Susan Dennard has delivered a truly marvelous addition
Some spoilers and stuff below if you're not familiar with the Witchlands Series, but if you've read Truthwich, Windwitch, and Sightwitch, this shouldn't give away too much into Bloodwitch. If you haven't read Truthwitch, Windwitch, or Sightwitch.... what's wrong with you? Get those books off your TBR and let them seep into your brain and infect your soul.
Synopsis:
The end of Windwitch [has Safi as the captive of Vaness, Iron Queen of the Marstocks. Merik escaping the city with Cam and Ryber with the Fury on their tail. Iseult and Aeduan fostering a little earthwitch and her mountain bat as they track her tribe across the mountains. A puppeteer in a tower cleaving witches to make an army for the Raider King. And Vivia, Queen-in-waiting of Nubreavna, who has uncovered the under ground city, a salvation to her people. (hide spoiler)]
And on that perfect setup, we enter Bloodwitch knowing all our players, where they stand, what they want, and where they need to go. Then, as we all expect and hope for in an epic fantasy, Susan Dennard breaks everything .
Chapter by chapter, we rotate between all our favorites. There are poisoned arrows, exploding buildings, horses racing through forests, and trebuchets launching seafire. Mountain bats hover, hiss, and fly. Monks betray monks. Monks betray their vows. Hell, everyone breaks a promise at some point! Interrogations, sacrifices, hard choices and thread families knit together and come apart at the seams. This book has deaths, near deaths, minor injuries, and near-misses. Truths and lies and everything in between! There is no rest at the end of the 20-year truce and the entire Witchlands wobbles towards war.
Coming into the last 6 chapters, my favorite of the series was still Sightwitch which deftly weaves a dual narrative that brings the past and present together. And Bloodwitch is made 1000 times more enjoyable having read Sightwitch. But then chapter 55.... oh boy. And then chapter 56... momentum building. Susan hits us hard in chapters 57, 58, and 59. Oh my lord! 59! And then we settle into a stunned plateau to marvel at what was given to us. When I think about all that came together in the last six chapters, after all 54 amazing chapters before them, I just stand back and clap.
Susan Dennard has delivered a truly marvelous addition to her Witchlands series. One that will forever have a place on my shelf and, probably, a near annual re-read.
Synopsis:
The end of Windwitch [has Safi as the captive of Vaness, Iron Queen of the Marstocks. Merik escaping the city with Cam and Ryber with the Fury on their tail. Iseult and Aeduan fostering a little earthwitch and her mountain bat as they track her tribe across the mountains. A puppeteer in a tower cleaving witches to make an army for the Raider King. And Vivia, Queen-in-waiting of Nubreavna, who has uncovered the under ground city, a salvation to her people. (hide spoiler)]
And on that perfect setup, we enter Bloodwitch knowing all our players, where they stand, what they want, and where they need to go. Then, as we all expect and hope for in an epic fantasy, Susan Dennard breaks everything .
Chapter by chapter, we rotate between all our favorites. There are poisoned arrows, exploding buildings, horses racing through forests, and trebuchets launching seafire. Mountain bats hover, hiss, and fly. Monks betray monks. Monks betray their vows. Hell, everyone breaks a promise at some point! Interrogations, sacrifices, hard choices and thread families knit together and come apart at the seams. This book has deaths, near deaths, minor injuries, and near-misses. Truths and lies and everything in between! There is no rest at the end of the 20-year truce and the entire Witchlands wobbles towards war.
Coming into the last 6 chapters, my favorite of the series was still Sightwitch which deftly weaves a dual narrative that brings the past and present together. And Bloodwitch is made 1000 times more enjoyable having read Sightwitch. But then chapter 55.... oh boy. And then chapter 56... momentum building. Susan hits us hard in chapters 57, 58, and 59. Oh my lord! 59! And then we settle into a stunned plateau to marvel at what was given to us. When I think about all that came together in the last six chapters, after all 54 amazing chapters before them, I just stand back and clap.
Susan Dennard has delivered a truly marvelous addition to her Witchlands series. One that will forever have a place on my shelf and, probably, a near annual re-read.