Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Orbit for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: references to rape and sexual assault, references to genocide, murder, gore, violence, child abuse, death, grief, injury

Following on a year after the events of ‘These Burning Stars’, the Jeveni people have finally found some form of an escape from the Kindom- an empire that uses the Jeveni for hard labour after causing a genocide to destroy them. They have taken a long hidden planet by the name of Capamame as home with the aid of Jun Ironway, a genius caster and hacker, Chono, the deeply religious cleric of the Kindom who almost died in the process and the mysterious Six, a childhood friend of Chono’s who made it their life mission to destroy the Nightfoot oligarchy. Esek Nightfoot is two years dead- Chono’s original mentor and Six’s obsession- her identity and face stolen by Six for years. Now, as Chono and Six (once again pretending to be Esek) return to the Kindom with damning information revealing the true involvement of the Nightfoots in the Jeveni genocide, their dream of freedom is squashed underneath a bureaucratic rebellion led by the Secretaries. The Kindom will do anything to suppress the truth and return the Jeveni to the mines, even if it means destroying everything. Meanwhile, on the colony of Capamame, Jun Ironway tries in vain to prevent an uprising when a murderer starts picking off the colonists, a group of people who are already full of resentment and suspicion. Alongside Masar Hawks, her unexpected ally turned friend, Jun works to discover who is committing the brutal murders and why anyone would try to destroy the Jeveni’s safety so soon. Hanging over both groups as they fight to save what they’ve sacrificed so much for is the legacy of Esek Nightfoot, she haunts the narrative endlessly whether it’s in the memory of Chono and Six or through flashbacks. This time Esek is gone but the impact of her choices years ago might mean nobody survives at all.

In ‘Our Vicious Worlds’ we might lose the perspective of Esek, but we gain the voice of Six, which I'd been wanting all the way through the first book. I also loved the addition of the perspective of Masar, he feels so deeply and I found his chapters really emotionally heavy and excellent. This is as tense and political as its predecessor, asking questions about humanity, love, obligation and responsibility in a world that feels much larger and fraught. What I love so much about this series is the tight and deliberate plotting of everything, whether it's the characters or the timeline, which always leads to something satisfying and epic. Chono was my favourite character in the first book and here she shines as she takes on the role of a religious leader, followed around by Six disguised as Esek. Their scenes were gorgeously written, Chono is caught up between adoration for Six and grief for Esek every time she looks at Six. I enjoyed the humour and respect in their scenes so much. Getting to see Six outside of their hunt for Esek and the other Lightfoots was so enjoyable, our time in their head made the things they said and ways they behave so much more understandable. Jun is such an incredible character, she's brave and traumatised and so brilliantly clever. Masar and Jun’s friendship is one of the highlights for me. The tension of the Jeveni colony in the aftermath of murders is so high, I genuinely feared for Jun and Masar as they struggle to keep a terrified population from rioting. This series is genuinely some of the best space opera I’ve ever read, full of twists, incredibly high stakes and gorgeous character arcs combined with excellent LGBTQIA+ and polyamorous relationships. I can’t wait to see where the final book in ‘The Kindom Trilogy’ might go, nothing about these books has been predictable and it’s going to be a mixture of devastating and brilliant.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC!

The second installment to the The Kindom trilogy. Second book syndrome? - definitely not, no such, thing!
On the contrary, the story only got better!

The book is set in a universe ruled by Hands and First Families. First Families, royalty of sorts, control different elements of the trade. Three Hands control law, enforcement, and religion. Politics between the clans and powers runs the various planetary systems and the travel between them.

In the second book, we get to see Jun, finally reunited with her family and trying to fit within the Jeveni society. The very new and very young Star of the Wheel, desperately trying to run the recently-freed group; and how hard it is to overcome prejudice and discrimination.

My favorite parts of course were the chapters focusing on Chono and Six/Esek. Chono becoming bold, taking risky decisions, and making choices that will change the balance of power in the universe.
And Six, my favorite, psychotic Six, playing a bigger game as always. With charming, cruel, unpredictable Esek - 'sarcastic and trying to banter when about to be killed' personality.

<spoiler> Seti Moonback - their conniving knows no boundaries. And I NEED to know Six is okay, coming back in book three, and destroying everyone! </spoiler>

Highly recommend. Did the impossible feat of being even better than book one. One of the best sci-fi books ever written. With complex universes, relationships between powers in charge, political games, new mysteries, and developing intoxicating characters.
One of the very few books I want to reread immediately!

Bethany Jacobs follows up her blistering, twisty space opera debut These Burning Stars with an equally propulsive sequel – On Vicious Worlds – the second on her Kindom Trilogy. The follow up does what all good second books should do – deepens reader’s understanding of the main characters, their backstories and motivations, increases the complexity of the issues and then leaves readers hanging for the finale with a massive cliffhanger. Warning - this review will, necessarily, contain some spoilers for These Burning Stars.
On Vicious Worlds, for the most part, runs on two separate rails. The first is on the planet Capamame, where the Jeveni have retreated to hide from the Treble, a coalition of three star systems ruled in an uneasy sharing of power between clerics (the Clerisy), administrators (the Secretaries) and the military (the Hand). The colony is facing unexplained deaths and sabotage and when Jun Ironway goes to investigate she finds herself up against an enemy who may well have the best of her. Meanwhile, Cleric Chono and the unpredictable Six have returned to the Treble to try and spread the news about the way in which the Jeveni were used, and to attain freedom for 5000 Jeveni still being held in detention. There Chono runs into her old lover, a Secretary called Ilius, who has risen in the ranks and wants to use her for his own political ends. As with the first book, the main narrative is intercut with some flashback sequences which fill out and deepen the story and the characters. And as such, keeping a note of the dates is important.
There is a lot going on in On Vicious Worlds, in particular, keeping track of the loyalties and allegiances of the large cast of characters. As with the first book, a number of characters are not what they first seem, and there are twists within twists. That is, just when a reader might think they have twigged to what is going on, Jacobs pulls the rug out and resets the field. But Jacobs keeps it all under control, quickly upping the stakes for her protagonists and letting the action and character beats carry the story. And that action is relentless. Jacobs has established her main characters as crazy-good fighters and they all get to demonstrate their skills as the situation deteriorates.
On Vicious Worlds is another great entry in a stunning new space opera series. Jacobs, along with writers like Megan O’Keefe, Arkady Martine and Emily Tesh are reinventing and reinvigorating the genre, taking the standard tropes and redeploying them in new and exciting ways. Unsurprisingly, for the second novel in a series, she leaves her characters at a low ebb and facing a huge cliffhanger. The final instalment can’t come soon enough.

These Burning Stars was one of last year's most accomplished sci-fi debuts, so On Vicious Worlds had a lot to live up to. Does it? Not quite. Oh, it has all the ingredients you'd expect: religio-political intrigue, believable gender fluid characters and the addition of a murder mystery that's full of twists and reveals, but nothing on the scale of These Turning Stars killer twist. Still it does an excellent job of putting everything in place for the third book in the trilogy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Orbit and the author for an advance copy.

Tenía bastante interés en ver cómo se desenvolvía Bethany Jacobs en la segunda entrega de la trilogía Kindom, porque These Burning Stars me gustó bastante en su momento, pero me temía que no le quedaran cartas para jugar en la continuación. Y es que los cambios y giros de guion impactantes de la primera entrega dejaban poco margen de sorpresa para la segunda, algo que he constatado con la lectura. Esto no implica que no me haya gustado, pero me ha dejado menos marca que la anterior, sin duda afectado por el síndrome del segundo libro.


El comienzo de la novela es arrollador, como se enseña en todas las escuelas de escritura, volviendo a colocarnos en medio de las intrigas políticas que caracterizan a la trilogía, si bien no en la propia historia porque Jacobs da por hecho que nos acordaremos de todo el elenco de personajes y sus relaciones. Gracias por la confianza Bethany, pero algunas ya no estamos para acordarnos de todos los libros que nos leemos.

La narración se divide en dos líneas temporales condenadas a encontrarse, en un clásico movimiento de reunificación de tramas y personajes para dejarlo todo preparado para el final de la trilogía. En este aspecto la autora ha apostado por la seguridad más que por la innovación, pero está bien llevada.

Me han convencido algo menos los “momentos hacker” tanto de Jun como de otros personajes, porque la verdad me acaba cansando que los complejísimos sistemas de seguridad se puedan asaltar sobre la marcha mediante “magia”. En cambio, creo que la autora se luce más cuando narra cómo las relaciones entre personajes se van complicando y entra en mayor profundidad, sin dejar de lado la denuncia social de la que ya hizo gala con anterioridad. Es un libro algo denso, pero la autora hace hincapié en algunos aspectos sociales para que no nos olvidemos de cuál es el objetivo de la obra.

En definitiva, se trata de un libro algo lastrado tanto por lo apabullante que era el anterior como por la preparación del terreno para el siguiente, pero que merece la pena leer como componente fundamental de la serie al completo.

This second book in the series is just as beautifully written and carefully crafted to form a complex and detailed story with multiple moving parts all linked together. It took me a while to get into it as I read the first book a while ago and there are so many different characters that connecting them back to These Burning Stars wasn't easy (I would have loved a character list) but once I got going I fell right back into this world and all of its characters. There are some surprises along the way, and certainly things I didn't see coming, which really made the book more interesting to read. I'm always trying to guess plot points and big reveals but this story kept them closely hidden until the big reveals. I'm in awe of how Bethany Jacobs has imagined this world (or worlds) and brought them to life. I enjoyed seeing different relationship dynamics between familiar characters and how these change as the story unfolds. It's truly a fantastic series and a great second instalment, which has left me eager for book three!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

If by some chance, you’ve picked up this one before sitting down with the first book in this series, pop it back on the shelf and get hold of These Burning Stars, instead. The layered, manipulative protagonists are powered by strong motivations based on a twisty revenge plot full of action and double-cross that won’t make complete sense unless you’ve read the first book. Apart from anything, Jacobs hits the ground running, giving us the fallout from the cliff-hanger ending and doesn’t spend much time filling the backstory, so you’ll spend those crucial opening chapters trying to work out who is doing what to whom.

Once more I was tipped into this Machiavellian world where brutality is institutionalised and people are used as pawns for the greater good. I was hoping Chrono and Jun, who were my favourites from the first book, would catch a bit of a break. However, a series of events harry the refugee world that the fleeing Jeveni have set up, entangling nearly the whole cast of characters from the first book, while also producing a fresh crop of villains amongst the sheer nastiness that is the Kindom.

The action scenes are gripping, the pacing is relentless and the characters caught up in mayhem are desperately trying to cope. I kept telling myself I needed a break from all this tension and violence – but would pick up my trusty Kindle anyway, as I also needed to find out who would survive. Jacobs isn’t afraid to kill off major characters if the plot demands it. If anything, this book delivered even more twists and turns than the first offering. And when I got to the end to discover yet another cliff-hanger, I’m left yearning for the next instalment in this extraordinary and accomplished series. While I obtained an arc of On Vicious Worlds from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

Sometimes, you read an incredible book and it’s hard to imagine just how the sequel might better it. It’s an unenviable task, for sure, writing that second book and clearly reflected in the existence of the phrase “second book syndrome”. These Burning Stars was one such incredible book, so it was hard to see just how On Vicious Worlds might go further. And, maybe, On Vicious Worlds is not a better book (it’s hard to see how the reveal regarding Six might be topped, after all), but it’s just as good.

The story begins a few months after the end of book one: Six and Chono are back in the Kindom, Jun and Masar are doing their best to keep the new Jeveni world going. These storylines run parallel for much of the book, with a few flashbacks to Six’s past, until they converge in an ending that will leave you wanting more, so much more.

At the minute, I think the Kindom Trilogy may be some of the best science fiction out there. It has incredibly detailed worldbuilding, twists and turns and politicking galore, and characters and relationships that make you want to gnaw your arm off (the Chono-Six-Esek dynamic was incredible in book one, the continuation of it in this even better, but the whole direction that Masar-Effegen-Bene is taking? Colour me intrigued). Basically, everything you might want in a book! And each book is guaranteed to leave you wanting more.

The first book was a revenge story, but book two is about what happens after the revenge. The series as a whole I think looks closely at redemption and how single acts in and of themselves do not offer it (and, like with Six’s at the end of book one, can be rejected because they, ultimately, do nothing). On Vicious Worlds takes Chono’s original defection and follows her as its consequences and what further actions she needs to take come clear. Chono, by the way, has some of my absolute favourite scenes in this book, particularly in the final quarter where she variously wrecks Six, Paiye and Ilius (that bastard) in quick succession. Really, Chono may even be my favourite character of the book, although that’s a hard call to make because this series has the virtue of not having a single POV I prefer to the rest (and I’m always picking out favourite POVs even when I don’t mean to).

Really, I can’t say enough about how much I love this series, but as ever, that is more expressed in shakingscreamingcrying and memes than uh… useful words. Messages I sent while reading this include such gems as “haha im in danger” and “CHONOSIX”. Which I think tells you all you need to know about this one.

But don’t just take my word for it! If there’s any science fiction you should be reading right now, it’s this series. So, what are you waiting for? Read it and see for yourself.

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

I’m really enjoying this author and this series. We’ve got all the majesty of a space opera with the tightness of plot found in a thriller.

This is a second book in a series and I do really recommend reading them in order. The growth in the characters throughout book one really influences what we see and where we see them in book two and it would be a shame to miss out on that arc.

I like how much of the cast of characters are female or non-binary, it sets this aside from other epic space-based sci-fi series and feels tonally quite different. We have some enormously memorable characters too such as Jun, Chono, Six and Esek. I also find the pacing excellent, the book is so fast paced, so exciting, a constant pressure to stop things falling apart and out manoeuvre enemies. There’s a huge amount of political intrigue in this book, people vying for power, warring factions and betrayal. This book merges epic sci-fi with political thriller elements really well.

I did really enjoy this book but I found not quite as much as the first one. Although still really fantastic! This still felt really clever, well-plotted and with long-lasting impacts on the characters. An exciting author that I’m keep to read more of.

When I started this one I had expectations. A lot of them. And, in the beginning, I wasn’t really so happy with the book. Mind me, it wasn’t bad. But it was not as good as I expected. The chapters that followed Chono and Six were great, but the ones set on the new Jeveni colony were… meh. We get many people being stupid and making problems, and I don’t deal with stupidity so well, so I wasn’t interested in those.
Mind me, I get why they were being stupid, at least up to a point, and I am not saying that this was unrealistic or implausible. It’s the other way around because it is highly plausible and hence tremendously depressing.
I was glad to see more of Masar around, he gets his own POV, and we get to know better Effegen, too. And this I enjoyed, but still… the parts with them as protagonists weren’t my favorite.
So the first half of the reading was a tad meh. It wasn’t properly boring, but I wasn’t hooked and I was feeling disappointed.

Chono and Six are another thing altogether. They are two characters that are bigger than life, in their own peculiar way, and they are masterpieces. I don’t know what this says about the author who created them, and I don’t know what it says about me, since I appreciate them so much (probably nothing good, but… oh well!), but you should start this series because they are here. Simple as that.

Anyway, back to the book per se. Things changed quickly after reaching the halfway point (given or taken). The pace picks up, almost every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, twists, and plots, and things all start happening and I couldn’t put it down. I was immersed, I was hooked and I needed to follow through.

This book is still dark, action-packed, and chock full of politics and intrigues. It has it all. Complicated feelings, deep psychological and emotional insights, action, fights, mysteries, and intrigues. It really has it all.
And I don’t have the words to express how amazingly well everything is intertwined and developed. It is magistrally done and I am in awe. But… the author is also sadistic, she hates her characters (there is no other explanation here) and she made them go through hell and back. She is up there, with authors like Sanderson and Robin Hobb. I am not saying they wrote similarly or that if you love one you’ll love the other, but all these authors are quite brutal with their characters (and with us, poor readers, who fell in love with said characters). And by the end, this book will take your feelings and thorn them to pieces before your eyes. It is brutal. It is merciless. And it is soooo good. But also… why did you torture us so???

I know it sounds all a bit mysterious, but I can’t really say more, or refer to anything specific because there is a high risk of spoilers and I won’t do that. You have to see what happens, discover what’s going on (and suffer) by yourself.
What I can say is that when I reviewed the first book I said that it reminded me a lot of Ann Leckie’s series, Imperial Radch, but that it was easier to follow. In this second book, I didn’t see the similarities anymore, and on one hand, I was a tad disappointed, because to me it was a plus, but at the same time, I am not really disappointed. I am making sense here? I am trying to say that this series is evolving, and I am still liking where is going.
Also, I said that the characters needed some serious therapy. And I stand by it. But now it’s me that needs therapy, too!!

All things considered, I loved the first one most, but this is a good sequel, and I still loved it. And if you enjoyed the first one, obviously you need to read this one, too!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. These Burning Stars was one of my favourite books of last year, and I was eager to dive back into the treble. I do think that the second instalment lost a little bit of the magic of the first book, but to be fair it would be really really hard to beat the BIG reveal that came towards the end of book 1. Nonetheless, this is a really good read that sets up a final conflict which I am really looking forward to!

These Burning Stars, the first part of Bethany Jacobs' Kindom Trilogy, set its tone and agenda from the outset, creating a complex world of competing families, religious and military orders in the system of the Treble. With stirrings of revolutionary activity, genocidal acts and bitter rivalries explored, the author established a dark and brutal tone that characterised the nature of the ruling classes and then sent it off through a series of explosive events built around a revenge plot from a mysterious lone assassin known only as Six. By the time we reached the conclusion, Jacobs dense plotting, characterisation and world building paid off with a number of surprise revelations and twists that I will try my best not to reveal in this review of the second book in the Kindom series.

Although These Burning Stars wrapped it up well and delivered on the promise, the conclusion felt a little rushed and not entirely satisfying. That appeared to be simply because there was a sense that there were still matters that remained unresolved but it didn't leave too much of a clue where it was headed next. What was clear was that the Jeveni remain central and important to the whole operation of the Treble, enslaved by the ruthless Nightfoot family for the purposes of manufacturing the sevite required to operate the jump gates that are essential for travel between the three worlds in the system. Enslaved and almost wiped out in an act of genocide, at the end of the first book all the Jeveni that could be mustered were transported forty light years away to the settlement of Farren Eyce on Caparmame.

The instigation for the problem that is central to On Vicious Worlds again rests with the fate of the Jeveni. 5,000 of them, unwilling to leave behind their old lives, have made the grave error of returning to the Treble and are being held in captivity. Six and Chono have left Farren Eyce to try to secure their release. Considering their behaviour when last there, well, let's just say that they can be sure that they won't exactly receive a warm welcome on their return.

All however is not well even for those on Farren Eyce. Someone is killing collectors, making their deaths look like possible suicides. The collectors mission had been to gather lost Jeveni descendants, an important role, their status respected by all, but it was always a dangerous operation and of the eleven collectors only five made the jump to Caparmame. Now there are only two, three having died in suspicious circumstances. The failure to resolve the murders is a source of immense frustration and sadness to Masar, the senior officer and his remaining colleague Dom. They are relying on Jun Ironway's skills with casting to help them find clues, but a dangerous adversary is about to push her abilities to the limit.

There are other background details to fill out, since for the larger part of These Burning Stars, Six remained a dark enigma, a deadly assassin, striking and disappearing without leaving a trace. The world has not stood still, there are other forces and groups now jostling for power and influence, rivalries intensifying between the principal families, the Hands and ambitious figures in the religious orders. Rebellion is brewing and starting to spill over leaving the Kindom in a precarious and unpredictable state at the moment. You also need to keep note of the year in the chapter headings of On Vicious Worlds, as there is a time discrepancy between the two different strands of the book in the Treble and on Caparmame, forty light years away

The two strands in the book, told in alternate chapters, are not equally thrilling. It depends on whether you find the romantic episodes on Farren Eyce necessary to the characterisation - and you could make a case for it - but honestly, little could measure up to what goes on when Six’s ire has been raised. Not that Six lacks human feelings - well hidden though they might be - but their response to them is just more exciting. And I've barely even mentioned Chono, who is really perhaps the most important figure in the book - in the Treble possibly. The two of them together bring back that fire that was in These Burning Stars, not just in the action sequences, but every confrontation and even diplomatic discussion is laced with irreverence, scarcely veiled threats and the potential for unpredictable behaviour. Violence indeed. In both strands however the writing and plotting remains tense and thrilling with plenty more twists and shocks to come. When those two parts of the book come together, you can be guaranteed of an explosive finale that will have you eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

It was always going to be a monumental task for Bethany Jacobs to follow up the truly exceptional These Burning Stars, something that the author themselves is quick to mention in their acknowledgements. The second book is always the most difficult, and my sympathies are with them for everything else they've been through over the last year. But all that taken into account, is On Vicious Worlds a success? For the most part... Yes!

The subplots are not quite as compelling, as electrifying as they were in the previous instalment, the twist of which had my jaw on the floor. And perhaps as a result the characters don't quite feel as shiny and polished. But Jacobs' writing is rich and assured, and they have managed to deftly navigate the middle book with some intriguing ideas and concepts, and set up a devastating third in the series in This Burning Moon.

Their first will always hold a place in my heart. But this book gives me no doubt that the series as a whole will go down as one of the finest in the contemporary SF canon.

Just as twisty and brutal as the first book, and, like that book, the characters and the writing were standouts.

These Burning Stars was easily one of my favourite books of 2023. Despite that, I don't think it's fair to say I went into this with high expectations - I simply assumed that I would love it. And within a chapter or two, I knew that I would.

The characters remain complex and extremely flawed and, okay, you know the phrase "hurt people hurt people?" That is every single character, pretty much. (And me, I'm the latter "people" here.) After the first book, we've kind of settled into our characters and their particular brands of fucked up, so here, we just get to build upon them.

While I found the first book could stand on its own quite nicely, this book is definitely a middle book. But with the depth of the world and political tensions, the twisty and twisted characters, and the visceral, often vicious writing (Bethany Jacobs truly has a way with words), there was not a chance this could be anything but 5 stars for me.

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Whilst this did suffer from second book syndrome, it still kept me on the edge of my seat.
This felt like a side quest to the build up of the final confrontation.

Without the Capamame gate key, Kindom agents can't reach the escaped Farren Eyce and the Wheel. However, this isn’t a happy ever after. There is distrust, loss, and now there are deaths taking place and attacks against Jun’s casting.

Chono and Six returns to the Treble a fugitive and traitor, United to damn the Kindom for their crimes.

I definitely should have reread book one before diving onto this because it took me a while to familiarise myself with the characters and the ending of book one.

This deals with the idea of displacement. Of having accomplished the impossible and dealing with the fallout of tearing thousands of people from the lives they knew. Even if it was to save them.

Not to mention, certain characters are now revered as saviours, mascots, martyrs. Roles they despise. Power comes from controlling the populace and their attitudes.

"But there has always been a significant difference between reality and perception.”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as blown away as I was with book one, but I wonder if this is because I read it after the high of discovering another new favourite sci fi trilogy in the Devoured Worlds.

I think what made book one so astounding to me was the incredible world building and the culture surrounding the gender and assimilation. Book two focuses on two timelines clashing for a climatic end setting up a nail biting book three.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group for providing an arc in exchange for a review.