Son of the Serpent

Gael Song Era 2 #2

by Shauna Lawless

The thrilling second volume in Gael Era II sees invaders mass on Irish soil, kings lose their crowns, and Ireland's immortals discover new magical powers.

Winter 1169. Isolde arrives at the stronghold of the Descendants, her immortal kin, scarred by her ordeal at the hands of the powerfully magical Fomorians.

Although her powers are raw, it soon becomes clear that Isolde is incredibly magically gifted. But as she learns to harness her abilities, she is plagued by visions of death and destruction.

War between Ireland's kingdoms continues, but as Norman lords encroach ever further onto Irish soil Ireland's royal houses must work, and fight, together – or risk the destruction of their whole world.

Caught in the conflict is Isolde's beloved friend Cuan. The scion of mortal kings, Cuan possesses strange magical skills and seeks the truth about his lineage. A mysterious stranger may have the answers he craves, but events take a darker turn when Cuan is accused of treachery. With powerful enemies ranged against him, and Isolde far away, escaping death a second time may be beyond him.

Reviews for Shauna Lawless's Gael Song

'Highlander meets The Last Kingdom' Anthony Ryan
'Absolutely luminous' Irish Independent
'A fine read' Mark Lawrence
'Completely captivating' Sarah Underwood

Genres: Fantasy

496 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication November 10, 2026

Reviews

[Magdalena (magdal21) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Shauna Lawless’s books as much as I do, you definitely won’t be disappointed by this one. As always, the way she blends early Irish history with folklore and magic is masterful, weaving familiar immortal figures like Gormflaith among real historical characters in such a creative and compelling way. The story picks up right after Daughter of the Otherworld and dives deep into larger political conflicts, including the beginning of the Anglo Norman conquest of Ireland. At the same time, the personal stakes for the protagonists keep getting higher with every chapter.

There’s definitely a sense that much of what happens in Son of the Serpent is building toward the epic finale, but that never makes the novel feel slow. The cast completely carries the story. This installment introduces several new POVs, including Cuan, whose chapters were probably my favorite because I absolutely love him as a character. Seeing events unfold through his perspective was something I’d wanted ever since the previous book. Isolde was fantastic as always, and even though I would’ve loved more scenes between her and Cuan, her arc felt natural and very well written. Gormflaith remains as cunning and manipulative as ever, and watching her schemes unfold was both satisfying and slightly terrifying. This time though, there’s finally someone who can truly match her cleverness – Angelo, another excellent POV character.

As expected, the book ends with several cliffhangers and I honestly can’t wait to see what happens next in Queen of Ashes. Shauna Lawless continues to be one of my favorite historical fantasy writers, and her work deserves so much more attention. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[k💌]

olaf and cuan being on the cover alr tells me this book is about to be insane

[KnightsandFables · Rating 5 out of 5]

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loved it

[Reading InMiddleEarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son of the Serpent was my most anticipated book of 2026 and it did not disappoint.

If you’ve never read any of Shauna’s books, and you enjoy immersive fantasy with compelling characters and mythology set in a time in Irish history full of political scheming and upheaval … stop reading this review and go find her books. You’ll thank me later! Her writing immerses you fully in Ireland during the Viking era and Norman invasions, and the characters are beautifully nuanced and so well explored.

This is the second book in the Gaelsong Era 2 Trilogy, which is set about a century after the events of Era 1 (I highly recommend reading that trilogy first if you haven’t already - and the novellas too, even if they are not normally your thing).

Son of the Serpent jumps straight back in after the events of Daughter of the Otherworld and expertly navigates the beginnings of the Norman invasion against a backdrop of division amongst the Kings of Ireland at that time. I continue to be impressed with how Shauna manages to give her readers all of the detail they need to follow the complex politics, motivations and scheming, without any suggestion of info dumping, or spoon-feeding. All the information is subtly woven into the narrative and feels completely natural. A lot of historical detail is covered through several points of view, and the story remains engaging, setting the scene well for the conclusion ahead in book 3, Queen of the Ashes. As usual, the story concludes at a satisfactory ‘rest’ point between historical events, but leaves us excited for the next instalment with increasing stakes for our characters and cliffhanger revelations in the final chapters and Epilogue.

Another convincing 5 star read from my favourite author. I cannot recommend her books enough.

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been craving this book since I read the last page of Daughter of the Otherworld, so I obviously came in with some expectations. The good news is that Son of the Serpent lived up to and even exceeded my lofty hopes. Shauna Lawless created an incredible series in her first Gael Song Trilogy, but this second era has me even more excited. I enjoyed the way that the story touched on the history of Henry II and Elinore of Aquitaine, but also blended in the magic of the Descendants and the Fomorians. I was drawn into the stories of all of the central characters and this book continues to be told from multiple views. Between the cover and the publisher's description, it was evident that Cuan would get a spotlight in this volume, but all of the central characters still continued to shine. Every thread, every sub-plot and every POV character is so well detailed. With so many characters and so much going on, this is spectacularly executed epic (and historical) fantasy that I couldn't put down. My biggest issue with this book is that I now have to wait until the next book is written to continue the series, but with a story this good, I'll be here waiting for book 3, and even the next era...(4.5/5)
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Head of Zeus - Ad Astra) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

[Doublehalfling · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and enthralling read from nose to tail. I had the pleasure of reading this poolside in Spain, and life couldn't have been better for those few days.

Shauna continues to go from strength to strength in each book she's released.

This being the penultimate book in the trilogy, starting with Daughter of the Otherworld, and the Gael Song cycle as a whole, must've put a tremendous amount of pressure on Shauna, but she's handled it with grace and finesse, and built convincingly on everything that's come before.

The introduction of Cuan and Angelo's POVs, along with Gormflaith's continued development were the highlights of the book for me.

I've got to read all of Shauna's books pre-release and had the pleasure of meeting her and her family a while back, and wish her all the success in the world!

[am c · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the book. Ate it. I ate it up. Still digesting my thoughts. But wow. This one gets darker, with more vivid battle scenes. I will come back with a full review. You have to read this too. You have to.

Netgalley. Thank you for the advance copy to let me indulge in what is now my top favourite series ever. This is my fifth Shauna Lawless book in under six months in 2026. I do not want this to conclude!!!

[Ariana Weldon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally no one is prepared for what's happening.