The Tower of Living and Dying

Do you like your grimdark with extra grim and extra dark? Anna Smith Spark does not hold back and this, the second in her Empire of Dust trilogy is possibly grimmer and darker than her first.

Continuing the story of Thalia and Marith this one starts off pretty soon after the first book finished. Marith is following in the footsteps of his forebear Amrath, one slaughter/betrayal/invasion at a time. This seems him on the campaign from his birthplace to the titular Tower of Life and Death, the old capital of Amrath. On the way he brutally kills as many people as he can, quite often just for the hell of it.

Things aren't much better in Sorlost where the varying political betrayals seem to gradually erode the city from within.

This book is a rollercoaster of brutality. Everyone here is pretty objectionable. Everyone is morally compromised. This is about the grimest darkest thing I have read and ultimately, I loved every second of it!

The Court of Broken Knives blew me away with its stunning prose and compelling characters. It set the bar very high for any books that might follow it.

Let's get this out of the way right now: The Tower of Living and Dying does not disappoint. Far from it. It sets the gold standard that all other grimdark books must measure themselves against.

Picking up immediately after the events of the first book, The Tower of Living and Dying follows Marith and Thalia as they deal with the aftermath of their victory over Marith's father, the king. Gathering his army, Marith is determined to fulfill his destiny as Amrath reborn.

Back in Sorlost, Orhan is still the Emperor's Nithque and enjoying his newfound power. Things don't go quite as smoothly as he'd like.

This book takes the time to dive deeply into each of the characters. Thalia has to wrestle with the moral dilemma that comes with loving someone as wantonly destructive as Marith. Marith is a textbook narcissist who may just happen to be a god. Orhan finally has the power he's always wanted, but it doesn't make him happy.

Parts of the story veered into my least favorite fantasy trope: birds-eye views of long battles where character stakes are replaced by tedious descriptions of military tactics. I understand why this was necessary for the book, but it's something that I rarely enjoy.

That said, the book was just so damn compelling that I loved it anyway.

If possible, the prose is even more fascinating than the previous book. At times, the author winks at the readers and breaks the fourth wall...and it's incredible.

Overall, this was a beautifully written story about hopelessly damaged people wreaking havoc in the world as they try to find their place in it. I can't wait for the final installment of the trilogy!

Fans of grimdark, Anna Smith Spark is an author to keep your eyes on. She's bound for great things.