Blurb:
I am the weapon.
Eskara is free of the Pit, but far from safe. She is beset by the ghosts of those she has killed, and plagued by the ancient horror that possesses her. Enemies dog her heels, determined to see the last Orran Sourcerer dead. Worse still, there is new player in the game, one far more dangerous than anything she has faced before.
But there is one place that might offer her both the safety she needs to survive, and the power she needs to strike back; Ro’shan, the flying home of a God.
Eska will soon learn that all power comes with a cost, and some prices are too high.
My Thoughts:
Eskara is an unforgettable character. Here’s my first line from my review of Along the Razor’s Edge, “There’s anger…. and there’s thrown-into-the-Pit-by-the-enemy-to-dig-maze-like-tunnels-til-infinity hatred.” I was glued to those pages as she lived 40+ stories underground. She emerges out of The Pit after ten years of mind-bending and back-breaking torture… some has been committed upon her and some she has doled out herself. But now the scene changes and the reader finds an Eskara who doesn’t find the immediacy of The Pit. She is now without a minder, guard, or overseer; she only has her friends and a head that has changed and evolved from her original purpose.
Now she is adrift and the book starts off a bit more cerebral than the tone of the first episode. Granted, she still needs to dodge the assassins sent out to return her to The Pit, but she is good enough and receives enough help to remain free until she finds an option… The city of Ro’shan: a floating city where she gains sanctuary, but with strings attached. Everyone wants something from her, as usual.
Thus, you find the core of the series. A riveting central character who adapts to her new settings, but never, never allows that manipulative world to change her. And this makes me look forward to reading the final book. I anticipate an ultimate test of Eskara’s character.
This is the third book I’ve read by Hayes, and I can guarantee it won’t be my last. He is a gifted writer when it comes to dynamic characters and worldbuilding. Each book gave me a different type of escape (each one desperately needed in these times!). Yet, each was a journey that I will not forget.
Tip: Once you return to Book 2 it might be a good idea to review the magic system from the series. Hayes helps out the reader here: https://www.robjhayes.co.uk/extras/ .
4.5 out of 5 stars
Thank you to the author for a copy for review.
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