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everlaerian's review
4.0
The treachery continues in Warrior. 9 years after Wolfblade, Marla and her family still fight to maintain control of the kingdom, in the shadows until Damin becomes the High Prince of Hythrun.
I still loved the whole setting in this chapter. A new cast joins, many of them we knew from Wolfblade as nothing more than toddlers and children. The story seems to prepare us for Warlord and how they fared. The characters are not as descriptive as in the previous book and the conflicts felt less dangerous and more about the children becoming of age and preparing for Damin's ascension to the throne one day.
With how things ended, I hope the conclusion of Warlord will be spectacular.
I still loved the whole setting in this chapter. A new cast joins, many of them we knew from Wolfblade as nothing more than toddlers and children. The story seems to prepare us for Warlord and how they fared. The characters are not as descriptive as in the previous book and the conflicts felt less dangerous and more about the children becoming of age and preparing for Damin's ascension to the throne one day.
With how things ended, I hope the conclusion of Warlord will be spectacular.
ericbuscemi's review
3.0
While I liked "Warrior", I found its uneven pacing infuriating. The book crawls at a snails pace, then leaps forward a decade, only to crawl again. It also kept switching character viewpoints, a trend carried over from "WolfBlade."
Another issue I had, which I find in a lot of middle books in trilogies, is that there was no single overarching plot. The story was going in a lot of different directions, and it feels like the whole 600+ pages of this book were just a way to set everything up for the third book.
Despite my issues with the pacing, the story is really good, and I am looking forward to reading "Warlord", the finale of the trilogy, and seeing if it makes it worth it.
Another issue I had, which I find in a lot of middle books in trilogies, is that there was no single overarching plot. The story was going in a lot of different directions, and it feels like the whole 600+ pages of this book were just a way to set everything up for the third book.
Despite my issues with the pacing, the story is really good, and I am looking forward to reading "Warlord", the finale of the trilogy, and seeing if it makes it worth it.
lclowe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sharonskinner's review
5.0
Jennifer Fallon ties together multiple plot lines and political intrigue the way an expert rug maker weaves intricate patterns into a seamless whole.
dylanmadeley's review against another edition
4.0
I'm trying to pin down why I enjoyed this one more whole star than its predecessor, other than having immersed myself in that world already for a 600+ page book. It's still got some of the similar things about it that made me uneasy reading the last one, the casual treatment of slavery that's probably historically accurate to various empires and time periods (it's a created world, but like created worlds often do, it looks at our physical one and shares many of the same warts), the dark material etc. But maybe I liked the young "crop" of characters here and found them more compelling to read about. When I say "young", some of them are not much younger than I am by the time the book's finished. Perhaps I did intellectually appreciate Marla Wolfblade's transformation as a character, but actually enjoyed reading about the other characters more, so this book that's more about her children and the children of other first-book characters just read easier for me right from the start. However, I can't give half-stars, which is why my review of the first book has its stars count rounded down. And because it felt like a better read, this time I rounded up. It sets up a potentially compelling third book, which I have upstairs, so I'm going to find out shortly.
tita_noir's review
4.0
03/21/2018 update:
Decided to re-read this series since the last time I was read it was 10 years ago. Remember really liking it and wondered if it would stand up. It does! Enjoyed it as much the second time and while I remembered some stuff, I'd forgotten enough that the reading was almost like new.
-----------------------------------
This is the second book in the Wolfblade Trilogy.
In the first book, Marla Wolfblade went from a naive young girl madly in love to a young (twice widowed) mother who learned the hard way to protect the life of her young son, Damin.
Damin is the heir to the High Princedom. The current High Prince is a feckless, pleasure seeking imbecile. Marla is the one who truly runs the country for her brother and she is keeping it in trust for her child. To do so, she must keep her brother alive her son alive while also training Damin on how to gain and use power. In this she gets help from her faithful servant, the dwarf Elezaar.
In this second book, we find the players many years later. Marla, we learn, has been widowed a third time and is currently in her fourth marriage. The last two marriages were strategic moves to gain power. She is still keeping Hythrun running smoothly. Her enemy, the Sorceress Alija is still trying to assassinate young Damin. In this book, Alija believes she has finally found the fool-proof method.
Meanwhile, the Wolfblade siblings,step siblings and cousins are all growing up. Damin is being taught the skills he'll need when he takes over the kingdom. His sister Kalan already exhibits the signs of the smart and fearless woman she'll be one day.
This is an excellent second installment in what has fast become one of my new favorite series. This second book focuses more on the children than on Marla. And the transition is a good one. Fallon does a great job of showing how Marla has built a foundation for her children for when they get older. She also does a great job of showing the sacrifices that a woman like Marla makes to ensure the safety and well being of her children. In this book we learn the Wolfblade children's personalities, warts and all. They are a charming, loyal and smart bunch.
One thing I really liked was the delicate game of cat and mouse being played between Marla and Alija. Alija is a formidable enemy, but she has no clue that Marla is onto her and has been for 8 years. Meanwhile Marla quietly and competently takes quiet protective measures. She is taking the "revenge served cold" adage to a whole new level. And the ending of this installment and Alija's realization of how well she's been played is delicious.
Like the first book, there are some shocking moments that surprise the reader. Fallon doesn't do the cliche thing and it is good. I like it when a writer doesn't follow old tired narrative tricks like false misunderstandings or making all the good guys infallible or making all the villains mustache twirlers. She takes a few left turns that keeps the action going and makes the story both exciting and even poignant.
She also has a very deft hand with humor. The dialogue is sparkling and often quite witty. It also sounds very natural. It is easy to "hear" two people who have known each other for years and comfortable with each other in her character dialogue.
So this book, this series, gets high marks from me. It is fine fantasy, light romance, a good family drama, a little soapy, lots of court intrigue, some magic, a bit of murder and mayhem, a spot of assassination all woven with an undertone of humor.
Decided to re-read this series since the last time I was read it was 10 years ago. Remember really liking it and wondered if it would stand up. It does! Enjoyed it as much the second time and while I remembered some stuff, I'd forgotten enough that the reading was almost like new.
-----------------------------------
This is the second book in the Wolfblade Trilogy.
In the first book, Marla Wolfblade went from a naive young girl madly in love to a young (twice widowed) mother who learned the hard way to protect the life of her young son, Damin.
Damin is the heir to the High Princedom. The current High Prince is a feckless, pleasure seeking imbecile. Marla is the one who truly runs the country for her brother and she is keeping it in trust for her child. To do so, she must keep her brother alive her son alive while also training Damin on how to gain and use power. In this she gets help from her faithful servant, the dwarf Elezaar.
In this second book, we find the players many years later. Marla, we learn, has been widowed a third time and is currently in her fourth marriage. The last two marriages were strategic moves to gain power. She is still keeping Hythrun running smoothly. Her enemy, the Sorceress Alija is still trying to assassinate young Damin. In this book, Alija believes she has finally found the fool-proof method.
Meanwhile, the Wolfblade siblings,step siblings and cousins are all growing up. Damin is being taught the skills he'll need when he takes over the kingdom. His sister Kalan already exhibits the signs of the smart and fearless woman she'll be one day.
This is an excellent second installment in what has fast become one of my new favorite series. This second book focuses more on the children than on Marla. And the transition is a good one. Fallon does a great job of showing how Marla has built a foundation for her children for when they get older. She also does a great job of showing the sacrifices that a woman like Marla makes to ensure the safety and well being of her children. In this book we learn the Wolfblade children's personalities, warts and all. They are a charming, loyal and smart bunch.
One thing I really liked was the delicate game of cat and mouse being played between Marla and Alija. Alija is a formidable enemy, but she has no clue that Marla is onto her and has been for 8 years. Meanwhile Marla quietly and competently takes quiet protective measures. She is taking the "revenge served cold" adage to a whole new level. And the ending of this installment and Alija's realization of how well she's been played is delicious.
Like the first book, there are some shocking moments that surprise the reader. Fallon doesn't do the cliche thing and it is good. I like it when a writer doesn't follow old tired narrative tricks like false misunderstandings or making all the good guys infallible or making all the villains mustache twirlers. She takes a few left turns that keeps the action going and makes the story both exciting and even poignant.
She also has a very deft hand with humor. The dialogue is sparkling and often quite witty. It also sounds very natural. It is easy to "hear" two people who have known each other for years and comfortable with each other in her character dialogue.
So this book, this series, gets high marks from me. It is fine fantasy, light romance, a good family drama, a little soapy, lots of court intrigue, some magic, a bit of murder and mayhem, a spot of assassination all woven with an undertone of humor.
thiefofcamorr's review
5.0
I think I read this in about a day. I really can't put into words why I adore Fallon so much. Maybe because she was so lovely when we had lunch together. WHO KNOWS.
Fallon does characters so well. The development, the dialogue, the interaction. The best part is how you get an insight into all the different characters. It's what makes it all so good.
Need moooore.
Fallon does characters so well. The development, the dialogue, the interaction. The best part is how you get an insight into all the different characters. It's what makes it all so good.
Need moooore.
ashybear02's review
4.0
Definitely enjoyed this book more than any of the others in this series (including Demon Child). I thought the character dynamics and the different storylines were intriguing and easy to follow along. I felt anger at Mahkas and his denial over his own actions, saddened over the position he brought upon other characters and frustrated that no one else was able to see what an idiot he was. I felt frustrated (In a good way) over Alija and the inactive battle of wills between her and Marla. Damin is such a lovable young prince, and having read Demon Child first, I'm pleased to know of his outcome.
The other characters were great and likeable and I'm looking forward to picking up Warlord now, to see how everything ends!
The other characters were great and likeable and I'm looking forward to picking up Warlord now, to see how everything ends!
wild_night_in's review
5.0
Even better than the first book in the series! Oh my gosh, the thorny ending of this one has me champing at the bit to get hold of a copy of the last part of the trilogy!