Fantastic continuation of the series.

I often mention in my reviews the sophomore slump, that tendency of a second book in a series to be a bit of a letdown after an especially good series debut. I can happily say that Wraith Lord suffers no letdown from Wraith Knight, and is equal to or surpasses it in every measure, whether it be worldbuilding, depth of characters or action and pacing.

The story starts five years after the end of Wraith Knight, and Jacob Riversson, former commander of the Shadowguard, former involuntary Wraith Knight and now inheritor of the mantle and power of the god of evil, The King Below, is living in the Shadowlands with his two wives, the warrior Regina ni Whitetremor and the sorceress Serah Brightwaters, as they struggle to unite the shadow races into a unified force. Not the easiest thing since the King Below kept them in line through terror and slavery. That’s not how Jacob intends to rule. Also, he has less power than the King Below, since he split the power three ways with Regina and Serah. While his brides both want to raise up their armies and go invade the Southern Kingdoms and kill the Nine Heroes who usurped the empire, Jacob, while he spent 2 and half centuries as a Wraith Knight (think Ring Wraith), has no real desire to wreak all that death and destruction on the South.

Events start in motion, though, when a figure thought dead re-enters Regina’s life, chased by a figure from Serah’s more dubious past, Fel Hellsword, one of the Nine Heroes, and a powerful Archmage. This new person causes a change in plans, since they now have an idea of where Jassamine, the leader of the Nine, and Saint of the Alessian Empire and The Lawgiver, the god of that empire, is planning to strike next: Kerifas, a city traditionally at the center of territorial disputes. It seems the Imperials are forcing all the non-human’s in the city into ghettos in an attempt to get them to rise up. Since the cities Fir Bolgs (blue skinned nd antlered humanoids) are already living in those ghettos, they aren’t happy having some of their blood enemies such as Jotuns and Boggans forced into their territory. This revelation forces our antiheroes to discover what the Nine’s plan is, and try and stop it before a small scale genocide can be brought to fruition, ending in a climactic battle of bad vs. worse, since no one in this story has clean hands.

One thing I loved about Wraith Knight was the grimdark sense of moral ambivalence, the sense that the “Hero” wasn’t so much an anti-hero, and more an anti-villain, fairly amoral and very much and ends justify the means character. This book increases that trend, as all three of the triumvirate of Dark Gods are morally flexible at best, and power hungry potential despots at worst. Still, in comparison to the truly evil Nine Heroes, they come across pretty well. The worldbuilding is top notch, with The Shadowlands expanded upon, as well as adding Kerifas as a setting, with its huge disparity in rich and poor quarters, and it’s long history as disputed territory. The new and expanded creature types are interesting, and the added characters, especially Ketras, really add to the story. All these characters seem like real people in the worst situation, with their flaws magnified by the stresses placed upon them, and some of them rising above it to do the right thing, whatever that may be. The action scenes are well written, and the final battle scene has so many twists I just didn’t see coming.


The narration is ably handled by the talented Peter Berkrot. He has a real gift for creating unique voices for the various characters, changing, tone, pitch, accent and cadence on the fly, all while keeping a good narrative flow. The narrations never suffers from monotone, or speed changes that don't fit the story. He has a way of inflecting even when doing the narrative parts that set him apart from the average narrator. One of my favorite narrations of the year.

Overall, its more of what made Wraith Knight such a grimdark gem to read, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. any fan of dark, gritty fantasy can find something to love here, while not being overwhelmed with a gloomfest, since there is humor sprinkled throughout.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

Make an Amazon series of this please!

Book 2. What a great addition to the first book! Phillips is a great author. He always adds some humor to his books. Performance was again stellar! Hats off to both author and performer. Can’t wait to get the rest of this series.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Fantastic!

Like I said with book one, this isn't my usual genre, hut I'm a fan of Phipps and his books never disappoint! Wraith Lord was even better than Wraith Knight! It picks up right where book one left off. Jacob and his two wives try to put together an army large enough to take out the army of the nine heroes. Yes, two wives! Both are just as powerful as Jacob since he shared his powers from the king below with them equally. I can't wait to see what's to come in book three, Wraith King! Great narration by Peter Berkrot! He really brings the characters to life!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Wraith Lord

I enjoyed this follow up to Wraith Knight.Now the 'King Below' Jacob can hardly recognise himself anymore.With his wives by his side he ventures to clear the land of the Dark Lord and his followers. Peter Berkrot was a fine narrator. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

A strong follow-up to book 1

Book 2 of the Wraith Knight series leaves you waiting for book 3 in a positive way. There is clearly more story to tell and you really start to become more deeply invested with the supporting characters and the world. To stay away from spoilers I will explain it a bit more vaguely... Essentially in book 2 by expanding on the world it really sets up the nature of the universe this is set in which has some really interesting elements that I want to see further expanded on. Which I think the story will definitely go there eventually because of the books being from the perspective of Jacob it leaves mystery because we only know what he knows. As supporting characters Regina and Sarah have really started to take up more of the story and it is well done. In book 3 I want to see more of Sarah because her motivations still seem a bit mysterious and purposefully so I think. But I still want to understand her better because she is so conflicted and interesting.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

A winding road through forest dark

I was given this.book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Half a decade after the events of book one, our trio of not quite heroes return to battle it out against the nine usurpers. With lots of interesting characters, magical items, landscapes, countries, and cities, this book takes you on a winding journey through the darkness of humanity left to its own devices. My problems with this book are much the same as the first. And it’s more of a preference thing. I tend not to like darker books and darker stories, and the series is definitely dark. It doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war and depravity. Still, the heroes seem to have just as much trouble facing the darkness of this world as I, the reader, do. Even though they’re supposed to be the bad guys, and they often justify their actions in the name of the greater good, their inner struggle is relatable. I have to admit I expected all three of them to write off into the sunset together, which left me surprised at how the book ended. I guess we’ll have to see what happens in book 3.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

imagine Salron is good and Gandalf was evil.

This book flips the script on its head when it come to fantasy novels. Imagine if Salron from lord of the rings was all about freedom and self determination, and Gandalf was about tyrannical rule of law. what's classically thought of as good goes out the window and is instead replaced with a fanatical religious organization that seizes power and ruthlessly goes about enslaving and murdering the common people, in the name of peace and law and order. while the evil god king figure embraces freedom and saving the common person. its a very enjoyable book for the different perspective it gives and i loved it.
Also props to the narrator for a awesome job.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

enjoyable

I listened to the audiobook version of this story. It continues a bit after Wraith Knight leaves off, with Jacob Riverson now taking the place of the King Below, married to both Serah and Regina, and generally wreaking havoc wherever he goes.

The strong points of this story remain the same as book one. The characters remain consistent, they are like-able without being *too* like-able, and just as before, are prone to pronouncements of undying friendship and love for each other.

The story itself meandered a bit, and took awhile to get its footing. Once it did, I enjoyed the pace, the monsters, the mayhem, the magic... all of it. Poor Jacob keeps trying to avoid war and killing, but it just won't stop following him wherever he goes. Serah stirs trouble and keeps secrets, to the detriment of Jacob's cause. Regina is, well, Regina. She's prone to being a bit emotionally wayward, hot then cold, then hot again. What's a husband to do?

The real sweet spot that Phipps seems to hit out of the park is wit, snark, and relate-able characters even in a fantasy setting that is dark and gloomy.

My complaints are two-fold - the narrator just isn't my favorite (perhaps I would have enjoyed it more to read it). And second, it really was difficult at times to figure out what exactly the end-game is in all of this. I'm really curious to see if Book 3 brings a little more clarity to the plot; perhaps, like many fantasy stories, it's best to read it as a whole, and see the story as parts in that whole, instead of books. Either way, I enjoyed this and will look forward to the next chapter in the Wraith Knight story.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Compelling and Darker Installment

This second book is another solid read. C.T. Phipps keeps our ... ummm ... antihero? ... likeable. He's full of self doubt, as anyone who claims the throne of the King Below and doesn't wish to lose himself to it should be. This story gets a bit darker than the first, challenging the major characters and readers to reevaluate the meaning of good and evil. There's a good amount of conflict to keep things as well.

Peter Berkrot dose a fine job narrating this as well, keeping enough changes to make following who is speaking easy. I will say I found the narration pace just a little slower than my preference, so I sped up playback slightly to achieve a nice fit.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Sometimes the villains are the good guys

Dark fantasy is great stuff. If you like the glen cook black company series then the Wraith Knight series will be up your alley. Same for fans of eve forwards villains by necessity. Sometimes the villains are the good guys and the good guys are actually pretty bad. This is the case in the wraith knight series. It runs from the gods on down....well maybe the gods are all kind of bad. The darkness of the nine will be revealed, secret societies exposed and betrayals abound. A prophecy will come to light that can change everything. Do you root for the villains? This ones for us. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful