Sworn in Steel by Douglas HulickGenre: Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of Tales of the Kin
Publisher: Roc (May 6, 2014)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Mogsy's Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
At last, Sworn in Steel is in my hands and the days of wondering when this book will be released have finally come to an end. And it was absolutely worth the wait! Three years ago, at a time when I was just starting to get back into the Fantasy genre, I decided to pick up a debut novel from a fresh new talent and really enjoyed his fun little yarn about a gang of thieves and scoundrels. With this book Douglas Hulick shows he has come a long way since Among Thieves, with a sequel that is even bigger, better and packed with more fun than the original.
How is that possible, you ask? I mean, in the first novel, the main character Drothe managed to kill a legend, rise to the top of the underworld to become the newest Gray Prince, and burned down a good portion of the imperial capital while he was at it. How on earth do you top that?
Well, if you’ve met Drothe, then you would know he’s always up for a challenge. Even if it’s just to outdo himself. “In way over your head” isn’t even in his vocabulary; I seriously love this guy. Three months into his tenure of criminal overlord with barely a following to his name, Drothe is already the target of the other Gray Princes and has been framed for the murder of one of them. Someone obviously wants his attention. So Drothe finds himself traveling to the faraway land of Djan, where Imperials like him are less than welcome, all to find an old friend and seek redemption for the oaths he has broken. And who says thieves have no honor?
Drothe ends up doing quite a number on the Despotate of Djan. But Djan ends up doing quite a number on Drothe too. I’ve said this before with Among Thieves but I think it deserves saying again with Sworn in Steel: Douglas Hulick takes the idea of “something interesting must happen in every chapter” and takes that to the max. Drothe’s life is a hectic roller coaster ride that simply does not stop, and the safety restraints are for suckers. Perhaps because of this, these novels put me in mind of the urban fantasy tone and writing style, despite their traditional high fantasy setting. If Drothe and Harry Dresden have one thing in common it’s that neither of them gets anywhere near enough sleep.
Again, there will be twists and surprises aplenty, but I find the storytelling is a lot more refined and streamlined in Sworn in Steel. There was one ambitious plot twist in the first book that didn’t particularly work for me (though, it was one of those classic “Oh Drothe you sneaky, glorious bastard you” moments) but there was none of that awkwardness here. All the different pieces of the plot came together beautifully, and I’m treated to a new world with new characters and new agendas, all of which made the mystery and intrigue in this book so delightfully compelling. I loved being introduced to the culture, peoples, and magic of Djan, and seeing Drothe out of his comfort zone and frantically coming up with his crazy schemes to regain the upper hand was just the cherry on top. There’s also an assassin character making their first appearance in this that I would be very excited to see again! All in all, the book has done a stellar job expanding the world and the characters we know in the Tales of the Kin. Like I said: bigger and better.
Ask yourself, do you enjoy your fantasy with some kick? Do you like rich, twisty plots that always keep you guessing? Do you feel you need more scoundrels in your life? If you answer yes to these then you should definitely check out these books.
A review copy of this book
was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Penguin/Roc Books!
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Nothing like burning down half a city ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, Drothe Drothe Drothe...I'm shaking my head at you but in my mind I'm going "Way to go!" :P
DeleteI don't think I know this one but wow you wait a lot for it, it's impressive! I think Fantasy is always a little bit tricky for me so I don't read a lot of them but it's true that some are really great. And it's perfect I confess when the second book is better than the first one right? I'll have to check book one out. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, though if you enjoy urban fantasy you might feel right at home with these books, like I said they have that fun and adventurous feel and the protagonist is definitely humorous and snarky!
DeleteI just added both of these this morning. I thought they looked really good before, but if book 2 rates a 4.5, I'm even further convinced ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, and I was so looking forward to it too, so I was thrilled. Three years of waiting for book 2, I'm so glad it's finally here :D
DeleteWow! This series sounds pretty epic, and the fact that it keeps getting better with each installment is a double bonus. I might give them a go, thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteCarmel @ Rabid Reads
Those are the best kind of series ;-)
DeleteFriggen blogger eating my comments. I will try again tommorrow.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBlogger must be ravenous, it ate my comments too. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to this one and am so excited to hear it's not just as good as Among Thieves, but even better.
I really hope you'll enjoy it!
DeleteI agree so much about the way the pieces came together in this one, I loved how Drothe was able to cleverly get things to work ;-) Hopefully we won't have to wait as long for the next one!
ReplyDeleteOh man this just sounds so freaking fun. My preorder just shipped and I am so excited to read the first. Sneaky bastard ftw!
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