The Second Age: All the Devils are Here

The Secret Histories #2

by Arshad Ahsanuddin

Collects Part 1: Lord of Silence, Part 2: Avatar, and Part 3: Reaper.The bargain between Laras and Chaos comes to bloody fruition, as their corrupted scions spread across the world, turning the night into a battlefield. Finally, Laras turns his attention to the first step in his revenge against House to bring Rian into his dark fold. Rian, however, still has a few cards left to play, forging an uneasy alliance with Narissa, leader of the Magery’s secret police.Mikal has his own problems, mourning the death of his brother, Jasra, cut down in battle against Laras’s forces. Whether Jasra stays dead, or rises to join the enemy, Mikal knows that the chance to reconcile with his estranged brother is lost forever. In the meantime, he must make his own foray into enemy territory, accompanying Rian back to the Tanek heir’s home in the heart of the Imperium.The battle lines are drawn, the pieces set upon on the board for the inevitable confrontation between Order and Chaos. But not even the Great Powers can force the game to conform entirely to their design, and free will may turn the conflict on its head, as an unexpected ally takes the field.

Genres: LGBT, Fantasy

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2021

About the author

By profession, I am a hematopathologist, a laboratory physician who specializes in diagnosis of diseases of blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes, such as leukemia and lymphoma. In my off time, I write LGBT Fantasy and Scifi books. Yes, I realize the irony that I write about vampires. ;)

Note: I do not guarantee a happy ending to any individual book within each series.

Reviews

[Shelby]

This is such an interesting premise. I loved the Pact Arcanum series so much and I'm adoring these prequels. This is a unique idea for how the Nightwalkers came to be. I was happy to get back to Rian and Mikal. The world is under a huge threat from Rian's twisted uncle, and as they learn more the see how dire things actually are. Mikal's brother Jasra may just be the key they need to figure things out. Somehow he's not fully tainted like so many of Laras other victims, he still retains his soul.

I enjoyed the action of this story. The battle with Laras is engaged and despite everyone wanting to defeat Laras there's still not a lot of trust between all the factions. There's no clear options and everything has risks.

I can't wait to see what happens next down the millenia as while there's a conclusion to this battle, the war is long from over.

[♣ Irish Smurfétté ♣]

Vivid characters and settings. Some major through-lines are further fleshed out, which means higher stakes. A couple of wobbly places along the way but they don't last. Connor's character growth is tied with Ruarc as fave parts in this installment.
Sharp writing and great storytelling, the usual for this author. And I'm here for it.