Despite having blurbed these books to very many people as I was reading them, I kept finding myself pleasantly surprised by how much I liked them! In this second installment of the Saint of Steel series, still set in the same world of the Rat, we follow another of the former-paladins of the Saint of Steel, who is now deceased.
For the first time, we have plot continuity–Istvhan is on the hunt for the strange clay head/golem/creepy men who terrorized us in the prior installation, and he’s wandered far out past the boundaries of the prior books (to be honest, I could not tell you the world/city/name of the place those all took place in. this is not one of those books that has a detailed map as a cover page). Accompanied by Galen and a coterie of other hired hands, they’re making their way across somewhat hostile territory disguised as a caravan transporting expensive barrels.
Along the way they encounter this novel’s Romantic Female Lead, Clara, who has a secret and quest of her own as well. She’s a nun (of sorts) and on the hunt for her sisters, all of whom were kidnapped from the convent for ~*reasons*~. No one will share their trauma with anyone else, because that’s how trauma works and also it makes for tension–although, I’ll be honest, it’s a bit irritating when characters just Cannot Imagine anyone would ever understand them. Especially when we know that the person who would is…next to them.
The best part of this book, of course, is learning more about the Temple of the Rat and how they operate in countries/cities/regions where they are not as venerated (but not outright attacked). As always, the Rat will help as the Rat can! The worst part is the lack of plot armor–this is a cruel and unusual world, sometimes, and not everyone can survive. Those that are left behind need only to live their life to the fullest to make it worthwhile! That sounds needlessly grim but I promise this remains quite a funny book 🙂
