A Time of Blood by John Gwynne (Of Blood and Bone # 2)

A Time of Blood is my second John Gwynne book, after his last year's opening salvo A Time of Dread in the new series, Of Blood and Bone - set in the same world as his first series, Of Faith and Fallen.

Do you need to read Faith and Fallen before this one? probably not, but be warned that this new series actually is like the tip of a giant ice-berg buried below the sea-level, building up on the histories, back stories, myths and culture that was all set up fairly deep on the foundations of that swashbuckling heroic fantasy quadrilogy. Now when you open a John Gwynne story, you open it with certain expectations.  The action is guaranteed to thrill you: Expect cinematic choreographed set-pieces that compete with brutal, intense one-on-one combats,. And the narrative template is fairly straightforward - featuring men and women of extraordinary valor trying to gather around their deep rooted ideals and morals fighting for what they believe is right, against clearly defined antagonists whose crimes are horrific and whose ambitions are usually, clearly etched out in black, colored in blood and splotched with enough violence to make the world shudder.

ATOD, the first book anchored us with a few of these "heroes" left in the Banished Lands as a new terror awakens years after Corban and his friends, saved the day, a few hundred years ago. There's Bleda, heir prince to the Serek clan, a hunting tribe - given as 'tithe' to the current protectors of the realm, the angelic beings known as the Ben-Elim. The Ben-Elim have taken to rooting out the last of their enemies, the Kadoshim; another winged race from the realms beyond, who moved their war into the mortal realm ages ago. Bleda is promised to Jin, a princess of their rival tribe to keep the peace in the lands - both of them having been brought up within the stronghold of the Ben-Elim, the fortress of Drassil where a lot of young men and women, train hard to be inducted into the ranks of White Wings, the fighting force for the Ben-Elim.

We also met Riv - a troubled youngster with anger issues, determined to prove herself as a warrior and join her sister Aphra in her Hundred. Then there is Drem - something about the young man that just gives you joy [ totally loved his character in the first book! and woohoo, his character arc evolution in book two is just fab!] - a trapper's son, raised in the wild who gets swept into the dark melee that unfolds in book-one as he discovers his legacy and new friends. The other view-points serve to propel the frenetic narrative ever forwards.

If you haven't read book-one, A Time of Dread, please stop - go back, pick up that book [now is a good time as any! Trust me, you will be begging for more, having burned through that one and come right back! Because the plot-points of this book picks up the thread directly after the gigantic battle at the end of book one. The title, as they say, is apt. A time of blood! Indeed, the body count  keeps going up and the blood never stops getting spilled.

Drem and his new friends, Keld the somber cool-headed huntsman , Cullen the silver-tongued descendant of the great Corban and a pretty impressive swordsman himself - along with Hammer,  Sig's war mount and bear are tearing through the wilds, trying to keep ahead of the clutches of the Kadoshim priestess Fritha and her acolytes. They are headed back to the mythical Dun Seren, where the Order of the Bright Star was established by Corban ages ago, needs to know of the second coming of the Kadoshim. This part of the narrative was so much fun - John in characteristic fashion, opens up ripping it up with unflinching violence as the escapees are pursued unfazed by the creatures of the dark, bidden to the power of Fritha. We alternate between Fritha's POV and Drem's. Fritha comes across as a bit rigid, consumed her need for revenge and alternately, a growing ambition to become a central figure in this struggle for power. But Drem's chapters were a breeze - the emotional fall out of book one not withstanding, this guy once again endeared himself to me as a reader. His interactions with his new friends, especially Cullen and then later on, with other important characters are what enlightens the mood of an otherwise, blood-drenched narrative.

The second part of the narrative focuses on Riv and Bleda and the aftermath of the war at the end of book-one - within the Ben-Elim community and their human allies at Drassil. Riv makes some startling discoveries about herself and becomes a pawn for the political ambition for Kal, the now self proclaimed leader for the Ben Elim. Bleda, on the other hand is struggling with some new emotions and also juggling that with his impending marriage to Jin, from his rival clan as both the clan-heads travel to Drassil to cement this relationship. In the meanwhile, out there the new acolytes of the fearsome Gulla, the Kadoshim Captain are now raiding the communities under the Ben Elim protection, forcing them to ride out for a bloody confrontation.

Riv was another of my favorites from last book but sadly, while she did go through a tremendous leap in terms of development in book one, here she is mostly grappling with her coming-of-age troubles and also trying to navigate, and failing to do so, the troubled political mayhem that threatens to unfold within Drassil post the events at the end of book-one. Riv and Bleda's friendship takes an interesting turn and to my immense surprise, Bleda's character kind of redeemed himself for me. There are quite a few twists and turns in this part of the narrative, backstabbing and treachery galore and that kept things on the boil.

While it is indeed the second book in the trilogy, it never gets bogged down as a "bridge" book. Yes, there are quite a few of the rivalries getting coerced into play, set up for bigger show-downs later on I guess but there are quite a few revelations through the book that will take your breath away. It's ultimately a character-driven glorious heroic fantasy, the best kinds since David Gemmell , extolling the good guys and quests are straightforward.

Expect a few heart breaks. A lot of blood. Heightened stakes and worse odds. The narrative is replete with some stunning mind-blowing action sequences as would be expected. But this time, John liberally throws in a few new 'horrors' that stalk Drem and friends as Fritha gets creative with her blood magic and these lent itself to some brilliant confrontations later on. The last one fifth of the book is just soaring with action, switching through multiple POV's as we watch two big battles play out in different fashion. If you loved book one, then this book will take you to darker places with your favorite heroes and wreck havoc on your heart. It's drenched with blood and Gwynne exposes us to more of the vividly painted world of Banished Lands as we journey with our favorite cast to dangerous lands. John's writing is absolutely top notch as we sympathize and feel for our heroes in situations that can quickly go from light scree-fall to rapid landslides without much warning. A wonderful installment in this tale and John Gwynne continues to be one of my favorite go-to-authors for feel good, glorious heroic fantasy tales.