The Weeping Sigil by Jordan Loyal Short

 

Hello Book Nerds one and all!

It is that time of week again where I talk about one of those book thingies again! Today, it is the turn of The Weeping Sigil by Jordan Loyal Short, the second book in the Dreadbound Ode.

This is one of those books that I didn't expect to read! The first book was on my TBR, but was not quite scheduled to be read yet. However, when I kindly recieved an invitation to listen to the book in its audio format, in exchange for an honest opinion of what I thought about the book, I simply could not resist. 

The series is a dark fantasy sci Fi tale of rebellion, ancient Gods and the uphevel of empire, and I must say it has quite captured my imagination.

How is your reading year progressing? Are there books that you didn't expect to love that have crept into your TBR?

Now let me tell yo about The Weeping Sigil

About The Book

Adrift in the void, Henrik’s rescue is only a prelude to slavery.

But his new life on Tyria is not at all what he expected. When the illustrious House of Quoll purchases him, Henrik finds himself living in the home of his old enemy, Prefect Brasca Quoll. Desperate to hide the truth of his last days on Heimir, Henrik dives into the murderous game of Tyrianite politics. Devastated by the catastrophe on the Norn homeworld, the Federation teeters on the brink of civil war.

While the Shining Ones maneuver their champions for the final confrontation, Henrik’s fevered visions unveil the scope of Moriigo’s nightmarish rebellion.

Aboard a stolen voidcraft, Brohr and Lyssa hurtle into the depths of the starry abyss, on a desperate exodus in search of safe haven. But the outer reaches of the system are full of strange worlds, haunted ruins, and bizarre cults.

As anarchy grips the streets of Tyria, Henrik vows to reveal the true peril facing the Federation: Moriigo’s return! While rival electors, assassins, and federal inquisitors plot the downfall of House Quoll, Henrik must bind himself to the future of his one time enemies, lest the horrors of his prophetic visions come to pass!

The Weeping Sigil by Jordan Loyal Short is the second book in the Dreadbound Ode. I read it not long after (well listened really!).

The story begins not long after the first book, with the Norn refugees from Heimir escaping from the doomed world on the Tyrian void ship that they commandeered. Meanwhile, Henrick has escaped on his own ship built by his father.

In The Weeping Sigil, the book has expanded exponentially as it takes place over multiple locations as Henrick is captured and sold into slavery on the planet of Tyria in the employ of Brasca’s father, Boster Quoll, whilst the rest of the Norn refugees end up on The Clockwork, a space station located in the middle of the void.

I felt that in this book, the science fiction element takes more of a centre stage than in the first book, and I think that it enriched the book incredibly. It seemed to make the story more immersive as we learn more about the galaxy rather than the more focussed setting of the first book.

This in turn provides Jordan Loyal Short with much more expansive world building a we get numerous settings that the story is set in. We meet more people, races and worlds.

This book takes more time for the plot to reach its full pace, but again this is not to the detriment of the book, as the story introduces more political machinations, particularly with Henrick on the planet Tyria as he carefully manoeuvres Boster Quoll into various situations as political upheaval comes more to the fore on the planet.

Again, all the characters are strong and well defined. Henrick is put more to the fore in this book and we see another side to him as he becomes increasingly calculating in order make everyone aware of impending doom.

As always, my standout character is Lyssa, and we see her become captain of the Norns and whilst she seems like she does not care, we see that she does have a caring side to her as she makes decisions that affect those that she has aided in escaping her home planet.

Brohr continues to struggle with his destiny and the other side of him that is violent. We learn more of Moriigo's plans for him and what his destiny actually is. In addition to this, we learn more of the lore of this section of the galaxy, and get more backstory to the struggles of the Shining Ones and their impact on this system.

For me, The Weeping Sigil improves impressively on the first book. It increases the tension and the action twofold and sends us careening towards the conclusion. I particularly enjoyed Henrick more in this book as his character is given more depth and scope. Similarly with Lyssa. I love this blend of science fiction and fantasy and I cannot wait to complete this series soon with the recently released Travels in the dark.