Title:
Blood of the ChosenAuthor: Django Wexler
Publication Date: Oct 5, 2021
Genres: Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Male/Female
Blood of the Chosen is the second book of the Burningblade & Silvereye trilogy and the rare middle book that stands up to its predecessor.
I think what I enjoyed most about this second book was the way Django Wexler took us out into the world and allowed us to explore more of life outside the extremes of Order and the (literal) underground rebellion. We get to see how people live amidst plaguespawn without centarchs and legions to protect (and oppress) them. It takes us farther from the Star Wars feel and deeper into the realms of epic fantasy, and it provides us with some fantastic set pieces for conflict.
With the characters already established, we also get to explore more of their relationships, and that means Maya and Beq get to be a genuine couple, and that fills me with joy. We also get to experience a new side of Elariel, with the ghoul transformed into a human as punishment for her involvement with Gyre. The outsider-struggling-to-be-human is a tired trope of the SFF genre, but I liked that Wexler did with it here, getting past the awkwardness early on and allowing her to grow as a character.
With Gyre and Maya already established as reluctant antagonists, this second volume delves deeper into the mythology of their world, introducing new saviors, new conspiracies, new threats, and new alliances. There's a lot going on behind the scenes, with the number of characters we can trust dwindling quickly, and it all leads up to the reveal of the 'big bad' villain whose mad quest for vengeance and domination is set up to drive the final book. The siblings get time for the conversations we've been waiting for and, as I suspected, reader allegiances are invited to shift between them all over again.
There are a few weaknesses in the book that, to be honest, I only notice now because of patterns established in the first book. Some plot development are telegraphed far too soon, some twists are entirely too predictable, and the prevalence of coincidence or deus ex machina is disappointingly strong. In the end, though, I enjoyed the book too much to let any of it bother me, leaving me quite content to read along and discover the 'why' and the 'how' beneath the 'what'.
With Emperor of Ruin coming later this month, I'm glad I had to chance to get caught up with the series. It's a fun read, well-written, and nicely paced, with characters you want to follow and cheer for -perhaps even more now that we've gotten to know them. I have high hopes for the finale, with a few things I'm really hoping we get to see.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
