Goat Heads and Sand Burrs, P. Kirby's Reading Blog

Fun, fluffy, but not as engaging as the first in the series.

Amaranthe and her gang of wanna-be heroes take on a shaman who is carrying a huge grudge against Sicarius and the empire.

As I write this, it's been at least a month since I read Dark Currents, the second book in The Emperor's Edge series. And since my mind can scarcely hold onto important details like "Where are my car keys?" and "Did I put on deodorant this morning?" the specifics of Dark Currents' plot escape me.

In this go round, in addition to Amaranth and Sicarius, the plot also follows Brooks, the bookish member of The Emperor's Edge, the self-appointed defenders of justice.

Brook's discovery of several dead and mushy bodies in the sewers, leads the gang on a journey of out the city and upriver to a lake, the source of the city's drinking water. On the way they are attacked by rabid wildlife with glowing eyes, creatures created by a shaman. The shaman is from the same country as Basilard, the mute warrior. Like Basilard, he's breaking his people's vow of doing no harm to others, but is driven by the desire to avenge the deaths of his king and other countrymen, who he says were killed by none other than Sicarius.

Once again, Forge, a collection of powerful business interests, has a hand in the plot, aiding and abetting the shaman's plan to poison the city's water supply. And once again, Amaranthe's desire to plunge, head first,into danger borders on Too Stupid to Live.

As with the first novel, the action is nearly non-stop, with the group leaping out of the frying pan and into the fire and back in the pan. So much that it gets a little monotonous at times. There's so much going on, that I lost track of what they were doing and why.

Brooks is given a romantic subplot, but, unfortunately, true love's course doesn't run smoothly and there's a lack of resolution regarding the fate of the relationship. Basically, it feels like it was sort of forgotten in all the other stuff going on.

Amaranthe's crush on Sicarius gets crushy-er, and while I see his appeal, I find her interest in him a little too overt. Especially, since at this point in the game, she still doesn't trust him entirely.

OTOH, it's nice to have a female protagonist who initiates the romance.

Fun, but scattered.