I am delighted to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for G.N. Gudgion's Runes of Battle which is Book Two in the Rune Song Trilogy.
Runes of Battle continues the story where the previous book left off so is best read after completing the first book. Adelais our main character is now on the run, accused of murdering the high priest, she has disguised herself as a man and escaped to the north hoping to return to her homeland. She spends the winter among friends honing her skill with a sword and her magical gift of runesong. The stakes remain high as Gudgion keeps the tension mounting by switching viewpoints between a number of characters, so that in one chapter we see our heroine relax and grow in her skills and in the next we see the antagonist Barthram closing in on her hiding place.
The world building is fantastic as Gudjion blends ideas from Norse mythology and runelore with the medieval church's attacks on so called heretical sects such as the Cathars and the Knights Templar. The landscape and the characters come alive in Gudjion's skillful storytelling and Adelais is a wonderful heroine, poised, strong and smart but also lonely, anxious and self doubting.
Unlike many second books of a trilogy Runes of Battle is not just a "murky middle" carrying our characters from inciting incident to dramatic climax but a well thought out plot which fleshes out the characters and the world in which the story takes place.
A must read for fans of Robin, Hobb. Mark Lawrence, Juliet Marillier and Theodore Brun and shows like The Witcher and The Wheel of Time. Available now from Second Sky Books part of Bookoutre Publishing.
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