Victorious Dead

The Asarlaí Wars #2

by Marie Andreas

The galaxy was in for a world of hurt—chaos unseen since the violent, sadistic Asarlaí ruled. For the first time in her life, Vas doesn’t know if she can fight hard enough to stop it.

Vaslisha Tor Dain was a simple sort of mercenary starship captain. She fought hard, drank hard, and killed people when all else failed. Those were the good days--blown to interstellar dust when a band of crazed monks tried to resurrect a race of long-dead homicidal rulers: the Asarlaí.

Vas and her crew defeated the first wave but at great cost, both professional and personal.

Now lying low, she's been taking tedious recovery jobs with a new ship, a new second-in-command, and a galactic government that has gone into hiding but is still on the hunt for her and her ship. But there are noises in the distant corners of the galaxy that the Asarlaí have found new allies and another way to come back from the great beyond. A painful and brutal way that will destroy worlds.

In the darkest night of deep space, if she sits too still and thinks too long, she still misses her former ship, scattered in pieces across the universe, and Deven, her former second-in-command, also scattered in pieces across the universe.

When what should have been an easy job with easy money backfires in her face, the cosmic conspiracy engulfs her again. The ghost--make that ghosts--of her dead lover appears, as do the deadly, long-gone Asarlaí who want their empire of worlds back, never mind that other beings live there. And Vas realizes lying low was never a possibility, not for the Warrior Wench, and never for her.

Death is final. Except when it isn’t.
But the righteous in battle are always VICTORIOUS DEAD.

Genres: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Space

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 10, 2017

About the author

Marie is a fantasy and science fiction reader with a serious writing addiction, and a few awards to go with it. If she wasn't writing about all the people in her head, she'd be lurking about coffee shops annoying total strangers with her stories. So really, writing is a way of saving the masses. Her fantasy series, The Lost Ancients, starts with The Glass Gargoyle. The entire six book, Lost Ancient series is complete for binge time!

There is also a completed space opera trilogy, with Warrior Wench, Victorious Dead, and Defiant Ruin. Vas and her crew of mercs launched a new series with Traitor's Folly which is also now complete.

A Curious Invasion-- a steampunk-is out and has two more books out as well. Vampires, mermaids, pharaohs, and TEA!

Essence of Chaos is the first book in a completed epic fantasy trilogy.

The Girl with the Iron Wing is a thriller/Urban Fantasy, and the first book in the Broken Veils series. The trilogy is now completed.

A trio of sisters is represented facing their biggest challenges in the Magic & Sorcery Chronicles--a clean romantasy trilogy.

A new paranormal cozy mystery fantasy series launches with Mischief in a Bottle.


More new books, series, and adventures coming in 2026!


When not saving the masses from coffee shop shenanigans, Marie likes to visit the UK and keeps hoping someone will give her a nice summer home in the Forest of Dean or northern Wales.

To find out more about the books, and future series, please visit her website at www.marieandreas.com--especially if you happen to have a small cottage to give her.

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the first book in this series felt a little like...



And this particular installment felt a lot like...



So much crazy, non-stop action! So many twists and turns and surprises and shocking shockers, oh my!

And I shall leave it at that because this all left me feeling a little...



👋 Until next time and stuff.

📚 Vaslisha Tor Dain series:
1 · Warrior Wench (The Asarlaí Wars #1) ★★★★
2 · Victorious Dead (The Asarlaí Wars #2) ★★★★
3 · Defiant Ruin (The Asarlaí Wars, #3) ★★★★
4 · Traitor's Folly (The Code of the Keepers, #1) ★★★
5 · Destroyer's Curse (The Code of the Keepers, #2) ★★
6 · The Code of the Keepers, #3 · NOT to be read, thank you very much.

[Wyrdness · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I have to remove half a star because at times there was just so much going on that it devolved in to a hugely confusing mess for me. As Goodreads doesn't actually allow half stars though, and since I enjoyed reading this and was intrigued by the unfolding plot far more than I was frustrated by not being able to keep everything straight, I'm going to round my rating up rather than down.

This was a rather action packed read with time critical puzzles for the characters to work through added just for the hell of it. It all sounds great in theory, but in practice I found it incredibly difficult to keep track of who was doing what and where they all were, and it didn't help that as the reader I was kept just as much in the dark as Vas and her crew were towards the shadowy conspiracy. I don't actually mind that last part so much, but it did mean that I constantly felt like I was being yanked along as the Warrior Wench lurched from one moment of sure death to the next, and when there was a brief moment to catch my breath it was usually because Vas was mulling over new information that I too now had to digest.

Maybe all these new revelations wouldn't have been such a trial for me if I had simply gone back and re-read the first book before starting this one though. I was perhaps a quarter of the way through this one before I started to remember the details of what had happened in the previous instalment and so I was constantly playing catch-up from the beginning.

Even though I may have been flailing helplessly with the plot, I still love all the returning characters in this one, especially Vas. I noticed far fewer moments of the crew being filled with "Redshirts" and many of the secondary characters have definitely developed their own personalities. I really enjoy the family type vibe I get from their interactions, for example how Vas constantly picks on/ teases Mac like a little brother as petty revenge for the headaches he causes her, or how most of the crew seem to delight in disobeying Vas because it irritates her. At least until things get serious and then they all undeniably have each others backs. Then there is Marli, and though I dearly love her, it felt like she and the Scurrilous Monk "just happened" to be nearby an awful lot of the time when Vas and the Warrior Wench needed their arses saving. It rather takes the tension out of things when you half-expect some overpowered help to barrel on through and take care of it without stopping. So I was actually kind of glad when the Scurrilous Monk was blown up right before the end and she and her crew made their getaway on a hijacked hauler. I'm not sure whether this was done because the author realised they were beginning to rely on an immortal being and her nigh indestructible warship a little too much and simply removed future temptation, or whether it was a way to power up the baddies and Marli will simply be back next time in a turbo-retrofitted war-hauler.

I must also warn everyone that there is one hell of a "to be continued..." cliffhanger at the end of this.

Still, overall I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has read the first one. It's more or less much of the same, but it's definitely not a standalone that you can fall in to without prior knowledge. I'd perhaps also advise anyone newly coming to this series with even a tiny amount of patience to sit on both books until the third comes out, because I can virtually guarantee that they (and myself!) are going to have to re-read these suckers again to refresh all the details and be able to understand what is going on in the next instalment.

P.S: "Rillianian" is a pain in the arse word to have to keep tripping over. That is one too many "ian" for me!

P.P.S: The synopsis definitely should make mention of the valiant last stand of the warrior nuns of Clionea and the witnessing of their Last Rights. Let's just say that if you absolutely have to die in glorious battle that is definitely up there near the top in ways to go.

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This shaggy dog story is shedding all over the place. Super-powered people pop in and out at quasi-random times to save or screw-up the day. The characters are diverse and well managed, but the plot is out of control, and ends again on a cliff-hanger.

I am undecided whether to finish the trilogy.

[Karen ⚜Mess⚜ · Rating 5 out of 5]

MacHalo Buddy Read

Another fun rollercoaster ride! I just LOVE Marie Andreas's writing. Her characters are top notch.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vaslisha Tor Dain is in over her head. Not only is she seeing two different versions of a crew member who died now alive and well but not recognizing her a new danger has arrived. This is a very busy book. It goes from one dangerous situation to one even more dangerous. Turns out the long dead Asarlaí are trying to come back and are using her ship, the Warrior Wench, to open a rift in the galaxy. If that is not enough she has other enemies who want to capture or kill her and her crew. A interesting addition to this series. I look forward to book three.

[Billy Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vas just keeps getting better as a character. Now onto the third book, y-e-e-e-e-s-s-s.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid second book

This second installment keeps up the pace and fun of the first. As mysteries are solved, new ones are revealed, keeping the reader interested and engaged.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ratings - completed series:
#1 Warrior Wench: ★★★★☆
#2 Victorious Dead (this book): ★★★★☆
#3 Defiant Ruin: ★★★★☆

[Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victorious Dead is told entirely from the viewpoint of Vaslisha Tor Dain, otherwise known as Vas. Vas is a little rough around the edges. Check out this opening sentence of the book:

"VAS HAD BEEN DRIBBLING BEER over herself and her chair for at least three minutes."

Talk about first impressions. Vas tends to shout first and ask questions later. Even when, you as the reader know that Terel (ship doctor) or Gosta (techie guru) has something critical to say that Vas really needs to hear. Lines like these are common in The Asarlaí Wars books:

"Vas added that to her growing list of ‘worry about it later’ problems." or "Vas knew the fact that she could open a secret sealed box could be a bad thing, but it was going to have to wait in line."

Most often she just notes to herself that she needs to think about something later. Or have a long talk with someone later. By the end of the book, Vas owes a lot of people long talks. I doubt those talks will ever happen. But those things she needs to know will come out – eventually – and at appropriately opportune, yet dire, situations.

Vas has a tendency to pick up and trust crew and passengers she barely knows. There was the time she offered a high-ranking position to one of her crew, even though she knew he originally came on board to spy. Does Vas lack good judgement? Probably. It is amazing she is still alive. Then there were those people that she added to her crew because their planet was about to be destroyed. Well, one of the refugees was a cute kid that had earlier helped Vas out. Okay, Vas is truly good-hearted. Despite that fact that she earns her money as a mercenary, she does have very particular ideas about how people should be treated.

For readers of Warrior Wench, Deven will make a re-appearance. Yea! Deven was a pretty critical and very fascinating character in that book. Supposedly Deven was dead at the end of that story. But he has come back from death before. As a character, Deven needs more development. He is quite the inscrutable character. At one point Vas thought "He was definitely back to his normal self—" Really? What exactly is normal about this guy? But there is this thing between Vas and Deven. As the reader, I don’t like a guy with so many secrets, but Vas likes him, so I will put up with him. By the end of Victorious Dead, I felt I knew more about the mysterious ancient race of Asarlaí, than I did about Deven.

If you have not read Warrior Wench, there are little bits here and there referencing the events of the first book, but I would think it would be hard to piece together. I highly recommend reading Warrior Wench first. Besides, its a good one too!

If you read Victorious Dead, here are a few more interesting things you will find:

Shadow ships
Commonwealth attack ships
Breach to another dimension
Warrior Nuns
Prophecy
Three Devens

"One thing she was not, and never had been, was retrospective. Things happened, you adjusted, and you moved on."

Those two sentences pretty much sum up my impressions while reading Victorious Dead. If you read Warrior Wench, you already know this. Especially the moving on part. The story is constantly moving on from one perilous situation to the next. That can be good and that can be bad. I love the constant high octane action.

But there is absolutely no time to catch your breath. Ever.

The author provided a copy of her book so that I cold bring you this honest review.

Originally posted at Whiskey With My Book.

[mlady_rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picks up not long after the first book left off. Because of instability in the Commonwealth -- and in Deven's honor -- the Warrior Wench has been taking on more rescue type jobs, and less mercenary work.

As the book opens Vas is playing drunk in order to copy a key card so they can retrieve a stolen relic. As she and her new second start to make their quick exit, Vas runs smack dab into a male concubine who is Deven, but isn't. He looks the same, smells the same, but there is no recognition in his eyes. Vas would have stayed but her partner in crime is a barrel of a man who thows her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and books it out of there.

Back on the ship and dealing with the dozen emergencies that must preceed investigating this Deven clone, she hears from Gosta who has found yet another Deven. This one a brute of a pirate, about to depart a nearby space station. Again, not a lick of recognition, or of Deven's gentle spirit.

"Vas didn’t know much about Deven’s past, but she had known him for more than fifteen years and had anyone asked her before her trip down to the space station, she would have said she knew him better than she knew herself. That was seriously in question now.

How someone could sound like Deven, feel like Deven, and even taste like Deven, and be that vile she had no idea. She needed to get this figured out, and soon."

And, you know how everything comes in threes. Well Marli contacts the Warrior Wench standing next to a third Deven, who she later names Deven Prime. This one is Vas' Deven, though he is missing pieces of himself and, like the other two, his health is fading fast.

Lots of adventure in this one, above and beyond the mystery of the three Devens. Though I must say that had me the most intrigued.

Once again, my other reading tastes show through. Nothing was neglected story wise, but I would have loved a little R rated sexual interlude in there somewhere. Not just for the sex, but Deven and Vas were begging for some serious post coital pillow talk. After declaring they loved each other, Deven sacrificing himself, Vas connecting to him psychically after she was injured, Deven coming back, integrating the three Devens, and watching her Deven reclaim his memories slowly. Yeah, they needed some quality one-on-one time.

But in the end my biggest complaint is that I know there is a third and final book, but have no idea when it is due to be published.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first book in the Asarlai Wars series, Warrior Wench, so when I learned the next book was out I lost no time in grabbing it and gobbling it up. It was another fantastic action packed adventure with the mercenary captain Vaslisha Tor Dain, her second-in-command who is newly returned from the dead, and her intrepid crew. With help from the immortal Marli, the last of the Asarlai race, or so they believe, they are fighting to stop new found enemies and save the universe once again. With Vas, I love the combination of hard fighting merc with bits of humor and soft-heartedness towards people who need her help. Marli is also a great character, mysterious, scary, but always there just when she’s needed. The rest of the crew are great at their jobs and there for Vas, so she knows she can rely on all of them, including Devon, who is also her love interest. I look forward to reading the conclusion of the series, it can’t get here soon enough for me.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent addition to the series. Sprinkled with humor, every bit as action-packed and filled with mysteries as the first, Ms Andreas knows how to keep a story moving and keep you on the edge of your seat. Her characters are very human (even though most of them aren't) and appealing, and I must say that Deven is one of the most alluring heroes I've encountered recently. I'm really looking forward to diving into Defiant Ruin, the next (and I think final) installment.

I'd really like to give this book 4.5 stars - I reserve my 5-star reviews for books I can't put down and re-read almost immediately and often multiple times. Those are few and far between, but The Asarlai Wars is pretty darn close.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd book in a fun trilogy. I enjoy the characters, particularly the heroine, who fits more masculine tropes than feminine ones. Her loyal crew is fun also, many with good personality features. I also enjoy the action-packed plot, which has the captain hurtling from one escapade to another. What I do not enjoy are the comma splices and run on sentences. They throw me out of the story and into grammarian mode. Other than that one problem, the book (and trilogy) are a fun read and a good romp.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the review I wrote for Victorious Dead the first time I finished it on July 11, 2017:

WOW!

If you haven't read the awesome Warrior Wench...READ IT! This series is fantastic space opera with a heart: believable aliens, laughs, thrills, countless twists and surprises, a little romance, and an absolutely kick-ass main character in Captain Vas Tor Dain. Andreas knocked Victorious Dead out of the park, and I can't wait to read the concluding Defiant Ruin.

[John Nicolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting and entertaining series, lots of action in this book!!!!

Congratulations to Marie Andreas for this amazing series. It’s extremely hard to find such an interesting and exciting author who not only writes intelligently but also provides top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories. I’m really looking forward to the next book.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Help me read more books

Pretty good second book in the series. It explains some questions hanging around from the first book, but it didn't answer all of them, so there's still more to read about. Guess they'll be explained in the next book in the series. Not a bad tactic.

[Cherylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't put it down

Great character and universe building with space battles that twist and veer like pinballs. Sympathetic connections built with the characters that feel solid. The Asarlai Wars Book 2 is definitely for you if you like space & tech so advanced it seems magic, characters you care about trying to save the universe by the seat of your pants.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relic hunt

After losing Devin Vas comes out of her grief to help people. A client hires her to get an "heirloom" from a planet but she has to get into a secure facility. Things are not what they appear to be. Vas gets a communication from her religious mentor and becomes involved in trying to save the universe.

[Julie Fine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another rolicking good time! As with the first in the series, Warrior Wench, Victorious Dead features drama, romance, humor, a kaleidoscope of unique and entertaining alien life and a kick ass heroine who makes Lara Croft look like a wuss. I can't wait for book 3!!

[Terry Canavello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great

I usually don't like second books as much as the first just because stories aren't as original. This series is great...the author kept the great characters and gave them all new adventures. Can't wait for the conclusion.

[Pilar Seacord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed, rip roaring space opera. Loved Capt. Vas a strong woman character and her second in command Devine who sounds sexy as hell are great leads. Never a dull moment with lots of tech. Highly recommend.

[Minga Dotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story continues in this novel, we are following the crew of The Victorious Dead now on the pimped out Warrior Wench as they solve the puzzle of their missing ship. Action and adventure galore, on ship and off, as they collect info and save people in the way of harm.

[Deborah Tindall · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride!

Thank goodness I already have the next book ready to jump into! I am loving this series...the characters, action, and story line has caused me to stay up way too long and ignore way too many chores! These books are terrific and I highly recommend them!

[Douglas Hull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Great things continue as the adventures of Vash continue.Many questions yet to be determined let alone answered. Defiantly something is unanswered about Vash and her past adventures with her family.

[Martha Lopata · Rating 5 out of 5]

You did it again Marie!

Well done! I miss these characters and am glad to see another in this series. Quirky and engaging. The stakes go higher, and I did not think it could be done...a cliff-hanger! So fun to read. More, please.

[Shana Pare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, love!

Victorious Dead rocks! I cannot praise this series highly enough. Great characters and non-stop action, all welded together in an incredibly masterful feat of authorship. This series does need to be read from Book One.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite the Space Ride

This book is Space Opera at it’s best. Imaginative sci fi, lots of action, likeable characters and twists and turns in the plot. Looking forward to the third in the series.

[Sandra Tonkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book is wonderful.

The characters are evolving and fantastic. The world building is superb. The plot is twisty. The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so have the next book cued up before reading.

[Illana Halliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

fast paced, gripping and addictive

The second book may even be better than the first. There is no predictability and the plots are twisty.
Good character development with villains to hate and champions to live and admire.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like episodic tv

Fun action adventure w female lead and interesting alien characters. It reads like episodic tv, each chapter has action, and semi resolves, and sometimes the characters switch roles.