The Providence of Fire

October 27, 2014
Three long-separated children of a murdered emperor scramble to secure allies in this sprawling sequel to 2014’s The Emperor’s Blades. Adare, having mistakenly persecuted the Church of Intarra, identifies the true leader of the coup and flees to recruit the religious exiles. Elite soldier Valyn, saving his older brother from a massacre, plots a campaign to cross steppes teeming with barbarian Urghul horse riders, hoping to find and execute a murderer. Kaden, still struggling with the monastic training that allows him to use an ancient system of teleport gates, discovers that the legendary gate-builders and foes of humanity are alive and taking part in human affairs. As are the gods, personally. Staveley nicely complicates the moral scheme with plausible-sounding villains and shaky political alliances, but the appearance of immortals and legends threatens to drown out his mortal protagonists, and the realizations and reversals seem to stem from plot needs more than character development.

Starred review from December 15, 2014
The heirs of the murdered Annurian Emperor Sanlitun take separate paths toward uncovering and defeating the coup that toppled their father in this sequel to The Emperor's Blades (2014). Kaden, the uncrowned emperor tutored as a monk, vainly seeks answers and aid from the Ishien, a vicious cult devoted to defeating the immortal, emotionless Csestriim who are apparently at the heart of the conspiracy. Kaden's younger brother, Valyn, and his band of elite warriors struggle across the steppe toward the imperial seat at Annur, only to encounter a vast army of the nomadic Urghul, seemingly poised to invade. And the dead emperor's eldest, Princess Adare, having discovered the true assassin of her father-the Empire's regent, head general and her lover, Ran il Tornja-attempts to secure her own army, that of the fanatic worshipers of the goddess Intarra. At every juncture, the siblings confront constantly shifting truths concerning why their father died and who deserves their trust. Following in the footsteps of George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie and the like, Staveley doesn't hesitate to treat his protagonists harshly, subjecting them to utter privation and pain, devastating betrayals and the vast uncertainty that results when long-distance communication between potential allies is impossible (ah, for the magical equivalent of a cellphone!). But none of this feels gratuitous; all is in the service of the series plot, which remains gloriously unpredictable, although it's at least clear by the end of this installment that an affectionate reunion among the three imperial siblings has been ruled out. Brutal, intriguing and continuing to head toward exciting events and places unknown.

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February 15, 2015

A coup in The Emperor's Blades left the emperor of Annur dead and his children scattered. Here Adare and her brothers are gathering allies to recover what their family lost.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2014
The world of the Annurian Empire is an ambitiously drawn one. In this volume, the second in the series, the three children of the assassinated emperor go their separate ways and find themselves embroiled in inevitable conflict. Adare flees the Dawn Palace when she learns the true identity of her father's killer; her initial plan falls apart, but she is apparently touched by the goddess Intarra and successfully raises an armyand has a brush with legend. When her enemy tells her of the impending invasion from the nomadic death-worshipping Urghul, though, she makes an uneasy alliance. Valyn, stranded and captured by the Urghul, along with the fighters he commands, makes an alliance of his own with their leader. Meanwhile, Kaden and his mysterious companions make their way back to the capital; along the way, he learns some difficult truths, and there is some question as to whether the empire will be saved or whether the end of civilization is at hand. The unfolding of the secret history of the world is a promising sign for future installments.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)