Stormsong

Books That Burn reviewed Stormsong by C. L. Polk

Review of 'Stormsong' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

After any great and dramatic heroic gesture comes the aftermath, the fallout, the nitty gritty of picking up the pieces of a shattered world, sorting through the detritus of a broken system. Stormsong sits in that discomfort, finding just how much has broken.

The events of Witchmark revealed the rot which underlay their comforts and conveniences, and Stormsong sees them reckon with the messy nature of moving towards justice. Shifting MCs from the first book allows for focus on a different angle. Where Witchmark began as a mystery story then became embroiled in politics, Stormsong starts with the practical and political consequences of the events in the first book, then rapidly transforms into a mystery... of how to deal with those events and also solve a murder. The story was engaging, the characters were great, and the romance was a tender mix of implicit and overt that really worked for …

After any great and dramatic heroic gesture comes the aftermath, the fallout, the nitty gritty of picking up the pieces of a shattered world, sorting through the detritus of a broken system. Stormsong sits in that discomfort, finding just how much has broken.

The events of Witchmark revealed the rot which underlay their comforts and conveniences, and Stormsong sees them reckon with the messy nature of moving towards justice. Shifting MCs from the first book allows for focus on a different angle. Where Witchmark began as a mystery story then became embroiled in politics, Stormsong starts with the practical and political consequences of the events in the first book, then rapidly transforms into a mystery... of how to deal with those events and also solve a murder. The story was engaging, the characters were great, and the romance was a tender mix of implicit and overt that really worked for me. It's sweet without being cloying. I thought it was going to be more of a political thriller than a detective story, and for the first third it is, but then it turns and becomes this excellent mix of both in a way that reveals there were mystery elements all along.

This story is deeply concerned with the multifaceted ramifications of what it means to not just stop current atrocities but to bring a reckoning; to break what must be broken and build anew. There was a scene with some political machinations that I was really excited about (and it remains a fantastic scene), but there's an event later on which re-contextualizes it. It's not that the narrator is unreliable, exactly, but she definitely has a perspective that makes her less aware of certain issues, especially early on. However the author definitely was aware, and there are events later in the book which challenge her understanding of certain events. It was a really good portrayal of someone partway through restructuring their worldview, then needing to adjust even more.

As for my usual check whenever I read book two of a trilogy, this is a great entry. It establishes characters well enough to make sense just within this story in case someone missed the first one, but does it in several clever ways to make the plot recaps feel natural. Grace is consistent with her characterization from the first book (where she wasn’t the MC), but her perspective in this book feels pretty complete, and her voice is distinct from Miles, the previous MC. Some events left over from the previous book are settled, there’s a full storyline that fits just within this book, and also there’s a pretty major element left to be handled in the final book. Overall this is a great book and an excellent midpoint to the trilogy.

Ellemir reviewed Stormsong by C. L. Polk

Review of 'Stormsong' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Mal wieder ein Genrewechsel - zwischendurch geht einfach nichts über Fantasy. Band 1 dieser Reihe habe ich schon vor einiger Zeit gelesen und ich war positiv überrascht, dass in dieser Geschichte nicht wie in Band 1 Miles die Blickwinkelfigur war, sondern seine Schwester, die im ersten Buch tendenziell eher unsympathisch eingeführt wurde. Gerade diese Perspektivwechsel geben einem Buch oder einer Reihe besondere Tiefe.
Die Welt, die in dieser Reihe gezeichnet wird, gefällt mir sehr gut. Sie ist eindeutig fantastisch und hat ein sehr eigenes Magiesystem, allerdings erinnert das Setting eher an Steampunk.
Ich freue mich schon auf Band 3, in dem die Perspektive erneut zu einer anderen, in meinen Augen sehr interessanten Figur wechselt.
Die Autorin war für mich auf jeden Fall eine tolle Entdeckung.

bondolo reviewed Stormsong by C. L. Polk

Review of 'Stormsong' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I didn't enjoy it as much as Witchmark. The world building it introduced felt like details that didn't enrich the world. I did not better understand the Amaranthines or Laneer and was disappointed how Miles became wallpaper character. Tristan was used as more of all purpose deus ex machina than as a character.

M Is For Awesome reviewed Stormsong by C. L. Polk (The Kingston Cycle, #2)

Review of 'Stormsong' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Every bit as good as the first book, (I do wish some of the world building had occurred in the first of the series) and I can’t imagine where book three (there HAS to be a book three!) is going to end up.
One of the few fantasy books of this setting that presents such complicated politics as the heroes try to deal with the deadly consequences of doing the right thing in the last book.