It is no secret that Markus Heitz previous books, The Dwarves, is one of my all time favorite reads. I regularly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read and I have marked him down as a permanent entry on my list of auto-buy authors. Therefore it should come as no surprise that I was MORE than excited to get an early chance to read his latest book,Raging Storm, the continuation of The Dwarves series.

I was both overjoyed at getting to visit this world and it’s characters again, but at the same time very worried. Starting any new series (even though it is technically just a continuation) in the same world as an established series always strikes me as a highly precarious prospect. Comparisons are inevitable and having the task of writing characters that can hold up to the love you have for those who came before is not one I envy any author. Fortunate for Mr. Heitz, he is a rock star when it comes to characterization and always writes memorable, fully rounded characters that you can easily love and hate, root for or against.

As many a fantasy lover will know, world-building is the lifeblood of fantasy’s storytelling and in this case it is a resounding success, largely thanks to the groundwork the author has laid in The Dwarves books and subsequently built on in Raging storm. He has gracefully and effortlessly managed to pen a new and exciting tale, whilst still grounding it in the familiar, rich and evocative history.