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The Seven Hungers #2
Brine Council
Heed the Brine song, for the Old Gods have returned, and the world will drown in brine and darkness.
On the back of his confrontation with the Crimson King, formerly disgraced Crown sorcerer, Ambrose Drake, is sent to picturesque Port Douglas to investigate a curious emergence. Still reeling from his recent elevation to Regional Director, Drake and his companions are confronted by something ancient and hungry which has clawed its way out of the briny depths.
Drake must meet this challenge while struggling to control the powerful Sovereign who resides within his flesh, a Hungerborn being that threatens to tip the balance and send Drake and his companions to a watery death.
On the back of his confrontation with the Crimson King, formerly disgraced Crown sorcerer, Ambrose Drake, is sent to picturesque Port Douglas to investigate a curious emergence. Still reeling from his recent elevation to Regional Director, Drake and his companions are confronted by something ancient and hungry which has clawed its way out of the briny depths.
Drake must meet this challenge while struggling to control the powerful Sovereign who resides within his flesh, a Hungerborn being that threatens to tip the balance and send Drake and his companions to a watery death.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2022
75 people are currently reading
2445 people want to read
About the author
Morgan Quaid
56 books235 followersMorgan Quaid is an Australian writer of urban fantasy and horror, specializing in fast-paced page turners set against expansive fantasy backdrops. When Morgan isn’t writing novels, comics, graphic novels, or short stories, he’s usually composing or producing music, or staring with longing and regret at a bar of chocolate.
Published works include: Whiplash Book 1 (Markosia), The Script Rebellion (Markosia), Shadow’s Daughter (Markosia), Idle Thuggery (Markosia).
Upcoming works include: Rust Chronicles (Markosia 2022), The Blood Below (Markosia 2022), A Blade in the Dark (Black Caravan/Scout 2022).
Published works include: Whiplash Book 1 (Markosia), The Script Rebellion (Markosia), Shadow’s Daughter (Markosia), Idle Thuggery (Markosia).
Upcoming works include: Rust Chronicles (Markosia 2022), The Blood Below (Markosia 2022), A Blade in the Dark (Black Caravan/Scout 2022).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 3, 2022
One of the things I loved about this book is that it heads straight into action. We already have a good understanding of who Ambrose Drake is from book one and this book picks up right where that left off. Drake is finding his feet with his new job title and trying to wrap up from the chaos the Crimson King caused with his sidekicks, the silent but friendly Rook and the merged duo Janus.
A new emergence has appeared and Drake needs to investigate whether it relates to the Crimson King or something new. Another very fast paced story that develops Lilith and Karen Winter's characters in particular. Action from start to finish, gory in parts, funny in others and a well rounded story. Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks to Morgan Quaid for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
A new emergence has appeared and Drake needs to investigate whether it relates to the Crimson King or something new. Another very fast paced story that develops Lilith and Karen Winter's characters in particular. Action from start to finish, gory in parts, funny in others and a well rounded story. Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks to Morgan Quaid for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
October 2, 2022
This book might have been better if I had read the book(s) that came before it. Let's say I didn't like it enough to investigate how many prior books I was missing out on.
Science fiction is a tricky genre for me. Some I really believe could happen; some are just so far-fetched that I just write them off. This book is too far-fetched for me to have really enjoyed it.
If you like Science Fiction books, even those that test the boundaries of having any chance at reality, it was well written, the characters were interesting, and the events of the book were intriguing.
Science fiction is a tricky genre for me. Some I really believe could happen; some are just so far-fetched that I just write them off. This book is too far-fetched for me to have really enjoyed it.
If you like Science Fiction books, even those that test the boundaries of having any chance at reality, it was well written, the characters were interesting, and the events of the book were intriguing.
November 10, 2022
I received this as a Goodreads giveaway. I read book one first. I enjoyed this book. It was very fast paced and enjoyable.
May 31, 2024
Quaid neither subverts nor copies Lovecraft, creating a tale about thalassic cults that offers both inhuman horror and engaging urban fantasy action.
This novel is the second in Quaid’s The Seven Hungers series. Your ignorance of past events might be cruelly torn away beyond this point.
Still reeling from the sudden shift from pariah to trusted sorcerer that defeating the Crimson King has brought, and the equally drastic discovery that his former lover wasn’t the one who betrayed him to the authorities in the first place, Ambrose Drake is almost looking forward to administrative tedium. Instead the sudden rise of something called the cult of the Brine Gods pitches him straight back into a fight against beings that want to claim this world for their own.
As with the previous volume, the plot of this novel at its most simple is the discovery that an inhuman force has a beachhead into this world, and subsequent efforts by the Crown to drive it back. However, Quaid fleshes this framework with creepy details that are consistent with the metaphysics of the previous book without creating the feeling this is a thinly reskinned repetition of it.
The challenge is increased by these Brine Gods not being from the Hungers, supposedly even pre-dating them, rendering much of what advantage Ambrose’s slightly greater experience of the Hungers granted worthless.
With the core threat being the awakening of ancient oceanic beings from before history by fanatical cultists, this novel begs connection to Lovecraft even more than the last. However, the plot arc cleaves more to the arduous and costly victory pattern of urban fantasy than the futility of cosmic horror. Ultimately, whether this reduces enjoyment or not will depend on the individual reader’s tastes; however, Quaid neither copies swathes of the Deep Ones and their kind wholesale nor turns the plot on the a key difference from them and thus this novel is unlikely to feel like a pastiche or pale copy of Lovecraft.
Alongside, and intertwined with, the weird magic and inhuman metaphysics, this volume continues the arc of Ambrose’s reunion with Karen. Quaid sets the restored attraction they feel now the misunderstandings of their separation have been resolved against the fact that, even if they can set aside years of negative thoughts, they are both very different people from who they were years ago and so don’t simply fit together any more, creating a possible romance that relies on more than a failure to talk to each other for its tension.
Quaid balances the two aspects of the book well, sometimes contrasting some success in one area with increased challenge in the other to create a sense of progress without weakening tension, and sometimes hitting Ambrose with both personal and world-saving reversals at the same time to strengthen the sense that a tidy victory is not likely.
Ambrose’s narration features occasional extensive reprise of past events rather than the fleeting and often more oblique references that appear in many books. Thus, readers new to the series are likely to swiftly gain a clear idea of the world, characters, and how past events impact things, making this a comfortable entry point. Given the narrative style matches the previous volume and so is something returning readers do not consider a dealbreaker, this inclination toward fuller recollection might ironically prove more of an irritant to a subset of new readers.
The denouement feels earned, respecting the effort and knowledge of Ambrose and other characters, but also relies on enough guessing that the sense of a world greater than human conception remains. This applies more structurally as well with the ending being a clear, if costly, conclusion to the book’s main arc that leaves many broader questions and nebulous threats unresolved.
Ambrose continues to be a well-written protagonist for the world, challenged by his imperfections but ultimately decent.
The returning characters feel consistent with the previous book while not being constrained by it; in addition to making them interesting in their own right, the presentation of how other people develop within the liminal zone between human and otherness provides insights into how excusable Ambrose’s less commendable traits might be.
Quaid leans slightly toward detailing all new supporting characters rather than only focusing on those who will play a larger part; depending on reader preference, this might either leave a frustration that one is presented with a lot of names for people who are never seen again or a subtle sense of how swathes of unidentified casualties are formed of complex individuals.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking urban fantasy that is about the weirdness of the inhuman rather than variants of creatures taken from fairytales and horror.
This novel is the second in Quaid’s The Seven Hungers series. Your ignorance of past events might be cruelly torn away beyond this point.
Still reeling from the sudden shift from pariah to trusted sorcerer that defeating the Crimson King has brought, and the equally drastic discovery that his former lover wasn’t the one who betrayed him to the authorities in the first place, Ambrose Drake is almost looking forward to administrative tedium. Instead the sudden rise of something called the cult of the Brine Gods pitches him straight back into a fight against beings that want to claim this world for their own.
As with the previous volume, the plot of this novel at its most simple is the discovery that an inhuman force has a beachhead into this world, and subsequent efforts by the Crown to drive it back. However, Quaid fleshes this framework with creepy details that are consistent with the metaphysics of the previous book without creating the feeling this is a thinly reskinned repetition of it.
The challenge is increased by these Brine Gods not being from the Hungers, supposedly even pre-dating them, rendering much of what advantage Ambrose’s slightly greater experience of the Hungers granted worthless.
With the core threat being the awakening of ancient oceanic beings from before history by fanatical cultists, this novel begs connection to Lovecraft even more than the last. However, the plot arc cleaves more to the arduous and costly victory pattern of urban fantasy than the futility of cosmic horror. Ultimately, whether this reduces enjoyment or not will depend on the individual reader’s tastes; however, Quaid neither copies swathes of the Deep Ones and their kind wholesale nor turns the plot on the a key difference from them and thus this novel is unlikely to feel like a pastiche or pale copy of Lovecraft.
Alongside, and intertwined with, the weird magic and inhuman metaphysics, this volume continues the arc of Ambrose’s reunion with Karen. Quaid sets the restored attraction they feel now the misunderstandings of their separation have been resolved against the fact that, even if they can set aside years of negative thoughts, they are both very different people from who they were years ago and so don’t simply fit together any more, creating a possible romance that relies on more than a failure to talk to each other for its tension.
Quaid balances the two aspects of the book well, sometimes contrasting some success in one area with increased challenge in the other to create a sense of progress without weakening tension, and sometimes hitting Ambrose with both personal and world-saving reversals at the same time to strengthen the sense that a tidy victory is not likely.
Ambrose’s narration features occasional extensive reprise of past events rather than the fleeting and often more oblique references that appear in many books. Thus, readers new to the series are likely to swiftly gain a clear idea of the world, characters, and how past events impact things, making this a comfortable entry point. Given the narrative style matches the previous volume and so is something returning readers do not consider a dealbreaker, this inclination toward fuller recollection might ironically prove more of an irritant to a subset of new readers.
The denouement feels earned, respecting the effort and knowledge of Ambrose and other characters, but also relies on enough guessing that the sense of a world greater than human conception remains. This applies more structurally as well with the ending being a clear, if costly, conclusion to the book’s main arc that leaves many broader questions and nebulous threats unresolved.
Ambrose continues to be a well-written protagonist for the world, challenged by his imperfections but ultimately decent.
The returning characters feel consistent with the previous book while not being constrained by it; in addition to making them interesting in their own right, the presentation of how other people develop within the liminal zone between human and otherness provides insights into how excusable Ambrose’s less commendable traits might be.
Quaid leans slightly toward detailing all new supporting characters rather than only focusing on those who will play a larger part; depending on reader preference, this might either leave a frustration that one is presented with a lot of names for people who are never seen again or a subtle sense of how swathes of unidentified casualties are formed of complex individuals.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel greatly. I recommend it to readers seeking urban fantasy that is about the weirdness of the inhuman rather than variants of creatures taken from fairytales and horror.
January 2, 2024
3.5 stars is my rating.
I don't know if its the mood i am in- but it was hard to pick up this series, and took me two weeks to finally finish it. The story is not boring by any means- and very action packed- but i was still having a hard time wanting to sit down and read. It had been so long (my fault) from reading the first book, i couldnt remember anyones names- but once i started the first chapter i recognized everyone instantly and it came flooding b ack- thats always a good sign lol!
The writing style is really good- and I like the authors flow. he explains when needed appropriatly, but also does not drag out scenes when unessecary! There were some grammar, and typing errors- but nothing so bad that i could not understand what the author actually meant!
I forgot how much i actually liked the characters- and re fell in love with a couple of them all over again!
For some reason with fantasy series, the second- and other books are more impactful/grow on me because i now know the world/personalities- so i definantly liked The brine council a little more! I will always finish a series no matter what(toxic trait) so i hope to keep enjoying the ride to the end.
One thing i think could make it more impactful is using a side character more than once. this was only about 350 pages and like over 40 characters mentioned by name- only mentioned like one time with not significance. There was even a time where one of the flashbacks had the character and i think the name was forgotten and a different one was used instead. Alot of things had that "convenient timing" feeling where something was going on- and then at the perfect moment action would pick up- it happened so often that i started to notice it. all in all, i really do like the writing style, and think others should give it a go. some may like it more than i did.
I don't know if its the mood i am in- but it was hard to pick up this series, and took me two weeks to finally finish it. The story is not boring by any means- and very action packed- but i was still having a hard time wanting to sit down and read. It had been so long (my fault) from reading the first book, i couldnt remember anyones names- but once i started the first chapter i recognized everyone instantly and it came flooding b ack- thats always a good sign lol!
The writing style is really good- and I like the authors flow. he explains when needed appropriatly, but also does not drag out scenes when unessecary! There were some grammar, and typing errors- but nothing so bad that i could not understand what the author actually meant!
I forgot how much i actually liked the characters- and re fell in love with a couple of them all over again!
For some reason with fantasy series, the second- and other books are more impactful/grow on me because i now know the world/personalities- so i definantly liked The brine council a little more! I will always finish a series no matter what(toxic trait) so i hope to keep enjoying the ride to the end.
One thing i think could make it more impactful is using a side character more than once. this was only about 350 pages and like over 40 characters mentioned by name- only mentioned like one time with not significance. There was even a time where one of the flashbacks had the character and i think the name was forgotten and a different one was used instead. Alot of things had that "convenient timing" feeling where something was going on- and then at the perfect moment action would pick up- it happened so often that i started to notice it. all in all, i really do like the writing style, and think others should give it a go. some may like it more than i did.
February 3, 2025
This is the second book in the Seven Hungers urban fantasy-horror series and, like the first, it is packed with loads of action and magic. I would definitely recommend reading the books in series order, as this picks up right where Book 1 left off, as Ambrose, Winter, Rook and Janus have to throw themselves straight into repelling another terrifying Hunger invasion while still reeling from the aftermath of the Crimson King events. Plus, there is loads of character backstory and worldbuilding which you need for some things to make sense!
This would have been an easy 5-star read for me (I love a bit of snarky, urban fantasy-noir!), if it wasn’t for how almost bullet-proof main character Ambrose feels from the very beginning of this story. By the end, I felt like he could get ripped into 2cm squares and I would still feel confident that he would somehow emerge more or less whole and still fighting. It does make his character fun to read and allows for constantly escalating levels of peril, but also lowers the stakes for me a little, as I couldn’t get a real sense of any limits to his power, resources or sheer dumb luck!
That aside, I really like all of the characters and worldbuilding, and how the plot is different from the first but slowly building on it too, and I am fascinated to find out more about the Hungers, Lilith, and how someone might possibly recover from long-term disembodiment, so I will definitely continue to follow this series with interest.
This would have been an easy 5-star read for me (I love a bit of snarky, urban fantasy-noir!), if it wasn’t for how almost bullet-proof main character Ambrose feels from the very beginning of this story. By the end, I felt like he could get ripped into 2cm squares and I would still feel confident that he would somehow emerge more or less whole and still fighting. It does make his character fun to read and allows for constantly escalating levels of peril, but also lowers the stakes for me a little, as I couldn’t get a real sense of any limits to his power, resources or sheer dumb luck!
That aside, I really like all of the characters and worldbuilding, and how the plot is different from the first but slowly building on it too, and I am fascinated to find out more about the Hungers, Lilith, and how someone might possibly recover from long-term disembodiment, so I will definitely continue to follow this series with interest.
January 28, 2024
The Seven Hungers: Brine Council” by Morgan Quaid jumps right into the action, continuing where the last book left off. Ambrose Drake, with his companions Rook and Janus, faces new challenges after dealing with the Crimson King. A new mystery unfolds, keeping the pacing of the plot quick and exciting. The further development of Lilith and Karen Winters as characters was one of my favorite parts of the book. Brine Council is packed with action, some gruesome scenes, and funny moments, making it a balanced read. Can’t wait to read the next installment!
April 14, 2024
I was super stoked to get this as a Goodreads Giveaway. I loved book 1 and book 2 did not disappoint.
The dialogue that happens between Ambrose and Lilith, his own internal monologue, conversations with Janus and Rook... It is fun and raw and evolved in this book. I am so down for the ride.
I appreciate the fast pace. Much as I love epic fantasy, sometimes it is nice to just read something where the author gets to the point in a sentence, not a chapter.
What is next? Lies upon lies? What is the real horror?
The dialogue that happens between Ambrose and Lilith, his own internal monologue, conversations with Janus and Rook... It is fun and raw and evolved in this book. I am so down for the ride.
I appreciate the fast pace. Much as I love epic fantasy, sometimes it is nice to just read something where the author gets to the point in a sentence, not a chapter.
What is next? Lies upon lies? What is the real horror?
October 12, 2023
I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I also won book #1 and enjoyed it. For me, this book felt less cohesive than book one and gave me far less character development, which impacted how much I was able to engage with them and thus like or dislike them. Major plot points seemed to take a long time building then resolved in a snap. All of these things led me to feel this second in the series took a step back rather than forward.
March 24, 2024
I had not read the first book before I read this. It jumped right into the action, which drew me in. Throughout the book, I was provided with enough information to follow the storyline.
This is not my normal genre. That being said, I enjoyed this book. It had many intense parts. I especially liked Ambrose's sense of humor weaved into his character.
I won this on Goodreads and agreed to provide my honest opinion.
This is not my normal genre. That being said, I enjoyed this book. It had many intense parts. I especially liked Ambrose's sense of humor weaved into his character.
I won this on Goodreads and agreed to provide my honest opinion.
November 7, 2023
Nothing is ever as it seems.
It's a good continuation from Book one. It provides answers but also generates new questions. I'm withholding a star because the author felt the need to pander to the politically correct readers, and withholding a star for the spelling errors.
It's a good continuation from Book one. It provides answers but also generates new questions. I'm withholding a star because the author felt the need to pander to the politically correct readers, and withholding a star for the spelling errors.
December 19, 2023
Love this series!
So far I am impressed with how well these books are written and I'm am totally enthralled! What an imagination this author has. It's action, fantasy, a little romance, and a little scary all rolled into one. Can't wait to start the next one.
So far I am impressed with how well these books are written and I'm am totally enthralled! What an imagination this author has. It's action, fantasy, a little romance, and a little scary all rolled into one. Can't wait to start the next one.
September 20, 2024
Urban fantasy where besides the world there are 7 other hellish realms (hungers). This is the 2nd of the series, I did not realize until later but it was very much a stand alone story (with enough back story to fill in what I misses in 1st book). Fast paced action with a diverse cast.
August 12, 2023
Simply amazing to read can't wait to read the rest of the series
July 28, 2024
I love this series so much! Straight to book 3 😁
July 25, 2025
3.25 enjoyable and interesting story
August 25, 2023
Great second installment in what I hope becomes a long series.
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