We Cry for Blood

With all the same perspectives as the previous books, we finally get to the crux of why the “storm” ever happened in the first place. The religion of the One True God has been spoken about constantly and run through the books until this point, but remained in the back seat until the latter half of book two. Now the curtain rises on Act Two and the religion of the One True God becomes a main point in the plot and focus of multiple perspectives.

But with the revelation about Leo, we also see the return of the Chiltaens to the fray – the force that initially enslaved the exiled Levanti and forced them to fight against Kisia – along with a Horse Whisperer of the Levanti who has been exiled for unknown reasons. There seems to be connections between these two and the One True God, both friendly and antagonistic.

The amount of smaller mentions in previous books that come back to be referenced makes the journey all-the-more satisfying, especially when we have been waiting for answers on much of it. A lot of what has happened in previous books is also re-contextualised with the knowledge we now have, adding extra depth and reflection to what we've already read.

While thus far focus has been more on individual characters and their movements with some touching on the war and politics, here we start to see the pieces move in the grand game this time around. Allegiances are thrown into question, armies are on the march and everyone is more fractured than they have ever been.

With one final book left in the series, we're provided with just as many new wrinkles as we are with answers and the state of the final book won't start on quite the landscape I expected, but brings promise of more good things to come (for the readers, at least).