Stones of Light

4.5

If you are looking for a story with a magic system similar to Mistborn but has the pace of a John Gwynne book, this seems like a great book for you. Excited to read the conclusion.

I am Cassius au Bellona, son of Tiberius, son of Julia, Morning Knight, and my honor remains

This is book 2 of the Threadlight series. I listened to the first entry, Voice of War, via the author's newsletter...which made it free! (Get yours here: https://download.zackargyle.com/voice-of-war-audiobook) I wanted to continue with it, so I went with audio for the second too. Adam Gold is a fantastic narrator.

No smack talking, but I did find the sequel to be leaps and bounds better than the first! There was amped up action, dialogue, and emotion. The writing was a nice step up as well. Certainly an improvement on what was already a great start. The author did a great job of continuing to pull on all the threads he started with in the first, and creating some others! 

Again, this is just truly one of the most intriguing magic systems I've read in a long time. Called Threadlight, there are even bigger and badder things to deal with and learn about in this sequel, and the magic just kept getting bigger and better. 

The author continues on with the multi-perspective narrative. He does so with the same success as the first, while even the side characters are incredibly fleshed out and real. And did I mention death? Deaths? Deathses? None of them feel good, and each of them hurt in their own way. I was impressed. 

Totally worth it, and definitely sold me even more on the first. Check it, and the author out!

First of all, check out that cover!! Damn.

This book is better than its predecessor in every single way. Some intense stuff went down at the end of Voice of War, and it really allowed the opening up of the world and characters. I'm surprised at how much Argyle is able to fit into a pretty small (350ish pages) book. SoL once again follows three POVs, and my biggest complaint about the first book was POV layout related- but this time I was equally invested in all three.

Chrys is the focus of book 1, but he takes a bit of a backseat here to let Alverax shine. Chrys's POV is instead used to provide more insight into the magic, different cultures, regions, and religions of the world. Laurel's chapters flesh out some of the villain's goals and also deals with some of the mental and physical fallout from book 1. Also...PSYCHIC WOLVES. We need more things with psychic wolves.

I think Argyle really shines when dealing with relationships between characters. My favorite scenes tend to be just two characters bonding over something. I also think it's worth mentioning that he writes very good female characters, something I hear a lot of complaints about regarding male authors. The ending was also explosive and surprised me several times.

My only negatives here are the constant usage of “Stones” as a curse word (wouldn't different people have different curse words? I digress) and that the magic system, while interesting, doesn't make the fight scenes very dynamic. It's not a very combat heavy book, though, so this wasn't a big deal.

9.5/10

Gods, Monsters and revelations abound aplenty in Zack Argyle's gripping sequel to Voice of War.

At the end of Voice of War, Chrys was lost to all as he had let loose the Apogee.

Now, in the grip of the Apogee's powers, he is being led to far off lands, attempting to regain power and take control of himself once again

Meanwhile, Laurel, mourning the loss of her powers has allied herself with the head of the blood thieves, Arabella, the amber thread weaver.

And on the other side of the world, Alverax, and the survivors from Zedalan have sought sanctuary in the land of Felia. In their hopes to find a safe haven for their people, Alvarax, Elder Rowan and Elder Rosemary petition the Empress of the Sun to grant the people of Zedalan asylum.

The Stones of Light builds on the events that began in Voice of War, and adds much more to the story. In Stones of Light, we find out more about the voice in Chrys's head as it leads him to the home of The Wastelanders, the people he fought when he was The Apogee.

In addition to that, he learns of a new threat in the form of the Ancient Wastelander god, Relek and his sister, Lylax. These were gods who were once imprisoned and have now been released. Their only goal; to get revenge on those that locked the away by setting their army of Wastelanders and pet monsters, the Corespwan upon the world.

All the main characters are expanded upon really well in the book, however, it is Laurel that undergoes the most change.

At the end of Voice of War, Laurel experienced a massive wound which had a catastrophic effect on her. And it is due to this change that she allies herself with Alabella, who has told her that she can fix the wound that she has suffered. But this comes at a cost, and the price is to take her back to Zedalum in order to access the core seal and get the necessary materials to make her plans of being able to make everyone be a thread weaver come to fruition. Obviously, things don't go to plan and as she struggles with her inabilities, she believes that Alabella will be the answer to set everything right. However, what Laurel doesn't count on, is the change that she will undergo.

Alverax, the thief gone good, also experiences changes. He finds that he has a conscience, and actually wants to do good. As he tries to remedy the mistakes he made in the last book, he finds that actually, he is a good man. He has gone to Felia with the Zeda people. But they must fight against mistrust, and the shocking events that unfold

Stones of Light is a fantastic read, and if possible, is more accomplished and breath taking than the first.

It's plot runs along at the pace of a juggernaut and grabs you immediately, never letting you go until you reach the end. It's populated with characters that you will adore and expands the world that Zack Argyle has built in his first book.

Stones of Light is a fantastic read, full of action and fantastic characters. I would heartily recommend it to any fantasy fan.