Golly, I mean, I know I promised I'd review all three of the extant books in this series once this third installment was out, but ... I still don't know how I feel about these books, even though I certainly keep consuming them. I was a garbage fire of a fan of Orientalist literature as a kid, and I snapped up *all* the problematic desert fantasies I could find (and that my parents would allow), a reign of problematic readings that lasted until I picked up "Dune" and suddenly couldn't ignore everything that torqued me off so hard about that book. But we're not here to debate the problematicness of bygone books, are we? The relevant questions here are twofold: (1) Is Beaulieu's "Song of Shattered Sands" Orientalist or otherwise appropriative of Middle- and Near-Eastern cultures? And (2) if it is, should I make a point of calling that out in a review, or perhaps change my problematic reading habits? The answers are, in both cases, a soft "yes." There's a lot of cultural appropriation going on in Beaulieu's universe, and much as I'd like to pretend I'm a good person, I really and truly crave richly imagined fantasies set in desert wastes. There's also a lot to love here, and a lot that I'm still torn up over. For example, is Beaulieu's Strong Female Character™ just as emblematic of the Male Gaze™ as those earlier stereotypes of the Madam and the Madonna, the Mother and the Fainting Maiden? Probably. But it walks close to the line, and I *want* to enjoy these books, so I'm an unreliable reviewer. (Yes, that's a lot of capitalization. Forgive me.) I enjoy these books, tentatively, but I probably wouldn't recommend them for readers whose enjoyment is contingent upon clearer answers to the aforementioned questions.

A Veil of Spears continues the fantastical excitement I’ve grown to expect from this series, starting immediately from where With Blood Upon the Sand left off. If ever there was an under read, under recommended series, I really think this is it. It has so much to offer and is so well written, I am always surprised I don’t hear it discussed more. Reading this book just reinforced that.

The Moonless Host has taken a huge hit, but instead of giving up, Çeda devises a plan to try and deal another blow to the Kings, one that might not require so much manpower. Çeda is squarely in the sites of the kings as a threat, and so she needs to evade them while also continuing to scheme against them. The one thing she has going for her is that the kings no longer all trust each other. Divisions are forming, and if they don’t stand and work together, then taking them down will be, if not yet easy, at least less daunting. The divisions can create opportunities, which Çeda can not afford to not take.

Since there are more moving parts, all of which have been set up very well, I felt like there is less focus on Çeda’s personal quest for vengeance in this book. Honestly, focusing solely on that might get old and start to feel artificial, so this is a good thing. But the side effect is that it also feels less personal. I am so invested in Çeda and love feeling her motivations for everything. And I am in no way suggesting there is not still plenty of Çeda in this, or that she has lost sight of her original goal of taking down the kings. Just that more people, more political intrigue make it a more complex story. Which, again, is a good thing. I just also always enjoyed Çeda’s quest (which is still there, just maybe not quite as much the central fixture or motivation). This story goes beyond Çeda even if she is a leading and central figure in everything. I still love Ceda’s story and still find her chapters to be my favorites, but I enjoy the others as well, and they provide pieces of the puzzle that are needed to really understand what is going on.

This book has amazing twists and reveals, and plenty of battle and action. The asirim play a critical role, and we still continue to learn more about them. There’s also more blood magic in this book. With every book in the series, we just learn more about this world, its politics and magic. Beaulieu handles the doling out of information very well, he doesn’t tend to state the obvious or spell everything out, but he gives the reader just enough information and just the right times for everything to make sense, without the reader feeling overwhelmed by causing information overload. Fans of the series will not be disappointed (and will be left wanting the next installment. This is just Book 3 of a 6 book series). I also want to mention, if you have read the first two books, but not the novella, Of Sand and Malice Made, I do highly recommend reading that as well.