WE RIDE THE STORM

RELEASED 25 JUNE 512 pages | Paperback/ebook/ audiobook Author Devin Madson Publisher Orbit Books

Devin Madson returns to the world of her self-published Vengeance Trilogy for an epic fantasy tetralogy dealing with clashing empires and royal power struggles. The tale is told from three perspectives: Miko, step-daughter of Emperor Kin, who dreams of claiming the throne; Rah, captain of a nomadic warrior tribe exiled far from home; and Cassandra, an assassin who can communicate with the dead.

Madson has a lot of plates to keep spinning, and Cassandra’s character and plotline are the least developed of all the protagonists. She’s haunted by a spirit that shares her body, but it remains unnamed and unexplained even by the novel’s close. Likewise, a mystery surrounding Leo Villius – a religious leader who seems to be impossible to kill – is tantalising, but Madson isn’t sharing many secrets yet.

There are moments of contrivance – the rules for challenging a commanding officer amongst Rah’s people are wildly inconsistent, varying from a fight to the death to… a debate? Battle scenes are briskly paced and intense when they arrive, while the plot dishes out plenty of reversals of fortune and changing loyalties. Most of these concern Miko, easily the most compelling character herein, and it’s her fate that will likely draw readers back for the second volume.