THE WAR BEYOND

The second installment in Stewart’s Hollow Covenant trilogy continues the impressively epic narrative set on a world where magic has been all but destroyed and gods and mortals battle for survival, supremacy, and freedom.

After mortals selfishly—or ignorantly—“broke the world” (called the Shattering) by the deforestation of all the giant Numinar trees for their magic (and inadvertently destroyed the gods’ subterranean realm of Unterra), the self-proclaimed “one true god” Kluehnn set out on a mission to kill all the other gods, punish the mortals, and restore the world in his vision. But not all the gods are dead—some have been in hiding for centuries—and Kluehnn’s bloody grand plan has increasing opposition. Revolving in large part around the fractured relationship between two sisters, Hakara and Rasha, who were separated when their realm was restored—killing half of the inhabitants and turning some into “altered” beings (with any combination of fur, wings, horns, tails, etc.)—the storyline gains scope and depth with multiple points of view, which also includes Mullayne, an explorer and scholar who, failing to find a safe passage to the gods’ mythical underground realm, is bent on unearthing the mystery surrounding Kluehnn’s origins, and Sheuan, Mull’s scheming cousin who knows how to make the filters needed to survive the magical but poisonous aether of the underworld. The complex dynamism between characters and stand-up-and-applaud plot intricacy are obvious strong points, but the originality and rich description of the worldbuilding are arguably the most memorable aspects. Here Stewart gives readers a glimpse into Unterra before the Shattering: “But those who have returned described masses of glowing roots from the Numinars above, birds with iridescent feathers, equine creatures with cloven hooves and shimmering green coats. And above it all, in the very center of our world, the inner star.”

The sheer amount of jaw-dropping plot twists and bombshell revelations make this a must-read for fans of grand-scale fantasy.