Traitor's Tome (Death's Disciple #2), by Emma L. Adams
18 Jan 2024The Book
Synopsis:
Several weeks have passed since the capital of Laria narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of the god of death and His followers. Former Captain Yala Palathar is attempting to lie low, but the dead no longer rest easily in their graves, and her role in the battle has drawn attention from potential allies and foes alike.
Niema, too, has been irrecoverably changed by the choices she made during the battle of Dalathar, and journeying home to the Disciples of Life reveals the devastating consequences of her actions. Niema grapples with her desire to protect Yala’s secrets, but when monsters start appearing in the forest, she fears that she’s brought doom upon her own people.
When the Disciples of the Flame come to Yala with the news that a dangerous book used by the god of death’s followers has gone missing, Yala is compelled to seek it out to avert further disaster. Her quest takes her to Setemar, home of the Disciples of the Earth, where her path soon crosses with Kelan and the Disciples of the Sky. It isn’t long before Kelan’s alliance with Yala puts him at odds with his fellow Disciples, and the closer Yala treads to the domain of the god of death, the louder Mekan’s voice whispers in her own ear.
With threats stirring above and below ground, ally is set against ally, and not everyone will survive the calamity that will follow…
My Review
Traitor's Tome is the second book in the Death's Disciple series, a dark fantasy proposal written by Emma L. Adams (whose first instalment reached SFPBO9 semifinals). Set several weeks after Death's Disciple, Yala Palanthar has tried to keep low profile, but when the Disciples of the Flame come with the news of how a tome used by the god of death's disciples has disappeared, she's forced to start a new quest that will take her to Setemar.
Yala's path will be crossed with the Disciples of Earth, as Setemar is their home; however, the temple is being invaded by the Corruption, blocking the Disciples of Earth's access to their powers. Without a doubt, she will need to involve herself in the problems, at least if she wants to stop the god of death taking over everything, while still fighting with the sequels of the wounds suffered while stopping Laria's destruction.
Not going to lie, I absolutely loved Yala's character in the first novel, and in this one, even with the sequels of the fighting, she's exactly the same strong and snarky character; maybe a bit more cautious, especially having in consideration she's still using a cane to walk, but at the end, she's still our Yala. Maintaining the equilibrium with Mekan, trying to get power but not succumb to Him is a difficult task, but it also gives us some of the most spectacular moments of the book.
In comparison with the first book, we have a slower pacing, Adams taking more time to build and in especial, to continue building some aspects that were overlooked in the first book, such as the religion and their gods (and honestly, I have some crazy theories about the nature of some gods). Some references are introduced to the prequel novella, Monarch's Mission, a mystery that hopefully we will end resolving in the third book. And if the first part of this book is kinda slow, is just to prepare us for the great finale that happens in the second part, where Adams unleashes all the chaos over our characters.
Reading Traitor's Tome has left me craving for more adventures of Yala Palanthar, and for exploring more the world and their deities; if you want an excellent dark fantasy series, pick Death's Disciple as soon as possible, because Emma L. Adams has nailed it!
The Author/s
Emma L. Adams
Emma L. Adams spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing fantasy novels. She has a BA in English Literature with Creative Writing from Lancaster University, where she made it her mission to insert a dragon into every story she wrote.
Now, Emma lives in the middle of England and is the international bestselling author of over 30 novels including the Changeling Chronicles and the Order of the Elements series. When she’s not immersed in her own fictional universes, Emma can be found with her head in a book, playing video games, or wandering around the world in search of adventure.