Stones of Light by Zack Argyle
Book information
Stones of Light by Zack Argyle (I accidentally went on the “about” section, and I laughed out loud looking at the mug)
Book two in the Threadlight series
Published first on the 4th of April 2021 by Zack Argyle himself (indie book!)
4 stars out of 5
Indie book building on the first book, increasing the complexity of the world (for example by introducing god-like individuals) and making the stakes higher than ever:
Individual stakes make their lives more complex and compelling stories;
the stakes for the entire world help creating an engaging and dynamic story.
A few highlights
Map art is still outstanding, simply so; art (including cover art!) by Ömer Burak Önal
This is a book that explores an alter-ego as the person running the body
and suffer the consequences for it
Chyrs also experiences a different type of life, having to be force laborer with other people
Laurel needs to compromise her morality to be able to get her abilities back
and this enables us to know more about how the Bloodthieves behave and what their goals really are!
Alverax gets to experience a brand new part of the world, with unique systems and believes
God-like individuals and personalities are part of this world and they are both cool and terrifying at the same time
Still true how cool the magic system is (for additional information, check the review for Voice of War, here)
Tropes/themes that work for me
Manipulation
this is a key element of the story, from the Apogee to Jisenna
Family is still front and center of this story, both blood relatives and found family
and there is such a juicy gem at the end of the book that made me smile senseless for a whole day!
Gods meddling in human affairs for their own goals and it is executed beautifully!
