A City of Ashes by Nick Snape
Blurb:
Some lies are hidden in plain sight…
With the Veil Dragon, Nathair, seemingly under the Spirit Captain's control, Laoch pushes away the grief of his first encounter with the metal beast and hunts for a weapon his new and distrusted ally insists they can use against the coming Constructor invasion.
While he scours the abandoned city of their soul-eating foe, Brandshold’s Queen prepares for the coming war. Now a major player in the Overseer’s deception of her people, she struggles under the burden of guilt, turning to the last person in her life she wanted to depend on.
And the Unspoken rises on the wings of her artifice dragon, spreading fear and burning all before her. In her wake, the people turn to the Seven Houses for solace, and their grip upon the realm tightens in preparation for the true enemy.
For an Emperor consumed by revenge has a new artifice, one that hungers to enslave and feed upon all that worship the Seven.
For cast in brass and spiritfire … the Kraken soulship rises.
For lovers of Andy Peloquin’s Darkblade series and the malice of Gwynne and Abercrombie, A City of Ashes is the second book in the dark and epic Warriors of Spirit and Bone series.
Review:
Honestly, dark fantasy doesn’t really get better than this…
Warriors of Spirit and Bone by Nick Snape has literally blown my mind away. It’s THAT good. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – it’s an INDIE GEM!
Book 1, A Dragon of the Veil, instantly became one of my fav. indie reads OAT. It was a swashbuckling debut by all means. And so it’s needless to say that I was super excited going into the sequel, with the concluding chapter to this epic trilogy coming out soon as well.
I’ll be forever grateful to Nick (or should I say professor Snape!?) for taking a chance on this nerd of a blogger-reviewer, and for sending physical ARCs my way to Mumbai all the way from the UK (that too at lightning fast speeds!).
What’s it about?
“… There is a darkness coming. One you have been shielded from in the past. It is time some of you knew the truth…”
This aforementioned quote alongside the blurb sums up book 2 quite perfectly!
That ending scene of book 1 is etched into my mind like a cinematic shot (and I like to compare it to a similar shot from one of the episode endings to House of the Dragon!).
Book 2 picks right after the events of its predecessor, and it just carries on with everything that I loved about the latter.
There are four different plotlines going on simultaneously from the start, and each one was just as intriguing as the others. The POV of the baddies was an awesome addition to the already established sub-plots from book 1. Tarin the Fleshmaster/Emperor, his “second” in command Popsilin who was not only brutal but a total bad*ss, and their powerfully destructive soul-drinking soulship… just wowzers! And although I felt that the politics/court drama and the stuff with the Houses was more prominent in book 2, it only added to the whole story/world in a great way.
I absolutely don’t wanna give anything more away, and hence I’ll keep this as it is.
BUT… here’s a little teaser –
"You ponder on whether there is an underlying reason. Perhaps there is. But do not take this as a mellowing, or forgiveness. In truth, I would not offer if I did not believe in the threat. Word comes of a village that was attacked a few nights past. One we had not heard from for a while - though this wasn't unusual. Death comes on dragon's wings, Sneed."
"That it does."
But far more than you think.
The good
I have to start with the rich lore and the superb worldbuilding. Simply amazing! Not only is it unique in its own way, but the way it’s integrated is so well done too. I’m highly impressed with it all! Then, the magic system… so much fun!
The characters are just so well-written throughout. There’s a varying degree of layers to them, and their backgrounds add up nicely to their development as well, be it the main guys or the baddies (or even the metal dragons!).
The writing has been very good indeed (third person; multi-POV). And to add to the massive credit of the author, he not only accepted the feedback from book 1, but also actually implemented the changes suggested by the readers for the same. Kudos!
The plot and the sub-plots have been a total joy ride from start to finish. There’s tons of action, drama, and politics to keep you engaged all the time. And it’s all adding up nicely for book 3!
The “not so” good
There weren’t any complaints for book 1, and there are any complaints for book 2. Simple.
But one thing I’ll say in all honesty – I enjoyed book 1 slightly more!
Highlights
I had to include this -
"Welcome to bloody Innealtóir, realm of freaks and madness," said Laoch, staring at the dead clockwork artifact. "Nice place to visit. Wouldn't want to stay too bloody long." He glanced up at the mountain man, his reddened face grim as he prodded at the mechanical monstrosity with his sword tip.
"And this is just the beginning." Oisin lifted the combination of shattered legs and steel pincers, eyes wide as he took in the complex innards spilling across the blade's edge. "Keran and Sura talked of creations much bigger than this."
"Like dragons-" Laoch stood and eyed the rest of the artificer's room, the worktables and piles of wire clippings all under a layer of dust. "--and the like. How many people do they need to feed off to empower each one?"
"I fear we will soon find out, to our detriment…"
Other info.
A map of Brandshold, like in book 1, is present at the start. I love it!
A cast of characters is also present which gives a quick recap of the events from book 1 wrt each of them. This was a great addition in my opinion.
A general terminology section was also present which not only explains the meaning of certain terms, but also explains the lore and info. about the world! Again, a superb addition.
Final thoughts
I will reiterate (and keep doing so) what I’ve mentioned at the start – dark fantasy doesn’t really get better than this INDIE GEM! You have fast-paced, non-stop action alongside politics and court drama, a really fun magic system, a great cast of characters, a rich world with a deep lore, soul-drinking baddies, and metal dragons… need I say more!? I hadn’t read any “arcanepunk” before, but this has simply blown me away. It’s simply too good, and needless to say that I’m highly impressed by it all! I just can’t recommend this series enough. An absolute MUST READ series whose final chapter in the trilogy is coming out soon… more of a reason why you must pick this up NOW!
