Blood and Tempest by Jon Skovron
Blood and Tempest by Jon Skovron, Book #3 of Empire of Storms
Introduction
Red has been a pirate, a gangster, and a tool of the Biomancers. Hope has been a Vinchen warrior, a pirate captain, and has now sworn to an oath of non-violence. When they come together will they topple the Empire of Storms or will they perish in the attempt?
Summary
Red begins the novel in the capital of the Empire of Storms, Stonepeak. The emperor is dying, his heir Prince Leston is not ready to assume power, and the Biomancers are attempting to gain control of the empire. Red is caught in the middle. He is friends with the emperor’s heir. He does not like how the Biomancers have manipulated him. Lady Merivale Hempist gives him a mission. She is Red’s boss and she is the spymaster of the empire working for Prince Leston’s mother. She wants him to recruit Hope and the rogue Biomancer Bigga Lin to aid in their cause against the Biomancers. Red is eager to comply.
Hope has gone back to the site of her destroyed hometown looking for answers. She has sworn an oath of non-violence and strives to understand what that means to her. Hope searches nearby islands and encounters a strange boy called Uter who has powers over life and death. She takes Uter with her to Galemoor, the island of the Vinchen warriors. Wentu is the only Vinchen left on the island because grand teacher Racklock has spurned the past and has taken all the warriors to serve the Biomancers.
Summary Continued
Stephen is a young Vinchen warrior following the orders of grand teacher Racklock. He is conflicted by the things he has seen and by what Racklock expects him to do. The Vinchen search for Brigga Lin who they think will lead them to Hope.
Brigga Lin has stayed with the pirates that were left of Hope’s pirate fleet as a member of the pirate crew and the lover of pirate captain Gavish Gray.
Jilly is Brigga Lin’s apprentice. She wants to become the world’s first Vinchen Biomancer trained by Brigga Lin and Hope.
Hope, Uter, Brigga Lin, and Jilly head to Stonepeak with the help of Gavish Gray, his pirates, the Black Rose of Paradise Circle, and her gangsters. They are aligned against the Biomancers and the Vinchen warriors. Blood and Tempest concludes as the final volume of the Empire of Storms trilogy.
Recommendation
This was a great novel. It is a fitting conclusion to the trilogy. The best elements from the previous two novels have been expanded and enlarged to give a sweeping end to the saga. The Kraken arrives and is not a disappointment. It was perfectly executed until a disappointing ending. Does an unsatisfying ending spoil an otherwise superior novel? It doesn’t for me in this case. I enjoyed the journey.
My first minor quibble is that Uter’s unusual power was not featured in the conclusion. He does complete one minor task but it was not necessary for the protagonist’s plan. I suspect that Uter was put in this novel for possible use in further volumes of the series. So, I can understand the addition of him and I will delay by criticism until that proves out.
My major problem with the ending, without giving it away, is not so easily deferred. Hope and Red have been striving since the beginning of the series to topple the Empire of Storms. I expected them to topple it themselves. Unfortunately, something happens and the conclusion is taken out of their hands. They set up the action but it wasn’t by their efforts that brought the novel to its conclusion. That was my problem with the ending.
Links
This is the link to the Goodreads page of Blood and Tempest by Jon Skovron.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34523154-blood-and-tempest
This is the link to my review of Bane and Shadow by Jon Skovron, Book #2 of Empire of Storms
This is the link to my review of Hope and Red by Jon Skovron, Book #1 of Empire of Storms