The Gathering of the Lost
Book Two of The Wall of Night
by Helen Lowe
Fantasy | 555 Pages | Published by Orbit in 2012
| Rating |
The Gathering of the Lost continues the stories of Malian, Kalan and the two Heralds, Tarathan and Jehane Mor, five years after the events in The Heir of Night.
The review for The Heir of Night – Book One of The Wall of Night can be found here.
After finishing The Heir of Night it only took me moments to open The Gathering of the Lost. The first novel in The Wall of Night series had surpassed all my expectations and had left me excited and eager to learn how the tale would unfold. I wasn’t even worried that the sequel wouldn’t meet my expectations – Helen Lowe had written such a magical and gripping opening novel that it had to! The Gathering of the Lost proved to be a tale with twists and turns aplenty, with plots and intrigues around every corner, all woven together with lyrical, beautiful prose.
She will not stand alone
Five years after the Dawkswarm assault on her stronghold home, Malian of Night remains missing, believed dead amidst the wilds of Jaransor. But not all accept her death and now her enemies are on the hunt. Suspicion falls on heralds Tarathan and Jehane, who find themselves caught in a web of intrigue and murder during the Ijiri Festival of Masks. They flee bearing word of a death on the Wall – and a call to duty and honour that Malian must answer or be forsworn.
Oh Ms. Lowe, what a tangled web you weave! This novel has more plot twist than you can shake a stick at. The Gathering of the Lost maintains an incredible, fast paced and intrigue-laden narrative which left me in genuine surprise. I worried – where were our beloved protagonists? I panicked – new characters? now?! But this is all part of Helen Lowe’s masterful plan. Just read, enjoy and all will be revealed.
The writing, as in the previous novel, is absolutely beautiful. Almost poetic in her descriptions and with a wealth of new cities, locations and characters to explore, Lowe’s writing creates a breathtaking backdrop for the narrative. Her worldbuilding is flawless and beyond the Wall, Haarth is an exciting and colourful place populated by a myriad of different people which I genuinely can’t wait to explore further!
This novel takes place five years after the first and during those years our protagonists have grown and developed to become true adversaries to the Darkswarm. And if you were worried by having a thirteen year old protagonist in the first novel, then fear not! She is now an adult! The new characters are endearing and intrinsic to the plot, the Patrol is mysteriously fascinating, and the side characters from the first novel are now an essential and established part of the storyline.
This book is an incredible read – fast paced, beautifully written and even better than the first! I would happily nudge it up to five stars if I didn’t expect Daughter of Blood to be even better! If you’ve never read anything by Helen Lowe, this is the time. I couldn’t recommend this series enough.
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