As Davarus Cole and his former companions were quick to discover, the White Lady’s victorious liberation of Dorminia has not resulted in the freedom they once imagined. Anyone perceived as a threat has been seized and imprisoned—or exiled to darker regions—leaving the White Lady’s rule unchallenged and absolute. But the White Lady would be wiser not to spurn her former supporters: Eremul the Halfmage has learned of a race of immortals known as the Fade, and if he cannot convince the White Lady of their existence, all of humanity will be in danger.

Far to the north, Brodar Kayne and Jerek the Wolf continue their odyssey to the High Fangs only to find themselves caught in a war between a demon horde and their enemy of old, the Shaman. And in the wondrous city of Thelassa, Sasha must overcome demons of her own. 

Fuck. 

This book was INTENSE. The growth that Luke Scull shows from The Grim Company to Sword of the North astonished me. I really enjoyed The Grim Company, but this second entry in the series is nothing short of a grimdark classic!

One of the things that surprised me about The Grim Company was how many POVs were present in the book, and Luke Scull does a pretty masterful job of keeping those POVs intact here, while adding a few new ones, along with a host of new secondary characters. Kayne and Jerek can’t seem to help but adding numbers to their group along the way, and I thought Grunt and Brick were great additions to this story. And the secondary timeline for Kayne was nothing short of brilliant…it starts around 30 years before the events of The Grim Company, and works its way forward chronologically, in five to ten year gaps. This flashback timeline also beautifully captures the heartbreaking beginnings of the friendship between Brodar Kayne and Jerek. It certainly goes a long way towards explaining some of Jerek’s persistent rage.

The plot is…complex, and was occasionally a bit tricky for me to follow. Needless to say, at its core, there is a massive struggle for power going on here. And this book, being grimdark as fuck, none of the characters vying for control are anything approaching a clear-cut “good”. 

Another new character worth mentioning is Sir Meredith, a knight. He is…insane. Dedicated & quite proper one moment, sociopathic and violently unhinged the next. An excellent addition to this world!!

Reviewing sequels…always tricky. This book is bigger & better than the first in so many ways, and it’s incredibly character driven as well. Sasha continues to struggle with addiction in a very real & gut-punchy way. Davarus Cole is getting closer to figuring out who he truly is, and what his place in all this is. Eremus, the Halfmage, continues to chisel away at the block of coal surrounding his heart. 

Sword of the North is just fucking packed with awesome & weird & gross & violent shit. There’s an orc. There’s legions of the undead. Epic battles. Guts spilled left & right. There’s even a dinner party at a necromancer’s house.

I loved this so goddam much. Can’t wait to get to Dead Man’s Steel!!