A Time of Blood (Of Blood and Bone #2) by John Gwynne
Lets get the gushing out of the way first because it’s a bit embarrassing. I love Gwynne’s writing so much. The story and the characters remind me of the first books that I read that got me hooked on epic fantasy those classic stories of the light verses the dark. I sill love and often recommend my earlier reads like Gemmell, Crichton, Feist, Wurts and so many others but if I was speaking to a fantasy virgin this is the author and series I would recommend, 100% certain it would make them a fan for life and lead them onto all the other greats, new and old. Picking up one of his books is like being smothered in a warm blanket and knowing that I don’t have to move for several hours, often because when I pick up one of his books I wrap myself in a warm blanket and don’t move for several hours. It’s not entirely stress free though. Oh hell no.
A Time of Blood is the second book in the Of Blood and Bone series and follows the descendants and colleagues of the heroes and villains of The Faithful and the Fallen set several hundred years before. It goes without saying you should not be reading this book or this review without at least picking up A Time of Dread the first book in this series. You’d be doing yourself a huge disservice to not read it first. This time the story is told from four point of views, Drem, Riv, Bleda and Fritha.
Fritha, once a loyal White Wing, now the chosen future queen of Asaroth, is working her blood magic all over the place. Charged with tracking down the fugitives that Sig’s sacrifice allowed to escape, she and the half breed daughter of Gulla Lord of the Kadoshim, Morn are tracking Drem, Keld, Cullen, Hammer the bear and a few others as the make their way the Dun Seren. She’s like a deranged Willy Wonka mixing this and that together to make semi intelligent feral monsters and…and…no I wont ruin it, but trust me there is so much more. A hell of a lot of the blood that is shed in this book is by or because of Fritha and she is a pretty damn amazing villainess. Her feelings of betrayal because of the murder of her own half breed baby by her supposed gods make her real and sympathetic and the question of how she react to the Riv is a constant head scratcher.
Speaking of Riv, she has discovered she is half human and half Ben Elim. Sprouting wings and being instantly marked for death tends to lead one down that path of extrapolation. Her existence exposes the lie that the two races have not intermingled and though the angelic sex hosts insist the gift of love is enough, the demand that any progeny be quietly destroyed is a bunch of shit and people are starting to realise it. Speaking of realisations Riv is about to discover her true parentage, the thrill of flying though the air and killing people whilst doing so and a man she has a deep and genuine love for. Go Riv.
The relationship between Bleda of the Sirak Horse Clan and Jin of the Cheren Horse Clan continues to be full of conflict and doubt. Forcibly betrothed to each other by the Ben Elim in order to prevent them from going to war with other, it’s not the best way to start a loving partnership is it, Bleda is torn between his natural affection for Riv and his duty to his family and his clan’s future. Jin, imploring that he not shame her, spends much of the book on a knife edge where she doesn’t know whether to kiss her kill her future husband. I felt a lot of empathy for them both as the frustrations of their relationship and the impositions they face may have a fantastical context but they are very real and common.
My favourites though are Cullen and Drem the respective heart and soul of the book. Drem, the socially awkward introvert whose honestly and goodness level is over 9000, carries with him the hope and dreams of peace and prosperity as well as the responsibility for providing it to others. Cullen approaches every situation with the intention of leading a vigorous and lusty life whilst he can. His skill on the battlefield is undeniable but it is his courage and spirit, his willingness to provoke a thousand year old giant and get beaten to the ground for it in the name of being a better fighter and the single charge at an unbeatable enemy that inspires his fellow soldiers that make him so enjoyable to read. After the first book I couldn’t help but think he was living on borrowed time so his journey though out this book was a constant source of intense excitement and horrific dread.
The battle scenes are incredible and superbly written with each blow a devastating one. Everything flows so well. These are huge and hectic moments of warfare yet some how Gwynne makes the reader feel like they are both on the ground with the dog soldiers in the mud and blood and also soaring above the whole thing, being pulled to only the most meaningful and epic moments. It is breathtaking and one of the reasons he is a favourite. Another thing Gwynne has mastered is the ability of switching viewpoints at just at the right moment resulting in a book that never lets you take a breath and that you never want to put down. When the action gets going it means late sleepless nights eventually followed by dreams of winged demons, the perils of true love, giants riding bears, weapons of death glowing with the protection of ancient runes and other cool shit.
I ‘ve already had the incredible privilege of reading some insanely good books this year that I would and have recommended to anyone who would listen. A Time of Blood might just be the best of the lot….so far.
10/10
A Time of Blood is published by Orbit Books and is available now.
