cliffrcarlson's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kortnireads's review against another edition
3.75
Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the eARC of Grievar's Blood!
I was so excited to see the sequel to the Combat Codes coming out fairly soon after the first and even more excited to get an eARC for it!
This was a solid sequel to the first book, expanding the world in a lot of different and unique ways. While we still have POVs of Cego and Murray, we also got some new additions: Sol and The Slayer (I don't want to spoil who it really is). Both of these really helped move the story along and explored new areas of the world. The story takes quite a few dark turns throughout this book and I appreciate when an author can write about young adults without softening the story. Pardon my pun, but no punches were pulled in Grievar's Blood.
As addressed in the author's note, I was worried about "second/middle book syndrome." I don't think this book suffered from that. It set a brisk pace and didn't feel at all like book one, which is more a school type setting. By broadening our POVs, Darwin distanced book two from its predecessor while still moving the pieces around, so to speak, in preparations for the conclusion.
I ended up giving this 3.75, which always feels a tad pedantic to do, but if forced to round, I would round up to a 4 star and not feel like I am giving undue credit. Beyond book one just having a great reveal at the end that bumped up the rating, book two lacked improvement in the one area that really stuck out to me: the dialogue. It still didn't have the flow I was looking, with some cheesy and clunky bits still coming through. Additionally, this might sound crazy...but I wanted this to be longer?? It's already 432 pages, but split between our POV characters, that leaves us with 100 pages with each, give or take. I think I would have enjoyed a few more quiet moments along the way to really build our main characters up for the final book, to bring their arcs full circle. But I understand the idea behind this book having a lot of tight, focused storylines to keep from suffering from middle book syndrome. I felt similarly about another sequel I read recently, The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter. Both books are pretty fast paced the entire way, and left me feeling excited while I was reading but ultimately wanting more slower moments to balance things out once I had finished.
The Combat Codes series has an addicting quality to it that makes them difficult to put down. If you want lots of actions, detailed fights, and unique sci-fi dystopian world, this is a series I would recommend picking up! I can't wait for book three, Blacklight Born (killer name).
I was so excited to see the sequel to the Combat Codes coming out fairly soon after the first and even more excited to get an eARC for it!
This was a solid sequel to the first book, expanding the world in a lot of different and unique ways. While we still have POVs of Cego and Murray, we also got some new additions: Sol and The Slayer (I don't want to spoil who it really is). Both of these really helped move the story along and explored new areas of the world. The story takes quite a few dark turns throughout this book and I appreciate when an author can write about young adults without softening the story. Pardon my pun, but no punches were pulled in Grievar's Blood.
As addressed in the author's note, I was worried about "second/middle book syndrome." I don't think this book suffered from that. It set a brisk pace and didn't feel at all like book one, which is more a school type setting. By broadening our POVs, Darwin distanced book two from its predecessor while still moving the pieces around, so to speak, in preparations for the conclusion.
I ended up giving this 3.75, which always feels a tad pedantic to do, but if forced to round, I would round up to a 4 star and not feel like I am giving undue credit. Beyond book one just having a great reveal at the end that bumped up the rating, book two lacked improvement in the one area that really stuck out to me: the dialogue. It still didn't have the flow I was looking, with some cheesy and clunky bits still coming through. Additionally, this might sound crazy...but I wanted this to be longer?? It's already 432 pages, but split between our POV characters, that leaves us with 100 pages with each, give or take. I think I would have enjoyed a few more quiet moments along the way to really build our main characters up for the final book, to bring their arcs full circle. But I understand the idea behind this book having a lot of tight, focused storylines to keep from suffering from middle book syndrome. I felt similarly about another sequel I read recently, The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter. Both books are pretty fast paced the entire way, and left me feeling excited while I was reading but ultimately wanting more slower moments to balance things out once I had finished.
The Combat Codes series has an addicting quality to it that makes them difficult to put down. If you want lots of actions, detailed fights, and unique sci-fi dystopian world, this is a series I would recommend picking up! I can't wait for book three, Blacklight Born (killer name).
sarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If I was a Tiktok reviewer the most applicable sound I can think of for this book is the one that goes ‘How do you go from this (Combat Codes), to THIS? (Grievar’s Blood)’. This was a huge step up for me from Mr. Darwin, and I loved this. Grievar’s Blood picks up shortly after Combat Codes, so go in prepared. We quickly find out Sol has left the academy to attempt to retrieve her father and Cego and the others are still there. Murray has gone Deep again, drinking himself into a stupor.
All of my complaints that really bothered me about Combat Codes were resolved out in this volume. Murray and his black and white thinking becomes so much more fleshed out in this book. He started to loosen by the end of book one and in this volume we really see that, and his plot was great. Sol also becomes a point of view character and I LOVED her. She takes no prisoners and goes for what she wants, but in a smart way. In fact Grievar’s Blood really stepped up the game, giving us quite a few more female characters than in book one (where it was almost entirely men everywhere).
Finally the pacing and the story in this was fast. I remember feeling bored by segments of The Combat Codes, it wasn’t terrible but it dragged. Grievar’s Blood dragged nothing but bloody remains behind it. This book is violent, fast, and heartbreaking. One of my favorite side characters dies, but one of my most hated characters also dies. You win some and loose some. My husband pointed out, it’s just like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
That brings me to my final point. As a fan of the sport, with a husband with over a decade of experience, I absolutely loved all the Jiu-Jitsu in this. Movements and maneuvers were name dropped and brutality but thoughtfulness of the sport was on full display. Overall, for me this was worth the admission. Combat Codes lacked but this more than made up for it to me. I’ve already asked for the books for Christmas and I intend on a full reread before Blacklight Born.
4.5 Omoplatas
P.S. I loved this but Orbit, I still think the covers were better than before. I would kill to get my paws on those old covers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Xenophobia, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent
esop's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i_love_read_ing's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
space_and_sorcery's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In his afterword, author Alexander Darwin touches on the subject of middle book syndrome, the point in a series that can either make it or break it: now that I have read Grievar’s Blood I can say with total assurance that this book does not only make the series, but it also expands on the characters’ journey and on the view of the world in which the story is set, and does so in a gripping, page-turning way.
Where The Combat Codes focused mainly on the characters of young Cego, rising star in the Grievars’ training school, and of Murray Pearson, former Grievar Knight turned scout for fighting talent, Grievar’s Blood adds two more POVs to the story, Solara Halberd and Silas the Slayer and through them gives us a deeper, wider understanding of this world and its social and political forces at work. All of the characters - old and new - are on some form of quest here: Cego needs to learn more about himself and his talents after the momentous revelation on his origins, a discovery that has a profound impact both on his personality and on the way he interacts with his friends. In the previous book I enjoyed the theme of found family in this group of young trainees, and here the strength of the bond linking them is stressed even more once Cego finds himself facing a quite unexpected turn of events in what proved to be a very compelling narrative thread: the team’s reaction to what is happening is both heartwarming and harrowing, and leads to a detailed trial scene that kept me on the edge of the seat for the whole run. It’s interesting to note, though, that Cego’s journey is not front and center in Grievar’s Blood: the bold move of having him share the limelight in equal measure with other characters pays off in the end, because the uncertainty about his fate that colors the last quarter of the book adds even more strength to the pivotal scene where the present leg of his journey ends to start a new one. Apologies for these quite cryptic comments, but I don’t want to spoil anything here…
Murray, after the shocking discoveries he made in the previous book, is a rudderless man who has turned to drinking himself into a stupor, literally touching bottom, physically and spiritually until something awakens him and gives him a new purpose: finding Sam, Cego’s younger brother. His commitment to this goal takes him back to his former self, and we see him taking great risks and paying a huge price for his actions: I am amazed at the kind of beatings this man can take and yet be back on his feet again, never surrendering to obstacles once he finds again a purpose in life. In the course of the first two books of this series I have grown very fond of Murray: this grizzled, blunt, grumpy individual has unexpectedly carved a place in my heart, and I hope of seeing more of him in the final book.
In The Combat Codes Solara Halberd was described as a very committed, very serious young woman whose life has been focused on becoming a Grievar Knight and making her father - an eminent fighter - proud of her accomplishments. Here, on the heels of a huge personal tragedy, we see her leave the Lyceum on an almost impossible quest, to which she brings the same determination she applied to her studies and training. Where she might have previously appeared as merely ambitious and a little self-centered, here she exhibits a many-layered personality that comes across at its best in her dealings with another young trainee, N’auri: the growing friendship between these two girls is a delightful addition to the story and also brings some welcome female presence that was slightly missing in the previous installment.
And finally we come to Silas: the way Cego remembered his older brother - capable, focused but also affectionate - clashes with the person represented here, a cold-blooded fighter who crushes his opponents with cold, surgical detachment. The nickname “Slayer” seemed perfectly tailored for a character I was ready to dislike, to say the least - that is, until more was revealed about his personality and, more important, the ultimate goal he is pursuing here, and which ties in closely with the huge twist toward which the author has been leading his readers, carefully managing the various narrative threads that combine toward the end into a breath-taking payoff which, in turn, holds the promise for a quite spectacular conclusion in the next book.
When reading The Combat Codes I was often curious to know more about the world in which this series is set, and Grievar’s Blood did indeed reveal more details about it, particularly where the Daimyo - the actual rulers of the world - are concerned: there are several interesting glimpses into their mindset and customs, and in the social and political machinations they surround themselves with, but the most intriguing detail about the foundations of this society, and the origin of Grievar Knights, comes from a bitter musing from Silas:
The Grievar [...] are characters in this world they’ve built made to play a very specific part [...] fight in their arenas, settle their disputes [...] With them looking down on us from above, watching us fight and bleed and get buried, all to serve at their pleasure.
It’s in this small seed that the riveting turning point at the end of the book finds the means to expand the story and its scope into a tale which grows from the relatively small-scale conflicts of the fighting arenas to an epic battle for freedom and dignity:
We who are not bound by the world they build
We who are free to fight
We who will fight to be free
Given what I’ve learned in this second volume, I can hardly wait to see what Alexander Darwin has in store for his readers in what promises to be the impressive climax of a gripping series.
thejasonreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Just finished my arc of this book and the follow up to the Combat Codes does not disappoint! New characters, battles, mystery, betrayal and more!
ghostthereader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
esop's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating and thrilling follow-up.
Darwin has upped the stakes considerably in this second installment of the Combat Codes Saga, which is really saying something when the series is already tackling brutal, sometimes fatal duels, many of which involve children.
It was a bold and interesting choice sidelining one of the main characters of the previous book for the entirety of this one, but it's a gamble that I think paid off given the ending. And it lent the spotlight to new POVs, one of which was my favorite part of this book.
Solara Halberd's journey in this book was a breath of fresh air, getting us out of the Lyceum and introducing us to the islands of Besayd (love that little reference to Final Fantasy X's Besaid [I assume]). It was nice seeing a new setting in this world, getting a bit of this country's culture, including the introduction of rocs, which I loved. Rocs are huge birds that people use as mounts, just like Final Fantasy's Chocobos. Sol's storyline involving trying to retrieve her father's body was both exciting and also brought some emotional stakes to the proceedings that I did not necessarily get from the first book.
Not to mention the fact that this teen girl has to steal her father's body from some Daimyo lord's personal museum is a way darker topic than I expected this series to tackle. Which, again, is quite saying something given the central conceit of the series as I mentioned before. But right from the start, I was totally on board with Sol's goal and was anxious to see how it played out.
Cego's storyline also takes some wildly dark turns in this volume, although I won't get into that for fear of spoiling the journey. But I will admit I was much more invested here than I was in his story from the previous book. Darwin does a great job of writing these action scenes and introducing truly shocking turns of events one after the other. This book is truly a rollercoaster ride.
The book ends setting up a paradigm-shifting conflict for the final book in the trilogy, with a bunch of disparate storylines converging to reveal the true intent of the Combat Codes Saga. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
Darwin has upped the stakes considerably in this second installment of the Combat Codes Saga, which is really saying something when the series is already tackling brutal, sometimes fatal duels, many of which involve children.
It was a bold and interesting choice sidelining one of the main characters of the previous book for the entirety of this one, but it's a gamble that I think paid off given the ending. And it lent the spotlight to new POVs, one of which was my favorite part of this book.
Solara Halberd's journey in this book was a breath of fresh air, getting us out of the Lyceum and introducing us to the islands of Besayd (love that little reference to Final Fantasy X's Besaid [I assume]). It was nice seeing a new setting in this world, getting a bit of this country's culture, including the introduction of rocs, which I loved. Rocs are huge birds that people use as mounts, just like Final Fantasy's Chocobos. Sol's storyline involving trying to retrieve her father's body was both exciting and also brought some emotional stakes to the proceedings that I did not necessarily get from the first book.
Not to mention the fact that this teen girl has to steal her father's body from some Daimyo lord's personal museum is a way darker topic than I expected this series to tackle. Which, again, is quite saying something given the central conceit of the series as I mentioned before. But right from the start, I was totally on board with Sol's goal and was anxious to see how it played out.
Cego's storyline also takes some wildly dark turns in this volume, although I won't get into that for fear of spoiling the journey. But I will admit I was much more invested here than I was in his story from the previous book. Darwin does a great job of writing these action scenes and introducing truly shocking turns of events one after the other. This book is truly a rollercoaster ride.
The book ends setting up a paradigm-shifting conflict for the final book in the trilogy, with a bunch of disparate storylines converging to reveal the true intent of the Combat Codes Saga. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
thinde's review against another edition
4.0
I believe the flaw that detracted from my enjoyment of this story has been resolved. It was never clear why the reader should be on the Grievars' side. What was it about their struggle that was particularly admirable? We need not worry anymore. They have found a worthy cause to which they might sacrifice themselves.
We're still no closer to understanding Cego's origins but this is offset by his burgeoning control of improbably useful powers.
I'm not fully invested in this series but can't just push it aside. There's something there... and I'm determined to find it.
We're still no closer to understanding Cego's origins but this is offset by his burgeoning control of improbably useful powers.
I'm not fully invested in this series but can't just push it aside. There's something there... and I'm determined to find it.