Game of Cages (Twenty Palaces Series #2)

Read the book in one sitting, what a great ride

The first book in the series (Child of Fire) is absolutely terrific -- I hardly ever re-read books, but I've read this one three times now -- and I wholeheartedly recommend it. That said, this book is fairly self-contained and you could read it without ever reading the book before it. What I love about Harry Connolly's series is that there's plenty of magic, violence and chaos but none of it is treated lightly. Ray, who barely has any training but is absolutely committed to doing his best to stop the predators and their summoners, is far from perfect but his heart is in the right place. His on-the-job training is intense, to say the least. It's rare to find a good urban fantasy book that doesn't feature romance, but I don't find that a negative at all even though I'm also a fan of those that do. My only criticism of the book is that it's almost too fast-paced. Harry Connolly has created a world rich in detail and myth, and I would love to slow down just a touch to savor the exploration. I especially want to find out more about the Twenty Palaces Society and the forces they fight, and I hope the next book has a bit more Annalise in it. She and Ray are very different, but make a great combat team. I read the book in one sitting, putting it aside only long enough to eat. What a treat!

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I love this series. I read this book in one evening.

I love this series. I read this book in one evening.

Great series

Ray Lily is a guy who doesn't expect a lot of breaks but who finds the strength to stand up for himself when he needs to. Connolly writes a fast moving, tightly plotted adventure that stars smart people doing the best they can against very scary creatures. And with enough temptation to make everyone's motives sometimes waver. Highly recommended.

Ray comes into his own

I love this series. Ray works without a peer in most of this book and is very impressive throughout. I strongly recommend this book and the rest of the series ( including the ebook short stories). The ebooks are well done for those that are looking at them, the covers are embedded and the editing is excellent.

Filled with non-stop gory action, readers will enjoy the bloody Game of Cages

A few days before Christmas, Twenty Palaces' sorcerer Catherine Little asks former convict turned grocery clerk Ray Lilly to assist her with an emergency in Washaway. When he learns the details of the mission, Ray knows he is not the right person for the job, but no one survives refusing lethal Little. Apparently, a predatory alien was on the auction block, but escaped incarceration. Little wants it captured and taken away from these street peddlers or dead; and warns her assistant he is to assist her and no more or else face her deadly wrath.

Neither Ray nor his leader expected the auction participants and staff will kill anyone using guns, magic or both who tries to catch the deadly alien or kill the beast. Meanwhile, the alien predator is devastating Washaway.

The second Twenty Palace Society rural fantasy (see Child of Fire) is a great thought provoking yet action-packed noir as readers will ponder the use of drones in the Middle east killing the enemy and the innocent. Little is a fabulous character as collateral damage of the innocent does not faze her with her bottom line mission accomplished as all that matters. People die in combat is her philosophy. Ironically Lilly is the ex convict with a conscience while Little is a societal elitist with an amoral value system. The auction crowd beliefs align with Little though she is their adversary. Filled with non-stop gory action, readers will enjoy the bloody Game of Cages.

Harriet Klausner

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