GILDENHAMMER

An intriguing character narrates her side of a complex story in Chan’s fantasy sequel.

Readers familiar with the fantastical world of Kaef’re (which resembles ancient China), first introduced in the author’s previous novel Blackcloak: A Man of his Sword(2015), will find the onslaught of confusion and excitement familiar as this installment starts out with the fractured identities of the protagonist fighting each other. (“I, we. We…I’ve just learned to share with myself,” says the narrator as he violently grapples with the aftermath of the first book’s story.) This time around, the focus is on Charan’s sister Sariana Jaydemyr, who is ready to recount the details of her life and the long voyages through different realities, memories, and battles that brought her to Charan. Told from her perspective, Sariana’s tale begins in a village where she was known as Sarah-Jade Falkenstrom, the daughter of a self-centered and abusive lounge singer named Chantal. After being abandoned by Chantal’s husband, the mother and daughter move to Teristra, where the outbreak of war leads Sarah-Jade to hide in an Abbey. There, the same Dreamsong magic that fractured Charan’s identity in the first book also leaves Sarah-Jade—now called Sariana—with multiple memories and identities. (“Who am I supposed to be, and what will happen if I reveal the truth?”) Sariana hides behind multiple false identities within the Abbey, training as a Sister of the Liquid Night before emerging into the world armed with a vision of the apocalypse and a signature weapon called the Gildenhammer. Sariana ventures from there to the city of Kaifeng, where her brother is only beginning to understand their shared history—and where the same political intrigue and fighting of the first novel await them both. As Sariana’s twisted story starts to catch up with the present day, both siblings also move closer to new, shocking revelations.

Compared to the first outing in Chan’s fantastical world, this entry gives readers a bit more to hold onto as Sariana’s first-person narration anchors all of the magical interventions with a single point of view. “I grew up in the memory of a shadow of a fantasy, unable to live up to any of it,” Sariana explains to her brother (and to readers) while showcasing the poetic turns of phrase that made Chan’s first book distinctive. However, there is still a mountain of dense mythology and worldbuilding to climb. Readers can easily get lost in the vast lists of characters and competing factions—those feeling completely overwhelmed may do well to start at the end of the book, where the author has wisely provided a detailed chronological timeline mapping the major events of both novels. (Spoilers abound here, of course, but for many they may be worth the relative clarity.) Chan’s powerful prose still pierces through the fog of his unwieldy mythology—the horrific abuse Sariana/Sarah-Jade suffers while also struggling to understand her egotistical mother is chilling. Readers willing to put in the work to understand what’s going on will be rewarded with Chan’s big ideas and even sharper writing than in the original.

With a more coherent perspective, this sequel offers a smoother entry into a bewitching but difficult story.