What do you think?
Rate this book
The Talents Trilogy #2
De drager van stof: Sicilië, 1883. Marlowe's hoop om gered te worden os afhankelijk van de tweede orsine. Lukt het Charlie en de talenten om hem te ... (Duistere talenten Book 2)
De wereld van de doden is dichterbij dan je denkt in dit langverwachte tweede deel van de Duistere talenten-serie
De duistere reis die in De man van rook is begonnen gaat van de sinistere onderwereld van de Londense ballingen en de mysteries rondom een zonovergoten villa in het negentiende-eeuwse Sicilië, naar de diepe catacomben verborgen onder Parijs. De talenten moeten samenwerken tegen bottenheksen, moddertekens en een schemerhuis uit de onderwereld, als ze ook maar enige kans willen maken om hun vrienden te vinden en de wereld te redden van de doden.
Nu de orsine is verwoest, ligt de school Cairndale in puin en is Marlowe verdwenen. Zijn enige kans op redding ligt in een legendarische tweede orsine – lang verborgen en verloren gewaand – die misschien niet eens bestaat.
Maar wanneer er in de schaduw van Cairndale een lichaam wordt ontdekt, gehuld in het verdorven stof van de drughr, beseffen Charlie en de talenten dat er nog meer op het spel staat dan ze hadden gevreesd. Want er is een nieuwe drughr opgestaan; woest, gehoornd en in staat om zich in de wereld van de levenden te bewegen – en hij is niet alleen.
Een kwaadaardig figuur, bekend als de Abdis, verlangt naar het stof voor haar eigen doeleinden. En diep in de wereld van de doden roert zich een verschrikkelijk kwaad – een kwaad waarvan het geheim om hem op te wekken of voor altijd te vernietigen wel eens besloten zou kunnen zitten in het verdorven stof.
Over De man van rook
‘Een donker, meeslepend en loeispannend verhaal, dat prachtig geschreven is en een geweldig sfeerbeeld kent.’
‘De man van rook is een torenhoge een oogverblindende berg van wilde uitvindingen, Dickensiaanse excentriekelingen, bovennatuurlijke verschrikkingen en aangrijpende spanning.’ Joe Hill, New York Times-bestsellerauteur van Het hoge gras en Zwart hart
‘Charles Dickens ontmoet Joss Whedon in Miro’s bovennatuurlijke, Netflix-bingewaardige roman.’ The Washington Post
De duistere reis die in De man van rook is begonnen gaat van de sinistere onderwereld van de Londense ballingen en de mysteries rondom een zonovergoten villa in het negentiende-eeuwse Sicilië, naar de diepe catacomben verborgen onder Parijs. De talenten moeten samenwerken tegen bottenheksen, moddertekens en een schemerhuis uit de onderwereld, als ze ook maar enige kans willen maken om hun vrienden te vinden en de wereld te redden van de doden.
Nu de orsine is verwoest, ligt de school Cairndale in puin en is Marlowe verdwenen. Zijn enige kans op redding ligt in een legendarische tweede orsine – lang verborgen en verloren gewaand – die misschien niet eens bestaat.
Maar wanneer er in de schaduw van Cairndale een lichaam wordt ontdekt, gehuld in het verdorven stof van de drughr, beseffen Charlie en de talenten dat er nog meer op het spel staat dan ze hadden gevreesd. Want er is een nieuwe drughr opgestaan; woest, gehoornd en in staat om zich in de wereld van de levenden te bewegen – en hij is niet alleen.
Een kwaadaardig figuur, bekend als de Abdis, verlangt naar het stof voor haar eigen doeleinden. En diep in de wereld van de doden roert zich een verschrikkelijk kwaad – een kwaad waarvan het geheim om hem op te wekken of voor altijd te vernietigen wel eens besloten zou kunnen zitten in het verdorven stof.
Over De man van rook
‘Een donker, meeslepend en loeispannend verhaal, dat prachtig geschreven is en een geweldig sfeerbeeld kent.’
‘De man van rook is een torenhoge een oogverblindende berg van wilde uitvindingen, Dickensiaanse excentriekelingen, bovennatuurlijke verschrikkingen en aangrijpende spanning.’ Joe Hill, New York Times-bestsellerauteur van Het hoge gras en Zwart hart
‘Charles Dickens ontmoet Joss Whedon in Miro’s bovennatuurlijke, Netflix-bingewaardige roman.’ The Washington Post
560 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 17, 2024
450 people are currently reading
15350 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Miro
9 books915 followersJ.M. Miro is a novelist and poet living in the Pacific Northwest who grew up reading fantasy and speculative fiction.
He also writes under the name Steven Price.
He also writes under the name Steven Price.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 477 reviews
July 10, 2025
Included in a reading vlog where I continue 5 star series: https://youtu.be/UBim4eK1W3Y
Written review on the way!
Written review on the way!
June 1, 2024
This sequel was so much more than book one! Horror, dark, twisted!
After the ruin book one left us, our characters are seeking the second orsine, a door between worlds, a way to cross into the land of the dead to find Marlowe, a living boy trapped within.
However, the world of the talents is vaster and stranger than Cairndale ever was and they haven't met the half of what's in it, yet.
The Dark Talent is rising and it will destroy everything and the lost drughr, the four who'd vanished centuries ago, were once more stirring.
”There aren't any grown-ups, Charlie. Not in the way you mean it. There's only just children what's gone and got too far away from their own childhoods. Sure, their bodies is all grown. But on the inside, everyone's all just about the same size."
The characters are definitely more fleshed out in this instalment and we get to see their innermost fears, ideals, and dark lurking thoughts.
What Miro does really well is shocking readers. Whether that be through the depravity, the gruesome accounts, the grief and horror of scenes, she writes with such vividness that it shocks and destroys you.
Not to mention, there are many plot twists and revelations. Even more so then book one, taking some of those and turning them on their head! Masterful and mind-bending!
Home isn't a place you go to. It's something you carry with you.
If you enjoyed The Northern Lights (Golden Compass), or Miss Peculiar’s Home for Peculiar Children, I would recommend this!
Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Bookstagram
After the ruin book one left us, our characters are seeking the second orsine, a door between worlds, a way to cross into the land of the dead to find Marlowe, a living boy trapped within.
However, the world of the talents is vaster and stranger than Cairndale ever was and they haven't met the half of what's in it, yet.
The Dark Talent is rising and it will destroy everything and the lost drughr, the four who'd vanished centuries ago, were once more stirring.
”There aren't any grown-ups, Charlie. Not in the way you mean it. There's only just children what's gone and got too far away from their own childhoods. Sure, their bodies is all grown. But on the inside, everyone's all just about the same size."
The characters are definitely more fleshed out in this instalment and we get to see their innermost fears, ideals, and dark lurking thoughts.
What Miro does really well is shocking readers. Whether that be through the depravity, the gruesome accounts, the grief and horror of scenes, she writes with such vividness that it shocks and destroys you.
Not to mention, there are many plot twists and revelations. Even more so then book one, taking some of those and turning them on their head! Masterful and mind-bending!
Home isn't a place you go to. It's something you carry with you.
If you enjoyed The Northern Lights (Golden Compass), or Miss Peculiar’s Home for Peculiar Children, I would recommend this!
Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Bookstagram
Want to Read
October 13, 2022WE GOT A TITLE AND A RELEASE DATE !!!!!! IM SO EXCITED !!!!
December 11, 2024
The dark journey continues…..
The Talents Trilogy #2
“She looked ordinary, to the ordinary eye. That was the thing about monsters: the real ones always did.”
👥️Buddy Read with my coworker/bestie SRowan!👥️
Spooky Season Vibes Approved ✔️
Fall Vibes Approved ✔️
Will Marlowe finally be saved from the land of the dead?!?
Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy #1): ★★★★★
My review for Ordinary Monsters can be found
here.
Bringer of Dust (The Talents Trilogy #2): ★★★★
If I could write a one phrase summary for this book it would be: Everyone wants the corrupted dust!!
♡ What I loved: ♡
● The author really kicked this series up a notch since the first book. The world building, the horror elements, and gruesome details were all next level! I continued to be very impressed by the uniqueness of the world, the level of creativity, the vivid writing, and the action scenes. The darkness and violence is really exacerbated here.
● The essence of Victorian London is so well done, you become so lost in the fog you can taste it.
● I loved the new character Jeta, a bone witch; she was a complete badass!
X What I didn’t care for: X
○ This was a painstakingly long read at 608 pages, and after all is said and done, I’m not so convinced it was at all necessary. I’m certain the story could have been much more condensed and not severely affected in any negative way. I’d often finish reading a few chapters only to feel I learned just a little bit of information or that the overall story line barely progressed. Fortunately, the atmospheric vibes compensated for the drawn-out story line and kept me coming back to savor the reward.
○ I also made the grave mistake of trying to read this book during the time I found out I had to move which really put a damper on my free time and ability in being able to tackle it!
○ I also struggled a bit trying to recall important events and details from the first book especially since I read it the year it released which was back in 2022. It recaps some things lightly but expects you to be fresh on a lot of the prior details which is complicated after so long. I really wish authors of series, especially fantasy-heavy series, would normalize including a recap of what readers need to know going into the next book.
Despite taking forever to finish this one, there are some unfinished story lines that I’ve taken an interest in. The epilogue was pretty convincing in that it hints at a possible showdown in the future to come. I anticipate high stakes which is always fun!
So, I’ll end up picking up the last book of the trilogy to see it through to the conclusion whenever that releases! I suspect that may not be for another 2 years considering the timeline of release between these. So let the wait begin!
The Talents Trilogy #2
“She looked ordinary, to the ordinary eye. That was the thing about monsters: the real ones always did.”
👥️Buddy Read with my coworker/bestie SRowan!👥️
Spooky Season Vibes Approved ✔️
Fall Vibes Approved ✔️
Will Marlowe finally be saved from the land of the dead?!?
Ordinary Monsters (The Talents Trilogy #1): ★★★★★
My review for Ordinary Monsters can be found
here.
Bringer of Dust (The Talents Trilogy #2): ★★★★
If I could write a one phrase summary for this book it would be: Everyone wants the corrupted dust!!
♡ What I loved: ♡
● The author really kicked this series up a notch since the first book. The world building, the horror elements, and gruesome details were all next level! I continued to be very impressed by the uniqueness of the world, the level of creativity, the vivid writing, and the action scenes. The darkness and violence is really exacerbated here.
● The essence of Victorian London is so well done, you become so lost in the fog you can taste it.
● I loved the new character Jeta, a bone witch; she was a complete badass!
X What I didn’t care for: X
○ This was a painstakingly long read at 608 pages, and after all is said and done, I’m not so convinced it was at all necessary. I’m certain the story could have been much more condensed and not severely affected in any negative way. I’d often finish reading a few chapters only to feel I learned just a little bit of information or that the overall story line barely progressed. Fortunately, the atmospheric vibes compensated for the drawn-out story line and kept me coming back to savor the reward.
○ I also made the grave mistake of trying to read this book during the time I found out I had to move which really put a damper on my free time and ability in being able to tackle it!
○ I also struggled a bit trying to recall important events and details from the first book especially since I read it the year it released which was back in 2022. It recaps some things lightly but expects you to be fresh on a lot of the prior details which is complicated after so long. I really wish authors of series, especially fantasy-heavy series, would normalize including a recap of what readers need to know going into the next book.
Despite taking forever to finish this one, there are some unfinished story lines that I’ve taken an interest in. The epilogue was pretty convincing in that it hints at a possible showdown in the future to come. I anticipate high stakes which is always fun!
So, I’ll end up picking up the last book of the trilogy to see it through to the conclusion whenever that releases! I suspect that may not be for another 2 years considering the timeline of release between these. So let the wait begin!
October 18, 2024
Note: This review will contain spoilers for the first book, Ordinary Monsters.
'Do you believe in monsters?' she asked softly.
He stood with a quick reply on his lips but then he saw her fingers and froze.
‘You should’, she said in a sweet voice.
And ran her bony fingers slowly down his cheek, staring into his face as she did so.
When it comes to a sequel it is the sign of a good author to be able to draw their readers back into a story effortlessly, to be able to remind them of key events from the previous instalment without making it feel repetitive or like info-dumping. Miro doesn’t fall into either of those pitfalls as he continually reminds us of past events in an authentic and immersive way. Given the large cast of characters and the complex plot, this couldn’t have been an easy task but as our characters set out on their separate journeys they convey their role in the fall of Cairndale and what has led them to their current task. It felt as if no time had passed and I was once again caught up with these children, their strange powers and their quest to save the youngest of them all, Marlowe.
Cairndale, once built to be a home to Talent children, a sanctuary, a place for them to have an education and hone their talents, has burnt to the ground. The children and their caretakers have fled to Sicily, to take refuge and prepare for what is to come next. But Marlowe is lost beyond this world and young Charlie, Komako, Ribs and their protector, Alice won’t stop until they can find a way to bring him back. A fabled second orsine, a gateway, may hold the key, if only they can find it. Yet when a body washes up with corrupted dust writhing over its flesh, they all realise another force is at play and the drughr, monstrous and deadly, are hunting their every move. What becomes a race to save their friend turns into uncovering an ancient prophecy which could end Talentkind entirely.
Bringer of Dust by JM Miro is a perfect spine-tinglingly haunting sequel to read on those dark chilly nights. Expect more monsters, more children with extraordinary abilities and more twists to keep you hooked at every turn.
Miro has a fantastic way of bringing each of his settings to life, whether that be the gaslit foggy streets of 18th Century London or the scenic railroads and villages of Spain or the stony, ancient villa in Agrigento, Sicily. I love how vividly the late 1800’s are described with such clarity, we see the harshness of the world back then and the brutality. As in all Dickensian esque literature it is always the children, the weakest and most innocent of all, who suffer the most. In Bringer of Dust we see the underground filled with starving desperate children, we see them turn to thieves and murderers, turn into bitter angry shells because that is how the world has shaped them to be.
“An under-London, is how its denizens thought of it. City of the exiles, of all those who'd been sent away from Cairndale, or who'd lived outside its walls and lost their talents all the same, a seedy under-city located at the end of crooked alleys, down shabby courts, off wooden steps two leaps above the Thames where only dead men went, behind damp cellar walls and beneath crumbling tunnels.”
The adults in this novel fall into two categories, those who wish to protect these children and those who wish to use them. Miro introduces two new characters, the underlord Craker Jack and the even more dangerous, Abbess. The cruelty these two inflict knows no bounds, they both rule a network to keep abreast of the dealings of talents and wish to rule with an iron fist, if that means plucking children from the streets and turning them into assassins and spies, so be it. This is shown clearly through two additional new characters, Micah and Jeta who were manipulated by both these adults. Micah was once a talent with great strength but as what often happens to Talentkind, his abilities disappeared and he was left Talentless. Yet this didn’t stop Micah from surviving as he used his frustrations to become a vicious little killer. Jeta on the other hand is a powerful Bone Witch, I loved exploring her abilities as macabre as they were, and though she may appear just as viscous as Micah, there’s much more to her than that. Jeta became one of my favourite characters to follow, she’s a child with so much depth and so much hurt.
Found family is a major theme throughout, the Talents are shown as outcasts, exiles and orphans, it is in their otherness that they bond together, for good or for ill. Once again I was endeared by the close friendship Charlie, Komako, Ribs, Oskar and Marlowe share. I always have a soft spot for following a group of close friends, ones who would do anything for each other, face any evil, die for each other. That’s exactly what we get here as these children travel the world to uncover the history of Talentkind and seek clues as to how to save Marlowe—they fight a myriad of monsters and risk their lives to protect each other from harm. Miro doesn’t for one second hold back on the horrors his characters face. There are drughrs, antlered and many-limbed, there are ancient glyphics who appear mud-formed, and then there is The First Talent. The children’s fear permeates throughout the book, not just fear of the monsters themselves, but fear of failure, of letting each other down.
After the revelations of the last few chapters of Bringer of Dust and the enticing epilogue, I am beyond looking forward to the last book in this trilogy. Having said that, knowing how brutal Miro can be to his characters, I’m also fearful of the conclusion.
“Sometimes it was like living wasn't anything more than just surviving. And surviving? That was just a matter of how much you could stand to lose, before you weren't you any more.”
ARC provided by Abigail at Bloomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy!
'Do you believe in monsters?' she asked softly.
He stood with a quick reply on his lips but then he saw her fingers and froze.
‘You should’, she said in a sweet voice.
And ran her bony fingers slowly down his cheek, staring into his face as she did so.
When it comes to a sequel it is the sign of a good author to be able to draw their readers back into a story effortlessly, to be able to remind them of key events from the previous instalment without making it feel repetitive or like info-dumping. Miro doesn’t fall into either of those pitfalls as he continually reminds us of past events in an authentic and immersive way. Given the large cast of characters and the complex plot, this couldn’t have been an easy task but as our characters set out on their separate journeys they convey their role in the fall of Cairndale and what has led them to their current task. It felt as if no time had passed and I was once again caught up with these children, their strange powers and their quest to save the youngest of them all, Marlowe.
Cairndale, once built to be a home to Talent children, a sanctuary, a place for them to have an education and hone their talents, has burnt to the ground. The children and their caretakers have fled to Sicily, to take refuge and prepare for what is to come next. But Marlowe is lost beyond this world and young Charlie, Komako, Ribs and their protector, Alice won’t stop until they can find a way to bring him back. A fabled second orsine, a gateway, may hold the key, if only they can find it. Yet when a body washes up with corrupted dust writhing over its flesh, they all realise another force is at play and the drughr, monstrous and deadly, are hunting their every move. What becomes a race to save their friend turns into uncovering an ancient prophecy which could end Talentkind entirely.
Bringer of Dust by JM Miro is a perfect spine-tinglingly haunting sequel to read on those dark chilly nights. Expect more monsters, more children with extraordinary abilities and more twists to keep you hooked at every turn.
Miro has a fantastic way of bringing each of his settings to life, whether that be the gaslit foggy streets of 18th Century London or the scenic railroads and villages of Spain or the stony, ancient villa in Agrigento, Sicily. I love how vividly the late 1800’s are described with such clarity, we see the harshness of the world back then and the brutality. As in all Dickensian esque literature it is always the children, the weakest and most innocent of all, who suffer the most. In Bringer of Dust we see the underground filled with starving desperate children, we see them turn to thieves and murderers, turn into bitter angry shells because that is how the world has shaped them to be.
“An under-London, is how its denizens thought of it. City of the exiles, of all those who'd been sent away from Cairndale, or who'd lived outside its walls and lost their talents all the same, a seedy under-city located at the end of crooked alleys, down shabby courts, off wooden steps two leaps above the Thames where only dead men went, behind damp cellar walls and beneath crumbling tunnels.”
The adults in this novel fall into two categories, those who wish to protect these children and those who wish to use them. Miro introduces two new characters, the underlord Craker Jack and the even more dangerous, Abbess. The cruelty these two inflict knows no bounds, they both rule a network to keep abreast of the dealings of talents and wish to rule with an iron fist, if that means plucking children from the streets and turning them into assassins and spies, so be it. This is shown clearly through two additional new characters, Micah and Jeta who were manipulated by both these adults. Micah was once a talent with great strength but as what often happens to Talentkind, his abilities disappeared and he was left Talentless. Yet this didn’t stop Micah from surviving as he used his frustrations to become a vicious little killer. Jeta on the other hand is a powerful Bone Witch, I loved exploring her abilities as macabre as they were, and though she may appear just as viscous as Micah, there’s much more to her than that. Jeta became one of my favourite characters to follow, she’s a child with so much depth and so much hurt.
Found family is a major theme throughout, the Talents are shown as outcasts, exiles and orphans, it is in their otherness that they bond together, for good or for ill. Once again I was endeared by the close friendship Charlie, Komako, Ribs, Oskar and Marlowe share. I always have a soft spot for following a group of close friends, ones who would do anything for each other, face any evil, die for each other. That’s exactly what we get here as these children travel the world to uncover the history of Talentkind and seek clues as to how to save Marlowe—they fight a myriad of monsters and risk their lives to protect each other from harm. Miro doesn’t for one second hold back on the horrors his characters face. There are drughrs, antlered and many-limbed, there are ancient glyphics who appear mud-formed, and then there is The First Talent. The children’s fear permeates throughout the book, not just fear of the monsters themselves, but fear of failure, of letting each other down.
After the revelations of the last few chapters of Bringer of Dust and the enticing epilogue, I am beyond looking forward to the last book in this trilogy. Having said that, knowing how brutal Miro can be to his characters, I’m also fearful of the conclusion.
“Sometimes it was like living wasn't anything more than just surviving. And surviving? That was just a matter of how much you could stand to lose, before you weren't you any more.”
ARC provided by Abigail at Bloomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the copy!
September 9, 2024
TBH, this has been on of my favorite audio listens this year. The narrator, Ben Onwukwe, has such a theatrical voice, that it feels like an immersive experience. The amount of voices he can do for this very full cast is crazy impressive.
I’m feel fiercely protective for these fictional characters. 😩😅 So I’m grieving with that bittersweet ending.
I’m hoping J.M. Miro handles are hearts with care in the next and final book.
My thanks to @Netgalley & @Macmillan.Audio - So happy to confirm, there is no book 2 slump, here.
Recommended:
- When you are looking for a long read.
- When you want are looking for fantasy x thriller
- If your Fall/Winter TBR vibes need a solid win.
4.25/5
I’m feel fiercely protective for these fictional characters. 😩😅 So I’m grieving with that bittersweet ending.
I’m hoping J.M. Miro handles are hearts with care in the next and final book.
My thanks to @Netgalley & @Macmillan.Audio - So happy to confirm, there is no book 2 slump, here.
Recommended:
- When you are looking for a long read.
- When you want are looking for fantasy x thriller
- If your Fall/Winter TBR vibes need a solid win.
4.25/5
October 6, 2024
Last year, Ordinary Monsters was one of my top reads. I loved the setting (Victorian-era UK), the magic and monsters, and the child characters most of all. Komako, Ribs, Oskar, and especially Charlie and sweet little Marlow. Bringer of Dust was a fair sequel but its appeal just isn't the same - although I can confidently say that Ben Onwukwe is a shoo-in for Narrator of the Year!
Wracked with guilt, Charlie teams up with an elderly woman to find a way to retrieve Marlow from the afterlife. Literally, this book is about 2 quests: Charlie looking for a way to bring Marlow back (entire book), and Marlow fearfully exploring the world of the dead (second half of the book). Marlow comes across other entities along the way, but even those he knew from the land of the living are not the same as they once were.
When we left off, the children were fighting bad guys looking to breach the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. The safe haven of Cairndale was destroyed, and now the children have been split up to Italy, Scotland or France. Alone in London, Charlie meets elderly Mrs. Fick, a former talent herself, who escorts him out of the country in search of a way to rescue Marlow. The answer may be an orsine that was lost centuries before, if it ever really existed at all...
I was much less satisfied by this novel, which is disappointing. The tenderness and humanity lives in the children's characters, while all the adults are jaded, duplicitous and cold. With so few children this book had no heart, which was a big shift from Ordinary Monsters. It had to be a conscious decision on Miro's part, to put more effort into imagining gruesomer and gruesomer scenes (of which there are plenty). Bringer of Dust was definitely more violent, which is saying something. On the positive side, the filthy world of Victorian London is realistic enough to make you choke, and all the details do a good job of suspending the tension.
I liked this, but I really LOVED Ordinary Monsters. There were too many pages, the ambiguity of characters' good/bad alignment was tiring, and even the purpose of the quests became blurry (admittedly, that could've just been book fatigue). In spite of my complaints, I'll be reading the last installment of this trilogy when it comes out. The writing is just too good to pass up.
Wracked with guilt, Charlie teams up with an elderly woman to find a way to retrieve Marlow from the afterlife. Literally, this book is about 2 quests: Charlie looking for a way to bring Marlow back (entire book), and Marlow fearfully exploring the world of the dead (second half of the book). Marlow comes across other entities along the way, but even those he knew from the land of the living are not the same as they once were.
When we left off, the children were fighting bad guys looking to breach the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. The safe haven of Cairndale was destroyed, and now the children have been split up to Italy, Scotland or France. Alone in London, Charlie meets elderly Mrs. Fick, a former talent herself, who escorts him out of the country in search of a way to rescue Marlow. The answer may be an orsine that was lost centuries before, if it ever really existed at all...
I was much less satisfied by this novel, which is disappointing. The tenderness and humanity lives in the children's characters, while all the adults are jaded, duplicitous and cold. With so few children this book had no heart, which was a big shift from Ordinary Monsters. It had to be a conscious decision on Miro's part, to put more effort into imagining gruesomer and gruesomer scenes (of which there are plenty). Bringer of Dust was definitely more violent, which is saying something. On the positive side, the filthy world of Victorian London is realistic enough to make you choke, and all the details do a good job of suspending the tension.
I liked this, but I really LOVED Ordinary Monsters. There were too many pages, the ambiguity of characters' good/bad alignment was tiring, and even the purpose of the quests became blurry (admittedly, that could've just been book fatigue). In spite of my complaints, I'll be reading the last installment of this trilogy when it comes out. The writing is just too good to pass up.
November 3, 2024
The second book of this trilogy is ten times better than the first book. The first book was a bit slow-moving, this one jumps right into the action. It is an enthralling continuation of the story that is gripping, emotional, and quite gruesome. A fantastic X-Men type tale featuring characters with unique abilities. A dark and enchanting story of intersecting storylines. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!
October 12, 2024
4.5. Very good but I didn’t quite connect with this as I had the first. That could be because it’s been a challenging week and perhaps with a reread it’ll be the full 5 stars but I did find myself struggling to stay attentive. Partly because I am not one for overly detailed world building and there was that for me in this book. Partly, because the children are separated for various reasons and one of the strengths from the previous book, was the found family of the children and how they connected to one another, which until the end, was not really present. When I really love a book it’s because of it’s characters and how they interact with one another. There was less of that in this book. What was good though, was very good. Atmospheric, gothic (perfect for spooky October reads) well developed characters, villains that are more grey than outright evil (which I find compelling) and well constructed scenes that were easily (and creepily) envisioned. The seedy side of Victorian London was very well written. And Deidre! Loved her so much! It was all very inventive and well imagined. The horror element was more evident in book 2 and I definitely enjoyed that aspect. There is more clarity in what is happening as in book 1 things felt more ambiguous as to who was doing what and why. I think that is a large part of what the book is about. The adults are doing some terrible things and it’s not always clear if they are doing it for good reasons or bad. Power seems to corrupt those that have it, and those that fear it. The children must decide what they will do when faced with a situation where there is fear and trauma…will they make the right choice (which appears to be protecting the younger, more vulnerable) or give into the temptations of the power in their talents? Will they be corrupted or will they be true? Hoping on the reread, when my mind and body are in a better place, to fully enjoy this as it definitely deserves.
Want to Read
November 20, 2022I am ready
October 25, 2024
Man, I’m sad to write this, but this was a DNF for me. Reading this really felt like pulling teeth, and finally around the 60% I gave up. Let me start by saying how much I loved Ordinary Monsters: a lot. I thought the writing was fascinating, and the storytelling bold. I loved the innocence and wonder of the children set against the dark grime of London, and thought the contrast really worked. Needless to say, I’ve been really excited for the sequel.
This book just wasn’t fun to read. It’s really gross and has a lot more horror elements, which I wouldn’t mind, but we have also shifted to characters that are just plain depressing. I didn’t care for pretty much any of the adult POVs, as they’re all despondent, and unfortunately that’s a really big part of this book. Every scene takes place somewhere grim, dirty, and dark, and after a while, I found myself wanting to read literally anything else.
Maybe it gets better? But 60% is a lot of book to not be a good time.
This book just wasn’t fun to read. It’s really gross and has a lot more horror elements, which I wouldn’t mind, but we have also shifted to characters that are just plain depressing. I didn’t care for pretty much any of the adult POVs, as they’re all despondent, and unfortunately that’s a really big part of this book. Every scene takes place somewhere grim, dirty, and dark, and after a while, I found myself wanting to read literally anything else.
Maybe it gets better? But 60% is a lot of book to not be a good time.
May 21, 2024
It only took a few pages for me to be pulled back into this world.
It's full of people with powers, and other wordly goings on.
It's tense at times (a lot of times) and full of action.
Our children have moved on from the ruins, and we follow them.
I enjoyed this as much as the original book, and was pleased to see how the story went for our favourite characters
Nail biting to the end, it's good to know there's more to come someday
It's full of people with powers, and other wordly goings on.
It's tense at times (a lot of times) and full of action.
Our children have moved on from the ruins, and we follow them.
I enjoyed this as much as the original book, and was pleased to see how the story went for our favourite characters
Nail biting to the end, it's good to know there's more to come someday
October 3, 2024
Oh my god, this book was so good, and I heard the author J.M. Miro is writing a third book. I won this book in goodreads giveaway and, of course, J.M. Miro. This is the second book called Bringer of Dust,and" and I highly recommend you start with book 1
called Ordinary Monsters
called Ordinary Monsters
September 30, 2024
Author J.M.Miro expands the world of the Talents by introducing more characters, taking us to the Land of the Dead, and deepening the history of the Talents.
The first previous book of “The Talents” series ended in tragedy with various Talents harmed or dead, Marlowe vanished into the land of the dead, and the Charlie, Komako, Alice, Miss Davenshaw, Lymenion, Oskar leaving Cairndale behind them to find a safe haven where they could regroup and determine how to retrieve Marlowe.
Alice and bbb go to France looking for another orsine, while Charlie, who has lost his talent as a result of events in book one, investigates when a body full of corrupted dust is found at Cairndale. He comes into conflict with a stranger, a Talent, Jeta Wajs, who is there for the same reason. Jeta can sense bones, and manipulate them; she injures Charlie and he ends up infected with the corrupted dust.
Charlie seeks help from Caroline Ficke, and the two, along with several glyphs, head to London.
Jeta heads back to London empty-handed, to her boss, crime gang leader Cracker Jack. He’s protected her from his Talent-hating minions, but he’s not impressed with her, as the Abbess, a mysterious, powerful figure, wants the dust, and he can’t deliver.
Nefarious people are hellbent on acquiring the dust, while back at the estate, Komako and Miss Davenshaw are increasingly alarmed, as something is outside the gates, leaving eviscerated bodies nightly. The two rightly fear that someone, likely a drughr, will attack them, and begin training everyone to fight.
Meanwhile, Marlowe is alone and scared in the Land of the Dead, and has only Charlie’s word that he’ll come for him to keep him from panic. He suddenly meets a familiar, and now weirdly not totally unwelcome figure, who does their best to protect Marlowe, while educating him about the history of the Talents, and what Marlowe’s role is amidst this large conflict with its roots in the past.
Miro keeps his focus mostly on these characters this time:
-dear, sweet Charlie, hellbent on finding Marlowe,
-Marlowe, as he makes his way through a nightmarish landscape,
-Jeta Wajs, whose eerie hand graces the cover of the book, and who has been manipulated and hurt by most of the people in her life,
-Miss Ficke, who has protected the former Cairndale Talents, the glyphs, whose bodies appear the least human, and
-Komako, wrestling with her power and responsibilities.
There is never a dull moment in this well-paced door stopper. People are traveling after clues, having violent encounters, and gradually converging on a particular location, the second orsine. At the same time, Marlowe is not sitting on his hands, and despite all he learns, remains the kind, stalwart person he was in book one, but does mature, as he comes to better understand what he is.
Jeta cuts a tragic figure, used by everyone, and rarely seen for who she is beyond her frightening ability. Her confrontations with Charlie show her the possibility of a different path, and even friendship, something novel and unexpected in a life of violence and loneliness.
Miss Ficke proves to be much tougher than everyone around her expected, including me, and finds important and usefi; information that proves incredibly helpful in their mission to rescue Marlowe.
And Komako exemplifies the turmoil of someone who was harmed, and is full of fury consequently, but is also somewhat ambivalent about the power she and others have.
Over both of these long books, I’ve come to care deeply about Charlie and Marlowe, and Miro has given me more characters to care for: Jeta, and Miss Ficke. And the history between the drughr and the Talents is also fleshed out, and much darker and horrible than I expected.
And though there is a little peace achieved by the former Cairndale inmates by the end of this novel, the epilogue leaves us with new Talents, and hints at the complex conflict to come. I, for one, am looking forward to it.
I both listened to and read my way through this story, and narrator Ben Onwukwe does a fantastic job of inhabiting all the characters, and infusing humour, dread, horror or happiness, as needed, to the text to make the listening experience great.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada and to Macmillan Audio for these ARCs in exchange for my review.
The first previous book of “The Talents” series ended in tragedy with various Talents harmed or dead, Marlowe vanished into the land of the dead, and the Charlie, Komako, Alice, Miss Davenshaw, Lymenion, Oskar leaving Cairndale behind them to find a safe haven where they could regroup and determine how to retrieve Marlowe.
Alice and bbb go to France looking for another orsine, while Charlie, who has lost his talent as a result of events in book one, investigates when a body full of corrupted dust is found at Cairndale. He comes into conflict with a stranger, a Talent, Jeta Wajs, who is there for the same reason. Jeta can sense bones, and manipulate them; she injures Charlie and he ends up infected with the corrupted dust.
Charlie seeks help from Caroline Ficke, and the two, along with several glyphs, head to London.
Jeta heads back to London empty-handed, to her boss, crime gang leader Cracker Jack. He’s protected her from his Talent-hating minions, but he’s not impressed with her, as the Abbess, a mysterious, powerful figure, wants the dust, and he can’t deliver.
Nefarious people are hellbent on acquiring the dust, while back at the estate, Komako and Miss Davenshaw are increasingly alarmed, as something is outside the gates, leaving eviscerated bodies nightly. The two rightly fear that someone, likely a drughr, will attack them, and begin training everyone to fight.
Meanwhile, Marlowe is alone and scared in the Land of the Dead, and has only Charlie’s word that he’ll come for him to keep him from panic. He suddenly meets a familiar, and now weirdly not totally unwelcome figure, who does their best to protect Marlowe, while educating him about the history of the Talents, and what Marlowe’s role is amidst this large conflict with its roots in the past.
Miro keeps his focus mostly on these characters this time:
-dear, sweet Charlie, hellbent on finding Marlowe,
-Marlowe, as he makes his way through a nightmarish landscape,
-Jeta Wajs, whose eerie hand graces the cover of the book, and who has been manipulated and hurt by most of the people in her life,
-Miss Ficke, who has protected the former Cairndale Talents, the glyphs, whose bodies appear the least human, and
-Komako, wrestling with her power and responsibilities.
There is never a dull moment in this well-paced door stopper. People are traveling after clues, having violent encounters, and gradually converging on a particular location, the second orsine. At the same time, Marlowe is not sitting on his hands, and despite all he learns, remains the kind, stalwart person he was in book one, but does mature, as he comes to better understand what he is.
Jeta cuts a tragic figure, used by everyone, and rarely seen for who she is beyond her frightening ability. Her confrontations with Charlie show her the possibility of a different path, and even friendship, something novel and unexpected in a life of violence and loneliness.
Miss Ficke proves to be much tougher than everyone around her expected, including me, and finds important and usefi; information that proves incredibly helpful in their mission to rescue Marlowe.
And Komako exemplifies the turmoil of someone who was harmed, and is full of fury consequently, but is also somewhat ambivalent about the power she and others have.
Over both of these long books, I’ve come to care deeply about Charlie and Marlowe, and Miro has given me more characters to care for: Jeta, and Miss Ficke. And the history between the drughr and the Talents is also fleshed out, and much darker and horrible than I expected.
And though there is a little peace achieved by the former Cairndale inmates by the end of this novel, the epilogue leaves us with new Talents, and hints at the complex conflict to come. I, for one, am looking forward to it.
I both listened to and read my way through this story, and narrator Ben Onwukwe does a fantastic job of inhabiting all the characters, and infusing humour, dread, horror or happiness, as needed, to the text to make the listening experience great.
Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada and to Macmillan Audio for these ARCs in exchange for my review.
April 26, 2025
I am always afraid for sequels when it has been a few years since the first book was released. Will it live up to the first book? Will I remember everything (especially for me since I am not big in re-reading)? I can confirm that Bringer of Dust is every bit as amazing as book one was, if not more so. Bringer of Dust amps up the dark, gritty, and violence to an eleven. This book was so well structured and paced, each sequence and character had a purpose for the story being told. The foundation for the final book has been mapped out and I know it will probably be a couple years before we get it, so herein lies my weakness of being impatient.
October 1, 2024
I had to start this one as soon as I finished the first and was not disappointed! Characters from the first book collide with new and old enemies and must band together to fight a common enemy? What’s not to love?! I’m gonna need that final installment asap!
September 16, 2024
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bringer of Dust is the second book in the The Talents trilogy, picking up almost directly after the events in Ordinary Monsters. With the addition of a few new PoV characters and villains there will be a lot of tension, gruesomeness and obstacles to overcome for the characters. I would think of this as a mash up of Umbrella Academy, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and His Dark Materials set in Victorian London.
I wish I read Ordinary Monsters right before starting the book as it would have helped the story be fresh in my mind and while I think I got the gist of it, with some of the recaps through character interactions, it took a long time to get there. When you have a book that is ~600 pages long, I think sometimes it is smart to do a "the story so far" at the beginning to set the reader up for success. Still the story itself is interesting enough with hints of the first book here and there that I don't think I felt lost and eventually was reminded of enough of the key points by midway through that I did okay.
Characters, they are the thing that make this story great. I love Charlie from the first book and his desperation to save Marlowe from the terrible fate that became him. Even if that means he has to go through a portal into a strange realm where most mortal people die. With the help of friends, old and new, he will try to find another portal to save his friend.
The addition of The Abbess and Cracker Jack as new villains with some horrible minions, the level of the gruesomeness and horror aspects of Bringer of Dust definitely surpass the previous book. In this world, there are some truly terrible people willing to do horrendous things. Charlie seems to nice to be in a world like this but he will reach to protect those he cares about. I loved the addition of the Bone Witch talent and how her storyline eventually connects to Charlie and his search for Marlowe.
The only thing in the story that threw me off was about the middle of the book shifts gears and get to spend time with Marlowe and Berghast's in the 'other' realm. This is a great way to learn about the prison created to contain the biggest bad in the book, but it seemed like it went back in time to when we started with Charlie and the other new characters. It took awhile to shift gears, but this was a great way to get some more of the backstory and find out some of the history of both the prison and the prisoner.
Overall this is going to work well for people who love horror and grimdark and don't mind a really long story if it is interesting. There is plenty of action and things that make you fear for all of the characters. Expansion of the lore behind the story along with some set up for the final book, that will be a pretty epic showdown from what has been hinted at. There are some end-of-the-world type of huge stakes at hand.
I think Bringer of Dust does a few things better than the first book. The pacing was actually a lot better, the characters and world better established and the twist just as intense if not more.
Narration:
Ben Onwukwe is a seasoned narrator and seems pretty perfect for this grimdark tale. His voice and cadence fits the tone of the story and builds on some of the suspense and drama of it. He has a great voice and did really well with the large cast of characters. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bringer of Dust is the second book in the The Talents trilogy, picking up almost directly after the events in Ordinary Monsters. With the addition of a few new PoV characters and villains there will be a lot of tension, gruesomeness and obstacles to overcome for the characters. I would think of this as a mash up of Umbrella Academy, Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and His Dark Materials set in Victorian London.
I wish I read Ordinary Monsters right before starting the book as it would have helped the story be fresh in my mind and while I think I got the gist of it, with some of the recaps through character interactions, it took a long time to get there. When you have a book that is ~600 pages long, I think sometimes it is smart to do a "the story so far" at the beginning to set the reader up for success. Still the story itself is interesting enough with hints of the first book here and there that I don't think I felt lost and eventually was reminded of enough of the key points by midway through that I did okay.
Characters, they are the thing that make this story great. I love Charlie from the first book and his desperation to save Marlowe from the terrible fate that became him. Even if that means he has to go through a portal into a strange realm where most mortal people die. With the help of friends, old and new, he will try to find another portal to save his friend.
The addition of The Abbess and Cracker Jack as new villains with some horrible minions, the level of the gruesomeness and horror aspects of Bringer of Dust definitely surpass the previous book. In this world, there are some truly terrible people willing to do horrendous things. Charlie seems to nice to be in a world like this but he will reach to protect those he cares about. I loved the addition of the Bone Witch talent and how her storyline eventually connects to Charlie and his search for Marlowe.
The only thing in the story that threw me off was about the middle of the book shifts gears and get to spend time with Marlowe and Berghast's in the 'other' realm. This is a great way to learn about the prison created to contain the biggest bad in the book, but it seemed like it went back in time to when we started with Charlie and the other new characters. It took awhile to shift gears, but this was a great way to get some more of the backstory and find out some of the history of both the prison and the prisoner.
Overall this is going to work well for people who love horror and grimdark and don't mind a really long story if it is interesting. There is plenty of action and things that make you fear for all of the characters. Expansion of the lore behind the story along with some set up for the final book, that will be a pretty epic showdown from what has been hinted at. There are some end-of-the-world type of huge stakes at hand.
I think Bringer of Dust does a few things better than the first book. The pacing was actually a lot better, the characters and world better established and the twist just as intense if not more.
Narration:
Ben Onwukwe is a seasoned narrator and seems pretty perfect for this grimdark tale. His voice and cadence fits the tone of the story and builds on some of the suspense and drama of it. He has a great voice and did really well with the large cast of characters. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
September 29, 2024
I read the first book a few years ago, so when I was starting this one I had a hard time remembering all the terms and characters. Once I picked up the plot & general world-building, I was sucked right back into this series. I love love love the characters, including the new ones we meet in this book. The book is full of a lot of twists, & is much darker than the first. The epilogue has me excited for the next one!!
Want to Read
February 5, 2024JUNE!!? Time to get ready for my Ordinary Monsters reread so I can prepare for this.
January 18, 2025
This one is dragging for me. Still well written just not what I had hoped for.
May 2, 2025
I would die for these children
August 21, 2024
"Thing was, you just had to keep your eyes open, if you wanted to see the good in a person. Just look close. Maybe you had to look a little closer with some people... And maybe the good wasn't always equal to the bad. but it was in there somewhere all the same, he decided. Even if it made your heart hurt to think about it, even if it made the world a little harder to be in, still it was there. The goodness was there."
Thank you to McClelland & Stewart for an advanced copy of this book!
This is one of the exceptionally rare occasions where the sequel was much better than the first book.
As much as I loved the characters and the plot of Ordinary Monsters, it fell flat for me with some poor pacing and the unnecessary length of the book. And although Bringer of Dust is just as long, Miro paced it so much better, and definitely learned to cut out unnecessary scenes and excessive description. I still would've liked Bringer of Dust to be about 150 pages shorter, and there were a lot of instances where this book would've benefit from having extremely long chapters broken up into smaller sections, but that was really the only negative part of this book.
Bringer of Dust is not only an amazing sequel, but it really gets at what I think the heart of The Talents trilogy is. Whereas Ordinary Monsters got bogged down in a lot of lore infodumping, Bringer of Dust got to explore the world more fully without having to dedicate so many pages to explaining the talents, the orsines, the drughr, and the keywrasse. You really got to get into this story wholeheartedly, and Miro's writing for this book was so immersive and in-depth that it was hard to put down at some points.
Where Bringer of Dust also has a leg up on Ordinary Monsters is in the stakes: even reading through the first book, it was always clear that Jacob Marber wasn't really the big bad, wasn't really the formidable foe, despite how often it was framed that way. With Bringer of Dust, you get that sense of world-ending, life-altering stakes: no longer is the orsine and the drughr affecting the children of Cairndale, but now, we have the entire world to worry about. In contrast to the 'saving the world' stakes, you have Charlie, who despite being thrown into something bigger than himself, is intent on doing nothing more than saving his best friend from the orsine. That contrast is such an important one, and it highlights what I think is the absolute best part about The Talents books: Miro writes characters exceptionally well.
There are quite a lot of characters throughout Bringer of Dust, and because of it, there are a lot of different storylines happening at once, all over the world. With books like that, it's so easy for there to be plotlines that are stronger than others, and characters you're more interested in reading about than others. But Miro makes it so that you're fully absorbed in whoever's perspective you're reading at the moment, so much so that you almost forget there are other plotlines going along simultaneously as well. Even the most brutal, vicious, cruel characters in this book are fascinating, and Miro gives readers a reason to empathize with even the villains of this world, so that there isn't a single death that doesn't leave the reader a little heartbroken.
Although I would've liked this book to be paced a little differently (Marlowe and Berghast's storyline should've come much sooner than halfway through the book, for instance), the content makes up for it, and there's absolutely no question in my mind that Bringer of Dust was better than Ordinary Monsters - so, if you loved the first book in this series already, you're going to absolutely adore Bringer of Dust. I can't wait for the final Talents book!
Thank you to McClelland & Stewart for an advanced copy of this book!
This is one of the exceptionally rare occasions where the sequel was much better than the first book.
As much as I loved the characters and the plot of Ordinary Monsters, it fell flat for me with some poor pacing and the unnecessary length of the book. And although Bringer of Dust is just as long, Miro paced it so much better, and definitely learned to cut out unnecessary scenes and excessive description. I still would've liked Bringer of Dust to be about 150 pages shorter, and there were a lot of instances where this book would've benefit from having extremely long chapters broken up into smaller sections, but that was really the only negative part of this book.
Bringer of Dust is not only an amazing sequel, but it really gets at what I think the heart of The Talents trilogy is. Whereas Ordinary Monsters got bogged down in a lot of lore infodumping, Bringer of Dust got to explore the world more fully without having to dedicate so many pages to explaining the talents, the orsines, the drughr, and the keywrasse. You really got to get into this story wholeheartedly, and Miro's writing for this book was so immersive and in-depth that it was hard to put down at some points.
Where Bringer of Dust also has a leg up on Ordinary Monsters is in the stakes: even reading through the first book, it was always clear that Jacob Marber wasn't really the big bad, wasn't really the formidable foe, despite how often it was framed that way. With Bringer of Dust, you get that sense of world-ending, life-altering stakes: no longer is the orsine and the drughr affecting the children of Cairndale, but now, we have the entire world to worry about. In contrast to the 'saving the world' stakes, you have Charlie, who despite being thrown into something bigger than himself, is intent on doing nothing more than saving his best friend from the orsine. That contrast is such an important one, and it highlights what I think is the absolute best part about The Talents books: Miro writes characters exceptionally well.
There are quite a lot of characters throughout Bringer of Dust, and because of it, there are a lot of different storylines happening at once, all over the world. With books like that, it's so easy for there to be plotlines that are stronger than others, and characters you're more interested in reading about than others. But Miro makes it so that you're fully absorbed in whoever's perspective you're reading at the moment, so much so that you almost forget there are other plotlines going along simultaneously as well. Even the most brutal, vicious, cruel characters in this book are fascinating, and Miro gives readers a reason to empathize with even the villains of this world, so that there isn't a single death that doesn't leave the reader a little heartbroken.
Although I would've liked this book to be paced a little differently (Marlowe and Berghast's storyline should've come much sooner than halfway through the book, for instance), the content makes up for it, and there's absolutely no question in my mind that Bringer of Dust was better than Ordinary Monsters - so, if you loved the first book in this series already, you're going to absolutely adore Bringer of Dust. I can't wait for the final Talents book!
June 14, 2025
An excellent sequel to the excellent Ordinary Monsters.
We return to the world of the talents, mostly the UK and Europe in the 1800s, but the carriages, candlelight and Victoriana are just a backdrop to the conflict among the talents and the Drughr.
The old favourites are all here (Komako, Charlie, Marlowe Alice, Ribs, Oskar etc) with bigger roles for some of the minor characters from the first book like Miss Davenshaw and Mrs Ficke. The author continues to write characters with disabilities, middle aged women and minorities (particularly given the time and place) as central to everything in a natural way - fully rounded people, not tick boxes.
Some of the same issues do exist with pacing and being a tad overwritten as with Book 1 (amazing first half, slow bit, amazing last quarter, lots of the same imagery used repeatedly), but it doesn't really detract from the story. If you like to blitz through books, it might be a bit frustrating, but if you take your time it's worth it. Also one of the storylines, in retrospect is primarily just a long physical journey, but hey it worked for Lord of The Rings.
What I love most about this trilogy is the extent to which the characters drive everything. The lore is deep and rich (and expanded upon massively) but it never gets in the way of what is happening to the people you care about. There are several moments of genuine emotion and that anxiousness, horror, relief and delight all stem from what the characters do, or have done to them, and how they look out for each other.
Several of the core characters really develop and change over the course of this book, and that movement generates both sadness and anticipation of what will happen in book three.
All that said, some of the most fun in Bringer of Dust is generated by the new - Micah and his sisters, The Abbess, Claker Jack and Jeta.
This won't work as a standalone read, but I'd highly recommend Ordinary Monsters and Bringer of Dust together.
We return to the world of the talents, mostly the UK and Europe in the 1800s, but the carriages, candlelight and Victoriana are just a backdrop to the conflict among the talents and the Drughr.
The old favourites are all here (Komako, Charlie, Marlowe Alice, Ribs, Oskar etc) with bigger roles for some of the minor characters from the first book like Miss Davenshaw and Mrs Ficke. The author continues to write characters with disabilities, middle aged women and minorities (particularly given the time and place) as central to everything in a natural way - fully rounded people, not tick boxes.
Some of the same issues do exist with pacing and being a tad overwritten as with Book 1 (amazing first half, slow bit, amazing last quarter, lots of the same imagery used repeatedly), but it doesn't really detract from the story. If you like to blitz through books, it might be a bit frustrating, but if you take your time it's worth it. Also one of the storylines, in retrospect is primarily just a long physical journey, but hey it worked for Lord of The Rings.
What I love most about this trilogy is the extent to which the characters drive everything. The lore is deep and rich (and expanded upon massively) but it never gets in the way of what is happening to the people you care about. There are several moments of genuine emotion and that anxiousness, horror, relief and delight all stem from what the characters do, or have done to them, and how they look out for each other.
Several of the core characters really develop and change over the course of this book, and that movement generates both sadness and anticipation of what will happen in book three.
All that said, some of the most fun in Bringer of Dust is generated by the new - Micah and his sisters, The Abbess, Claker Jack and Jeta.
This won't work as a standalone read, but I'd highly recommend Ordinary Monsters and Bringer of Dust together.
January 11, 2025
'Ordinary Monsters,' the first book in this series, is one of my favorites. I loved it. I have seen several reviews that say this book is even better than the first. I'm going to be an outlier and say I don't agree. Don't get me wrong; it was good, but not as good as 'Ordinary Monsters.'
In this book, a few new characters are introduced. The timelines switch between Alice and Komako, both trying to find another Orsine, Marlowe, inside the land of the Dead; Charlie and Mrs. Fick trying to find a way into the Orsine to save Marlowe; and one of the new characters, Jeta, who is seeking the Dust of Jacob Marber.
There is a lot of action, and I enjoyed it, especially the addition of the new character Jeta. However, there were parts that dragged for me; hence, only 4⭐ for this one.
In this book, a few new characters are introduced. The timelines switch between Alice and Komako, both trying to find another Orsine, Marlowe, inside the land of the Dead; Charlie and Mrs. Fick trying to find a way into the Orsine to save Marlowe; and one of the new characters, Jeta, who is seeking the Dust of Jacob Marber.
There is a lot of action, and I enjoyed it, especially the addition of the new character Jeta. However, there were parts that dragged for me; hence, only 4⭐ for this one.
October 31, 2025
a good book, but damn did i struggle with the gore and the fact that things just kept getting worse and worse. i wanted to see more of the found family but they were split up and going Through It too often for much of that
October 5, 2024
Very disappointing. Were it not for a strong first half, I'd have given this a two star. To begin with Miro/Price goes full on horror mode in this sequel, which means endless blood, gore, erupting bodies, mutilation, totally disgusting characters and creatures, which made my stomach turn. ( Plucking out eyeballs? Repeated crushing of vertebrae? Please.). Secondly, instead of the wit and warmth between the child and adult characters, there is endless dread . And the descriptive powers that the author used well in OM seem to have left him because every other word is dark, black, burning with darkness, soot covered, wreathed in smoke, filled with blackness, dark, dark ad infinitum. Then we have the dark winding tunnels/ labyrinths / caverns which pop up everywhere the characters land . I found myself groaning , Not again. And instead of one really nasty beasty ( the drughr), we have at least 4, maybe 5, maybe 6...I lost track, and the populations of the Land of the Dead( covered in fog,folks and dark, really dark, with lots of soot, smoke and dust) which are horrible boney things which scream endlessly. In fact everyone screams, piercingly, frequently and at any opportunity. People are also ,surprisingly, constantly afraid, horrified, terrified, and telling others "I'm afraid." Gee, do you think? The novel seems constantly on the brink of one disaster after another, so that by the three quarter mark I was frankly weary and finding it a slog. The final ( or was it?) battle was anti-climactic after all the preceding gore. The novel is then wrapped up in a hasty denouement where the surviving characters are reunited and have a lovely summer in Italy while " knowing it can't last." Well, duh. This IS a trilogy, with an epilogue to warn us of the next horror show. It is a crying shame that with such great characters, the author felt the need to just go off the rails into a gore- fest. What philosophy there is, is banal and simplistic. And to think is spent 30 plus dollars to order this from Amazon because I didn't want to wait for the library to acquire a copy.
September 23, 2024
Bringer of Dust
Author: J.M.Miro
The Talents trilogy book: 2
We find ourselves in a world that is under attack by all kinds of dark forces.
It is of the utmost importance that Charlie and his friends succeed in tracking down the second Orsine that is located in the Land of the Dead. Orsines are a sort of sealed portals that grant passage to other dangerous worlds.
In the first book, Marlowe gets trapped in the orsine. Charlie's greatest mission is to reunite with his friend and free him.
Meanwhile, a former student of Cairndale resurfaces in the Land of the Dead. He has many sinister plans that could make him a major threat to the future.
One thing is for sure, the danger is far from over for Charlie, Marlowe and their friends...
To fully understand the storyline, it is recommended to read the first book in the series.
The second book focuses more on the future of the characters, while the first book focuses more on their talents, powers and past.
There are multiple worlds in the book and they are all worked out in equal detail.
You will encounter a diverse cast of monsters, artifacts, a bone witch and more.
The characters are intriguing. Their emotions and way of thinking are well described by the author.
I am very impressed with the writing style and originality. If you are a fan of the Fantasy and Horror genre then I can highly recommend this series.
I want to thank Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an ARC.
Trigger warnings:
blood and gore, death, murder, grief, torture, kidnapping, problematic childhood
Author: J.M.Miro
The Talents trilogy book: 2
We find ourselves in a world that is under attack by all kinds of dark forces.
It is of the utmost importance that Charlie and his friends succeed in tracking down the second Orsine that is located in the Land of the Dead. Orsines are a sort of sealed portals that grant passage to other dangerous worlds.
In the first book, Marlowe gets trapped in the orsine. Charlie's greatest mission is to reunite with his friend and free him.
Meanwhile, a former student of Cairndale resurfaces in the Land of the Dead. He has many sinister plans that could make him a major threat to the future.
One thing is for sure, the danger is far from over for Charlie, Marlowe and their friends...
To fully understand the storyline, it is recommended to read the first book in the series.
The second book focuses more on the future of the characters, while the first book focuses more on their talents, powers and past.
There are multiple worlds in the book and they are all worked out in equal detail.
You will encounter a diverse cast of monsters, artifacts, a bone witch and more.
The characters are intriguing. Their emotions and way of thinking are well described by the author.
I am very impressed with the writing style and originality. If you are a fan of the Fantasy and Horror genre then I can highly recommend this series.
I want to thank Netgalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with an ARC.
Trigger warnings:
blood and gore, death, murder, grief, torture, kidnapping, problematic childhood
December 18, 2024
Unfortunately this just didn’t hit home for me like the first novel in the series. To be honest, it was just way too long! The storyline became too complex, and there was not enough pay off. Still wonderfully atmospheric and some very unique and loveable characters.
October 23, 2024
3.5⭐️s. Think I preferred the first book
March 30, 2026
4.5 stars, rounded up. Mainly because of how I couldn’t take my eyes away in the second half and couldn’t stop thinking about the kids here in this world. Honestly, when I pick up a book, thats all I am looking for.
A unique offering: of children, but definitely not for them. Distressing but beautiful, with a well developed twisted lore: I am really not sure who the expected audience was meant to be, but I am definitely one of them. Am glad I stumbled on to this!
Point to keep in mind: Don’t go into this expecting an easy or comfortable read.
This takes the already dark themes of Ordinary Monsters and somehow manages to be darker, gorier, and so much more emotionally devastating. A lot of plot points that are explored initially are expanded into which makes this all the more satisfying to read.
The characters are fleshed out more and we see a lot more on their individual motivations. I enjoyed the Mrs. Ficke angle and her act to protect her brother was incredibly emotional for me. The arc of Jeta is great too, and all of the other children really come into their own, navigating the harsh world they have to inhabit and survive.
Also, the sheer volume of things that happen is incredible, there are four parallel threads that unfold which makes for quite a lot of highly detailed reading: I don’t remember all the details of Book 1 for the same reason.
This too doesn’t follow the usual plot narratives or the division of pace in acts. At any point, you do not know how the tale will turn and what atrocities you will end up seeing. I really enjoyed the second half: Clacker Jack and Co. onwards.
A unique offering: of children, but definitely not for them. Distressing but beautiful, with a well developed twisted lore: I am really not sure who the expected audience was meant to be, but I am definitely one of them. Am glad I stumbled on to this!
Point to keep in mind: Don’t go into this expecting an easy or comfortable read.
“ ‘i’ll tell you a secret’, she said gently. ‘ There aren’t any grown-ups, Charlie. Not in the way you mean it. There is only just children what’s gone and got too far away from their own childhood. Sure, their bodies is all grown. But on the inside, everyone’s all just about the same size.’”
This takes the already dark themes of Ordinary Monsters and somehow manages to be darker, gorier, and so much more emotionally devastating. A lot of plot points that are explored initially are expanded into which makes this all the more satisfying to read.
The characters are fleshed out more and we see a lot more on their individual motivations. I enjoyed the Mrs. Ficke angle and her act to protect her brother was incredibly emotional for me. The arc of Jeta is great too, and all of the other children really come into their own, navigating the harsh world they have to inhabit and survive.
Also, the sheer volume of things that happen is incredible, there are four parallel threads that unfold which makes for quite a lot of highly detailed reading: I don’t remember all the details of Book 1 for the same reason.
This too doesn’t follow the usual plot narratives or the division of pace in acts. At any point, you do not know how the tale will turn and what atrocities you will end up seeing. I really enjoyed the second half: Clacker Jack and Co. onwards.
“Our skins are stories about how we’ve lived, (…) I thought I was ugly, after this. My Mr. Ficke taught me I wasn’t. He said a scar is just our body remembering the world. There’s a story there, he’d say, about how you got to be you. He was kind like that, and wise. You can’t be ashamed of what’s happened to you, Charlie. It’s the world’s doing.”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 477 reviews