The Martyr

Book 2 picks up straight after the events of Book 1, with Alwyn and Covenant Company hiding out in the same forest as Alwyn and the bandit comrades of his youth used to call home. Despite the spectre of civil war lingering over everyone’s heads, the company is flush with new recruits come to serve Lady Evadine in her righteous cause. That’s how it all starts, and as with Book 1, this novel covers a lot of ground, with each distinct section broken up into individual parts. I am again extremely impressed in the scale of the book, with a huge amount of content imparted in under 20 hours of runtime. I’ve listened to books twice this size which still don’t have such a broad scope, and Ryan manages to stitch together this wide-ranging story arc into a seamless whole that never ceases to be engaging and entertaining. We get to see more of the main Kingdom of Albermaine and have the nation thoroughly fleshed out both in aspect and character. We also get to see a little more of the wider world in the form of the Kerith (not sure on the actual spelling) Wastes and the people that populate it. Ryan is going to a lot of effort to fashion a wide and engrossing universe in this series but does so without tiresome or jarring exposition dumps. Having Alwyn being a scribe and set on learning ever more about the world helps a great deal, but I can honestly say that this world is being crafted atop well-defined foundations of realism and logic. This in turn means that when the more arcane and mystical aspects of the story do appear, there is a lot more weight to them than, say, in fantasy novels where such things are thrown about with far less import.

The story itself is gripping, even in the quieter moments. We get plenty of action and swordplay thrown into the mix with both fantastic large-scale battles and brilliant blood-soaked brawls, but the spaces between never cease to hold your attention either, even when the content would under other circumstances seem maybe a little dry. Ryan finds a fantastic balance between the mundane and extraordinary within which we get some fantastic characters and character development. The character of the Widow in particular was a standout for me. Ryan doesn’t sugarcoat any of the harsh, unfair, and brutal nature of medieval life and death. So often fantasy books just gloss over the far darker and unsavoury aspects that accompany battle and warfare, but not here. Even the outwardly boring features of supplies and logistics are given the weight they truly deserve by showing the dire effects of when they are lacking. Again, it is this level of believability in the content that gives tremendous weight to the events that unfold. We are also given a far greater showing of the arcane nature of this world than we were in the last novel, and again, its subtlety and mysticism gives its presence far more baring than, say, some random wizard flinging fireballs.

It’s for the above reasons that this book and this series in general so far have scored so highly with me. It is nuanced and character driven but still manages to have some amazing fast-paced action exactly when required. As with the last book, I’m afraid that I can’t give it a full 5 Star review as it was missing that special something to tip it just over the edge into supreme excellence, which for me personally would probably be a splash of wit and humour. That said, this book just isn’t that kind of story, so although I personally can’t quite give it one of my all-to-rare 5 Stars, I can entirely see how a whole lot of people would. This was a great novel and a powerful successor to Book 1. Bring of Book 3.

As for narration, it seems like Steven Brand has expanded the somewhat limited range we were shown in Book 2. I still don’t feel like there is a whole expansive cast of actors on show, but a definite improvement on the last book.

Score: 4.75 stars

Like the way I write a review? Then you might like the way I write a novel. Link to Book 1 in the Blood and Balance series below, or for more info on my book series click HERE.

Buy 'The Sage's Lot (Blood and Balance, Book 1)' here!