Justin Lee Anderson

4.75⭐

Absolutely bloody brilliant! Excellent character work. High stakes. Hard choices. Emotional rollercoaster.

Warning! Avoid book one ending spoilers like a plague. It will ruin your reading experience. This review will be as vague about what happened as possible.

I must admit that while the first book was very good all the way through, it was the ending that made it into an amazing one. Therefore, knowing that book two was unlikely to come up with something like that again, I felt a bit worried if it would live up to its prequel. I needn't have feared because it not only lived up to it, but in my mind, it completely took over the spotlight. It was an amazing book not only at the ending (which was spectacular by the way) but all the way through.

Following the events of the end of The Lost War, our group of adventurers is faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge. The stakes are sky high. I had to take breaks reading this book because of how tense it was. Obviously, such an atmosphere had an impact on our adventurers.

This is where the book truly shines. The characters really came alive when faced with impossible decisions. And of course, where there are decisions to be made, there are different opinions that eventually start clashing. The tenuous bonds that the group has made over their shared quest start to fracture. Especially when some morally grey choices have to be made.

The biggest focus was still on Aranok, and Samily also received a lot of attention, but Nirea came into the spotlight. She was probably the most generic character of the whole group in the prequel but this time the author really took care to develop her character.

I will cut this review short to keep it spoiler-free. If it sounds at all interesting, check out the prequel review where I go more into detail: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5931581506

This has been my top read of 2023. I will be eagerly waiting for the next two books in the series.

P.S. Thank you Justin Lee Anderson for providing us with a nice in-world recap. Although, personally, I will be re-reading the whole series before both of the upcoming sequels, anyway.

I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.… (plus d'informations)

The war for Eidyn may be over, but the horrors that follow are just beginning. Locked away in his prison of a castle, Mynygogg is a looming threat to the countryside. The King’s council has been sent to rescue a hidden queen to protect what territory they have stolen from Mynygogg. Among them is Aranok, the king’s advisor and a magic casting draoidh. As they venture towards the queen, Aranok learns that his hometown has been taken over by the blackened. Horrific creatures that spread disease and death by a simple touch. Aranok has the choice to follow his king’s orders or find his family. Heart wins over duty, and Aranok plunges into a journey that will him down a dark road. As the party divides, they will each encounter horrors leftover from the war and none will be the same as they were by the time their journeys end.

When you step into the world of The Lost War, you are enveloped in a rich high fantasy filled with magic, demons, and fantastic storytelling. I was worried at first with the number of main characters in the traveling party, but Justin Lee Anderson gives everyone their time to shine. As the characters struggle to understand the war-torn country, the reader will delve into the mistakes and horror the aftermath of war brings. The past for each character will be split wide open to show what they’ve experienced while fighting for their country, or simply trying to survive.

As I immersed myself in this book, I felt nostalgia at how much the novel felt like the Dragonlance Chronicles. A well-balanced party venturing out to do what they think is right, and never giving up even if there are difficult choices to make. And while there might not be dragons, there are plenty of demons and mutations the characters must face.

I want more of this world. I tore through this novel. Every spare moment I had, I read. There was never a dull moment, never a part where I felt the need to skim because it was useless information. Every word sinks you deeper into Eidyn and its heroes. You laugh, you cry, and you hold your breath as they battle for their belief in a better world.… (plus d'informations)