Wrath of Empire (Gods of Blood and Powder #2) by Brian McClellan

There are all-out ferocious pitched battles, strategic maneuverings, individual duels, riots, and a two-person army slaughter.

A most impressive sequel.

It’s another great story, arguably better than Sins of Empire, good as that one was. The search is on for the remaining two godstones. Our heroes split in two different directions for more efficiency. Both parties are dogged by enemies all the way to their target. Each of the heroes has to deal with several issues: issues of revenge, trust, betrayal, greed, and above all, power. The spy in Landfall is tasked with a new quest, one that will bring even more betrayals, require incredible unscaled levels of espionage, as well as reveal numerous underlying plots and schemes.

The book is written from the POV of 3 main characters, Vlora Flint, Michel Bravis, and Ben Styke. From the off, it’s obvious the amount of effort the author puts into developing his characters, particularly Michel and Styke. Amid the heart-pounding adventures and unending danger, each character slowly comes to a sort of self-discovery. A kind of purpose finding. It’s quite interesting to read.

The fighting and action are as badass as you’d expect. There are all-out ferocious pitched battles, strategic maneuverings, individual duels, riots, and a two-person army slaughter. All very much exciting.

The plot takes several new turns in this book. The enemy remains the same, but the allies are blurred. There’s betrayal aplenty and a lot of unresolved loose threads here and there. There are old characters from Powder Mage Trilogy popping out of the blue, with their place in the conflict yet to be properly defined.

A solid five stars. This book lived up to my expectations, lived up to the hype. Good job, Brian.