The eagerly-anticipated follow-up to The Fireborne Blade

It seemed the afterlife was bustling.

Cursed by the previous practitioner in her new role, and following an… incident… with a supremely powerful dragon, High Mage Saralene visits the afterlife with a boon to beg of the Bloodless Princes who run the underworld.

But Saralene and her most trusted advisor/champion/companion, Sir Maddileh, will soon discover that there’s only so much research to be done by studying the old tales, though perhaps there’s enough truth in them to make a start.

Saralene will need more than just her wits to leave the underworld, alive. And Maddileh will need more than just her Fireborne Blade.

A story of love and respect that endures beyond death. And of dragons, because we all love a dragon!

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of Charlotte Bond’s The Fireborne Blade, which turned out to be one of my favourite fantasy read of the past few years. When this follow-up was announced, it immediately went onto my must-read list. I’m very happy to report that it lived up to my expectations, and does everything that one wants from a sequel.

Before I start, a comment bout the synopsis, above: it makes The Bloodless Princes sound like a lighter fantasy story than it is — that final paragraph, in particular, gives off cosy vibes, which I don’t think is reflective of the story within. Just so you know. There are some lighter moments, sure (mainly in the form characters’ of quips), but this is a pretty dark novella.

The Bloodless Princes picks up the story a short while after the end of The Fireborne Blade. Saralene is now the High Mage, and Maddileh is her champion. They discover that a certain ritual at the end of the first book has some pretty awful, lasting side-effects. The prospect of its undoing (yes, this is vague, but I’m trying to avoid spoilers) is quite dire, so Saralene and Maddileh set out on a daring, dangerous mission to undo it. They are mostly successful, but the side-effect of dealing with the side-effects (magic is not for the faint-of-heart…) means our heroes are off to the afterlife.

Bond does a really good job of weaving her world’s mythology into the story — specifically, and what I especially liked, was the contrast between “reality” and what society has come to believe and accept. Things are, of course, not really what they think. The author’s afterlife was very well developed, and there are a few twists to it that are nicely revealed and explained/described. There’s also some truly horrific stuff going on down there…

Much of what I liked in The Fireborne Blade returns in The Bloodless Princes. Bond’s prose is great, the story is well-paced and never feels rushed. The characters are well-realized on the page, and it never felt like the author used world-building/info-dumping as a crutch or space-filler. The growing relationship between Saralene and Maddileh is nicely and tenderly written. I was really rooting for them from the start. And, yes, the cat-dragon (dragon-cat?) on the cover is excellent.

Definitely recommended for all fans of fantasy — it’s a modern take on classic fantasy, skillfully executed. I really hope there are more novellas set in this world on the way.

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Charlotte Bond’s The Bloodless Princes is due to be published by TorDotCom in North America and in the UK, on October 29th.

Also on CR: Review of The Fireborne Blade

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Review copy received via NetGalley