. Remember that opening sequence in The Bladed Faith where the evil empire killed the lion and butterfly gods? There are so many cool sequences with the gods here, and the epic potential of Dalglish’s drawing of the gods is put to full effect (I will say, however, that the godly cliffhanger at the end of book 1 doesn’t really go anywhere, which was just a touch disappointing). There are so many just awesome god vs. god sequences that are awe-inspiring in just how freaking cool they are.
At the same time, Dalglish also doesn’t just use the gods as cool pawns for this action set pieces. The Sapphire Altar also dives into issues of faith. What is faith? At what point can faith be broken? How much can we permit our faith to be tested, and is it faith if it is not tested? Dalglish’s characters are met with a lot of religious and spiritual quandaries in this book as readers are confronted with the differing perspectives and self-interests of characters like Keles, the priest-figure Eshiel, the god-whisperer Mari, and more. This is a book about individual religious faith, but also the larger social functions and implications of faith – what happens when a nation becomes united by a faith? What happens when a culture loses its religious identity? What is the role of faith in both political control and political resistance? Without losing its intense pace or “cool” factor, The Sapphire Altar finds times to explore these issues as the social and political situation of this series becomes ever more complex.
If you were a bigger fan of The Bladed Faith than I was, you also have nothing to worry about. While the action sequences are less numerous here, there is still PLENTY of action to be had. Better yet, they aren’t trapped up in endless training sequences as the characters and the plot are allowed to run at full sprint.
The Sapphire Altar ends with an intriguing cliffhanger involving one of my favorite characters from the book, and I cannot wait to dive into The Slain Divine to see how Dalglish brings this all home. If he can maintain the depth and quality of The Sapphire Altar, it will for sure be a finale for the ages (and imagine if he can raise the stakes again!). If you are the type of person who doesn’t mind making your way through an ok book to get to an amazing one, add this absolutely epic series to your TBR.
hawkeyegonzalez's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Vagrant Gods series continues with this second installment, and it is equally as good as the first but still not without its flaws.
This book picks up where the first left off, with Cyrus striking out on his own after leaving the group. This part is great, and it's exciting to see where the story goes from here. Unfortunately, the middle loses a bit of direction and feels disjointed. We spend a little too much time in areas that don't serve the plot very much. However, that changes towards the end, and the story and action kick into high gear.
All of the characters from the previous book are back, as is their POV chapters. Cyrus is still the central focus, but I still prefer following some of the side characters, particularly Keles and Arn. Both have their own crisis of faith, and it's great to see how they both play out. The big addition this time is the new final boss, the Heir-Incarnate Galvanis, and he is even more terrifying than Magus was in the first book. He truly feels like an unstoppable force for the protagonists to try and overcome.
Of course, the highlight of the book is the action. This is only the second series I've read from Dalglish, but he excels at writing action scenes, particularly one-on-one. It's a testament to his skill that I'm never quite sure who is going to win each fight, and it's not always who I think it is. I also appreciate that characters here will actually retreat when facing an overwhelming opponent instead of keep on fighting because "good will prevail". It gives the storytelling a greater sense of realism and unpredictability.
This is shaping up to be a very good series. If it can stick the landing, then I just might have to read more of Dalglish's bibliography.
This book picks up where the first left off, with Cyrus striking out on his own after leaving the group. This part is great, and it's exciting to see where the story goes from here. Unfortunately, the middle loses a bit of direction and feels disjointed. We spend a little too much time in areas that don't serve the plot very much. However, that changes towards the end, and the story and action kick into high gear.
All of the characters from the previous book are back, as is their POV chapters. Cyrus is still the central focus, but I still prefer following some of the side characters, particularly Keles and Arn. Both have their own crisis of faith, and it's great to see how they both play out. The big addition this time is the new final boss, the Heir-Incarnate Galvanis, and he is even more terrifying than Magus was in the first book. He truly feels like an unstoppable force for the protagonists to try and overcome.
Of course, the highlight of the book is the action. This is only the second series I've read from Dalglish, but he excels at writing action scenes, particularly one-on-one. It's a testament to his skill that I'm never quite sure who is going to win each fight, and it's not always who I think it is. I also appreciate that characters here will actually retreat when facing an overwhelming opponent instead of keep on fighting because "good will prevail". It gives the storytelling a greater sense of realism and unpredictability.
This is shaping up to be a very good series. If it can stick the landing, then I just might have to read more of Dalglish's bibliography.
bog_walker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75