Stones of Light by Zack Argyle

 

The coreseal is shattered and a new darkness is coming.

Chrys swore to never again let the Apogee take control but, in a moment of desperation, he gave in. Now, he will learn what the Apogee truly wants.

In Alchea, Laurel will do anything to get her threadlight back, even if it means working for the leader of the Bloodthieves. But she has no choice...a life without threadlight is no life at all.

To the west, Alverax travels with the Zeda people to the large port city of Felia, where they seek refuge after the fires in the Fairenwild. But he shattered the coreseal, and no one quite knows what the consequences will be. They only know it won't be good.

Together, they doomed the world...now, they must save it.

 

Gods, Monsters and revelations abound aplenty in Zack Argyle's gripping sequel to Voice of War.

At the end of Voice of War, Chrys was lost to all as he had let loose the Apogee.

Now, in the grip of the Apogee's powers, he is being led to far off lands, attempting to regain power and take control of himself once again

Meanwhile, Laurel, mourning the loss of her powers has allied herself with the head of the blood thieves, Arabella, the amber thread weaver.

And on the other side of the world, Alverax, and the survivors from Zedalan have sought sanctuary in the land of Felia. In their hopes to find a safe haven for their people, Alvarax, Elder Rowan and Elder Rosemary petition the Empress of the Sun to grant the people of Zedalan asylum.

The Stones of Light builds on the events that began in Voice of War, and adds much more to the story. In Stones of Light, we find out more about the voice in Chrys's head as it leads him to the home of The Wastelanders, the people he fought when he was The Apogee.

In addition to that, he learns of a new threat in the form of the Ancient Wastelander god, Relek and his sister, Lylax. These were gods who were once imprisoned and have now been released. Their only goal; to get revenge on those that locked the away by setting their army of Wastelanders and pet monsters, the Corespwan upon the world.

All the main characters are expanded upon really well in the book, however, it is Laurel that undergoes the most change.

At the end of Voice of War, Laurel experienced a massive wound which had a catastrophic effect on her. And it is due to this change that she allies herself with Alabella, who has told her that she can fix the wound that she has suffered. But this comes at a cost, and the price is to take her back to Zedalum in order to access the core seal and get the necessary materials to make her plans of being able to make everyone be a thread weaver come to fruition. Obviously, things don't go to plan and as she struggles with her inabilities, she believes that Alabella will be the answer to set everything right. However, what Laurel doesn't count on, is the change that she will undergo.

Alverax, the thief gone good, also experiences changes. He finds that he has a conscience, and actually wants to do good. As he tries to remedy the mistakes he made in the last book, he finds that actually, he is a good man. He has gone to Felia with the Zeda people. But they must fight against mistrust, and the shocking events that unfold

Stones of Light is a fantastic read, and if possible, is more accomplished and breath taking than the first.

It's plot runs along at the pace of a juggernaut and grabs you immediately, never letting you go until you reach the end. It's populated with characters that you will adore and expands the world that Zack Argyle has built in his first book.

Stones of Light is a fantastic read, full of action and fantastic characters. I would heartily recommend it to any fantasy fan.

Just as a bit of an addition, I listened to this on Audio which was kindly given to me by Zack Argyle (that's the author like!). Anyway, he said "Do you wanna copy to have a listen to like. I think it's ace and he said that Adam Gold has done a really good job!", and I can't disagree with him there, coz he has!

He then said "it would be nice if you wrote a little review for me if you like it, no pressure like, s'up to you, but I would greatly appreciate it"

Then I acted all cool like and said to him "Yeah, no worries, I can do that!", but secretly I was going like Yeeeeeessssss! (But I did it dead cool😁)