Reviews

Blood Upon The Sand by Bradley P. Beaulieu

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willrefuge's review against another edition

4.0

I'll have to read this again later. I think I'll like it more.

4.4 / 5 stars.

Twelve Kings in Sharakai was one of my favorite books of all time. With Blood Upon the Sand is a departure from the original book in more ways than one, but keeps the tone of the series. There’s more sand, more Çeda, and more Sharakai. However, in WBUtS, we finally venture outside the desert city of Sharakai, from the surrounding caravanserai of the Shangazi down to the sun-washed shores of Qaimir. All the POV characters return from the first book, with one additional (but not necessarily new) character joining the cast.

While TKiS was one of my all time favorite books, I really think I made a mistake in reading these two back-to-back. I read the first Song of the Shattered Sands back in 2015, and since I start or continue maybe a dozen plus new series a year, I thought I could use a refresher. But… well, this turned out to be problematic. WBUtS didn’t have the same pacing as TKiS; it was slower, more complex, more measured. It’s unfair to compare the two—no matter that they’re in the same series, no matter that one precedes the other—but that’s what I found myself doing. And this kept me from getting into WBUtS, kept me from racing through it quite as quickly.

accidentalmuse's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

(Note, this was a reread for me)

Book 2 was just as engaging as the 1st, more so really. We get to see a lot more internal conflict with Ceda - between her old life and new; her goals and the extremes her 'allies' are willing to go to get there; her getting to see what the violence looks like from the other side. It was all incredibly interesting stuff, and makes you sympathise with characters on all sides. It's amazing when I come to understand or even empathise with the 'bad' character too - it makes the stakes feel all the higher for it.

There were some aspects of Ceda I found frustrating, name her struggle with the Asirim. Ceda is an incredibly astute and capable character, yet she kept falling for the same mistakes when it came her bond with the Asirim. She's a character who may be impulsive, but does have good emotional control, so it felt annoying to see her not learn from past experience.

The other thing about Ceda which irked me, is I wish she showed more resistence to the moonless host. It was something interesting about her character in book 1, and gave guidance to her moral compass - she and the moonless host may share goals, but she was firmly against the violence and fanatacism they recruited to get there. Yet in this book she seemed far happier to work with those she previously wouldn't - and there wasn't any internal monologue to suggest it bothered her. As such, I really don't understand where her bond with Emre is going. In book 1 they felt like they were clearly on diverging paths, which could lead to incredibly interesting writing in the remainder of the series, but now I'm not sure where the destination is.

peterkeep's review against another edition

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2.0

I had some complaints about pacing and repetition from the first book, but they were mostly covered up due to my enjoyment of the story.

I think they were amplified here. There were still a lot of REALLY slow sections. There was still a lot of repetition and redundancy. There were a few times when characters just act completely different than we're told they normally do.

One frustrating scene that sums it up for me: Çeda goes to meet with at an arranged place because they agreed to share information about Emre, but when she gets there they end up talking about other stuff instead. Huh?

I like the general premise but it's just not enough to keep me going through this kind of book. I've had a hard time with longer books like this, so I might take a break and read something lighter....

venoregard's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

skycrane's review against another edition

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4.0

I read With Blood Upon the Sand right after reading the first book in the series, and the sequel's even better. If you liked Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, you should read this.

Near the very end of Twelve Kings, Cheda joins the Blade Maidens, a major shift in her vendetta against the kings. Lots of new characters are introduced, and Cheda has opportunity to learn far more about the kings and their history now that she works for them. My one complaint about that book was that this shift isn't explored much before the end. The sequel completely rectifies that.

Now we get a whole book where Cheda is in hiding among the elite warriors of the regime she is attempting to overthrow. She has to balance pursuing her goal with keeping her cover, and all the while she comes to respect and even care about the Blade Maidens whom she used to despise. It's very good setup, both building on the foundation of the first while also taking a departure into new territory. I feel like the action in this book builds towards the conclusion more consistently, with fewer sudden leaps.

There are more chapters about side characters in this book, and fewer flashback chapters (or at least it feels that way—I haven't actually gone back and counted). I think this is a good change, since the flashbacks never really felt that instructive. I think I got a better idea about Cheda's relationship with her mother from the way she thinks about her as an adult than from the actual memories. The placement of the different types of chapters feels well-paced. Usually each section about Cheda will be several chapters long, with a break for one or two chapters about other characters. The points where different plot threads intersect feel particularly well constructed.

Cheda's character arc has some problems. Starting early on, and continuing from the last book, her major flaw is established as a lack of self-control, and thus her growth is dependent on her ability to learn patience. However, there really aren't enough negative consequences for her impulsiveness. She acts rashly on many occasions, but it usually works out well for her, and when it doesn't, someone else is there to help her. It feels like Cheda doesn't have much of a personal arc—she learns to control her emotions better, but she doesn't really have to sacrifice anything, confront her flaws, or make many difficult decisions.

As a whole, this is a very good book. The characters who were developed in the first book are now placed into new circumstances, and it's fun reading about how they deal with it. We get to see Sharakhai from the perspective of the ruling class, and Cheda has become (at least on the surface) one of the oppressors she hates.