In this stunning conclusion to N. E. Davenport’s fast-paced, action-packed sci-fantasy duology, elite warrior Ikenna and her rogue cohort must outrun bounty hunters, their former comrades, and a megalomaniacal demi-god, all in the hopes of saving their friends and enemies from the racist and misogynistic oppression that threatens the continents from all sides.
After discovering the depth of betrayal, treachery, and violence perpetrated against her by Mareen’s Tribunal Council and exposing her illegal blood-gift to save her Praetorian squad, Ikenna becomes a fugitive with a colossal bounty on her head.
Yet, somehow, that’s the least of her worries.
Her grandfather’s longtime allies refuse to offer help, and the Blood Emperor’s Warlord is tracking her. She’s also struggling to control the enormous power she was granted by the Goddess of Blood Rites…and come to terms with the promises she made to get such power.
Amidst all of this, the Blood Emperor wages a full-scale invasion against Mareen and leaves a trail of decimated cities, war crimes, and untold death in his wake. As the horrors increase, Ikenna and her team realize they must assassinate the Blood Emperor and quickly end the war. But the price to do so is steep and has planet-shattering consequences.
The price to do nothing, though, is annihilation.
War has erupted. Alliances are fracturing. And Ikenna is torn between her loyalties, her desires for revenge, and the power threatening to consume her. With the world aflame, only one thing is certain: blood will be spilled.
My Review
I enjoyed this book. I stayed up all night reading it. This may not be the most coherent review due to lack of sleep. Seriously, I sat down at half eight last night to read a few chapters before bed and realised I read all night when it started getting light, and finished reading the book at 6:03 a.m., and was stunned for a few moments. I have the Illumicrate Exclusive Edition which has blue edges and a red cover. It matches/contrasts with my Illumicrate Exclusive Edition of The Blood Trials. I also reviewed that book as part of the blog tour and was excited to find out what happened next.
The book begins some short time after the end of The Blood Trials; Ikenna and her team have spent time among the northern Microstates trying to gain allies for their war against both the Blood Emperor and the Tribunal of Mareen, but aren’t having much luck. They turn to a criminal syndicate for the means to fight their war, but don’t get to spend long with their new ally because they get attacked by Praetorians from Rhysian War House and mercenaries.
Eventually, they end up in the hands of Ajani, the Apis of Accacia – the second in command of the Blood Emperor, Nkosi. Ikenna and Ajani do not get on well, but for the good of Iludu, they make an agreement to work together long enough to kill Nkosi and put Ajani on the throne of Accacia. Ikenna doesn’t trust Ajani and assumes he’s going to kill her when he gets a chance, and Ajani doesn’t do much to reassure anyone on her team.
After a traumatic encounter with Krashna, the ancient god of Mareen, and being saved by Kissa, the goddess of Kanai, Ikanna learns that she needs to commune with her goddess, Amaka, to gain more control of her powers, but she doesn’t listen and things start to go very wrong with their plans. Eventually, Ikenna listens and comes into her power and learns that she is more than just a blood-gifted warrior. Her ancestry is more complex than that.
This is sci-fantasy. The cultures are technologically advanced but also use magic, some of the countries are stratified societies and monarchies, and most have a difficult relationship with religion. I quite enjoy this mix of magic and technology.
Ikenna and Darius’s relationship develops and their conversations addressing their personal issues is one of the best parts of the book. The fights are really fun too. Ikenna is slowly developing as a person, she is still often childish but has moments of maturity which improve her as a character. The team are becoming a cohesive unit, and they survive repeated attempts on their lives, from both the Mareen Republic and the Accacian Empire, as they try to gather allies to reset the planet.
The latter chapters which cover the war with the Tribunal and Ikenna’s revenge on Selene Rhysian and her family, feels a bit rushed. I can see a further series where Ikenna and the Invictus squad fight the gods, and Selene and Enoch team up to give Ikenna problems.
This is really two books squished into one, and it would have been best to end it at page 291, and then have the events after the death of Nkosi and the rearrangement of the world in a third book. The war against the Tribunal and the battle at the Krashna’s Citadel should have been the a third book. I don’t think this is the author’s fault, but a publishing decision. I would love to see Nia Davenport get a chance to write the two novels this was meant to be.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 