Life got in the way and I could not finish the book. Thanks to the publishers for the chance to read the book.

If there has been a bigger glow up between a first and second book of a series, I don't know about it.

I was a bit critical in my review of The Bladed Faith, noting that the book was building an interesting (and violent) of gods, heroes, villains, and everything in between. However, I felt that the violence almost felt gratuitous in the way that that David Dalglish was using colonialism as a kind of window dressing to a standard, action-packed epic fantasy rather than truly digging into what colonialism actually is and how it operates. I debated whether I really even wanted to continue the series, but the reveal at the end of The Bladed Faith piqued my interest just enough (and peeled back some layers of depth that the book hadn't highlighted before) to keep me reading in The Sapphire Altar.

And I am so freaking excited that I did.

The Sapphire Altar belongs in lists of the best epic fantasy of the 2020s, and its only fault is that readers will have to endure The Bladed Faith to get to it. Everything I disliked about the first book - the endless training montages, the abundance of violent scenes that messed up the pace, shallow characters, and a superficial plot - are magically fixed here as Dalglish finds the groove of what this story should be.

There is no middle book syndrome here. The story moves, it develops, and it SOARS.

The Sapphire Altar picks up after just a small time jump, which gives many of the characters time to reflect on the events of The Bladed Faith. This allows for a couple of things that were sorely lacking in that first book. First, it provides space for the characters to contemplate on all of the terrible stuff they have had to go through and do in the name of justice. While Dalglish doesn't wade into the murky ethical waters in the way other authors writing similar stories do, he starts to show the impact and drag that all of this is having on his characters. This leads into the second major improvement - the character depth. The characters were thinly drawn in the first book, feeling more like pawns that existed only to advance the plot. The action and plot were cool, but I felt no emotional connection to the characters. Here, the characters jump off the page as three-dimensional and well drawn people. I cheered for them, cried for them, and sometimes (depending on the POV) despised them. Dalglish gives each of them unique personalities, needs, wants, and lived-in, embodied existences that were more than just how many redshirts could they tear down. Dalglish finds a true emotional core in this volume, whether it is the love between Stasia and Clarissa, Mari's battle with her own identity, Arn's troubled fraternal relationships, or Keles' troubled relationship with her own faith.

It might be that last one - Keles' complex personal, political, and religious journey - that was my favorite throughout the book. I could tell in The Bladed Faith that Dalglish wanted to say something about faith, but those themes never seemed to materialize. Exploration of the gods and faith are in full swing here. Remember that opening sequence in The Bladed Faith where the evil empire killed the lion and butterfly gods? There are so many cool sequences with the gods here, and the epic potential of Dalglish's drawing of the gods is put to full effect (I will say, however, that the godly cliffhanger at the end of book 1 doesn't really go anywhere, which was just a touch disappointing). There are so many just awesome god vs. god sequences that are awe-inspiring in just how freaking cool they are.

At the same time, Dalglish also doesn't just use the gods as cool pawns for this action set pieces. The Sapphire Altar also dives into issues of faith. What is faith? At what point can faith be broken? How much can we permit our faith to be tested, and is it faith if it is not tested? Dalglish's characters are met with a lot of religious and spiritual quandaries in this book as readers are confronted with the differing perspectives and self-interests of characters like Keles, the priest-figure Eshiel, the god-whisperer Mari, and more. This is a book about individual religious faith, but also the larger social functions and implications of faith - what happens when a nation becomes united by a faith? What happens when a culture loses its religious identity? What is the role of faith in both political control and political resistance? Without losing its intense pace or "cool" factor, The Sapphire Altar finds times to explore these issues as the social and political situation of this series becomes ever more complex.

If you were a bigger fan of The Bladed Faith than I was, you also have nothing to worry about. While the action sequences are less numerous here, there is still PLENTY of action to be had. Better yet, they aren't trapped up in endless training sequences as the characters and the plot are allowed to run at full sprint.

The Sapphire Altar ends with an intriguing cliffhanger involving one of my favorite characters from the book, and I cannot wait to dive into The Slain Divine to see how Dalglish brings this all home. If he can maintain the depth and quality of The Sapphire Altar, it will for sure be a finale for the ages (and imagine if he can raise the stakes again!). If you are the type of person who doesn't mind making your way through an ok book to get to an amazing one, add this absolutely epic series to your TBR.

Concluding Thoughts: I know we all hate being told "It gets better in book 2!". Well, this is a situation where it ACTUALLY gets better in book 2! The Bladed Faith was a middling, average read for me that was mired by its lengthy training montages, thinly drawn characters, and shallow plot. The Sapphire Altar is anything BUT those things. Dalglish finds the heart of the story and the emotional core of the characters here, imbuing this series with the depth that it has so rightly deserved. Combine that with some badass action sequences involving a bunch of gods, and you've got a sequel that is definitely worth your time. Epic fantasy readers should add this to their TBRs ASAP.

Something that I've noticed about fantasy authors is that a lot of them have trouble with the second book in a series. The second book slump, sequel slump, whatever you want to call it--it happens SO often! I was pleasantly surprised to see that was NOT the case with David Dalglish and The Sapphire Altar! When I see that a book taps in at a whopping 500 pages, I get worried. Sustaining consistent pacing, character development, and plot elements at that page length while keeping the story engaging is tough. David Dalglish had no such problems. The Sapphire Altar was a fascinating mix of sharp character development, profound quiet moments, and breakneck action, and once I got into the groove of the story I could not put the book down. Every single character has been given space to grow--whether positively or negatively--and it was refreshing having so many morally gray individuals in one story. Dalglish tackles organized religion, colonialism, genocide, and power in a really profound way. Nothing was quite what it seemed and I can't wait to see how he wraps up the story in the final book!

DNF at 45%

This story is just not for me - I was mixed on the first installment but liked the ending enough to continue. Unfortunately this one just kept up with the stuff I didn't like as much - and the added POV didn't help. With so much to read, it's hard to force myself to read something where I don't care about a single character or their journey.

I hate to admit it, but I struggled with this and considered DNFing several times - I can't exactly put my finger on it, but the issues I had with not clicking with the characters in book one were exacerbated here. I think this is a little too grim and a little too introspective for me. I don't think I'll pick up book 3 unless I see amazing reviews, which is sad!

This is the sequel to The Bladed Faith. Just a really quick like one sentence synposis of that book, we have Cyrus our main character who is the prince to a kingdom that was under siege and taken over and now he fights to get it back. That’s a very simplistic way to explain things but it’ll have to do and you’ll just have to read it. This book doesn't suffer from second book syndrome. The characters are more complex, The main characters we got in first one get more time to develop and evolve as the story progresses. the plot explosive and the action just as pulse pounding as it was in the previous novel. Not only were the twists so well done, but how they were revealed was fantastic.I have one extreme negative and boy this deserves a 1 star, I can’t believe the author did this, it’s almost unforgiveable, and that is I have to wait until 2024 to read book 3. That’s the biggest sin imaginable.
Full review on YouTube

“There is no truth upon that bloody altar.”

Thank you so much to Orbit books for this review copy in exchange for an honest review. All quotes pulled from this review copy are subject to change in the final version.

A conquered city. An unbroken people. A tale of empire, of war and rebellion. A chronicle of faith, fanaticism, love, grief, and hope. This is the story of the Vagrant.

The Sapphire Altar took what the author did in the first book and improved on it in almost every way. I was especially impressed by the character development that Dalglish was able to accomplish within these pages. The characters were even more vivid as we get to see even more of what makes them who they are.

“To forgive and accept ourselves is the hardest task we may ever know.”

Keles, Mari, and Arn were three that I felt were done exceptionally well. We didn’t get to know them too much in The Bladed Faith, so to have more focus put on them was such an amazing touch to this story. There is just so much that happens with these three. Looking back on it I am just blown away by the love and care that Dalglish implemented in writing his characters in this one. I felt Cyrus, Rayan, Stasia, and Thorda got less spotlight in book 2, but it was okay because we already knew them so well from the first book. Their collective taking on of a somewhat smaller role left room for the aforementioned three characters to truly shine and have some incredibly deep and emotional moments.

The action scenes were superbly done. I find it funny that the author will lament on Twitter that all he has left to write are action scenes (leaving them to be written until he has written everything else because he doesn’t like writing action) when in truth these are some of the very best scenes in his books. They are intense, visceral, and oh so much fun to read.

“Some say sleeping on hard floors and depriving yourself of comforts will make you a stronger person. I say it leads to a bad back and an unwelcoming disposition.”

Rayan’s quote above is so relatable it actually made me chuckle. I really enjoyed how this story can get pretty dark, but Dalglish is able to inject just the right amount of humor here, a heartwarming gesture there to keep the tone of the story where it should be. There is darkness and horrible things happening, but there is always hope. There are still things to be excited about, to laugh about with friends. I love this brand of dark fantasy.

The plot in this second book was just as fast paced as the first. It moved at a steady clip and I really enjoyed that about this book. There are slow down moments throughout the book that felt so well placed to keep the story from feeling rushed. I especially liked the characters moments that I mentioned above that were so impactful and powerful. The overall structure of the narrative was just perfection.

“You would destroy a world of beauty and wonder to achieve your hollow peace,” he said. “You would build a gray land of ash and soot, where the faithful bend by the boot on their necks to offer shallow worship. You do not get to drown the world in blood and then call yourself peacemaker, Galvanis. The conquered deny your delusions. Tyrant, I name you. Warbringer, I condemn you. May all the gods and goddesses spare us your peace.”

Despite the fast pace of the plot, there was quite a bit of worldbuilding mixed in. We learn some more about the other countries of this world, but we are also treated to more information about Thanet. Secrets that have been buried for generations are revealed that have huge repercussions for our characters and the country as a whole.

When I first started The Bladed Faith earlier this year I had no idea what to expect. I had only read a few other books by David Dalglish at that point so I didn’t have a lot to go off of to form expectations for this series. It quickly became one of my favorite books of the year. The Sapphire Altar not only surpassed The Bladed Faith, but it has catapulted The Vagrant Gods into one of my favorite series of all time. I cannot wait to see what book 3 brings!

Ever just have a really bad day of fighting people infused by human sacrifice by a foreign God-Emperor, who also drop history bombs about your own culture that have been obfuscated? Just need some time away from everyone after that.

"The Sapphire Altar" by David Dalglish picks up about a month after the first. Cyrus is done with being used and manipulated to further someone else's vengeance. But things are still going poorly for the rebellion. The Heir of the Empire arrives, with someone else's sibling, and we get more backstory on our merry band of murderous rebels. Oh and someone reincarnates a dead god of the island...

Devante Johnson and Imani Parks narrate, I didn't listen to the first on audio and went back and forth for this one as work allowed. Fantastic job, only downside is now some characters voices are gone.

Thank you Hachette Audio, Orbit, and Netgalley for the ebook and audiobook.

Reasons to read:
-A lot of people have pretty damn good reasons for their actions
-Commentary on the nature of what makes a god
-Backstory!
-The horrors of war
-Ooo that's what they were up to
-That part for the first book that I thought was odd definitely was and I did not see that coming

Cons:
-Dang, pour one out

David Dalglish's THE SAPPHIRE ALTAR is another solid fantasy offering from the author that will please Dalglish's fans, but it fails to break out of the mold Dalglish has set for himself.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- this series is very interesting and enjoyable, and it has such a strong appeal for fantasy lovers who like to enjoy the thrill of an adventure.

The beginning of the book contains a concise account of the main characters and events of the first book, so no need to reread The Bladed Faith, unless you want to.

With a fairly large cast of characters, each one is complex with unique feelings, motivations, and relationships. They all have backstory and show growth throughout the story. No one has a clear 'good' or 'bad', everyone is trying to do what they think is right, even if they have to do horrible things to get there. And they all do horrible things, so if you're sensitive to blood and gore, this many not be the series for you, but I never felt like it was overly graphic or gratuitous. The characters often question the morality of their actions and rethink their goals as they learn new information.

The world is big and well-developed. Each place has its own culture, religion, and history. All of this plays into the plot, which centers around religious wars. Gods are very much a part of the world and people's lives, and they each have their own traits, temperaments, and relationships. They're also the root of the magic system, which often blurred the line between worshipper and god. Prayer and worship have immediate, tangible outcomes here, which I really enjoyed seeing.

Although there is a lot of action, we're given enough downtime to process everything. There's enough description to really flesh everything out, without any long-winded descriptions or info-dumping, something I very much appreciated. There are also some small moments between characters that break the tension, which made interactions feel more realistic. No one can take themselves too seriously where it's not warranted, even though most of the events are pretty dark.

Both interesting and engaging, I had a lot of fun reading this book. A world full of magic and troubles, compelling characters, questionable morals, action, intrigue, and plot twists are all in this book, and all things I love in a story.

Overall, if you like multiple POVs, rich, well-developed worlds, morally grey characters who all grow throughout the story, and plenty of action, I definitely recommend checking this series out.

A great second installment in this brutal series. Many questions from book one are answered and many more are asked.

Book 2 picks up about a month after the end of Book 1. Immediately we’re thrown back into action, plotting, and lots of murder. We are introduced to a few new characters who add to the already wonderful cast of characters. I really appreciated the deeper exploration of each of the main characters motives and feelings in the things going on around them. That was something I thought was off in Book 1, but was not an issue here.

And of course we discover some interesting things about my favorite character.

The stakes are raised even higher. I can’t wait to get my hands in book 3!

The second title in the epic fantasy by David Dalglish. I didn’t realize it was a series so I did pick up the first book, The Bladed Faith. I do, however, think it can be read without reading the first book. You might be slightly lost but the flow of the story gets you on track. This was a very well written fantasy novel complete with all of the epic fantasy ingredients.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to successfully read this with my eyeballs before it was released, because life happens and sometimes my eyeballs and brain decide to not do it. Which is all lovely conjecture to say that I read this via audiobook.

I can say that I did enjoy it, although I do feel like it does have a little bit of second book syndrome. There was plot, there were characters and there was a slighly convoluded way that we got to the end of the book. I do feel like there is still a big show down to be found in book three that is promising to be epic. My main issue with the book is that every time you turned around there was an fight happening, which is fine, but because the plot was slightly convoluded, I couldn't always remember why the characters were fighting that specific time. Now, had I read the book with my eyeballs, that would have been a different story, so maybe this is my suggesting to read this physically.

Otherwise I am very interested in book three and am anticipating that it's going to be an epic big bang of an ending.

Woo! This one was exciting! From the very beginning there is action as the Vagrant and his friends fight the empire. We see more of the island in this book as they venture into some outlying areas for battles. The relationships between each of them change and morph and some of the more minor characters from the first book get more background and become more important and engaging. There were some lulls in the book where I felt like it could have been edited down, but it makes up for it with an action packed climax and a super intriguing ending that has me impatient for the next book. Highly recommended!

The Sapphire Altar is David Dalglish's second book in the Vagrant Gods series. The book picks up right where events left us at the end of The Bladed Faith. Cyrus is disillusioned and separated from his friends, feeling betrayed by the mentor who helped create him as a symbol to rally the people of the island nation of Thanet to overthrow the invasion from the Everlorn Empire. He is still evolving into the character that Thorda created him to be, Vagrant, a figure to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies and stoke hope in the hearts of the people of Thanet.
Cyrus eventually returns to Thorda and his friends to take part in the plans to further harass the invaders. The plans see the group take the fight out of the city, in part to divide the empire's forces as well as inflict maximum damage in strategic attacks within the city. In addition to Sinshei, the daughter of the God-Incarnate emperor, his son and Heir-Incarnate, Galvanis, has arrived on the island. Thorda's group scores victories, but they are also outmaneuvered at times by the forces the Everlorn Empire can bring to bear.

This book continues to examine the moral complexity of both sides in this conflict. In a world filled with gods and nations often at war with each other, whose cause is most just? Both sides commit unspeakable acts in the name of what they believe is the greater good. The story once again shifts between multiple viewpoints, including Thorda's daughters Mari and Stasia, Keles, and the paragon Arn. These viewpoints let you experience not only the global struggle but the individual battle of conscience that each of these individuals must deal with. Arn reveals an absolutely heartbreaking story that explains his decision to stop fighting for the Empire and begin fighting against it.

The fights and other action sequences in this book are thrilling, including a climactic battle that will have you gasping for air. It ends with another jaw-dropping revelation that will make your eyes go wide and leave you anxiously awaiting the next entry in the series.

The world Daglish has created here is both wide and intimate. This series puts the epic in epic fantasy. I can't wait to see where it goes next!

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

7.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/01/21/the-sapphire-altar-by-david-dalglish-review/

Newly crowned as the Vagrant—the self-proclaimed protector of Thanet—and well on his way to becoming a god, Cyrus has had enough, storming out on the rebellion and refusing to speak to Thorda ever again. On his own now, he stalks the capital streets, still enacting the Vagrant’s vengeance, driven by the grinning mask and silver crown and an ever-growing bloodlust.

More worrying still, Cyrus can now manifest the grinning mask even when he’s not wearing it. Not to mention the voices that whisper to him in the dark.

But the Vagrant isn’t the only god on Thanet.

The Heir Incarnate has arrived on the isle, ready to begin his ascendance. Rumors persist of resurrected Lycaena, now a goddess of blood and death. The slain Endarius still lives on through Mari, battling gods humbled by the Everlorn Empire. And somewhere on the island, the ghost of Dagon lurks, the former god of Thanet ready to once more reclaim his rightful place.

So many gods on such a little island. Surely they’ll play nice.

—

A decent followup to the Bladed Faith, the Sapphire Altar continues the telling of Cyrus and the Vagrant’s tales in an interesting manner—however, not quite in the way I was hoping.

After the revelations of Book 1, I was hoping for a deep-dive into just what it meant to be a god. With Cyrus competing with the Vagrant’s growing influence, I expected a much more internal struggle, one that was only partly addressed in text, and not with any semblance of urgency. What I was hoping for was a spiritual journey, a mystical journey, and a reflection on what it means to be human. I had hoped this would combine with the burgeoning story of revenge to create something new and unique, and highly immersive. As it is, we get really none of the spiritual journey, glimpses of the mystical one, and the continued bloody swath of revenge from the first book. Don’t get me wrong—the Sapphire Altar is still a good read, I’d just hoped that the series was going in a different direction.

Whereas Cyrus is the focal point in the first book, in the second he splits the stage with Keles—Rayan’s daughter and former Paladin of Lycaena. Her story seemed to be… hasty. Not as well written or thought out as previous arcs; I found some of her decisions brainless if not nonsensical, but I suppose such is the same of humanity.

While I wasn’t enjoying this read as much as its predecessor, there was still the inclusion of interesting characters Rayan and Eshiel and Sinshei that kept me reading. Fortunately, at the… 65% mark everything devolved into chaos (the good kind of chaos). It was then that the story finally hit its stride. And drank me in. As weak as I found the middle of the Sapphire Altar, the end was strong enough to make up for it. Multiple jaw-dropping twists, lies and betrayal, mystery, mayhem, and more—the conclusion is packed with content. It’s just a shame that more wasn’t done to flesh the early and middle bits out; the book went from a borderline snooze to heart-pounding in just a few chapters. Needless to say, this makes the pacing seem wild and strange, and the story itself a bit episodic in its portrayal.

TL;DR

While it isn’t shaping out to be the author’s greatest series ever (I’d vote for both the Shadowdance and Keepers’ over it to be honest), Book #2 of the Vagrant Gods delivers an interesting, ofttimes exciting adventure—immersive if you enjoyed the events of the first book and wanted nothing more than more of the same. For me, it was a bit of a letdown. I expected so much more from the relationship of Cyrus and the Vagrant: a spiritual journey into what it meant to be mortal or a god. Instead it’s the continuing tale of rebellion, with some metaphysical bits thrown in. Which is fine, just not what I was hoping for. Either way, it’s a good, entertaining, interesting read that I’d recommend for returning fans of the author and/or the Bladed Faith. Looking forward to the series’ conclusion, expected in 2024!

4.25 Stars.

The Sapphire Altar seems to be an improvement of the first book. It had all the same elements from The Bladed Faith but better.

In the first book, we’re dropped into the world in the middle of a war, missing out on a lot of the backstory for the characters. Due to this, I felt like it was hard to connect with the characters. In this book, there was a lot more insight into their struggles and backstories. This significantly helped to get attached to them. Its a multi POV story and all the characters feel like they could be main characters in their own stories. Nothing is freely given. Their strengths are earned through their struggles.

I really enjoy this world and how the magic system and interactions with the Gods work. The magic is tied in with the Gods and it is interesting learning about all the different Gods that exist or existed in the past and what they are capable of. They are all very different and have unique personalities, strengths and faults. It has become one of the my favourite worlds that I have read about. There are so many possibilities for storylines in this world and I am fascinated by all the potential of different narratives the author could create. Please write prequels!

The author does a great job of balancing everything and making it so the reader is able to keep up and not get lost with all the content being given to them; whether it’s following along with the shifting POVs that each feel unique, learning about the history of this world or, keeping pace with one of the many combat scenes.

The book also ends on an awesome twist that makes you really excited for the next one.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

I was originally worried that the follow up to The Bladed Faith would not live up to the very strong series introduction but I was absolutely wrong to. The Sapphire Altar brings more action, more strong characters, more well thought out world building.
David Dalglish also does something that should be a standard in epic fantasy writing: a recap of the previous book. Having a reference to the events of the series so far obviously gives us readers a refresher but also warms us back up to the world we haven't stepped foot in in a while.
From start to finish, this book doesn't let up on the gas. We are given so much information on what is happening across Thanet as well as a ton of history on the world. Every character is given their own spotlight so we can see further into their hearts and fall further in love with them. And the fight scenes are constant but not overbearing. My only gripe is that sometimes they can get a little messy so its hard to really grasp what is going on.

All-in-all this is a really strong book 2 and I seriously cannot wait to see how this series concludes. It has become a strong contender for favorite series.

This is a release I've been looking forward to reading for quite some time. I enjoyed the first book, and this sequel builds on many of the elements I loved in the first story. Unfortunately, there were also some things that just didn't work for me, which left me with mixed feelings at the end.

First off, I had trouble sinking back into the story, which was odd because there was a useful recap at the beginning that helped to get my memory up to speed on the events of the prior book. I'm honestly not sure why I had so much difficulty at first, but I trudged through the first 25% of the book and couldn't seem to remain interested in it for more than a chapter or two at a time. I think the large number of POVs may have played a role since I never really had the time to settle into any one character for any length of time. So, it took me quite a ways into the book before getting re-attached to them and re-invested in what was going on.

Some big revelations happened at the end of the first book, and I was curious to see the impact they would have on the characters. There was a significant amount of character growth as a result of the reveals, and I enjoyed quite a few of the character arcs. However, each of them learned the information in different ways, and reading the same explanation of Thanet's history over and over from the perspectives of alternating characters got old fast. It bogged things down in the middle, and I found myself wishing the story would just move forward. The pace picked up in the second half, and we got battle after battle. I lost count of the number of fights in this book, and Dalglish did a masterful job of bringing each one to life. Battle sequences are definitely one of his strengths as a writer, and I enjoyed reading them. I think it may have crossed the line into too much of a good thing, though, because it began to feel like the characters were just bouncing from battle to battle with no real direction.

That brings me to the plot. It felt a bit all over the place when compared to the first book. Where before there was a fairly linear plan developed by Thorda that gave everything structure, everything in this book just sort of... happened. I never got the sense that the story was moving toward anything in particular other than a showdown with the heir of the God-Incarnate. There wasn't even really a clear idea about how they would survive that showdown for them to work toward, which cheapened the outcome a bit for me. All the fights in this story also make me less excited for the next book because I assume it will just be more of the same, them fighting and overcoming supposedly unbeatable foes. I did enjoy the parts of the plot tied to Thanet's past, and the twist at the end definitely made me see some things in a new light. The foreshadowing was so obvious, though, that it took some of the punch out of the surprises, at least for me.

The character arcs were one of my favorite things about this book. Many of the characters became much more well-rounded, and all of them exhibited some sort of growth because of the book's events. My favorites were Keles and Arn. Keles' story was deeply impactful and illustrated what can happen when someone's beliefs shatter and they lose faith in everything they once held dear. Arn was such a sweetheart in this story, and I loved getting to know him better. His struggle with guilt and overcoming the shadows of his past was moving, and seeing his softer side often left me smiling. All in all, I enjoyed Dalglish's ability to create compelling characters that fall somewhere between good and evil. I also just want to note that I LOVED that Stasia and Clarissa got their moment. It was pretty much perfect.

I also really loved the themes explored in this story. It deepened the exploration of faith considerably compared to the first book, and the magic system was a really fascinating way to explore those ideas. The story also spent a great deal of time examining whether the "safety" of conforming to authoritarianism is worth losing one's freedom. The horrors of imperialism and colonization were once again on full display, and the story provided a nuanced critique of those power structures and the people who operate them.

Overall, this was a fairly solid continuation of The Vagrant Gods story. If you enjoy sweeping action scenes, gritty examinations of faith, and compelling characters that struggle with morality in the face of oppression, you will likely find something here that you enjoy. I don't think this was as good of an outing as the first book, though, and it makes me a little less excited about the final upcoming story. Therefore, I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.