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Heaven's Chains: The Dream Stalker Trilogy, Book 2
The order has forgotten the chains. But the heavens remember.
Plagued by the memories of his first hunt, Pyoshara Zanesh recovers from his wounds at the arbiter monastery. Haunted by the secrets he uncovered in Lord Zakareoth’s domain, he cannot shake the feeling that the Sorkarian Order has been infiltrated by a rotten god.
But Pyoshara is not alone. His mentor Getayu suspects the order is compromised as well. Together, the two assassins work to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy. But before they can expose the puppet master and bring its dark deeds to light, the enemy catches onto their plan and tears them apart.
In an act of defiance, Pyoshara forsakes his duties to protect his teacher. His journey leads him into harsh, untamed wilderness, the perfect hiding ground for rotten gods. Though he searches for Getayu, he is too slow and too weak to save him.
In the depths of Pyoshara’s despair, a mysterious spirit makes contact with him, offering unbridled power … for a price.
Plagued by the memories of his first hunt, Pyoshara Zanesh recovers from his wounds at the arbiter monastery. Haunted by the secrets he uncovered in Lord Zakareoth’s domain, he cannot shake the feeling that the Sorkarian Order has been infiltrated by a rotten god.
But Pyoshara is not alone. His mentor Getayu suspects the order is compromised as well. Together, the two assassins work to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy. But before they can expose the puppet master and bring its dark deeds to light, the enemy catches onto their plan and tears them apart.
In an act of defiance, Pyoshara forsakes his duties to protect his teacher. His journey leads him into harsh, untamed wilderness, the perfect hiding ground for rotten gods. Though he searches for Getayu, he is too slow and too weak to save him.
In the depths of Pyoshara’s despair, a mysterious spirit makes contact with him, offering unbridled power … for a price.
705 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 16, 2026
About the author
Jeremy Bruce Adams
3 books16 followersJeremy was born in Ontario, Canada, where he lives with his wife Samantha and their two children. As a person of mixed Indo-Caribbean and European descent, Jeremy loves to write about heroes who learn to integrate the wisdom of different cultures. When he isn't writing or reading, he's either getting beaten to a pulp in the latest Soulslike or Metroidvania game, or dreaming about where to go scuba diving next.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 26, 2026
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review:
The place this sequel went, blew me away. From the start of the book the lore and world get expanded on in a big way. Adding a second POV did a ton to show what happens after a rotten god has been defeated and some of the other groups active in the world beyond the sorkarrian order. The looks at the different powers operating, the not knowing who is telling the truth, who is good or just believes they are good, it all worked great.
Cannot wait for the third book to see how it wraps up
The place this sequel went, blew me away. From the start of the book the lore and world get expanded on in a big way. Adding a second POV did a ton to show what happens after a rotten god has been defeated and some of the other groups active in the world beyond the sorkarrian order. The looks at the different powers operating, the not knowing who is telling the truth, who is good or just believes they are good, it all worked great.
Cannot wait for the third book to see how it wraps up
April 16, 2026
Same eldritch monsters, new ways to kill them
On my YouTube channel, I exclusively review self-published and indie fantasy books. Rotten Gods (Book 1) was my favorite book of the year in 2025, so I was so excited to dive back into this world. It ended up with an overall score of 8.7/10 on my INDIE ranking scale, and my full review can be seen here: https://youtu.be/IXRmSuugwls
Here's the quick summary:
Immersion (worldbuilding): 9/10 - I already loved this world, but it just was expanded upon so much in this book. We learn more backstories into the Rotten God origins, and into the origins of the founders of the assassins guild. We get more depth into the religion, and new gods being introduced. There's more politics within the assassin order, as well as societally with Henathi trying to integrate. It just felt like we were discovering so much more context to this series. Additionally, we get plenty of new landscapes and settings that keep the reader engaged throughout.
Names (characters): 8.5/10 - Pyroshara can be incredibly frustrating. In book 1, he was incompetent and naive, which is the only reason he was able to defeat Zakareoth. Now, in book 2, he's progressed to becoming far more capable, but now he's become very indecisive. It felt like he kept switching proverbial sides every other second, rather than sticking to his decisions. Now this does work, because it sets up a more tragic conclusion, but it was frustrating nonetheless. It works for the character and the societal pressures that are placed upon him. Henathi was excellent! Loved her character and how much she is the opposite of Pyroshara - decisive, committed, confident, brave, powerful, empathy. She's been through so much trauma, and yet she finds a way to fight through it to spare others from the same fate. Getayu was great as the mentor role as well. My only quelm with the amount of tears shed throughout. It felt like the characters were crying too much imo.
Da Magic (& creatures): 9/10 - We get introduced to a new type of magic through the blood chains. It's basically this lost third branch of this assassin's guild. So now we have dream stalkers, poisoners, and blood priests. When someone bleeds on the bloodstone chains and unites their will to it, they can be used to kill rotten gods. It's very brutal, but more efficient that dream stalking or poisoning. You can also look into the past using blood pools. It was cool to learn more about this, but I also missed the dream stalking stuff, because that's what I loved in book 1. Still pretty cool stuff.
Infrastructure (plot, pacing, prose, etc.): 8.5/10 - Pacing was a little slow in the first half, just because we're getting a lot of resolution carryover from book 1, and we're getting more of the worldbuilding. The second half picks up when we start fighting more of the main rotten gods and unraveling the mysteries of the past. The plot itself was not what I was expecting, which can be good or bad. For me, it was good, but painful. I see where things are going and it seems to be headed more in a tragic direction, rather than hopeful. I'm interested to see how he'll pull this off!
Enjoyment: 8.5/10 - I loved getting back into this series! We got so much more context and discoveries, which was fun. But I also felt like we missed out on a lot of the dream stalking stuff, which is really what made me fall in love with this series. We still get some, but it's much less consequential.
If you liked Rotten Gods, then you're going to enjoy this sequel. It does a fantastic job building on the setup of book 1, while continuing to build to an epic conclusion for book 3. It's worth grabbing a copy!
On my YouTube channel, I exclusively review self-published and indie fantasy books. Rotten Gods (Book 1) was my favorite book of the year in 2025, so I was so excited to dive back into this world. It ended up with an overall score of 8.7/10 on my INDIE ranking scale, and my full review can be seen here: https://youtu.be/IXRmSuugwls
Here's the quick summary:
Immersion (worldbuilding): 9/10 - I already loved this world, but it just was expanded upon so much in this book. We learn more backstories into the Rotten God origins, and into the origins of the founders of the assassins guild. We get more depth into the religion, and new gods being introduced. There's more politics within the assassin order, as well as societally with Henathi trying to integrate. It just felt like we were discovering so much more context to this series. Additionally, we get plenty of new landscapes and settings that keep the reader engaged throughout.
Names (characters): 8.5/10 - Pyroshara can be incredibly frustrating. In book 1, he was incompetent and naive, which is the only reason he was able to defeat Zakareoth. Now, in book 2, he's progressed to becoming far more capable, but now he's become very indecisive. It felt like he kept switching proverbial sides every other second, rather than sticking to his decisions. Now this does work, because it sets up a more tragic conclusion, but it was frustrating nonetheless. It works for the character and the societal pressures that are placed upon him. Henathi was excellent! Loved her character and how much she is the opposite of Pyroshara - decisive, committed, confident, brave, powerful, empathy. She's been through so much trauma, and yet she finds a way to fight through it to spare others from the same fate. Getayu was great as the mentor role as well. My only quelm with the amount of tears shed throughout. It felt like the characters were crying too much imo.
Da Magic (& creatures): 9/10 - We get introduced to a new type of magic through the blood chains. It's basically this lost third branch of this assassin's guild. So now we have dream stalkers, poisoners, and blood priests. When someone bleeds on the bloodstone chains and unites their will to it, they can be used to kill rotten gods. It's very brutal, but more efficient that dream stalking or poisoning. You can also look into the past using blood pools. It was cool to learn more about this, but I also missed the dream stalking stuff, because that's what I loved in book 1. Still pretty cool stuff.
Infrastructure (plot, pacing, prose, etc.): 8.5/10 - Pacing was a little slow in the first half, just because we're getting a lot of resolution carryover from book 1, and we're getting more of the worldbuilding. The second half picks up when we start fighting more of the main rotten gods and unraveling the mysteries of the past. The plot itself was not what I was expecting, which can be good or bad. For me, it was good, but painful. I see where things are going and it seems to be headed more in a tragic direction, rather than hopeful. I'm interested to see how he'll pull this off!
Enjoyment: 8.5/10 - I loved getting back into this series! We got so much more context and discoveries, which was fun. But I also felt like we missed out on a lot of the dream stalking stuff, which is really what made me fall in love with this series. We still get some, but it's much less consequential.
If you liked Rotten Gods, then you're going to enjoy this sequel. It does a fantastic job building on the setup of book 1, while continuing to build to an epic conclusion for book 3. It's worth grabbing a copy!
March 19, 2026
I was given the amazing opportunity to receive a free ARC copy of this book for my honest review.
Jeremy sold me with the first book and did not disappoint with the second in the series! This book has a dual POV and introduces a secondary character who you may or may not know!
This novel is much longer than the first. Filled with so much lore of the Napholok, additional world building and more history of how the order came to be. Jeremy has a fantastic way with words when it comes to the descriptive imagery throughout the book.
The character development from Rotten Gods to Heaven’s Chains is one of Pyoshara grappling with wanting to still be a typical young adult, being a full fledged arbiter, the PTSD from his first hunt, and what’s to come! Watching his character grow is -chefs kiss-
The plot twists and turns keeping you second guessing until the very end, just when you think you have it figured out the biggest sucker punch plot twist emerges!
Overall, I HIGHLY recommend and I am so excited to see what the next installment holds!
Jeremy sold me with the first book and did not disappoint with the second in the series! This book has a dual POV and introduces a secondary character who you may or may not know!
This novel is much longer than the first. Filled with so much lore of the Napholok, additional world building and more history of how the order came to be. Jeremy has a fantastic way with words when it comes to the descriptive imagery throughout the book.
The character development from Rotten Gods to Heaven’s Chains is one of Pyoshara grappling with wanting to still be a typical young adult, being a full fledged arbiter, the PTSD from his first hunt, and what’s to come! Watching his character grow is -chefs kiss-
The plot twists and turns keeping you second guessing until the very end, just when you think you have it figured out the biggest sucker punch plot twist emerges!
Overall, I HIGHLY recommend and I am so excited to see what the next installment holds!
Review of advance copy received from Author
7/10 This was such a vibes read - it felt so emotionally deep and the layers were all there. I thoroughly enjoyed this, even though I felt there was a bit of a pacing issue. A part of me felt like it was too long but I'm not sure where the author could have cut back.
The vibes were very epic fantasy and I loved the journey we get taken on as we read this one - full of highs and lows (interesting lows) that richly build a well thought out and well constructed world/ideal
This one is a commitment, and you need to read book 1, but I think it's worth it.
The vibes were very epic fantasy and I loved the journey we get taken on as we read this one - full of highs and lows (interesting lows) that richly build a well thought out and well constructed world/ideal
This one is a commitment, and you need to read book 1, but I think it's worth it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews