TEMBERLAIN'S ASHES

A small group of allies in a faraway world battles oppression and seemingly indestructible fiends in this fantasy sequel.

Democryos was once a master “voider” in the Northern Kingdom. He honed magiclike abilities from an otherworldly plane called the void, an act he renounced after learning that trapped souls powered the voidstones wielded by voiders. The secret to stopping voidance may now lie in his lover Chimeline’s vivid dream-visions of Temberlain, the first effulgent, who died generations ago. (Effulgents belong to a religious sect that doesn’t believe in relationships or ownership.) But Dem and Chimeline have trouble deciphering events and figures in her recorded dreams, including exactly what that silver-armored “azureman” is. Meanwhile, Dem and his friend Blythe work to free countless souls stuck in an impossibly large voidstone. But danger looms. The king unleashes an enigmatic plan to round up effulgents, and someone kills voiders and steals their pocket-sized voidstones. Dem, Blythe, Chimeline, and others soon realize that people are disappearing in the Northern Kingdom, and azuremen (like those in Chimeline’s dreams) are suddenly showing up. The dreams may prepare the companions for facing both these never-speaking, startlingly durable beings and quite likely an even greater enemy. Wozniak’s effective, unhurried pace guides readers through dense worldbuilding. This second installment, for example, touches on events from the preceding novel and spotlights intermittent dream episodes with Temberlain that confuse even Dem and Chimeline. Nevertheless, beautifully detailed scenes fill the pages, most notably of the void—a “colorless darkness” in which voices of souls or voiders “weave in and out like braids in a rope.” The story zeroes in on an indelible cast, from foulmouthed friend Colu, perpetually guzzling the alcoholic beverage sugarcanex, to Chimeline, continually doubting her ability though she may prove more powerful than skilled voiders. All the while, a slow-burn mystery plays out and a revealing final act answers questions surrounding the blue-faced azuremen and Chimeline’s “voidreaming.” Although a third volume is certainly possible, this tale ends with a thorough and satisfying wrap-up.

A vibrant, deliberately paced, and enthralling fantasy.