Synopsis
War has erupted in the Banished Lands as the race for power intensifies.
Corban flees his homeland searching for peace, but he soon discovers that there is no haven in the west as the agents of Rhin and roaming bands of giants hound his every step.
Veradis leaves the battleground and rushes to his King’s side. But he has witnessed both combat and betrayal and his duty weighs heavily upon him.
Maquin seeks only revenge, but pirate slavers and the brutal world of pit-fighting stand in his way.
Nathair becomes embroiled in the wars of the west as Queen Rhin marches against King Owain. The need to find the cauldron of the giants drives him on.
Quick Thoughts
When I picked up the second book in John Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen series, I was fairly excited to continue on this journey. Malice had started the series with an engaging epic fantasy adventure that presented modernized versions of many classic tropes of the genre and established an interesting, Norse mythology inspired world. I was excited to see where Gwynne took his flagship series next, what he would do with the many plot threads and designs he had set up in book one. Luckily, I am happy to report that this installment does everything a second book in a fantasy series should aspire to do.
Valor doubles down on everything that worked in book one and then some. Gwynne goes darker and more epic, building out a world and mythos for his series that steps out of any lingering shadows cast by its predecessors and fully into its own identity. From the battles to the lore, from the characters to the stakes, Valor takes all the pieces Gwynne set up in book one and fleshes them out fully. The book instills the series with more depth, more weight, and more of a sense of direction. For readers who enjoyed Malice, Valor will absolute cement your love for the series and leave you dying to continue following these characters on their epic journey.
Full Review (Spoilers for Malice)
Valor begins right where Malice left off, with Corban fleeing his homeland with a ragtag group of survivors, desperate, and looking for any hope of salvation. I think that premise best sums up what made the second installment in The Faithful and the Fallen so effective. Where the first book was well written but had pacing issues and struggled somewhat to find its footing, book hits the ground running and moves through its plot with a confident stride that marks a notable improvement. The tension is kept higher, the characters and their development are more of a central focus, and the plot is far more fleshed out, giving the reader more to latch on to as they move through this strange and dangerous world with the protagonists.
The most notable change between the books is the pacing. While Malice often felt like it was retreading old ground over and over again, Valor seems to trust the audience more, moving from location to location and plot point to plot point and trusting its readers to keep up. Similarly, the world expands in scope rapidly in this book, moving beyond the wreckage of Dun Carreg and giving the reader a better understanding of who and what is involved in the growing conflict. While this gives the reader a lot to keep up with, at no point does Gwynne’s writing become overly confusing or difficult to keep up with. Rather, it feels like a natural growth of the story along with its central characters.
In terms of character development, thankfully we gain a lot in that department. Corban goes through massive developments, leaving behind the boy that we were introduced to in book one in favor of a protagonist that is thoughtful and compelling. Many of the other characters benefit from further development as they are put through danger and trauma and must come to grips with their new reality. Gwynne does an excellent job of not letting his characters remain static, but rather allows them to grow and change in ways that feel natural given their circumstances. And given how much things
The final thing that the second book manages to do is to fully develop the series own identity going forward. While Malice was definitely unique in it’s Norse inspirations and worldbuilding, in many ways it felt like a retelling of traditional epic fantasy tropes. Valor goes darker, creating a true feeling of dread and a deep sense that its main characters are in real peril. This is made even more impactful with the heavy emphasis Gwynne places on familial connections and legacy within his story. With the death of Corban’s father Thannon looming over the main cast, the stakes feel all the realer, with a tangle of complex emotions underscoring every major decision the characters make.
All-in-all, I had a great time with the second installment in this series and was left wanting to immediately dive into the next book. If you enjoyed Malice and want more of Gwynne’s mythology inspired worldbuilding, realistic feeling characters, and epic plots, Valor won’t disappoint!
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