I really enjoyed this series and it's cemented Django Wexler as an autobuy author for me! This is a really unique blend of Sci fi and fantasy

I just sadly don't think I'm ever going to get around to reading this book, at least anytime soon.

I'm so sorry!!

Django Wexler killed it on this one. I genuinely enjoyed the time I spent reading this. It took me way too long to get it off my backlog. If anyone was teeter-tottering over whether to continue the story after Ashes of the Sun, I say stick with it. Wexler takes the series to the next level in the smartest way possible. This is a story I want to read to its conclusion. Some particularly standout moments include the eerie, horror feel of the village early on. Everything at the end with the Spire was also on point. If I had to give criticism, and this is strictly a personal thing, I'd say I didn't care for the relationships going on between people. In my Jerry Seinfeld voice, I'll say "Not that there's anything wrong with that." What I mean is, I don't care much for love, romance, feelings of want or longing, ect. My wife must be thrilled. So, minor relations going on in this book made me wish the action was back. Saving the world can wait, we're all hooking up. No, really, it’s not that bad. This was such a great book. It's so open-ended too that it’s driving me mad not knowing what’s going to happen next.

Full review to be posted soonish. I'll update review with links to socials.
I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A sequel that sucks you in from page 1 and doesn’t let you go! Even by the end you are still thinking about the ride you just got off. Django has done an absolutely brilliant job!

An engrossing sequel that leaves you wanting more!!

Ashes of the Sun, the first book in the Burningblade & Silvereye series, was a big surprise to me when I read it earlier this year. I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would and I especially loved how the story focused on siblings whose circumstances pitted them against one another. I don't think we see enough of that in fantasy (at least I haven't so far ^^)! So, I was very excited to get into the sequel and explore more of Maya & Gyre's story. And can I say: I really appreciated the recap at the beginning of the book!! I wish more authors/publishers would do that for epic fantasy series! With so many fantasy books out there, it's kinda impossible to remember all the important details of every story. But back to the actual book:

Blood of the Chosen continues right where the first book left off, albeit a bit slower - which makes sense, since the characters need some time to process the events and ramifications of book 1. I, again, enjoyed the political aspects, the well-written action scenes, and the relationships. The sequel expands upon the complex world and gives us insight into the conflict between the Ghouls, the Chosen, and the Order. I feel like we've only scratched the surface, though, and I can't wait to see more mysteries and histories revealed.

The characters grow a lot in this one, especially Maya, and you can see how their experiences shape them and change how they perceive certain things. I was actually hoping to see more interactions between the siblings. Unfortunately, their storylines don't intertwine much, and they spend most of the time apart, following their own journeys. I really hope book 3 will deliver on that!

For some reason I thought this was going to be a duology, but the ending made it very clear that the story's far from over, haha. Django Wexler is clearly setting up something even bigger. After all the twists and turns I have no idea where all this is going, but Emperor of Ruin is definitely on my list of anticipated releases!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed “Ashes of the Sun” when I read it last summer. Yes, the story of some disease released on the world that wiped out an entire population hit a bit too close to home. But…fantasy! Ha..ha…ha? On a more serious note, Wexler has always been good for an excellent story from what I’ve read of him so far and this series felt like more of the same. Much of it was setting up our two main characters and the world, and yet he still managed to stuff in a bunch of action and set up the board for greater conflicts to come.

Just a side note before I get into the general description of this book. I had to read that summary twice and double check it against Goodreads more than once (each time I’ve touched this post while writing it) to make sure that I had the right summary. It reads like it should be for the first book! It’s honestly shockingly bad, telling us absolutely nothing about what this book specifically is going to be about and laying out much of the groundwork that was not only covered in the previous book but was laid out…in the previous book’s own summary! Very poor.

Maya and Gyre have found themselves not only on opposing sides of a brewing historical war, but caught up in the mechanizations of of mysterious opposing forces. There are secrets to be found in the Order, a group whom Maya now has come to understand houses traitors and inner workings that don’t necessary uphold the ideals for which she thought the institution stood for. As she works to uncover the truth, she will learn that there is an entire separate force at work pulling the strings behind the curtains. For his part, Gyre has begun to gather the strength of the ghouls to his cause. But without fully understanding their culture and motives, or the role they played in the past wars, will he be on the right side of history this go around?

So, shocker, I really enjoyed another Django Wexler book! In a lot of ways, I liked this one even better than the first. With the necessary character introductions and initial arcs that moved them into the titular roles as “Silvereye” and “Burningblade” out of the way, the story was primed to move into more of the grand-scale story. That said, this book is still clearly setting up a bigger conflict. Much of the action that we see in this book comes down to smaller skirmshes. Towards the end, we get what feels like a major battle only to really discover that it’s just the beginning. In the moment, this action is compelling and exciting. And it’s almost made better when you realize that things are only going to get bigger going forward.

Of the two main characters, Maya saw the most growth in this story. After realizing that there are traitors in the Order in the first book, her eyes are opened to the fact that mysteries still exist in this world and even the “good guys” might have bad sides. In many ways, her worldviews are more challenged and she must choose to grow (or not) along with these revelations.

For his part, Gyre continues to be fairly singularly minded. It’s a tough thing, because on one hand, I think Gyre is going to be on the right side of this situation. But on the other hand, looking at the reasoning he preaches to justify his actions, he’s very much on the wrong side of the argument. Maya’s morals and beliefs are much more in the right than Gyre, but it feels like he may have lucked into being on the right side? It’s kind of an uncomfortable position to be in as a reader. That said, there were so many twists and turns to be found in this book that I hardly can say that I have a firm grasp on what the end game is at this point. For all I know, my read on the situation here is completely wrong! And I love that!

I also really liked the closer look we had into the ghouls, the Chosen, and the Order. The roles they all play in the current landscape (though two of the three are practically if not totally nonexistent) are fascinating, and here, I really feel like I’ve only scraped the surface on what happened when these forces were at war and the Order was created. It was also great to see more of this world, with both Maya and Gyre travelling long distances and witnessing the various ways that people have found to live in such a dangerous landscape.

Fans of this series will definitely be pleased with this entry. It’s definitely a second book in that it ends on a cliffhanger and sets up some new “big bads” to be dealt with going forward. But if you’re already invested in this story, that’s only to be expected and just adds fuel to the excitement fire!

Rating 8: Solid, as expected. The most exciting part continues to be the murky history of this world and the unknowns of who is on the “right” side, Maya or Gyre.

One feature I particularly liked in this book is there is a précis of the first book at the beginning which was very useful. The second book in this series then gives us much more background on the times before the current setting. Two races wielding inhuman powers nearly destroyed each other in a conflict known as the Plague War and the consequences of that war still affect the humans who remain. A brother and sister from the Dawn Republic end up in different factions, the sister, Maya, as part of the Twilight Order which tries to protect the republic from monstrous plaguespawn. And the brother, Gyre, who saw his sister stolen away by the Twilight Order, and has gravitated towards criminal elements and rebels.
This book reveals more about the Chosen and the Ghouls who were the opposing Elder races. Their names suggest their characters, but those names were given by the republic which arose in the ruins of the Chosen civilisation so might not be so unambiguous as they sound. Both the main characters travel outside the republic and encounter other factions which shed light on the benefits and the harm which emanate from the republic.

The author is excellent in describing battles both on the individual scale and involving military and guerilla forces. This gives added vividness to the second half of the book where more obvious objectives are fought over. But at the end the destruction comes from the past to power the plot to another unearthly level which presages a world where opposing forces may need to ally in order to fight a new peril.

This is another story by this author where the relationship between a separated brother and sister is key to the storyline which is an aspect that particularly appeals to me. (My brother and I have not had any traumatic separations, but I guess I just like reading about the bonds of family – whether blood or found.) Another feature of this author′s style is really great world-building and character work, and I′m looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

I was so thoroughly delighted to receive a copy of this book from NetGalley, with thanks to the publishers.

I loved loved loved the first book in this series and devoured it last year. Could not wait to read the next in the story of Gyre and Maya. Django Wexler is so skilled in creating a complicated, yet immersive world. I did have a bit of a panic when I read the first chapter as I just couldn't remember all of the details and the words for all of the nitty-gritty and it all felt overwhelming. Fortunately, reading the first chapter of Ashes of the Sun again was enough to jog-start the old mind-tank, and the excellent summary of characters and story so far meant that I was quickly back on board. I think it is definitely worth familiarising yourself with Ashes of the Sun before hopping into this because it is so delightfully dense with detail - in a good way!

This book continues on from where we left Maya and Gyre and their companions, who are the best. So much happens and like the first book, the two separate stories canter along until Maya and Gyre are reunited for the conclusion. The characters are spiky, interesting and feel real.

The only bad thing about this book is the final page where it says the third in the series is not due until 2023. How will we survive the wait?!?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this eArc.

Wow! I loved this, wonderful continuation of story we got to see in book 1. And it gives you all you can hope for: world so complex, the rebellion, good vs bad, if you can tell which one is which, compelling, amazing character growth, and a stage set for an epic conclusion!

Can't wait to see how this ends!? Who is on the right side?! Oh my!

Blood of the Chosen is a solid sequel to the first book and impresses itself upon the reader in spades of rip-roaring action, infallible characters and humour that fits perfectly with the theme this book is going for. It is a triage of politics, bickering, chosen, corrupted, arcana, and much more. If anything the characters of Gyre and Maya drive the story often forward, at the expense of sacrificing some parts of the worldbuilding which is in my opinion, a good thing. The prose is good in many areas, but sometimes I felt the pacing was a bit slow. Some scenes could have been shortened to quicken up the pacing around some parts of the novel.

In a nutshell, without spoiling too much, one sibling fights to destroy the Twilight Order, and the other fights to preserve it. Add in a bunch of rebels, add in people trying to form their own splinter Kingdom, add in Barons and rebels such as the Greens, the Whites that can't agree with each other on anything. I have to say that the action scenes are really well written in this book that resembles something out of a Hollywood movie if they made fantasy dungeons and dragon movies. That being said, sometimes I did feel there were some emphasis on characters' gestures more than their feelings in some regards. As an example, I often felt Gyre was handled unfairly by the women in his life. He needs a real woman that'll love him and bring him solace to his broken heart. He has the makings of a very potential leader.

This story has a ton of drama, a ton of political conflicts that would be too hard to summarise in one go. All I know is that you have to read the first book in order to understand the events of the second. It is, a very well written book, and many characters such as Maya and Beq get more scene time which allows us to explore their relationship well enough. This added a lot of character to the story and I liked Elariel's descent into humanity. This is a sequel that triumphs on all fronts. It's a solid 8/10 from me on this one. I cannot wait to read book 3 and thank you to the Head of Zeus for providing me with a copy. I can't wait to read book 3!

Ashes of the Sun was an excellent fantasy and this one is even better.
It starts slow and it slowly brings to turn pages, becoming faster and a page turner you can't put down.
It's gripping and entertaining, the world building is even more fascinating, and the characters are well developed and their evolution well done.
I can't wait to read the next book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Overall this was actually a really good sci-fi fantasy but usually it’s hard to find ones that have enough detail to put you in a scene but I think this author was actually really good and I can imagine everything that went on within this book. I enjoyed both of the main characters I thought the descriptions of them and the fights were epic and I will definitely reading from this author again

This begins shortly after Ashes of the Sun, starting at a much slower pace. This is not indicative of the output though as it was still a quick read. The action and pace combined with the build up blows everything out the water. We are still left with questions that will hopefully be answered.

I loved the previous book in this series and couldn't wait to find out what happened next! Django Wexler serves up another exciting story in a world where magic and technology somehow co-exist, and where everyone,. even the ghouls, are figuring out who the bad guys are. Wexler tells his story through Maya and Gyre, a brother and sister separated as children and now on opposing sides in a magical war. Accompanied by a variety of friends and odd companions, each is on a quest that might mean their side wins. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the previous book as it doesn't disappoint.

The premise of this series is fairly straightforward – two siblings, one a staunch uphold of the Republic, the other a sworn rebel – but what’s interesting about it is Wexler’s interest in examining some of the often unstated mantras of fantasy worlds. There’s no black and white, here – the Twilight Order has an important role to play in protecting people from the plaguespawn, but they’re also founded on ideas about magical supremacy that are fundamentally incompatible with equality. Meanwhile, the rebels have a vision of a society free from rule by the Twilight Order, but there are many different views about what it might take to get there. These conflicts play out for both Maya and Gyre in this book, which also makes them compelling characters – what are they willing to sacrifice, and how do they reconcile the good and the not so good parts of their communities? (It does occasionally see them – particularly Maya – make some really dumb decisions, but these are at least believable in the context of what they know).

Blood of the Chosen also expands the world in interesting ways, exposing us to more of the fallout from a war centuries’ ago, and also allowing us to get to know some of the side characters a little better, particularly Beq, Maya’s girlfriend, and Elariel, Gyre’s ghoul companion. They’re a lot of fun to spend time with, and there are plenty of lighthearted moments among the plaguespawn attacks and other horrors lurking in every tunnel. I did think the central conceit of Gyre and Maya being separated with opposite storylines dragged on a little too long – we are now two-thirds through the trilogy and they’ve spent more page time apart than interacting – but the sequel set their relationship up to move into a new phase in book 3. Which can’t come soon enough, given the ending. I’m curious to see how Wexler ties everything up, and where Maya and Gyre’s loyalties will eventually lie.

3.5 stars

Blood of the Chosen is the next installment in the Silvereye and Burning blade series from Django Wexler, following siblings Maya and Gyre as they continue on their adventures. I enjoy this series as a fun steampunky fantasy and the second is just as adventurous and enjoyable as the first, however was suffering a bit from middle book syndrome.

Maya and Gyre are on opposing sides as Maya is part of the republics chosen, fighting for the defense of innocents and Gyre is trying to take down the republic. It is interesting to see both their POVs as both raise some very interesting points and you end up rooting for them both despite them having opposing goals. The side characters in this series are also great, I really love Kit whose role has changed slightly in this book but she is still as iconic as ever. Also Maya and her girlfriend Beq have such an adorkable relationship and I loved seeing an established wlw couple just being supportive and cute.

The last 30% of the book really stepped up in terms of plot and enjoyable. Things came together in a great way with some great payoff of plot threads leading to a very enjoyable ending. I especially loved seeing Maya and Gyre's storylines coming together and seeing their dynamic as a big group and their interactions with each other.

Overall I think this is a fun fantasy series which is pretty lighthearted and is very easy to read, with some great and loveable characters but sometimes has a slightly repetitive plot and medicore writing.

BLOOD OF THE CHOSEN is one of those books where it's all very interesting and engaging, and the ending feels like it just undermines a lot of the themes and ideas that have come before. The pacing is good, and I like the relationships in the book, but that ending just felt like it came from another book.

This book is adult, but the tropes used in the ending makes the book feel a bit more YA for that section. These are not plot ideas that you see in adult as much. However, they are VERY common in YA, to the point that I am struggling to think of a recent series that doesn't use it, as they fit a very YA theme about authority and trust.

I couldn't see it coming from the start, because it's not the sort of thing you'd expect to see in YA. However, once Maya ends up on the path that you know is going to take her back into conflict with Gyre (because they've been apart so they <em>have</em> to end up in the same place but on opposite sides at the end), then the ending becomes very clear if you've read a lot of YA.

It just all felt a little too contrived - getting the siblings together and working together but not, and then it all going wrong. It didn't quite feel like it was matching the "everyone is operating questionably, some for better ends than others, but not everyone's willing to admit it" tone of the series so far. It was one of those "and now we're going to dump a big bad in for everyone to rally together to fight" endings, rather than what might have been more interesting if there wasn't a new common enemy, but instead something that altered the balance of the conflict.

Am I going to read the last book? Yes - but I am a little disappointed that it looks like the grating differences in outlook aren't going to get the treatment they deserver - or could be so fun to watch - because there's an external force now forcing them to unite, rather than having to confront their own biases.

Django Wexler continúa su estupenda serie Burningblade y Silvereye, con un volumen que si bien adolece del síndrome del segundo libro, consigue mantener el interés en la historia de estos dos hermanos separados y enfrentados por el devenir de la vida, con una serie de añadidos que amplían el mundo que ya conocíamos y dejan el camino expedito para nuevas entregas.


La trama continúa exactamente donde se quedó en Ashes of the Sun, pero Django se toma la molestia de hacernos un resumen del volumen anterior, cosa que yo le agradezco profundamente porque ya no tengo la capacidad de retención que tuve en tiempos pasados y no recuerdo todos los detalles de los libros anteriores.

Por un lado tenemos a Maya que tiene que cumplir una serie de misiones con Beq y Varo que parecen un poco inconexas entre sí pero que conforme van avanzando las páginas vemos que son las baldosas con que el autor va creando el camino que le llevará a un nuevo encuentro con su hermano. La parte de Gyre es más interesante al principio, sobre todo por la parte de la relación con los ghouls y cómo va recuperando sus aliados anteriores, aunque luego se embarca en un viaje bastante anodino hasta llegar al punto álgido de la historia.

Me gustaría resaltar el humor con el que el autor se burla de la desorganización de la resistencia, incapaces de ponerse de acuerdo ni siquiera bajo qué bandera luchar. Son muchas facciones con intereses encontrados que desesperarán a Gyre pero que harán reír al lector en más de una ocasión. Y qué decir de los hilarantes diálogos de Kit, un personaje que ha tenido que cambiar mucho por el final del primer libro pero que aún sigue afrontando su existencia como una aventura constante. Ese toque sirve como contrapunto al giro más hacia la oscuridad y al terror con la aparición de nuevas versiones de los seres de la plaga y sobre todo con un nuevo personaje que no es lo que parece.

Se trata de un libro de transición, sin duda alguna, pero tiene ciertos detalles que hacen que merezca la pena leerlo.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series 'Ashes of the Sun' (although it took me way too long to read) and Blood of the Chosen was just as good as it, although paced a little differently.

The story follows siblings who are on different sides of a conflict after being separated as young children. They grew up very differently and as such lead vastly different lives and have extremely conflicting opinions and moral viewpoints. Both siblings are intriguing but I find Maya's chapters to be more interesting and her character appeals to me more than Gyre's do, although he was some very good points. The relationship between Maya and Beq continues to be very cute and Beq is both adorable and hilarious. All the characters are interesting and well-rounded.

The world of this series is intriguing and complex and is described and explained wonderfully.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more.

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.