The Helm of Midnight by Marina J. Lostetter was one of the most complicated and confusing books that I read in 2021. It was a strange murder mystery in a dystopian bubble world where people could summon the skills of the dead to empower them through masks. The book was so complicated that reading the recap in book two, The Cage of Dark Hours, was overwhelming to the point where I had to take a walk afterward. But, after a confusing and peculiar book one (that was worth reading in the end) Cage presents us with a much more straightforward adventure that starts to pull up the floorboards of book one and show us the innards of The Five Penalties series.

As I sit here writing this, struggling, I am trying to think of how to talk about the book without spoiling any of the juicy bits accidentally. Cage has shown me that this series is all about lies. Layer upon layer of misinformation, permeating a strange and magical world, where five universal laws (which have horrible penalties for breaking them) run everything. Book one is intentionally obtuse as hell to keep you guessing at everything that is happening around you. It reads like a surreal fever dream with a cinderblock of lore tied to its feet. In book two the cat is out of the bag so to speak and Cage breaks away from these trappings and starts to sprint full speed into something more closely resembling an adventure story.

Our protagonist from book one, Krona Hirvath, finds herself as one of the rare people who can see past the veil placed over her society into the mechanisms running underneath. This leaves her hunted by various people who want things to stay the way they are (I think; even in book two we have layers of misdirection). Cage is essentially Lostetter saying to her characters, “fine, you figured out what is happening. Now, what are you going to do about it.”

Despite being much more direct and much less confusing, I found Cage to be tonally very consistent with its previous novel. You still feel like you are walking through a spooky attic and running into web after web of intrigue. Every time you solve and lock down one element of the story, Lostetter just introduces a new one. The ability to don the mask of a dead person and gain their skills remains an extremely cool power system. I still wonder what you might gain if someone donned my death mask.

All in all my recommendation is this. I struggled with The Helm of Midnight a lot and still ended up liking it. So if you are in a similar boat and curious if you should press on know that I found The Cage of Dark Hours a much easier and relaxing read, but still retaining all the goodies that made book one intriguing. A remarkable improvement.

Rating: The Cage of Dark Hours – 8.0/10
-Andrew

It's a solid sequel with an intriguing world and exciting mythology. Unfortunately, it's slower than the first book and feels slightly bloated. I'm curious where the story goes from here but I hope the last book in the trilogy will be more focused.

TW: (body) gore, emotional child abuse, death, grief

The Cage of Dark Hours is a much awaited sequel and it does not disappoint in the slightest.

Where The Helm of Midnight felt like a detective story in a fantasy setting, the sequel has upped the stakes and put so much at risk.

In the first book, we follow Krona as she investigates the disappearance of a powerful death mask that belongs to the deceased serial killer Louis Charbon. In this world upon your death, your ability goes into a death mask along with your echo and memories so that someone can use your mask and learn about your special ability. For example, your ability is to manipulate/persuade people to do your bidding, the person who uses your mask will learn and be able to use your ability as long as they use the mask.
That is, if they can control the echo of the deceased.

And there is more complexity to the magic system and the world building. There is the constant threat of the varg, the monsters who can't be killed, only subdued and they are Krona's deepest fears.

The Cage of Dark Hours continues a few years after the events of the first book and we see how much Krona has changed as a person, even if not always for the better. We also follow two unlikely characters who keep you guessing at what is truly happening in the story.

I had no expectations for what could happen and my expectations were surpassed by the excellent writing and the reveals throughout the novel. There is so much more to the story than where we began with Charbon and I am anxious to see it all play out in the following sequel.

I don't want to spoil the events for this one so please take my word: if you enjoyed The Helm of Midnight, you will not be disappointed by the sequel.

The Cage of Dark Hours is a worthy continuation of what will undoubtedly become one of the best fantasies of all time.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

This is a sequel to The Helm of Midnight, and I'm a lot more ambivalent than I usually am about whether you can read it first. Probably? The beginning has a short but thorough explanation of what's gone before. And also...the focus has shifted a lot, compared to what you usually see in second books. All the elements are here, but which ones are background and which are of primary interest seem to have shifted significantly to me, rather than only progressing with the plot. (More monster. So much more monster focus.)

So...stand-alone? almost? Well, no: the ending is very much a middle book ending. Either that or it's a horrifying ending--think Han Solo in carbonite, the end good talk--so if you're looking for a stand-alone fantasy, this is not it.

If, however, you're looking for a really classically structured genre fantasy, this ticks all the boxes. Taxonomies of magic and humans and gods and monsters! Really wicked adversaries, vivid protagonists trying the best they can! Mazes of secret passages while horrible deeds are taking place. Mysteries of identity and fate and family. Twists on what you thought you found out from the book before. Sometimes you really want a fantasy novel that hits the brief, and this one very much does. (So does its predecessor.)

Had me on the edge of my seat. Thank you TOR for the first book. I loved the second even more. The fantasy work with the thrill was exactly what I needed

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

The Cage of Dark Hours was a genius installment for the first book, I really loved every detailed information about the expanding worldbuilding. Also, Marina Lostetter's writing style was so enchanting and made me keep reading until it finished.

Fantastic sequel. Highly recommend it as it is a unique concept and overall it is just great fun. Highly recommend this as I cannot wait for the third installment.

An interesting follow up, I liked where this one went but I'm not sure if I enjoy it too much... I might read it but I might not.

A solid follow-up to The Helm of Midnight that expands the world and continues developing many characters from the first novel. Great for fans of Mistborn and Foundryside.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read (if I qualify)