The Shadow Saint

November 4, 2019
The epic, surreal second volume in Hanrahan’s Black Iron Legacy series (following The Gutter Prayer) mixes diplomacy, espionage, and religion to excellent effect. The politically neutral city of Guerdon serves as a refuge for odd saints and unclassifiable magical creatures during a raging war between unhinged deities. Terevant Erevesic, a lieutenant newly posted to Guerdon as guard captain at the embassy, is tasked with securing Guerdon’s god bombs, weapons powerful enough to level the field in the ongoing Godswar. Meanwhile, political operative Eladora Duttin works to drum up votes for the Industrial Liberal party in the upcoming parliamentary election in a new neighborhood formed during a recent alchemical disaster known as the Crisis. Through these various political machinations moves “the spy,” an unnamed man who has assumed the identity of Alic Nemon, a refugee from the Godswar and “father” to Emlin, a young saint. Hanrahan crafts a mind-blowingly complex world governed by capricious deities who actively alter reality. Series fans and new readers alike will delight entering this strange, immersive universe. Agent: John Jarrod, John Jarrod Literacy Agency.

December 1, 2019

The labyrinthine city of Guerdon is on the edge of the Godswar, divided by internal politics, and coping with a self-aware "New City" district after the events of The Gutter Prayer. Guerdon is threatened by warring nations' new destructive military technology, incarnate deities, and monstrous destructive saints. Three individuals are caught in the chaos: a novice political aide and sorcerer who finds post-crisis elections complicated by sorcerous interference and her own diabolical family history; the neglected second son of a noble house bearing an enchanted sword to his war hero brother, tangled in more than one murder investigation; and a nameless spy with many identities, some at odds with each other, charged with watching over a foster son touched by a spider god. Hanrahan pulls a complex tapestry of plots and characters into an elaborate resolution, but Guerdon is left in a precarious state and it's clear the book's end is only a breathing space before the next volume. VERDICT Readers who enjoy the intricate worldbuilding of Patrick Rothfuss, Mark Lawrence, Max Gladstone, and Steven Erikson should start with the first volume before tackling this satisfying sequel.--Jason Puckett, Georgia State Univ. Lib, Atlanta

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