A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu – Review

Published: March 20, 2018

Publisher: DAW Books

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Song of the Shattered Sands #3

Pages: 672 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

The third book in The Song of Shattered Sands series—an epic fantasy with a desert setting, filled with rich worldbuilding and pulse-pounding action.

Since the Night of Endless Swords, a bloody battle the Kings of Sharakhai narrowly won, the kings have been hounding the rebels known as the Moonless Host. Many have been forced to flee the city, including Çeda, who discovers that the King of Sloth is raising his army to challenge the other kings’ rule.

When Çeda finds the remaining members of the Moonless Host, now known as the thirteenth tribe, she sees a tenuous existence. Çeda hatches a plan to return to Sharakhai and free the asirim, the kings’ powerful, immortal slaves. The kings, however, have sent their greatest tactician, the King of Swords, to bring Çeda to justice for her crimes.

But the once-unified front of the kings is crumbling. The surviving kings vie quietly against one another, maneuvering for control over Sharakhai. Çeda hopes to use that to her advantage, but whom to trust? Any of them might betray her.

As Çeda works to lift the shackles from the asirim and save the thirteenth tribe, the kings of Sharakhai, the scheming queen of Qaimir, the ruthless blood mage, Hamzakiir, and King of Swords all prepare for a grand clash that may decide the fate of all.

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A Veil of Spears is the third book in Beaulieu’s Song of the Shattered Sands series and I must say, it’s still going strong. There’s no stopping the Ceda-train and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Some books really start to drag and become more and more ridiculous and unbelievable (yes I know it’s fantasy) as the story progresses. Not so with this series as Beaulieu doesn’t just blurt out answers to the questions that have been burning in your mind. He hoards his story’s secrets, doling them out a few at a time.

I continue to enjoy each character’s perspective, particularly Ceda and Ramahd. I’d be lying if I said their chapters didn’t have me worried from time to time as both make risky moves that keep me on the edge of my seat. The introduction of the healer Brama as a new POV was particularly interesting as it revealed more about the ehrek as well as Brama’s own past. The ehrek are really awesome mythical-type beings that just seem really terrifying. I would love to see them illustrated – perhaps we can hope for a beautiful illustrated edition from Subterranean Press. I’d totally buy all of them.

I like the new turmoil in the House of Kings as well. These books are by no means small and Bradley Beaulieu never makes them too heavy or leaves the reader feeling as if they’re slogging along. It’s easy to lose yourself in these books because of the massive of amount of action and devious plotting which abounds. The Kings of Sharakhai are down in number, but it seems as if those who remain have redoubled efforts to overthrow one another. Onur is now subjugating the desert tribes while Ihsan continues to plot dastardly deeds of devious nature. There’s just so much going on, especially now that Sukru has Davud and Anila in his “care”. On the flip side of the madness in Sharakhai, there’s the Thirteenth tribe regrouping in the desert, trying to establish a presence…

A Veil of Spears is an excellent book that I would say is on par with the first two as far as enjoyment and quality go. Bradley Beaulieu doesn’t get much hype in the fantasy community (that I’ve noticed) but he certainly deserves more recognition. If you want an ambitious fantasy series with a rich, desert setting, great characters, and loads of action then I’d say this would be a perfect fit. This will be a six books series, so we’re at the midpoint – plenty of time to catch up before the rest of the series comes out!