The Shattered Crown by Richard Ford, Steelhaven #2Heroes must rise...
The King is dead. His daughter, untested and alone, now wears the Steel Crown. And a vast horde is steadily carving a bloody road south, hell-bent on razing Steelhaven to the ground...
or the city will fall.
Before the city faces the terror that approaches, it must crush the danger already lurking within its walls. But will the cost of victory be as devastating as that of defeat?
A short while ago I read Richard Ford's first book in the Steelhaven series, Herald of the Storm, this strong character driven book won me over from the start and got me quite eager for the sequel. Richard Ford managed to create an interesting "grimdark" fantasy setting and just as the title of the book, Richard Ford heralded a storm, a storm so powerful that only leaves one question remaining, will Steelhaven survive?
Just a not up front, The Shattered Crown is one of those books that makes a reader like me excited, it's these kind of sequels that you want to read. Taking a story that much further, not falling in any sudden silences that have a tendency to derail or make you loose interest. Richard Ford tightens the reigns on his story, showing the direct consequences of all that has happened in Herald of the Storm.
The Shattered Crown opens up with a devious murder plot regarding the newly seated queen initiated by some of the less savory characters that we got introduces to in the first book. After which you aren't spared a moment before Richard Ford directly picks up his immense character cast. I do have to mention that if you want to enjoy the full story and accompanied complexity of several characters, it is advisable to start with the first book. Anyway the focus is soon on one of my favourite character the wizards apprentice Waylian. Next to Waylian a lot of other threads are being followed, like Nobul abandoned his blacksmithing job in order to seek redemption for being a bad father and for loosing his son and lets not forget Merrick, Kaira and the Queen Janessa. Like I told in my review of Herald of the Storm, a lot of the storylines that RIchard Ford introduced us to slowly started to merge, and a most of the lines continue this way in The Shattered Crown, similarly are the way that a lot of the events that build up the story follow-up on each other. I will therefore refrain from spoiling to much of the story itself. I think I will stick to this.
Steelhaven, after the death of the King isn't what it once was, the tyrant warlord Amon Tugha's armies are still on the rise and plan to lay siege on Steelhaven. Everyone knows that certain doom is coming, and it is coming soon, the citizens of Steelhaven are loosing control and martial law is being opted, however this would mean that Queen Janessa has to give control of her city away... Mercenaries have heard of the need to defend Steelhaven, but not only they find themselves ready to fight, even the fabled Wyvren Guard departs from their training grounds to help Steelhaven, let by the notorious Tannick Ryder (BAM YES! ok eager mode off). Nobul finds himself in the ranks of the Greencoats, but it also seems that other people have set their minds on him... Merrick and Kiara have given up their earlier employ and are now conscripted in the Queens guard, the Sentinels. And well let's not forget the Queen herself, because Richard Ford really, really invests a lot of time with developing her character, though there are a lot of strong characters, it feels that the book does revolve more around Janessa but this is a very wise decision as she is in charge of making sure the right choices are made when it comes down to not letting Steelhaven loose the unavoidable battle, and she goes through a rough couple of phases to say the least. This is not pretty much what it comes down to but the most that I am willing to share. The Shattered Crown shows how Steelhaven is preparing for the battle with the warlord Amon Tugha and everything that comes looking around the corner to do this.
One thing that can often time be hard to keep up with character driven fantasy is developing them, especially when you have a character cast that has a lot of faces. I have to say that I was more than pleased with how Richard Ford continued the development of his characters. The above mentioned characters all make a colorful appearance. Wylian is still apprenticed to Gelredida, and after having felt the immense power of magick flowing through his veins he now knows certain he wants to feel it again, but through all his efforts he hasn't been able to conjure it up again, making him question himself once again. I just like Waylian's character, he started off as a bit of lackey only doing chores but now we see a more gradual shift in him taking the reins of his own life, not getting in rebellion or anything along those lines but more maturing and seeing that calculating your next move is better than acting rash, also he grows a pair! Another character that I am pleased with is Nobul, he only wants to have justice, but getting it is the hardest... When I read the ending of I think chapter fifty-four, I got a smile on y face, I hope Richard Ford can deliver on this front! Lastely there are Merrick and Kiara who now work in the Sentinel guard of Queen Janessa. Kiara is still her determined self, always seeking to be virtuous and she has sworn to protect the Queen at every cost. Merrick is a complete opposite to Kiara, he was and still is acting in his rogueish kind off way with some consequences in tail... A for Janessa, just wow, in Herald of the Storm, she felt more like a rich stuck up kind of girl, but now that you see the weight of keeping Steelhaven free weighing down on her shoulders she becomes a very strong heroine, especially the training with Kiara has done her some good and whats cooler that seeing a and imagining Janessa wielding the triumphant blade Helsbayn! This is gonna be good stuff in the third book.
Now besides revisiting and developing the steady character cast, keeping a story excited also requires the addition of new content. Well this also isn't lacking in The Shattered Crown. If you have read Herald of the Storm you know that Nobul was involved in a tough battle at the Bakhaus Gate, well this is explored further in it's sequel. As I said a lot of mercenaries are being drawn to Steelhaven, as so are the famed Zatani warrior, who fight with tooth and claw, it is against these brutes that Nobul has once had to face off. The Zatanie warriors are feared among the general population, they have a bad reputation, but all that the leader, Regulus, wants is to proof their worth and bring glory to their names once again. What better way is their to defeat the warlord Amon Tugha and the re-united Kurtha hordes? Another addition to the storyline is Tannick Ryder, yup father to, anyway. Tannick is the leader of the famous, held in awe, Wyvern Guard. There isn't a tougher people to be found on the face of the planet than the Wyvern Guard, they excel in everything that they do. They could just safe Steelhaven, but for some like Merrick, seeing his father again opens a lot of feelings that he would have rather have kept locked away. It was great to see just how vulnerable Merrick was when facing his father and it came to show that all Merrick ever wanted of him was a gentle hand on the should and his father saying: you have done well, you have made me proud. Brilliant.
The Shattered Crown is a terrific continuation of the Steelhaven series and it is these kind of sequel that really put a smile on my face. Where an author takes his story that much further and outdoing himself. If you have thought Herald of the Storm was a great read wait till you get your hand on The Shattered Crown. Richard Ford doesn't hesistate one moment to throw you once again into the fray of his storm with the upcoming unavoidable confrontation between Amon Tugha and the people of Steelhaven. He further develops his characters and solidly roots them down into the story, I got to feel for a lot of them through all the hardships they had to go through, this is probably owed to the fact that I had already gotten quite acquainted to them in the first book. if you want to read about well fleshed out characters, what are you waiting for? Richard Ford also keeps his story lively and dynamic by introducing some new elements like the Zatani warriors and the Wyvern Guard and there are a few more that you will have to find out for yourself. Steelhaven and Richard Ford so far hasn't let me down, I am eager to find out how it will all come down to in the end. Can't wait!
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