The Skin Stealer's Son

Fox's Tongue and Kirin's Bone #2

by Allison M. Kovacs

The king is dead. Long live the king.

Spring has come, and with it the dragons, using tactics they’ve no right to know. Not without a more experienced mind leading them. As suspicions around King Orin’s state of humanity deepen, Aaron steps foot into the wider world for the first time. And oh, there are so many plots to be plotted, out here.

348 pages, Hardcover

First published July 9, 2024

Reviews

[Ergative Absolutive · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just really, really enjoy this series so much. I love how Aaron is such a genial twerp to everyone. I loved learning more about how doppling works, and how the enclavers had been annexed, and what that meant for the cultural traditions of griffin-doppling. I loved the slowly unfolding bits of lore, and the questions they raise: WHY break the pact with the dragons? What is a kirin, exactly? Who is it on the continent who pushed out the humans and formed an empire? Who is the Empress? What, exactly, is the deal with the Deaths who seem to be spying for the Empire? Basically, WTF? It's the best kind of world-building, where the questions are arising not so much because characters are trying to solve mysteries, but because characters have been steeped in mysteries for so long that they don't see them as mysteries, and as a reader I only learn about them through asides. Also, Gary Furlong is doing a fantastic job narrating this book. It seems quite a departure from his usual fare (at least on Libro.fm, where I looked him up because I liked his work so much on this book), where he seems to do mostly gay erotica. This book is not that, but it's very well narrated.

[Becca C · Rating 4 out of 5]

continuing where the story was left off from at the end of book 1, it really feels more like a the novel was split into halves versus two separate books with self-contained plots. also, there is somewhat of a resolution to one plot-thread by the end of this book, but then it jumps into a giant cliffhanger. just for readers to be forewarned.

I quite enjoyed it, much as I did the first part. Aaron continues to be a fun narrator. The details from his childhood and the caves and the fate of his "King" continue to be maddeningly sparse, although the story does delve a bit further in the world-building in that we finally have gotten an explanation of what doppeling is and how it works.

I'm not complaining; the mysteries are what make this series fun. I am very much looking forward to continuing on and hopefully book 3 is not too far in the future?? I am a bit worried about being able to remember all the relevant dangling plot threads if a long time passes before it's published...

[Allen Or · Rating 5 out of 5]

May be a perfect sequel

Kovacs masterfully expands on the world and characters she built in the first book. Lastrign practically leaps out of the pages, along with every single person who lives and dies in it, be they human or otherwise. I could hardly put it down until I finished reading.

[Jonathan Alcott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly lives up to the potential of the first book, setting this up to be such a fantastic series! I'll never grow tired of the incredibly-written interactions, the novelty of the plot, and all the care and love that went into every chapter.

[Zimmerea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic and gets its 5* from the relationships and character depth throughout - everything the first book set up was explored in so much more depth here, and I loved all the complicated relationships happening. The ending was not my favourite, but I have hopes for the sequel.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this volume! Excited to see where Aaron and co go next and how they get out of this new ✨situation✨