Title: Nightingale's Sword
Series: The Boiling Seas (#2)
Author: Hûw Steer
Genre: Fantasy
What Goodreads has to say:
In the endless jungles of Tyria, the Blackbird flies again.
Tal Wenlock and Max Odyn make a formidable team. The thief and the scholar have already unearthed one ancient scroll, filled with priceless knowledge and forgotten magic - and with it cured Tal's sister of her crippling illness.
But four more scrolls still lurk in long-forgotten tombs - and Tal and Max are determined to find them. Unfortunately, so is everyone else. Tal and Max will have to race the world's finest treasure-hunters across the deadly Boiling Seas, from the depths of the earth to the heights of the sky, if they want to win the glory - and the gold.
Thankfully, this time Tal and Max have help. Because Lily Wenlock is back on her feet - and she's not about to let her little brother have all the fun.
The jungle islands of Tyria hold secrets unimaginable - all the Blackbird and his friends have to do is find them first.
Tal Wenlock and Max Odyn make a formidable team. The thief and the scholar have already unearthed one ancient scroll, filled with priceless knowledge and forgotten magic - and with it cured Tal's sister of her crippling illness.
But four more scrolls still lurk in long-forgotten tombs - and Tal and Max are determined to find them. Unfortunately, so is everyone else. Tal and Max will have to race the world's finest treasure-hunters across the deadly Boiling Seas, from the depths of the earth to the heights of the sky, if they want to win the glory - and the gold.
Thankfully, this time Tal and Max have help. Because Lily Wenlock is back on her feet - and she's not about to let her little brother have all the fun.
The jungle islands of Tyria hold secrets unimaginable - all the Blackbird and his friends have to do is find them first.
What I have to say:
What do airships, pirates, tomb raiders, duels, magic, and jungle expeditions have in common?
They're all things I love in a story.
They're also all in Hûw Steer's newest novel, Nightingale's Sword. The second book in his Boiling Seas series (I reviewed the first one here), it's possibly even more action-packed and atmospheric than the first. And it sure is a great read.
After finding the first of several magic scrolls that contain ancient wisdom and spells, Tal Wenlock, alias The Blackbird, is determined to find the others. Helping him is scholar and unlikely adventurer Max Odyn, and Tal's intrepid sister Lily. The trio work well together both on and off the page: they're each strong characters in their own right, but they have a great group dynamic that makes the story fun and fulfilling. I'm hoping their relationships continue to develop and deepen in the next book.
The adventures begin on a huge, fancy airship sailing over the boiling seas. As far as cool stuff in stories go, this is pretty near the top. So just imagine how much cooler it gets when the airship is attacked by pirates, and Tal and his friends have to fight their way free.
Honestly not sure what could be cooler than that, but a quest to find a magic scroll in a ruined temple in the deep jungle of an uncharted island seems like a strong contender. And did I mention it's a race?
At this point, I was starting to wonder if the author has mind-reading powers because he literally put everything I love in a story into this book--except maybe dinosaurs, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
Thanks to a great, high stakes plot and engaging characters with great relationship dynamics, the story never gets stale or boring. But it's not just action at the expense of plot, worldbuilding, or character development. We're treated to a tour of the airship and an explanation of its inner workings, an artisan mapmaker's shop, a deep jungle, and an abandoned, unexplored temple.
We also see characters having to make tough decisions and grapple with the effects of their choices, which is something I appreciate in a story. And we get a taste of this world's history and geography, so that it feels like a real place with a real past.
Basically, Nightingale's Sword is part steampunk, part high fantasy, and part classic adventure tale. If that combination doesn't appeal to you, I don't know what will.
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