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Shattered Legacy #2
Phantom Chamber
Secret treasures and otherworldly dangers await a band of adventurers in the second book of this fantasy series set within the Arcane Ascension universe.
After the Tortoise Spire climb claims three members of Team Guiding Star Legacy, surviving combat experts Nieve and Hane—teammates by chance if not by choice—cope with their losses by joining another delving group to ascend Tiger Spire. Allied with bickering siblings Rose and Mason, an Architect and a Transmuter, and the Biomancer Lief, they’re led by Odette, an Analyst, who has meticulously studied the spire’s scenarios to locate the mythical Vault of Shadows and claim its priceless treasures.
Their quest takes them aboard a train transporting rare cargo, but their mission is vague. Odette believes they’re either supposed to protect the cargo or capture someone. As the team splits into factions to solve the mystery, they encounter the notorious thief known as the Magpie. Sa’rhi Nereux is a Controller, commanding powerful minions to help them steal a creature capable of granting life or death with a single bite.
Even if the adventurers are victorious, greater threats await them within the spire if they’re to unearth the Vault of Shadows. Nieve, still grieving her lost companions, wants to befriend her new team to face these threats together. But Hane prefers distance, even from Nieve, leaving her to bond instead with a being of unimaginable power . . .
After the Tortoise Spire climb claims three members of Team Guiding Star Legacy, surviving combat experts Nieve and Hane—teammates by chance if not by choice—cope with their losses by joining another delving group to ascend Tiger Spire. Allied with bickering siblings Rose and Mason, an Architect and a Transmuter, and the Biomancer Lief, they’re led by Odette, an Analyst, who has meticulously studied the spire’s scenarios to locate the mythical Vault of Shadows and claim its priceless treasures.
Their quest takes them aboard a train transporting rare cargo, but their mission is vague. Odette believes they’re either supposed to protect the cargo or capture someone. As the team splits into factions to solve the mystery, they encounter the notorious thief known as the Magpie. Sa’rhi Nereux is a Controller, commanding powerful minions to help them steal a creature capable of granting life or death with a single bite.
Even if the adventurers are victorious, greater threats await them within the spire if they’re to unearth the Vault of Shadows. Nieve, still grieving her lost companions, wants to befriend her new team to face these threats together. But Hane prefers distance, even from Nieve, leaving her to bond instead with a being of unimaginable power . . .
523 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2023
132 people are currently reading
310 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 13, 2023
Not bad, but not my favorite book in the series. I found being in Neive's head a little exhausting. It's not that she's dumb, but watching her constantly miss obvious things, and have little to no interest in anything I wanted to know more about was frustrating. I think balanced with any characters beside Hane I would have enjoyed it more, but Hane's cold, distant attitude, and Neive's didn't make for a great combo. I seriously wish Sage had more than two chapters.
October 29, 2023
An enjoyable story, but my goodness the progression was so slow. Wasn't a fan of the change in cast as it were. So many pronouns.
October 21, 2023
Better than the first by a lot.
The first book felt like a prequel after this.
The first book felt like a prequel after this.
November 8, 2023
New characters and abilities! The story felt very short considering the challenges faced. Fast paced and a fun and thoughtful read. Looking forward to the next one!
November 8, 2023
This one was hard to give a rating for. I enjoyed the overall plot, the foreshadowing was great, the broad story beats were more or less all there, and unlike other novels where the negatives result in me ditching a book and series, there's enough here to keep me going. As a whole, I actually enjoyed this novel and will continue with it, but I'd like to leave a few things to be aware of, and a suggestion to hold on if you're thinking of dropping the book.
One important thing to remember with this book is that Andrew Rowe didn't write it. He may have consulted, or maybe even did an editing pass, but this was Kayleigh Nicols (I see this misunderstanding in other reviews).
First things first: if you a viscerally against inclusion or "woke" (not a fan of the use of that word), this might not be the book for you. This is set on a continent where sexual preference isn't as static as in the real world, and non binary genders are also quite normal. If you have a problem with this or exploring morals of particular actions that , skip the book and move along.
That said, it's a bit ham fisted (forced) in this, especially because Andrew Rowe does it elegantly and unobtrusively and in a normalising way (a character mentions it, has a character go "oh, that's different, cool I'll pivot", and moves on). This one goes into long prose and situations that make no narrative sense.
Small spoiler: characters literally stop before fighting an enemy who's tried to kill them multiple times to ask for pronouns, and don't know how to handle a change in presented gender, being so distracted, they make multiple mistakes because of "oooo boobies". Inclusive? Yes, but also objectifying, no other character is objectified quite so much aside from a comment on their figure. This also departs from the fact that these things are normalised in the universe. The motivation of the same enemy is also weak. Admirable, but inconsistent, with arguments from a main character of "protect all living things, but if you don't want to protect ALL living things, then you can die and I won't care". This leads into an unfortunate stance of - agree with me or you're wrong, but I have to deal with it.
Second is how some of the characters react. They’re all supposed to be experienced climbers, faced danger over and over, and assumedly into adulthood (not in school, seems like most have been doing it for years.
One character locks down and becomes functionally useless any time ANY danger threatens them and everyone is just fine with it, and then half of them act, talk, and squabble like children, with only a couple of characters with any general maturity. It gets frustrating. There’s also some pretty heavy handed plot armour that hand waves why characters can’t get through a door as “because magic” with NO way at all to open it… except you know (spoiler: tapping the brakes, that’s literally all it needed).
Third is the pacing: This has been mentioned before, it's great when it's great, and it's a slog when it's not. This feels more like a first draft than a final novel. It needed another pass or two. The story is there, the beats are there, there's great foreshadowing, there's suspense and twists, the overall story is great. Its execution is just clumsy. Some reviews complain about how pronouns are used. This is more a shortcoming of the English language, but they're right in one aspect, they can be overused, and in confusing manners that make it unclear who the novel is referencing. This isn't just for the non-binary pronouns, I found a few instances where he/she/they was used in a group and I had to spend half a second working out who it was in reference to. Using the name or a description, before moving to the pronouns would have made things more clear.
Look, overall, this book isn't for everyone. I enjoyed it, but I was frequently annoyed but small things that could have been fixed with a little more care, or a better editor (if there was an editor on this book).
One important thing to remember with this book is that Andrew Rowe didn't write it. He may have consulted, or maybe even did an editing pass, but this was Kayleigh Nicols (I see this misunderstanding in other reviews).
First things first: if you a viscerally against inclusion or "woke" (not a fan of the use of that word), this might not be the book for you. This is set on a continent where sexual preference isn't as static as in the real world, and non binary genders are also quite normal. If you have a problem with this or exploring morals of particular actions that , skip the book and move along.
That said, it's a bit ham fisted (forced) in this, especially because Andrew Rowe does it elegantly and unobtrusively and in a normalising way (a character mentions it, has a character go "oh, that's different, cool I'll pivot", and moves on). This one goes into long prose and situations that make no narrative sense.
Small spoiler: characters literally stop before fighting an enemy who's tried to kill them multiple times to ask for pronouns, and don't know how to handle a change in presented gender, being so distracted, they make multiple mistakes because of "oooo boobies". Inclusive? Yes, but also objectifying, no other character is objectified quite so much aside from a comment on their figure. This also departs from the fact that these things are normalised in the universe. The motivation of the same enemy is also weak. Admirable, but inconsistent, with arguments from a main character of "protect all living things, but if you don't want to protect ALL living things, then you can die and I won't care". This leads into an unfortunate stance of - agree with me or you're wrong, but I have to deal with it.
Second is how some of the characters react. They’re all supposed to be experienced climbers, faced danger over and over, and assumedly into adulthood (not in school, seems like most have been doing it for years.
One character locks down and becomes functionally useless any time ANY danger threatens them and everyone is just fine with it, and then half of them act, talk, and squabble like children, with only a couple of characters with any general maturity. It gets frustrating. There’s also some pretty heavy handed plot armour that hand waves why characters can’t get through a door as “because magic” with NO way at all to open it… except you know (spoiler: tapping the brakes, that’s literally all it needed).
Third is the pacing: This has been mentioned before, it's great when it's great, and it's a slog when it's not. This feels more like a first draft than a final novel. It needed another pass or two. The story is there, the beats are there, there's great foreshadowing, there's suspense and twists, the overall story is great. Its execution is just clumsy. Some reviews complain about how pronouns are used. This is more a shortcoming of the English language, but they're right in one aspect, they can be overused, and in confusing manners that make it unclear who the novel is referencing. This isn't just for the non-binary pronouns, I found a few instances where he/she/they was used in a group and I had to spend half a second working out who it was in reference to. Using the name or a description, before moving to the pronouns would have made things more clear.
Look, overall, this book isn't for everyone. I enjoyed it, but I was frequently annoyed but small things that could have been fixed with a little more care, or a better editor (if there was an editor on this book).
November 29, 2023
A solid second outing for this spinoff series that starts slow but finishes strong, and even takes a small step forward in addressing concerns about the greater rowverse, specifically that it actually answers a looming mystery with a satisfying answer and doesn’t feel like it’s answering that question with three new questions. That said there were a couple of problems I had with it that seem to keep popping up in this universe.
The first, is that it’s annoying that it feels like i have to be lectured about something at length for at least once or twice a book. Im not even saying I disagree with the points the lectures make but these moments aren’t subtle at all and it took me out of the story in this book and in others. To be clear I’m not referring to the complaints you see in too many reviews about “politics”. In this particular book I’m referring to the argument over the snakes in the first scenario which just felt like it was trying so hard to argue a point that might make sense elsewhere but not here.
The second is the feeling that there’s a story happening here I’d rather be reading than the main narrative. In this book I couldn’t help but think I’d rather be in Sage’s second judgment for much of the book, which is a similar to thoughts I’ve had before while reading a recent Arcane Ascension book for example.
The third is that with every book in the greater universe that asks more questions than gives answers I struggle a little more to shrug it off and feel excited for the next book rather than apprehensive at the thought of starting a book looking forward to a narrative and the answers to lingering questions. The only way I can describe it was that I felt tired before I even began the story, which obviously can’t be the fault of Phantom Chamber.
If you made it this far I’m impressed and apologize for the lengthy review. Despite how it may seem I enjoyed the book, and I think the author has talent. I suppose I just wish that I could be anticipating the next book rather than just being relieved at finishing this one.
The first, is that it’s annoying that it feels like i have to be lectured about something at length for at least once or twice a book. Im not even saying I disagree with the points the lectures make but these moments aren’t subtle at all and it took me out of the story in this book and in others. To be clear I’m not referring to the complaints you see in too many reviews about “politics”. In this particular book I’m referring to the argument over the snakes in the first scenario which just felt like it was trying so hard to argue a point that might make sense elsewhere but not here.
The second is the feeling that there’s a story happening here I’d rather be reading than the main narrative. In this book I couldn’t help but think I’d rather be in Sage’s second judgment for much of the book, which is a similar to thoughts I’ve had before while reading a recent Arcane Ascension book for example.
The third is that with every book in the greater universe that asks more questions than gives answers I struggle a little more to shrug it off and feel excited for the next book rather than apprehensive at the thought of starting a book looking forward to a narrative and the answers to lingering questions. The only way I can describe it was that I felt tired before I even began the story, which obviously can’t be the fault of Phantom Chamber.
If you made it this far I’m impressed and apologize for the lengthy review. Despite how it may seem I enjoyed the book, and I think the author has talent. I suppose I just wish that I could be anticipating the next book rather than just being relieved at finishing this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2024
So incredibly boring. The whole point of the tiger spire difference with the tortoise spire is that the tortoise one has long lasting scenarios. But why is 60 % of the book just 1 scenario in the spire? And the other 40% is the second scenario?
To leave a main character out of the story on a weird side quest that ended up with him having a forced storyline for a next series part is soooooo boring!!! I liked sage!!
The foreshadowing with leafe was annoying. If a character asks suspicious, you dont have to spell it out every chapter. I get that he has a bigger backstory developing but lets let intelligent readers make their own conclusions instead of forcing conclusions for a plot twist.
Youre telling me a girl whos best friend is able to divine object their future did not let her best friend research her secret possible dangerous attunment?
And why dies she want to reach the spire? Once again constantly sprinkling vague plot bait to develop in a underwhelming plotline for the next part. I reallt hope for book three the book actually has some more plot movement instead of basicly 60% being 1 fictional scenario room.
To leave a main character out of the story on a weird side quest that ended up with him having a forced storyline for a next series part is soooooo boring!!! I liked sage!!
The foreshadowing with leafe was annoying. If a character asks suspicious, you dont have to spell it out every chapter. I get that he has a bigger backstory developing but lets let intelligent readers make their own conclusions instead of forcing conclusions for a plot twist.
Youre telling me a girl whos best friend is able to divine object their future did not let her best friend research her secret possible dangerous attunment?
And why dies she want to reach the spire? Once again constantly sprinkling vague plot bait to develop in a underwhelming plotline for the next part. I reallt hope for book three the book actually has some more plot movement instead of basicly 60% being 1 fictional scenario room.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2023
I'm a little torn on this series... After dragging through 2/3 of the first book of long-winded scenarios and little character progression, but then really enjoying the last third, I decided to give the second installment a go...
Turns out, I felt mostly the same with this book - albeit liking it slightly better. Probably just my personal preferences but the new characters were mostly not really interesting to me and the scenarios felt somewhat inconsequential regarding the bigger story/world, given that they are fictional and happening inside the spire and I'm not super interested in the characters for the most part.
What I enjoyed was definitely learning more about Hane's and Nieve's personalities, starting from the argument about saving the snakes around halfway through the book. This is also where it picked up on me and I really started enjoying it. And as I already mentioned, the last third was a blast again. I still prefer AA or W&W, but I'm looking forward to the next book.
Turns out, I felt mostly the same with this book - albeit liking it slightly better. Probably just my personal preferences but the new characters were mostly not really interesting to me and the scenarios felt somewhat inconsequential regarding the bigger story/world, given that they are fictional and happening inside the spire and I'm not super interested in the characters for the most part.
What I enjoyed was definitely learning more about Hane's and Nieve's personalities, starting from the argument about saving the snakes around halfway through the book. This is also where it picked up on me and I really started enjoying it. And as I already mentioned, the last third was a blast again. I still prefer AA or W&W, but I'm looking forward to the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2023
Great book. Just like the previous book it provides more insight into different cultures and Attunements. If you liked the first one and/or are invested in Chime's story you'll enjoy it. My only critiques are that we didn't get any more POVs. I understand not wanting too much from the secretive characters but either Rose or Mason would have added some very interesting details from their culture. I was also a little disappointed that the Guardian, Shaper, and Assassin Attunements were used for NPCs in the spire rather than more local or Tortoise spire ones that we haven't gotten to experience much. This book is easily good enough that these nitpicking details are all I can really say are wrong.
December 25, 2023
Definitely an improvement on the first of the series, with this focusing on only the quiet Hane and reckless warrior Nieve. In truth, thought it was very good but not great. I'll likely continue with the series. I thought Hane and Nieve were neither that interesting as characters. Nieve had some trauma from the previous climb which was good that they addressed. Hane was a disappointment, as he's a mystery but we got no more background on him. The rest of the delve team was interesting.
December 24, 2023
3 1/2 stars. A classic dungeon dive where the final chamber is always more complicated than the characters believe and there are hidden factions and motives that were not divulge in the briefing. Fun and some nice development of the characters. This is the second in the series and while it is not necessary to read the first one to understand what is going on here, there is a lot of emotional nuances that the reader won't fully appreciate without reading the first. It fills out some areas of the Arcane Ascension world that Andrew Rowe hasn't really gone into.
January 24, 2024
I felt the same as I did in the first one in that the first segment (train or siege scenario) really dragged but it was great for the rest of the book. I love learning about the powers and the magic system. I really hope the next one isn’t at the duelling tournament that was mentioned!! I had enough of that in the Six Sacred Swords series.
Interesting that there was a bit of discussion on animal ethics in here. Not too nuanced as it was between two groups where neither opposed treating animals as commodities for human pleasure. But it’s something.
Interesting that there was a bit of discussion on animal ethics in here. Not too nuanced as it was between two groups where neither opposed treating animals as commodities for human pleasure. But it’s something.
August 4, 2024
Another okay book in the series. The scenarios are still weird to me and not what I envision climbing a spire to be. I know these are supposed to be adults but I had to switch that in my head to them being children because that’s how they all act in this book, not sure if Nicol really knows how to write adult characters. And what was the point of one of the characters refusing to say a Nieve’s name the way she wanted it said? That was annoying and petulant (which honestly is the behavior of most of the characters).
It was an okay book though with some interesting aspects to it.
It was an okay book though with some interesting aspects to it.
April 7, 2025
Took a while to get into this after the last one because the surviving characters were kinda a single minded brute and a flawless and aloof super ninja, with the more interesting character deciding to do a solo project.
But with the narrative being focused on Nieve and Hane their characters had room to flourish where the first book had them either go hit stuff or go flip around stuff in an impressive way and then hit it.
In the first book Hane seemed like an interesting supporting character but they really shine as a main character.
But with the narrative being focused on Nieve and Hane their characters had room to flourish where the first book had them either go hit stuff or go flip around stuff in an impressive way and then hit it.
In the first book Hane seemed like an interesting supporting character but they really shine as a main character.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 22, 2024
Another great entry in the Shatter Legacy series. I was a bit unsure after the end of the first book, because we'd had a lot of time developing characters that weren't in this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by the character development in this one (especially for Hane). Things are definitely building, but slowly, and I'm looking forward to what's in store for the adventurers in the next one!
November 3, 2024
This is a lot more readable than book 1 in this series, and the characters more likeable.
A reasonably enjoyable D&D type adventure, and a reasonable entry in worldbuilding Andrew Rowe's universe (though having read other in-universe books, or even book #1 in this series isn't truly necessary).
It suffers a little bit from the characters all being the extremes of their own stereotypes, nobody is remotely close to normal.
A reasonably enjoyable D&D type adventure, and a reasonable entry in worldbuilding Andrew Rowe's universe (though having read other in-universe books, or even book #1 in this series isn't truly necessary).
It suffers a little bit from the characters all being the extremes of their own stereotypes, nobody is remotely close to normal.
October 29, 2023
I really enjoyed this book! It was a wonderful addition a great series! The magic system in this world is one of my favorites and this added to it wonderfully. The world-building was awesome and well developed. The best part of the book was the character interactions which I can not wait to see more of. Super excited for book 3 and think this a great read!
November 8, 2023
I rarely say this, but the second book, while still another long dungeon crawl, was better than the first. Perhaps the focus on fewer characters this time gave more depth to the two main ones here, and done so quite well. The path is nicely laid out for several more installments in this story and I will look forward to reading them.
December 21, 2024
Set in the amazing world of arcane ascension, but as a story a bit lacking. This is more a fun spin-off with cool climbing levels. It becomes more of a beach read than a new favourite series.
4 stars, will read these as a perfect snack!
P.S. This storyline made me think of Adventure Zone 2, and that wasn't a bad think
4 stars, will read these as a perfect snack!
P.S. This storyline made me think of Adventure Zone 2, and that wasn't a bad think
June 16, 2025
Not super interested in the featured characters or their stories here, and the dungeon crawl itself was more of a weird trudge, especially the way they sat on the train for freaking ever. I actually almost forgot there was a broader plot at times. Hane was kind of interesting as a character but Nieve was driving me a little crazy and the side characters barely appealed.
November 8, 2023
As someone who likes the world building and characters of the other books this series is a bit of a drag for me for the first half of each book and then both finish wildly. They're worth pushing through though, that first book's climax was wild.
June 14, 2024
Phantom Chamber
Another great book in this series. I love these side stories in Andrew Rowe's universe. The characters are thought out and there's a slow introduction to their histories that leaves you wanting more. Adventure, excitement, and magic in abundance.
Another great book in this series. I love these side stories in Andrew Rowe's universe. The characters are thought out and there's a slow introduction to their histories that leaves you wanting more. Adventure, excitement, and magic in abundance.
February 14, 2025
A good book in the series
This was a good book in the series. The characters were developed and had a lot of depth. The plot was interesting with a new focus in a different country. Looking forward to reading the next book.
This was a good book in the series. The characters were developed and had a lot of depth. The plot was interesting with a new focus in a different country. Looking forward to reading the next book.
September 14, 2025
as with the previous one it only starts to get really interesting towards the end 😅. while we got plot at the end of the first book, this series seems to be more about the journey/adventure rather than the plot.
October 29, 2023
Interesting characters, plot twists, spiced with humor and grieving past losses - a great read!
November 2, 2023
I was surprised with this book and the subtle growth of some of the characters, but also enjoyed the dangers that accumulated throughout only to be revealed later on. Excited for the next book!
November 3, 2023
Overall an enjoyable read, not a big fan of the pacing, but it always pays off by the end.
November 8, 2023
Rowe's books are great, final fantasy in novel form. This isn't his best work, but I liked it. Dragged in the middle. Set up more good stories in this storyline
March 23, 2024
The pacing was rough but I love the world and the magic. Interested where this leads hope we get some questions answered in the next book and hints to others in the series.
March 26, 2024
I rarely give 1/5 stars, but this book is just awful. It's slow, boring, with dull characters and too much useless statistical information. I cannot believe I gave your other books 5/5.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews