The Fires of Vengeance
by Evan WinterPublished by: Orbit on November 10, 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 528
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
In order to reclaim her throne and save her people, an ousted queen must join forces with a young warrior in the second book of this must-read epic fantasy series by breakout author Evan Winter.
Tau and his Queen, desperate to delay the impending attack on the capital by the indigenous people of Xidda, craft a dangerous plan. If Tau succeeds, the Queen will have the time she needs to assemble her forces and launch an all out assault on her own capital city, where her sister is being propped up as the 'true' Queen of the Omehi.
If the city can be taken, if Tsiora can reclaim her throne, and if she can reunite her people then the Omehi have a chance to survive the onslaught.
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Afro-inspired high fantasy with an epic fantasy storyline.
- Quest for revenge trope, in all its angsty glory.
- Demons and dragons and magic.
- Lots of swordplay and war tactics/strategy.
- Emotional conflict and angst and growth.
- Sword brothers, squad vibes, and found family.
- Plot twists that will probably steal your soul … in a good way?
Many thanks to Orbit and Caffeine Book Tours for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.
I loved The Rage of Dragons so much that I took absolutely no time at all between the two, and charged headlong into the sequel the minute I put down the first book. I have to say I’m glad I did, because I was not disappointed, and this is certainly going to be one of my new favorite series.
The Fires of Vengeance is a roller coaster ride of emotion that rushes through at break-neck speeds with epic battles, sacrifices, plot twists, a pinch of romance, and a squad you can’t help but root for.
I have had the worst book hangover since putting this book down. I zoomed through this in a day and then just … didn’t know what to do with myself. The words stopped. Whyyyy were there no more words?! *flails*
You know what? I wrote this tweet about the first book, but I made the same sound at several plot twists in this book, so I feel like it still applies:
I'm 82% of the way through The Rage of Dragons by @EvanWinter and I don't even know what noise came out of me at this plot twist, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't human. Or maybe it was my soul dying and leaving my body. I dunno. 🤣 But I can't recommend this book enough. #amreading
— Sammie (The Bookwyrm's Den) (@srbetler) October 29, 2020
This review may contain spoilers for the first book, The Rage of Dragons.
This is a brutal, unforgiving, war-torn, Afro-centric world … so obviously I love it.
I confess that I have a hard time sometimes remembering when books are Afro-centric. I have a horrible tendency to picture epic fantasy as European, mostly because we’ve essentially been trained to think that way. Winter creates a world where it’s hard to escape its origins, right down to the name of it: Uhmlaba, which is the word for earth in Zulu.
I’m going to be painfully honest: I don’t speak Zulu. There, I said it. In fact, I got on a chat with my South African friend, who does speak Zulu, and I thought he was going to die laughing at my accent and pronunciation. NEVERTHELESS! It’s really not necessary to know the meanings behind the words, and they don’t make the reading difficult or cumbersome, but once I realized it was Zulu and looked up the definitions, it added a fun new depth to some of the world!
Anyway, as I was saying … stabby, brutal worlds, for the win! If you’re a fan of any sort of dark fantasy, this will likely appeal to you.
It’s not an overbearingly dark world with no hope that just batters and beats you down. Winter does a great job of balancing the two so you don’t end up in a ball in the corner, stewing in despair. Make no mistake, though, the world is absolutely dark, and no one comes out of it completely unscathed in some way or another. And I’m so here for it.
“It sounds like fighting,” Themba said.
“Nothing happening up here could be called fighting, fool,” Auset said.
Fires of Vengeance absolutely slays the quest for revenge trope, in all its angsty glory.
This is the sort of angst I absolutely live for. Yes, give me all the righteous fury! Give me the underdog determined to become an avenger! Give me a burning need for justice that borders on the obsessed! I will never get enough of this in books.
While it’s true that Tau’s journey was always born from the need for revenge, it’s equally true that it becomes something greater, something more in this book.
The question of how far is one willing to go for revenge comes up, as one might expect. It’s also mostly answered, too. While Tau gave way to his rage a lot in the first book, he’s forced to question it more and whether he can get by with unadulterated anger or if he needs to sometimes put other things first.
Have no fear, though. While Tau’s emotions in this book are deep and soul-searching and absolutely result in some character growth and change, his need for revenge is still burning strong and promises plenty of things to look forward to in the third book!
The tone was so serious, it was hard to believe the words had come out of Themba’s mouth, and Tau lifted his head to look at his sword brother. “I don’t do anything for the opinion of others.”
The squad vibes and found family in this is just *chef’s kiss*
Perhaps it’s not a huge surprise that I loved this, since it is one of my favorite tropes. How can you not love it, though?
My favorite thing about the squad in Fires of Vengeance, though, is how dang unlikely it is, after everything. I imagine they make an interesting group. I can’t really say more, due to the chance of spoilers, but I would not have expected these people to be Tau’s squad while I was reading the first book.
If you happened to fall in love with Scale Jayyed in The Rage of Dragons, take heart! You’ll see some old favorites in this, just in exciting new roles.
Prepare your heart, because this group of characters will conquer it … and probably stab it once or twice, for good measure.
This squad gave me all the feels, from a sweet LGBTQ+ romance that made me absolutely squeal to Tau’s glorious inner battles and journey. I don’t think I could possibly love this squad more, including all the new faces we meet along the way!
Themba managed to look both shocked and hurt. “Nchanga. I’m from Nchanga, and I tell you stories about my home all the time. How do you not know where I’m from?”
If you’re like me and enjoy reading war strategies and tactics and battles, you will love this book.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like getting too deep in the weeds of strategy, where more time is spent talking about doing something rather than doing it. Here, Winter strikes a nice balance between strategizing but then carrying it out and adjusting when things inevitably go wrong on the battlefield. This keeps the battles dynamic and thrilling, becoming a game of one-upmanship where the stakes are high and the field is constantly shifting and changing.
This isn’t just all-out war (even though it kind of is), but it’s finding ways to beat the odds, to overcome and persevere, to roll with the unexpected and twist it for your benefit.
In short, if you’re a fan of plot twists and things you didn’t see coming? You’ll love the battle scenes. Because as much as you try to prepare for everything, fights never go to plan, and you can’t know everything the other side will do. I’m not even typically one for large-scale war and battles, but there’s so much to love about the way Winter writers war that I found myself absolutely riveted.
“Again?” asked Kellan.
“Same as always,” she said.
“We’re doing it wrong,” Tau said loud enough for the two bedridden men to hear.
“Well, if you’re getting slaughtered, you’re unlikely to be doing it right,” Hadith called back.
About Evan Winter
Born in England to South American parents, Evan Winter was raised in Africa near the historical territory of his Xhosa ancestors. Evan has always loved fantasy novels, but when his son was born, he realised that there weren’t many epic fantasy novels featuring characters who looked like him. So, before he ran out of time, he started writing them.
The Fires of Vengeance Playlist
What’s this? I hear you say. But Sammie, you don’t do playlists!
Very astute of you, and normally I’d say you’re right, but oh my gosh, guys. This book just chewed me up and spit me out, and I’ve had the worst book hangover. So I made a playlist. Pretty sure that’s the book hangover equivalent of coffee and peanut butter, right?!
Favorite Quotes
Listen, I loved this book so much that it looked a bit like a Post-It Note pincushion by the time I finished, and how the heck are you supposed to narrow that down to just the few quotes I normally post in a review? So I’m giving you a little bonus with some additional (spoiler free) quotes that I absolutely love!
(1) winner will receive a set of finished copies of The Rage of Dragons and The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter (open international)
Ends November 11, 2020 (Philippine time)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
You can find the full tour schedule here.
November 2
Justice For Readers
The Reading Chemist
The Bookwyrm’s Den
November 3
bibliofleur
BookinItWithAhtiya: blog and booktube
Eat Travel Read
November 4
Naija Book Bae
Starred Pages: blog and booktube
The Book Monster
November 5
Allthestories
Kerri McBookNerd
Motif by Tanya
November 6
FictionalFates: blog and booktube
Phrases & Pages
Q&TG
I’m so glad to hear this one is good. I’m looking forward to getting to it!
Westveil Publishing recently posted…Calla – 5 Star Book Review
Amazing review Sammie! I am such a sucker for ‘Found families’ and this just sounds right up my street.. adding to goodreads now 😀