Ruby Throne 2: Shadow War

The Ruby Throne Trilogy #2

by Deborah Chester

Beginning his tenth and final life and awaiting the crowning of his empress, the aging Emperor Kostimon places the fate of the empress and the kingdom in the hands of a gladiator and former slave, Caelan E'non. Original.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Magic, Action, Dragons

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

The internationally published, award-winning author of 41 novels, Deborah Chester has written Regency romances, historical romances, young adult, science fiction, and fantasy. She is a tenured professor of professional writing in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma, where she teaches novel and short story writing.
She holds a B.A. with General Honors and an M.A. in Journalism; both degrees are from the University of Oklahoma, where she studied professional writing from author/teachers Jack M. Bickham, Robert L. Duncan, and Pulitzer-nominee Carolyn Hart. Chester has been writing professionally since 1978, and has used three pseudonyms – Jay D. Blakeney and Sean Dalton and C. Aubrey Hall for some of her science fiction and fantasy works.
In 2004, she was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America.

Reviews

[Tim Nielsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book built on the shoulders of creative and dynamic characters. The internal battles that Caelan fights within himself are interesting and compelling. I am really interested in what will happen to them and I find myself silently cheering their victories. I think Deborah does a wonderful job at creating realistic human characters and presenting them with unique and scary choices. I gave this book only three stars because I find myself not very interested in the fantasy world she has created the system and theory of magic is not clearly defined which is not necessarily a bad thing but it leads to a sense that there is no limit to what can be done with magic. I really love the two sides of severance and sevaisin and how they represent a joining and a dispatching and I think they work really well together but I have no idea how all the other types of magic work. The world itself is not very believable I can’t picture what life is like living in this world and from the little I have seen of it it doesn’t make all that much sense. If her characters lived in a world as creative and deep as they are then this story would be amazing.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt disapointed because the first one was so good, and this wan definetly decreased in quality. I like that she bumped up Elandra's competence, but the mysoginy was harder to ignore this time. It was fine, want to read book 3 to see what happens in the end.

[betty russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all who love fantasy with a little romance........

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[LoKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much a middle book, but still enjoyable and easy to read.

[Keith Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

a slog

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Ruby Throne Trilogy, and although I remember the first book being great, I enjoyed this book is MUCH more than the first.

The first book, Reign of Shadows, set up the foundation of the story, characters, plot points etc which meant that this book was able to get right into the action. We see Elandra crowned Empress and have some interesting trials whilst on the path to prepare for her coronation. We also see some changes in Caelan's life too - Risen to fame due to being the Prince's Gladiator, he discovers the Prince is a traitor and they get into some trouble. Caelan ends up getting tortured - it seems like his life has gone back to square one. That is, until he joins the Emperor's army. Then he must help fight when the empire is attacked.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing from the first book we find Caelan is still a gladiator slave and still owned by the prince. He has become more jaded from the first book but that is hardly surprising seeing the environment that he has lived in. Elandra does meet Caelan as I guessed they would but she has become far less fearful and more commanding then what she was in the first book. I'm hoping that in the next book Agel will be killed off I was hoping Caelan would do it throughout most of this book and I'm also going to hope for the return of Bixia to see if she did follow in her aunt's footsteps. Can't wait to read the third book.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I like this book (and series) better in my head that in print. In an effort to make her characters human, not super-human, she made them silly. There is a lot of adventure in the head as well, and I'm not as crazy about that. Chester really likes the theme of mortal man battling the dark gods. Query: Why don't the light gods do the fighting?

[JoReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book... Would have liked more meeting's with Elandra and Caelan. (I was expecting more as they hadn't even met by the end Of Reign of Shadows) Love both of these characters. Deborah Chester is fast becoming one of my favourite author's. The ending was amazing and I'm so glad I have the next book.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not significantly weaker than the first of the trilogy, in fact, I couldn't put the book down. The continuing story of Caelan and Elandra kept me spell bound (much like the emperor) for most of the day. Definately a book to read again.

[Kat Burnett]

Oh, my. This book was just amazing. It picked up where the first left off, and the excitement just kept building. By the end I couldn't wait to see what happened next, so as soon as I finished reading the last page, I picked up the next book. A definite must for fantasy genre fans.

[Nikki Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book without realizing it was part of a trilogy. I wish I could go back and read them all now, but they're a bit hard to find.

[BookLuva28 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give it 3.5 Stars.

[Marie34801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

j'espere juste que milady éditera la suite un jour!

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book.

[I.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to push myself to finish the book. About 3/4 through this book, I stopped caring about the characters. It was a good trilogy, but eh.

[Tiffany Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

great easy fantasy read

[Christopher B. Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good!

Fun read, page Turner. I enjoyed it a lot.
Great entertainment. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Can't wait to start the last book.