Warsworn

I was not expecting a second book, having been introduced to the first as a romance - thus expecting your traditional one-and-done romance trope set. This is... anything but, and really well done.

Huh - borrowed this without realizing I already owned it. That's OK. This book is, despite the action and important physical and emotional events in it, sort of hanging between Warprize and Warlord. It's not, mostly, to do with the culture of Xy; it's not, precisely, to do with the culture of the Plains. The plague and Lara's reaction to it are of Xy, but all of her actions are filtered through the army and its reaction. The army's reaction, and especially Iften and the warrior-priest's actions, are very much of the Plains - but we see them through Lara's eyes, and she often doesn't understand what she's seeing. The reasons for the reaction to her 'lie', for instance, is never really clear - she knows it's a terrible thing to have done show more but not really _why_. The plague, Iften, the arrival of the warrior-priest, Torven's reaction to the whole thing are all necessary to set up Warlord but there is little actual advance of the story in Sworn. Still a good book, but less in and of itself and more as a necessary part of the series. show less

Typical of Vaughan's writing. Fast paced. Fun to read. Interesting characters that you want to smack in the head.

Lara, having made the biggest choice of her life in the previous book, is now journey with Keir and his army of the Plains back towards their homeland. Instead of becoming in any ways stronger, more capable, or more useful, Lara proceeds to do exactly the opposite. I found myself very disappointed in her character on many of occasions, and the book itself felt lack-luster at best. The emotions didn't feel real, especially the mourning. I just couldn't submerge myself in the world like the author hoped.

I'd call this book part 1 and Warlord part 2. I think I would have been really annoyed if I hadn't had the next book to go on with immediately. At the end of Warprize, Keir is returning with his warprize to the Heart of the Plains. By the end of Warsworn, they haven't even go their yet. So, where I expected to be, as set up by book 1, was not where I was, until the end of book 3. Keir and Lara continue to develop their relationship with each other and learn about one another's cultures. On the journey to the Heart, they come across a Xy village which has been ravaged by disease - such is unknown to the people of the Plains - it is an unseen foe and death from disease is not the honourable death of battle. Nevertheless, the Plains show more warriors soon find themselves in a battle against a deadly disease and not everyone will survive. I found the events of this book emotionally compelling, especially as I'd become quite attached to some of the secondary characters I'd met in the first book. show less

This is very much an inbetween book bridging the other two, so the plot doesn't progress dramatically. On the other hand, it covers a lot of important and emotional issues, so I would still strongly recommend it. It doesn't shy away from difficulties, or create convenient resolutions.

Plot wise, this book suffers from the well-known middle-book syndrome. Lara and Keir, with his army, are still on their way back to the Plains when they encounter an unknown enemy, the plague. The whole book centers on the outbreak and treatment of the plague and the effects it has on the community of the Firelander's warriors. This can sometimes be quite boring.

Nevertheless some things are better than in the first book. Although still written in first person narrative, I no longer had the feeling that things are happening which the reader is not aware of.

While it had some length, I still enjoyed the book and will now move on to the third and final book to see how the story ends.