What do you think?
Rate this book
The Shifter War #2
Visioner
Sequel to Messenger, Book One of The Shifter War
As the first ever human custodian, Danil is sworn to protect the strange new magic threading across the deadlands. But the armies of Roldaer are stirring, and when an assassin nearly takes his life, Danil sets out to win the aid of the Amasian High Council.
With Hafryn by his side, Danil discovers that allies are rarely what they seem. Intrigue and betrayal haunt their steps, and soon Danil and Hafryn must use all their wits to stay alive. Meanwhile, a fearsome magic that has not been unleashed since the blackest days of the Great War is reawakened.
Using such magic could see Danil save the deadlands, or destroy it.
50,000 words
As the first ever human custodian, Danil is sworn to protect the strange new magic threading across the deadlands. But the armies of Roldaer are stirring, and when an assassin nearly takes his life, Danil sets out to win the aid of the Amasian High Council.
With Hafryn by his side, Danil discovers that allies are rarely what they seem. Intrigue and betrayal haunt their steps, and soon Danil and Hafryn must use all their wits to stay alive. Meanwhile, a fearsome magic that has not been unleashed since the blackest days of the Great War is reawakened.
Using such magic could see Danil save the deadlands, or destroy it.
50,000 words
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2017
13 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
K.K. Ness
6 books14 followersK.K. NESS is a social worker by day and a writer…also by day. She loves creating stories with a cast of characters whose antics and mayhem make her happy. She resides in sunny Queensland, Australia, with various family and animal friends.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 5, 2018
Still 3 stars
I still give this second book of this series 3 stars. Why? While I love all the fantastical aspects and the fresh take on things, I can’t help but feel it’s lacking something.
It is a very intriguing world though. I love it to bits. Just... I can’t put my finger on what’s missing...
I still give this second book of this series 3 stars. Why? While I love all the fantastical aspects and the fresh take on things, I can’t help but feel it’s lacking something.
It is a very intriguing world though. I love it to bits. Just... I can’t put my finger on what’s missing...
December 29, 2017
Danil and Hafryn are back! If you liked Messenger, then you’ll like Visioner as well as they are very similar books. Danil is still a fish out of water, Hafryn is still his devoted lover and protector, and they still don’t know who they can really trust.
After winning the battle at the end of Messenger to save the deadlands from Roldaerian magi and the evil Kaul, Danil is now its custodian. It’s a position that chooses the person, not the other way around. Under his care, the once lifeless area is flourishing with greenery and, more importantly, leylines and kiandrite crystals that speak to him. Danil has just found his first proper kiandrite crystal (instead of the flecks that the magi have been stealing for decades to use in their magic spells) when he is surprised by a Roldaerian emissary and her guards. They wish to be taken to the High Council of Amas to negotiate a peace treaty on orders from King Liam of Roldaer.
Danil is suspicious of their sincerity but escorts them to a nearby camp to meet with Prince Sonnen of Corros, one of the Amasian houses. He agrees to take them but is just as suspicious. Their suspicions build when an assassin tries, unsuccessfully, to kill Danil. But it reveals a talent Danil didn’t know he had, the ability to see the Trueforms of the Amasians even when they haven’t transformed into their spirit animals. Since Amasians from the House of Eyrie don’t reveal their Trueforms to anyone outside of their house, it’s a dangerous skill to have.
Once Danil, Hafryn and Sonnen are in Corros with the emissary, it’s all politics and intrigue and someone clearly doesn’t want peace with Roldaer. Danil is viewed with disdain since he’s technically a Roldaerian and the way things are going, the deadlands won’t have a custodian for long.
KK Ness is wonderful at world building. We still haven’t seen a great deal of Roldaer so we don’t really know what it’s like but Amas, its inhabitants and its history are so immersive that you can lose yourself in them for days. It’s so filmic that I can see the movie version in my head. The best scenes are the ones in which Danil is discovering and using his magical abilities and although there’s an element of “that was convenient” to it, it’s done so well that you don’t really mind.
At the end of the first book, I had an inkling that perhaps the story would switch to the perspective of a different main character (there were certainly enough interesting people to do this) but the author has stuck with Danil and while it has worked this time, there’s still so much more I want to know. There’s no real depth to the villains – all the Roldaerian magi just seem to be greedy and evil and we’ve never gotten to see or know any other Roldaerians – and we’re constantly told that King Liam, the ruler of Roldaer, is behind it all but we’ve never met him either. In fact, Danil is the only not evil Roldaerian we see since the village of Farin was slaughtered at the start of the first book. Surely he can’t be the only one?
The story has what could be perceived as an anti-mining subtext and I kind of like the idea that it’s more than just a fantasy novel but that might be me reading into things that the author didn’t actually intend. It’s also short, a novella rather than a novel but it means you don’t get sick of it like some books that go on and on just for the sake of padding things out.
There were only three things that bothered me:
*Constant references to “officious” robes – I think the author meant “official” and had the two words confused. Either way, it was horribly overused. There certainly didn’t seem to be any other kind of robes.
*All the characters “sketched a bow” instead of just bowing – it became an awfully repetitive phrase but also one that I kept stopping to think about what it really meant.
*Chapters were frequently begun in the same way – “Dawn saw Danil doing this”, “Afternoon saw Hafryn doing that”, “Night saw Sonnen doing something else”. Eventually I was longing for a bit of variety.
Still, they’re minor points. It’s another good book from KK Ness and will only contribute to the development of her reputation in the fantasy genre.
After winning the battle at the end of Messenger to save the deadlands from Roldaerian magi and the evil Kaul, Danil is now its custodian. It’s a position that chooses the person, not the other way around. Under his care, the once lifeless area is flourishing with greenery and, more importantly, leylines and kiandrite crystals that speak to him. Danil has just found his first proper kiandrite crystal (instead of the flecks that the magi have been stealing for decades to use in their magic spells) when he is surprised by a Roldaerian emissary and her guards. They wish to be taken to the High Council of Amas to negotiate a peace treaty on orders from King Liam of Roldaer.
Danil is suspicious of their sincerity but escorts them to a nearby camp to meet with Prince Sonnen of Corros, one of the Amasian houses. He agrees to take them but is just as suspicious. Their suspicions build when an assassin tries, unsuccessfully, to kill Danil. But it reveals a talent Danil didn’t know he had, the ability to see the Trueforms of the Amasians even when they haven’t transformed into their spirit animals. Since Amasians from the House of Eyrie don’t reveal their Trueforms to anyone outside of their house, it’s a dangerous skill to have.
Once Danil, Hafryn and Sonnen are in Corros with the emissary, it’s all politics and intrigue and someone clearly doesn’t want peace with Roldaer. Danil is viewed with disdain since he’s technically a Roldaerian and the way things are going, the deadlands won’t have a custodian for long.
KK Ness is wonderful at world building. We still haven’t seen a great deal of Roldaer so we don’t really know what it’s like but Amas, its inhabitants and its history are so immersive that you can lose yourself in them for days. It’s so filmic that I can see the movie version in my head. The best scenes are the ones in which Danil is discovering and using his magical abilities and although there’s an element of “that was convenient” to it, it’s done so well that you don’t really mind.
At the end of the first book, I had an inkling that perhaps the story would switch to the perspective of a different main character (there were certainly enough interesting people to do this) but the author has stuck with Danil and while it has worked this time, there’s still so much more I want to know. There’s no real depth to the villains – all the Roldaerian magi just seem to be greedy and evil and we’ve never gotten to see or know any other Roldaerians – and we’re constantly told that King Liam, the ruler of Roldaer, is behind it all but we’ve never met him either. In fact, Danil is the only not evil Roldaerian we see since the village of Farin was slaughtered at the start of the first book. Surely he can’t be the only one?
The story has what could be perceived as an anti-mining subtext and I kind of like the idea that it’s more than just a fantasy novel but that might be me reading into things that the author didn’t actually intend. It’s also short, a novella rather than a novel but it means you don’t get sick of it like some books that go on and on just for the sake of padding things out.
There were only three things that bothered me:
*Constant references to “officious” robes – I think the author meant “official” and had the two words confused. Either way, it was horribly overused. There certainly didn’t seem to be any other kind of robes.
*All the characters “sketched a bow” instead of just bowing – it became an awfully repetitive phrase but also one that I kept stopping to think about what it really meant.
*Chapters were frequently begun in the same way – “Dawn saw Danil doing this”, “Afternoon saw Hafryn doing that”, “Night saw Sonnen doing something else”. Eventually I was longing for a bit of variety.
Still, they’re minor points. It’s another good book from KK Ness and will only contribute to the development of her reputation in the fantasy genre.
January 30, 2018
Worth the wait
I re-read the first book in the series so that I would have everything fresh in my mind. The second book in the shifter series did not disappoint. The love between Danil and Hafryn is well written. I loved reading about what fala truly meant. The plot was so good. I was hooked from the start. I can only hope there will be more to the series. When the next installment comes, because it just has to, I'll re-read them all again. It's just that good. If I could rate more than 5 stars, I would. I'm in love with this series.
I re-read the first book in the series so that I would have everything fresh in my mind. The second book in the shifter series did not disappoint. The love between Danil and Hafryn is well written. I loved reading about what fala truly meant. The plot was so good. I was hooked from the start. I can only hope there will be more to the series. When the next installment comes, because it just has to, I'll re-read them all again. It's just that good. If I could rate more than 5 stars, I would. I'm in love with this series.
January 27, 2018
(Originally reviewed for Love Bytes Reviews. Rated 4.5 out of 5.0 Love Bytes.)
Visioner picks up directly after the completion of the first book in the series, Messenger, and it is crucial that you read that book first. They are both really, really, good and it shouldn’t be too onerous a task!
If you read my review of Messenger, you will know that I loved the story and the worldbuilding, and I’m happy to say that the story just gets better in this second installment. We’re back with Danil and Hafryn, and Danil has begun to develop unexpected powers. He is growing in magical abilities, but he is a human, and not completely welcome or wanted in the shifter land of Amas. Plus, now that the bad folks from the first installment are gone, there seems to be an effort by Roldaer to plead for peace with Amas. But is the woman sent to do it, all that she seems?
Danil and Hafryn face distrust and outright battle from some unexpected sources, and again, as in book one, the story moves along at a very rapid pace. I found myself unable to put my Kindle down until I finished it. I loved how Danil keeps finding out new things about himself, and the way he is interacting with the magical crystals. I also love how the authors have written a land where shifters of every size, shape and type intermingle.
This one had it all. Assassination attempts, good versus evil, hidden plots, unexpected betrayal from totally unexpected sources, and the continuing increase in Danil’s abilities.
I loved the book. It ends in a way that you know there is more to come. Let’s hope these twins who write as K.K. Ness are taking the time to work on the next installment…and soon!
Visioner picks up directly after the completion of the first book in the series, Messenger, and it is crucial that you read that book first. They are both really, really, good and it shouldn’t be too onerous a task!
If you read my review of Messenger, you will know that I loved the story and the worldbuilding, and I’m happy to say that the story just gets better in this second installment. We’re back with Danil and Hafryn, and Danil has begun to develop unexpected powers. He is growing in magical abilities, but he is a human, and not completely welcome or wanted in the shifter land of Amas. Plus, now that the bad folks from the first installment are gone, there seems to be an effort by Roldaer to plead for peace with Amas. But is the woman sent to do it, all that she seems?
Danil and Hafryn face distrust and outright battle from some unexpected sources, and again, as in book one, the story moves along at a very rapid pace. I found myself unable to put my Kindle down until I finished it. I loved how Danil keeps finding out new things about himself, and the way he is interacting with the magical crystals. I also love how the authors have written a land where shifters of every size, shape and type intermingle.
This one had it all. Assassination attempts, good versus evil, hidden plots, unexpected betrayal from totally unexpected sources, and the continuing increase in Danil’s abilities.
I loved the book. It ends in a way that you know there is more to come. Let’s hope these twins who write as K.K. Ness are taking the time to work on the next installment…and soon!
January 21, 2018
A great read
A great second installment to the Shifter War series. I absolutely can not wait to read the next book in the series, I hope for many more because I'm not nearly ready for it to end.
A great second installment to the Shifter War series. I absolutely can not wait to read the next book in the series, I hope for many more because I'm not nearly ready for it to end.
January 4, 2019
2nd book in series
I dont believe this book is as good as the 1st one. The story is a combination but should have been one book and i think the 3rd one should also be part of this one. They should all be one
I dont believe this book is as good as the 1st one. The story is a combination but should have been one book and i think the 3rd one should also be part of this one. They should all be one
December 16, 2017
Great read. In-depth and very descriptive colourful story. Love the characters and can’t wait for the shifter war in book 3. Would recommend this book to all lovers of fantasy.
June 17, 2022
This book is about and ordinary boy who becomes a powerful guardian of a ruined land .
I truly enjoyed this series of books the storyline was amazing love the characters where likable and relatable I hope that there will be a third book .
I truly enjoyed this series of books the storyline was amazing love the characters where likable and relatable I hope that there will be a third book .
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews