The Black Shriving (Chronicles of the Black Gate Book 2) Kindle Edition

This book and its predecessor were such a breath of fresh air for me. I am always looking out for good fantasy but am frequently disappointed with the titles that I read, so much so that at various times I've given up on the genre altogether. The first book I approached with some hesitation, but I quickly came to love the characters and the unique situation that they were thrown into. Unfortunately, like all first books, a certain amount of the narrative has to be spent introducing each of the protagonists, building the world, and setting up all the pieces for the larger tale to unfold.This is not to say that the first book was anything less than stellar, it was great! But in this book, all introductions out of the way, the author takes what he established and immediately cranks the amplifier up to 11. I didn't read this book, I devoured it. Every free moment that I had, I was hanging out with these characters impatient to find out what would happen to them next.Now if only I can have the patience to wait for book 3 ...

The quality was maintained with this second book of the series. Each and every character given time in this book, I actually care and enjoy reading about, unlike many books/series which drone on about characters that are just unappealing.A book that I definitely recommend. If you enjoyed the first, you will love this one too.

As with The Path of Flames, the stupendous worldbuilding in The Black Shriving makes the setting feel like a real world – steeped in history whose events have a logical connection to magic. Even though Tucker introduced us to many of these mystical aspects in book one – whether it was Magister Audsley reminiscing about the towers of Nous rising out of the water, or characters waxing about the religious dogma of Ascendency – the initial settings of The Path of Flames felt grounded by the same natural laws as our own world. Sure, there was the concept of sincasting introduced in the first mass battle; but afterwards, the story quickly turned to training in swordplay. Knights and tournaments and political conspiracy—all fun and engaging, but nothing that stood out as magical. It was only when the author led us through the Ravens Gate to a land infested by demons and magic swords that the delicious otherworldliness truly seeped into the story.In The Black Shriving, we adventure deeper into the supernatural side of the world. We learn about the connection between the demons and magic, and how they are related to some of the concepts introduced in The Path of Flames. If you were curious as to why Asho’s and Tharok’s swords were so similar, well, we can make new guesses now. We visit new, magical places like Starkadr and The Black Gate; and a transit point similar to the hallway of doors in The Matrix or the Wood Between Worlds in the Chronicles of Narnia. We also get to travel to Agerastos, which has its own culture and a religion based on the worship of Medusas – coincidentally, or perhaps not so coincidentally, the same object of idolatry by the ancient Kragh.

The Black Shriving is epic fantasy in the vein of Eddings and Brooks, with some Tad Williams sprinkled on for seasoning. Phil Tucker isn’t content to simply tell an interesting tale with high stakes, however. He sets these empire-shattering stakes in the midst of a brilliantly crafted and amazingly unique world that feels familiar in all the right ways while simultaneously offering fresh ideas.I absolutely adore the world that Tucker has envisioned in these books. There are familiar pieces, certainly—knights, lords, ladies, pages—but these are set in a world where one must travel through Solar Gates in order to travel from one city/plane to another. This gets wrapped up in the religion of the world, as well. The dominate religious system believes that one’s soul ascends to the next plane when one dies and is reborn there, provided one’s behavior warrants it. Conversely, poor behavior might get one’s soul reincarnated one or more planes lower on the hierarchy. Wrapping the physical world building into the religious system is something that makes the whole setting feel both unique and authentic. In addition to the world build, Tucker has a way with writing action sequences that makes the fights leap off the page at you. They’re thrilling to read and keep you on the edge of your seat. The suspense of the battles is also aided by the fact that Tucker has really begun to flesh out his characters. I particularly enjoyed Audsley’s arc in this book, though there was growth on the part of each of the viewpoint characters. Finally—in terms of what I thoroughly enjoyed—this novel teases us with some tantalizing possibilities for the magic system. The concept of taint in magic could certainly be considered a trope after the Wheel of Time, but there are a lot of possibilities here and a lot going on. I can’t wait to see where Tucker takes things.I have a couple criticisms. The first of those is that the pacing felt a bit slow for me in the early part of the novel, particularly in the second quarter of the novel. Things picked up again after the halfway point and rushed to a satisfying conclusion, but I felt like the second quarter had a different feel than the rest of the novel because of the slower pace. I also found it frustrating how the characters spend most of the story trying to hold to religious beliefs that don’t seem to align with what the actions they are currently taking. My issue with this was that none of the characters seemed to be particularly introspective regarding how their beliefs were obviously being revealed as false. This was partially alleviated during the endgame, but I just felt like Tucker could have added some interesting issues for his characters to wrestle with that would have helped us connect with them more.Readers looking for their next big epic fantasy series should absolutely give the Chronicles of the Black Gate consideration. The Black Shriving is a great second entry for the series. Full of epic battles, important revelations, and characters striving against incredible odds, it quickly finds a comfortable place amongst one’s favorite epic reads.4.0/5 stars.5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing

It has had me totally hooked. I've been reading fantasy novels for over 40 years and this series is up there with the best in my mind. I have really enjoyed the balance of action and character building. Very clever, twisting plot and have enjoyed following the main character's storylines, although it has caused to flick back occasionally to remember where each one left off. Just finished and now on to book 3.

Really enjoyed this book, it builds on the first one. It is a flight of fancy but that is what fantasy novels are.All the characters are good, and as the series grows so does aspects of each character. Looking forward to the next book, hope it's as good as this one.

A good storyline building on the first book well, the adventures of each character takes surprising turns that keep the reader wanting more. I particularly enjoyed the interplay between the main characters.

I can't praise enough the writer. This is an original story with characters real and believable. Some editing nistakes but the story is so good that you don't mind.

Excellent characters, plot and a story which stays consistent throughout the series, nightly recommended.