Redemption is under threat.
Tribal invaders have laid siege to Pyramid, the very heart of civilization, and threaten to bring war to the rest of the Dominions if left unchallenged. And far to the North, the artifact that annihilated the people of Czeryn still threatens to bring more death and devastation in the hands of an unseen enemy; the Veiled One.
Actaeon is determined to put an end to it, leading his forces to investigate the ruins of Travail in hopes of finding a weapon to turn the tide of battle. But some secrets are best left undiscovered, and there are darker threats lurking there than even The Engineer could have imagined.
Faced with deadly artifacts, and caught between old conflicts, Actaeon must find a way to unite the people of the Dominions against these threats, or else watch everything he loves crumble and fall to ruin.
Redemption, like all things, is not easily won.
The Dark Heart of Redemption
by Darran M. Handshaw
eBook, 640 pages
September 17, 2022
Published by The Engineer’s Press
Fantasy | Science Fiction | Epic
Find this book on: Amazon CA | Goodreads
Before we start, as with every author-submitted review, I want to send a huge thank you to the author, for sending me a copy of this book! Receiving books like this and getting to share them with everyone is my favourite part of doing reviews on this little blog, and I so appreciate you giving me the opportunity.
All opinions and terrible jokes are my own!
Last year, I had the privilege of reviewing The Engineer, and absolutely fell in love with the astonishing level of world-building that went into this story. It was only fitting that it had an endearing set of characters to match, and I was eager to find out what came next for The Engineer. And luckily for me, the author seemed to feel the same way, because the sequel almost immediately drops us (fittingly enough) right into the heart of the action.
(Get it? … I’ll see myself out.)
We are returned to Redemption in the middle of a brutal and bloody war with Act reluctantly in the thick of the fighting. I’ll admit that this section of the book was one of my favourites as we’re thrown right into the action. The fast pace and Handshaw’s fantastic writing gave it such a great sense of danger and intensity that I couldn’t help but be drawn in from the first battle.
Wave and Trench continue to be my favourite part of this entire series and here they are truly given the best opportunity to shine. As warriors, brothers-in-arms, and experts in witty banter, they absolutely steal the show, and I was so glad to see more of them from the very beginning.
Not that the rest of the characters are any less endearing than they were last time. Act and Eisandre continue to be the most adorable thing ever, and I loved that their romance could continue even between battlefields and politics. They support each other and make the other better, and we need more of that kind of romance in our lives.
The only critique I really have is regarding the pacing throughout the rest of the book. While the opening was a fast paced charge into incredible drama and suspense, towards the middle part of the book that momentum is somewhat lost and it feels a little like the plot has wandered off for a bit rather than building towards greater events.
It’s a nice return to form for Actaeon, who gets to do what he loves best – engineering all kinds of incredible solutions – and it all ends in a phenomenon climax that is absolutely worth the wait. But with that said, I did miss that feeling of being grabbed by the hand and told to run that made it impossible to put this book down.
Ultimately, however, I can honestly say that this sequel has been one hundred percent worth the wait. Everything from the writing, to the characters, to Redemption itself, is back and better than ever, and I personally can’t wait to see what else this author has in store for us.
A solid four burst of flame for The Dark Heart of Redemption; a thrilling sequel that delivers on all the promise from the original and more!
This author continues to amaze and impress me with his intricate world-building and phenomenal, complex characters who carry this whole story from just good to fantastic and never look back. Even if it’s still a bit slowly paced for my taste, I’m still so glad I got swept up in the ride.
If you’re looking for a solid read and a story that keeps getting more epic by the page, this may just be the book for you.
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