Summary
Ruin follows in the wake of Torrlond’s victorious army and the beasts its priests enslave, leaving no corner of Eormenlond untouched by the inferno of its war. Kingdoms and tribes line up on opposing sides as the conflict rages, rekindling ancient hatreds and avenging old wrongs. As Dayraven struggles to contain the vast power of his curse, he and Sequara confront the destruction of all they hold dear. To salvage their world, they must sacrifice what most makes it precious. With twists as wrenching as they are unexpected, The Prophet of Edan reveals the War of the Way’s culmination.
Review
The Prophet of Edan is a magnificent follow up to Philip Chase’s debut novel, The Way of Edan. At once a grand epic, and intimately personal.
We continue to follow the fight for the future of Eormenlond as Dayraven and company attempt to defeat the armies of the supreme priest Bledla. Chase continues to expand the amazing world he has created in new and interesting ways. We are introduced to new cultures, beliefs, and creatures of Eormenlond in ways that never feel boring or exposition heavy. The introduction of the people of the Wildlands was a particularly enjoyable piece of worldbuilding for me, they are very different from the other people of Eormenlond in almost every way, and I look forward to seeing them more in book 3. And of course, the introduction of dragons is awesome, I love the way they are incorporated into the fighting and the magic. The battles in this novel are both larger and more intense than book 1, I thoroughly enjoyed reading these scenes. They are tense and have a realistic nature to them without getting overly descriptive in ways that might put off some readers.
Dayraven’s journey is without a doubt the highlight of the book for me. His physical journey helps expand the world and introduces us to new places and creatures. But his spiritual journey is profound. Dayraven has a tremendous amount of power locked inside him, but his attempts to control and harness that power have led to failure when it matters most. He learns that in order to achieve his goal of ending the war and bringing peace to Eormenlond, he must let go of himself and all earthly attachments. He has the potential to be the strongest wizard in the land, but only if he is no longer Dayraven. He must give up his individuality and become part of a larger whole in order to access the power that will allow him to challenge Bledla.
This is all the more challenging for the relationship that develops between Dayraven and Sequara. Sequara often acts as an anchor point for Dayraven, bringing him back when he starts losing himself. But what if losing himself is the only way to defeat Torrlond? Sequara can help Dayraven find his path, but she must also face the possibility of losing Dayraven if she does. The development of this relationship is very touching, I don’t tend to cry when reading but Chase certainly impacted me in ways not many authors can. The prose is a big part of why the author can so easily evoke strong emotions. Just as in the first novel, Chase’s command of the English language is beautiful and thought provoking.
Without having heard the author say he drew inspiration from Buddhism for the novel I’m not sure that I would have made the connection since I am not particularly well versed in their beliefs. But I think the themes the author explores can be applied to anyone. Pursuing enlightenment/happiness by letting go of attachments to material things and having an outward mindset instead of an inward one are two that particularly spoke to me. We also learn more about the nature of Edan in this novel, which further clarifies the perverted view that Bledla has of Edan. But it also implies that no nation in Eormenlond truly understands it either. They all give names to rules to the same force and call it their gods without comprehending it. Which speaks to the human nature of ascribing characteristics to a higher power and the possibility that we are incapable of truly understanding that power with our limited viewpoint of the universe.
While still evoking the feel of classic epic fantasy stories, this book took many unexpected turns I did not see coming. This began from early in the novel, but the ending surprised me most of all. I expected much of what happened late in this novel to happen in book 3 and I was confused at first and worried that the plot would be wrapped up too nicely, but Chase again surprised me and left me wanting to read the sequel immediately. The situation is tense and a bit disheartening for our characters. On the surface, a large part of their goal has been achieved, but in reality things might be worse than ever. The setup for book 3 is a very intriguing concept that I think is glossed over in many epic fantasy novels.
If you enjoyed The Way of Edan, you will love this book. It builds on the first perfectly and leaves you wanting for more. You might think you know where this trilogy is going but I think this book will surprise you and I highly recommend it to all readers of epic fantasy.