All Hail Chaos is the sequel to Long Live Evil, which I reviewed favorably last year. At the time, I thought this sequel would end the story, but it looks like we are in for a Time of Iron Book 3, and there is a doozy of a cliffhanger at the end of book 2. My overall impression of All Hail Chaos is that it was … fine. Honestly, I felt like the pacing was kind of slow, and some of the more interesting character relationships from book 1 were missing (as they had to be due to plot considerations). The last few chapters got very interesting but the path to get there was at times a slog for me.
At the end of book 1, Rae, aka Rahela, The Beauty Dipped in Blood, was maybe about to go home. Rae is a 20-year-old cancer patient who, while in a coma, finds herself invited by a presence to enter the world of the Time of Iron Books— a series of fantasy books that Rae and her sister Alice love. She enters as Rahela, a sexy villainess, and almost immediately sets the entire plot on its head. Rahela was meant to die early in the series, but Rae keeps her alive. Rae enjoys being gorgeous and evil, and she doesn’t really take the situation seriously, telling herself it isn’t real after all. Yet after spending time with the characters, especially secondary characters who are also “bad guys” but friends, Rae changes her mind. And she begins to realize that the world is very real and that she is in danger of being stuck in it and/or dying.
In Book 2, Rae has missed her chance at returning, but she never gives up hope. She cares about her friends Emer, the strong maid who will discover she possesses abilities she never knew; Lia, the beautiful, good, beloved step-sister who was meant to be the heroine of the books but whose path forward has been irreparably damaged by Rae; and Key, the body guard from the wrong side of the abyss who is dangerous and devoted to Rae, believing whatever she tells him. The problem is that Rae’s actions and their unintended consequences have led to Key dying and being reborn as The Emperor/god, son of the Great God and a real nasty piece of work. Key commands an army of ghouls and terrorizes the kingdom, and his plans for Rae are unclear. He seems obsessed with her, but given that she was responsible for his death, he must be planning to kill her, right? Rae for her part, has conflicted feelings; on one hand, she has strong feelings for Key, maybe even loves him, but she also realizes that while she has upset the Time of Iron timeline, that same timeline seems to be trying to right itself. Meaning that Rae’s days may be numbered and if she wants to save her friends, she has to come up with a plan quickly. In order to get the plot back on track with the book series, the Emperor/Key must become good and heroic, and in order to turn him from his evil ways, Rae decides she needs to find him a nice fairy-tale type of girl who can convert him. This won’t necessarily help Rae get home, but it will save her friends from the horrible fate that looms ahead.
Meanwhile, Lia and Emer have fled the palace and are hiding in the Cauldron, the poor and disreputable neighborhood close to the abyss (where ghouls come from) and full of miscreants. Emer, who has been a servant but who is also physically powerful, is somewhat in awe of Lia, who is lovely and aristocratic. The two have had a simmering love interest, but once in the Cauldron, they have to focus on survival. Emer is worried about Key and Rae while Lia seems to have plans of her own, plans that involve the big picture for the kingdom. Elsewhere, Marius – heir to the noble Valerius line, unmatched warrior known for promoting justice versus evil (think Sir Lancelot) – has taken up with the Cobra. The Cobra, like Rae, is a Time of Iron superfan who finds himself in the story and has become a wealthy but scandalous bon vivant. Marius is struggling with guilt: for having failed his monarch, for having terrified his female family members in the past with his Valerius berserker rages, and for prioritizing his friendship with Eric (the Cobra) over all others. Eric for his part is actually a funny, decent fellow who, like Rae, wants to protect his friends but hesitates to force the plot into what he thinks is the right direction. He understands that the story is trying to correct itself and that they must tread lightly or risk making matters worse.
In the afterward, author Sarah Rees Brennan writes about her personal experience with cancer and how it is represented in her novels. Rae’s experience of being left behind by family members and friends reflects things that happened to Brennan and which, sadly, are not uncommon amongst people who have cancer. She writes about the feeling that one is blamed for being ill and upset and not oneself, and how Rae’s experience of that influences her reactions to other characters, for better or worse.
As mentioned above, there were parts of this installment that dragged a bit for me, but I am still very interested in finding out what happens to Rae, Key, Emer, Marius, Cobra, Lia and the rest. I will be back for book 3 whenever it comes out. I want to give this 3.5 stars but will round up to 4.
