The Thousand Eyes: The Serpent Gates Book 2

A. K. Larkwood — 2022

Brilliant, bold and thrilling, The Thousand Eyes by A. K. Larkwood is the epic fantasy sequel to The Unspoken Name. Could you sacrifice your dreams to escape a nightmare? Csorwe, Shuthmili and Tal survey abandoned Echentyr worlds to make a living. The empire’s ruins seem harmless but fascinating. Yet disaster strikes when they stumble upon ancient magic during a routine expedition. This revives a warrior who’d slept for an age, reigniting a conflict thousands of years old. And the soldier binds Csorwe to her cause. Shuthmili is desperate to protect the woman she loves. However, as events escalate, she’s torn. Can she help Csorwe by clinging to her own humanity or by embracing her eldritch powers? Tal heads home, but his peace is shattered when a magical catastrophe hits his city. The wizard Sethennai is missing and Tal can’t face seeking his former lover to ask for help. So, he flees – but there’s no escaping the future. For throughout the Echo Maze’s linked worlds, fragments of an undead goddess are waking. Soon all must choose a side. Praise for The Unspoken Name: ‘An outstanding debut . . . unlike anything I’ve read before’ – Nicholas Eames ‘Richly detailed, enthralling and extraordinary’ – Jenn Lyons ‘Stylish, classy and timeless . . . I cannot recommend it enough’ – Tamsyn Muir ‘An adventure I couldn’t put down’ – S. A. Chakraborty

Reviews

Naty Corbett@daddygringa

Aug 12, 2022

This book was worth the wait. After waiting months to read this since finishing the first of the series, I was pleased to find this one available so soon and I wasn't disappointed. The book starts off with a brief overview of the main cast of characters which was hilarious because of the sass the author injected into the descriptions; reading these I knew I was in for a treat. Once the novel proper gets started you're in medias res with Csorwe, Shuthmili, Tal, and another on an archaeological expedition to learn more about the extinct Echentyr Empire who worshipped the god Irskavaal, a snake goddess who in her spite killed all of her people and planets, and herself (more or less). What follows is an intricately woven story of loss, grief, revenge, and forgiveness. Throughout the book, some of the characters we thought were good, do bad things, and those that we thought were bad do good things, and in all instances their motivations are sound. I never once felt that twists or betrayals were not earned. Belthandros continues his quest for unrivaled power to fill in the hole of loneliness that his longevity has given him, and Cherenthisse's arc was a well-contained story of dedication to a memory/idea in the face of such unimaginable loss that few could ever relate to. She spends her new life searching for meaning and purpose with an almost singular focus to the detriment of those her government claims to rule over. The book shows us what happens when autocrats get so focused on gaining victory, regardless of how pyrrhic it is and how much their people will continue to suffer for nothing else than a title and the illusion of grandeur. I really loved how this book shows relationships of all kinds, platonic, romantic, hetero, homo, etc with a wide cast of people of all genders. I felt that this was a great way to cap off the story of these characters' lives. If we get no more books in this universe I would be fine as it was wrapped up nicely, but I would not say no to revisiting the Serpent Gates again.

Natalie@gigameow

Oct 17, 2022