Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan

Abstract

Reviewed by: Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan Fiona Hartley-Kroeger Duncan, Emily A. Ruthless Gods. Wednesday/St. Martin’s, 2020 [544p] (Something Dark and Holy) Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-250-19569-2 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-250-19571-5 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 The events of Wicked Saints (BCCB 3/19) killed and resurrected prince (now king) Serefin, turned sweet anxious boy/terrifying blood cult leader Malachiasz into something possibly divine, and left cleric Nadya bereft of her gods. Now the three assemble their sidekicks and head off to a sacred mountain, each bearing their own world-shaking agenda. Serefin struggles with the ex-god who brought him back to life, Nadya is dealing with some frightening new powers of her own, and nobody really knows what’s going on with Malachiasz, whose endearing mercuriality has turned into outright instability. Unfortunately, this slow, lengthy read doesn’t deliver on the tantalizing possibilities of the previous book; the narration relies on cryptic non sequiturs rather than exposition or world building, so the emotional and theological stakes feel vague and unanchored. Nadya and Malachiasz’s dance of will-they-or-won’t-they, so entertaining in the previous book, devolves into emotional whiplash, while the sidekicks are even further sidelined (a major revelation about one’s identity is incidental at best). Readers craving magical Russian-inflected multi-POV adventures should probably reach for Leigh Bardugo or start with Wicked Saints, but hardcore fans of the first novel may still want to stick with the ongoing story to be ready for the trilogy’s final volume. [End Page 395] Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois