Review at TOR

Thorny matters of memory and recollection shape the narrative of Ryan Van Loan’s The Justice in Revenge, sequel to his debut novel The Sin in the Steel. The deadliest things the protagonist, Buc, faces are unknown unknowns lurking in her memory

The Justice in Revenge is the second (and final) novel in Ryan Van Loan's The Fall of the Gods series. It's also a novel that I've been really looking forward to, as I adored The Sin in the Steel.

Buc and Eld return with more politics, adventures, and dangers than ever before. Yes, they succeeded in their last mission, but that doesn't mean their story is over, far from it. In fact, thanks to a new entity residing within Buc, there are more complications than ever.

Not to mention Buc's determination to destroy the Kanados Trading Company from within. That takes careful planning – and work. Something neither Eld nor Buc will shy away from. However, they are unprepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

"Now I swam in a sea of boardroom intrigue and backdoor politics that continually took me by surprise: the drowning waves. I'd no intention of slipping under, but isn't that what everyone believes?"

It's no secret that I had been counting down the days to The Justice in Revenge. I enjoyed The Sin in the Steel, and yet I had so many questions about what was going to happen next. Including what was going on within Buc herself.

While I did get those answers (mostly), I'm not going to pretend that I loved this novel as much as I had hoped. Sure, it was entertaining and interesting at times. But there were other times where I sincerely did consider putting the book down, at least for a little while.

The angst between Buc and Eld really got to me at points, making it difficult to read and even harder to want to invest in anything that they were doing. This is unfortunate because I still love the whole 'take the evil company down from the inside out' plot. It's an old one, but it is always fun.

All of those complaints aside, the ending somehow managed to crush me. That's the reward I get for reading to the end. Conclusions always get me, so I know I'm probably reacting a little stronger than normal. And yet, I didn't see this finale coming. It somehow feels right and yet very wrong at the same time.

DNF @ 55%

The first book in this series, The Sin in the Steel, was a surprisingly fun blend of Sherlock and Pirates of the Caribbean. Naturally, after such an adventurous seafaring adventure, I was expecting another round of something similar. What I got was a really big disappointment that lost the spirit the first book carried in abundance. 

This picks up about a year after the events of the first book. Buc and Eld earned their places on the board of the trading company and Buc began her plan to bring them down. Somewhere along the way after a string of successful implementations to the sugar refining process, a fire happened and Buc was deeply scarred by it. Sin, her resident brain-space occupier, is basically hiding it from her and Eld seems to know that. They also have convos without Buc knowing. Things are a bit shady. The duo are hired to find out who's trying to assassinate the Doga (city leader) after someone spontaneously combusts near her after a failed attempt on the Doga's life. 

There's so much going on in this book and it does it no favors. Strife with the company board, confusing intrigue, murders, the whole mysterious factory explosion, and the growing tensions between Buc and Eld culminated into me DNFing this book at 55%. I never really got into the plot and the overall tone changed so much that I wasn't enjoying it. I no longer liked Buc or Eld much and Buc's impertinent charm and sharp intelligence were non-existent. The continued focus on the stagnant romantic elements was the icing on the cake. Buc and Eld spent so much time pining over one another and being jealous of others that it ultimately hurt the story. I'm all for a good angsty longing, forbidden love thing but this was kind of a let down. The vague references to things that happened between the two books was tiresome, particularly when so few nuggets of info were dropped in the hundreds of pages I did read. I even tried to pick this back up on two or three separate occasions after giving it a little break, but each time I was bogged down by the same things.

This clearly wasn't the sequel I was expecting and it simply didn't work for me. I greatly enjoyed the first book but I won't be carrying on with the series after this installment due to irreconcilable differences!

“THE JUSTICE IN REVENGE” BY RYAN VAN LOAN: ARC REVIEW

“The problem with this world is we don’t give a shit about how we got here and we don’t care where we’re going. In turn we swallow all the lies the Gods feed us and we exploit the little ones around us without a thought for what types of people they will be when we’re old.”

Synopsis: Buc and Eld have claimed their place on the board of the Kanados Trading Company, intending to use it as a weapon against the corrupt nobility they despise. The role is not without its set of dangers, however, and the pair soon find themselves involved in a deep political plot. Should they succeed in their task, they’ll earn the favor of a powerful patron… and if they fail, they’ll find themselves separated forever. Through it all, a mysterious figure works against them in the shadows…

Who May Enjoy This Book:

- People who like intrigue
- Fans of flawed protagonists
- People who enjoy a bit of romance

Thank-you to Netgalley and Tor/Forge for the advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Yes, it’s been a while. I’ll save that discussion for a different post…

Today, I have the pleasure of reviewing Ryan Van Loan’s “The Justice In Revenge”, the sequel to his highly successful “The Sin in The Steel” (you can find my review for that right here). If you’ve read my review of Book 1, you’ll recall that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s no surprise then that its sequel was something I was really looking forward to reading! Given the events of the past couple of years, I definitely needed that boost.

The story spins directly out of the events of book 1, with Buc and Eld holding coveted positions as executives for a powerful trading company. Their exploits are well-known (in Buc’s carefully cultivated recounting of events), and they are acclimating to their new roles… which is to say, they are an enormous pain in the ass for some of the other board members. It’s amusing from the get-go, particularly with Buc’s bottomless well of arrogance. She is a brilliant individual, and it is easy to forget when reading that she is a young girl. Her tendency to underestimate her compatriots in business, these two-legged sharks, seems uncharacteristic, but it is mistake born of her relative inexperience. Van Loan doesn’t ever turn Buc into a Mary Sue, and for that I am thankful. She is a young woman, and despite her many advantages, Buc is still quite vulnerable and a touch naïve about certain things. This is glaringly obvious in the romantic “Austin-esque” subplot throughout the novel. I enjoyed these little touches… while some might find the relationship in question frustrating, I liked it. It speaks truth: romance is not some carefully orchestrated series of events. It is messy, an exhilarating touch-and-go, back-and-forth game of capture the flag, played in the dark, where you’re never certain who your teammates are. Van Loan’s strong characterization remains an integral part of the story, and Buc’s development in this novel demonstrates this. In addition to Buc, however, Van Loan takes the time to meticulously add those neat little touches to his secondary characters too. It’s in their voices, mannerisms, everything. One doesn’t always see this attention to small details, but it goes a long way to fleshing things out.

Similarly to the first book, “Justice” finds the pair stumbling into a political mess which they must extract themselves from in order to appease some very powerful people. In this case though, the rules are different: Buc has acquired some very special…abilities. The presence of “Sin” in her head (you’ll just have to read Book 1…) is a crucial part of the story. It touches every aspect of the book’s events, as well as Buc’s relationships. How does one trust a being, a force, whatever you’d like to call it, that knows every little intimate detail about you? How does one trust such a being, especially if they’re as closed-off as Buc is? These are questions which we are able to explore throughout the course of the story, and the answers are fun. There is certainly the element of an unreliable narrator introduced in this novel, and things can get thoroughly confusing at times (which I am pretty sure was the intention, placing us squarely in Buc’s shoes as she pieces together her fractured memories). It’s an additional mystery for the pile, but a rather good one with a significant payoff later. It’s not always my favorite narrative tool, but Van Loan makes great use of it in “Justice”. Truthfully, I found the reveal of Buc’s memories much more satisfying than that of the book’s primary antagonist… the latter was, at least to me, a bit flat in comparison (it’s still good, just not necessarily what I wanted/expected!). The added mysteries were a good addition, regardless. I found that it complimented the swashbuckling action nicely, and brought the story a bit more in line with the “Sherlockian” promises of book 1.

“The Justice In Revenge” has it all: political intrigue, murder, skullduggery, romantic dalliances, secrets, lies, and revelations. I could go on at length about so many different little touches, but I find it tricky to do so without potentially spoiling any key plot points (of which there are several…). I will say that I didn’t necessarily enjoy this book as much as I did Book 1, but this should in no way dissuade you! I still loved “Justice”… I just happened to enjoy “Sin” more overall. It’s a worthy successor, and the explosive finale left me with many questions and more than a few expletives. That cliffhanger is going to kill me… Anyhow, get yourself a copy of this novel ASAP if you enjoyed “The Sin In The Steel”, and if you haven’t read it yet then what the heck are you waiting for?! “The Justice In Revenge” releases July 13/2021… that’s TOMORROW!

Also, on the off chance Ryan reads this, regarding the ending: HOW DARE YOU?! (You know damn well what I’m referring to).

Happy Reading!

Order “The Justice In Revenge”
Check out Ryan Van Loan on Twitter

A bit of a slow start but fun once it got going. Probably a 3.5 star but I liked it so I’m rounding up. You really would be lost without reading The Sin in the Steel first. Buc has gotten what she wanted, wealth and power but now she has to learn to use it and hold it. I really liked the setting. Reminds me a bit of a Renaissance Italy city state with fine food and gilded halls with nobles and merchants living the fine life with the gutters being just as grim as the halls of power are grand. I look forward to the next book.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one... I really enjoyed the first book, but I'm not sure if this one is quite the same, so I'm torn on what rating to give it.

Buc is not herself throughout this book. There are various mentions of something that happened with a fire and Sin and Eld working together to keep Buc sane. It isn't until the near the end that you get the story about what actually happened. However, it means that one of the things about Buc that I loved from the first book is missing - her general f the establishment personality. She's decided to play the game instead and it really doesn't suit her.

Additionally, we are caught up in lots of love angst between Buc and Eld that just drives me mad. You want to just bang their heads together.

Throughout the book, Buc seems younger and less mature than she did in the first book, and I think that's what kind of annoys me. It's like she has regressed. She has lost sight of her goals and what she wants and what she's striving towards in terms of fixing her world.

The big reveal is very obvious as well. Buc's super genius should have put it together long before she did.

However, I will say that the ending was good. It was very emotional. I didn't like the ending, per se, but it was good and well written. There was lots of action throughout the book and the pace was good when it didn't get too caught up in the politics, which sometimes led to it becoming a bit convoluted.

This was a fantastic sequel to the sin in the steel. The action and death defying situations were not a disappointment. This book was full of adventure excitement and perilous moments that thrill and entertain the reader. I would definitely highly recommend this book as wellA asif you haven’t read the first I definitely would recommend reading this series.