Ever since he rose up against his father and saved New Anglia from destruction, Ash has been struggling to adapt to his new life. He has nightmares every night, haunted by strange black orbs and his screaming dead mother. Ash is sure she’s trying to warn him that the world is still in danger, and becomes determined to find a way to speak to her again—but communicating with the dead isn’t easy, even for an alchemist as powerful as Ash.

It doesn’t help that violent anti-alchemist sentiment is spreading across New Anglia. When Ash is captured by a radical group, inspired by his father’s legacy, he must decide if alchemist rights can be trusted in the hands of the Houses, along with his partners Callum and Ramsay—or if Ash must follow the path his father laid for him, and become the leader of an alchemist revolution.

Can Ash keep his relationships together and stop the world from falling apart?

Right from the first word, Kacen Callender continues the narrative of the first novel and in Chaos King has created a complex and beautiful sequel. The novel continues the emotional entanglements, the polyamorous relationship between Ash, Callum and Ramsey but where in the previous book, we had the passion of the three, in this novel it is grounded in the reality of how different the three truly are and how each handles the political pressures around them. 

In the sequel, Ash, having grown up outside the families, sees the social power of the families far different than Callum or Ramsey and while all three want to change their world, each of them views that path differently. I love that even though Ash is surrounded by violence, he wishes to preserve life. I also like that he begins to see just how dangerous the anti alchemist violence is, with the narrative at times reflecting the hatred and violence that we see against trans people. And while I love how trans characters are embraced so fluidly in this world, I do like the reflection to the current difficulties facing trans individuals in our society. 

The narrative is complex and the character growth is subtly written, with all three characters changing over the course of the novel but the focus is very much on Ash as he learns about the difficult choices he must make and learns new ways to wield his alchemical magic. I love the crafting of the world but also the painful options Ash is faced with in this story.

If you like complex and beautiful stories with incredible character growth, exquisite world building, and a powerful narrative with lgbtqia characters, this novel is for you. It is equal to the first book in the series with even more complex choices and heartbreaking moments. I truly hope that there is more planned for these characters and this world. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 pieces of chaos. 

Tor Publishing

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