The Ashen Hand of Kessrin

War of the Twelve, Book 2

By: Alex Robins

Narrated by: Jay Forrester

They Have Returned.

The siege of Arelium has been broken, but only at a great and terrible cost. The Baron has fallen, the unsuspecting victim of an intricate web of lies devised to drive a wedge between Arelium and the coastal Barony of Kessrin.

Merad Reed, scarred and disillusioned, is haunted by the tragic deaths of the men under his command. When all contact is lost with the Old Guard of Morlak, he reluctantly travels north to investigate, only to find the truth is far worse than anything he could have imagined.

After narrowly escaping an attempt on her own life, Jelaïa del Arelium is struggling to understand her emerging abilities, and the crippling addiction that comes with them. The priestesses of Brachyura may hold the answers she seeks, but after years of protecting the secrets of the Twelve can they still be trusted?

Lord Praxis, now acting as Regent, must face the unforeseen consequences of his own machinations when a simple dagger leads him from the shining towers of Kessrin to the tempestuous Sea of Sorrow, and a terrifying new threat.

Meanwhile, somewhere on a dusty road far from civilisation, an ancient demi-god is slowly coming to meet them. He has awoken from decades of slumber to fulfil his one last purpose …

Lay waste to the lands of men.

“After an explosive first novel, this gripping second instalment continues the War of the Twelve series, weaving an addictive tale of hidden mysteries, dangerous magic, and vicious battles.”

©2021 Alexander Robins (P)2024 Alexander Robins

Patience from book one is rewared tenfold!

While many, including myself, were delighted at the simple, albeit, predictable story of the Broken Heart of Arelium; it would be insufficient to say The Ashen Hand of Kessrin is simply more of the same. The stories and rampant exposition from The Broken Heart of Arelium deliver major dividends in this second of the series. It had everything you could hope for and even more that as a reader most did not fathom! It builds upon its stronger characters from the first one, It adds depth and intrigue to Jelaia in a way that she seems night and day compared to the first book. The plot twist of the 12 as a whole was huge! I couldn't put this book down(listening, of course). I am eager to start the next one as soon as I can. I read all the reviews on Goodreads from the first two books and it seems like many have said the same. Most like the first one. Though it had its critics. Those who stuck around to give the series another chance were rewarded. These series are by no means the most complex, but they do have some thought-provocation. I personally feel like this book hit on every new character introduced into this sequel. It has added more depth to its roster of players and has built upon the layers of what seemed like a very easy good guys vs. bad guys with even more grey-area with other powerful forces at play. In a locker room manner of speaking: "It cranked this **** up to 11." Forgive my language!