A Chorus of Fire by Brian D. Anderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong language

A shadow has moved across Lamoria. Whispers of the coming conflict are growing louder; the enemy becoming bolder. Belkar’s reach has extended far into the heart of Ralmarstad and war now seems inevitable.

Mariyah, clinging to the hope of one day being reunited with Lem, struggles to attain the power she will need to make the world safe again. But a power like this is not easily acquired and will test the limits of her mind and body. She will need to look deep inside herself to find the strength to achieve what even the Thaumas of old could not.

Lem continues his descent into darkness, serving a man he does not trust in the name of a faith which is not his own. Only Shemi keeps his heart from succumbing to despair, along with the knowledge that he has finally found Mariyah. But Lem is convinced she is being held against her will, and compelled to do the bidding of her captors. He is determined to free her, regardless the cost.

Their separate roads are leading them to the same destination. And once they arrive they will have to confront more than the power of Belkar. They will have to face themselves and what Lamoria has forced them to become.

 
This was a great sequel to The Bard's Blade. Sometimes the second book in a trilogy can feel disappointing, like it's just a bridge from book 1 to book 3, but not this one. Anderson's writing is easy to read while at the same time, he has built complex characters. In a way it reminds me of Michael J. Sullivan's writing. I'll definitely be looking for other things written by this author.

There were a couple of things that I thought would probably happen that I was completely wrong about, and I'm glad I was wrong. I really don't like it when a book is predictable. Although the overall plot is nothing new, and in many ways it reminds me of classic high fantasy, it somehow still feels fresh.

Once again I loved the bards and music in this series, and was thrilled when Lem was shown the magical aspect of being a bard. I really like the way the bard's magic is being woven into this story, and the history of the world. I haven't read a fantasy series with music in it like this since I read the Kingkiller Chronicles books, and honestly, I like these better.

I also loved how true to each other Lem and Mariyah are, even though they are apart. Each of them has changed so much since they've been apart, I was wondering how things would be for them when they were finally reunited. They've both had to make some hard choices and are no longer the naive innocents they were in the beginning of their journey. It seemed like they were giving up the part of themselves that the other loved the most. Will they still love each other the same after all this is done? We do get an answer to this at the end of the book, but I'm not about the spoil it here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.