Dragon Award winner Brian Niemeier’s groundbreaking Soul Cycle reaches its startling conclusion in The Ophian Rising, the highly anticipated sequel to The Secret Kings. The Zadokim healed the cosmos from the ravages of the Cataclysm, and the survivors made them kings. Now the Ophians, a ruthless insurgent movement, wage a vicious uprising against their immortal rulers’ two hundred year reign. Xander and Astlin have transformed the desert world of Tharis into the hub of a flourishing trade empire. Their Nesshin subjects spread a new faith promising true freedom in another universe. But when Astlin seeks forbidden knowledge to resurrect her long-dead family, sinister forces exact a terrible price from those she loves. With the Ophian threat engulfing the spheres and a primeval terror rising from its prison, Astlin must turn to a shiftless gambler, the outlaw squire of a fallen knight, and a mismatched pair of smugglers to escape the ghosts of her past and save all souls from eternal death. But can mortals succeed where even gods have failed?
Brian Niemeier is a #1 best selling author and a John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer finalist. His second book Souldancer won the first ever Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel. As an editor, Brian helps his top selling clients realize the best version of each book.
The world of the Soul Cycle series is vivid and alive, and it lies bleeding on your shoes.
The climactic finale to Niemeier’s saga sees every taboo shattered and every plot thread fulfilled. Nothing is sacred as the universe is torn apart and examined for one final lunatic ride.
This is the grandest and most twisted finale a series could have without leaving a nasty taste in the reader’s mouth. Climactic battle after climactic battle means the plot hurtles along at breakneck speed. If you’ve followed along this far, don’t be afraid of the ending, because it won’t hurt you. I mean, you’ll cry. But that ain’t a bad thing.
A fitting conclusion to the Soul Cycle, but as with the others, a distinct enough narrative in its own right. A recent writer's blog argued against the sort of ending Neimeier gives his award-winning series, as destroying the stakes that the characters are playing for, but in Neimeier's deft hands, the stakes are magnified exponentially. With this thunderous conclusion, the Soul Cycle becomes far more than the sum of its (deliciously!) singular parts. Buy it. And the rest of the Cycle. And take a trip like no other.