I'm so happy that this sequel finally came out.

I didn't love this one as much as I loved the first, I found it to be a little confusing and convoluted but I still really enjoyed the ending of this duology!

This is a hard review for me to write. The Unspoken Name was one of my favorite books of 2020. I adored it. And have been looking forward to The Thousand Eyes ever since I heard about its existence. But I didn't really like this.

To me, it didn't even feel like the same series. From the very first chapters, it felt significantly different than The Unspoken Name (in style, tone, and the characters) and it only continued to verge away. Now, this isn't always a bad thing, I've read some sequels that feel like a completely different genre than the first and loved them but this one wasn't one of them. And I think it was mostly down to the characters. Each of the characters didn't feel at all the same as the first book, they felt like totally different people with the same name and apparent history.

The world-building was still expansive and excellent but it wasn't enough to counteract the rest of the aspects that didn't work for me. I ended up speed-reading the final 30% of this book sadly, just to find out how it would all end, but I didn't want to spend a ton of time on it.

I'm devastated I didn't love this but it is what it is.

Full review on my blog 04/04/2022.
I absolutely adored THE UNSPOKEN NAME when I first read it, and loved it even more on the reread. This was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases, so I was delighted when Tor sent me a finished copy to read and review. I started reading the audiobook, but ended up swapping to the physical copy because I felt the overwhelming urge to tab as I went – which I have only ever done for Harrow the Ninth before. That should tell you how much I loved this sequel.

There was not a single moment in this book where I knew what was going to happen next. Not one solitary second did I even have a prediction for what would happen next, let alone an accurate prediction. And I loved every second of it. I read this one slowly over a few days, savouring the story, and I already want to reread both of them back to back to pick up any hints that I’ve almost certainly missed and to tab them to hell. The writing in this book is equal parts beautiful and hilarious, and I tabbed so many moments where I outright laughed out loud. As much as I loved THE UNSPOKEN NAME I do think that this was my favourite in the duology. Why? Tal fucking Charossa.

Tal was my favourite character in the first book, and I only fell more in love with him in this book. A Tal book is all I could have ever hoped for, and not even in my wildest dreams would I have hoped for Tal Charossa as the grumpy reluctant mentor-slash-parent with the peppy sunshine child. I would like to read approximately 400 books about Tal and Tsereg just living their sassy lives. Tal’s character arc was phenomenal, honestly. He is rapidly climbing the list of one of my favourite characters ever, and I think he’d be just as shocked to be loved that much as I am to suddenly be obsessed with him. It’s difficult to talk in detail without spoilers, but there were so many moments in this book where I felt ridiculously proud of his choices. Look at my grouchy gay go. And fuck you Belthandros, even if you are kind of badass.

This book also explored Shuthmili’s character a little more, and I really liked getting to learn more about her and Zinandour. I wasn’t super interested in Shuthmili in the first book, though I did like her and Csorwe’s relationship, and the depth of her character arc (without going into details again) was really interesting to me and I enjoyed it a lot. Csorwe and Shuthmili’s relationship is beautiful and I loved their loyalty to each other and the way they were very much ride or die, for better or for worse. Through their relationship, and especially Shuthmili, we got to learn more about the magic system and divinities and I really hope there are more books in this universe because I absolutely adore the divinity system. The Serpent’s Gates duology is, in my opinion, a fairly unusual fantasy and rejuvenated my love for this genre.

The plot went in a way I couldn’t have predicted, and I was desperate to find out more as I went along. And ultimately I was so satisfied with the ending of this duology. I’ve been a little disappointed by sequels lately, so my expectations weren’t high, and instead I was blown out of the water. I loved the way that this ended and I can see myself reading this duology over and over again.

Many thanks to Tor and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of The Thousand Eyes in exchange for my honest thoughts on it!

This was... certainly NOT what I had expected. Honestly, I couldn't tell you what I thought I was getting into, but it wasn't this for sure. Even days after finishing this book, I'm still not quite sure where exactly I stand. The only thing I know is that I for sure had fun reading this.

The Serpent Gates has always been a very ambitious project. Pairing fantasy and science fiction, inventing a vast world with many gods, complex magic systems, a myriad of different species, vast worlds and intriguing ways to travel between them - it's always been a story that somehow feels to grand to be contained within pages. For the most part, I think that Larkwood does a great job making these concepts come to life, as I often times truly felt immersed in the places that were being described to me. Sometimes, though, the things that were written simply seemed too vast and complex for me to comprehend. That never was much of an issue for me, because honestly, I came for the sapphics and stayed for the vibes, but I understand how that might be off-putting to some.

The stakes of the second book's story were so much grander, and thus, much harder to grasp than those of the first installment. While I really enjoyed it, I still have to admit that at some points, I was just drifting along, not 100% getting what was going on. But hey, never mind that, I had fun with this!

The characters and their dynamics were also a delight to read of. I especially loved getting a deeper insight into Tal and his life and relationships, especially in the later parts of the story. I'll always have a place in my heart for the possibly most self-sacrificing lesbians in existence, and I am very happy with the ending that they got.

Speaking of endings: These last few pages really hit me. I think that this was the perfect way to tie everything together and I had goosebumps reading these words. A really satisfying conclusion to a fun, unique story.

Finally got my hands on the continuations of The Unspoken Name! I have to admit I couldn’t fully remember the events of Book 1 other than I really enjoyed it and I really wanted to know what happened next on the adventures of Csorwe, Shuthmili and Tal. I really appreciated that we got a persons of note at the beginning of the book that gave us little reminders of who they are and what they accomplished in book 1.

This book picks up two years after the events of book 1 and we get little glimpses of what life has been like for Csorwe and Shuthmili, how there relationship has grown, we also get a picture of there domestic life when they are not out charting the unknown and abandoned. We also get to catch up with Tal how his relationships with his family have developed and how he has been coping emotional after the events of book 1. We still get the great sibling-esque banter between Csorwe and Tal which is just so fun. The humour and love between this group is awesome.

There are a lot of distinct time jumps within the first few sections of this book. It lends more to the worldbuilding, giving us background without feeling info dumpy. This book is also split into 4 sections that do almost read independently of each other, like book one did, but I do find they tell a more cohesive story overall especially the last sections. We really get to explore the romance story arc this time, instead of a slow burn flowering romance we get to see deep love which just continues to grow. Its just a beautiful and deeply emotional relationship that is so nice to watch unfold on the page. It is also as full of action as you expect. The action scenes are really well paces and the slide between peaceful information gathering, high tension decisions, political machinations and then high action combat are just perfectly timed to keep you wanting to read on.

Again the world building is just immense and detailed, I still haven’t fully worked out exactly the travel system works it is part fantasy, part sci-fi, I am not sure if we are traveling to different worlds or just different areas of the same world. I feel there is so much we just haven’t had explained to us. It then leaves me just a little disappointed in the world building as I can see how vast and interesting it all is and how much history and lore has been created behind the scenes but we don’t get to explore it and it makes me sad. I wanted to spend more time in each place to really get a feel for it and not just the glances we get throughout the plot.

I really enjoyed this series, I think the non-human MC is just such an interesting concept. I love the passion and drive behind the sapphic romance and the building of friendships. I love the play with power both magical and political that goes on within the plot, thought I still want to know more about the world.

Great follow up to the Unspoken name. Larkwood’s unusual cast of characters really shine in this episode, which improved (for me at least) on the pacing of the first book. There’s plenty of twists and turns and a very satisfying character arc for the MCs. Highly recommend.

The Thousand Eyes was for me a welcome return to the Maze and to the myriad worlds that connect into it, first explored in The Unspoken Name. And also, of course, to my favourite apostate orc priestess, Csorwe, and her girlfriend Shuthmili. It's a tricky relationship, albeit perhaps easier since Csorwe abandoned her former mentor Belthandros Sethennai. Both Csorwe and Tal Charossa, Sethennai's other apprentice, competed for Sethennai's favour and that was a VERY complex threesome indeed.

With Sethennai out of the picture, a girl's still got to make a giving and at the start of the book we see Csorwe, Shuthmili and Tal engaging in a spot of Indiana Jones style temple robbery in a cursed world reached through the Maze.

The only problem is, in this universes, "abandoned" temples can harbour more than spiders, snakes and traps. This a world where the gods are real, and terrible. And they may inhabit you (as we see from the inner dialogue Shuthmili has with the entity she addresses as her "corruptor"). I loved the contrast in this opening part of the book between the banal everyday chatter of the three fortune-hunters and the weird, creepy, and frankly terrifying world that are navigating. Fantasy doesn't have to be high, sonorous and dusty - Larkwood expertly spins a tale that just feels real because of the triviality that offsets all the shadows and terror.

So far, The Thousand Eyes may sound similar to The Unspoken Name. Which would be absolutely fine by me - it's a great read. But Larkwood delivers still more. A third of the way through the book, a Thing happens which completely overturns the narrative, upping the stakes considerably and placing our friends into a very different situation. It's frustrating, but I don't want to say exactly what, as it would spoil the story.

I will say though that how things turn out will depend on the very particular strengths and weaknesses of the different characters, especially Tal and Csorwe, and on the tensions and stresses in those apparently mundane relationships that we saw earlier. It's a story of love and loss and devotion and one of waiting and hoping - but also of how those things, pushed without limit, can sour into hatred and pride. A certain goddess here has had enough of the waiting and hoping and decides to take action - but with terrible consequences. A certain mage bears her loss and remains devoted to her lover, but finds she must commit terrible crimes to achieve her ends. A certain rogue... oh, well, it's Tal... has a lot of time to ponder his life choices and to regret those moments when he played the hero. (Tal, especially, is amazingly depicted here - his emotional quirks, his stormy relationship with his family, his love-hate relationship with Sethennai, a bewitching villain if ever there was one).

It's a page-turning, life-filling monster of a book which, once begun, you simply HAVE to finish. And that finish is cruel and filled with loss: but as we know, 'What is saved is saved only for a moment. All voices sound in silence, but before the echoes die away, their sound is sweet'.

I think it will be a long time before the echoes of The Unspoken Name and The Thousand Eyes die away. And they are, indeed, very sweet.

For more information about The Thousand Eyes, see the publisher's website here and AK Larkwood's site here.

The Unspoken Name, the first book in the Serpent Gates series, was one of my favourite reads of 2020 and I have been anticipating its sequel, The Thousand Eyes, ever since. Sadly, this long-awaited book did not live up to my expectations, and I found I was dragging myself through it from about the 30% mark. I considered giving up on it a few times, but wanted to judge it fairly, and so I stuck to it. Some moments were worth it, perhaps, but the story as a whole left me feeling disconnected and dissatisfied by the end. Now, I don’t like writing a negative review, and I don’t want this one to be a bashing, because I still have a lot of love for the characters and for Larkwood’s writing, so I’m going to try and talk about it in a way that will still highlight its best parts and entice others to pick it up and perhaps enjoy it more than I did. So, let’s get the negatives out of the way, and then talk about the things that kept me reading!

First of all, my favourite character, and part of what made The Unspoken Name so enjoyable, is Csorwe and she sadly does not feature a lot as a point of view character. This is plot relevant, and I understand Larkwood’s choice to do so, but it felt really jarring to me and like something crucial was missing. Perhaps this was the point, as the events of the story cause a lot of jarring events for the world. Mostly, we see the perspectives of Shuthmili, Talasseres, and a new character: Cherenthisse, a soldier from the destroyed world of Echentyr, found in stasis at the start of the narrative. It is the discovery and awakening of Cherenthisse that sparks a lot of the events. This, combined with the discovery at the end of the last book that the wizard Belthandros, who Csorwe and Tal served for many years, is a reincarnation of the goddess Iriskavaal, has built up and other ancient things are reawakening. So far, so good.

The gang is together, the plot is full of intrigue, the world building is strong, and ancient deities are about to twist the fate of all. Then, things take a very sharp turn, at the above-mentioned 30% mark, and there is quite a big time jump right after something very crucial happens to our main characters. This is, I think, the biggest thing I struggled with. Our characters are older, and have gone through a lot of things we haven’t witnessed, and so it takes quite a while to readjust when we meet up with them again. There’s also a new character, Tsereg, who comes in during the second half and though I loved them by the end, their introduction felt a little stilted and relied a lot on their similarity to Csorwe and the reader’s affection for her.

The build up of tension and the confrontations and twist also felt disjointed, and there were a few times when I thought the story must be ending but then one more hurdle would appear. I really think this story could have benefited from being a trilogy instead of a duology – I suspect the pacing would have felt smoother then. Now, having said all this, I can’t fully dismiss The Thousand Eyes because its world and its characters still tugged at something in my heart, and I really love Larkwood’s writing. The world building, as I said, was spectacular, and the emotional journeys she gave the characters were done really well, and those characters – particularly my boy Talasseres Charossa – are the main thing that kept me going, so it may be that one day I’ll pick this book up again and be more forgiving towards it.

A sequel to, and conclusion of (I assume), the story that started in The Unspoken Name - a book I rather liked even if I found the the details of the setting slippery. Looking back on that review, I felt that the problem there laid in my own mental hegemony of fantasy worlds, but I loved the characters and the central love story. And its interesting coming back to them how I instantly responded to the core three characters again, and actually the world settled in around them - I think I have a much better idea of these portal linked worlds, but also I trusted Larkwood to give me the details that mattered. Actually here they restrict most of the action after the set up to a single location, which helps. Though they also effectively shelve the lead character of The Unspoken Name which felt audacious and I wasn't all that happy with except - I Trust The Writer.

The book picks up a few years after The Unspoken Name with Csorwe and Shuthmili a couple, continuing the ruins surveys/tomb raiding, with snarky co-worker Tal as continuing to work with them in the role of snarky co-worker. A grand discovery creates a problem, then another problem, then an absolute disaster and its twenty years later... Time jumps can be difficult in a book like this, and it broadly exists here to bring in a next generation character (an excellent addition), it is also used to show the futility and desperation of the position Shuthmili finds herself in. There is plenty of adventure, Tal and his young charge getting into and out of scrapes as they try to overthrow the new despot without necessarily killing them, and as the old gods and their followers come back a buoyantly canny game of chess starts to take place. It all leads to a denouement which is a big swing, for a number of characters, and ends up being - like the first book - all about love.

I really enjoyed The Thousand Eyes, and it adds a lot to the previous book and finishes it all off with a rousing "as happy as it could be" ending. There are big questions about ambition and belief, small questions about loyalty, friendship and love but also just lots of fun ideas too. Even when the stakes become ridiculously high, this is always a story about the core characters and found family, and eventually people being who they want to be instead of what they are supposed to be (unless you are supposed to be a god, in which case do that because who doesn't want to be a god....Well). Manages the rare trick of making its predecessor feel better, all the character beats are set up there and I look forward to rereading them both as a pair.

To say I was over excited at getting this EARC through is an understatement. After The Unspoken Name being an immediate 5 stars I had no idea what to do with myself until the next book released. Now Unfortunately I find myself in the same position. These books just leave you wanting more and more and more.

The direction this book took was so unexpected, there were innumerable times when I had to just stare at my kindle in disbelief. This book looks at typical sci-fi and fantasy story tropes and then just flies off in the other direction cackling. Like you know when you are reading and you see a character make a bad decision and you are mentally screaming at them to not do that, yeah well apparently we also make bad decisions, because I did not see any of it coming - The plot twists blindside you and the romance is so so so freaking heart breaking.

I wished we got to see more of the worlds in this book, that was one thing I really adored in the first book and felt was a bit missing in this one. The maze especially is such an epic concept.

I really enjoyed that we saw more of Tal this book, the sass was as always on point and the character arc was just perfect. If anything I just wish it was all longer, some parts felt slightly rushed and I wished there could have been some scenes just with the characters being themselves or exploring the world. But again, I am completely obsessed with this series so I’d read the Tlaanthothe phone book happily.

Old gods, new gods, magic, necromancy, sass, sapphic romance and cranky morally grey characters with a purpose. I mean what more could you want ?

Huge thanks to A. K. Larkwood and the people at Tor books for the oppertunity to read this amazing book !

The sequel to The Unspoken Name, by A.K. Larkwood.

Synopsis: Tal, Csorwe, and Shuthmili defied Belethandros Sethennai and now they live freelancing and exploring. But, when Shuthmili and Csorwe look for answers about Shutmili’s gauntlets, things take a drastic turn. When Tal heads home and hears Sethennai has disappeared, he convinces himself he doesn’t care but as Tal runs from one problem he launches straight into another.

So, as this is a sequel there may be SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1: The Unspoken Name. This will also be a mini-review because a LOT happens in this sequel and I don’t want to spoil any of it for you!

So, this picks up a couple of years after the concluding events of book 1. Csorwe and Tal defied their old boss, Sethennai, and left his side. Csorwe and Shutmili are now together, and Tal works alongside them both.

If you read book 1 then you know that Larkwood has an incredibly unique narrative/storytelling style, and that continues into this book. Larkwood tell this story from multiple POV’s (Namely Tal, Csorwe and Shutmili’s) and the story itself spans years. I love Larkwood’s narrative style, it is fun, engaging and witty, but also very active – the book has a few instance of jumping forward in time and it works well with the story being told. Moreover, we still get a lot of witty dialogue between our characters (especially Csorwe and Tal – which is always a delight to read) but also the characters have developed and are still themselves, the same energy and wit exudes from all of them.

The book is well paced, the narration and time jumps work well to keep you engaged, but Larkwood also packs in a lot of action that keeps you reading. The book has a lot of fun and interesting twists, turns and reveals, much like book 1, that are shocking and intriguing. We get action, magic and so much more – with threads from book 1 winding back through and joining with new ones that have been cleverly crafted. As with book 1, I adored all the action sequences, but there were also intense scenes of plotting, manipulating and trickery that came into play that were delightful to watch!

With Csorwe and Shutmili, we follow a very interesting plot of magic and power. We still get some questionable magical deals and promises being made, but for noble causes of love and protection. In her pursuit for answers and her determination, Shuthmili shows just how far she is willing to go for those she loves. Csorwe is still all swords and heart and she too shows her willingness to fight for what she wants and who she trusts. I really loved this particular plot arc, I loved the interactions between these two characters now that they have been together a while, it is sweet, comfortable and heartwarming, and watching them cross lines out of determination was interesting and gripping. This part of the book tugs at the heart and leaves you speechless mre than once!

Tal get’s a big role in this book too! Tal’s plot revolves around Sethannai disappearing and his personal journey to deal with the relationship they once had. Tal is trying to move on from a relationship that was not healthy, and in the process of doing so he ends up in many a difficult situation. A significant portion of his story is tied to a new character called Tsereg, who is the best and I love them. Tsereg is young, strong and stubborn and Tal ends up stuck with them on a mission he most certainly did not sign up for. But, despite Tal’s sarcasm and desire to stay out of it, his heart leads him to help Tsereg anyway. I really loved Tal’s journey in this book, his fights, his loyalty, his ‘might as well now i’m here’ attitude and his dynamic with Tsereg was excellent.

From magic and old foes, to old Gods and powerful magic, this book takes you on a whirlwind of an adventure that is witty, clever and engaging. I also really loved how the book wrapped up, the ending was satisfying and a solid resolution to the end of the events!

Overall The Thousand Eyes, by AK Larkwood was a fun, unique, heartwrenching and witty fantasy that is entertaining and rich.

*I received an eARC from Netgalley/PanMacmillan in exchange for an honest review – thank you!*

This was not an easy review to write. Fist of all, because any real attempt to delve into what happens would be so intensely spoilery as to make it unusable for anyone who's considering reading it, and secondly, because I really don't know how I feel about it! This is not a criticism- in many ways, The Thousand Eyes reminded me very strongly of Harrow the Ninth. AK Larkwood has not chosen the easy route for a sequel, and she makes several choices in the story that are, from a fan perspective, a little hard to sit with. No favourite pairing or character is safe, and everyone suffers. Everything fades, as every good acolyte of the Unspoken knows.

But then again, that's what makes this book great. After all, what a fan wants from a book, and what the story actually needs, are often two extremely different things. In this, too, it's very much like Harrow the Ninth. Like Muir, Larkwood respects her characters and narrative enough to let them suffer, and struggle, and they are rewarded but not unchanged. In the end, this is a duology about self determination, giant snakes, sacrifice, awful wizards, and getting what you deserve- and it entirely fulfils the brief. I'm sorry I can't be more specific than that.

The best I can do is recommend that you read it for yourself, and find out.

I really wanted to love this sequel, but in the end I have to admit that it didn't live up to my expectations. The narrative structure was too jarring - almost every chapter had some sort of time and/or perspective shift. This technique can be done well, but unfortunately for The Thousand Eyes, there was a lack of coherence. One moment, characters would be happily leaving a room, arm in arm, best pals, and then in the next chapter (from another character's perspective) they would be crashing through the wall, arguing with each other and severely injured, leaving you fumbling around, trying to figure out what could have possibly happened between then-and-now to cause such a dramatic shift. Once or twice would have been fine, but more often than not I had no idea what was going on and it felt as if most of the action was happening off the page. I wonder if this was perhaps an attempt by the author to keep the 'twists' from the reader, but the skips ultimately just disrupted the pace and made the book feel very fast - you never really had enough time to care about the problems the characters were facing.
However, because I enjoyed The Unspoken Name so much, I loved revisiting the characters and following them on their journey - watching them make the same mistakes over and over (here's looking at you Tal!) but ultimately coming out of the other side stronger (Tal again!) - and the writing style is also great, so I'll still keep an eye out for more of this author's works.

This book was a DNF for me.

I didn't feel any connection to the characters, the major shifts in setting were too jarring and made me feel a distinct level of disconnect that I couldn't overcome.
Every name, of character and place, felt like a mouthful which interrupted the flow of reading and became a hindrance to the enjoyment of the plot.
A lot of information felt thrown at the reader in the form of infodumps and I fully admit, I gave up at around the 35% mark.

Sorry, this one wasn't for me.

This was not at all what I was expecting: the wit and worldbuilding return, but narratively I am a bit perplexed. More than once there is a colossal shift in the status quo without enough buildup, meaning it is hard to feel invested in anything before it changes again. This leads to such a weirdly paced book, even if the plot in abstract is interesting (and perhaps even inspired in some places). I certainly felt emotion and some satisfaction at particular events, but overall I just feel robbed of the full arcs of these characters. This is comfortably the plot of two books in one (if not more), and the losers in this crunch are unfortunately the characters I cared for most. This just wasn't quite enjoyable, saved mostly by the fondness carried over from the first book (which I look forward to revisiting regardless).