When Jackals Storm the Walls

June 15, 2020
The grand fifth volume in Beaulieu’s sweeping The Song of Shattered Sands series (Beneath the Twisted Trees) sees foreign armies, desert tribes, blood mages, fallen kings, and young gods fighting to control the fate of the desert city of Sharakhai. Çeda and her small band of women warriors seek to restore the newly awakened goddess Nalamae to her full divine power. Elsewhere in the Great Shangazi Desert, the deposed king Ihsan reunites with three other erstwhile monarchs, hoping to return to power by following the prophecies of the dead king Yusam. Meanwhile, the forces of Mirea and Malasan regroup to threaten Sharakhai once more. And within the city, Queen Meryam and her blood mage allies perform an extended sacrifice as part of a bargain with the goddess Tulathan. Beaulieu’s tapestry of vengeance, power, love, and hope is complex, but, by including a summary of previous volumes and a glossary of terms and characters at the start of the book, he succeeds in making this fifth volume accessible, even to new readers. Beaulieu’s excellent epic fantasy includes enough magic, battles, and heroes to satisfy any genre fan. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary.