How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge by K. Eason – Review

Published: October 27, 2020

Publisher: DAW Books

Series: The Thorn Chronicles #2

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 416 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3.0/5.0

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

Synopsis:

Rory Thorne must use the fairy blessings gifted to her to change the multiverse in the second book in this space opera duology.

After avoiding an arranged marriage, thwarting a coup, and inadvertently kick-starting a revolution, Rory Thorne is no longer a princess, but a space pirate.

Her new life is interrupted when Rory and her crew–former royal bodyguards, Thorsdottir and Zhang, and co-conspirator Jaed–encounter an abandoned ship registered under a false name, seemingly fallen victim to attack. As they investigate, they find evidence of vicious technology and arithmancy, alien and far beyond known capabilities.

The only answer to all the destruction is the mysterious, and unexpected, cargo: a rose plant. One that reveals themself to be sentient–and designed as a massive biological weapon. Rose seeks to escape their intended fate, and Rory and her friends must act fast when the attackers return with their superior weaponry.

As the situation gains the attention of an increasing number of alien races, Rory finds herself acting as negotiator and diplomat, in order to save Rose and her friends–and avert an unprecedented war.

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TL,DR: Not as good as the first one, but not bad.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse certainly set up readers for another book with the ending, however this wasn’t exactly the sequel I expected. Not that I had a clear expectation… just, this wasn’t quite it. Rory, Thorsdottir, Zhang, and Jaed decided to skip out of town and become scrappers. Not fighting scrappers, but the junk hauling/wreck recovery kind. Gryt and Rupert were farming sheep up until a green fairy showed up with some rather important information. It seems that the universe is about to be in chaos once again and Rory is at the epicenter (unintentionally).

Rory et. al stumble across a bio weapon on a dead ship in the middle of nowhere and then encounter hostiles from an empire that has its sights set on expansion. Rory ends up taking up the mantle of princess/diplomat once again in order to find if not peace, then at least an understanding, with highly skilled arithmancers. On the other end of things, Gryt and Rupert (and some new allies) are trying to get to Rory to hopefully save her and her friends.

The story was fraught with danger and tension, so I can’t say it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat. It was certainly an adventure, though it was somewhat lackluster in comparison with the first book. The first book was charming and exciting, with the tease of potential romance and this installment didn’t quite have the charm or the humor. It was, however a pretty satisfying conclusion to the duology and gave a nice summary of where everyone (mostly Rory) ended up later in life. Overall, this was a fun duology and I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a weird mish-mash of science fiction and fantasy elements with awesome female characters.