What do you think?
Rate this book
The Song of Naga Teot #2
Blood Storm
As fierce as the desert storms, Naga Teot, last of his clan, has debts to pay. First for the birthright stolen from him, second for his slaughtered family, and third for Caladrunan, Liege Lord of Tan, who by friendship and Great Oath he is sworn to protect. The savage sequel to Teot's War.
- GenresFantasy
278 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
2 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 24, 2013
I bought Blood Storm when it was first released. Gladney's writing is such harsh, evocative poetry that I have read Naga's stories too many times to count. The hint of science fiction mingled in the fantasy reminded me of Andre Norton. Gladney's books are a masterpiece. I have always wished and hoped for a conclusion to this incredible story.
Read
September 12, 2013Book 2 of the Song of Naga Teot. Definitely post-apocalyptic sf rather than fantasy. Two-thirds of a trilogy that has never been completed. Generations ago, the land of the Teot peoples was invaded and conquered by the Tansmen; "peoples" because this encompasses multiple ethnicities and kingdoms, as does Tansmen. The Teot now live in desert lands, although this may be due to being driven from the more fertile coasts by the Tansmen -- it's not clear. Currently the land is being threatened by the Osa, who clearly have access to better tech than the Tansmen and Teot do, and who are basically burning the land and everything in it alive. For clearance? It's not clear why this is a good policy.
Anyway. Naga survived the destruction of his people by the Osa, then became a warrior and a bard, and has sworn allegiance to the ruler of the Tansmen, Caludrunan, who was once fostered by Naga's family and became very close to Naga's older brother. This book is focused more or less on Tansmen internal politics, to the detriment of preparing to fight the Osa. I liked the books a lot less than I expected to because:
* There's way too much fighting to hold my interest.
* While the politics aren't particularly complicated, I can't follow the oblique way they're discussed.
* Naga is such a Mary Sue. He's a super-accomplished warrior of a particularly kind of rare training that is famed across the continent! He's a bard of extraordinary learning and skill! He was the leader of a famous Osa-marauding band before he was twenty! (He is now about twenty.) He was accidentally semi-brain-fried by an influx of ancient lost technological knowledge when he was a child escaping the Osa and now he has prophetic visions!
* The main emotional bond that powers the narrative is the friendship between Naga and Caludrunan, or rather the emotional dependency of Naga on Caludrunan. This has never made sense to me. It happens in their first meeting, and you have to accept it as a condition of the narrative. And I can accept it as a condition of the plot, but it never makes emotional sense to me.
* The book is incredibly homoerotic, but denies it in a way that reads as homophobic. There's the intense bond between Naga and Caludrunan. Naga can only sleep free of nightmares when he's in Caludrunan's bed. Both Naga and Caludrunan agree that Naga's sanity depends on Caludrunan's existence. Caludrunan says his wife is jealous of his closeness to Naga. Enemies start rumors that they're lovers. But they're not lovers! Naga responds to the rumors by getting married. Boy prostitutes show up to show specifically that homosexuality exists, and that Naga and Caludrunan aren't homosexual.
* Caludrunan is a truly terribly political strategist, and Naga thinks he's great. Granted, this may be an unreliable perspective, but I think we're actually supposed to buy it.
Anyway. Naga survived the destruction of his people by the Osa, then became a warrior and a bard, and has sworn allegiance to the ruler of the Tansmen, Caludrunan, who was once fostered by Naga's family and became very close to Naga's older brother. This book is focused more or less on Tansmen internal politics, to the detriment of preparing to fight the Osa. I liked the books a lot less than I expected to because:
* There's way too much fighting to hold my interest.
* While the politics aren't particularly complicated, I can't follow the oblique way they're discussed.
* Naga is such a Mary Sue. He's a super-accomplished warrior of a particularly kind of rare training that is famed across the continent! He's a bard of extraordinary learning and skill! He was the leader of a famous Osa-marauding band before he was twenty! (He is now about twenty.) He was accidentally semi-brain-fried by an influx of ancient lost technological knowledge when he was a child escaping the Osa and now he has prophetic visions!
* The main emotional bond that powers the narrative is the friendship between Naga and Caludrunan, or rather the emotional dependency of Naga on Caludrunan. This has never made sense to me. It happens in their first meeting, and you have to accept it as a condition of the narrative. And I can accept it as a condition of the plot, but it never makes emotional sense to me.
* The book is incredibly homoerotic, but denies it in a way that reads as homophobic. There's the intense bond between Naga and Caludrunan. Naga can only sleep free of nightmares when he's in Caludrunan's bed. Both Naga and Caludrunan agree that Naga's sanity depends on Caludrunan's existence. Caludrunan says his wife is jealous of his closeness to Naga. Enemies start rumors that they're lovers. But they're not lovers! Naga responds to the rumors by getting married. Boy prostitutes show up to show specifically that homosexuality exists, and that Naga and Caludrunan aren't homosexual.
* Caludrunan is a truly terribly political strategist, and Naga thinks he's great. Granted, this may be an unreliable perspective, but I think we're actually supposed to buy it.
July 28, 2010
Not quite as good as Teot's War, but that one was a masterpiece. As I understand these were orginally written as a single book and were broken apart by the publisher. I did think the first one was just outstanding and it's one of my favorite heroic fantasy books of all time for its prose.
July 13, 2008
IT'S NOT FINISHED! *sob!*
October 31, 2020
This is hovering between 3 and 4 stars for me. During the sections where I was enjoying it, I was *really* enjoying it, but there were some sections where I was just NOT enjoying it all that much, and I'm not sure how to reconcile those two in a rating. Going with 3 stars due to the fact that it ends on a point that NEEDS a third book, and there not being one.
The good: this was recommended to me on the basis of my love of "competence porn" and the fact that I always describe myself as liking stories where characters have their own emotional baggage to work through while also saving the world from whatever fantasy threat of the story is. This series has both of those elements in spades. I enjoy the aspects of the story that deal with Naga trying to find balance between his position among his people and his chosen position as #1 ally and bodyguard of the king of another people very engaging, and Gladney's writing has a nice style where she leaves enough unsaid (or holds back some information in a scene until later) that it makes for a unique reading experience that I enjoyed quite a lot.
The not-as-good: For a story that hinges largely on the bond between Naga and the king (Caladrunan), I found the parts of the story where their bond is the only focus to be a bit cloying for me. Their relationship is slashy as hell, but seems to be playing both sides of the fence in terms of whether they're "involved" in a romantic way or not. It's protested at times that they're NOT, but with the trait I mentioned above of the author leaving some things unsaid, it's difficult to tell how much to read between the lines. In my fanfiction-reading days, this sort of story would have been labeled as "smarm" - and I was never a big fan. I really love stories with deep, emotionally-charged friendships between characters, but the ambiguity here was frustrating, given how intensely codependent the relationship between the two of them is. Because of this, I found the sections of the book when the two were not interacting directly to be much more engaging.
The good: this was recommended to me on the basis of my love of "competence porn" and the fact that I always describe myself as liking stories where characters have their own emotional baggage to work through while also saving the world from whatever fantasy threat of the story is. This series has both of those elements in spades. I enjoy the aspects of the story that deal with Naga trying to find balance between his position among his people and his chosen position as #1 ally and bodyguard of the king of another people very engaging, and Gladney's writing has a nice style where she leaves enough unsaid (or holds back some information in a scene until later) that it makes for a unique reading experience that I enjoyed quite a lot.
The not-as-good: For a story that hinges largely on the bond between Naga and the king (Caladrunan), I found the parts of the story where their bond is the only focus to be a bit cloying for me. Their relationship is slashy as hell, but seems to be playing both sides of the fence in terms of whether they're "involved" in a romantic way or not. It's protested at times that they're NOT, but with the trait I mentioned above of the author leaving some things unsaid, it's difficult to tell how much to read between the lines. In my fanfiction-reading days, this sort of story would have been labeled as "smarm" - and I was never a big fan. I really love stories with deep, emotionally-charged friendships between characters, but the ambiguity here was frustrating, given how intensely codependent the relationship between the two of them is. Because of this, I found the sections of the book when the two were not interacting directly to be much more engaging.
January 7, 2026
Such a good series. Great addition. Love Teot and Drin's relationship. Really really wish there was a third book 😭
November 29, 2014
I picked this book up when it was discharged and thrown into a pile at a book sale at my small town public library, going on, oh, it must be fifteen, sixteen years ago now. I was fascinated by it then, and I read and re-read it several times. I was hypnotized--by the emotion, the sexual need of Naga and the other characters, and the stark, brutal way Heather Gladney depicts violence with her prose.
I was probably too young for it, truth be told.
I've left this book on a shelf at my parents' house for far too long, and that's something of an embarrassment. I think it's about time I went and read it again, as thirty year-old and not a teenager. But first, I'm going to pick up a copy of Teot's War, which I have never read--much to my chagrin.
I was probably too young for it, truth be told.
I've left this book on a shelf at my parents' house for far too long, and that's something of an embarrassment. I think it's about time I went and read it again, as thirty year-old and not a teenager. But first, I'm going to pick up a copy of Teot's War, which I have never read--much to my chagrin.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews