The Fires of Vengeance

Last Updated on December 20, 2022 by ThoughtsStained

Okay, guess who now gets to the join the I’ve read The Fires of Vengeance and now I have emotional damage club? *waves* As other members of this club know, reading this book allows you the incredible continuation of one of the best fantasy stories of all time, which started with The Rage of Dragons–both by Evan Winter. Winter is making a name for himself as being of the best storytellers of our time, leaving me as a fan both kicking myself for waiting so long to pick back up this story, while also desperate for the next installment.

Read on to see just how bloody good The Fires of Vengeance is.

An ARC copy was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Table of Contents

[hide]

Book Info

Publication Info

Content Warnings

Tau and his Queen, desperate to delay the impending attack on the capital by the indigenous people of Xidda, craft a dangerous plan. If Tau succeeds, the Queen will have the time she needs to assemble her forces and launch an all out assault on her own capital city, where her sister is being propped up as the ‘true’ Queen of the Omehi.

If the city can be taken, if Tsiora can reclaim her throne, and if she can reunite her people then the Omehi have a chance to survive the onslaught.

On the Page

Blood and gore
Building collapse
Burns
Classism
Dead bodies and body parts
Death of a parent
Decapitation
Hanging
Nightmares and night terrors
Physical injuries and wounds
Suicide
War themes and military violence

Referenced

Amputation
Child abuse (in reference to children in the Isihogo)
Loss of vision

Minor

Content warnings are written up by me, unless specified. Subject to being an incomplete list, though guided by referencing this list and trying to highlight as many as I can identify.

Book Depository

IndieBound

Raven Bookstore

Review

Likes

Wonderful play with POVs. Okay, so I thought the way that Winter brought in some minor POVs for some major characters was such an interesting (and incredible) choice! It felt very purposeful and it added such depth and tension to the story, while also complicating my emotions quite heavily from a certain royal perspective at the end. Fantastic.
Characterization, characterization, characterization. My friends, we all know that characters make or break a book for me. Instead, all the characters in this book have me so ensnared, they keep breaking me in the process. They are so real, so vivid and I am so invested. Hadith is still my favorite character. I would read entire series about Auset and Ramia (please 🥺). Don’t even get me started about Tau and his scale.
AHHHHHHHH. This is how I felt after I decided to “read for a few moments” while my power was out, which turned into two and a half hours of panicking. Which, in turn, led me to finish 75% of the book in the span of two days.

Dislikes

Took me a hot second to get into it. Why? Fucking beats me, but at the beginning, I had the smallest, most foolish fear that this book might not live up to what I loved about The Rage of Dragons. HA. In this way, I loved being proven completely and utterly wrong.

Rating

Undeniably, this book has helped cement this series as one of my tops of all time and has me salivating for the third. No surprise that The Fires of Vengeance is 4.5 gems of absolute glory and heartbreak.

In Sum

So, if you haven’t guessed it already, I am a huge fan of this book, this author and this series. I would die for Tau’s scale. The storytelling is memorizing, the characters are masterclass and my investment is off the charts. Second book syndrome? Yeah, Evan Winter doesn’t know it.

If you haven’t started (or continued) The Burning series, I highly recommend you do ASAP.

WHERE WE FIGHT…⚔ THE WORLD BURNS! 🔥

A custom artowrk signature that reads, "Onward to Adventure, Nicole" with a feathered quill and inkpot bordering it.