The premise sounded fantastic. This should have been a good book, but the execution was not there. Sin-Eater Taj is leaving Kos behind, but the plot was just as convoluted and boring as book one.

Picking up from where the first book left off, Crown of Thunder finishes off this fantasy duology. I really enjoyed the world building in this book, it was strong without taking up too much time or room, and the mythology of the magic world was well done. I would have liked to have seen more developed characters, but all and all I felt it was a good conclusion to the story.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Please note, this review contains spoilers for Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi.

Crown of Thunder picks up shortly after the events in Beasts Made of Night. When our story opens, Taj is still reeling from the betrayals of both Karima and Bo, and has sketchy memories at best of exactly what happened when he pulled the inisisa from his own body and seemingly peeled away the shadows on it. The rebels are trying to regroup after the arashi attack on Kos, when Karima and Bo find them and attack with a new weapon; Karima and her algebraists have figured out how to attach metal plates to inisisa and are using them as armored infantry. Taj and Aliya become separated from the rest of the rebels and now find themselves on the run from Karima and her forces. Karima has also put a bounty on Taj’s head and he’s pretty much fair game to anyone who can catch him and drag him back to Kos, which is making finding shelter and help a little difficult. Their only choice is to head west, away from Kos, to try to find aid, and maybe some answers as to what exactly Taj did with that inisisa in the woods. While Taj is grappling with his guilt about Bo, and leaving Kos behind, Aliya seems to be hiding some secrets of her own.

I absolutely LOVED this book, and I liked it about 300% more than I liked the first one. First of all, Aliya, and the other females in this book, are way more fleshed out than in BMoN; part of that, I think, stems from Taj’s growth as a character, as he becomes less self-involved over the course of book 2. I also loved the way Onyebuchi explored the themes of guilt and sin, and how the two concepts are entertwined with forgiveness and absolution. Crown of Thunder also gives us a better look into how math and the algebraists tie in with this worlds religion, which was only sort of alluded to in BMoN.

My only complaint is that I felt the book ended really abrubtly with little in the way of a denouement.

This is a perfect read for anyone who likes Black Panther, Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, and/or Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.

I loved learning more about these characters and this world- and I want to know more. I still have questions about the magic/ algebra of it all. This novel was full of action and excitement.