Genre: Fantasy, Romantic Arc
Reviewer: Scott
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About The Book
There are vipers in Arajon, from the Valley to the Bronze.
Grace Harrington, the Dowager Archon of Arajon, is approaching her first anniversary on the throne she claimed following the death of her husband, slain at her own hands.
But her position is so precarious that even the unwelcome presence of the former assassin Nathaniel Morgenstern, watching over her at her father’s behest, cannot protect her from her enemies. The city’s press has turned against her, the Bronze is rallying behind Odessa White, and her last hope of support from the Druids has gone up in smoke.
The lies are adding up. A coup is coming for Grace, and she is running out of people in the city to trust…
Warnings: Themes of addition, some graphic death scenes
The Review
As I was reading the penultimate book of H. L. Moore’s fantastic fantasy series “Death’s Embrace,” it occurred to me that this series could very well could be categorized as coal punk. Coal is the main thing that powers Iole city, and also drives its politics. It’s a brilliant commentary on the way the mining and use of petrochemicals can twist a world. They are dirty to mine and to use, and have lots of unexpected knock-on effects.
But to say that this story is about coal is like saying that Friday night lights was aboutfootball. Yes, it’s an important element of the tale, but there is so much more going on here.
Throne of Lies picks up where Soul of Ash left off, with Doran’s daughter Grace on the Archon throne. Unfortunately, her reign is not secure as she seeks to reform Iole’s ways. There are many in the rich families in the Bronze (district) who do not like being taxed, even if it means making the city a better place to live.
Doran has convinced Nathaniel—the man who killed his wife (Grace‘s mother) when he was one of the Nameless assassins and is now Doran’s love interest—to guard his daughter. Grace is not very happy about this, but she grudgingly accepts. She is surrounded by threats, and needs all the help she can get. The tension rachets up and things eventually come to a head.
Once again, the author has managed to surprise me. I thought I knew where things were going, but there’s a last-minute plot twist that took my breath away. It also made total sense within the context of the story, which makes it all the more enjoyable.
We also finally get to see (spoiler alert) Nathaniel and Doran get together after a long will they won’t they slow burn, and it’s as satisfying as you would expect.
The world building in this series is tight, fantastically done and just feels complete and perfect. Moore weaves in elements of Celtic, Jewish, Chinese and other cultures to craft her own unique creation. There are so many other places that are mentioned in the story that we have not yet gotten to see too—Moore has left herself lots of room to grow in this world.
I am really excited that we will finally get to see the valley outside of the Falls that encompass this cavern city. It’s two more credit that I’ve never felt claustrophobic in the story, but I do feel a sense of great excitement of being able to go beyond the city limits.
This is a diverse, inclusive, well written fantasy series that meets my highest bar—it’s not like anything that I’ve ever read before. The author wrote the last two books at the same time. They were actually part of the same book, until the story went longer than she anticipated, something I can relate to! But as a result, even though this one ends in a cliffhanger, we get to move into the last one very quickly, which takes the sting out of it.
One more thing. Moore is not gentle with her characters, so there our moments of extreme violence, but they are not graphic. They all fit perfectly within the context of the story and are necessary for the plot.
I can’t recommend a series, and this particular book as well, highly enough. If I gave stars, this would be a six out of five.
The Reviewer
Scott is the founder of Queer Sci Fi, Liminal Fiction, and QueeRomance Ink, and a fantasy and sci fi writer in his own right, with more than 30 published short stories, novellas and novels to his credit, including two trilogies.
