The Burning Tears of Morlak

War of the Twelve #3

by Alex Robins

The Pact is Broken

The legendary demi-gods known as the Twelve are awakening, and they bring with them the knowledge of what was found under the earth: an apocalyptic force of destruction that, if unleashed, will reduce the nine Baronies to ash.

Their one, slim hope of salvation lies deep in the Barony of Talth, a land now firmly in the hands of the greylings. Jelaïa del Arelium and Derello del Kessrin must marshal their weakened armies and lead them far to the north in a desperate attempt to win back what was taken.

Merad Reed, Captain of the Old Guard, sacrificed his own freedom so that others could escape. He now languishes in an underground prison beneath Morlak keep at the mercy of Mithuna, Third of the Twelve, and her knights. The keep is impregnable; no one has managed to pierce its defences in over a hundred years.

No one save for the man who calls himself Jeffson. Once a criminal and a murderer, now a simple manservant, Jeffson may have a way to rescue his friend, but only by returning to a life he had vowed to leave behind, a life ravaged by pain and loss. Does he have the strength to reopen old wounds without losing himself to his sordid past?

Genres: Fantasy

335 pages, ebook

Published November 24, 2021

About the author

Alex Robins was born in Norwich, England back when it was still trendy to wear lycra tracksuits and bright pink headbands. Norwich School Library was where he first discovered his love of reading, an old converted undercroft packed to the rafters with books. The first fantasy series he read was The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman, quickly followed by The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and David Eddings' The Belgariad.

At the age of twelve Alex moved across the channel to Nantes in France. Speaking very little French, the first few years were difficult and sometimes lonely as he scrambled to get a grip on the intricate grammar and vocabulary of the French language. His taste in books branched out from epic fantasy to science-fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and historical fiction, but he always came back to his favourite fantasy authors when looking to escape the outside world.

After degrees in agronomy, project management, and computer sciences, Alex founded his own company dedicated to online voting. He met his wife during a game of badminton and they spent several years getting trounced in various regional tournaments before getting married. Alex now lives in the sunny Loire Valley in western France, surrounded by imposing castles, sprawling vineyards, and two children. After reading fantasy books for the last thirty years he decided to write one. The Broken Heart of Arelium is his first novel, and the first in the War of the Twelve series.

Reviews

[Dexcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another wonderful entry into the series. Normally I could guess how the series was gonna end, but I'm not so sure yet!

More solid character development, and the writing keeps improving with every book. A particular talent of Alex that I've noticed is his battle scenes, they're short and sweet. It doesn't typically drag on for 30 pages.

There were a lot of twists and turns in this one, and I liked them. I'm still curious where the Twelve came from though, and why they're Demi-Gods in the first place. Not to mention the origin of the greyligs and the Weaver are still unknown. Hopefully the final book answers it.

[ShannaBanana✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazinggg! I can’t believe I didn’t read these books sooner. I don’t think there is one character I don’t like and that’s so rare for me. Except the baddies. They suck but Praxis is interesting and I don’t hate him for some reason. Haven’t figured it out yet🤷🏻‍♀️ I really liked and felt for young Nidore and was super distraught at the end of the last book. All he wanted was to be loved and accepted. 😕 Anyway, so much action, adventure, betrayal and plenty of banter, I can’t stop reading these. Im already on to the next one!

[Krina || Amazeofwords · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished it. Now onto finale. Can't wait to see what happens.!!!

[Bill Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading The Broken Heart of Arelium and The Ashen Hand of Kessrin by Alex Robins. Both are part of the War of the Twelve series, and it thrilled me to learn a third book was available.
Alex has undoubtedly been honing his skills, and I immediately noticed a dramatic improvement in the descriptions. All the characters and scenes were more vivid and had relatable. In addition, I found the dialog to be profoundly moving. Overall, there was more drama and depth than in the previous novels. Yet, all the original charm of the first two books remained like the creative names and daunting action.
The plot follows the ongoing characters as they travel through the nine Baronies, and they are thrust into an epic adventure at Redenfell mountain. There, the reader gets introduced to a unique new character, Jeffson. He is a complex individual with a shady past. This character inspired me to question my own choices and, he reminded me of the character Morgan from the Walking Dead. A true enigma.
The War of the Twelve is a unique series, and Alex can be proud of his creation. He truly has the gift of creating lively characters contained within an imaginative world. I felt privileged to read his book and enjoyed its broad storyline. As before, I recommended it to the same three friends, and they immediately emailed me back, saying how much they enjoyed the last book. I whole-heartily recommend this book to anybody who enjoys an epic saga set in an imaginative land.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading The Burning Tears of Morlak last night and have just finished.

I must say that I was once again enthralled from the very beginning. With writing skills that are superb, this is a page turner for certain. While reading each scene I can literally envision this as how a movie/series would play out.

My only complaint is that I wanted the story to continue. It is always bittersweet to me when a great book ends and I have to wait for the next to be released.

I highly recommend this entire series to anyone that enjoys a fast paced action fantasy adventure. You will not be disappointed.

[Erich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man these fake out deaths and not deaths were insane, the suspense was real for quite a few characters. Well paced and interesting characters in a book that isn't over 600 pages is so refreshing to experience in a landscape of 1000+ pages books.

Overall enjoyed and looking forward to the next one, I really hope Reed just gets to enjoy some time soon and not be out of his death or confined somewhere, such a good character.

[Boomer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been enjoying War of The Twelve, and this was another solid installment but for me this entry wasn't as strong as the previous ones. For whatever reason, I just wasn't as enthralled in Burning Tears of Morlak as I was hoping to be. I'd read a bit, put it down a few days, and pick it up later. I kept coming back, so the author is obviously doing something right, but I didn't burn through the pages like the last two books. It's a fun series regardless, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Anyway, it seems like the series is winding down and I'm definitely interested in seeing how things pan out. On to book 4.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Very good and getting better by the book definitely an epic fantasy story of mythic proportions its very well written plenty of magic monsters and mayhem to go around in

[Neal Ryder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it in one sitting, not intentionally, just turning the pages to see what happened next. Alex Robins writes a fast paced story with characters you care about. I am happy to see that the story will continue...

[sharon bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 3

An excellent continuation of a great series. A complete roller coaster of a ride with good character development and enthralling story keeping you engaged and wanting more. Could not put it down and can’t wait to read the next and last instalment of a great series. So glad I found this author…

[Scott Spangler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed book 3. It was another satisfying entry in the series and I look forward to reading the concluding book 4. This book had a lot of the same shortcomings of its predecessors - a bit short on character development, unclear plot motivations sometimes, events that happen a bit too conveniently. But as I said before, that stuff really doesn't take away from the overall story all that much. And the writing itself is rock solid. I also still love the world that Robins has created. On to book 4. I gave it 4 stars - probably truly more of a 3.5 star effort.

[George Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed, fast flowing and full of good characters! I am really loving this series and this author.

[Ronald Prestwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really easy reading, addictive

Another great book in the series... Easy to spend the day reading through all of the different storylines... Looking forward to the final book!

[Matt Gamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent book. I am about to dive into the next. This series is truly one big continuous story. Which is excellent. The cast of characters is great and they are very well fleshed out. This story and author are right up there with the greats! In some ways he reminds me Gemmel then at times he reminds me of Martin but he has a voice and imagination all his own.

[Beau · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

A great continuation of the series. Really deepening the characters. A twist to the overall plot at every turn. Can’t wait to read the next one!

[Francis Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. For as promising as the first book was, and as well-rounded as the second was, Burning Tears of Morlak was oddly disappointing. Not that it was a terrible story by any measure, but there were... questionable decisions made by the author that ruined the experience for me on some level. Characters who acted against their nature. Storytelling elements that served no purpose. Strange leaps in logic that threw me from the story as I just sat up and went “huh?”. As good as AHoK was, as much as it advanced the story and really brought the characters into the limelight, this book just felt like it wasn’t living up to the promises made in volume two.

The story is split between two main narratives in BToM, one being the expected rescue attempt of Reed, and the second being next phase of repelling the greyling horde by the survivors of Kesserin and Aurelium. The second of these storylines was the strongest in my opinion, with several reveals that set a timer against the heroes’ actions, forcing them to make less-than-ideal choices and forcing them into one bad situation after the next. The first, which had all the makings of a top-notch rescue plot at first, stumbled in several places. But I’ll get to that in a moment.

First though, I have to discuss the elephant in the room, the thing that almost got me to put down the book entirely and not finish it at all. I’m going to attempt this without any major spoilers, so forgive me if I’m somewhat obtuse.

In the second book, we learned of the existence of some greater threat, some unrevealed power of the greylings that was terrible enough the twelve themselves decided that allowing humanity to be defeated was a better choice than continuing to fight. For me, this was the biggest draw in reading BToM: finding out what this threat was, and how it was going to affect the decisions of our dedicated heroes like Jelaia, Reed, and Aldarin. If the twelve, these near-unkillable demigods, were convinced that there was no hope, how would it affect these humans, whose only strength lies in their ability to work together.

The answer was... lackluster. I won’t say exactly what, but my first thought was “so what?”. It was a problem, certainly, but I can’t imagine any reasonable person not immediately thinking of a half-dozen ways to combat it.

And point of fact, even the story seems to agree with me. When this ultimate tool of greyling victory finally makes its appearance at the end of the story, the humans do exactly what any reasonable person would have expected, and immediately start planning how to fight back. They’re dealt a heavy blow, true, but never does anyone suggest that all hope is lost and that they should surrender immediately. One has to wonder what is going on inside of the twelves’ heads for them to have come to the decision they did.

But never mind that. Because earlier in the story one of the twelve actually revealed a solution to the problem. One which they’ve been sitting on. For 300 years. Instead of just, I don’t know, doing that immediately. The story offers a paltry-hand waving reason for why this was that doesn’t stand to the light of scrutiny. They were afraid of being laughed at? When the alternative was utter destruction of the world they knew? Sorry, but I just couldn’t buy it.

And that is a recurring theme in this book. A character suggests something, sometimes presented as a brilliant tactic or unique insight, when it is usually neither, or the reason behind it is some feeble-hand waving for the sake of pushing the story. For instance, there was a scene where the survivors of Kesserin are planning their advance to aid a distant city that sits some twenty days away, and one of the twelve suggests a way to move faster with the soldiers take turns riding in wagons, half sleeping during the day, the other half sleeping at night while the others walk.

It’s brilliant! Why has nobody thought of this during the history of warfare, ever? Possibly because... it doesn’t make sense? Who are pulling these hypothetical wagons? Because if they’re horse/mules/oxen, I’m pretty sure they aren’t going to survive ten days without sleep or rest. If it’s the soldiers themselves, that seems like a huge waste of energy. They’re going to be too tired to make it that far if one half is pulling the other. Never mind the fact that these wagons would probably be needed already to store food and other supplies for a ten/twenty day journey. How many wagons does Kesserin even have available, anyway. I had so many questions from such a simple throwaway suggestion.

And it really is a throwaway, too, mentioned quickly and never discussed again. There’s no story reason the author had to include this, nothing that could have just been left as-is. The army could have just taken twenty days to get there, and the narrative would have been unchanged. I suspect it was in the book merely because the idea sounded cool at the time of writing.

In another scene, two characters are playing a dice game where a pair of six-sided die are thrown, and if they total the number that the character said beforehand, they win. Soon after the game is introduced, one character reveals his father’s brilliance by always choosing seven, and goes on to pontificate how he went so far as to have a servant throw the dice thousands of time to come to this conclusion. The conclusion any reasonable person could have come to in seconds. Of course seven is the most common number. It seems bizarre to try and pass this off as some revelation that the players of this game, which is apparently super popular and played around the world, wouldn’t have figured out long before then. Again, it seems done for the sake of being cool.

Another scene—two characters need to access a fortress by climbing up the latrine pipe. A great outside-the-box idea on the surface, but then the setup is ruined by revealing that all of the fortresses’ waste is dumped at the same time—usually first thing in the morning, but the characters don’t know if this is still true, so there is a sense of urgency as they climb, hoping to make it before they are drowned to death in human excrement.

Except, why wouldn’t they have just waited and watched to see when the drop occurred, and climb up immediately after? Perhaps if there had been a sense of urgency, a rush against the clock this would have made sense, but there is no such setup for this. It makes otherwise clever characters entirely contradict how they had been acting up until then.

There are more examples I could give, but for the sake of brevity I’ll stop there. The thing is, I really wanted to like this book—I certainly liked the series overall, and the main plot of BToM was interesting—I dare say even enjoyable. Unfortunately, strange leaps in logic and irrational choices by the characters marred what should have been a winning followup to The Ashen Hand of Kesserin. I can only hope that book 4 proves able to break away from some of the choices in this volume.

[Bryce Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been truly sucked into this series. Does a great job of balancing how much you're told, how much you can guess and how much you want to know.

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

great character development

All characters grew complexity and backstory, while moving the main plot along.
Wish this was made into a tv series

[Martin Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series just keeps getting better and better. The stakes rise higher, and higher.

In this book we get to see the enigmatic Jeffson have his own POV, and character development. We knew from book 2 there was more to him than a simple attendant, and we find out what that is here. We get more members of the twelve making appearances. Lastly the POV of Prixis continues to be captivating.

The main driving force for our cast of characters changes quickly as a new threat looms in the near future. Near future being by books end the status quo has drastically changed, and the battle between humanity & the creatures of the pit has begun it's inexorable march to the finish line.

Robins has crafted a riveting story thus far, and I look forward to finishing off the series in the next book.

[Kieron Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

I completed this book in four days which for me is a testament to its addictiveness. I do sometimes struggle to get into some fantasy books, the main example being Gardens of The Moon, where I'm on my seventh attempt of trying to get through it. Midway through attempt number seven of Gardens of The Moon, I picked this book for some respite. I was immediately captivated and as mentioned earlier completed it quickly.

The world that this story is based within lacks real depth and the same could be said for the lore that surrounds The Twelve. However this is quickly compensated by the fast paced nature of the book and engaging storyline.

The story builds nicely upon the previous book leaving us in anticipation for the next one.

[Jeff Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent continuation of the story! The Twelve continue to awaken. Some are a bit... messed up. We learn why the Pact exists. And we see some of the Twelve no longer agree with the Pact. Jelaia's character grows. Aldarin is stoic and finally admits what he feels. Reed - man this guy cannot catch a break. Of course, neither can Syrella. Praxix - gets what he deserves???

Still - fight sequences are excellent. Author continues to surprise us. Honestly I am super happy with this series. It was something I just bought - no one recommended. So glad I did!

[Matsidi Lionel Kekane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it.

[Anthony Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entire series has been a solid 4.5 stars.
These books have not slowed down and each book in the series is better than the previous.
Saddened to begin the final book but excited for it!

[Scott | Scottsforayintofiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review - The Burning Tear of Morlak

It’s as if Alex Robins could read my mind.

As I mentioned in my review of book 2 The Ashen Hand of Kessrin, I really want to know who Jeffson is.

A couple of chapters into book 3 in The War of the Twelve series, The Burning Tears of Morlak we get a Jeffson POV.

This made me very happy!!!

Jeffson was such a mysterious character in the previous books, it was great to final get to learn more about him.

Jeffson was by far shining star in this book. From thinking he was just a simple manservant, to knowing he had a mysterious backstory. To finally finding out who he is and watching him be a complete badass.

You can clearly see the author has put a lot of work into crafting these characters. Each character has grow so much in the 3 books I’ve read of this series. They all have their own voice and add value to the story.

What I really enjoyed in this book is learning more about the Twelve. In this book we really get to understand more of their back story and individual personalities.

We final understand the reason for the pact and why the greylings are attacking.

This was alluded too in the previous book but we didn’t quite know what caused the Twelve to make the pact. Now we understand the bigger picture.

I’ve not mention world building much in my previous reviews. I have to say I’ve really enjoyed the approach Alex has taken to build his world in this series.

Rather than a little piece of time at each location in each book, we get more dedicated time at a focused location.

Well, I guess the name of each book should’ve made it obvious, but it just worked very well for me in this series.

This was the best book in the series so far.
Each book is progressively better than its predecessor.

As we head towards the end of the series I’m really intrigued to see how Alex is going to pull off the ending.

Fingers crossed Alex lands the ending 🤞

7.75/10 ⭐️

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story continues to develop perfectly in this third book of the series. The characters continue to grow and the story keeps you guessing, wanting more. I'm really looking forward to reading Book 4 !

[Dorothy Drennen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third book in the War of the Twelve series, following The Broken Heart of Arelium and The Ashen Hand of Kessrin.

Great series, with excellent worldbuilding. And as I noted in my review of The Broken Heart of Arelium, it is such a treat to have adult protagonists.

I recommend the series and look forward to additional books!

[Oli-Nator Voss · Rating 4 out of 5]

detailed and entertaining story

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this difficult to get in to and as the chapters jumped around there were so many names and characters to keep track I don't it very easy to lose track of the main story.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another great book in the series very intense and adventurous. Was hard to put down and a real page turner. The war of the Twelve continues. Jeffson is quite mysterious and the things he can do were surprising. With Demi-Gods and different creatures battling it out it will keep you reading till the end. Looking forward to the next book to continue this adventure.