The Desert Heat Gets Intense in A Veil of Spears
Two years ago, Bradley Beaulieu’s Twelve Kings in Sharakhai took me by surprise. From the cover and blurb, I expected it to be epic. I expected swashbuckling. I expected…well, a lot of kings. Because I’ve read a lot of fantasy, I didn’t expect to be so impressed by the enveloping worldbuilding, or the fascinating magic system. And I certainly didn’t expect to be so wowed by the protagonist, Çeda, a tough-as-nails former pit fighter turned rebel with a brain, soul, and an all-consuming quest of revenge—a quest that has led her (and us) from the fighting pits and the streets of Sharakhai to the palace of the Twelve Kings, immortal men who have ruled the city with an iron fist for centuries.
A Veil of Spears
Hardcover $26.00
A Veil of Spears
Hardcover $26.00
(Note: Some spoilers for Twelve Kings and sequel With Blood Upon the Sand follow.)
(Note: Some spoilers for Twelve Kings and sequel With Blood Upon the Sand follow.)
As the third book in this six-book saga opens, however, the Kings’ rule may be weakening. The ending of With Blood Upon the Sand revealed cracks forming in their facade of invincibility. At least four of the supposedly unkillable rulers lie dead, their cache of god-given immortality elixirs destroyed. Their forces suffered a great defeat on what is now being called the Night of Endless Knives. And Çeda has discovered the horrifying secret of the asirim, the ghostly beings who haunt the city, killing citizens on the Kings’ orders—they are the spirits of the members of thirteenth tribe, and the ancestors of the rebel group known as the Moonless Host, and of Çeda herself. Four hundred years ago, on the night the kings of the other twelve tribes gained their power, they were turned into supernatural weapons for the other rulers to wield, forced to undertake centuries of their dirty work.
A Veil of Spears shows us that the rebels’ victories have come at a terrible cost. The Moonless Host is weak, and its members are being hunted relentlessly by the Kings’ agents. Their leader, Ishaq, is fighting a desperate battle in the desert, seeking reinforcements amongst the other desert tribes and hoping to exploit their deep-seeded hatred for Sharakhai’s despots. A tough job is made more complicated by the presence of a surprising new power in the desert, gathering his own strength against Ishaq. Çeda, meanwhile, has joined the remnants of thirteenth tribe in the desert, but is consumed by trying to find a way to free the asirim, who she now knows to be her blood kin.
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai
Paperback $26.00
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai
In Stock Online
Paperback $26.00
This quest leads Ceda right back to where she doesn’t belong: into Sharakhai. Back to the barracks of the Blade Maidens she betrayed, to the palaces of the kings she killed, in a desperate search for a key to saving the asirim that may not exist, even as her friends and her tribe fight for their ownfreedom.
This quest leads Ceda right back to where she doesn’t belong: into Sharakhai. Back to the barracks of the Blade Maidens she betrayed, to the palaces of the kings she killed, in a desperate search for a key to saving the asirim that may not exist, even as her friends and her tribe fight for their ownfreedom.
This mid-series volume provides an enjoyable, eventful return to the setting of the first book. It’s an action-heavy affair, packed with street fights, cloak-and-dagger surprise attacks, nerve-wracking escapes and near-escapes, and an explosive final battle, with enough surprises and shocking betrayals along the way that you’re never who Çeda can trust, or how long she can trust them. (There’s at least one 180 degree betrayal you won’t see coming.) All that means this trip to Sharakhai is particularly heavy on the palace intrigue: some people are running scared, and others are taking advantage of the chaos.
Copious incident aside, this is definitely a middle novel. It tells a good story, but its larger purpose is to move the chess pieces forward and to set up the next stage in the game—but it’s so well-done, you won’t mind at all. Readers will particularly enjoy watching Çeda’s childhood friend Emre come into his own and get his own chance to shine away from her admittedly overpowering shadow. We also spend time with our villains, and getting to know a few of the Kings more intimately only increases their effectiveness as the series’ Big Bads, and much more than one-dimensional menaces (particularly King Sukru, who has control of Davud,a yyoung blood-mage in training, and is introducing him to all sorts of lurid magics—hallucinations, and dark goddesses, and necromancy). We also see the human side of Çeda, who finds herself blessed with what’s left of a family—and discovers that family comes with complications that perhaps she didn’t bargain for.
With Blood Upon the Sand
Paperback $18.00
With Blood Upon the Sand
In Stock Online
Paperback $18.00
I ended this volume doubly intrigued, as Beaulieu seems to be hinting that this already expansive world will soon grow far more vast—a rich desert city, for so long impenetrable, suddenly becomes deliciously vulnerable? The power-hungry neighbors are only going to let that one go unnoticed for so long. I’m looking forward to meeting the leaders of the surrounding countries, who will no doubt make themselves known soon. (One contingent from abroad, the Qaimiri Queen Maryam and Ramahd, have so far been a crucial part of the drama—I didn’t even touch on the part where they’re trying to come out ahead in a deal they made to feed Çeda to a bloodthirsty monster, provided they can fulfll their end of the bargain first. The drama, it is bottomless.
I ended this volume doubly intrigued, as Beaulieu seems to be hinting that this already expansive world will soon grow far more vast—a rich desert city, for so long impenetrable, suddenly becomes deliciously vulnerable? The power-hungry neighbors are only going to let that one go unnoticed for so long. I’m looking forward to meeting the leaders of the surrounding countries, who will no doubt make themselves known soon. (One contingent from abroad, the Qaimiri Queen Maryam and Ramahd, have so far been a crucial part of the drama—I didn’t even touch on the part where they’re trying to come out ahead in a deal they made to feed Çeda to a bloodthirsty monster, provided they can fulfll their end of the bargain first. The drama, it is bottomless.
A Veil of Spears brings devastation and loss to our heroes. But it also solves some key mysteries along the way, and dispenses well-deserved justice, and, most importantly, leaves a sliver of hope alive for those who have made it this far.