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This second installment of the author’s fantasy series opens with Hsing warriors Galen, Swann, and Kowl, along with the elf Wendelynn, escorting a wounded Ewin after the Battle of Mirron. During this battle, the forces of their common enemy, the Necromancer Sulliud, razed the town of Mirron to the ground, and a Werewolf’s bite poisoned Ewin. Wendelynn reveals that the unconscious Ewin is fighting for his soul and spirit in the Twilight World. The companions, despite being taken aback by Ewin’s condition—“like a house with nobody at home”—find comfort in the knowledge that the Hsing warrior has also learned rudimentary wizardry, which will help strengthen him in the Twilight World. He ultimately awakens after he battles against the Wer while in his tiger form, and his companions greet him with the revelation that he is able to throw lightning like a wizard.
Ewin and his band travel to the home of his uncle, the wizard Loc. Along the way, they face Wer and enormous menegoth spiders and come face-to-face with the Necromancer’s golem—a creature living “in the space between the living and the dead”—who was created from different animal parts and with the eyes of Ewin’s father, Geoff, who Sulliud had killed as part of a greater plan to ensure the Necromancer’s defeat. It had been prophesied that the Necromancer would be defeated not by armies but by a single sacrifice, foreshadowing Ewin’s ultimate purpose of conquering the evil force.
With the help of the giant Guerry, the golem is beheaded, and Sulliud’s power is dealt a significant blow. Guerry and Ewin begin their travels toward Uncle Loc’s home, but along the way, they come in contact with the mandrake, formerly Sulliud’s minion. Ewin defeats him with the help of his uncle’s household imps and Loc himself. Although one of the imps, Pip, gives his life to save Ewin, Loc is able to infuse his spirit into a falcon, which becomes Ewin’s familiar and companion. Meanwhile, representatives of the wizards under Loc, the Hsing warriors led by Master Moore, the Vor (cavalry warriors), Elves, and dwarves gather to discuss the growing threat from the Necromancer. They decide to band together to advance on Sulliud’s forces of orcs and trolls in order to defeat this evil once and for all. Ewin, Kowl, Swann, Galen, Wendelynn, Audry the woodsman, Guerry, and Pip in falcon form set off on their own journey to find and defeat the Necromancer. Wendelynn’s sister, Lady Pennywith, tails their group in hopes of reuniting with her true love.
In a world filled with Elves, dwarves, giants, orcs, trolls, ogres, Wer-folk, and Vampires, this second book in the series builds upon the events of the first in preparation for the battle to come. The author’s worldbuilding is reminiscent of Tolkien’s in The Lord of the Rings, with band loyalty similar to that found in The Stormlight Archive and character development and banter to that of The Kingkiller Chronicle. Ewin is a sympathetic hero, fully aware of his mistakes and his limitations as, admittedly, he is not the strongest or most skilled of the warriors. Although the plot structure at times is difficult to follow, the language is beautiful, filled with gentle levity, and speckled with humorous anecdotes. This work, perfect for fans of epic fantasy, leaves readers on the edge of their seats, eager to absorb the final books of the series.