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The Cycle of the Scour #2
The Black Book
Cally and Rowe have scoured the demonic wights from Narashtovik. But during the war, Cally learned he can no longer be part of the pacifist Order that raised him to be a sorcerer. The pair has traveled south, seeking the true copy of The Cycle of Arawn—the artifact Cally believes can restore proper rule to Narashtovik.
There's a few problems with this plan, though. For one, nobody's seen the true copy in decades. For another, in these lands, possessing a copy of the Cycle is rewarded with a quick trip to the hangman. And if anyone finds out Cally can wield the dark arts of the nether, he'll wish all he got was hanged.
Hunting for the book in the Western Kingdoms, Cally and Rowe are arrested by the Inquisition and sentenced to serve them. Since the Inquisition tracks down banned books, Cally has a better chance to find his prize than ever.
But one slip will cost him his life—and as the Inquisition pursues its leads, it exposes a conspiracy that could be more devastating than the one that almost destroyed Narashtovik.
There's a few problems with this plan, though. For one, nobody's seen the true copy in decades. For another, in these lands, possessing a copy of the Cycle is rewarded with a quick trip to the hangman. And if anyone finds out Cally can wield the dark arts of the nether, he'll wish all he got was hanged.
Hunting for the book in the Western Kingdoms, Cally and Rowe are arrested by the Inquisition and sentenced to serve them. Since the Inquisition tracks down banned books, Cally has a better chance to find his prize than ever.
But one slip will cost him his life—and as the Inquisition pursues its leads, it exposes a conspiracy that could be more devastating than the one that almost destroyed Narashtovik.
349 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2020
55 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Edward W. Robertson
73 books1,240 followersEd is the author of the post-apocalyptic Breakers series and the epic fantasy series The Cycle of Arawn. A former New Yorker and Idaho-guy, he currently lives in the LA area. His short fiction has appeared in a whole bunch of magazines and anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 20, 2020
Enjoyed it thoroughly
As always Ed doesn't disappoint. I am enjoying reading what made Cally who he was. This book was another good read.
As always Ed doesn't disappoint. I am enjoying reading what made Cally who he was. This book was another good read.
November 3, 2022
The Black Book is filled with serious dangers. Some of them are of the action-packed variety. Others seem much slower while they are trying to happen, but these are just as bad, or maybe worse.
The second book in The Cycle of the Scour finds Cally and his friend Rowe searching for the original Cycle of Arawn to allow them to find out how to defeat the demons they found in the north. They wind up searching in Mallon. Along the way, they fall into the clutches of an outfit calling themselves The Black Book. They are imprisoned, and it looks bad until Cally has the idea of telling the truth – sort of. He tells them they too are searching for copies of the Cycle. But he implies that they want the same thing The Black Book does – to destroy all the copies.
They are taken into The Black Book on trial. Rowe, being a good soldier, does well. And Cally gets by.
Eventually, there are reports of bad things happening in the Collen Basin – a place we have been before, in the future, in The Cycle of Galand. In some ways, Collen is the same here in the past as it was in the future. Mallon is continually trying to take them over. And Collen is continually rebelling.
For their search, Cally is paired with a girl, Myla, who is also a sorcerer. She is originally from Collen but was brought to Mallon because of her talents. Like Cally, she is still sort of an apprentice, but she is a little better than he is, at least as far as their bosses are concerned.
They go through several adventures together, including a long trek in the frozen desert. And they discover some terrible things that are going on. A gang of rebel sorcerers has created nearly unkillable bone Golems, and when the full Black Book follows them to the heart of their enterprise, they discover a demon far worse than the ones Cally and Rowe have already seen in the process of being summoned. All their lives are in danger.
When they defeat the responsible sorcerer, at a terrible cost, it is only to discover an even more horrible secret behind it all.
Can’t wait to read the next in the series.
The second book in The Cycle of the Scour finds Cally and his friend Rowe searching for the original Cycle of Arawn to allow them to find out how to defeat the demons they found in the north. They wind up searching in Mallon. Along the way, they fall into the clutches of an outfit calling themselves The Black Book. They are imprisoned, and it looks bad until Cally has the idea of telling the truth – sort of. He tells them they too are searching for copies of the Cycle. But he implies that they want the same thing The Black Book does – to destroy all the copies.
They are taken into The Black Book on trial. Rowe, being a good soldier, does well. And Cally gets by.
Eventually, there are reports of bad things happening in the Collen Basin – a place we have been before, in the future, in The Cycle of Galand. In some ways, Collen is the same here in the past as it was in the future. Mallon is continually trying to take them over. And Collen is continually rebelling.
For their search, Cally is paired with a girl, Myla, who is also a sorcerer. She is originally from Collen but was brought to Mallon because of her talents. Like Cally, she is still sort of an apprentice, but she is a little better than he is, at least as far as their bosses are concerned.
They go through several adventures together, including a long trek in the frozen desert. And they discover some terrible things that are going on. A gang of rebel sorcerers has created nearly unkillable bone Golems, and when the full Black Book follows them to the heart of their enterprise, they discover a demon far worse than the ones Cally and Rowe have already seen in the process of being summoned. All their lives are in danger.
When they defeat the responsible sorcerer, at a terrible cost, it is only to discover an even more horrible secret behind it all.
Can’t wait to read the next in the series.
March 10, 2022
It's been awhile since I returned to this series, but it took me only a couple pages to feel like I had never left. It was a wonderful feeling, and instead of having to push myself through the start, as I expected, I read the book in almost no time. I just blinked and it was over.
And what a book it was. Cally was great before, but here he just keeps on growing. He's still a youth, with all the strengths and downfalls of that age, but he's trying to be more to various level of success. It's not easy to find your place in the world, and it's especially so when you're a thousand miles away from everything you knew and saddled with a quest of impossible proportions.
And what a book it was. Cally was great before, but here he just keeps on growing. He's still a youth, with all the strengths and downfalls of that age, but he's trying to be more to various level of success. It's not easy to find your place in the world, and it's especially so when you're a thousand miles away from everything you knew and saddled with a quest of impossible proportions.
December 18, 2020
Good story. Love this back story of Calimandicus to The “Cycle” books. A little slow moving at times and the biggest dramatic arcs were reserved for battle scenes rather than character development —which left me wanting a bit. I had expected a bigger chunk of Cali’s life to be covered in this second book but should have caught on by the title of the book! The good news is surely there’s lots more to look forward to.
March 15, 2022
If it's by Edward Robertson and it has Cycle in the title..read it!!!
I really got pulled into this one just like the last two series, the cycles of Garland and Arawn. This is such an entertaining universe, and the twisting plots and likeable characters make it a fun read. You won't be disappointed...come to think of it, if it has Breakers in the title read that too lol.
I really got pulled into this one just like the last two series, the cycles of Garland and Arawn. This is such an entertaining universe, and the twisting plots and likeable characters make it a fun read. You won't be disappointed...come to think of it, if it has Breakers in the title read that too lol.
November 23, 2020
I am a huge fan of this author and this world, in particular. Great story and character development, and I love the long arcs.
April 20, 2022
First book in the series was much more interesting.
July 26, 2023
Another excellent story in the world of the Cycle. It's great to great Cali's story. I wondered throughout Dante's story about this very odd character. Tim Gerard Reynolds is a wonderful performer!!!
January 10, 2024
Start of a Collen Basin backstoryline relevant to the Collen Basin storyline in the Cycle of Galand... fills in some details about the previous issues with foreign rulers...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews