The fifth installment of the Song of the Shattered Sands series! A quest for a reborn Nalamae leads Ceda across the desert, but others are searching as well. Ceda must make some hard decisions or risk the fall of Sharakhai.

These series is still going strong, even after five books. And while things are starting to call me to a head s start to wrap up it did not feel stale. Ceda did feel different and changed from the first four books but it was not bad, just maybe she went through something off pages that is affecting her behaviour. It was the perfect start to the ending. Now we only have to wait.

Well, here we are. My annual “scream at the sky about Song of Shattered Sands” event. Each year, like clockwork, Bradley P. Beaulieu puts out enough enormous, detailed, and dense epic fantasy about an original Arabian-inspired world. And each year, like clockwork, I tell people to go read it - but only a select few follow my advice. I get it, a six-book epic fantasy (five of which are now out thanks to the release of When Jackals Storm the Walls) plus supplemental novellas is a large project to take on. But, honestly, there are few series out there that will give you as much bang for your buck as Song of Shattered Sands.

Look, I don’t like reviewing sequels. I am here to help you understand whether a book is worth your time, and with sequels, you can often make that decision for yourself. As a review, You can’t really talk about a sequel’s plot, as you don’t want to spoil things for new readers to the series who stumbled onto this review (like the two people who edited this review for me). You are either selling something to someone who was already going to buy it, or going for the really hard sell and trying to get someone to commit to a huge number of books. Well, guess what reader, this is the latter, so strap in.

There are not many authors who seem to love writing their series as much as Bradley P. Beaulieu does. His passion for his books bleeds through every. Single. Page. I frankly don’t understand how he has the stamina to put out this many books so quickly. He has published one book per year(ish) and each one has absolutely no filler. These books have so much plot that Beaulieu had to write spinoff novellas just to fit all of the story in. Seriously, I am not kidding when I say these books are nothing but thousands of pages of plot and story. There is literally zero downtime. I don’t even know how he managed to track all of this when he was writing it. Thank Beaulieu for the book synopses he writes at the beginning of each book to help readers remember the 8000 things that happen in each book. The conflict has evolved into an entirely new story four times at this point.

With so much dense storytelling, the character growth has been enormous. My investment in each character is gigantic, and it makes following the meaty story all the more satisfying. Jackals, in particular, stands out because it finally fixed a minor problem that has been plaguing the story since book one. Twelve Kings (book one) begins as the story of Çeda, and while there are additional POVs, it’s very much her story. As the series expanded to have a much, much, larger scope, the burden on the larger cast became greater and greater. However, it always felt like the larger cast lacked agency when compared to Çeda, which watered down their segments. This issue has been improving since book three (A Veil of Spears), but Jackals is the first book to really feel like the entire cast all were as integral to the story as the original core protagonist.

If I had one criticism of Jackals, it would be that the extremely dense storytelling lacked a few major set pieces to break up the plot and stick in your memory. Most of the earlier books have key explosive moments that tug at the heartstrings and stick in the mind. Jackals is excellent all the way through, but it’s also a quieter and more uniform book without as much spectacle. Part of this has to do with the fact that we are in book five of six in a series that heavily leans into mystery. At this point, a lot of the reveals have already happened, and a good portion of the book is building up to the explosive finale that will undoubtedly be book six. Jackals is a great book, but it’s also a little meeker than its siblings. The book also felt a little light on major themes. Most of the ideas being bounced around are classic fantasy ideas with a new skin. While this is still enjoyable, it isn't breaking new ground.

When Jackals Storm The Walls once again delivers a lovingly written epic story that never lets up and doesn't let you down. With five out of six books sticking the landing so far, it is looking like a safe bet that this series will be one of the hidden gems of this era. I know I have leaned into the hyperbole and humor in my writing of this review, but I really do recommend you take the time and check out this series. It will not disappoint you.

Rating: When Jackals Storm The Walls - 8.5/10
-Andrew

You had me at “The Story so Far.”
Really. It was all gonna be good after that.
“The Story so Far.”
Say it with me: “The Story so Far.”
Sweet Nana jam on toast, that curls the toes.
“The Story so Far.”

That’s how When Jackals Storm the Walls, Bradley Beaulieu’s fifth novel in his SONG OF SHATTERED SANDS series begins, and nothing, nothing endears me more to a sequel, particularly a third or fourth or seventh book in a series, than a “here’s what’s happened up to now” prologue. Seriously, authors, publishers, gods of fiction—is it honestly all that hard? Isn’t this what staffers are for? Interns? Underfoot children? “The Story so Far.” No more dredging up shadowy memories from a year or two earlier trying to recall who lived, who died, and who died and came back then died again. No desperately Googling for synopses. And certainly no rereading of the prior books each time a sequel came out (thank you George R. R. Martin for curing me of that particular fetish).

“The Story so Far.” My prologue and I are going to be alone for a while now.

OK. Luckily, the prologue is just one of the many good things about When Jackals Storm the Walls, which is another strong installment in this quite good series (I’m going to assume you know the characters and basic plot). Everything is converging as we near the end, with the deposed Kings of Sharakhai, Ceda and her group of avengers, a rebel host, the new kings, the foreign powers of Mirea and Malasan, Queen Meryam, the Enclave, Anila, Davud, Ramahd, Hamzakiir, several gods, and others scheme, ally, double-cross, and battle both in the desert and in the city until they all come together in a clash for control of Sharakhai. It’s a complicated plot with a number of POVs, but Beaulieu handles all the shifts deftly, making it easy to follow the narrative so neither the complexity nor the number of characters becomes a barrier to engaging with the story.

That story builds nicely in several ways. One is that the early conflicts tend to be more personal or limited to a few characters (Emre taking on Hamid, for instance), and while fights (small ones) break out, the early part focuses more on the various chess moves as everyone tries to put their plots into place or hinder the schemes of others. The action becomes both more frequent and larger as the story goes on though, culminating in that aforementioned clash where nearly everyone is in attendance and fighting someone else. Another way the narrative broadens is that what first appears to be merely a battle for political control (of the city, of the desert) turns out to be in service to something far larger and more cosmic, though I won’t say more about that so as to avoid spoilers.

The characters are another strong element, as they have been throughout. One of my favorite aspects of this series is how Beaulieu began with a clear “hero” in Ceda, but has been happy to let a number of others share significant stage time with her, creating more of an ensemble story than one dominated by a single character, to the detriment of the others. Brama’s inner conflict, Meryam’s backstory (told through a series of interwoven flashbacks), Emre’s continued growth toward a leadership role, King Ihsan’s attempt to use Yusam’s prophecies to thwart the gods — each of these plot lines are engaging in their own right even as they move the entirety of the narrative forward. And Beaulieu continues to shade the “bad” characters with more hues of grey, humanizing them so they become far more interesting than central casting’s “Stock Power Hungry Villain Type C.”

The exploration of subjects like forgiveness, responsibility, power, action versus inaction in the face of immorality, the problem that “suffering can arise from the kindest of acts and good can flow from the manipulations of evil men” all add some depth. And some relevant timeliness, as when Ceda thinks:
Men like Hamid would never admit it, but Sharakhai was a melting pot. So was the desert. . . Their culture was not pure, as some would claim, nor had it ever been. Purity had always been a fantasy, a way to exert power over others . . . the lives of the desert people had been enriched by neighboring lands

The prose is vibrant and detailed, the settings and events painted in vivid sharpness. One excellent example is during an operation involving boring into a character’s skull — the visual description is certainly effective, but what lifts the whole scene up a notch is when Beaulieu tells us “In all his preparations, he hadn’t thought to oil the drill. It shouldn’t have mattered, but the sound kept going, on and on, and it was driving her mad.” That’s a great tiny detail that makes the scene all the more horrifying.

As with some of the prior books, there were a few places where pacing seemed to lag a little, and the book felt it could be trimmed somewhat, but I’d say these occurrences were fewer than in the first few novels and really, it’s more an observation than a complaint as the book never dragged or felt all that overly-long. I not only happily read it in a single sitting but did so twice because so much time had passed between my first reading and my review writing. I’d say that’s a pretty sign of quality engagement.

When Jackals Storm the Walls resolves several plot points completely, and ends with a nice tease for the next, which I’m eagerly awaiting. All, once more, with feeling.
“The Story so Far.”
Ahhhh.

4.2 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2020/07/16/when-jackals-storm-the-walls-by-bradley-p-beaulieu-review/

The penultimate entry in the Song of the Shattered Sands takes a while, but manages to impress just as much as its predecessors. The same great world-building, character development, attention to detail and structure are just some of the reasons I’ve made it so far into this series, and many of the reasons I’m looking forward to its conclusion with the usual amount of hope, anticipation and anxiety. As much as I love a good ending—I’ll be sad to bid these characters farewell. But every story needs an end. Let’s just not rush to it too quickly, eh?

The rule of the Kings has been broken. The Blood Queen Meryam nows rules Sharakai, along with the descendants of the Kings. The remnants of the initial Twelve have been scattered to the winds. Ihsan—maimed and scarred—now wanders the Shangazi alone, searching for clues to the gods’ plans for the desert. As his hopes of solo rule have faded so too have his chances of survival. But there is still a slim hope: for Ihsan, and for the world itself.

Brama and Davud have staved off death, at least thus far. All but alone and abandoned, they must each rely on their single ally. But where Davud’s is the beautiful, formerly blood mage Esmerae—with whom he has fallen in love—Brama’s is the dangerous ehrekh, Rümayesh, with who he now shares a body. With no help coming, and nothing but doom before them, both will find themselves attracted to the same mystery. One that may determine the fate of the desert.

With the help of Sehid-Alaz—the thirteenth king—Çeda has broken the asirim’s curse. But it comes at a great cost, as both the goddesses Nalamae and Yerinde lie dead, slain at each other’s hand. But where Yerinde lies still, Nalamae is fated to be reborn, though where and when Çeda does not know. And so she turns her attention to Sharakai, hoping to find some clue to the goddesses whereabouts in the city.

But others are searching for the desert goddess as well. And when Çeda discovers the reason, it will force her to make a difficult choice: work with the former Kings, or risk Sharakai’s ultimate destruction. A desperate plan is hatched, one that may yet save the city. For while the city stands, the Shangazi rests easy, but if the sands consume it, then they may consume the world as well.

All in all, I enjoyed my time reading When Jackals Storm the walls. As always, Beaulieu’s world-building is strong; possibly his greatest strength. The characters aren’t far behind—each continuing their development to a satisfying degree by book’s end. Brama and Davud especially stole the show, though Meryam impressed as well. There are always exceptions to this rule, with two of note: Çeda and Ramahd. Çeda’s development was there, but felt a little diminished as she’s really the face of this franchise. While her love life seems to have recovered (more, at least) from where it’s been in recent books, her transition from warrior to leader seems to have hit a snag. Not that she regressed, more that it was stagnant. Ramahd, for his part, was stagnant. The little we see of him in WJStW, she’s chasing Meryam, still trying to bring her to justice. Late, late in the book, he shows some of the development we’ve seen in past books, but for the most part he’s a mindless, faceless drone

I’m always skeptical of the choice to add a new character so late in the series. While Meryam is by no means “new”—she’s been around as a significant character since the first book—she hasn’t had her own POV chapters until now. And when one gives a character their own POV, the author typically wants to delve into their character’s backstory. This can cause the pace to slow or become uneven, especially in the later books where most other characters have been fleshed out. Meryam is no different. But Beaulieu has attempted to mitigate this by putting only brief flashbacks in each POV chapter, disguised as a dream sequence. They don’t take up as much time, and don’t screw with the pacing as much either. Willem and Hamid show up not nearly as often as the Queen, and mostly just to flesh out the story. Neither feature a heavy backstory, nor much in the way of personality. While they’re mildly interesting, it doesn’t seem like either is around to stay. Or are they?

That said, the pacing of When Jackals Storm the Walls is already slow. Honestly, I found it slower to build than most of the predecessors—since roughly Book #2. This slow build clashes dramatically with the sense of urgency exhibited by most characters throughout the book, and makes for the oddest feeling. It’s like the army adage “hurry up and wait”. It’s legitimately strange to see the characters of a book talking with urgency, but then strolling around like they have all the time in the world.

Through most of the story, I was interested, if not overly so. While a bit slow, there is a good mystery to the book—involving Sharakai, the gods, Nalamae, the Kings, the desert itself. When the mystery begins to unfold, it sells vast on a vast scale; one where the gods move humanity and demons alike around like pieces on a chessboard. The moment where I put everything together I wondered if Beaulieu had this in mind all along—because it is brilliant. But it takes some patience to make it this far. Around the 55% mark, the pace began to catch up to the urgency, and the tale began to drink me in. The conclusion, which begins to build after around the 70% mark or so, was truly an epic one—one of the most epic and jaw-dropping conclusions I’ve ever witnessed. It wasn’t so much that I was blindsided, or didn’t see it coming, it was just the execution was spot-on; the description so vivid and detailed that I felt like I’d fallen into the book and was witnessing it happen myself.


TL;DR

Addition of new characters, new faces, and new POV chapters hurts the pacing, but ultimately helps tell the story. With everything happening, When Jackals Storm the Walls lays down a level of urgency that the text just doesn’t live up to, at least for a while. But throughout a mystery is unfolding, one written on the level of the gods themselves. It’s truly impressive once you figure it out, especially if one manages it before the story hands it to you. When the pacing finally does catch up with the urgency, it sets off a conclusion that is epic even in the most epic standards. So detailed is the writing, so vivid the description that I felt like I’d fallen into the book—and was witnessing events firsthand. The fifth book of the Shattered Sands sets up what’s certain to be an even more epic conclusion, if such a thing is possible. After the ending sequence of this one, I cannot wait for the next!

This is the continuing story of Çeda (pronounced Chay-da, if you’re unsure), who has had, it can be said with surety at this point, a grand adventure. She has killed kings, broken curses, and solved a problem or two. Now, after all the cursebreaking, she has to find Nalamae, a goddess who was slain, but reborn upon her death.

This series has gripped me from the very beginning, and this volume is no different. It had me reading well into the wee hours of the morning, wondering what will happen to Çeda and her friends.

I’ve been anticipating this one maybe a bit more than usual because of that thing that happened at the end of the last book aaaahem. (So vague, I know.)

The world of Sharakhai is really well described and easy to imagine. Imagine a huge city surrounded by a desert that giant ships traverse the sands like they were sailing on water. That’s this world. There was always plenty happening from several points of view (because we’re way past just Çeda as a main character at this point). There are some people who think that many points of view like this would be confusing, but since we were introduced to everyone very slowly over four long books, it isn’t at all. Everyone with the exception of one character is someone I was familiar with before this volume. Seeing the story from so many angles gives it a really epic feel that makes it a good long story to dive into.

And it is long. It felt incredibly long at times, but not necessarily in a bad way. There are definitely times that I like to immerse myself in a huge epic story, and this is one huge example of those times.

This was an excellent addition to the series and I still can’t wait for more. This is a series that I have loved thusfar and hope to love until the very end (which is only one more book from now!!!!).

When Jackals Storm the Walls is the fifth installment in The Song of Shattered Stars Series by Bradley B. Beaulieu. I hadn't read any of the other books in this series, but I read through several reviews and there were synopses included in my ARC copy that were incredibly helpful in finding out where I was in the series. Though epic fantasy series like this can get convoluted with complicated plot lines, etc, I felt that the author had done a great job in separating out plot lines and showing the reader a complete picture of the story. That being said, there are several characters and many plot lines to follow, which can be a bit confusing if you haven't read the first 4 books, but that's not a criticism. I would have been much more prepared if I'd read the first four books.

I felt the plot was solid, this is a series based largely on One Thousand and One Nights, which is an epic collection of stories in itself. I found it to be a great re-telling with rich set pieces and wonderful character design. There is romance, particularly in the books leading up this one, but it's not the focus of the story. This series has had 4 other books of character development leading up to When Jackals Storm the Walls, and that is very evident throughout the narrative. This book has well-developed characters who all play integral parts in the ultimate conclusion of the novel. When I say sweeping backdrops, I'm taking sweeping. Huge deserts, grand palaces, ancient tombs, and so much more in this story!

From start to finish, I enjoyed this book and I will be picking up the previous 4 books as well as a physical copy of this title as well. This is an epic fantasy series that hasn't been on my radar, but should definitely be on yours!

Thank you to NetGalley, DAW, and the author for the chance to read this book! I received a galley copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes the next installment is worth waiting for. This is EXACTLY the case!

With a build up of plot, characters, and another look into the past of the world they’re in as well as what might come, I very much enjoyed this wonderful installment into the series. The landscape and cities created in this book are second to none and I think the world created is second to none when it comes to world building as I sometimes found myself lost and intrigued in the world and thinking about the culture developed within it.

This series is incredibly character driven, action oriented fantasy with a heavy influx of mystery and a good dose of political intrigue. Ceda is a wonderfully flawed character.. She doesn’t always make the best decisions, and she sometimes has to live with consequences she’d rather not deal with.

Beaulieu has created a complex world where life is cheap, the stakes are high, and the rewards great. This is fantasy you can sink your teeth into. Beaulieu is clearly at the top of his game. The depth of backstory, the detail, and the development of character are the best he’s written.

I don't know how this author keep upping the anty but keep it coming Beaulieu. I'll be saddened when I have to leave this world and characters.