I finished the book and enjoyed it. What really impresses me about this latest book is the comprehensive character and world-building. The first book started it, but this book really carried it through.
Sarah, the series' protagonist, is emotionally believable and engaging with a penchant toward loosing her temper, (something I can definitely relate to). (Note, I really like her interesting music choices too.) The main supporting characters are sympathetic and interesting. Furthermore, the book's hidden world, (of dragons, witches, elves, dwarves, fire demons and a mysterious Nordic god named Odin), is entertaining and surprisingly credible despite its fantastic nature. Furthermore, the World Tree mythology with gods, dragons and other creatures and a mysterious Wheel out of balance is fascinating. (Note, the story arc involves some kind of imbalance in the Wheel that will cause worldwide destruction. Sarah and her sword, Gram, have some part to play in balancing the world which has not yet been fully revealed.)
Like the first book, this second installment is composed of chapters which follow the first person experiences of Sarah and third-person experiences of primary supporting characters, including: Katie, (Sarah's love interest and sister to the leader of the Black Briars, the medieval reenactment chapter who fought the dragon and his giant and troll minions in the first book); an intriguing 'gray' witch named Qindra, who serves ancient and dangerously senile dragon known as the Nidhogg a/k/a The Corpse Gnawer; the 'mirror' elves, Skella and her brother Gletts, who can travel and spy, via the hidden ways, through mirrors; and, the businessman dragon Frederick Sawyer.
The pace is generally moderate but accelerates to light speed during action sequences. IMO, there is no lull in this book. I was interested and engaged in every detail of Sarah's life. The plot begins with the kidnapping of a gifted singer in Vancouver, the territory of the dragon defeated by Sarah in the first book. Eventually, Sarah and Katie are informed of a plot to auction mead, made from the singer's blood, into a brew that will enhance and pass along his gifts. It also involves an emotionally unstable but incredibly gifted blacksmith named Anezka, whom Sarah has agreed to temporarily work with. There's also a completely endearing but initially scary little fire demon named Bub for Beelzebub. Add in 'mirror' elves, dwarves, dragons, and other mythological creatures. Furthermore, there's a necromantic slant at the end of the book involving bizarre and predatory spirits. The book culminates in an action-packed climax.
Note, some of the conflict remains unresolved at the end of this book. The witch, Qindra, remains besieged in Anezka's house as she chants to keep predatory wraiths from escaping into the world. This failure to completely resolve the conflict was only a minor annoyance to me, and didn't affect my overall enjoyment of this book.
Hey, I'll admit it – I missed last year's Black Blade Blues, the first installment of J.A. Pitts' Sarah Beauhall saga and his first novel.
