Having loved The Unspoken Name, I knew I had to read the sequel. Because we need to find out what happens to Csorwe and Shuthmili. We want our favorites to end up happy okay?! And Larkwood delivers a sequel that is heart wrenching and action packed. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Two years ago, Csorwe and Shuthmili defied the wizard Belthandros Sethennai and stole his gauntlets. The gauntlets have made Shuthmili extraordinarily powerful, but they’re beginning to take a sinister toll on her. She and Csorwe travel to a distant world to discover how to use the gauntlets safely, but when an old enemy arrives on the scene, Shuthmili finds herself torn between clinging to her humanity and embracing eldritch power.
Meanwhile, Tal Charossa returns to Tlaanthothe to find that Sethennai has gone missing. As well as being a wizard of unimaginable power, Sethennai is Tal’s old boss and former lover, and Tal wants nothing to do with him. When a magical catastrophe befalls the city, Tal tries to run rather than face his past, but soon learns that something even worse may lurk in the future. Throughout the worlds of the Echo Maze, fragments of an undead goddess begin to awaken, and not all confrontations can be put off forever…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Thousand Eyes is about power that thrills and corrupts. It illustrates that the past is never truly gone even when the dust has settled. That old flames will come back to flicker and decisions will ricochet to far reaches. Larkwood creates a balance between character and action in scenes with banter that had me cackling. The character dynamics here, the sarcasm, the comments only friends can say to each other? Perfection. We love snarky adventures with friends who can barely stand each other, but who we’d tear the universe apart to protect.
Don’t even get me started on how much I loved Csorwe and Shuthmili. Not only in epic declarations, but the tender moments are where these two shine. I was mainly reading to see how their relationship would develop, but then I ended up falling in love with Tal as well and his own story line. Talk about a book that kept me coming back with fabulous characters. And the scope of The Thousand Eyes is truly epic. I can’t discuss it because spoilers, but wow. The Thousand Eyes is a sequel about sacrifice and responsibility. About bargains and plans set in motion decades earlier.
For fans of sword battles and ancient gods, this is for you. The dialogue is not only full of love and tenderness, but also sass and cleverly disguised lies. The Thousand Eyes works on a global scale – a story line around an undead goddess – and a personal level – a story of friendship and love. It’s full of characters with loose morals and ambition. For those who chase power and will do anything for it. Talk about a crew of chaotic reckless characters who have made a home in my heart.
Find The Thousand Eyes on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.