by Matthew Zorich, book two of The Conspiracy of Crows trilogy
Summary:
Helena Catseye escapes the grip of Counselor City only to find anguish heading west, hounded by Jared Blackheart’s Gentle Monks.
Prince Damon assigns his personal guard, Austin Casting, a mission to retrieve an artifact in the Blightbriar Mountains. He and the Holy Imperium’s Expeditionary Force marches into the shadow of a mythical fortress and an unknown adversary.
Duncan and the rest of the Bastards of Liberty attend a funeral causing relationships to fracture.
Slavers, merchants, thieves, and delinquents meet in the city of Affectus, hoping a shaky alliance of rivals and a document will protect them from Prince Damon’s retribution.
All of Vineland nobility attends the Triumphant Masquerade in Hudson City to celebrate the Holy Imperium and its arrogant ruler.
On the horizon, a Maiden arises.
Review:
Maiden of Storms is a very ambitious story, that’s for damn sure, maybe too ambitious at times. It’s epic in scope and impressive in scale, a book bursting at the seams with characters and plots upon plots upon plots.
Immediately picking up after the riot (an analog for the Boston Massacre) the fallout continues between the Holy Imperium (British Empire) and the natives (Americans). Revolution begins, characters die, articles of proclamation are written, parties are overthrown. Did I mention characters die? Yeah, like a lot of characters.
Speaking frank, there are so many characters in this book that it’s sometimes difficult to remember who they are, especially since this book uses 3rd person omniscient POV. All the head hopping does make it difficult to connect to any character as there really isn’t a ton of space here for introspection. And aside from Alysha (more on her below), the main cast from book one is almost sidelined. I will admit that was my biggest quibble with this book, as I wish we spent more time with Duncan, Angus, Cordial, Grey Jim, etc. Yes, they have their plot points, but they took a backseat and I’m not sure we could connect enough to some of the other characters who took precedence.
That said, Alysha’s arc was phenomenal. She was my favorite plot arc in book 1 and it continues here in Maiden of Storms (the literal goddess who helps her and speaks to her and gives her strength). Not only does she get her butt handed to her constantly throughout her flight, but she still had moments of badassness with a sweet maul/axe that she uses with aplomb. But her friendship with Helena (who also became a personal fave here) is so refreshing and engaging. Totally shipping them. I’m very intrigued in both their story’s conclusion.
There are a ton of battles in this book and the action is intense. Like I said earlier, characters bite the dust in crazy numbers, some we just meet. The action can be hectic at times but I think that works well since battles are hectic. It was also fun to see a character named after me take a crossbow bolt to the chest and fall off a bridge!
As with the first book, I love the American Revolution analog. We basically have the Boston Tea Party (at Bawstone Keep). We get some comparable battles from the Revolution. We have our corrupt Prince Damon, aka King George. We have our underground printing presses passing out pamphlets. We have a number of different militia groups coming together. We have our General Washcreek agreeing to becoming the leader of the rebels. Just a lot of fun historical tidbits.
If you need yourself some American Revolution style stories with elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and more, then give this series, The Conspiracy of Crows, a shot!
Find out more about Maiden of Storms!
Bill Adams
During his collegiate days at the turn of the century, he began to develop his passion for writing, especially within the epic fantasy genre about unlikely heroes. It was there, Bill began to formulate the story that would eventually become Ashe’s unwanted journey and The Divine Godsqueen Coda.
Aside from writing, Bill loves movies and reading, especially SFF B-movies. He likes to know all the useless trivia, like who played who, and what the stories were behind the curtain. He is a master at Scene It. Bill’s few other hobbies include soccer, a good whiskey, a slice of pizza, and growing a beard. It is the little things he enjoys most.
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