[Review] Tower Lord - Anthony Ryan

Titel: Tower Lord

Series: Raven's Shadow #2

Author: Anthony Ryan

Publisher:Penguin Audio

Format: Audio, 24h, english

Synopsis: GoodReads

Review: 5*, GoodReads, LovelyBooks, Amazon

Buy: Amazon

 

Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, called Darkblade, called Hope Killer. The greatest warrior of his day, and witness to the greatest defeat of his nation: King Janus' vision of a Greater Unified Realm drowned in the blood of brave men fighting for a cause Vaelin alone knows was forged from a lie. Sick at heart, he comes home, determined to kill no more. Named Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches by King Janus's grateful heir, he can perhaps find peace in a colder, more remote land far from the intrigues of a troubled Realm.

But those gifted with the blood-song are never destined to live a quiet life. Many died in King Janus' wars, but many survived, and Vaelin is a target, not just for those seeking revenge but for those who know what he can do. The Faith has been sundered, and many have no doubt who their leader should be. The new King is weak, but his sister is strong. The blood-song is powerful, rich in warning and guidance in times of trouble, but is only a fraction of the power available to others who understand more of its mysteries. Something moves against the Realm, something that commands mighty forces, and Vaelin will find to his great regret that when faced with annihilation, even the most reluctant hand must eventually draw a sword.

->GoodReads 

As soon as I finished ‚Blood Song‘ I started on ‘Tower Lord’ and let me tell you, it was even better!

There was even more ‘Magic’ in this one but equally as much adventure, which is great.

As in the first one we see all our major characters grow and go through various stages of life. For me this is the first series that spans such a great amount of time and I quite like it although I didn’t think I would. I still have problems with discerning the passing of time and therefore the characters ages but it doesn’t really take away from the story.

I also listened to it on audio and as with the first one it was sometimes hard to differentiate between the different characters and between thoughts and speech. And yet I’m listening to the third book on audio as well.

The plot took off a few years after the first book ended, but what happened in the meantime is well described and I don’t feel like I’m missing anything, especially because there wasn’t much to tell about Vaelin.

The story was full of fighting, war and violence and it was amazingly well written.

We also got to know some new characters which were integrated so well into the story that I feel they were with us from the start.

Unlike the first book we follow the story from more POVs, which can be quite annoying, as the story switches right when you want to know more about what’s happening. On the other hand it’s amazing as we get a much broader view of the events.

While this time ‘round there wasn’t an epic battle against a foreign power there was a lot of infighting within the Realm, which took on a more religious tint.

I find it quite fascinating to learn more about the different religions of this world and see them fighting each other, just as ours do.

I know quite a few people who compare this to ‘The Name of the Wind’, but I like this series a lot more, even though I liked Rothfuss’ quite a lot.