She Dreams in Blood (The Obsidian Path #2) by Michael R. Fletcher

The main character is as fucked up as you’d ever expect your most hated book antagonist to be. Only this time, he’s not an antagonist. He’s the main character.

She Dreams in Blood reveals Khraen’s true self for all to see- a deluded self-loving, self-validating motherfucker.

The main character is as fucked up as you’d ever expect your most hated book antagonist to be. Only this time, he’s not an antagonist. He’s the main character.

After leaving his ethereal and spiritual stronghold, he continues his quest, freshly renewed and fortified.

The remaining obsidian pieces of his heart are littered across the continent, inhibited in the bodies of similarly evil-hearted proxies.

Our hero finds himself in a tenuous position, precariously teetering over a moral edge. He leans more towards evil than good, and we spend several pages examining his character, motivations, and choices.

On and on, the main character goes in this deep inquisition into the very quality of his soul as newer discoveries and knowledge surface.

I found much of the big reveals as surprising as they were grim. I’ll have to digress here not to give away unfortunate spoilers.

The plot is gripping and intense, with few interludes save for a few flashbacks. The writing style is easy enough, without overt flowery expressions to distract from what is a thoroughly engaging flow.

This is not a happy book. It’s prime bloodletting and gore come to feast with twisted characters you want to root for.

There’s reason to believe that this series is set in the same universe as one of the author’s other series (permit me to notice this for the first time).

Allow me to subsequently dive headfirst into the book 3’s ARC, An End To Sorrow, graciously provided by the author, whose stock is fast rising in the GrimDark subgenre.