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MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
Format: Kindle eBook
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Fires return. Empires burn.
James Culdaine and the surviving folk of Mal Hallow have spent the winter sheltered in the haunted castle of Kallahorn. When a dwindling food supply and the looming threat of siege forces them to leave, James struggles to keep his family’s kingdom from falling apart and begins to question his place in the world.
Deep in the mountains of the Fells, Etta struggles to find the peace she has promised to her young grandson. But when she is forced to take help from a mysterious person from her past, Etta finds herself deep in the tangles of ancient prophecy and at odds with everything she has ever believed in.
Meanwhile, a prophet of Karaat and the growing army at his back, make their way through the Behruvian desert to exterminate all who don’t bow to His name, while a young prince of Hest tries to prepare for their coming amidst a civil war and the growing influence of a baleful spirit that has possessed him.
An ancient echo of war has returned and the gods are silent.
Welcome back to Ardura.
MY REVIEW
A Chorus of War is an unrelenting sequel that turns up the intensity to the max. The story picks up right after the events in A Memory of Song and thrusts us into a dying world where an ancient evil stirs, and the survivors fight to keep hope alive amidst an endless war. Palmer has instantly become a favorite to read because this series has been hard to put down the moment I started it a few weeks ago. I didn’t need it, but nothing makes me happier than seeing a “story so far” section to help readers refresh their memory on the world. So major kudos to Palmer for that inclusion.
One of the biggest differences that Palmer makes in A Chorus of War from A Memory of Song is the expansion of the world by introducing new pov’s. While the main story still centers around James and Maggie’s relationship that anchors the emotional core, and Etta (aka Wulfee’s) journey as she grapples with her past as she’s trying to build something new. The addition of the new characters adds a lot of extra flavor to the story with Halda, Aldred and Julien. To be honest, Julien stole the show for me and I feel like he may be everyone’s favorite character.
“There’s only one thing keeps the fire in all of us burning. Every fire needs an ember, and hope is that ember, Swey. You have to keep it burning, you see? Never let that ember fade. The smallest ember can become the biggest fire.”
I truly love just how deep and complex the world is, where Palmer gives us these glimpses inside the madness of the world. Showing these little intricacies of the world’s violent and chaotic cycle repeating itself, just as the chorus of a song. Palmer definitely took it as a challenge to truly expand this world in both the addition of characters and the depth of the lore challenging the likes of PL Stuart’s in depth world-building and lore. It was a brave challenge to expand this way and it worked extremely well, but this wasn’t shocking to me after his interview with PL Stuart. I knew exactly what I was getting into and just how much dedication he has to the meaning of things and how deep his lore studying goes.
Palmer does a great job in, not only the characters and lore, but also in how the world feels so immersive and real. Just fantastic storytelling that kept me flipping page after page (technically swiping.) I expect Palmer to grow fast on a lot of folks, I wish I was there in the beginning, but I’m here now and what a ride this journey is going to end up being. It’s visceral, epic, and truly a knock out of a sequel. I highly recommend this for those dark epic fantasy lovers, and of course John Gwynne and Ryan Cahill fans.
Wolfmantula.com 