Synopsis:
Centuries have passed since the lauded Battle King defeated the vampyr hordes and ended the Years of Blood, but the memories on both sides are long, and some grievances are not so easily set aside. Humans and vampyrs coexist in an uneasy peace, but no peace lasts forever.
And for Bail Neren, there has never been peace. He is a Turned. Not fully vampyr, but no longer human. Hated and reviled by both sides of the divide, his very existence is a constant struggle to survive.
But Bail longs for more, and when he’s offered the chance of a lifetime, there’s more at stake than just his own survival. Already an accomplished smuggler, he must now turn his hand to becoming a master assassin, leading his fellow Turned on a deadly mission to stop a dangerous coup.
To survive, he will have to learn to work alongside other Turned. To succeed, he will have to learn to trust them. And only in doing both will he have a chance of securing the one thing that matters most to him; his humanity.
Review:
I loved Hunter’s Lament by Steve Pannett, so when this book came out in a new series, I just had to get it. Whereas Hunter’s followed a bounty hunter named Bitter Sweet through the trials and tribulations of a grim and, let’s say it, bitter choice, the Sins of Steel and Shadow follows the path of three Turned through the trials and tribulations of a grim and bitter choice. Yeah. I’m a sucker for it, I know. Sucker being the operative word, as The Turned are stuck halfway between being human and vampyr. Subjected to a ritual, they are now shunned by both sides of that coin. Hated by humanity, reviled by vampyrs, few survive for very long, and those that do have become inward, selfish creatures looking simply to survive.
It’s a grim setup, and ripe for exploitation. Bail is the central MC with Vesca, a female Turned, acting as a foil and occasional POV. Where he longs to be human, she looks to the vampyr side. They are offered a pact, one that could see them both get their wish as a magicker and adviser to the king offers them hope. The catch? Assassination. And from here, with Merle, another turned, in the mix, the story follows their trail as they attempt to fulfil their pact. From drug dens to brothels, forest hunts and cathedrals, the action is grim, fast-paced and keeps the reader engaged throughout. Pannett doesn’t overcomplicate, setting the scenes with fluid prose and drawing you into the action, so you feel you are there.
Amid all the rush of action, you do long for more complexity to the plot, but somehow, I think Pannett is leading us into his world. That the machinations and politics we glimpse will darken Bail and Vesca’s future, and I, for one, will be there.
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