Book Review: The Heron Kings' Flight by Eric Lewis

The Heron Kings have been betrayed. A century after their formation from a gang of desperate peasant insurgents, the shadowy band of forest rangers suffers a rare defeat when a skirmish turns into a bloody ambush. Their shaky truce with the crown is tested as young members Linet and Aerrus work to track down their enemies. When reluctant peacetime soldier Eyvind reveals a conspiracy to welcome the charismatic invader Phynagoras, the trio must convince a weak king and pitifully few allies to stand against the storm.

Their only hope lies in the forgotten tactics of their own guerrilla past, and a terrifying new alchemical weapon the likes of which the world had never imagined. The only question is which side will be destroyed by it first...

This is the sequel to The Heron Kings. Click on the link for the review and the purchase links.

GENRE: Epic Fantasy

PURCHASE LINKS: Flame Tree Press | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Indiebound | Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: By day Eric Lewis is a PhD research scientist weathering the constant rounds of mergers and layoffs, and trying to remember how to be a person again long after surviving grad school. In addition to subjecting his writing to one rejection after another, he can be found gathering to himself as many different sharp and pointies as possible — you can never have too many, as a certain someone often says — and searching for the perfect hiking trail or archery range.

Review & Recommended Listening

Much like its predecessor The Heron Kings, this epic fantasy tale isn't one with dragons or fantastical creatures — though there's a little more "magic" this time around with the introduction of an alchemical weapon that we might know by some other names. And while there are now more royal characters in the lineup, interesting ones at that, the main trio aren't among them, which is quite a refreshing change from most epic fantasy novels.

The themes from the first book carry on here: war, its horrors, and what it makes of people. Make no mistake, this novel isn't any more "kind" than the first, with still a lot of action and violence. There's also still a lot of traveling involved, with the characters taking us to places we've never really been before.

Speaking of characters, they were the best part of The Heron Kings' Flight for me! There were plenty memorable ones in the first book, but this had even more. They're well-rounded and relatable and real, even though they live in an entirely different world from us. And I was very much endeared to the main trio and the villain, plus some other characters that I didn't expect! You'd think there's already been enough stories of war, but view one from different characters' perspectives and you'd be surprised at how different the story could be.

Overall, The Heron Kings' Flight is fast paced, well-written and with lots of characters to love. Who needs dragons?

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended Listening: As I mentioned in my open call for books to review, I’ll now be adding a song to my reviews! It’ll be one that either sums up the book for me, what I’d imagine in a trailer were it a movie, something that I associate with the story or one of the characters for whatever reason… or maybe even an original inspired by it 😉

It's now or never

Don't surrender

We came too far to die

So claim your weapons

This ain't heaven

We came here now to fight