Publication Date: November 1, 2013
In The Citadel of Lies (The Palâdnith Chronicles) by Sam J. Charlton, Seth, Eni and Val are back and traveling on a collision course with each other toward the Citadel of Lies. Val has been sent for an artifact that could change everything. Will the deadly minions of the Queen catch up with the brothers before they discover their true fate? The Citadel of Lies is the second book in The Palâdnith Chronicles.
Sam J. Charlton gave me a copy of this novel in exchange for my review.
I cited in my review of Journey of Shadows, the first novel in The Palâdnith Chronicles (click here to read that review), Charlton’s penchant for writing strong women. This tradition continues in The Citadel of Lies (The Palâdnith Chronicles Book 2). Each brother for a period of time has a female companion that in the spirit of the best companions can absolutely take charge. But, you might ask, what of Val’s companion, Lady Cirinna? Is she’s going blindly to her fate of an arranged marriage with a middle-aged man whose first wife met an unfortunate end? Hasn’t her power been taken away from her? Never. She may not like the direction in which she’s headed, but she has the strength of courage to face her destiny. Whether it will pan out for her or will she change direction remains to be seen but despite Tobin, her father’s guard, and his menacing presence, she uses her bag of tricks to remain in control. She may not be as overtly heroic as Nevis but she has her shining moments.
I am truly excited and enthused by this book. The baddie is not only wonderfully insane but she’s female! For her moments of time in this novel, the queen is wonderfully heinous. She’s made great sacrifices to get what she wants and, again in the spirit of the strong women, she may not be able to interact specifically, but she’s directing traffic as much as she can. Charlton makes some unexpected moves in The Citadel of Lies (The Palâdnith Chronicles) and does so quite convincingly. Charlton’s biography cites that she loves epic fantasy and she has clearly made a study of how to do it right.
As with the first novel Seth, Eni and Val live three separate story lines in the vast majority of the work. The shift in point of view could be quite jarring but Charlton manages a narrative with an organic flow. In some cases, she breaks up action scenes but is able to return to them without leaving the reader behind.
If I had to nitpick something I didn’t like about The Citadel of Lies (The Palâdnith Chronicles) it would be that there was a very slight inconsistency of dialogue. There are times when the language is very formal, and then a character would lapse into a more comfortable (for the reader) patter. These shifts were rare enough that I feel this novel retains its five-star status. The Citadel of Lies (The Palâdnith Chronicles) is an expertly and cleanly edited novel.
If you like epic fantasy you will love The Palâdnith Chronicles. I highly recommend this series. Read an excerpt and buy The Citadel of Lies (The Palâdnith Chronicles) by Sam J. Charlton on
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