Bloodheir (Godless World Series #2) » (Bargain)

Brian Ruckley was born and raised in Scotland. After studying at Edinburgh and Stirling Universities, he worked for a series of organizations dealing with environmental, nature conservation and youth development issues. He lives in Edinburgh. Find out more about Brian Ruckley at www.brianruckley.com.

The world has fallen from its former state. The war between the clans of the Black Road and the True Bloods has spread.

For Orisian, thane of the ruined Lannis Blood, there is no time to grieve the loss of his family, brutally slain by the invading armies. The Black Road must be stopped. However, as more blood is spilled on the battlefields, so each side in the conflict becomes more riven by internal dissent and disunity.

Amidst the mounting chaos, Aeglyss the na'kyrim uses his new-found powers to twist everything and everyone around him to serve his own mad desires.

Meanwhile, the long-dormant Anain are stirring - and when the most potent race the world has ever known returns, the bloodletting may never stop.

BLOODHEIR is the stunning sequel to Winterbirth, one of the most acclaimed epic fantasy debuts of recent years.

Publishers Weekly

This awkward middle volume, the second installment of Ruckley's Godless World trilogy (after 2007's acclaimed Winterbirth), lacks the thematic impact and emotional intensity of its predecessor. As the armies of the Black Road, a fatalistic religious movement revolving around a creed of predestination, descend from their northern exile, the quarrelsome leaders of the True Blood clans must join forces or die, but supernatural forces beyond their understanding are playing with their destiny. Multiple plot threads featuring dozens of integral characters bog down the pacing considerably, creating a narrative that, like the unwieldy and poorly led True Blood army, becomes a "lethargic thing" emanating "resentment and reluctance." New readers will be utterly lost and fans left impatient for book three. (June)

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