A very solid 3.5-star read. It's just as fun and wild as the first book, and to Eames' credit, he can write a helluva action scene, which is good since this book is almost entirely made of action. It won't stick with me like the first book did, though, as this follow-up lacks that one's weary heroism and classic "getting the band back together" schtick, which was executed so well.

I like the new band of characters here and appreciate how different their defining characteristics are from those who came before. Eames makes great use of everyone's different battle styles and is clearly enjoying the challenge of creating new and colorful ways to decapitate and disembowel hideous beasties. That's where the book's easy readability and all-around entertaining qualities come from, and it was plenty enough to keep me turning the page. There's enough ingenuity in the staging and details of the action that I (almost) don't mind how Eames is riffing off (or outright copying) the final season of Game of Thrones. It does get a bit much by the end, though, as the battles become so large and frantic that they teeter on white noise. It doesn't completely undercut the stakes, but it comes close.

Admittedly, the characterizations are a mixed bag, especially the women in the book. I was worried it would be worse, but the titular character is held back by shallow motivations and conflicts that do fit the vibe of "a white man wrote this." There is solid diversity to be seen, which I appreciate, and Eames' heart is in the right place, making the limited nature of his characters a somewhat easier flaw to accept. But it is disappointing when his first book enjoyed such rich, familiar-but-layered relationships between its characters, and the follow-up comes up short. The romance is also half-baked and lacks the chemistry and believability I need to feel invested.

I still had a great time overall and will read a third book if/when it comes out. Eames has created a great world with these books, and even though his affinity for classic fantasy motifs can be a double-edged sword, it is infectious.