A few comments starting to roll in already for City of Ruin.
in this second book of Legends of the Red Sun series, Newton is braver. He mixes the same ingredients he let us taste in Nights of Villjamur but his elixir is bolder this time. I imagine there’s a risk in being brave, but I think Newton does an excellent job in keeping the reader captivated and surprised, and in creating an unusual setting that is not absurd but that creates an intriguing world full of mysteries and astonishments…
Mark cut loose a little on this book, it’s not just a repeat of the excellent Nights of Villjamur, the story has advanced and moved away from the political intrigue to more practical matters like feeding a city with a war coming and ensuring there is an escape route for the civilians. The forthcoming invasion by the Okun has to be prepared for and as always, everyone has their own problems to distract them. To add to all of this things are getting a little weird within the city itself. The characters are delightfully complex, the most repugnant behaviour tempered by some sympathetic moments, these are characters I can fret about and worry between chapters what will happen to them.
These were from PDF copies, so if any reviewers are interested in getting their paws on a file, drop me a line.
