Blurb:

Once marked, always marked...

The war that was won, is lost. His country razed and friends dead, Cailean Catil seeks the miserable solace of inebriation. But fate has other plans for ill-lucked men.

An ocean away, he returns to the Galrun Muir, the order from which he was previously exiled. Seeking answers as to why they now worship the monster haunting his dreams, Cailean embarks on a quest to confront the ghost of Gabriel Muir and seal his tomb. Should he succeed, all will be made clear.

But some truths are better left dead.

The guilt will always call you back...

Fiel has lost everything. Her niece is dead at the hands of Te Mirkvahíl and her country has been razed by the demon's legions. But fate has other plans for ill-lucked women.

An ocean away, in the city Harbanan, Fiel resumes her search for Vare Tal-úlm. Her journey leads her to the monster-hunting Galrun Muir who claim not only to have knowledge of Vare, but of Fiel's previous visit to their hallowed grounds.

Lady Mirkvahíl, they say, has returned.

The dead rise...

Behtréal has won. Helveden is a ruin, the Ariathan Empire is dead, and The Keepers' Wrath is his to wield. With it, in the dead city Banerowos, he can rewrite history and reclaim lives lost—he can bring his people back.

But things are not so simple as that, for within the dead city Behtréal must contend with the guilt of memory and all its ghosts.

Madness in truth...

The doors have opened.

Welcome in.

Review:

Book 2 of Tarzian’s Shadow Twins, Tarzian elevates his prose from “very good” to “top 5 dead or alive”. This book is mind-bending, dark, and possess a lyrical, poetic timbre that’s full of gorgeously written imagery. 

“Forgive me for my blood and all the tragedy it’s sired. For the pain of absent memory and the flame-kissed nightmares ruled by screams.”

House of Muir is a multi-POV book, mostly character-driven and chock-full of complexities and lore that’s hard earned, similar to Malazan. Tarzian does not stop to hold your hand through the narrative, which is an aspect I greatly admire. The background is excellent and vivid, set in a unique world where grief and mistakes seem to always be haunting our characters’ shadows. 

The plot, while interesting and complex, is not truly the bread and the butter of this book. Tarzian’s main strength continues to be his prose and his imagery. Similar to Anna Smith Spark, I’d read hundreds of pages of him describing things. Smatterings of elite phrasing exist throughout the book (seriously, I just opened it to a random page and saw this: “Old stone. The scent of yesteryears, of blood and tears and magic lost to time.”) - and they’re peppered evenly and consistently. It makes you want to both speed up to get more and slow down to appreciate it to its fullest. 

The characters, especially Cailean, are cynical and attempting to mute their own emotions, and it makes them feel alive. All of them feel depressed, surely, but their dialogue exchanges are very good. You get a real feel that the characters recognize their situation, how fucked it is, and yet, persist. 

“Just because we carry scars does not mean we need bear the weight,” the crow said. “It would do you well to remember that.” Rays of sunlight filtered through the trees; a breeze tousled the branches. The crow’s feathers, once ink-black, trailed to incorporeality.”

This book, however, is not for everyone. It’s dark, muted, grief-heavy, and confusing. If you bounced off series like Malazan or Empire of Dust then I’d suggest looking elsewhere. There’s no epic action, no good and bad guys, and no simplicity. 

However, if you’re looking for something philosophical and eerie, or if you particularly loved Toll the Hounds, Tarzian is a perfect pick. My suggestion remains to check out his book World-Maker Parable, one of my top five reads of 2024, if you haven’t tried him before.

As for me, I’ll be waiting for his next book with great anticipation.