*eARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a finished copy from The Broken Binding.*

After the wild ride that was The Unspoken Name (seriously, that is like 4 books in 1), I wasn't too sure where The Thousand Eyes would pick up. Two years later, apparently. Our pals Shuthmilli, Csorwe, and Tal are having a grand old time, until they accidentally wake up an Echentyri who should have died 3000 years ago with the rest of her people. It goes downhill from there. (sidenote: if you prefer your characters trauma free, I suggest pretending The Unspoken Name is a standalone.)

The most shocking thing about this book is the 15 year time skip right after bad stuff happens, during which more bad stuff happens off-page. Our main squad goes from 20s to 40s in the blink of an eye.

3.25 stars. Too many bad events outweighing the few good events. Suffers from a lack of Csorwe.

This sequel to A. K. Larkwood's debut fantasy, The Unspoken Name, continues the adventures of many of the original characters, including some we thought were dead. It seems that in Larkwood’s world of “The Serpent Gates,” you cannot count on anything staying dead, whether they be people (not strictly limited to humans), gods, empires, or gigantic mystical serpents. It’s now two years after our heroes/anti-heroes—ogre Csorwe, her girlfriend, mage Shuthmili, and ne’er-do-well Tal Charossa—supposedly defeated the immortal wizard, Belthandros Sethennai. Who, of course, is not actually dead, in no small part because he’s made a bargain with a snake goddess to become her mortal, unstoppable incarnation.

Making bargains with snake goddesses never turns out well, as our friends discover when they unearth an ancient artifact, the Mantle of Divinity, from the long-extinct snake empire. And wake Bad Snake Things up.
Without giving away too much of the marvelously convoluted-but-circular plot, the Bad Snake Things include the last royal soldier of the above-mentioned extinct Snake Empire, a person of truly epic obsessive loyalty. The Mantle of Divinity does its thing, turning a mortal into a divine incarnation of the original snake goddess, who then commences to remodel all the linked dimensional worlds into a recreation of the original above-mentioned extinct Snake Empire. But Belthandros Sethennai is not only not dead, he’s been systematically destroying all the subsidiary incarnations of the One True Snake Goddess so that he can become Her. And matters go pear-shaped from there.

Like its predecessor, this is a long novel, lushly detained, and for all the horrific ways Things Go Wrong, it’s a joy to spend this much time (and these many plot reversals) with our friends. It’s not the place to start, but for everyone who, like me, fell in love with the world and its characters, it offers a rich feast of the imagination.

While I didn't like this book as much as I enjoyed the first one, it was still an enjoyable read. There was a lot going on in the story, but followed the same basic characters as the first book so that was nice as I didn't have to keep track of a bunch of new people. I liked the descriptions of the worlds, but hoped for more travel among the various worlds.

An absolutely incredible sequel to A.K. Larkwood's debut novel. For fans of fantasy (specifically Planeswalkers), you'll want to read this!

Picking up with Csorwe and Shuthmili (who are arguably some of the most interesting and fun characters I've read about (I mean who doesn't love a witch/orc lesbian couple?)), after a time jump, we are immediately hurled into another round of the unexpected. Tal, of course, has my entire heart.

Larkwood's true gift is in writing the relationships between characters — they are complex, interesting, and always feel fresh and new. And of course, I cannot overstate Larkwood's tendency to do the least expected thing with the plot, which makes this book a wild ride from start to finish.

I had realllllllllly high hopes for The Thousand Eyes as it's the sequel to one of my favourite reads of 2020, and I was quite anxious that it wouldn't live up to my expectations -- but holy hell, it did!

The world building has expanded from The Unspoken Name, and in such an incredible way as well. This world is so massive and fascinating, and I'm glad we got to explore more elements. In addition, the writing and dialogue between characters was INCREDIBLE and I am truly a life-long fan of A.K. Larkwood from here on out.

Of course I aboustely ADORE Tal and will never get tired of reading about him. I could happily read another book about him, hint hint A.K. Larkwood !

This book was a great continuation of The Unspoken Name and Csorwe, Tal and the gang go through a lot in this novel. It took my brain about a quarter of the book to remember all of the things that happened in The Unspoken Name, and once my brain caught up, we were off to the races. I like that a lot of story lines were finished in this book in case this is a duology, we are not all left wondering what happened to character x.

Thank you to Tor Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this book, both on its own and as the sequel to The Unspoken Name. It was funny, heartbreaking, beautiful, and thoroughly enjoyable. I'm very excited for future books from this author!

This 2nd in the series takes Orc priestess Csorwe and her lover, Adept Qanwa Shuthmili, on a new quest into the realm of the Echentyri. It opens 2 years after the events of the first episode, The Unspoken Name.

It's a complicated, convoluted universe, filled with many different creatures, gods, and forms of magic. I strongly recommend reading the first book before this one, but it is worth the effort to follow these unusual characters into adventure.

This was a good follow-up to the Unspoken Name which dragged a bit towards the end. I think I liked this one better than the first.

This was an apt follow up to the first book in the series: The Unspoken Name. The author clearly has developed a lot of lore in this world, but I sometimes feel like the world is too big. I was blindsided by the ‘big bad’ of this book and without the connective tissue of the same main characters between the two books, they often feel quite disjointed.

I’m not sure if it’s me or this book, but I don’t feel like I have a good understanding of the stakes or why anyone is doing what they’re doing in this book. The first one made more sense: girl wants out of death cult, works to develop herself, and falls in love while the main plot is driven by magic dude. This one is a lot less clear. It focuses on Tal and him growing to care - again - and to overcome his great desire to flee when things get tough. But there’s also multiple deities that want to take over bodies, there’s a new ruling race that everyone seems to hate - though I don’t understand what drives them or how they’re actually impacting the world, there’s a big bad empress who a whole bunch of people want to kill… But it doesn’t all come together into a clear story. I also felt like the first 60% of the book was dedicated to a story that basically undoes itself, and 60% in it felt like we were right back at the beginning of the book, just with minor changes.

I felt this way with the first book to: I wanted to like it so much more than I did. There are great elements and there’s so much potential working in all sorts of queer characters into the fantasy realm, but it ultimately falls flat. I was really hoping that the story would get cleaner and clearer as the series went on but the second book was basically just more of the same.

Not quite as mind-blowing as the first, but a wonderful continuation into the worldbuilding and characters of The Unspoken Name. I loved learning more about the gods and their powers, but felt some of the time jumps to be a little sudden.

Stars: 5 out of 5

I had absolutely loved the fist book (and you can read my review here), so I had picked up this book with a certain amount of trepidation. Too often the second book in a series is much weaker than the fist one, serving just as sort of filler before the grand showdown in book 3. I am happy to report that that is not the case here. The second book is just as good as the first one. I am also happy that the author decided to turn this into a duology. We get to finish the journey with all our characters and wrap up all of their paths in more or less neat fashion. 

I will try to avoid spoilers, but let me just say that this book went in to a direction I wasn't expecting at all, but that's what made it such a fun and engaging read as well. I really didn't know where the author would be taking the characters next, but I was so invested in their fates that I was happily along for the ride. Just be warned that the book turns rather dark at some points and things happen to both our characters and the people around them that would be considered nightmarish. 

This book raises several important questions. What is the definition of self? Is self-consciousness set in stone or can it evolve over time and circumstances? What happens when two different entities merge as one? Does one effectively dominate and destroy the other? Do they share the body and take turns? Or do they blend into something new, a combination of both entities? And what makes us human? Can divinities experience love and compassion? Can they change? 

It also asks the important question of how far would you go to save the person you care about. Does the desire to protect the one you love excuse the horrible things you have to do to keep them safe or to just remain by their side? Also, is the lack of compassion and a complete self-absorption the fault of a divine presence, or was it already part of the human soul that merged with it? So many important questions and so many different fates interwoven into this tory. I loved that each characters chose their own, often rather unique answer to them. Because everyone's story is different. Just like in life. 

It's an interesting story to navigate along with Czorwe, Tal, and Shutmili, because they are all seeking answers to those questions in their own deeply personal ways. I am also glad that everyone gets a (sort of) happy ending despite all the hardships fate puts them through along the way. Especially Tal, because the poor boy has suffered enough. 

All in all, it was a wonderful world that I enjoyed discovering alongside all characters. I wouldn't mind revisiting it someday just to discover more strange worlds in the broken maze, even if the stories are told by a different set of characters. I will definitely be following this author closely and check out their new books.

PS: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There's always a danger, with series like these, of the story getting too caught up in the vastness of itself and leaving the characters behind in pursuit of Plot. Especially when, as in this, the stakes manage to get themselves up to fate of reality, not just a city or two.

Larkwood sees that danger and sidesteps it neatly, focusing instead on how the end of the world(s) and the methods required to achieve such an end affect the lives and decisions of a very few. Time passes in this, horrible things are done, and the justifications are rightfully selfish: I don't want to die, I want to save her, I don't want to go back.

Most importantly, the results of these desires and the choices they inspire only partially seem to make up for the collateral damage of the decisions themselves, which is great. Love some ambiguity.

Final note: Zinandour was right and she should say it.

This is the sequel to the wonderful first book The Unspoken Name. A story I gush about a little too often because of how unique it was following the 'adventures' of an orc priestess and now it should be even more enticing to new readers to try the story out because this sequel kept up the pace and story very well. I'd love to see this story thrive so we can get more orc perspectives.
Full review on my YouTube channel

As a follow up to a book which I liked, but had a convoluted ending, I wasn't particularly excited for this new entry. It was also a reasonably enjoyable fantasy romp but was weighed down by the previous book's overly-involved plot.

I read book one and loved it. This one I had a hard time starting and am setting it down for now. Might revisit in future

A.K. Larkwood's wonderful imagination shines in this book. Her settings are vivid and unique. The story travels from a small apartment in an in-between planes place to a forest world where wood-whales breach out of the canopy to eat flocks of birds to a sun-bleached desert.

The stakes are higher in this book, with the existences of our main characters at stake. The goddess who laid waste to the universe wants to return and needs an avatar. But she's not the only goddess in play. Shuthmili has been encountering the voice of a banished goddess in her head more frequently. And the Unspoken One isn't to be discounted.

Once again our heroes are thrust into the center of universe-altering events. Csorwe and Shuthmili try to save each other but need saving themselves. And Talasseres somehow turns into a survivor.

Csorwe and Shuthmili have a sweet romantic relationship and I was rooting for them. I had a bit of a hard time, though, understanding the stakes since things couldn't be as hopeless as they seemed unless the book was going to go very dark. Abilities also powered up massively so that I was never sure exactly what anyone was capable of.

When it came right down to it, the book is about two people who love each other and will challenge the greatest powers in the universe in order to save each other. The imagery was unique and lovely, the methods unclear. A lot of the characters used really modern informal phrasing and slang, which was a bit jarring at times. Relationships were great. The plots against evil rulers and the solutions to problems was a bit harder to follow because I didn't have a great sense of how magic worked.

The Thousand Eyes is the second novel in A.K. Larkwood's The Serpent Gates series. I admit that I was pretty curious about how the sequel would go and thus couldn't pass up the opportunity to read it. Also, I love that cover.

Csorwe and Shuthmili survived the encounter two years ago – when they defied a wizard and stole his gauntlets. That should have been the end of their story. The gauntlets make Shuthmili stronger than ever, but they're also taking a toll on her. A toll she can't keep paying.

Then there's Tol Charossa. He has finally made it home, only to find his old boss is missing. He can't walk away from this news and will quickly find himself neck-deep in another dangerous situation.

Let me just start with this: if you enjoyed The Unspoken Name, you're going to love The Thousand Eyes. Larkwood perfectly carried on the vibes and stories developed in that first novel. As such, it felt like coming home. Readers will know what I mean.

I was surprised by the time jump, though I'll admit that it was also fairly essential. We needed to give everyone time to come to terms with what had happened. Not to mention, traveling isn't as quick or easy as we're used to in the modern world.

To me, the shining moments in The Thousand Eyes all stemmed from character development. This novel is delightfully character-driven, which I always love in fantasy novels. There's so much reason to care about these guys, especially as the stakes keep rising.

I'll admit that the pacing can lean towards the slower side, so potential readers should probably keep this in mind. However, I don't mind a slow-burning plot, especially when the characters are so strong and the world so fascinating.

I received a copy of this work from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a preface to this review, I should mention that I have not read the first book in this series, though I now intend to do so. This therefore means that I was coming into this fairly complex book with its baroque world completely blind. Ever in that circumstance this is a charming, fascinating and fairly dark fantasy novel with a number of unusual complications. Rather than risk spoiling any of the author's well thought out elements, I will restrain myself and just tell anyone reading this review to go out and grab a copy of both of Larkwood's novels. 9 out of 10, would read again.

Full review on my blog 04/04/2022.
I absolutely adored THE UNSPOKEN NAME when I first read it, and loved it even more on the reread. This was one of my most anticipated 2022 releases, so I was delighted when Tor sent me a finished copy to read and review. I started reading the audiobook, but ended up swapping to the physical copy because I felt the overwhelming urge to tab as I went – which I have only ever done for Harrow the Ninth before. That should tell you how much I loved this sequel.

There was not a single moment in this book where I knew what was going to happen next. Not one solitary second did I even have a prediction for what would happen next, let alone an accurate prediction. And I loved every second of it. I read this one slowly over a few days, savouring the story, and I already want to reread both of them back to back to pick up any hints that I’ve almost certainly missed and to tab them to hell. The writing in this book is equal parts beautiful and hilarious, and I tabbed so many moments where I outright laughed out loud. As much as I loved THE UNSPOKEN NAME I do think that this was my favourite in the duology. Why? Tal fucking Charossa.

Tal was my favourite character in the first book, and I only fell more in love with him in this book. A Tal book is all I could have ever hoped for, and not even in my wildest dreams would I have hoped for Tal Charossa as the grumpy reluctant mentor-slash-parent with the peppy sunshine child. I would like to read approximately 400 books about Tal and Tsereg just living their sassy lives. Tal’s character arc was phenomenal, honestly. He is rapidly climbing the list of one of my favourite characters ever, and I think he’d be just as shocked to be loved that much as I am to suddenly be obsessed with him. It’s difficult to talk in detail without spoilers, but there were so many moments in this book where I felt ridiculously proud of his choices. Look at my grouchy gay go. And fuck you Belthandros, even if you are kind of badass.

This book also explored Shuthmili’s character a little more, and I really liked getting to learn more about her and Zinandour. I wasn’t super interested in Shuthmili in the first book, though I did like her and Csorwe’s relationship, and the depth of her character arc (without going into details again) was really interesting to me and I enjoyed it a lot. Csorwe and Shuthmili’s relationship is beautiful and I loved their loyalty to each other and the way they were very much ride or die, for better or for worse. Through their relationship, and especially Shuthmili, we got to learn more about the magic system and divinities and I really hope there are more books in this universe because I absolutely adore the divinity system. The Serpent’s Gates duology is, in my opinion, a fairly unusual fantasy and rejuvenated my love for this genre.

The plot went in a way I couldn’t have predicted, and I was desperate to find out more as I went along. And ultimately I was so satisfied with the ending of this duology. I’ve been a little disappointed by sequels lately, so my expectations weren’t high, and instead I was blown out of the water. I loved the way that this ended and I can see myself reading this duology over and over again.