‘Zihaen’ is the second in ‘The Shadow of the Revenaunt’ series by Paul E. Horsman. In this book the author seems to have found his stride in the same way that his central character Ghyll has, and I hadn’t read very far before I realised that, unlike book one to which I gave four stars, this was a five star book. There is a surety and a confidence in the writing and the world building is excellent. I truly felt as if these characters and this world existed somewhere beyond the author’s imagination. The plot is much less predictable than book one and even has some surprises, and the addition of a mystery character adds another dimension.  The balance of characterisation and action is perfect, and the characters are all developing as they should. The only thing that didn’t quite work for me is the speed with which Ghyll finds a wife and falls in love, and the book lost half a star because of it. By having no story around how they get together and no time to develop the relationship … [Read more...]