Heather’s Bookshelf: The Living Sword 2&3
Author: Pemry Janes
Released: 01/09/20 & 08/06/21
Genre: High Fantasy Fiction
“Leraine wanted to dismiss the incident. People got worked up. Some trained for years just to compete here during the festival. But then there were the groups of Truce Warriors walking around, daring everybody. And that murderer who could wear the face of another. It all felt like this year’s festival was dry tinder, just waiting for the spark.
Please note this review is for books 2 and 3 in The Living Sword series. The debut book has been previously reviewed and can be found here. Please don’t read ahead if you don’t want any spoilers!
“Living Sword 2” takes up right where the original left off. Eurik and Leraine have escaped their last perilous journey to continue on their way. Eurik is still seeking answers about his past and his parents while Leraine is carrying the emotional burden of her teacher’s death as well as the responsibility of notifying their community about what happened.
Along the way, the trio (including Misthell) encounter all kinds of dangers including people-eaters, elves, and a demon. Will they be able to survive the trip and find out the answers they seek?
Fair Warning: murder, death, adult language
“Living Sword 3” picks up right where the second book leaves off and with Misthell retelling the tale of their big battle. Eurik finally gets some answers about his birth parents and soon regrets some of what he finds out. Seeking clarification, he enters an athletic contest at a big festival in order to get his parents names around the community. But while there, Leraine happens upon the murder of a Shaman.
Soon the Shaman isn’t the only person killed and Eurik and Leraine try to find the culprit. Will they be able to do so before it is too late? Or will the sins of those around them be too much to overcome?
Fair Warning: murder, death, adult language, sexual inuendo
“The Living Sword 2” spends a majority of the tale expanding on previous world building including new characters, races, etc. There are more adventures and conflicts along the way and this book is more fast-paced overall than the last one. The author also does well in including several more applications of the elemental manipulation, which I found really interesting. However, I did not feel as though the characters were developed much more, Misthell did not have much of a chance to express his sarcastic self, and we still didn’t get very many answers!
“The Living Sword 3” shows off more of Misthell and leads to some of the answers craved in the second novel. It delves into the pasts and family histories of both Eurik and Leraine and evolves them into more complex characters. I also really enjoyed that Eurik’s use of the Chiri also evolved into a much more interesting and inventive use of the power. I did feel that this story moved much more quickly than book 2, but portions of the story dragged on around the main mystery. The ending was quite the cliffhanger for the next in the series (which if you’ve read my other reviews, you know I am not a fan of).
Together, these tales expanded on the original with expanded characterization and some mysteries revealed (though I thought the third did a better job than the second).
I received a copy of these stories in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
Sequels expanded on the universe and characters from the original with mysteries revealed. Pacing challenges are present throughout, and especially in book 2.
Want to learn more about the author? Check out my interview with Pemry Janes:
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