Desdemona in Embers

By: Heather Wohl

Narrated by: Danni Deguire

What would it take for you to commit treason?

Join Quistix, a battle-torn blacksmith on a dangerous mission, as she and her endearing companions journey to deliver the knowledge-hungry esteg, Aurora, to the floating city of Apex. Quistix soon unearths a dark family history and delves into the rich mystery surrounding her wild, new magical abilities.

Meanwhile, back on the isle of Destoria, a power-drunk quichyrd breathes life into the dead, playing God to her amassed, army of rotting creatures.

With airborne dragons, puzzles, vicious tundra goblins, thieving wyls, power-hungry royalty, and the seething undead, this exciting continuation of the saga is a tale of hilarity, heartbreak, and thrilling adventure that will leave you with the question:

Who is truly running Destoria?

©2023 Heather Wohl (P)2024 Heather Wohl

What?!?

OMG! What did I just read? This brilliant fantasy world from the creative mind of Heather Wohl is truly like nothing I've read before. Lots of unique world building. Fanciful creatures abound. There's A LOT going on so it helps to follow along on the map and glossary on the author's website.

Not gonna lie, the narrator's voice is so amazing I could listen to her read the dictionary all day long. I did often find myself having to back up certain passages because I realized I wasn't listening to the words, just the beauty of her voice.

Book ends on an intrigue, not a real cliffhanger, but I definitely want to know what happens next.

Another great story!

I loved the book 1 and this one didn't disappoint. Again sudden twist and shocking sad moments that I didn't see coming. Can't wait to see what happens next in this series. Narrator did an amazing job.

Good

I really enjoy this book the Author: Heather Wohl did a wonderful job with this story I keep you on your toes with all the twists and turns she did a wonderful job describing the characters

Amazing fantasy world

Great detailed character in a storyline with twist and turns. My only challenge is sometimes I was distracted by imagining what a character might look like after a detail was shared and would need to back up the story

Was so happy to have the same narrator as book 1 and still love her change of voice for the little dragon.

How could you do me dirty like that?

A beautiful world with some well-known fantasy creatures which have been reimagined (this may throw your for a bit of a loop if you’re very familiar with them, however listen to the description provided and you’ll be fine). Loved the progression of the story, with the exception of some VERY BIG losses I had to deal with while working. Not cool, author. Not cool at all to be grieving while grooming. A few odd editing moments, but author did a nice job narrating and bringing characters to life.

More Dark Fantasy/Horror than High Fantasy

I listen to a lot of fantasy books, so when the author of this Illuminator Saga series stated it was fantasy/high fantasy, I thought I knew what I was getting into. Unfortunately, that was not the case! It should actually be listed as dark fantasy and perhaps even horror. I am a fan of neither of those fiction subgenres. I found Book 1 too gruesome for my liking, but this one ups the horror factor even more. I'm not sure how much I should give away, but I certainly would like to warn any others like me who prefer, shall we say, fantasy without elements of darkness or horror. Imagine many of the good guys in the story being killed in gruesome and gratuitous ways. In fact, at some point, I was wondering who would take over from the evil dark-magic-wielding queen once she met her end. (How that exactly transpired didn't exactly make sense.) Imagine also multiple armies of undead, including one of children brought back to an undead “life” by someone trying to learn how to cheat death. So much death described in vivid, gruesome detail, including beings burned until they were nothing but smoking, quivering sinews and heads bashed against walls and rocks. Yes, the author gets that graphic. And poor Frock! Did that really have to happen to the sweet young dragon?

This book shared another oddity with book one: too much reference to all things scatological, including creatures who are known to produce ripe farts (and do so regularly) and using flaming poop-tipped arrows to try to take down enemies.

We do find out in this book what the Illuminator is, and after the buildup in Book One and this one, what it ended up to be was a bit disappointing. Even though I listened to these books almost back to back—but not quite as, again, I don't have much taste for horror—I found the world and the different creatures and beings within it confusing. The author doesn't just have standard fantasy characters like elves and witches, but also creatures she's made up and given odd names. In an audiobook, it's hard to track this when there are so many different types of creatures (that can have multiple names) and even hybrid creatures (which can also have multiple names). Unlike a book, you can’t flip back through the pages to try to figure out who's who and what’s what. Unless you prefer dark fantasy or horror, I don't recommend this book or this series. I hope for future readers or listeners that the author is more honest in her book descriptions so that readers with no interest in dark fantasy or horror can avoid a book that truly is those subgenres.

I have given relatively low stars to this book, not because I dislike the subgenre, but because—even stripping away my revulsion—the story simply lacked in too many ways and was too confusing as an audiobook.