Heavy Lies the Crown by Ben Galley – Review

Published: August 3, 2021

Publisher: BenGalley.com

Series: The Scalussen Chronicles #2

Pages: 571 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Synopsis:
You don’t have to save the world, you just have to survive it

The battle for freedom has left Emaneska reeling and desolated. Both Scalussen and Arka are scattered to the winds. With the Blazing Throne now empty and the Arka Empire for the taking, the race to claim Emaneska has begun.

Farden and Mithrid have been stranded alone in strange eastern lands by errant magick, They battle not to return home, but to uncover an ancient weapon capable of defeating a god. A god who desires nothing but chaos.

In Emaneska, Elessi leads the survivors of the Rogue’s Armada to safer havens, something rare and lacking in the uncharted waters of the south.

Treachery and pain await them both, but the price of failure is steeper. New enemies lie in wait on those foreign paths. Dark creatures born of nightmares and forgotten powers. Warlords set on mastering magick. And an old threat reborn, doggedly pursuing one fate:

The death of Farden.

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Solid sequel. Lots of walking. So many second books have periods of lots and lots of walking interspersed by brief bouts of action, including but not limited to Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie and the entirety of the Lord of the Rings. The hero’s (literal) journey is definitely a theme in fantasy books for all ages. Nothing wrong with a little detour that ultimately leads you to a super smashing new weapon that kills gods and a bit of worldbuilding. 

In Heavy Lies the Crown, Fardan and company are whisked away to a strange and distant land far from Scalussen. Fardan’s magic is gone and his armor is broken in the aftermath of the last battle and Durnus is unconscious following the teleportation stone he used to save them. Mithrid is still angry at the world, though this is somewhat tempered by her concern for the friends she left behind and the fact that Loki saved her from near death. Why would one of their dire enemies save her if not to serve his own purposes in some way? Fardan makes an ass of himself repeatedly, though I can certainly understand why he might not be in the best of moods. The looming threat of Loki keeps everyone on edge, especially once they know that Mithrid was saved by him. I personally hate interparty turmoil like that because it stresses me out, but it totally works well in the story!

What starts off as a party of heroes lost in a strange land soon turns into a heroes’ quest for a legendary weapon that can slay gods. And they need to find out how to fix Fardan’s armor and his magic because those two things are what made him the Forever King. I enjoy a good journey through strange lands, meeting new people, and getting into mischief. It always makes for a good story, though in this instance things occasionally stagnated a little and I found myself zoning out here and there. 

Overall this was a pretty solid sequel with a good quest and even a tournament! Oh, and there were huge leviathans plaguing the Rogue Armada and a solid bit of character development for Elessi as she takes on the mantle of leadership. I do love the audiobook versions of these books because the narration is top notch and adds so much life to the characters. I’d highly recommend this series for those looking for a good epic fantasy that isn’t too dark!