Usborne The Merciless Ones

I would say I’m not a great fan of fantasy novels, but then I remember how many fantasy novels I’ve read since the Narnia books and Lord of the Rings in a long-ago childhood. However, The Merciless Ones is certainly not a children’s books and I wouldn’t classify it as “young adult” fiction either. It has plenty of relevance of someone of my advanced age.Namina Forna takes us for a second time into a cleverly imagined world which has enough detail to make it real but not so much that we get bogged down in lengthy descriptions and digressions. That in itself reflects the writer’s art. Too many fantasy writers feel a need to pad out their narratives with long lists of long-dead rulers and other distractions. This author gets straight to the point.Having said that, you don’t get all the detail up front. As the narrative develops, new and often surprising details are revealed to the reader – and to the narrator, Deka – and things become more complicated and uncertain before the fog clears. I won’t say any more about the plot except that this sequel is full of surprises and overturns many of the assumptions you might have been making at the end of The Gilded Ones.One thing I can’t help doing when I read a fantasy novel is trying to discern how much it relates to or derives from contemporary reality. In the first volume we had a deeply patriarchal society fuelled by a religion that teaches female subjugation. The religion is clearly an amalgam of our monotheistic with a priesthood, purity rituals and a holy text. Girls are forbidden education and women must wear a mask and be chaperoned when they go out. In the sequel we begin by believing that the patriarchs’ religion is false, their gods don’t exist and the only true gods are female. However, as the story unfolds, the theology changes. We move a long way away from a binary world of female and male and good and evil. The only certainties are that Deka and her companions remain loyal to each other. It’s a great myth (and I mean that in a positive sense) of enduring friendship.Deka’s story doesn’t end with this novel and I can see a third volume on the horizon.

After reading the Gilfed one. I was ecstatic to see that I wouldn't have to wait too long to read the Merciless ones. Without providing any spoilers - the author has done a great job in providing detail of what is next to come for Deka and co. Describing the level ups in their gifts is very easy to imagine.I'm really looking forward to the next book

I really loved The Merciless Ones, it takes you as the reader, right back into the action while simultaneously bringing secrets to light. It has highs and lows plenty of emotional moments and twists galore.

This was such an exhilarating read so beautifully written; it’s easy to get lost in every emotion and part of the adventure! Love, love , love!

Last year's The Gilded Ones knocked me on my feet - Deka is a fabulous protagonist. She is strong and ethical and vulnerable. The world building and magical system were unique, intriguing and at times jaw dropping. That all held true for this sequel - I thought it would be hard to keep the type of intensity and uniqueness for book two. The first book tackled the idea of indoctrination, blind faith and racism; this one continues those themes and really tackles sexism, gender roles and identity. You are not beaten to death with these messages but inspired to think about them as you see parallels between Deka's world and our own. The pace is a little slower than the first book but that's because there is so much for Deka to absorb. It doesn't mean there isn't lots of action, those scenes are plentiful but in between there is so much revealed to Deka about her true nature and the nature of her people. There are so many heartbreaking moments and emotional revelations. I generally prefer reading dialogue but a lot of the reveals are Deka in her own in her head so you get long sections of explanations, which made the reading a little duller for me. I still loved the ideas and this series as a whole.  ️ ️ ️Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.