Conqueror's Blood

Gunmetal Gods, Book 2

By: Zamil Akhtar

Narrated by: Peter Noble

The Kingdom of Alanya is home to mystic warriors and mischievous djinns, vulgar poets and vain philosophers, soaring simurghs and scheming shahs.

Little do the people know that a power struggle between an ancient sorceress and an upstart sultana threatens to bathe the sands in bile and bones. A bloody cauldron boils, and primeval gods laugh while they stir it.

As warhorses charge, arrows shower, and cannon shots brighten the night, all must choose a side.

©2021 Zamil Akhtar (P)2021 Podium Audio

Good stuff

Slow start but worth it. Great setup for the nest book. 15 word minimum now?

Another fantastic tale in the Gunmetal universe!

Mr. Akhtar has managed to refine an already incredible story. I really enjoy his ability to create characters who want something so badly they would do anything to get it. I find myself unsure of whether I agree or disagree with the choices characters make but it’s a rollercoaster the whole way. Can’t wait for the third installment in April 2023!

A poor follow up

I’m conflicted, I absolutely loved the first book and all the characters especially the pacing of the story with the drip feed of world building was nothing like this sequel. This follow up feels like it’s constantly starting and stopping with the world building more like a waterfall in some sections. I like new protagonists but these two aren’t nearly as charming as the past trio. The book could have been 25% shorter and it would have helped. The performer does not do well with women’s voices. Overall a regrettable experience that I hope does not continue into the third book.

Original world

Honestly liked book 1 a bit more - but still a great listen - will get book 3

Beautiful yet terrifying

One of the best sequels I’ve ever read. A story of betrayal, mystic creatures and amazing twist and turns.

I love how the characters are extremely human

The characters in they are very morally gray and complex. I love it how Magic dozens start out with the beginning but it builds within the book series self.

Different but still excellent follow up.

While the first book followed two male warriors, in there battles in an evolving war. This book follows two women in a kingdom on the brink of war. So it is a different type of story, more intrigue and sorcery, than sword fights and battles. You have to be ready for the difference pace. Still I enjoyed following Zedra and Cyra as much as Keva and Malik.

Most of all, I love the Gunmetal Gods world. it is so different from most European based Fantasy. I am enjoying learning the magic, gods, and people of the world.

Slow burn great payoff.

Amazing sequal following up with all the same unique themes. this book manages to combine Arabian Nights, Magic, and a complete lovecraftian under tone in such a unique way. it has a very slow and long build up full of politcal intrigue and characters before it returns to magic, world building, and deep lore so the start can be daunting, but the ending is fantastic. definitely worth it

Same world, new story pretty much

I enjoyed the first book by the end, and left me wanting to continue the story. This wasn't the continuation that I wanted or hoped for. Some names and people may of reappeared briefly, and the overall world setting that was built up stayed more or less, and that overall point of the story stayed the same. Humans dragged into a war of gods. Every other direction that makes a book good changed though.

This is more a book of deception, and hidden figures of a war to come. The action is few and far, the magic has been created new, and also recreated previous character to include the past(book 1) into the reworking.

Coming from the previous book, the story is compleatly different. It's more a new story in the same world as the previous. Although it isn't bad, and most of its negatives come from it being a sequel, and being so different.

I struggled with this one.

First off, I really loved the first book in this series, Gunmetal Gods. it was surprising and fresh in all the best ways. I do wish he would stop calling it "progression fantasy," because that makes it sound like a much cheaper story than it is--like it's throwaway copy for a video game or something--but that's a minor issue. Overall, the first installment was great.

My biggest problem with this book is one, it's lack of connection to the events in the first book. It's called a sequel, but beyond the fact that this story takes place in a neighboring country, among members of a dynasty distantly related to important side characters in the first book, it really isn't a sequel. We're not revisiting the story of Micah the Metal or anything. Different cast of characters, different country (in a technological age where that kind of thing is very important), and so on. In fact, I think that a person can probably pick this up without having read the first book and be 100% fine.

That being said, I decided to give it a go. Twice, actually. And this book is very, very different. Whereas the first book involved a lot of travel and fighting, this is more about political and magical intrigue, and doesn't move around as much. That's not necessarily a bad thing, when it's executed well. The problem here is that it isn't. The two main characters are both (apparently) young women who reside in the same palace and interact with a lot of the same people. They are very hard to keep straight, which caused me to get confused and lose interest when trying to listen. They don't have different accents or anything--there were numerous times that I was a half hour into a chapter before I realized the perspective had shifted. And on my second go around, I really made a conscious effort to pay closer attention, because I had enjoyed the first book so much and I remembered having that issue the first time I tried to listen to this one.

Compounding the issue is that neither of the main characters have personalities which are terribly distinct from one another. You might expect one to be feisty and other to be meek or calculating, but no. One's a bit more naive, but basically, they're both cool and scheming, with approximately similar strategies for navigating court life as women in a patriarchal society. The villain almost *has* to have moments where the narration says something along the lines of "but she wasn't really being honest, was she?" in order to show that she's the villain.

I still think Peter Noble did a good job with the narration, but he wasn't given enough to work with to bring it to life. This might be good as a book to read, but I just couldn't get into it as a listen.