Take a photo of a barcode or cover
dark
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a rough read. The writing is technically stronger but the plot is worst and the thematic flaws are jarring.
So the second book gives us the insiders perspective on the Krasians from the eyes of Jardir, the head of the warriors and betrayer of Arlen from the last book. This means we recap Jardirs entire life from childhood up to after his betrayal of Arlen for half the book before we make any forward progress.
A few small gripes before the big stuff, this book decides that every time something from the past book is referenced the characters have to mentally recap what happened like I hadn't read that book as well, wasting my time. The constant whining from Arlen about not being the deliverer was tiresome. The demons really struggle to be any kinda threat at all as both main factions gain mass produced amounts of demon killing weaponry, until the last fights of the book which are both small scale and tense encounters with like 5 main combatants, so the demons are really just fodder now which is boring.
Alright, the biggest problem is that the miniscule amount of grace that could be given that the Krasian depiction from the first book is because of a biased outside observer is gone as the first half is painfully situated in Jardir's perspective. Jardir is one of the best of the Krasians morally and in terms of fighting ability and he's charitable, forgiving, cunning and compassionate. He is also a rapist, violently sodomizing his bully and rapist with a broken staff (that character then becomes his loyal bodyguard), a would-be wife-beater (bemoaning that he cannot control and beat and rape his wives because they are a special class of priestess), a traitor to his own true friend, a thief, leader of rapists and murderers, and a warmonger.
The Krasians are by and large sexists, seeing women as subservient and fit for breeding, xenophobic, seeing all others as weak cowards who follow the wrong god, rapists, to both weaker men and any woman they can, deeply superstitious and prone to backstabbing and betrayal. But they are also noble warriors, willing to die to kill demons with each warrior having multiple wives in order to keep their bloodline strong.
Its one of the most blatant and extreme Islamophobic and Orientalist pastiches I've seen in a work of fiction, seemingly using Edward Said's "Orientalism" as a checklist. The set dressing of their civilization with it's naming conventions and religious expressions and their place as a desert people are all deliberately meant to evoke the middle east.
The sexual violence is elevated from the already gratuitous to the omnipresent, with Jardir mentally noting during his sacking of a city that all the women inside will need to be raped and yet Jardir is also the only Krasian able to interact with or even see a woman without the threat or suggestion of sexual violence coming up. And they have a full half of the book.
The only slight saving ray of light is Abban, a merchant with a limp in a society where anyone who isn't a warrior is a failed warrior and can be beaten or even killed for any reason. He is constantly abused by all the other krasians, including sexual violence committed towards his family, and instead of being the violent rapistforeigner, he is the sly, cutthroat merchant type with a bit of a heart of gold, hardly a new stereotype.
The second half we catch up with the other characters but they were never strong enough to save this mess and the depictions of standard fantasy towns leans grimdark havens of sexual assault, with one of the small incest mentions from the last book being expanded into a multiple chapters with POV plot.
Its bad. If you love edgy grimdark shit then Im sure you like it, but I was racing through pages near the end to just finish it. Yikes, this made me decide against reading any more of the series.
So the second book gives us the insiders perspective on the Krasians from the eyes of Jardir, the head of the warriors and betrayer of Arlen from the last book. This means we recap Jardirs entire life from childhood up to after his betrayal of Arlen for half the book before we make any forward progress.
A few small gripes before the big stuff, this book decides that every time something from the past book is referenced the characters have to mentally recap what happened like I hadn't read that book as well, wasting my time. The constant whining from Arlen about not being the deliverer was tiresome. The demons really struggle to be any kinda threat at all as both main factions gain mass produced amounts of demon killing weaponry, until the last fights of the book which are both small scale and tense encounters with like 5 main combatants, so the demons are really just fodder now which is boring.
Alright, the biggest problem is that the miniscule amount of grace that could be given that the Krasian depiction from the first book is because of a biased outside observer is gone as the first half is painfully situated in Jardir's perspective. Jardir is one of the best of the Krasians morally and in terms of fighting ability and he's charitable, forgiving, cunning and compassionate. He is also a rapist, violently sodomizing his bully and rapist with a broken staff (that character then becomes his loyal bodyguard), a would-be wife-beater (bemoaning that he cannot control and beat and rape his wives because they are a special class of priestess), a traitor to his own true friend, a thief, leader of rapists and murderers, and a warmonger.
The Krasians are by and large sexists, seeing women as subservient and fit for breeding, xenophobic, seeing all others as weak cowards who follow the wrong god, rapists, to both weaker men and any woman they can, deeply superstitious and prone to backstabbing and betrayal. But they are also noble warriors, willing to die to kill demons with each warrior having multiple wives in order to keep their bloodline strong.
Its one of the most blatant and extreme Islamophobic and Orientalist pastiches I've seen in a work of fiction, seemingly using Edward Said's "Orientalism" as a checklist. The set dressing of their civilization with it's naming conventions and religious expressions and their place as a desert people are all deliberately meant to evoke the middle east.
The sexual violence is elevated from the already gratuitous to the omnipresent, with Jardir mentally noting during his sacking of a city that all the women inside will need to be raped and yet Jardir is also the only Krasian able to interact with or even see a woman without the threat or suggestion of sexual violence coming up. And they have a full half of the book.
The only slight saving ray of light is Abban, a merchant with a limp in a society where anyone who isn't a warrior is a failed warrior and can be beaten or even killed for any reason. He is constantly abused by all the other krasians, including sexual violence committed towards his family, and instead of being the violent rapistforeigner, he is the sly, cutthroat merchant type with a bit of a heart of gold, hardly a new stereotype.
The second half we catch up with the other characters but they were never strong enough to save this mess and the depictions of standard fantasy towns leans grimdark havens of sexual assault, with one of the small incest mentions from the last book being expanded into a multiple chapters with POV plot.
Its bad. If you love edgy grimdark shit then Im sure you like it, but I was racing through pages near the end to just finish it. Yikes, this made me decide against reading any more of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder
Moderate: Rape