The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear (Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse, #2)

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The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear (Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse #2)

by Andrew Ashling (Goodreads Author)

4.39 of 5 stars 4.39 · rating details · 76 ratings · 21 reviews

Is the strain becoming too much?
The threat of a barbarian invasion is imminent now, and the resources to organize the defense meager, to say the least. Moreover, the high king, father of the princes, begins to worry that one of his intrepid sons might do irreparable damage to the kingdom by provoking a force, greater than they can handle. Then there is the tortured relatio...more

ebook, 518 pages

Published May 16th 2011 by Ormidon Publishing (first published May 15th 2011)

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Between Sinners and Saints by Marie Sexton

Best M/M Romance Published in 2011

184th out of 399 books — 860 voters

The Invisible Chains - Part 1 by Andrew Ashling

The Invisible Chains - Part 2 by Andrew Ashling

The Invisible Chains - Part 3 by Andrew Ashling

The High King's Golden Tongue by Megan Derr

M/M Romance With (Mostly) Yellow or Orange Covers

3rd out of 104 books — 23 voters

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Oct 29, 2011 Samy Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone teen or older

Shelves: outstanding

Such a lot of plots and the action starts immediately... and I quickly got lost in the fast pace of the book! I knew I was going to lose sleep nights as I'd be staying up late reading. This is a hard book to put down. I almost felt I might miss something while I slept!

Readers of fantasy books are going to love this story! It is a fantasy tale, predominantly! A morality tale even.

Ashling creates a believable world as rich as that of the great fantasy authors. It's easy to see his world's compl...more

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 24, 2013 Vivian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adored, gaymance, gritty

The second installment of this stunning series brings with it a story as compelling and fast paced as the first. A usual, the political intrigue and high fantasy-esque atmosphere is fascinating and frankly, makes the book near impossible to put down. It's difficult to describe and talk about a book such as this. Though it graces my 'gritty' shelf, there are a many chapters of relieving humor that helped me get through this book when times got tough.

Also, Mr. Ashling is astounding adept at making...more The second installment of this stunning series brings with it a story as compelling and fast paced as the first. A usual, the political intrigue and high fantasy-esque atmosphere is fascinating and frankly, makes the book near impossible to put down. It's difficult to describe and talk about a book such as this. Though it graces my 'gritty' shelf, there are a many chapters of relieving humor that helped me get through this book when times got tough.

Also, Mr. Ashling is astounding adept at making tangible and very realistic characters that are never quite 100% likeable or perfect but still somehow worm their way into your heart. Or at least, they did with mine. I hated as much as admired Anaxantis's mother, for whom there is no length she will not cross to aid him. She is probably one of the best characters yet. And Jerruth damn near broke my fucking heart.

Aside from making a plethora of stunningly ruthless characters, I think I may have found one of my all time favourite couples in the ever quirky and weird Rhyunzo and Rahendo. I think I spent the majority of their scenes just laughing and crying because I have honestly never come across a weirder couple. I really do think there's something wrong with both of them.

"Oh, Pookie, couldn't we just forgo the horrible wounds, and the blood, and the dying and stuff?"

"Alas, Eternal Spring of my Desire, no, but that is why we should make love as often and as long as we can while we still have the opportunity. Fiery, hot, animal love. You like it, when I make rough doggy love to you in that special manner in that special place, don't you, Gilding of my Existence?"

He tickled the boy on his lap.

"Oh Pookie, don't. We're not alone," Rahendo giggled.

As I said, one of my all time favourite couples.

Anyway, aside from the fabulous characters and nail-biting plot, there were a few typos my copy, however I didn't mind too much. And I don't mind the italicised parts anymore either, though there were a few parts where I was confused as to why there was an un italicised paragraph in the midst of a sea of italics.

The romance itself between Anaxantis and Ehandar (though I hesitate greatly to even call it romance) is as hopelessly hopeful as ever, and I continue to root for them with all of my shredded heart. Thankfully, I didn't have as much trouble reading this book as the first, and it was easy for me to engage myself in fantastic writing, complex plot and just a great book in a whole.

I would recommend you to try this series at least, and perhaps my GR friends who like to stroll on the dark side of M/M rather than the light would appreciate this.

Rating: 4.5 (easily rounded up)(less)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 18, 2012 SueM rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m, fantasy, abuse-assault-rape-torture, dub-con_non-con, royalty, betrayal, war, bingo-challenge, ipad-stanza

4.5 stars
This, the second book of the Invisible Chains trilogy, is a dark traditional fantasy novel that has an M/M romance theme underlying it. There is violence, rape, incest (hinted at in this book, but was very much in evidence in the first book), political intrigue, family betrayals and backstabbing royals, all set amidst a kingdom at war with neighboring nations.

It is an intricate tale that revolves around Anaxantis, the fourth son of the reigning King, and the only son of the current Quee...more 4.5 stars
This, the second book of the Invisible Chains trilogy, is a dark traditional fantasy novel that has an M/M romance theme underlying it. There is violence, rape, incest (hinted at in this book, but was very much in evidence in the first book), political intrigue, family betrayals and backstabbing royals, all set amidst a kingdom at war with neighboring nations.

It is an intricate tale that revolves around Anaxantis, the fourth son of the reigning King, and the only son of the current Queen. It is a story that is told in both first and third person POV, as well as from multiple characters. Everything says that this shouldn't work, yet it does, and surprisingly well.

In the first book, Anaxantis, along with his older half-brother, was sent by his father to wrest control of the northern border, where rumblings of an invasion from the neighboring kingdom were growing louder. In the meantime, the King, along with his two oldest sons, are overseeing the war that has erupted in the south. When they arrived in the north, the brothers realized that their father was setting a test for them, a test that was guaranteed to fail. Through various harsh trials, Anaxantis, emerges as the sole Northern Governor and begins to take charge of the north.

Here in the second book, we start to see more of the King's plans, and what truly lies beneath them, while Anaxantis fights to prove his father wrong, as well as for his country's survival. He continues to grow in strength, but his internal battles also grow, and at times, he struggles with the burden of it all, as well as the cost of his decisions.

The supporting characters are fully fleshed out, and while some provide some much-needed comic relief (a couple of the Prince's pages in particular), many are almost as central to the story as Anaxantis, resulting in a rich tapestry of personalities, and highly complicated plot.

If you like traditional fantasy, and can handle some graphic violence, then this is a story well worth considering. I was fortunate enough to win this novel, as well as the first in the trilogy, but I'm now off to buy the third book, as I can't wait to read what happens. (less)

5 likes · like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Absynthe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cops-emts-soldiers, m-m, nobility-royalty

So in my review for book 1, I gushed over the plot, how intricate, solid and engrossing it was.

Let's talk about the writing in the review for this book.

(Oh, first I want to mention that I think this is the book where Ryhunzo is introduced? Love him SO much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read the books, you'll see why.) ;-)

Anyway, the writing. The author must have done a lot of historical research because there's a wealth of detail in the books from the type of architecture found in a medieval society to th...more

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 07, 2012 Nile Princess rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: bro-cest, dmc, m-m-romance, pdf, series, violence

4.5*

Book 2 of this series continues the breakneck intensity of Book 1. I am always in awe of the imagination of fantasy authors and bow before their genius. All the battle strategies, subplots and political dealings at times leave me cross-eyed. Having said that, there is a lot to love here. Numerous secondary characters are introduced in this book and they are all lovable (well the male ones - I found most of the female characters detestable, especially Rahendo's foul mouthed sisters). There ar...more

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May 23, 2011 Td rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: angst, dark, humor, military-soldiers, favorites, love-my-twinks, sniff, slaves, rape, torture, wusses-beware

I had the good fortune of reading this story twice when it was still fully available online. I knew without a doubt that I would get the books as soon as they came out. Reading this again I found myself falling a little deeper and loving this story even more, still one of my unwavering top favorites.

The plot thickens in Part 2. We delve deeper into the relationship between Anaxantis and Ehandar, always a source of tension there. We see more of the characters we have come to know, love and hate a...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 30, 2011 Fangtasia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If part 1 of this series had me hooked, part 2 possessed me. Yep, I'm off the deep end. Every character is developed further, the plots all get more complicated yet you know exactly what is happening with each twist, just not where it's all going to lead. New characters, which must be central to the unravelling of the story, are introduced. Like another reviewer said, just meeting Ryhunzo is worth reading the book. What a jewel of a character. Every single time he talks, I end up laughing until...more

5 likes · like · see review

May 13, 2012 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Wow, I thought the first book was good for the layers to the story, this one had so many characters and storylines brought in and amazingly, I did not find that it cluttered or derailed the main story, it really did add to it because you develop an attachment to each of these characters - which could be detrimental because in books like this, that means you could lose that character because they have become important to you. My hope is that the character and development of the multiple stories i...more Wow, I thought the first book was good for the layers to the story, this one had so many characters and storylines brought in and amazingly, I did not find that it cluttered or derailed the main story, it really did add to it because you develop an attachment to each of these characters - which could be detrimental because in books like this, that means you could lose that character because they have become important to you. My hope is that the character and development of the multiple stories is simply laying the groundwork for a continuation of the series, or reasons why when loyalty is tested, you'll understand why each character makes their choices.

The Ehandar/Tarno character is an interesting mix and I understand why Anaxantis wonders if the other version of his brother is gone, while some of the scenes can be challenging to read because you want to have compassion for this character, when Anaxantis explains why he does what he does, your compassion then goes to both characters. I have experienced a situation with a relative who played emotions, vulnerabilities and when I thought they had changed, I was played again, which does leave you with a large shadow of doubt of your place in this world and relationships in general - not to the physical extreme as in this series, but the emotional and mental games, oh yeah, I know exactly where Anaxantis is coming from!

What was particularly interesting in this book was the sidebars of humour, usually courtesy of the pages (thank you Andrew, for focusing on the two head pages and their small group and not the bullies - very much appreciated!), their logic is for the young, which is still funny, they have their deep and serious moments, vulnerable ones and as a result, three for sure have me wrapped around their fingers, haven't quite made up my mind about Ryhunzo though, although he is quite the character!! If he is for real, he makes Rahendo very happy and I'm okay with that so long as he does not end up hurting him!!! We'll have to see how the character develops, if he gets much of a storyline in the next book since that sounds like Anaxantis will be facing himself in that one!
At the same time, the story of Lorcko has been quite interesting and I hope that will get a chance to be further explored too. Not to mention can their be a happy future for Arranulf? I'm pretty sure we know what's happening in Obyann's future....

Then there is a Mukthar prince and his friends, which has so many parallels/similarities to Anaxantis and his friends. The one scene suggested that they want an alliance with Anaxantis, why now, and if they do, what the hell happened 14 years before to have resulted in such a slaughter on the Ximerion side of the borders? Were both sides misled by Damydas and his Mukthar contact? Could they have been allies all this time rather than believing they were enemies?!?

This one was rather intense for me so I am going to take a bit of a break this week, read a few short stories I had on preorder, then I will return to Ximerion to find out what is in store for the Lord Governor and his trusted friends, pages guests, brother and armies in the next book.

Amazing series, characters, the cultures, the layers, and it all reads in such a believable fashion, you forget it is a fantasy book rather than a historical fantasy book!(less)

1 like · like · see review

May 15, 2012 Lucas rated it 5 of 5 stars

Author Andrew Ashling wrote, "This isn't going to be for everyone. You expect people to learn strange names, words and concepts in weird languages, casually digest half-brothercest annex rape annex domination, your main hero has a few flaws, to put it mildly, and you liberally sprinkle political intrigue over the mixture. This story should come with it's own supply of Pepto-Bismol."

This serves as my review for all three books in the trilogy: Bonds of Hate, Bonds of Fear and Bonds of Blood. The b...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Bob rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: glbt, sci-fi-fantasy, yaoi

The momentum continues to build with Mr. Ashling's second book in "The Invisible Chains" series. Anaxantis and his friends seem to hit their stride, but there are many elements working either directly against them or, oddly, in some sort of ill conceived conjunction. One of the true advantages about a series is that I, as the reader, get to learn and understand so much more about the characters because of their extended development. In this complex story of Royalty, family, impending war, and fr...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 05, 2012 Wendy (wluvsbooks) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: series, free-stuff-won, app-stanza, 5stars, genre-historical, sex-partner-mm

You definitely need to pay attention, people! This second book of the series requires rapt attention in order to follow the intricate plot and subtleties woven into the story. Trust me, the rapt attention part shouldn’t be a problem because the writing is amazing, and you can’t help but submit to all the temptations that carry you away as you read this one.

I love trying to piece together a puzzle and it often felt like that’s what I was doing in trying to figure out where the story would go for...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 15, 2011 TheFountainPenDiva rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books-purchased, genre-fantasy, genre-m-m-romance, sex-anal-play, sub-genre-dark-fantasy, theme-dubious-consent, theme-non-consensual, theme-sibcest

Just like Part I, Bonds of Fear suffered from that same huge problem of modern speech manifesting itself within a fantasy milieu. Even though I finished it, and for the most part enjoyed the darker turn, it's just that constant jarring of modern phrasing that ruins what is otherwise a well-conceived fantasy. Something about a fantasy character saying "my bad" just doesn't work.

I loved Anaxantis' mother and aunt who here, in spite of not being as young, are shown as more than capable of handling...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 04, 2011 Still Reading rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m

A fantastic continuation of the first novel, written in a consistent style. Again, the characterisation is intense and well done and the plot continues where we left off in Book #1. The taste of betrayal will sting your tongue as you flip your way through this book. Both my admiration and my frustration with the main character kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. High recommended.

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May 02, 2012 Emma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: character-death, abusive-relationship, fantasy

Plot 5/5
Characters 4/5
Writing 2/5
Editing 1.5/5

Oh for someone to keep a tight rein on Andrew Ashling and avoid sentences like;

"Really?" Loduvant of Brynmark said, arching his eyebrows. "That still works?"
"Of course," Lorcko of Iramid replied casually.

And at the same time this is someone who can write (view spoiler)

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 13, 2012 Ayanna added it

Shelves: reviewed, future-rereads

Yes, I'm guilty of skim-reading in search of Ehandar/Tarno. I'll rate this if/when I ever actually read it.

Hmm...I know what it is. Though it IS m/m, the rest of it is framed in a high-fantasy-esque style that right now, I'm just not in the mood of dealing with. Too overly complex...

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Apr 13, 2012 Kristy Maitz rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointments

I wont even read that book - I just jumped to the end of the story and its still sex between brothers even if they are half brothers. SICK

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Aug 10, 2011 Exwestcoastgal rated it 5 of 5 stars

LOVED this book. I will read anything by this author!

3 likes · like · see review

Sep 24, 2012 Crystal rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a great story!! Can't wait to see how the series ends.

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Jul 23, 2011 Bleu rated it 5 of 5 stars

I didn't get the chance to review this one because I could not wait to start with book #3!

1 like · like · see review

Mar 04, 2013 Lb rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m

I tried. I really want to know what happens at the end of this series but there are too many characters too keep track of and side stories. I did make it to the end of the book but couldn't end finish the first chapter of the next book.

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Apr 19, 2012 Jora rated it 5 of 5 stars

As good as the first, no, better. Loved it. Could not put it down.

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May 11, 2013 Kellie Dennis marked it as to-read

Shelves: my-books

May 06, 2013 Keyia Ward marked it as to-read

May 03, 2013 Fai Nie marked it as to-read

May 01, 2013 L.p added it

Shelves: chains

May 01, 2013 Wendy marked it as to-read

May 01, 2013 Saretta rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 19, 2013 Robert marked it as to-read

Apr 18, 2013 David marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy

Apr 14, 2013 Alice rated it 5 of 5 stars

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About Andrew Ashling

I write mainly gay, m/m, slash, yaoi stories. I suppose, with a few exceptions, I should call them novels really.
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You can read the first twelve chapters of the Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse series on my website, Ximerion . You can also download them for free in either mobi-format (Kindle) or epub-format (Nook, Sony…) for your e-reader from this site, in epub-format from Kobo, and...more

More about Andrew Ashling...

Books by Andrew Ashling

The Invisible Chains - Part 1: Bonds of Hate (Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse, #1)

The Invisible Chains - Part 3: Bonds of Blood (Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse, #3)

The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse, #4)

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Quotes from The Invisible Chains -...

“Your explanation is good, but your herring doesn't fry, as we say in Ramaldah," he exploded.” — 3 people liked it

“Damn you, Anaxantis. You and your brother were supposed to sit on your princely asses, organize the occasional banquet, use your high sounding titles to ravish the local girls, or boys, or sheep, whatever takes your fancy for all I care, and leave serious matters to your elders.” — 1 person liked it

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The Invisible Chains - Part 2: Bonds of Fear (Dark Tales of Randamor the Recluse #2)

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