After surviving the Vile Rot, Isoka, Meroe, and the rest of Soliton’s crew finally arrive at Soliton‘s mysterious destination, the Harbor―a city of great stone ziggurats, enshrouded in a ghostly veil of Eddica magic. And they’re not alone. 

Royalty, monks, and madmen live in a precarious balance, and by night take shelter from monstrous living corpses. None know how to leave the Harbor, but if Isoka can’t find a way to capture Soliton and return it to the Emperor’s spymaster before a year is up, her sister’s Tori’s life will be forfeit.

But there’s more to Tori’s life back in Kahnzoka than the comfortable luxury Isoka intended for her. By night, she visits the lower wards, risking danger to help run a sanctuary for mage-bloods fleeing the Emperor’s iron fist. When she discovers that Isoka is missing, her search takes her deep in the mires of intrigue and revolution. And she has her own secret―the power of Kindre, the Well of Mind, which can bend others to its will. Though she’s spent her life denying this brutal magic, Tori will use whatever means she has to with Isoka’s fate on the line…

I posed a question recently on Twitter, and it was in reference to both Django Wexler’s CITY OF STONE AND SILENCE and K. S. Villoso’s THE IKESSAR FALCON. I was reading both at the same time for a little bit, and I was just like…wow, goddamn. Both books had somehow improved upon nearly every aspect of the first book in the series. And I was more just curious about how you phrase a sentiment like that without it sounding like a backhanded compliment.

Because in both situations, I completely loved the first book in the series. But somehow, each respective book two was just…more. More of everything.

I think with CITY OF STONE AND SILENCE, it’s a little easier for me to pin down, because there’s a major change from SHIP OF SMOKE AND STEEL, going from one POV in book one, to two POVs in book two. And the story just soars because of the change. In book one, Tori was more of a concept than a character. She was Isoka’s motivation to make it safely home. But in CITY OF STONE AND SILENCE, we find out that Tori is not just idly waiting for her sister’s return. With half the book’s chapters belonging to Tori, we find out her life in Kahnzoka is anything but boring.

At night, Tori sneaks away from her life of luxury and helps out at a hospital that cares for mage-born people who’ve been targeted by Imperial forces. Her work introduces her to a whole slew of new characters who, along with Tori, will be instrumental in a brewing rebellion. Oh, and no big deal, Tori is also an adept and can read and influence people’s thoughts. This is a power she’s not all-the-way in control of, so things get interesting.

Meanwhile, Isoka & Meroe, and the gang have managed to dock the Soliton at a strange island. The island and the ship are…connected in some ways, and it’s up to Isoka to try to unravel the mysteries of the island, slaughter a legion of the undead, and get back to Kahnzoka in time to save Tori’s life.

So. Yeah. There’s a lot of shit all going down at once.

This trilogy is just shaping up to be something completely amazing! Wexler is such a great storyteller, and always seems to strike a perfect balance between some bonkers/thrilling action sequences and intimate character moments. Isoka & Meroe continue to be awkwardly delightful together, as Isoka struggles more and more with finding a way to be protective of Meroe without completely suffocating her. There’s also a great villain in this book that has Isoka questioning her own nature, and why it is she keeps winding up leading people despite being something of a loner.

CITY OF STONE AND SILENCE does everything you’d want to see in the second book of a trilogy: introduces some great new characters/expands the roles of existing characters, heightens the drama, and sets the stage for an intense conclusion. This story also feels a little dangerous? Like, I’m not sure what the hell is going to happen in SIEGE OF RAGE AND RUIN, and I’m a little nervous about it! Oof. I’m loving this trilogy!!