Onyx Storm, by Rebecca
Yarros.
Here is the third riveting book in
Ms Yarros’s series of five fantasy novels about the mythical world of the
Empyrean and the love affair between little, deceptively frail Violet
Sorrengail and Xaden Riorson, flawed but irresistible (not to mention
impossibly handsome) man of shadows, who in book two has just been converted to
the Dark Side in order to save her life, which means that they spend most of
book three trying to find a cure for him so that he can defeat their toxic and
supremely malevolent enemies, the Venin.
So far, because of his great love for Violet and his superhuman
willpower he has been able to resist the terrible call of supreme and evil
addiction, but Violet knows what a struggle it is for him but loves him the
more because he has endangered himself for her.
The problem is that the rest of the
Continent in which they live and study depends on them too, to prevent the
entire population from being annihilated by the Venin, and to make matters
worse, Violet herself is being pursued by an ex-highpriestess of Dunne (don’t
ask. Oh, OK then: God of War). Theophanie is evil incarnate but is confident
of winning Violet over to evil: she just
has to find the right trigger. Xaden is
the obvious prize along with them both being rulers of the Empyrean world
forever – or could it be her second dragon, adolescent Andarna?
Once again, the dragons have won
my heart: they are such great characters, especially
Andarna, who has a mind of her own – talk about the impetuosity of youth! I have to admit that I got a bit bogged down
and confused at the warfare plans and the introduction of a whole swag of new
characters as Violet and Xaden travel to far-off corners of the Empyrean to try
to recruit allies and converts;
fortunately Ms Yarros knows what she’s doing and keeps the whole show on
the road at its usual break-neck pace – and thank the Gods that someone is still in the driver’s seat
for, once again, she saves the biggest shocks for the last page. Which is hell on the nerves, especially as
it’s going to take a while for book four to present itself: do your best, Ms
Yarros, and I’ll still dream of a jolly nice little dragon choosing me for a
pet! FIVE STARS
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