Fortunately, amidst the often underwhelming dross there sometimes gleams genuine talent, writers who take on the formula and successfully turn it to their own ends. On first acquaintance, Nichols does not appear to have a great deal going for him. He is operating in the 'feudal system with magical knobs on' department of fantasy, after all.
All resistance is crushed by the demonic power of the invaders.
Survivors are either forced to take to the hills to save themselves, or are swept up and used as slave labour for their conquerors. However, as told in a multi-viewpoint manner by Nichols, this book does generate a good deal of narrative drive, as opponents of the new regime come together in their diverse ways to fight the invaders. The subject matter may be pretty standard fare, but Nichols does use it in fresh and lively ways, supplying an interesting set of characters and a grittiness to the plotting that is pleasingly different. The Pathless Way is set in the same fantasy land as the first book, but hundreds of years later, and well away from the original locale. It starts out standard fantasy fare, with a quasi-Viking raid on the settlement of Reeve Vale that leaves the little frontier town burned and its people either dead or scattered.