Book Review - Echoes of the Storm by Cam Sinclair
Echoes of the Storm was one of those sequels that leaves you with more questions than answers, in the best possible way!
Book two picks up right where the first leaves off and because of this I can’t give too much away without going into spoiler territory! We start off following our young female protagonist August as she has been taken in and comforted by Sharrock’s old friend Lydia May. Given the space to grieve her losses Lydia does everything in her power to shield August from the horrors of the outside world, but Kraven is a dark place. A strange man enters their shop front with an aura of danger about him, asking all of the wrong questions about the ancient idol in August’s possession. It becomes more and more apparent that the idol is wanted by dangerous people and its time the girl was trained to defend herself, even if it means Lydia has to beg to be let into an institution she left behind long ago.
The young lads Huni and Tobar continue the battle of finding their place in the collective, using old connections to their advantage and taking any opportunities they can to better their positions. Then we have Reelum Hangs, the old fool with a broken mind, now chained and tortured for information, most of what he speaks is nonsense. But something, just something he comes out with, might change the world forever.
The dangerous world of Kraven holds violence and secrets in every shadow; religious orders will demand blood, underground connections will run rampant, and nothing is quite what it seems. This book was wild, unapologetic, and dark.
I mentioned earlier that I left this book with more questions than answers, and this can often be frustrating for a reader. However, in this case, it just left me desperate to know more and wanting to pick up the next book immediately. For me, this comes down to the way the book is structured. Sinclair’s short, sharp chapters jump through our POV’s in quick succession gives the reader snippets of each storyline as they unfold through the same timeline. I was always wanting more when the characters changed over which kept me turning those pages to see what would happen next. It kept my intrigue piqued the entire time and I just didn’t want to put it down.
Adding to the questions and desire to know just what the heck was going on; were the little puzzle pieces of information we were given that fit into the overall narrative. These delicious titbits helped to build the world and mayhem around our characters creating an even darker picture. Each time something slot in to one of the storylines my brain would try to hold onto that information, and I can just sense that this book is coming to come together in an epic way.
The second instalment of the Kraven Kronicles also held a decent amount of character development. The scope of the character growth among various players was downright impressive for a 360-page novel. While August is the obvious character to demonstrate this as she grows up and makes her way through an awful schooling situation, learning just how important her place in this world is, I would argue that there is much more intrigue to be found. I am personally very interested in Lydia May whose backstory gets a light shined on it, making me reach out to the author asking for a novella just on her. Members of the collective and its hierarchy were also explored subtly, unfolding through the pages and I for one got sucked in, wanting to know as much about them as I can.
I’m sure you can tell; I already can’t wait for book three. Echoes of the Storm was a great example of taking a strong debut and building on it in a book two. It was fast paced, intriguing and I am very much looking forward to finding out more about Kraven and its secrets.
