shorefall

3.5 stars

I loved Foundryside, the first book in this series, and anxiously awaited the second. So, when I was finally able to read and review this book, I was giddy with excitement. Sadly, it fell into the all-too-common “second book” funk. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still good, but it fell short in comparison to book one.

Some time has passed since the events of the last book. The Foundryside firm has been struggling to compete with the larger merchant houses in Tevanne, who don’t like the competition. As Sancia, Orso, Gregory and Berenice work on their latest scheme, they discover that a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving, has been resurrected. The hierophant is determined to change Tevanne, and doesn’t care how many people die to accomplish his goal. But who is he, and why is he hell-bent on destroying the world? The group struggles to find a way to stop the ancient one, who is always one step ahead of them.

I think perhaps one of the reasons I didn’t like this book as much as the first is that Clef is absent for a majority of the story. He added a lot of humor and wit to the first one, which is sorely lacking in this book. The story here is a bit darker than the first, and the group is in much more dire straits. The hierophant is an ok villain, but he wasn’t someone that was fun to hate and root against. However, there is still plenty of action, and the writing is top notch. This book did it’s duty by moving the story arc along and ended on a good cliffhanger. While not as good as the first book, I still recommend you read this interesting, unique series.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.