Arik Dacre now has other reasons to pursue Nobunaga, the evil warlord of the Crimson Realm. Before he can travel south, he'll need to find the legendary Whispering Sword. With an entire realm to search, this is no easy task, and doing so will bring him in direct conflict with a host of new enemies, from the skeletal giant to the leader of the false shinobi himself, Sengum Minamoto.
Revelations abound as Master Illusionist Hojo's strange illness worsens, leaving Arik to fend for himself. A solution is possible through cultivating a blend of Thunderaura and Chimaura, but these powers come with their own risks, and Arik might not be strong enough to use them together. In that case, he'll have to improvise...
Does Arik have what it takes to become a legend?
From Harmon Cooper, author of the instant bestseller Pilgrim, as well as the LitRPG series Cowboy Necromancer and The Feedback Loop, comes a Japanese mythology inspired cultivation epic for fans of Cradle, Demon Slayer, and Ghost of Tsushima. Using recently translated ninja and samurai texts to build its combat and chi system, War Priest is a unique work in the fantasy space, a story about a chi healer forced to use learn to use his power in new and frightening ways.
Harmon Cooper is the author of over sixty fantasy works. His bestselling series include Pilgrim, War Priest, Cowboy Necromancer, and Tokens and Towers.
His series, The Feedback Loop, is one of the earlier GameLit works first published in 2015. An earphone award winner for the series Death's Mantle, Harmon won the LitRPG/GameLit Audiobook of the Year award for Sacred Cat Island, narrated by Legends and Lattes author Travis Baldree.
Harmon write progression fantasy, cultivation fantasy, and LitRPG/GameLit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel to 2021's 'War Priest' which I absolutely loved. There is so much information in here, and you can tell that a huge amount of research has been carried out as, oh boy, it shows and feels real.
Our main man, Arik Dacre, has a great deal of inner turmoil, hurt, and surprise in this book, and it brought out very strong emotions in me. The fight scenes in Harmon Cooper's work are always action-packed and full of detail, and this is no different. They are so well choreographed that the reader feels they are right there in the middle of the fracas.
I adore the fact that the author's characters are not infallible, and struggle to gain the skills they require to grow. Practice certainly does make perfect in Arik's case! I love the world building, the wonderful eclectic mix of characters -good, bad, and ugly- and the well-written, excellent storyline. The ending, oh dear *sniff*.
I love this fantastic series. Roll on book three and more of Arik's experiences, his learning, and making new friends (and enemies).
I’ve enjoyed the second book of this series enough that I am considering reading Harmon Cooper’s first series Pilgrim. He was abel to snag Traivs Baldree to do the audible , it seems his voice is perfect for the genre and he really does bring Cooper’s story to life. The story does have action, some humor, and a few twists that are impactful. It is appropriate for young adults and above.
The worldbuilding while not massive is there, as well as solid characters, and a decent plot for the individual book that carries the overall plot quiet well. With some of the revelations in this book I think there's a bit too much coincidence in terms of the certain characters running into each other multiple times and begin connected to other characters. No spoilers though.
I think Harmon Cooper’s take on the cultivation genre is interesting as the magic system has its own rules that each have their own quarks as we the reader and listener sees more of them.
I do think some of the main protagonist's actions or better said reactions feel a bit off for the sake of creating drama but for the most part he grew as a character. The balance between his upbringing as a healer and his current life as a warrior is fun and I hope to see more of the healing in the next book as it has taken more of a back step here.
We are reintroduced to mainly of the same side characters in book 1. As something of a journey/travel story it was cool to seem them pop back up and be rounded out abit more. However I do think that it would have been better to see a few more new characters show up outside of enemies and two new allies.
At that said, I am not complaining. For those who enjoy cultivation action series this is certainly a soild KU read or something good to add to your kindle library or audible collection (Particularly with Traivs Baldree voicing it.)
War Priest 2 by Harmon Carmon. After slightly struggling with my understanding of the Far Eastern Mythology fae types in Book 1, Book 2 was much easier to enjoy. The healing disciple protagonist Arik is advancing quickly in the deadly arts of swordplay. He even picks up a semblance of a crew as he continues to collect relics of the original War Priest. All of the fighters are trying to stop or seriously delay a war being planned by greedy evil men. I recommend you introduce yourself to kami’s, illusionists, false shinobi, and the itako's of this world by starting with book 1 and continuing with book 2 in the story of the War Priest. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
The book starts up right where Mask of the Fallen left off, so yeah you skipped the first book and expected to catch up, you'll be sorry. Arik realizes he's not ready to seek his revenge at least not if he plans to beat Nobunaga, in a head to head battle. So he takes a backstep and starts a search for the Whispering Sword, owned by the imfamous War Priest, and lost in the mythos of time. All the while Arik cultivated his skills and Chi. Which has driven him one step closer to being the actual reincarnate of the War Priest. A figure of the past. As Kami, the water god had predicted at the end of book1. And well Travis Baldree is King, his narration is always spot-on! And what audio collection doesn't need more Travis Baldree in their library.
If you liked War Priest: Mask of the Fallen, you'll love The Whispering Sword.
Arik Dacre continues his adventures and learning of the magical art of warfare, Thunderaura, and of deception, Chimeraura. These augment his considerable healing power, plus the magical mask he acquired in the first book.
His companions are essential Meosa, the magical water being, called a kami. Hojo, the Chimeraura master, who has taken Arik under his wing.
All they have to do is defeat another Chimeraua master, his hundreds of students, a Thunderaura master and his whole kingdom of warriors.
Arik has grown and after the first book this is a lot more evident as we experience his rise of power and skill. Although youth and unworldly to start with he has grown into a stronger character that I feel a lot more connection with. The historical usage of the background information is really good and I just love how this one ended.
Arik is just scary as a master healer with a magic sword and mask who continues to get more powerful as he masters the arts of war and assemblies his own network of allies.
I love seeing how Arick develops his skills and talents! His humanity and sense of caring grounds him while the Mask and Sword drive him to fight! Such an incredible story so far!
This was an awesome follow up to the first War Priest book. Everything I hoped would be in this book was so excellent job on that. Anyways, I look forward to the next War Priest book and what it may bring to the table. :)
Another solid book. Compared to the first, I'd say this one had a more straightforward plot. I don't like that the cast has gotten bigger, but we'll see.