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The Shieldbreaker, Book Two: Holiest of Cities
Not yet published
Expected 8 Jun 26Kareva has made peace with the Pohyor. What will happen when he finds out the truth about what happened to his people?
—
PEACE BUILT ON A LIE CAN ONLY LAST SO LONG…
Unaware of the fate of their civilian caravan, the warriors of Hodrir join the Pohyor horde and take up residence as part of the warlord’s garrison in the proud, ancient, collapsing city of Ikune.
Kareva is still struggling to keep control of his madness as well as his people, and his heroics at Valtaa are only worth so much political capital, especially after he bent the knee to an outsider.
Meanwhile, tensions within the warlord’s inner circle threaten the all-important air of invincibility that binds the assorted Pohyor tribes to their leader—especially since Ikune has historically never stayed in the same hands for long.
The only certainty, in a city built on the illusion of stability, is that nothing is sacred enough to be completely safe when the truth finally comes out…
—
PEACE BUILT ON A LIE CAN ONLY LAST SO LONG…
Unaware of the fate of their civilian caravan, the warriors of Hodrir join the Pohyor horde and take up residence as part of the warlord’s garrison in the proud, ancient, collapsing city of Ikune.
Kareva is still struggling to keep control of his madness as well as his people, and his heroics at Valtaa are only worth so much political capital, especially after he bent the knee to an outsider.
Meanwhile, tensions within the warlord’s inner circle threaten the all-important air of invincibility that binds the assorted Pohyor tribes to their leader—especially since Ikune has historically never stayed in the same hands for long.
The only certainty, in a city built on the illusion of stability, is that nothing is sacred enough to be completely safe when the truth finally comes out…
258 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 8, 2026
About the author
Thomas Clark Schecter
2 books16 followersTom Schecter is an educator, musician, and history enthusiast from New York City.
Check out more of his writing at https://ShieldbreakerSaga.com
Check out more of his writing at https://ShieldbreakerSaga.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
Received an ARC copy of this book but had to wait until Mr. Schecter uploaded Holiest of Cities onto Goodreads for you all to hear about. (Unless you read my in-depth post celebrating the world of Shieldbreaker over on Substack).
Anyways. Let's get to it.
Holiest of Cities picks up right after the cliffhanger at the end of The Last of the Etela… Literally. There is not a moment lost between the two novels, which is good because Etela ended in a way I wasn’t fully expecting and I was hoping there would be no nimbly-bimbly before we got back to the inevitable cool down after the final clash between the Hodrir and the Pohyor on Valtaa plateau. Not even an hour is lost between the two novels.
The blood is still cooling as we come back to the Hodrir; the battle is over and the flag of truce has been waved, and while Kareva Oproz goes down to treat with the Pohyor Warlord Ersev, his people pick through the battlefield and grief begins to settle in their weary spirits. The glory of battle vanishes like a sigh in the wind, the shock of living through the final push stifling tears and dousing morale as they begin to pull fallen friends and kinsmen from beneath the mounds of corpses. But their dead compatriots isn’t even the biggest problems facing the Hodrir warriors right now. Kareva Oproz, the Shieldbreaker, and the one whose violent refusal to surrender marched the Hodrir to near-certain death as they chose to face down the Pohyor horde… Just surrendered.
Kareva’s subservience leads us into an entirely different sort of story than the first novel. The Last of the Etela showcased that Schecter knows his stuff when it comes to penning amazing battle scenes and acts of valor, getting the blood pumping while also giving the reader a stable base to jump off of when wading into the Shieldbreaker world, but Holiest of Cities is another monster altogether. Facing an opponent on the battlefield is one thing, but when foes surround you where you live, smiling as friends and bearing kind words that distract from the knife blade inching closer to your throat… It’s a whole other kind of battle.
I’m talking about political drama, because that is primarily what Holiest of Cities is; trading one type of violence for another as the remaining Hodrir join the Pohyor horde and retreat back to the holy city of Ikune at the behest of their new overlord, joining the political landscape as both pieces and players in one of the oldest games known to civilization. And Schecter doesn’t disappoint, showing just as much prowess in penning subtly, subterfuge, and sabotage as he did when giving us brutality, blood, and battle. The subplots are layered in Holiest of Cities, all running parallel at the start but each beginning to twist and overlap with the others, knotting back on themselves until they cinch into a noose that will promises to string up the losers of the dangerous games being played in Ikune.
Every plot, scheme, ploy, double-cross, or powerplay is far more nuanced and exciting than I am letting on, on par or exceeding any court drama you might find in more traditional fantasy books. I loved every moment of trying to guess who was going to come out on top as one force best another—And all the politicking doesn’t mean that the fans of violence aren’t going to find it in these pages! Blood paints these pages just as surely as it did in Etela; cut throats, assassination attempts, cold-blooded murders, and the odd broken nose or black eye. It’s an all around good time.
With another cliffhanger ending that left me whispering “holy fuck” upon reading it, I think it is safe to say that I am invested in The Shieldbreaker Saga for the long haul at this point. Holiest of Cities is another five star read from Thomas Clarke Schecter, bringing him up to a total of fifteen stars over three books—That's right, THREE. If you haven't checked out the online novella Daughters of Vei, consider this a sign to do. It's free on his Substack, for now.
Anyways. Let's get to it.
Holiest of Cities picks up right after the cliffhanger at the end of The Last of the Etela… Literally. There is not a moment lost between the two novels, which is good because Etela ended in a way I wasn’t fully expecting and I was hoping there would be no nimbly-bimbly before we got back to the inevitable cool down after the final clash between the Hodrir and the Pohyor on Valtaa plateau. Not even an hour is lost between the two novels.
The blood is still cooling as we come back to the Hodrir; the battle is over and the flag of truce has been waved, and while Kareva Oproz goes down to treat with the Pohyor Warlord Ersev, his people pick through the battlefield and grief begins to settle in their weary spirits. The glory of battle vanishes like a sigh in the wind, the shock of living through the final push stifling tears and dousing morale as they begin to pull fallen friends and kinsmen from beneath the mounds of corpses. But their dead compatriots isn’t even the biggest problems facing the Hodrir warriors right now. Kareva Oproz, the Shieldbreaker, and the one whose violent refusal to surrender marched the Hodrir to near-certain death as they chose to face down the Pohyor horde… Just surrendered.
Kareva’s subservience leads us into an entirely different sort of story than the first novel. The Last of the Etela showcased that Schecter knows his stuff when it comes to penning amazing battle scenes and acts of valor, getting the blood pumping while also giving the reader a stable base to jump off of when wading into the Shieldbreaker world, but Holiest of Cities is another monster altogether. Facing an opponent on the battlefield is one thing, but when foes surround you where you live, smiling as friends and bearing kind words that distract from the knife blade inching closer to your throat… It’s a whole other kind of battle.
I’m talking about political drama, because that is primarily what Holiest of Cities is; trading one type of violence for another as the remaining Hodrir join the Pohyor horde and retreat back to the holy city of Ikune at the behest of their new overlord, joining the political landscape as both pieces and players in one of the oldest games known to civilization. And Schecter doesn’t disappoint, showing just as much prowess in penning subtly, subterfuge, and sabotage as he did when giving us brutality, blood, and battle. The subplots are layered in Holiest of Cities, all running parallel at the start but each beginning to twist and overlap with the others, knotting back on themselves until they cinch into a noose that will promises to string up the losers of the dangerous games being played in Ikune.
Every plot, scheme, ploy, double-cross, or powerplay is far more nuanced and exciting than I am letting on, on par or exceeding any court drama you might find in more traditional fantasy books. I loved every moment of trying to guess who was going to come out on top as one force best another—And all the politicking doesn’t mean that the fans of violence aren’t going to find it in these pages! Blood paints these pages just as surely as it did in Etela; cut throats, assassination attempts, cold-blooded murders, and the odd broken nose or black eye. It’s an all around good time.
With another cliffhanger ending that left me whispering “holy fuck” upon reading it, I think it is safe to say that I am invested in The Shieldbreaker Saga for the long haul at this point. Holiest of Cities is another five star read from Thomas Clarke Schecter, bringing him up to a total of fifteen stars over three books—That's right, THREE. If you haven't checked out the online novella Daughters of Vei, consider this a sign to do. It's free on his Substack, for now.
Review of advance copy
Tom Schecter continues his amazing Shieldbreaker Saga with this second book, "The Holiest of Cities." The story is a sometimes excruciating and sometimes exhilarating roller coaster ride - the characters rush through a plot filled with devastation, hope, sorrow, joy, wisdom, folly, love, hate, and sometimes a flagrant display of the pure unadulterated stupidity that only a member of the human species can exhibit (and this is a good thing, at least for the reader, even if it leads some of the characters into disaster). I read this as a serial on Substack, and it was a page-turner... if I could have blasted straight through to the end in one sitting, I would have, but as it was, I needed to wait impatiently each week for the next chapter to be posted. It certainly kept me on pins and needles!
I am not a typical "warrior" story fan, but the characters in this book sucked me right in - Mr. Schecter created real live humans who made me laugh and broke my heart and sometimes infuriated me so much that I desperately wanted to shake sense into them.
This is a saga that seems real, like history that has been brought to life. I can't recommend this book enough. The characters are all still trapped inside my head and I am already eagerly awaiting Book #3.
I am not a typical "warrior" story fan, but the characters in this book sucked me right in - Mr. Schecter created real live humans who made me laugh and broke my heart and sometimes infuriated me so much that I desperately wanted to shake sense into them.
This is a saga that seems real, like history that has been brought to life. I can't recommend this book enough. The characters are all still trapped inside my head and I am already eagerly awaiting Book #3.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Somehow, this book beats The Last of Etela for me.
The stakes have been set. High. The dramatic irony? Through the roof. Watch plans get hatched and fail, watch secrets get revealed.
The politics of the world and the psychology of the characters have a level of realism and believability and subtlety that is like a glass of ice water in the fantasy world. And there's no magic to patch plot holes. And there are no plot holes. This book is COMPLETE.
Gods? Well... that's for you to decide. Gods could be involved, but they sure as hell aren't patching holes. More like punching holes into my chest (in a good way).
This book is about grief. It's about failure. It's about reaching the absolute lowest point within yourself and your community.
Between the bloodshed and brutality is humor, wisdom, and beauty. The characters fucking SHINE in this one. Miruz. Alakuz. And, of course, Kareva. Is he a mad man or a genius? Is he blessed or cursed? Again, all up for debate, but he IS haunted and has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Will it crush him or turn him diamond?
Crack open this book and let it cut you.
The stakes have been set. High. The dramatic irony? Through the roof. Watch plans get hatched and fail, watch secrets get revealed.
The politics of the world and the psychology of the characters have a level of realism and believability and subtlety that is like a glass of ice water in the fantasy world. And there's no magic to patch plot holes. And there are no plot holes. This book is COMPLETE.
Gods? Well... that's for you to decide. Gods could be involved, but they sure as hell aren't patching holes. More like punching holes into my chest (in a good way).
This book is about grief. It's about failure. It's about reaching the absolute lowest point within yourself and your community.
Between the bloodshed and brutality is humor, wisdom, and beauty. The characters fucking SHINE in this one. Miruz. Alakuz. And, of course, Kareva. Is he a mad man or a genius? Is he blessed or cursed? Again, all up for debate, but he IS haunted and has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Will it crush him or turn him diamond?
Crack open this book and let it cut you.
Review of advance copy
I have been a fantasy nerd since before I was old enough to read, because my mother was a fantasy nerd. I have been a history nerd for nearly as long. The Shielbreaker Saga straddles the line between history and fantasy in such a way that it obliterates the distinction between each. It is a slice from the history of a world that never was, and yet feels brutally familiar. It does not feel like Lord of the Rings. It does not feel like Wheel of Time. It feels like Apocalypse Now, or Shōgun. You won't find flowery or anachronistic dialogue. You will find candid conversations between soldiers who have seen way too much. The world isn't grand and sweeping, it is gritty and claustrophobic. This isn't an epic, it's a character study, and a dive into the psychology behind what it means to be a soldier, a leader, a son and a friend. You may not find your mom's cozy fantasy here, but what you will find is something wholly new and satisfying.
Review of advance copy
Book 1 shows Schecter mastery over the battle scene, the intense siege and gruesome slaughter — it’s superbly done.
Book 2 shows a new level of writing depth as Schecter dives into the realm of political intrigue and schemes: battle of a different sort. That’s not to say there’s no fighting though, because of course there is. The writhing nature of the plot as it seems to buck beneath the reader, throwing you this way and that, it makes for a very engaging read. The characters are consistent and alive and fun to read. These books go too fast.
Book 2 shows a new level of writing depth as Schecter dives into the realm of political intrigue and schemes: battle of a different sort. That’s not to say there’s no fighting though, because of course there is. The writhing nature of the plot as it seems to buck beneath the reader, throwing you this way and that, it makes for a very engaging read. The characters are consistent and alive and fun to read. These books go too fast.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Advanced Review Copy provided by author.
An excellent second installment of The Shieldbreaker Saga, ratcheting up the intensity without ratcheting up the bloodshed. Schecter continues to build out his world and characters in interesting ways. These was a jaunty read, much like Book One and left me wanting me.
An excellent second installment of The Shieldbreaker Saga, ratcheting up the intensity without ratcheting up the bloodshed. Schecter continues to build out his world and characters in interesting ways. These was a jaunty read, much like Book One and left me wanting me.
Review of advance copy received from Author
With book two Tom only gets better. The action is just as crisp, but he’s cranked his skill for amassing tons of tension up to piano wire levels. Every chapter made my foot tap faster needing to know who was screwed and just how badly.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews