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The Risen Sun #2
The Shadowed Throne
Laela the half-breed raised in the South is now the Queen of the North. The seemingly invincible King Arenadd Taranisaii and his partner, the dark griffin Skandar, are missing. The Northerners blame Laela for Arenadd’s disappearance, but she knows the truth …
With only her griffin partner Oeka to help her rule, Laela struggles to maintain power and tensions mount with Arenadd’s cousin, Saeddryn, who believes she is the rightful ruler.
Laela is forced into a desperate fight to stay queen as the entire North is plunged into a brutal civil war. To win, she will need the help of her new friend, the odd shapeshifter Kullervo, and a surprising griffin ally from the past.
But the true test of Laela’s strength will come when the deadly Shadow that Walks returns …
With only her griffin partner Oeka to help her rule, Laela struggles to maintain power and tensions mount with Arenadd’s cousin, Saeddryn, who believes she is the rightful ruler.
Laela is forced into a desperate fight to stay queen as the entire North is plunged into a brutal civil war. To win, she will need the help of her new friend, the odd shapeshifter Kullervo, and a surprising griffin ally from the past.
But the true test of Laela’s strength will come when the deadly Shadow that Walks returns …
448 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
2 people are currently reading
219 people want to read
About the author
K.J. Taylor
26 books91 followersK.J.Taylor was born in Australia in 1986 and plans to stay alive for as long as possible. She went to Radford College and achieved a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications at the University of Canberra, where she is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Information Studies.
She published her first work, The Land of Bad Fantasy through Scholastic when she was just 18, and went on to publish The Dark Griffin in Australia and New Zealand five years later. The Griffin’s Flight and The Griffin’s War followed in the same year, and were released in America and Canada in 2011. At the moment, she is working on the third set of books in the series, while publishing the second.
K.J.Taylor’s real first name is Katie, but not many people know what the J stands for. She collects movie soundtracks and keeps pet rats, and isn’t quite as angst-ridden as her books might suggest.
Find her on Facebook
She published her first work, The Land of Bad Fantasy through Scholastic when she was just 18, and went on to publish The Dark Griffin in Australia and New Zealand five years later. The Griffin’s Flight and The Griffin’s War followed in the same year, and were released in America and Canada in 2011. At the moment, she is working on the third set of books in the series, while publishing the second.
K.J.Taylor’s real first name is Katie, but not many people know what the J stands for. She collects movie soundtracks and keeps pet rats, and isn’t quite as angst-ridden as her books might suggest.
Find her on Facebook
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 16, 2018
Certainly my favourite of the series so far, I feel like the author is finally getting a better grasp on her characters and focusing the plot. Most of this good work came in the form of Kullervo, who was involved in most of the best moments.
I worry the third book in the series could fall back into recycled plotlines from the first series, but hopefully this will not be the case.
I worry the third book in the series could fall back into recycled plotlines from the first series, but hopefully this will not be the case.
July 15, 2021
Not as big of a leap in plot quality as the previous book was in comparison to The Fallen Moon series, but it definitely manages to build upon the good foundations set by The Shadow's Heir. Some old plot points from The Fallen Moon are brought back into the spotlight and explained and expanded upon, and some familiar faces make a return, which was a pleasant surprise. Definitely kept me interested in the book throughout.
In fact, I'd say the strongest part of this book was the character development. For the first time since I started reading this whole series (from The Dark Griffin), I actually found myself being invested in certain characters and caring for them. The character development in this book was an unexpected but definitely pleasant surprise.
Very excited to read the final book in this second trilogy and see how it all wraps up, because it is getting quite exciting and interesting, despite the fact that some of the plot feels a little bit.. familiar. But not too familiar for it to take away from the reading experience, at least for me. Very solid work by Taylor.
In fact, I'd say the strongest part of this book was the character development. For the first time since I started reading this whole series (from The Dark Griffin), I actually found myself being invested in certain characters and caring for them. The character development in this book was an unexpected but definitely pleasant surprise.
Very excited to read the final book in this second trilogy and see how it all wraps up, because it is getting quite exciting and interesting, despite the fact that some of the plot feels a little bit.. familiar. But not too familiar for it to take away from the reading experience, at least for me. Very solid work by Taylor.
August 9, 2018
The story continues with the next generation of players. I love this series, it's deep
and very original.
and very original.
August 22, 2013
Taylor's gorgeous writing hooks me again! The Shadowed Throne is impeccably plotted and wonderfully told, figuratively carrying me away into another land. I'm not sure I'll survive the wait until the concluding volume of the series.
Since the groundwork was beautifully laid out in the previous title, The Shadow's Heir, is great to see that Taylor jumps right into the action and doesn't waste time specifically re-orienting readers into the world. Which isn't to say that I was confused at any point - even a year after reading The Shadow's Heir, I found that Taylor made it very easy to slip back into the story, its characters and places. This cunningly created world is enhanced by the sequences (and there are quite a few!) told from the eyes of griffins. These are my favourite, because of the vastly different way that griffins see the world and order their priorities, although it's always somewhat of a shock to me reminded how not-human they are.
Laela's story continues to captivate me - she found her way to her people, saved them, and is now ruling them as Queen. Her struggles to balance her beliefs and dreams with her need to carry on Arenadd's complicate her journey, as does the inevitable opposition from Arenadd's cousin Saeddryn. But I actually wanted a little more growth from Laela, and expected the story to focus a little more on her. The Shadowed Throne aims to tell Laela's story, but achieves this through exploring the lives and motivations of those around her - from her griffin Oeka, to the strange new-comer Kullervo. Which is rather a new way for me to read a story, but I ended up being really invested in all the peripheral characters and enjoyed how their stories wove in with that of the young Queen.
One of the things I've always admired about Taylor is the way she probes cultural and social mindsets, and in particular, how she's handled the attitude of the Northerners. After their lengthy oppression and slavery at the hands of the Southerners, and only two decades after being set free by Arenadd, the Northerners are just as obsessed with the purity of blood and supremacy as their enemy. I wasn't exactly surprised by how vehement some of them are in their pursuit of revenge, but I'm still waiting for good sense to kick in and for them to realise that maybe they're better off just trying to live nice and peacefully ... I'm not too hopeful though.
In previous books I've despaired at how the Gods in the story-world treat their followers - and how it's usually the most loyal who are mistreated the most. It almost physically pains me to see how the Night God treats Arenadd, but I sort of understand it. However, Saeddryn is absolutely loyal and pious in her faith, and I almost, almost, feel sorry for her! But since she's definitely my least favourite character (it's a close call between her and Oeka though), I'm not ready to feel bad for her yet!
My only teeny-weeny negative about this book: it ends on a slight cliff-hanger and the story's gotten to interesting that I am desperate for the next one! I really need to know what happens.
Taylor's a masterful storyteller, and I'm glad I could experience this again with The Shadowed Throne. Readers already familiar with her work will love her latest offering, and I'd suggest to fans of Fantasy looking to dip into her work to begin with the prequel trilogy, The Fallen Moon, which deals with Arenadd's amazing journey, but they could equally go straight to the first novel of this series, The Shadow's Heir.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .
Since the groundwork was beautifully laid out in the previous title, The Shadow's Heir, is great to see that Taylor jumps right into the action and doesn't waste time specifically re-orienting readers into the world. Which isn't to say that I was confused at any point - even a year after reading The Shadow's Heir, I found that Taylor made it very easy to slip back into the story, its characters and places. This cunningly created world is enhanced by the sequences (and there are quite a few!) told from the eyes of griffins. These are my favourite, because of the vastly different way that griffins see the world and order their priorities, although it's always somewhat of a shock to me reminded how not-human they are.
Laela's story continues to captivate me - she found her way to her people, saved them, and is now ruling them as Queen. Her struggles to balance her beliefs and dreams with her need to carry on Arenadd's complicate her journey, as does the inevitable opposition from Arenadd's cousin Saeddryn. But I actually wanted a little more growth from Laela, and expected the story to focus a little more on her. The Shadowed Throne aims to tell Laela's story, but achieves this through exploring the lives and motivations of those around her - from her griffin Oeka, to the strange new-comer Kullervo. Which is rather a new way for me to read a story, but I ended up being really invested in all the peripheral characters and enjoyed how their stories wove in with that of the young Queen.
One of the things I've always admired about Taylor is the way she probes cultural and social mindsets, and in particular, how she's handled the attitude of the Northerners. After their lengthy oppression and slavery at the hands of the Southerners, and only two decades after being set free by Arenadd, the Northerners are just as obsessed with the purity of blood and supremacy as their enemy. I wasn't exactly surprised by how vehement some of them are in their pursuit of revenge, but I'm still waiting for good sense to kick in and for them to realise that maybe they're better off just trying to live nice and peacefully ... I'm not too hopeful though.
In previous books I've despaired at how the Gods in the story-world treat their followers - and how it's usually the most loyal who are mistreated the most. It almost physically pains me to see how the Night God treats Arenadd, but I sort of understand it. However, Saeddryn is absolutely loyal and pious in her faith, and I almost, almost, feel sorry for her! But since she's definitely my least favourite character (it's a close call between her and Oeka though), I'm not ready to feel bad for her yet!
My only teeny-weeny negative about this book: it ends on a slight cliff-hanger and the story's gotten to interesting that I am desperate for the next one! I really need to know what happens.
Taylor's a masterful storyteller, and I'm glad I could experience this again with The Shadowed Throne. Readers already familiar with her work will love her latest offering, and I'd suggest to fans of Fantasy looking to dip into her work to begin with the prequel trilogy, The Fallen Moon, which deals with Arenadd's amazing journey, but they could equally go straight to the first novel of this series, The Shadow's Heir.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .
October 3, 2015
I love this series so far and I love how different it is from most fantasy these days. I felt myself trying to figure out who's side I was on a lot while reading this.
[Spoiler Warning]
Like I hate Saeddryn a lot but like the character Laela was becoming made me wonder who I would side with. In the end I would side Laela mainly because everyone she trusted is just leaving her. She wasn't prepared to be a Queen overnight people! ugh this series stresses me out because I hate seeing a character getting ganged up on by people who choose not to hear the truth.
Anyway read it, it's great and K.J.Taylor is an amazing writer with a grippig writing style. I'm off to the 3rd book! :D
[Spoiler Warning]
Like I hate Saeddryn a lot but like the character Laela was becoming made me wonder who I would side with. In the end I would side Laela mainly because everyone she trusted is just leaving her. She wasn't prepared to be a Queen overnight people! ugh this series stresses me out because I hate seeing a character getting ganged up on by people who choose not to hear the truth.
Anyway read it, it's great and K.J.Taylor is an amazing writer with a grippig writing style. I'm off to the 3rd book! :D
August 13, 2016
Katharine is a judge for the Aurealis Awards. This review is the personal opinion of Katharine herself, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging coordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
To be safe, I won't be recording my review here until after the AA are over.
August 16, 2014
Well-written. The reason I give this 4 stars is because the author often has characters explaining their actions and it detracted from the plot. Everything else from the twists to the character development is great, if odd.
February 25, 2016
Much slower than the first novel and less focus on our Heroine who is struggling as a young Queen surrounded by power struggles. Love how each party's perspective is explained and underlies the truth that we all see what we want to see. I hope there is another episode coming soon.
May 4, 2013
EPIC!!!!!! now to wait for the next one.........
August 8, 2013
Rollicking good yarn. Ends a bit abruptly...a cliff hanger...and now I have to wait for the release of the next book.
September 6, 2014
I thought it was really good. Definitely worth reading if you've kept up with the series.
July 22, 2015
Didn't enjoy this as much as the first book in the risen sun series. Enjoyed the fact that now Laela has a brother but didn't find as much action and intrigue as the first book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2017
5++
11:53 am
11:53 am
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews