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Mihir's Reviews > The Lessons Never Learned
The Lessons Never Learned (The War Eternal #2)
by
by
Overall rating = 4.5 stars
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: After the claustrophobic events of Along The Razor’s Edge, we get a much different story in The Lessons Never Learned. This second book from The War Eternal trilogy expands the world and background admirably so.
The story literally opens up where Along The Razor’s Edge ended. Eska and her remaining gang (Tamura, Hardt, and Yorin) have reached the surface. Eska can’t believe that her crazy sounding plan has finally paid off. However things aren’t easy as once outside they will be hunted by the Terralan empire as fugitives. Eska has a plan and now that she’s free of the claustrophobic confines of the pit, the sky’s the limit literally. However the only place safe for her and her mates is in the sky itself. The flying city of Roshan, controlled by the R’and. It’s the sole place where she can be free of the Terrelan Empire as there’s a special group of people hunting her as well.
The sequel is a book that takes a wide scope lens to the story so far. In book 1 we found out how Eska and Josef got captured, in this sequel we get a solid inkling of the why. As always Eska occupies front and center of the book’s plot as well as the reader’s attention. Eska as a character is still a bit abrasive but now she’s learning more about herself and what she underwent at the Orran academy. In this volume, we see Eska’s evolution from a singular focused sourceror into a person that will leave a mark on this world.
The previous book was all about the claustrophic nature of the surrounding and in this one we get an exact 180 as most of the plot is situated around the flying cities across this world. We also get to see how and why they were formed.
“The world is founded on lie, upon lie, upon lie. But the truth is always there, just waiting for an opportunity to tear down everything we have built.”
The book’s main plot deals with the how and why of the magic system as well as the backstory of the world. This is what made this middle volume a better one than its predecessor. The author breaks down all the various stereotypes and falsehoods that have been perpetrated upon the human populace. We also get to see quite a lot of the non-human races and where they stand in the hierarchy of the world.
“We are, all of us, marred by scars, plagued by the faults and insecurities laid upon us by our pasts.”
Once again the book is centered around Eskara Helsene and another narrator. Eska has come a long way from where and what she was in the previous volume. This book deals with her maturation in more ways then one. She gets to experience love, and also learns a lot about the fate of the Orran empire. Her mental and physical evolution are fun to watch as we see her internalize her anger and insecurities but also sharpen her zeal and power. Serrakis is there to provide backup whenever she needs and also to taste the fear that she evokes. I loved how the author managed to make Eskara a stronger character while still keeping her sharp edges. There’s also the other narrator and I loved how ambiguous that narrative thread was until the very end.
This book also doubles up on the magic and action sequences more so than its predecessor. There’s some terrific sequences in the end and it more than makes up for the lulls in between the action sequences. However there’s not a dull moment to be had, in between all of the story, we get to meet so many new characters as well see so many new locations that we as a reader as well as Eska are left spellbound. Rob J. Hayes does something truly incredible with the worldbuilding & magic system as in the first book we have no clue about what awaits in this volume. Lastly the ending is something that will make your head flip and leave you wanting the last volume pronto. So it’s a good thing that we are only 13 days away from its release.
CONCLUSION: The Lessons Never Learned is another spectacular volume in a trilogy that does the unexpected, breaks all conventions and makes its tough protagonist into a person that we can root for. Rob J. Hayes stretches his literary muscles in more ways than one and once more proves why he’s a self-publishing star that will rise higher and higher.
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: After the claustrophobic events of Along The Razor’s Edge, we get a much different story in The Lessons Never Learned. This second book from The War Eternal trilogy expands the world and background admirably so.
The story literally opens up where Along The Razor’s Edge ended. Eska and her remaining gang (Tamura, Hardt, and Yorin) have reached the surface. Eska can’t believe that her crazy sounding plan has finally paid off. However things aren’t easy as once outside they will be hunted by the Terralan empire as fugitives. Eska has a plan and now that she’s free of the claustrophobic confines of the pit, the sky’s the limit literally. However the only place safe for her and her mates is in the sky itself. The flying city of Roshan, controlled by the R’and. It’s the sole place where she can be free of the Terrelan Empire as there’s a special group of people hunting her as well.
The sequel is a book that takes a wide scope lens to the story so far. In book 1 we found out how Eska and Josef got captured, in this sequel we get a solid inkling of the why. As always Eska occupies front and center of the book’s plot as well as the reader’s attention. Eska as a character is still a bit abrasive but now she’s learning more about herself and what she underwent at the Orran academy. In this volume, we see Eska’s evolution from a singular focused sourceror into a person that will leave a mark on this world.
The previous book was all about the claustrophic nature of the surrounding and in this one we get an exact 180 as most of the plot is situated around the flying cities across this world. We also get to see how and why they were formed.
“The world is founded on lie, upon lie, upon lie. But the truth is always there, just waiting for an opportunity to tear down everything we have built.”
The book’s main plot deals with the how and why of the magic system as well as the backstory of the world. This is what made this middle volume a better one than its predecessor. The author breaks down all the various stereotypes and falsehoods that have been perpetrated upon the human populace. We also get to see quite a lot of the non-human races and where they stand in the hierarchy of the world.
“We are, all of us, marred by scars, plagued by the faults and insecurities laid upon us by our pasts.”
Once again the book is centered around Eskara Helsene and another narrator. Eska has come a long way from where and what she was in the previous volume. This book deals with her maturation in more ways then one. She gets to experience love, and also learns a lot about the fate of the Orran empire. Her mental and physical evolution are fun to watch as we see her internalize her anger and insecurities but also sharpen her zeal and power. Serrakis is there to provide backup whenever she needs and also to taste the fear that she evokes. I loved how the author managed to make Eskara a stronger character while still keeping her sharp edges. There’s also the other narrator and I loved how ambiguous that narrative thread was until the very end.
This book also doubles up on the magic and action sequences more so than its predecessor. There’s some terrific sequences in the end and it more than makes up for the lulls in between the action sequences. However there’s not a dull moment to be had, in between all of the story, we get to meet so many new characters as well see so many new locations that we as a reader as well as Eska are left spellbound. Rob J. Hayes does something truly incredible with the worldbuilding & magic system as in the first book we have no clue about what awaits in this volume. Lastly the ending is something that will make your head flip and leave you wanting the last volume pronto. So it’s a good thing that we are only 13 days away from its release.
CONCLUSION: The Lessons Never Learned is another spectacular volume in a trilogy that does the unexpected, breaks all conventions and makes its tough protagonist into a person that we can root for. Rob J. Hayes stretches his literary muscles in more ways than one and once more proves why he’s a self-publishing star that will rise higher and higher.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
Finished Reading
Started Reading
May 13, 2020
–
Finished Reading
May 27, 2020
– Shelved
