Review: Thorns of War by João F. Silva

Blurb:

One breath. One jump. One death.

The Known World is in peril once again. Old grudges are made anew and settled only on the battlefield, with threads of smoke flowing in the air.

Gimlore saved her town and her family, and she has even learned that trusting people may not always be a bad thing. But with ancient powers stirring, her whole world is shaken again, and the pains of the past come back stronger than ever.

Rednow's retirement plan was successful but didn't last long. He is both in the eye of the storm, and the storm itself. Blessed or cursed by powers he wants to reject, he questions whether the faith everyone seems to deposit in him is even warranted. After all, he's still just an old man with bad lungs.

Orberesis blossoms under the tutelage of a new master and awakens ancient, forgotten arts. He rose from thief to the impersonator of a god, and now true divinity might just be well within his grasp.

Review:

Seeds of War, the first book in João F. Silva’s Smokemiths series, was one of my favorite reads of 2023, and its sequel, Thorns of War, more than lives up to the heights set by its predecessor. Featuring pulse-pounding action, memorable characters, and wonderfully unique twists on genre tropes, Thorns of War not only kicks Middle Book Syndrome to the curb, but also firmly places the Smokesmiths series amongst the best currently ongoing fantasy series.

Picking up shortly after the explosive battle at the end of the previous book, Thorns of War opens with days of hard-won peace. Gimlore is basking in the success of leading the defense of her town, while Rednow the Blood Collector is content in training Gimlore’s children in the ways of the Smokesmiths as their surrogate uncle. Naturally, peace does not last long, and it does not take long for war to bare its thorns – and for the God Himself, Orberesis, to make his bloody return.

When I say peace does not last long, I mean it – it’s gone in an instant. Silva pulls no punches right out of the gate, ripping peace from our hands and our heroes’ hands before any of us have a chance to bask in it properly. These opening moments are emotionally compelling and powerful, and in some instances downright shocking – in all the best ways. It grabs you by the throat and refuses to let go until the equally powerful conclusion, and along the way you feel all the same blows as the characters – all the calls for vengeance, all the anger, all the grief. The unique cast shines here just as they did in the previous book, but this time with an additional emotional weight that was not as immediately present before.

And these characters are only elevated all the more by the cool twists on a genre staple: a character “chosen” by the gods. At the end of Seeds, we were introduced to the Old One and the Essence, who have been whispering in certain characters’ ears. Silva takes this trope and turns it on its head, toeing the line to question whether powers granted by the gods are a blessing or a curse, if the relationship between the gods and the characters they inhabit are symbiotic or parasitic, and if the result of such power is worth the price. These questions help create a strong thread connecting the various action sequences, all the while forcing the reader to wonder who could stand against such power, and who could maintain their humanity when forced to hold it.

All this helps build upon the already fascinating smoke magic introduced in the first book while also expanding upon some of the more incredible aspects of the system, like the smoke riders introduced in the prequel novella Ruins of Smoke. It’s a testament to Silva’s abilities as a writer that something as absurd on paper as “undead smoke skeletons” ends up as badass as it does in-universe. When the smokesmiths comes out to play, the battles in Thorns of War end up all the more enthralling, especially when the smoke magic system is as dangerous to the user as it is to their target – another favorite twist of mine.

While Thorns of War is not perfect, its flaws are few, and they largely center around the pacing, which is at times a bit too fast. The early stages of the novel, while emotionally gripping, move at lightning speed to the point of getting a bit of whiplash. It felt as though the first twenty percent or so of the book was a rush to get everyone in their starting positions for the remainder, and likewise, some of the arcs surrounding the secondary characters wound up a bit too rapid and unfulfilling. That said, the pacing for the remaining eighty percent is rock-solid, and once Thorns gets its feet on the ground (or its skeleton smoke in the air or something like that), it remains steady the rest of the way.

Simply put, Thorns of War is an excellent sequel. It takes all the fascinating and unique aspects of Seeds of War and builds off of it perfectly, creating an instant page-turner that will grip you right from square one, rip out your skeleton, and send it dancing in the smoke in all the right(?) ways.

(That last bit is a good thing, trust me and just go read it.)