Rating – 9.5/10
Synopsis:
One breath. One jump. One death.
The Known World is in peril once again. Old grudges are made anew and settled only on the battlefield, with threads of smoke flowing in the air.
Gimlore saved her town and her family, and she has even learned that trusting people may not always be a bad thing. But with ancient powers stirring, her whole world is shaken again, and the pains of the past come back stronger than ever.
Rednow’s retirement plan was successful but didn’t last long. He is both in the eye of the storm, and the storm itself. Blessed or cursed by powers he wants to reject, he questions whether the faith everyone seems to deposit in him is even warranted. After all, he’s still just an old man with bad lungs.
Orberesis blossoms under the tutelage of a new master and awakens ancient, forgotten arts. He rose from thief to the impersonator of a god, and now true divinity might just be well within his grasp.
Review:
Seeds of War was right at the top my best books of 2023 and I thoroughly enjoyed the prequel novella Ruins of Smoke. So it’s safe to say that I had high expectations when it came to Thorns of War…..
Well, he’s only gone and done it! João has delivered a supercharged tour de force and very worthy successor to Seeds of War. All the elements I loved have returned tenfold in Thorns of War, unique characters, magic system, epic battles, original world building and riding roughshod over my emotions… check, check, check, check and check!
The story opens shortly after the events of Seeds of War and whilst initially it seems the world is recovering in relative calm that doesn’t last long…
Character arcs are a real strength in Thorns of War, and they truly drive the narrative of the story. I can’t go into details for fear of spoilers but the journeys these characters undertake both physically and within themselves are truly epic and terrifying in equal measure. For some their circumstances improve incredibly whilst others are pulled down so far you wonder whether they can ever recover. A particular favourite of mine undergoes such a profound change that they are unrecognisable for much of the book. Not to give anything further away but some characters don’t make it so be prepared to have those emotions played with.
There some reasonably heavy themes in the book – trauma, loss, motherhood, guilt, grief, redemption, and brutally honest battles with mental health. But the way in which they are treated and the fact that no matter how desperate circumstances our protagonists just refuse to give up really helps to drive the story forward and keep the reader engaged.
As with his earlier work, João does a great job of weaving diversity into the story. This is not done as lip service but rather serves to enrich the narrative. We have dysfunctional but loving family relationships, cultures and races setting aside differences. Not to mention an easy going acceptance of sexuality and gender alongside your less typical older / middle characters who kick as well or better than their juniors.
World building is another incredibly impressive part of this book. João takes the foundations laid by Seeds of War and Ruins of Smoke and really treats the reader to something special. The breadth of world building is seriously impressive and the strands from the previous books are expertly drawn into this story. The revelations of two main characters in particular are truly impressive and elevate the series well above its peers. These revelations also expand the unique smoke based magic system in ways that this reader wasn’t expecting. The Smokesmiths and their unique magic really comes to the fore in this story and develops into something really exceptional.
And as you would expect from the previous books the battle scenes are next level, the way in João ratchets up the tension and the scale of these as the story develops, is simply dazzling. You can really appreciate the groundwork and “seeds” laid down in the first two books as Thorns hurtles towards its epic showdown at the end of the book.
As reader who loved the earlier books it was really satisfying to see how well João tied everything together. Thorns of War is no mere placeholder in the series, instead it takes the foundations of the previous books and propels the story to new levels. I really can’t wait to see what comes next!
Thanks to João for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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