Title: The Trail of the Beast
Author: Matt Spencer
Series: The Deschembine Trilogy (Book 2 of 3)
Year: 2020
Goodreads page: Link
SYNOPSIS
Five years ago, Rob and Sally fled Brattleboro, Vermont. Now married, they hide out in a Florida backwater, forever hunted by both sides of the ancient, otherworldly feud between the refugees of the realm of Deschemb.
Meanwhile, Sally’s estranged brother Sheldon follows a series of disturbing visions back to Brattleboro, and the ghosts of his own violent past. But something else has followed him.
Down South, Veteran Deschembine warriors Jesse and Zane search for the High Natural. Their investigation lands them at the center of a web of secrets and poison magic in New Orleans.
Ancient forces rise towards consciousness, threatening to reshape the world on a cataclysmic scale.
(from Goodreads)
First of all I have to say that I’m loving the arts on the covers of this saga! I love the style of the drawings!
This is the second book of the Deschembine Trilogy by Matt Spencer, a dark fantasy series with the right amount of violence and badass weapons.
I don’t advise jumping into this book without having read the first one, because you will miss so many awesome things and maybe it could be a bit confusing in the beginning; but if you happened to randomly have The Trail of the Beast into your hand don’t worry! The book is totally enjoyable as a stand-alone.
In my last review I asked for powerful scenes and I wasn’t deluded. The fights and the tense moments are spectacular and will keep you glued to the book.
It seems that the author improved his writing style between the two books. Like in the previous book, the author conveys really well the protagonist’s confusion, when he is guided by Puttergong without basically any clue of what he is doing or going, but it isn’t as chaotic and alienating as before. This time the narration goes much smoother without depriving the reader of living the adventure with Rob.
I also love how the author could insert something as cool as a metaphor about Poe’s pendulum right in the middle of the fight without interrupting the pace of it! I’m really digging this writing style!
It’s for sure written better then the first one but on some occasions I felt the story had been rushed through some of these parts. There were too many things happening in rapid succession, not having the exact amount of pauses to let the pathos build up.
Speaking about the story this time we have a lot more action with the plot evolving a lot more on a bigger scale.
A genial thing for me was the addition of a third faction to the conflict… but is really only a third? Isn’t there even a fourth? You will have to read the book to find out!
Lots of unexpected twists and turns paired with scenes full of suspense will make you almost forget to breathe and, when you will read the last page of the book, you will wonder what will happen in the third and last one!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Raven の Nest 