Book Review: Tower Lord

Over the last couple of years I've started to really dive into the fantasy genre. One of the books I particularly loved was Blood Song by Anthony Ryan. I went into Tower Lord (the follow-up to Blood Song) with extremely high hopes. Unfortunately it didn't live up to any of the starting blocks of the first book.

I struggled to get through Tower Lord. The book takes place directly after the events of the incredible first novel. Unlike Blood Song which got off to a very fast start, Tower Lord is a slow trot that turns to a meandering pace. I'd go as far as to say Tower Lord becomes boring at times. There are too many stories, too many characters, and a complete lack of a cohesive story. If you by chance forgot anything from the first book don't plan on having any reminders, this book assumes you memorized the lore.

For me the characters of Tower Lord are what really fall flat. The second book of any series has the opportunity to really build the world and its characters and Tower Lord does none of that. Even the books main character Vaelin Al Sorna just comes across as a prototypical brute with no personality or complexity. As you can probably tell I was extremely disappointed with Tower Lord. So much so that I think I'm done with the series.