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The Wall of Night #2
The Gathering of the Lost
Tarathan of Ar and Jehane Mor, ride into the great city of Ij in time for it's grand Festival of Masks. But soon after their arrival they witness a terrible slaughter as their fellow heralds are targeted an assassinated. They must flee for their lives across the city as they discover Swarm agents at work as they attempt to destabilise the entire River Cities network for their own ends. And five years after her great flight from the Derai Wall, Malian remains hidden to those who seek her. But she has not been idle. Her goal is to muster all Derai magic users that have fled into exile rather than face destruction. Only by uniting against the Swarm menace can they hold their own against the dark tide and she has hunted down every rumour of their presence. And she has developed her own powers that the Swarm must learn to respect ? and to fear. For Malian won't see her people fall to a dark tide of twisted magic as demonic forces subvert a way of life.
First published December 1, 2011
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672 people want to read
About the author
Helen Lowe
17 books222 followersI am a novelist, poet, blogger, interviewer, and lover of story.
My first novel "Thornspell", (Knopf) was published to critical praise in 2008, and in 2012 "The Heir Of Night", The Wall Of Night Book One, won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer and the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2011 for Best Novel.
"The Gathering of The Lost", (The Wall Of Night Book Two), was shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. I have recently completed the manuscript for "Daughter Of Blood", (The Wall Of Night Book Three)and have commenced work on the fourth and final novel in the series.
My first novel "Thornspell", (Knopf) was published to critical praise in 2008, and in 2012 "The Heir Of Night", The Wall Of Night Book One, won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer and the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2011 for Best Novel.
"The Gathering of The Lost", (The Wall Of Night Book Two), was shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award in 2013. I have recently completed the manuscript for "Daughter Of Blood", (The Wall Of Night Book Three)and have commenced work on the fourth and final novel in the series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
May 19, 2025
What an amazing sequel to The Heir of Night! I have read the first three novels and am eagerly awaiting the fourth and final book to be published. The Gathering of the Lost is a fascinating epic fantasy novel that has both continuity from the first book and a very different plot full of new and interesting characters, a wholly different setting and many twists and turns that kept me reading as fast as I could.
I really enjoyed the continuation of Malian of Night's quest to regain her position and destroy the ancient enemy of her Derai people. Seeing Malian and her friend Kalan grown into adults (just) and see how their powers have also grown was a joy to read. While much of the book centers on the rest of the world of Haarth, enough time is spent on the Wall of Night to keep it alive in the imagination of the reader, always wondering when Malian and Kalan will be able to return.
I really enjoyed the continuation of Malian of Night's quest to regain her position and destroy the ancient enemy of her Derai people. Seeing Malian and her friend Kalan grown into adults (just) and see how their powers have also grown was a joy to read. While much of the book centers on the rest of the world of Haarth, enough time is spent on the Wall of Night to keep it alive in the imagination of the reader, always wondering when Malian and Kalan will be able to return.
June 11, 2012
Before I write anything else, I'll mention that the last decade has been good for fantasy literature, because lots of new authors have emerged and several excellent books have been written during the last couple of years. Helen Lowe is one of these good authors, because her books are highly enjoyable and entertaining reading experiences. Her fantasy series, The Wall of Night, is a powerful, complex and beautifully written tale about friendship, duty, loyalty and magic.
Here's a bit of information about the first book, The Heir of Night:
In The Heir of Night the readers were introduced to the world of Haarth, which was divided into different parts. In the northern part of Haarth, The House of Night (one of the nine Derai Houses) stood against the forces of darkness called the Darkswarm. The old powers were beginning to emerge again and Malian (the Heir of the House of Night) found out that she can use old powers and she has a destiny to fulfill. She also noticed that she had to learn who to trust, because enemies were everywhere. She became friends with Kalan, who also could use old powers. The Derai have been afraid of the old powers since the horrible event called the Betrayal. After this horrible event the Derai separated those which had ancient powers from normal people, so Malian's situation was difficult, because she had to think about her life and her destiny. Malian and Kalan were being sent to exile, but they escaped with the help of their friends. Their escape took them to a dangerous place called Jaransor and they had to cross it in order to get to a safe place...
And here's information about the second book:
The Gathering of the Lost continues the story of Malian and her allies. The events take place five years after the events of the first book. The Heir of Night was an excellent fantasy book, which established a solid foundation for the series, but it was only the beginning, because now the story evolves more and becomes even more complex as new characters are introduced and new events happen in the world of Haarth.
The world has become a more dangerous place to travel in during the five years, because the Darkswarm seem to be on the move and they seek new alliances and try secretly to do evil things. New and dangerous creatures have also come with the Darkswarm and they cause problems to the characters and their allies. The Darkswarm creatures and monsters are genuinely interesting creatures, because they differ from the usual fantasy monsters.
In the beginning of The Gathering of the Lost, the Heralds of the Guild - Tarathan and Jehane Mor - are in Ij and participate in the Festival of Masks. They meet an old acquaintance who asks their help to find Malian. They also find themselves in a lot of trouble and have to flee from the city... Soon the author changes place and the reader is introduced to Carick, a cartographer, who meets a man called Raven when he's trying to flee outlaws. He is escorted to Normarch (the Northern March of Emer) where he meets local people and gets to know more about them...
This is all that I'm going to write about the story, because there are lots of surprises in store for the reader. These surprises would be spoiled, if I wrote about them (I don't want to spoil anybody's reading pleasure by revealing too many details). All I'll mention is that when the reader finds out what has happened to Malian and Kalan, he/she will be pleasantly surprised. The author also has other surprises in store for her readers, but I won't reveal what they are - you'll have to read this book yourself to find out what they are.
I think that several readers will be interested to know that Helen Lowe writing style has matured and she has developed further as a fantasy author. The Gathering of the Lost proves that Helen Lowe has a gift for creating an imaginative, vivid and complex fantasy world with its own rules and laws.
Helen Lowe's worldbuilding is amazingly detailed and nuanced, because she has created a totally belieavable fantasy world which is inhabited by diverse people. This book is full of conflicts, ancient magic, secrets, surprises and treachery, so there are plenty of fascinating elements for fantasy readers. I think that part of the charm of this book comes from Helen Lowe's background as a poet, because the prose is beautifully lyrical and at times almost poetic (I'll write more about the prose and writing style later).
Helen Lowe wrote about a small part of her fantasy world in The Heir of Night, because the events took mostly place near the Shield Wall of Night, but in this book she writes more about the world of Haarth, its inhabitants and its cities. She writes lovingly and fascinatingly about the different places (Ij and Normarch), their people and their customs. Reading about the new places adds lots of depth to the fantasy world.
The author has found a perfect balance between adventure and political intrigue, because she infuses her storyline with enthralling treachery and political happenings. The ancient oaths and family relations also make this book very intriguing, because they affect how characters react to several things - ancient history plays a big role in this fantasy series. Everybody seems to have their own agendas and enemies can hide as friends, so the characters have to be able to recognize who is a friend and who isn't. The author writes astonishingly well about these things and also about the duties of the characters. Duty, honour, friendship and loyalty mean a lot to the characters and they partly determine how the characters act in different situations and why they have to make difficult choices.
The characters continue to develop in this book and more things are revealed about them. It's especially nice that the author writes more about the heralds and their powers, because they were interesting characters in the first book. When I read the first book I was intrigued by these characters and wanted to find out more about them, so I was delighted to read about them and their Guild House in Ij.
Character interaction is flawless and works perfectly. For example, the heralds and their conversations are believable. It's easy for the reader to imagine that they talk the way they do.
The author introduces several new and well created characters in this book. Reading about Haimyr's relatives was very interesting, because the author didn't reveal much about him in the first book. I also enjoyed reading about the Darkswarm characters, because it was fascinating to see how they think about the people who oppose them and resist their powers - their ruthlessness was intriguing. The other characters (Lord Falk, Girvase, Malisande etc) are also interesting characters.
It's possible that the introduction of new characters may be a bit confusing at first, but when the story gradually opens to the reader, everything makes sense and the reader sees why the author writes about the new characters.
There's interesting magic in the world of Haarth. The magic ranges from harmless and useful magic to evil magic used by the Darkswarm, but everything isn't as black and white as the reader may think, because using magic can be dangerous and seductive, and when a person enters the Gate of Dreams, carelessness can be deadly. Using magic can also be deadly, because there are people which don't like the use of magic (magic can also attract unwelcome attention, because the Darkswarm are able to detect magic users).
The author writes fluently about different forms of magic and magical happenings. For example, the talents and powers of the Heralds are interesting and it's nice to read how they can control their powers. The old powers are fascinating magic powers, because there are people who fear them, but at the same time these people also seem to need them in order to survive the forthcoming conflict with the evil powers of the Darkswarm. People have forgotten how to use the powers, because using old powers has been seen as a bad thing for a long time. There once was a time when old powers were important and people knew how to use them to protect themselves, but things changed radically and it was a mistake to forsake the old powers.
Helen Lowe's prose is excellent. As I already mentioned, her prose is lyrical and almost poetic - this kind of writing is beautiful and it adds a charming atmosphere to the book, because the reader will be enchanted by the carefully chosen words and sentences. Helen Lowe's prose was good in the first book, but it's even better here, because her sentences are beautifully constructed and the descriptions are wonderfully detailed. It's a pleasure to read her graceful and effortlessly flowing prose, because the story moves in an interesting way and all the new events bring more excitement to the book. Helen Lowe creates suspense easily by hinting at certain things, which is nice, because this kind of storytelling keeps the reader interested in the story. She also creates vivid images with her words and makes her fantasy world come to life before the reader's eyes.
I think it's great that Helen Lowe has managed to write a different kind of a fantasy adventure. Usually fantasy adventures are quests and the authors tend to concentrate on telling what the characters do instead of what's happening to them. Helen Lowe writes about characters in a different way, because she cares about her characters and shows how they grow as persons. The inner struggles of her characters add layers of depth to the storyline.
This book has a good and beautifully painted map of the world. It also has a comprehensive glossary of names, places and terms. The glossary is useful, because you can easily check who's who and what the different terms mean if you don't remember them.
The Gathering of the Lost is an adult fantasy book, so there are certain dark and brutal moments in it. These moments are well written (I think that several fans of adult fantasy will enjoy reading about them).
In my opinion The Gathering of the Lost is an excellent and enjoyable fantasy adventure. With this book Helen Lowe shows that it's still possible to write entertaining and original epic fantasy books. She manages to avoid typical clichés and uses traditional fantasy elements to create original fantasy fiction. She also shows lots of ambition by writing about dark happenings, because there are authors who avoid writing about them (the dark happenings are seductively evil and compelling).
When I began to read this book, I knew that I'd be reading a good book, because I enjoyed reading Helen Lowe's previous books, but I have to confess that I was surprised by the quality and scope of this book. This book is much better and more complex than its predecessor and what's best, it's an extremely entertaining book. It's a book which grabs hold of you and won't let go until you've reached the last page (in other words, it's an unputdownable book). I'm sure that when you reach the last page of this book, you want to know when the next book is coming out, because you want read more about the characters and their adventures. I have to confess that I'm eagerly awaiting the third book, Daughter of Blood, because The Gathering of the Lost is one of the best and most entertaining fantasy books I've ever read.
The Gathering of the Lost is an imaginative, deliciously dark and entertaining fantasy book, which can be recommended for fans of quality fantasy. If you enjoyed reading The Heir of Night, you'll love The Gathering of the Lost, because it's entertaining epic fantasy at its best. Compared to The Heir of Night this book is an amazing achievement, because it's everything you expect from a sequel and more - it's bigger, better and more complex.
Highly recommended!
(PS. If you haven't read any of Helen Lowe's book yet, please read her books, because you're in for a treat!)
Here's a bit of information about the first book, The Heir of Night:
In The Heir of Night the readers were introduced to the world of Haarth, which was divided into different parts. In the northern part of Haarth, The House of Night (one of the nine Derai Houses) stood against the forces of darkness called the Darkswarm. The old powers were beginning to emerge again and Malian (the Heir of the House of Night) found out that she can use old powers and she has a destiny to fulfill. She also noticed that she had to learn who to trust, because enemies were everywhere. She became friends with Kalan, who also could use old powers. The Derai have been afraid of the old powers since the horrible event called the Betrayal. After this horrible event the Derai separated those which had ancient powers from normal people, so Malian's situation was difficult, because she had to think about her life and her destiny. Malian and Kalan were being sent to exile, but they escaped with the help of their friends. Their escape took them to a dangerous place called Jaransor and they had to cross it in order to get to a safe place...
And here's information about the second book:
The Gathering of the Lost continues the story of Malian and her allies. The events take place five years after the events of the first book. The Heir of Night was an excellent fantasy book, which established a solid foundation for the series, but it was only the beginning, because now the story evolves more and becomes even more complex as new characters are introduced and new events happen in the world of Haarth.
The world has become a more dangerous place to travel in during the five years, because the Darkswarm seem to be on the move and they seek new alliances and try secretly to do evil things. New and dangerous creatures have also come with the Darkswarm and they cause problems to the characters and their allies. The Darkswarm creatures and monsters are genuinely interesting creatures, because they differ from the usual fantasy monsters.
In the beginning of The Gathering of the Lost, the Heralds of the Guild - Tarathan and Jehane Mor - are in Ij and participate in the Festival of Masks. They meet an old acquaintance who asks their help to find Malian. They also find themselves in a lot of trouble and have to flee from the city... Soon the author changes place and the reader is introduced to Carick, a cartographer, who meets a man called Raven when he's trying to flee outlaws. He is escorted to Normarch (the Northern March of Emer) where he meets local people and gets to know more about them...
This is all that I'm going to write about the story, because there are lots of surprises in store for the reader. These surprises would be spoiled, if I wrote about them (I don't want to spoil anybody's reading pleasure by revealing too many details). All I'll mention is that when the reader finds out what has happened to Malian and Kalan, he/she will be pleasantly surprised. The author also has other surprises in store for her readers, but I won't reveal what they are - you'll have to read this book yourself to find out what they are.
I think that several readers will be interested to know that Helen Lowe writing style has matured and she has developed further as a fantasy author. The Gathering of the Lost proves that Helen Lowe has a gift for creating an imaginative, vivid and complex fantasy world with its own rules and laws.
Helen Lowe's worldbuilding is amazingly detailed and nuanced, because she has created a totally belieavable fantasy world which is inhabited by diverse people. This book is full of conflicts, ancient magic, secrets, surprises and treachery, so there are plenty of fascinating elements for fantasy readers. I think that part of the charm of this book comes from Helen Lowe's background as a poet, because the prose is beautifully lyrical and at times almost poetic (I'll write more about the prose and writing style later).
Helen Lowe wrote about a small part of her fantasy world in The Heir of Night, because the events took mostly place near the Shield Wall of Night, but in this book she writes more about the world of Haarth, its inhabitants and its cities. She writes lovingly and fascinatingly about the different places (Ij and Normarch), their people and their customs. Reading about the new places adds lots of depth to the fantasy world.
The author has found a perfect balance between adventure and political intrigue, because she infuses her storyline with enthralling treachery and political happenings. The ancient oaths and family relations also make this book very intriguing, because they affect how characters react to several things - ancient history plays a big role in this fantasy series. Everybody seems to have their own agendas and enemies can hide as friends, so the characters have to be able to recognize who is a friend and who isn't. The author writes astonishingly well about these things and also about the duties of the characters. Duty, honour, friendship and loyalty mean a lot to the characters and they partly determine how the characters act in different situations and why they have to make difficult choices.
The characters continue to develop in this book and more things are revealed about them. It's especially nice that the author writes more about the heralds and their powers, because they were interesting characters in the first book. When I read the first book I was intrigued by these characters and wanted to find out more about them, so I was delighted to read about them and their Guild House in Ij.
Character interaction is flawless and works perfectly. For example, the heralds and their conversations are believable. It's easy for the reader to imagine that they talk the way they do.
The author introduces several new and well created characters in this book. Reading about Haimyr's relatives was very interesting, because the author didn't reveal much about him in the first book. I also enjoyed reading about the Darkswarm characters, because it was fascinating to see how they think about the people who oppose them and resist their powers - their ruthlessness was intriguing. The other characters (Lord Falk, Girvase, Malisande etc) are also interesting characters.
It's possible that the introduction of new characters may be a bit confusing at first, but when the story gradually opens to the reader, everything makes sense and the reader sees why the author writes about the new characters.
There's interesting magic in the world of Haarth. The magic ranges from harmless and useful magic to evil magic used by the Darkswarm, but everything isn't as black and white as the reader may think, because using magic can be dangerous and seductive, and when a person enters the Gate of Dreams, carelessness can be deadly. Using magic can also be deadly, because there are people which don't like the use of magic (magic can also attract unwelcome attention, because the Darkswarm are able to detect magic users).
The author writes fluently about different forms of magic and magical happenings. For example, the talents and powers of the Heralds are interesting and it's nice to read how they can control their powers. The old powers are fascinating magic powers, because there are people who fear them, but at the same time these people also seem to need them in order to survive the forthcoming conflict with the evil powers of the Darkswarm. People have forgotten how to use the powers, because using old powers has been seen as a bad thing for a long time. There once was a time when old powers were important and people knew how to use them to protect themselves, but things changed radically and it was a mistake to forsake the old powers.
Helen Lowe's prose is excellent. As I already mentioned, her prose is lyrical and almost poetic - this kind of writing is beautiful and it adds a charming atmosphere to the book, because the reader will be enchanted by the carefully chosen words and sentences. Helen Lowe's prose was good in the first book, but it's even better here, because her sentences are beautifully constructed and the descriptions are wonderfully detailed. It's a pleasure to read her graceful and effortlessly flowing prose, because the story moves in an interesting way and all the new events bring more excitement to the book. Helen Lowe creates suspense easily by hinting at certain things, which is nice, because this kind of storytelling keeps the reader interested in the story. She also creates vivid images with her words and makes her fantasy world come to life before the reader's eyes.
I think it's great that Helen Lowe has managed to write a different kind of a fantasy adventure. Usually fantasy adventures are quests and the authors tend to concentrate on telling what the characters do instead of what's happening to them. Helen Lowe writes about characters in a different way, because she cares about her characters and shows how they grow as persons. The inner struggles of her characters add layers of depth to the storyline.
This book has a good and beautifully painted map of the world. It also has a comprehensive glossary of names, places and terms. The glossary is useful, because you can easily check who's who and what the different terms mean if you don't remember them.
The Gathering of the Lost is an adult fantasy book, so there are certain dark and brutal moments in it. These moments are well written (I think that several fans of adult fantasy will enjoy reading about them).
In my opinion The Gathering of the Lost is an excellent and enjoyable fantasy adventure. With this book Helen Lowe shows that it's still possible to write entertaining and original epic fantasy books. She manages to avoid typical clichés and uses traditional fantasy elements to create original fantasy fiction. She also shows lots of ambition by writing about dark happenings, because there are authors who avoid writing about them (the dark happenings are seductively evil and compelling).
When I began to read this book, I knew that I'd be reading a good book, because I enjoyed reading Helen Lowe's previous books, but I have to confess that I was surprised by the quality and scope of this book. This book is much better and more complex than its predecessor and what's best, it's an extremely entertaining book. It's a book which grabs hold of you and won't let go until you've reached the last page (in other words, it's an unputdownable book). I'm sure that when you reach the last page of this book, you want to know when the next book is coming out, because you want read more about the characters and their adventures. I have to confess that I'm eagerly awaiting the third book, Daughter of Blood, because The Gathering of the Lost is one of the best and most entertaining fantasy books I've ever read.
The Gathering of the Lost is an imaginative, deliciously dark and entertaining fantasy book, which can be recommended for fans of quality fantasy. If you enjoyed reading The Heir of Night, you'll love The Gathering of the Lost, because it's entertaining epic fantasy at its best. Compared to The Heir of Night this book is an amazing achievement, because it's everything you expect from a sequel and more - it's bigger, better and more complex.
Highly recommended!
(PS. If you haven't read any of Helen Lowe's book yet, please read her books, because you're in for a treat!)
September 17, 2015
Reviewed on my blog - Books by Proxy
4.5 Stars
After finishing The Heir of Night it only took me moments to open The Gathering of the Lost. The first novel in The Wall of Night series had surpassed all my expectations and had left me excited and eager to learn how the tale would unfold. I wasn’t even worried that the sequel wouldn’t meet my expectations – Helen Lowe had written such a magical and gripping opening novel that it had to! The Gathering of the Lost proved to be a tale with twists and turns aplenty, with plots and intrigues around every corner, all woven together with lyrical, beautiful prose.
-
Oh Ms. Lowe, what a tangled web you weave! This novel has more plot twist than you can shake a stick at. The Gathering of the Lost maintains an incredible, fast paced and intrigue-laden narrative which left me in genuine surprise. I worried – where were our beloved protagonists? I panicked – new characters? now?! But this is all part of Helen Lowe’s masterful plan. Just read, enjoy and all will be revealed.
The writing, as in the previous novel, is absolutely beautiful. Almost poetic in her descriptions and with a wealth of new cities, locations and characters to explore, Lowe’s writing creates a breathtaking backdrop for the narrative. Her worldbuilding is flawless and beyond the Wall, Haarth is an exciting and colourful place populated by a myriad of different people which I genuinely can’t wait to explore further!
This novel takes place five years after the first and during those years our protagonists have grown and developed to become true adversaries to the Darkswarm. And if you were worried by having a thirteen year old protagonist in the first novel, then fear not! She is now an adult! The new characters are endearing and intrinsic to the plot, the Patrol is mysteriously fascinating, and the side characters from the first novel are now an essential and established part of the storyline.
-
This book is an incredible read – fast paced, beautifully written and even better than the first! I would happily nudge it up to five stars if I didn’t expect Daughter of Blood to be even better! If you’ve never read anything by Helen Lowe, this is the time. I couldn’t recommend this series enough.
4.5 Stars
After finishing The Heir of Night it only took me moments to open The Gathering of the Lost. The first novel in The Wall of Night series had surpassed all my expectations and had left me excited and eager to learn how the tale would unfold. I wasn’t even worried that the sequel wouldn’t meet my expectations – Helen Lowe had written such a magical and gripping opening novel that it had to! The Gathering of the Lost proved to be a tale with twists and turns aplenty, with plots and intrigues around every corner, all woven together with lyrical, beautiful prose.
-
Oh Ms. Lowe, what a tangled web you weave! This novel has more plot twist than you can shake a stick at. The Gathering of the Lost maintains an incredible, fast paced and intrigue-laden narrative which left me in genuine surprise. I worried – where were our beloved protagonists? I panicked – new characters? now?! But this is all part of Helen Lowe’s masterful plan. Just read, enjoy and all will be revealed.
The writing, as in the previous novel, is absolutely beautiful. Almost poetic in her descriptions and with a wealth of new cities, locations and characters to explore, Lowe’s writing creates a breathtaking backdrop for the narrative. Her worldbuilding is flawless and beyond the Wall, Haarth is an exciting and colourful place populated by a myriad of different people which I genuinely can’t wait to explore further!
This novel takes place five years after the first and during those years our protagonists have grown and developed to become true adversaries to the Darkswarm. And if you were worried by having a thirteen year old protagonist in the first novel, then fear not! She is now an adult! The new characters are endearing and intrinsic to the plot, the Patrol is mysteriously fascinating, and the side characters from the first novel are now an essential and established part of the storyline.
-
This book is an incredible read – fast paced, beautifully written and even better than the first! I would happily nudge it up to five stars if I didn’t expect Daughter of Blood to be even better! If you’ve never read anything by Helen Lowe, this is the time. I couldn’t recommend this series enough.
March 3, 2016
This was a frustrating read. Don’t get me wrong. I still really liked this, but it took way too long to get to that point where I was still interested in what was going on.
It started out just fine and looked like it was going to continue from where the first book left of, but quickly turned into something else entirely. Firstly with the entire focus being on the heralds from book one rather than on the two other major characters. I get it. Most of what went on was important to events later in the plot, but there was a whole lot of extra in there that could have been paired back.
Then there is another character perspective shift, one that made absolutely zero sense. I had my suspicions as to the general path it was leading to, but there was just so much that, at that point, had no relation to the story so far. A good half of the first 50% of the book fell into that “didn’t relate” realm that I very nearly called it quits. Yes, I’m glad I didn’t as there was a really nice twist that helped, but it was just almost too much and it felt like a lot of the momentum that was built up in the first book got lost in this one during that apparently unrelated time. By the time you actually got to the point where the familiar characters emerged and became a part of the story again and things got interesting with many of the magical aspects from the first book, it stalls out a bit again with the heavy emphasis on the tournaments.
In the end, we actually see very little actual page time or character growth from the two expected to be the focus of this series, Kalan and Malian. What we do see is only just alluded to because there is a 5 year gap in the timeline of their story (which still makes them only 17 and 19, so still a YA book) so we don’t get to see what little growth they did have and how it came about. That and the purpose behind the title of this book doesn’t even come into play until the very last 10% or so. I do absolutely enjoy this series. It is definitely unpredictable and doesn’t follow any set formula for a book in this genre. There is just a lot of extra that tends to drag at the parts that are so good that it doesn’t break into the truly great class.
It started out just fine and looked like it was going to continue from where the first book left of, but quickly turned into something else entirely. Firstly with the entire focus being on the heralds from book one rather than on the two other major characters. I get it. Most of what went on was important to events later in the plot, but there was a whole lot of extra in there that could have been paired back.
Then there is another character perspective shift, one that made absolutely zero sense. I had my suspicions as to the general path it was leading to, but there was just so much that, at that point, had no relation to the story so far. A good half of the first 50% of the book fell into that “didn’t relate” realm that I very nearly called it quits. Yes, I’m glad I didn’t as there was a really nice twist that helped, but it was just almost too much and it felt like a lot of the momentum that was built up in the first book got lost in this one during that apparently unrelated time. By the time you actually got to the point where the familiar characters emerged and became a part of the story again and things got interesting with many of the magical aspects from the first book, it stalls out a bit again with the heavy emphasis on the tournaments.
In the end, we actually see very little actual page time or character growth from the two expected to be the focus of this series, Kalan and Malian. What we do see is only just alluded to because there is a 5 year gap in the timeline of their story (which still makes them only 17 and 19, so still a YA book) so we don’t get to see what little growth they did have and how it came about. That and the purpose behind the title of this book doesn’t even come into play until the very last 10% or so. I do absolutely enjoy this series. It is definitely unpredictable and doesn’t follow any set formula for a book in this genre. There is just a lot of extra that tends to drag at the parts that are so good that it doesn’t break into the truly great class.
November 17, 2015
For over a third of the book I was wondering, 'Where are Malian and Kalan?' It seemed like the protagonists of The Heir of Night were missing. Instead a patchwork of quilt pieces were being embroidered with intricacy and rich adornment, each separately, apart from one another. Once the pieces started to be stitched together, the initial slow opening movement became a flurry of pace and kaleidoscopic events.
To say almost anything about the plot is to reveal too much. Both Malian and Kalan were there, almost from the beginning, but under heavy disguise. It's five years on from The Heir of Night and Malian is seeking the Lost: those Derai who were born with old powers and have been exiled from the Wall.
In a cast of hundreds of characters, all are interesting, even the most minor for whom there is only a brief glimpse into a moment of their story. Yet personally I felt that the most interesting was Raven. Enigmatic, far too knowledgeable about both the Darkswarm and the Darksworn, a nonpareil fighter and strangely immune to vast bolts of power sent against him - it is only at the end, his agenda and identity is revealed. It was a lovely twist and utterly, utterly satisfying as a resolution.
When the story quilt is finally complete and on display, it is both splendid and comforting.
To say almost anything about the plot is to reveal too much. Both Malian and Kalan were there, almost from the beginning, but under heavy disguise. It's five years on from The Heir of Night and Malian is seeking the Lost: those Derai who were born with old powers and have been exiled from the Wall.
In a cast of hundreds of characters, all are interesting, even the most minor for whom there is only a brief glimpse into a moment of their story. Yet personally I felt that the most interesting was Raven. Enigmatic, far too knowledgeable about both the Darkswarm and the Darksworn, a nonpareil fighter and strangely immune to vast bolts of power sent against him - it is only at the end, his agenda and identity is revealed. It was a lovely twist and utterly, utterly satisfying as a resolution.
When the story quilt is finally complete and on display, it is both splendid and comforting.
March 6, 2016
Well I was in no hurry to get back into this trilogy and just because a book is around 500 pages doesn't mean its great no, no the extra pages are filler nothing more and hey I couldn't careless about what happened in the end either so hey one more book to go and I'm done with this trilogy and I'll be glad to be done with actually.
This is just one of those types of fantasy books where I just don't care what happens in the end.
A summery for Gathering of the Lost:
Tarathan of Ar and Jehane Mor, ride into the great city of Ij in time for it's grand Festival of Masks. But soon after their arrival they witness a terrible slaughter as their fellow heralds are targeted an assassinated. They must flee for their lives across the city as they discover Swarm agents at work as they attempt to destabilise the entire River Cities network for their own ends. And five years after her great flight from the Derai Wall, Malian remains hidden to those who seek her. But she has not been idle. Her goal is to muster all Derai magic users that have fled into exile rather than face destruction. Only by uniting against the Swarm menace can they hold their own against the dark tide and she has hunted down every rumour of their presence. And she has developed her own powers that the Swarm must learn to respect ? and to fear. For Malian won't see her people fall to a dark tide of twisted magic as demonic forces subvert a way of life.
For a sequel it doesn't really improve on the previous book nope it just drags on and on and on and I was past not caring by the end of this book.
This is just one of those types of fantasy books where I just don't care what happens in the end.
A summery for Gathering of the Lost:
Tarathan of Ar and Jehane Mor, ride into the great city of Ij in time for it's grand Festival of Masks. But soon after their arrival they witness a terrible slaughter as their fellow heralds are targeted an assassinated. They must flee for their lives across the city as they discover Swarm agents at work as they attempt to destabilise the entire River Cities network for their own ends. And five years after her great flight from the Derai Wall, Malian remains hidden to those who seek her. But she has not been idle. Her goal is to muster all Derai magic users that have fled into exile rather than face destruction. Only by uniting against the Swarm menace can they hold their own against the dark tide and she has hunted down every rumour of their presence. And she has developed her own powers that the Swarm must learn to respect ? and to fear. For Malian won't see her people fall to a dark tide of twisted magic as demonic forces subvert a way of life.
For a sequel it doesn't really improve on the previous book nope it just drags on and on and on and I was past not caring by the end of this book.
July 8, 2012
A good going fantasy story, with rich characters and a vividly imagined world. I bought The Heir of Night (the first in this series) a couple of years ago mostly out of curiosity, as I hadn't noticed many NZ fantasy authors around, and was pleasantly surprised. I liked Heir, but had been wary of where it was going next, as it would have been so easy for this to have been wrecked in the second book. But, to my delight, the plot has thickened, the characters have grown, and the world has become much more complex than just the dark, storm-wracked Wall of the first book.
There are a lot of fantasy stories out there and a lot of 'chosen one' heroine plot lines, but this one at least credits the characters with the intelligence to recognise that there may be a price attached to their decisions, and that they may not be the ones who end up paying it. I love the way the author forces the main characters and the reader, time and again, to question their assumptions about the people and the world around them. She skilfully weaves conflicting loyalties and hidden agendas, and neither the good guys or the bad guys are quite what they seem.
Definitely looking forwards to book three!
There are a lot of fantasy stories out there and a lot of 'chosen one' heroine plot lines, but this one at least credits the characters with the intelligence to recognise that there may be a price attached to their decisions, and that they may not be the ones who end up paying it. I love the way the author forces the main characters and the reader, time and again, to question their assumptions about the people and the world around them. She skilfully weaves conflicting loyalties and hidden agendas, and neither the good guys or the bad guys are quite what they seem.
Definitely looking forwards to book three!
May 24, 2013
Every Avalanche Begins with One Stone Falling...
The Gathering of the Lost is the second installment in Helen Lowe's THE WALL OF NIGHT quartet, the first being The Heir of Night, in which we were first introduced to the story's protagonist: Malian, the rightful heir to the House of Night, the first of the Nine Houses that garrison the mountain range known as the Wall. Malian's people, the warlike and indomitable Derai clans, have defended the Wall of Night for generations against that which lies beyond it: the demonic Darkswarm. Though the defences have held for countless years, the Darkswarm have now breached the Wall and found their way into the world of Haarth, spreading their propensity for strife and unrest throughout each city they come across.
The previous book told of how Mal... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
The Gathering of the Lost is the second installment in Helen Lowe's THE WALL OF NIGHT quartet, the first being The Heir of Night, in which we were first introduced to the story's protagonist: Malian, the rightful heir to the House of Night, the first of the Nine Houses that garrison the mountain range known as the Wall. Malian's people, the warlike and indomitable Derai clans, have defended the Wall of Night for generations against that which lies beyond it: the demonic Darkswarm. Though the defences have held for countless years, the Darkswarm have now breached the Wall and found their way into the world of Haarth, spreading their propensity for strife and unrest throughout each city they come across.
The previous book told of how Mal... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
June 15, 2013
Well I'm glad I read the first half of this series and am looking forward to the next instalment. The books were good company for the chilly, damp summer we've had so far. There were some original ideas but a lot was derivative. The minstrel character seemed reminiscent of Hobb's (much better written) Golden Fool, and the varied cultures and landscapes reminded me somewhat of a computer game I used to play long ago! I felt the plot wasn't tight enough and we were expected to remember too many characters. However it was entertaining enough whilst waiting for the next Patrick Rothfuss to come out.
January 2, 2012
The proof of The Gathering of the Lost, The Wall of Night Series, Book Two is now complete and the book is currently in production for publication on 27 March (US) and 4 April (UK/AU/NZ) 2012. Covers should be available to show you very soon!
February 14, 2020
An excellent fantasy series that goes straight into my top ten 'most enjoyable' :).
April 20, 2020
Having gotten to know Malian, Kalan and their people; the Derai, in book one, this second installment is all about expanding the world of Haarth. This is such a rich world with so much depth and the author's writing style totally ensnares me and keeps me immersed in the story.
Through the eyes of the heralds Tarathan and Jehane, we get to know the River people and their politics. Through the eyes of Maister Carick, a cartographer, we learn of the Knights of Emer and their society. And finally through Malian and Kalan we learn of the Jhainarians and their magic and we see how the Swarm are trying to infiltrate the world beyond the Wall.
Also this story takes place five years after previous events, and so we see how Malian and Kalan have grown and changed in that time. Being away from the Wall, they both have a deeper understanding of the world of Haarth. I thought their conflicted emotions about the Derai people and what they are trying to accomplish was well written.
I absolutely love this world! There are so many different layers to explore and nothing is ever black and white. While Malian is the fantastic main character, I am fully invested in several different people in here. I also love the tone of gravity that is present in this series. It just makes me feel like I am witnessing EVENTS and I can't get enough of it. I'll be diving right back in to book 3.
Through the eyes of the heralds Tarathan and Jehane, we get to know the River people and their politics. Through the eyes of Maister Carick, a cartographer, we learn of the Knights of Emer and their society. And finally through Malian and Kalan we learn of the Jhainarians and their magic and we see how the Swarm are trying to infiltrate the world beyond the Wall.
Also this story takes place five years after previous events, and so we see how Malian and Kalan have grown and changed in that time. Being away from the Wall, they both have a deeper understanding of the world of Haarth. I thought their conflicted emotions about the Derai people and what they are trying to accomplish was well written.
I absolutely love this world! There are so many different layers to explore and nothing is ever black and white. While Malian is the fantastic main character, I am fully invested in several different people in here. I also love the tone of gravity that is present in this series. It just makes me feel like I am witnessing EVENTS and I can't get enough of it. I'll be diving right back in to book 3.
June 18, 2013
You can read the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/06/...
Shadowhawk reviews the second novel in Gemmell Morningstar Award winning author Helen Lowe’s Wall of Night series.
“A brilliant sequel to a brilliant debut, The Gathering of The Lost is even more entertaining and rewarding than its predecessor. It exceeded almost all my expectations.” ~The Founding Fields
I’ve remarked before that sequels are often a strange beast because there are so many automatic and built-in expectations going in. There’s always that fear, that when the sequel is preceded by a stellar debut such as Helen’s Heir of Night, the sequel will just not match up. Its even more tense in the case of The Gathering of The Lost since Heir of Night won one of the most popular awards in fantasy fiction: the David Gemmell Morningstar, awarded the best debuts of a particular year. I put off reading the book for a long time, almost a year in fact, because I wanted to hold on to my experience with the debut for that much longer, and also because the the third book in the series is still being written. GRRM fans know well how it is to wait for years on end for a successor book, and I did not want to go through that same experience.
I’m happy to report however that from the first fifty pages of a monster book (clocking in at just around 650 odd pages), Helen had me hooked. Interestingly enough, the two protagonists of the previous book, the titular Heir of Night Malian of the House of Night and her priest-apprentice friend Kalan, are missing from much of the early sections of the novel. Instead, Helen focuses at first on the Heralds Jehane Mor and Tarathan, two of my favourite characters from Heir of Night. Through them, we are introduced to the larger political situation across the world of Haarth. I would have preferred if the story had started off with Malian and Kalan but with Jehane Mor and Tarathan we get to see how the larger setting works, since Heir of Night was focused almost exclusively on the outworlder Derai and the House of Night. We also get treated to the Heralds as a much more important faction in Haarth, especially through their interplays with the various other factions, such as the Patrol, who guard the River Ij and are one of the most important factions in the entire continent.
Ultimately, that’s what the novel is about. Its not just an adventure story or a mythic one. It is not just your typical fantasy either. What it is, is a very involved and nuanced political book. C. L. Werner’s Dead Winter, which I read last year and is the first in Black Plague trilogy for the Warhammer Fantasy setting, was a full-on political thriller that dealt with all levels of society in the Old World, specifically the Empire. The Gathering of The Lost comes very close to that same concept, but with a much tighter focus on the characters. Essentially, it has a smaller cast of main protagonists, although the events as they unfold have a similar development.
Contrary to my opinion from roughly the first third novel, Kalan and Malian do appear in the novel and are quite central to the rest of the book. The reveal about their characters came at just the right time in fact, right when I was getting almost disheartened that I wouldn’t get to see them. The Wall of Night is a series that ties in very closely to the personal journey of these characters, and for them to be missing from the sequel was odd, at best, early on. But then, the reveal happened and I was blown away. It was entirely unexpected and the ramifications of how the reveal would reflect on the rest of the narrative were immense. But Helen rose to the occasion and she delivered on the inherent promise and expectations created by the reveal. Trust me, if you are a fan of Heir of Night and while reading the early parts of The Gathering of The Lost you are missing out on some Kalan and Malian action, you will not be disappointed later on. The suspense is well worth it.
Of course, once Kalan and Malian are revealed and take their place in the narrative proper, things kick off in high gear and from that point on the book is near relentless with its pacing. There is so much mystery and tension that is built up to that point and its as if the flood is let loose, because from then on, Helen holds nothing back. We get treated to some spectacular set piece battles, lots of high magic of all variety, Haarthian politics of the most profound sort, and some good old-fashioned fantasy-style espionage and cloak-and-dagger stuff.
Considering as a whole, there are several more remarkable things that make The Gathering of The Lost really stand out, other than what I’ve already mentioned.
For starters, the story is set five years after the climax of Heir of Night. It sets up some really interesting plot development. All the characters that we saw in Heir of Night have changed to a greater or lesser degree in that brief interval, and the entire political landscape of Haarth has changed, and not for the better it seems. Agents of the Darkswarm, the enemies of the Derai who have followed them to Haarth from their homeworld have begun traveling all over the world in attempt to broker treaties with the various Haarthian kingdoms and factions. The Earl of Night, Malian’s father, has become ever more isolated at the Wall, especially after the unexpected death of someone close to him and the fortunes of Night have begun waning. Kalan and Malian have spent the last five years honing their various abilities and are well on the path to mastering them and living their new lives as appropriate. And for Jehane Mor and Tarathan, travel across Ij and north and south of the River’s border has become even more fraught with danger since in addition to the Darkswarm agents, the Derai have also begun to take a greater interest in their “neighbours”.
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/06/...
Shadowhawk reviews the second novel in Gemmell Morningstar Award winning author Helen Lowe’s Wall of Night series.
“A brilliant sequel to a brilliant debut, The Gathering of The Lost is even more entertaining and rewarding than its predecessor. It exceeded almost all my expectations.” ~The Founding Fields
I’ve remarked before that sequels are often a strange beast because there are so many automatic and built-in expectations going in. There’s always that fear, that when the sequel is preceded by a stellar debut such as Helen’s Heir of Night, the sequel will just not match up. Its even more tense in the case of The Gathering of The Lost since Heir of Night won one of the most popular awards in fantasy fiction: the David Gemmell Morningstar, awarded the best debuts of a particular year. I put off reading the book for a long time, almost a year in fact, because I wanted to hold on to my experience with the debut for that much longer, and also because the the third book in the series is still being written. GRRM fans know well how it is to wait for years on end for a successor book, and I did not want to go through that same experience.
I’m happy to report however that from the first fifty pages of a monster book (clocking in at just around 650 odd pages), Helen had me hooked. Interestingly enough, the two protagonists of the previous book, the titular Heir of Night Malian of the House of Night and her priest-apprentice friend Kalan, are missing from much of the early sections of the novel. Instead, Helen focuses at first on the Heralds Jehane Mor and Tarathan, two of my favourite characters from Heir of Night. Through them, we are introduced to the larger political situation across the world of Haarth. I would have preferred if the story had started off with Malian and Kalan but with Jehane Mor and Tarathan we get to see how the larger setting works, since Heir of Night was focused almost exclusively on the outworlder Derai and the House of Night. We also get treated to the Heralds as a much more important faction in Haarth, especially through their interplays with the various other factions, such as the Patrol, who guard the River Ij and are one of the most important factions in the entire continent.
Ultimately, that’s what the novel is about. Its not just an adventure story or a mythic one. It is not just your typical fantasy either. What it is, is a very involved and nuanced political book. C. L. Werner’s Dead Winter, which I read last year and is the first in Black Plague trilogy for the Warhammer Fantasy setting, was a full-on political thriller that dealt with all levels of society in the Old World, specifically the Empire. The Gathering of The Lost comes very close to that same concept, but with a much tighter focus on the characters. Essentially, it has a smaller cast of main protagonists, although the events as they unfold have a similar development.
Contrary to my opinion from roughly the first third novel, Kalan and Malian do appear in the novel and are quite central to the rest of the book. The reveal about their characters came at just the right time in fact, right when I was getting almost disheartened that I wouldn’t get to see them. The Wall of Night is a series that ties in very closely to the personal journey of these characters, and for them to be missing from the sequel was odd, at best, early on. But then, the reveal happened and I was blown away. It was entirely unexpected and the ramifications of how the reveal would reflect on the rest of the narrative were immense. But Helen rose to the occasion and she delivered on the inherent promise and expectations created by the reveal. Trust me, if you are a fan of Heir of Night and while reading the early parts of The Gathering of The Lost you are missing out on some Kalan and Malian action, you will not be disappointed later on. The suspense is well worth it.
Of course, once Kalan and Malian are revealed and take their place in the narrative proper, things kick off in high gear and from that point on the book is near relentless with its pacing. There is so much mystery and tension that is built up to that point and its as if the flood is let loose, because from then on, Helen holds nothing back. We get treated to some spectacular set piece battles, lots of high magic of all variety, Haarthian politics of the most profound sort, and some good old-fashioned fantasy-style espionage and cloak-and-dagger stuff.
Considering as a whole, there are several more remarkable things that make The Gathering of The Lost really stand out, other than what I’ve already mentioned.
For starters, the story is set five years after the climax of Heir of Night. It sets up some really interesting plot development. All the characters that we saw in Heir of Night have changed to a greater or lesser degree in that brief interval, and the entire political landscape of Haarth has changed, and not for the better it seems. Agents of the Darkswarm, the enemies of the Derai who have followed them to Haarth from their homeworld have begun traveling all over the world in attempt to broker treaties with the various Haarthian kingdoms and factions. The Earl of Night, Malian’s father, has become ever more isolated at the Wall, especially after the unexpected death of someone close to him and the fortunes of Night have begun waning. Kalan and Malian have spent the last five years honing their various abilities and are well on the path to mastering them and living their new lives as appropriate. And for Jehane Mor and Tarathan, travel across Ij and north and south of the River’s border has become even more fraught with danger since in addition to the Darkswarm agents, the Derai have also begun to take a greater interest in their “neighbours”.
November 17, 2020
This was such a slog to get through...
The good points:
Very nicely plotted.
Really enjoyed the prose.
Solid world building.
Asantir, Raven, Tarathan & Jehane Mor, Nherenor, all the Normarch squad, Tirorn
Bad points:
Malian has the personality of a honourable cardboard box.
All the Derai (including Malian and Kalan, excluding the ones mentioned above) suck, I actually grew to dislike them so much.
The fact that there was a 5 year time skip between book 1 and 2 - how can I root for the main characters when their struggles are skipped over and we're re-introduced to them when they've been given a glossed over power-up?
Tarathan and Malian (idk why, this actually grossed me out so much???)
I rated this based solely on enjoyment - I just found it difficult to care about either Malian and Kalan by the end. Would have probably enjoyed it more if we'd gotten more from the heralds or Asantirs pov.
The good points:
Very nicely plotted.
Really enjoyed the prose.
Solid world building.
Asantir, Raven, Tarathan & Jehane Mor, Nherenor, all the Normarch squad, Tirorn
Bad points:
Malian has the personality of a honourable cardboard box.
All the Derai (including Malian and Kalan, excluding the ones mentioned above) suck, I actually grew to dislike them so much.
The fact that there was a 5 year time skip between book 1 and 2 - how can I root for the main characters when their struggles are skipped over and we're re-introduced to them when they've been given a glossed over power-up?
Tarathan and Malian (idk why, this actually grossed me out so much???)
I rated this based solely on enjoyment - I just found it difficult to care about either Malian and Kalan by the end. Would have probably enjoyed it more if we'd gotten more from the heralds or Asantirs pov.
May 4, 2017
A significant step up from Heir of Night. Lowe's really impressed me with this novel. Her world-building skills are phenomenal - it's rare for a world to come so alive for me and to feel so big and full of activity. Her characters are interesting despite their tendency towards being over-powered. Her prose has tightened up significantly, though could still be a lot tighter.
It did still have a lot of unnecessarily drawn-out mystery and devolved into wish-fulfilment at times. But it also didn't seem to pull as many punches as Heir of Night. A definite step forwards.
If this trend continues into the third and (as yet unreleased) fourth books, this could become one of my favourite series. I'm very keen to pick up the next instalment as soon as my budget allows.
It did still have a lot of unnecessarily drawn-out mystery and devolved into wish-fulfilment at times. But it also didn't seem to pull as many punches as Heir of Night. A definite step forwards.
If this trend continues into the third and (as yet unreleased) fourth books, this could become one of my favourite series. I'm very keen to pick up the next instalment as soon as my budget allows.
January 18, 2018
Reading this second book in the trilogy, I took more notice of the prose. It is actually well written, with some lovely descriptions. They are brief and act as part of the story, but she uses great language. For me, this contributes to the novel's success.
There was still plenty of action in this book, but there were too many factions, splinter groups and different forms of magic, and I got quite lost at times. There were also a few repetitions that were irritating, but on the whole I enjoyed it, and read it very quickly. Robin Hobb describes the novels as set in a "well realised world". I think this is why I enjoy them. Perfect escapism.
There was still plenty of action in this book, but there were too many factions, splinter groups and different forms of magic, and I got quite lost at times. There were also a few repetitions that were irritating, but on the whole I enjoyed it, and read it very quickly. Robin Hobb describes the novels as set in a "well realised world". I think this is why I enjoy them. Perfect escapism.
May 23, 2017
This one was a chore to get through. The prose is rather bad, the plot ranges from implausible to ridiculous, and none of the characters are interesting. Plus the novel is full of tired tropes and clichés.
I really should have given up on the series already after the rather disappointing first novel.
I really should have given up on the series already after the rather disappointing first novel.
February 17, 2018
Great imagery, fantastic narrative and a really cool story that will surprise you, but oh my god too many characters you can’t make connections with all of them! I also got a bit fed up and frustrated, this is a great book but I hard book that you need to read patiently
August 17, 2017
Not that exciting. Still has good language but it is slow going. I didn't read it as fast as some other book. But I want to know the end I'm going to read the next one as well.
May 4, 2019
Too long, and why is it always the women who die??
July 10, 2019
It was really good than first one. Came with a good surprise. Its a good Book #2.
January 5, 2024
Dnf 50%
I found the start interesting but the switch to a new POV character jarring at first. The big reveal was almost nonsensical and killed any desire to read further.
I found the start interesting but the switch to a new POV character jarring at first. The big reveal was almost nonsensical and killed any desire to read further.
April 4, 2024
SCREAMING!!
July 25, 2012
If you haven’t read the first book in the Wall of Night series, Heir of Night, then I suggest you do that before reading The Gathering of the Lost. The Gathering begins 5 years after the end of Heir and I think it is important to understand what led the characters to where they are now. Like all fantasy there is a tremendous amount of world-building and it is best to start from the beginning. In my review of Heir of Night, I admitted Fantasy isn’t my genre. I did read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, but that is the extent of my fantasy knowledge. However, I love The Wall of Night series because it is a fantastic story full of action, adventure and magic. The Gathering of the Lost is the second book in this eventual 4 book series.
While Heir was about the Deria and life on the Wall, this book is about the life and people of Haarth after the Great Cataclysm, a period of devastating natural disasters followed by civil war and the fall of the Old Empire. I don't want to discuss the plot of this book because there are a ton of revelations and twists that would ruin the first book as well as this one if you knew ahead of time. The unexpected events are one of the reasons I love this series so much. Pretty much what I could talk about is in the Gathering's blurb at the top of the post.
This story is richly layered with multiple story lines coming together and Helen’s depiction of this world is vivid and complete. I would swear this was a real place and the author lives there. We meet so many characters in this book it is almost overwhelming, but none of them feel frivolous.
The writing is exceptional and the clever weaving of a “hiding behind the mask” theme is impressive. I am in awe Helen’s ability to write a story of this scope and not have any plot holes or WTH? moments. This isn’t a light read by any means; every word counts, so if you skim you will miss something. At over six hundred pages this book is one you must give your complete attention to and be actively engaged, but the payoff is worth it. Helen does a good job of occasionally summing up what has happened so far, which is a great help to me because with kids running around I wasn’t able to focus sometimes and I needed that extra help to connect the dots. There is some romance, but it is a bitter-sweet. The Wall of Night series has enthralled me and I look forward to what other surprises are in store for Malian and the House of Night as well as the joy of Helen’s writing. Book 3 will be called Daughter of Blood.
find this review and more: http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/2012/...
While Heir was about the Deria and life on the Wall, this book is about the life and people of Haarth after the Great Cataclysm, a period of devastating natural disasters followed by civil war and the fall of the Old Empire. I don't want to discuss the plot of this book because there are a ton of revelations and twists that would ruin the first book as well as this one if you knew ahead of time. The unexpected events are one of the reasons I love this series so much. Pretty much what I could talk about is in the Gathering's blurb at the top of the post.
This story is richly layered with multiple story lines coming together and Helen’s depiction of this world is vivid and complete. I would swear this was a real place and the author lives there. We meet so many characters in this book it is almost overwhelming, but none of them feel frivolous.
The writing is exceptional and the clever weaving of a “hiding behind the mask” theme is impressive. I am in awe Helen’s ability to write a story of this scope and not have any plot holes or WTH? moments. This isn’t a light read by any means; every word counts, so if you skim you will miss something. At over six hundred pages this book is one you must give your complete attention to and be actively engaged, but the payoff is worth it. Helen does a good job of occasionally summing up what has happened so far, which is a great help to me because with kids running around I wasn’t able to focus sometimes and I needed that extra help to connect the dots. There is some romance, but it is a bitter-sweet. The Wall of Night series has enthralled me and I look forward to what other surprises are in store for Malian and the House of Night as well as the joy of Helen’s writing. Book 3 will be called Daughter of Blood.
find this review and more: http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/2012/...
July 15, 2012
I must say well done. Lowe kept on surprising me and I did not see things coming.
The book is made into different parts. In the first part we meet Tarathan and Jehane from book one. Things are happening in the River country. The darkness are stretching beyond the wall know. The next part is about Carrick, who comes to the country of Emer. More plots and more showings of the Darkswarm. All these things happening are connected, pieces fall into place as I read on. Even if I did wonder where Malian was, there I was on page 300 and she was still not around. But it had to be like that, there are stories to be told and threads to come together. And when I do meet Malian and Kalan for that matter, they are so changed. 5 years have gone by since the fled the Wall. They are older, and in Malian's case, hard and bitter. She has much to deal with and she needs to be strong, but sometimes strong is too close to ruthless.
There are characters from book 1 and new ones to get to know, and at the end I just sat there and thought, no way! Huh. She is like a spider in a web, plots going all directions, but all coming together in the most masterful of ways. There is such thought put into this book.
And I have to mention the world again, the echoes of could be sci-fi. No, there is no technology, this is pure fantasy. But the race of Derai and their enemies are alien to this world. They came to the world from another world, they had raced across the universe fighting each other. And they landed with a big bang that forever changed the countries on this world. Rivers changed, mountains fell. Aliens on a new planet. And I like that echo. Even if it was all brought by magic and such, that echo lingers and makes this world more alien in a way. Like it's out there somewhere, in the vast universe.
And now I want book 3 to see what happens to Malian and the rest I have met in this world. And the more I learn about the enemy, the more alike they seem each other.
The book is made into different parts. In the first part we meet Tarathan and Jehane from book one. Things are happening in the River country. The darkness are stretching beyond the wall know. The next part is about Carrick, who comes to the country of Emer. More plots and more showings of the Darkswarm. All these things happening are connected, pieces fall into place as I read on. Even if I did wonder where Malian was, there I was on page 300 and she was still not around. But it had to be like that, there are stories to be told and threads to come together. And when I do meet Malian and Kalan for that matter, they are so changed. 5 years have gone by since the fled the Wall. They are older, and in Malian's case, hard and bitter. She has much to deal with and she needs to be strong, but sometimes strong is too close to ruthless.
There are characters from book 1 and new ones to get to know, and at the end I just sat there and thought, no way! Huh. She is like a spider in a web, plots going all directions, but all coming together in the most masterful of ways. There is such thought put into this book.
And I have to mention the world again, the echoes of could be sci-fi. No, there is no technology, this is pure fantasy. But the race of Derai and their enemies are alien to this world. They came to the world from another world, they had raced across the universe fighting each other. And they landed with a big bang that forever changed the countries on this world. Rivers changed, mountains fell. Aliens on a new planet. And I like that echo. Even if it was all brought by magic and such, that echo lingers and makes this world more alien in a way. Like it's out there somewhere, in the vast universe.
And now I want book 3 to see what happens to Malian and the rest I have met in this world. And the more I learn about the enemy, the more alike they seem each other.
April 22, 2012
The Gathering of the Lost – The Heir of Night Book 2
Helen Lowe
This book is weighty and comprises a prologue and five parts. A long, wordy story but unputdownable and a fantastic tale. If you enjoy epic fantasy, read this! It can be read alone but for back-story you should read “The Heir of Night” first. Malian and Kalen have fled the Derai world and are resting in the Winter Country, before resuming their flight to the south, separately. The prologue contains Malian’s dream and explains why the two must travel separate paths.
Jehane Mor and Tarathan of Ar are the Heralds thought to have helped Malian and Kalen flee The Wall of Night into one of the lands of Haarth. They are heading for Ij and the festival there, and encounter new characters on their journey, such as Tirorn and Aravenor. There, complex alliances are revealed, before the mystery and action begins.
The next part introduces Maister Carick and the knights and damosels of Normarch. They have many adventures and end up in Emer for a tourney and the Midsummer Festival. There, the alliances grow more complex and many different forces come into play. Meanwhile, Malian is still searching for the legendary weapons of Derai’s great hero, and aid for defeating the Swarm, who threaten the Wall of Night and all the lands of Haarth.
The characters were very ‘real’, you felt you knew them. The plot was fast-paced, tightly woven and there were unexpected twists. I didn’t see a lot of things coming and when the unexpected was revealed it was “oh, of course, that makes sense!” My one complaint is it ended too soon and now I have to wait for the next one. It will be worth the wait though. This series is addictive.
Helen Lowe
This book is weighty and comprises a prologue and five parts. A long, wordy story but unputdownable and a fantastic tale. If you enjoy epic fantasy, read this! It can be read alone but for back-story you should read “The Heir of Night” first. Malian and Kalen have fled the Derai world and are resting in the Winter Country, before resuming their flight to the south, separately. The prologue contains Malian’s dream and explains why the two must travel separate paths.
Jehane Mor and Tarathan of Ar are the Heralds thought to have helped Malian and Kalen flee The Wall of Night into one of the lands of Haarth. They are heading for Ij and the festival there, and encounter new characters on their journey, such as Tirorn and Aravenor. There, complex alliances are revealed, before the mystery and action begins.
The next part introduces Maister Carick and the knights and damosels of Normarch. They have many adventures and end up in Emer for a tourney and the Midsummer Festival. There, the alliances grow more complex and many different forces come into play. Meanwhile, Malian is still searching for the legendary weapons of Derai’s great hero, and aid for defeating the Swarm, who threaten the Wall of Night and all the lands of Haarth.
The characters were very ‘real’, you felt you knew them. The plot was fast-paced, tightly woven and there were unexpected twists. I didn’t see a lot of things coming and when the unexpected was revealed it was “oh, of course, that makes sense!” My one complaint is it ended too soon and now I have to wait for the next one. It will be worth the wait though. This series is addictive.
Read
May 6, 2012Book two of The Wall of Night. Read for the Once Upon a Time VI challenge
Read the prologue here
Five years have passed since the events of The Heir of Night so if I was to mention anything that happens I might actually spoil you. And I wouldn't want to do that, would I? Suffice to say that there are more Darkswarm and conspiracies, but we are no longer on the Wall. Instead the story takes place among the native culture of Haarth.
In many ways this is a very traditional epic/heroic fantasy. Our hero, destined to save the world, out on a quest to track down magical artefacts and gather an army. Along the way pursued by the bad-guys and meeting up with possible allies and the like.
But the world-building here is very impressive. There are numerous different cultures and lands of Haarth, and they are all quite separate and distinct, and that's before you get to the Derai themselves, who landed on Haarth many generations earlier from a different world.
My main problem with this book is the number of characters with fantasy-esque names, I did find it difficult to keep them all straight at one point.
But at the same time I really did enjoy this book. It isn't the story I thought it would be, but in a good way, it is a much bigger and more complex story than I initially thought. I look forward to the next two books in this series. But not the wait. *sigh*
December 18, 2013
Really rather good indeed. I really love the world, the characters are all interesting and believable and it is well written as well! An absolute steal at the price I bought this book, and the first in the trilogy, The Heir of Night, for and I'm really looking forward to the last in the trilogy!
Saying that, the structure of this book was slightly odd. The first ten page or so is prequel with Malian and Kalan, but set after the events of the first book. The book then jumps ahead five years and the next third-ish is spent looking at the Heralds and their adventures. We then get introduced to another character and follow their adventures for the next third of this book. In all this time not once are the characters/setting on the Wall that I grew to love in the first book mentioned in more than passing. Malian and Kalan fortunately do return in stunning form for the last section, but the rest of the Wall doesn't make an appearance aside from one chapter with Asantir. If this book had been less good and the new stuff less enjoyable this lack of what made the first book great would probably really have annoyed me, but as it was all so good I can definitely look past it.
A special mention has to be made for the twists employed. I didn't see any of them coming, but all made sense afterwards and none of them seemed like they'd been placed in the book purely to give it a twist. All hints at more going on are used later, even if it didn't look likely!
Saying that, the structure of this book was slightly odd. The first ten page or so is prequel with Malian and Kalan, but set after the events of the first book. The book then jumps ahead five years and the next third-ish is spent looking at the Heralds and their adventures. We then get introduced to another character and follow their adventures for the next third of this book. In all this time not once are the characters/setting on the Wall that I grew to love in the first book mentioned in more than passing. Malian and Kalan fortunately do return in stunning form for the last section, but the rest of the Wall doesn't make an appearance aside from one chapter with Asantir. If this book had been less good and the new stuff less enjoyable this lack of what made the first book great would probably really have annoyed me, but as it was all so good I can definitely look past it.
A special mention has to be made for the twists employed. I didn't see any of them coming, but all made sense afterwards and none of them seemed like they'd been placed in the book purely to give it a twist. All hints at more going on are used later, even if it didn't look likely!
March 28, 2020
What can I say? This was a hard slog for most of the time, with things only picking up towards the end.
There was a moment early on when I thought the story was going really well with a change of POV away from the main character from book one. But then everything shifted to an intriguing new character who just happened to be .... ooh how annoying!
The story takes place 5 years after book one - and to be honest I wanted to read about the intervening period rather than this drawn out affair. And the tings that happened in this silent period are way too important by comparison. In the first volume I felt the main characters were wise beyond their years and acted as if they were much older than their youth should have allowed. In this volume the main characters fit their skins better on the whole - although there are some scenes in which I felt the author was cheating us and the story by introducing ‘Mary-Sue’ elements.
Other reviewers have pointed out that this story focuses on the mundane while truly important events happen off the page. They’re right.. And it spoilt it for me.
In the end it was an okay read - overly long - unnecessarily complicated - but worth 3 stars as it was better than others Iv’e had the misfortune to read.
There was a moment early on when I thought the story was going really well with a change of POV away from the main character from book one. But then everything shifted to an intriguing new character who just happened to be .... ooh how annoying!
The story takes place 5 years after book one - and to be honest I wanted to read about the intervening period rather than this drawn out affair. And the tings that happened in this silent period are way too important by comparison. In the first volume I felt the main characters were wise beyond their years and acted as if they were much older than their youth should have allowed. In this volume the main characters fit their skins better on the whole - although there are some scenes in which I felt the author was cheating us and the story by introducing ‘Mary-Sue’ elements.
Other reviewers have pointed out that this story focuses on the mundane while truly important events happen off the page. They’re right.. And it spoilt it for me.
In the end it was an okay read - overly long - unnecessarily complicated - but worth 3 stars as it was better than others Iv’e had the misfortune to read.
February 7, 2016
A strong continuation of the story started in The Heir of Night, nevertheless I felt frustrated at the start as I am introduced to new characters when I am burning to find out what has been happening to those I got to know in the first book. The new characters are likable and interesting, but it was not satisfying the itch that was the main reason for wanting to pick up this book. I would have breathed a sigh of relief when the old and new stories were finally woven together but by that time the action was rolling along and I almost didn't care.
Lowe continued to weave together honoured fantasy tropes to create a story that is fresh and original. A strong theme of this book is giving the Dark Sworn motivations and personalities, something I have hardly seen for all my love of the fantasy genre. This has left we wanting to know even more about the Dark Swarm, the Derei and the inhabitants of the world than I did at the end of Heir.
Bring on Daughter of Blood!
Lowe continued to weave together honoured fantasy tropes to create a story that is fresh and original. A strong theme of this book is giving the Dark Sworn motivations and personalities, something I have hardly seen for all my love of the fantasy genre. This has left we wanting to know even more about the Dark Swarm, the Derei and the inhabitants of the world than I did at the end of Heir.
Bring on Daughter of Blood!
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