Name: When Jackals Storm the Walls
ISBN: 9781473223646

Bradley Beaulieu

When Jackals Storm the Walls

Bradley P. Beaulieu

Now in trade paperback, the fifth book in The Song of the Shattered Sands series--an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action. The reign of the kings of Sharakhai has been broken. The blood mage, Queen Meryam, now rules the city along with the descendants of the fabled twelve Kings. In the desert, Çeda has succeeded in breaking the asirim's curse. Those twisted creatures are now free, but their freedom comes at great cost. Nalamae, the goddess who aided Çeda, lies dead, slain in battle with her sister goddess. Çeda, knowing Nalamae would have been reborn on her death, sets out on a quest to find her. The trail leads Çeda to Sharakhai where, unbeknownst to her, others are searching for Nalamae as well. Çeda's quest to find her forces her into a terrible decision: work with the Kings or risk Sharakhai's destruction. Whatever her decision, it won't be easy. Sharakhai is once more threatened by the forces of the neighboring kingdoms. As the powers of the desert vie for control of the city, Çeda, her allies, and the fallen Kings must navigate the shifting fates before the city they love falls to the schemes of the desert gods.

altlovesbooks

I actually think I like this book more than I liked the previous book ( Beneath the Twisted Trees ), which I gather is somewhat of an unpopular opinion from reading the other reviews here. I feel like the story flowed more consistently in this one, and grabbed my attention from the beginning rather than taking a bit to hook me like the previous book. I didn't really think the pacing was all that weird, everything seemed more or less paced about the same, and if it felt like a speedy book, well, a lot was coming together in a short period of time. 

I also really liked the nostalgic feel I had near the end of the book. I don't know if it was the author's intent, but the gang's return (all of them) to Sharakhai had me really considering how far everyone has come since the beginnings of their respective journeys. Really excited to see how this series wraps up.

When Jackals Storm the Walls

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