Review: Dwarves, Wizards and More Seekers Continue Their Great Quest Against Underground Horrors
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 15, 2013
Wow, get ready for a wild ride on the epic adventure of Arc 2, because Stanley delivers. I really liked Deathsworn Arc 1, especially the ending with the emotional losses of the final battle and the revelation that the quest had much more to it than we, or most of the seekers, knew or hoped. So I was excited to see how it would all play out.The Verkreath Horror is even better than the first book of the series. The author's writing is confident, descriptive and more visceral, especially in battle but also in all sensory aspects of the different scenes. The Verkreath are a challenging addition, lots of fantastical and frankly horrific elements come with them, and it's all handled well and ups the tension intensely. I admire the way the author stayed true to each character, really allowing each type of being to be shown with their particular gifts as unique and important, like when Votrex rises to leadership with his dwarfian expertise of the underground tunnels.The warrens are claustrophobic and the author works the tension here very skillfully. As a reader I'm confronted with the question: would I have what it takes to triumph over underground savages to complete my quest? All of the details, plot developments and descriptions are fascinating and make Arc 2 a great read.More than that, what I also really like is the truthseeking aspect of the story. There is a subtext about how important it is to keep an open mind, how we might shrink our minds to survive stress but that our strength, like the spells herein, come from openness and focus, and our peril comes from drawing within, and our weakness is revealed in a delusion of not appreciating this one life. Great stuff to think about, and another reason the Deathsworn series is an epic fantasy for our times. There's more to come...the quest keeps growing in scope and in need for wrongs to be avenged, so we have a lot to look forward to.