This isn't really for me, but I'd recommend this for fans of Wesley Chu's The War Arts saga or Cassandra Clare's Sword Catcher.

Like those two series, The Nameless Republic isn't really geared towards fantasy fans looking for a hero's journey or three act structure type of story. The writing style reads more like a series of events happening to different POV characters and their in-groups, so it's very hard for a reader like me to really feel connected to the characters.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for this arc.

I still liked this a lot, but I didn't love it quite the way I wanted to or as unreservedly as I did the first one. The neat magic system and the deconstructing of artificial divisions by class/race/power are there... and don't get me wrong: a lot happened! This wasn't a case for me of a mid-trilogy slump where not enough happens--it was more that our main characters went through such dramatic personal changes and flip-flopped about what their goals and positions and basic life-outlooks were that I struggled to follow their changes and find them believable or relatable--and as a result I didn't feel as close to the characters and invested in the things that happened.

There's a lot here that's excellent, and you'd better believe I'll be following the series to its conclusion, but for this reader, this wasn't the strongest book of the set.
I received an advance reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review; my thought are my own. Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the chance to read this one.

I was so happy to pick up this second installment of this book. Very few authors can have me still loving characters I hate by the way they write them. This author accomplished that!

His writing just has me so engrossed in the world he has built. There are not many fantasy novels centered in West Africa which makes this series so refreshing. I loved how easy it was to follow the multiple POV's. The character development and being able to get into the minds of new characters really expanded the world.

Looking forward to reading the next one and hope that it is not the last one in this series!

The second book in the Nameless Republic focuses on world building and the politics of the empire. While Lilong is trying to return to her family and keep ibor away from the empire, Esheme works to establish herself as the Red Emperor and maintain and expand her power, Although the book starts out with Lilong and Danso as they continue their journey, the focus seemed more on Esheme and the changing politics in the region. Some groups opposed the new empire, while others joined or tried to work it to their advantage and the points of view often changed to reflect that which was helpful for understanding their actions at times. Overall, a solid sequel that helps expand the world Suyi created, but with more of a focus on the politics and structure of the world rather than fast-paced action.

I had been anticipating this since I turned the last page on Son of the Storm. However, it just didn't hold the same appeal as SotS did. This was truly a middle book book. Lots of traveling to position our characters where they need to be for the final book, lots of time spent getting into the mindset of the characters, introductions to new characters that may or may not have been necessary (we'll see!). But overall it was a solid book for a trilogy, even while it did lack some of the action that made the first book such a fun time. I can't wait to see the outcome of this series and what lies ahead for our main characters and even some of the new players.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

I give this book three stars but in an optimistic way. I love this world, and the characters are so well written. I cannot wait to see where they go. However, this book definitely has a case of middle book syndrome. You need it to get where you're going (I assume), but it does not stand alone as strongly as the first. There's a lot of traveling, a lot of getting to know new characters and new side plots that are seeming to converge with the main story toward the end. I will absolutely be reading the next book, I just don't think this one stood as strongly on its own as the first.

I can't say Warrior of the Wind was bad, but it was slow. Storm of the Son I found thrilling, but there were several points in Warrior of the Wind that I find the story dragging so much I had to really push myself to see the story through.

The prose and narration style in this book is one of the most detailed ones I've read (similar to The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri, which is also under this publisher I think!), and I am so awed by the author's patience and diligence in writing like this!

The book had very patient and careful character and plot developments, and I loved read them! Can't wait for book 3!

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

This second book in the Nameless Republic trilogy just hit bookstore shelves in November 2023, following 2021’s Son of the Storm. Okungbowa introduces readers to a fantasy setting where scholar Danso has long been told there are only two places in the world: the mainland and the desert. The islands that were once the third place have long gone extinct. The city of Bassa closes its borders—but not soon enough to keep out a supposedly extinct islander, who enters Bassa to find an ancestral artifact. Danso’s path has been laid out for him, an ideal scholar engaged to an up-and-coming politician, and their future would look bright, if it were anything Danso wanted. Instead, he longs for what’s beyond the walls of the city, and when he decides to help the islander, a magic-wielding warrior, escape after her attempt to retrieve the artifact goes wrong, he begins to uncover the truth behind all the lies he has learned.

When Warrior of the Wind picks up, Danso and the warrior, Lilong, have joined a vagabond colony, fleeing from a bounty put on them by the new emperor, Danso’s former intended. But that’s the least of their problems when a new, dangerous power rises from the islands—something ancient, something uncontrollable, and something not even magic may be able to stop. While Warrior of the Wind is likely to have you just as eagerly awaiting the third installment of the Nameless Republic trilogy as Children of Virtue and Vengeance left fans waiting for the last Orïsha book, these dense fantasies are worth the investment for readers who love complex worldbuilding and beautifully drawn magic.

This is the second in the Nameless Republic series.
Love the fantastic world building and the multiple povs. Loved the fantasy and folklore inspired by West Africa. The first book was said to be more action packed so make sure to start there. But this one had a lot of political maneuvering and power struggles. A lot of factions traveling and unrest or struggles. So much happening to pay attention to.

✨Check the content warnings cause there are some


Thank you orbitbooks for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Suyi Davis has done it again! I love this series. The characters are amazing so fleshed out I loved seeing where their story went. Can’t wait for more from this author.

If you’re looking for an adventure filled follow up of Storm of the Son, this is not it. If you’re looking to learn more about the characters you fell in love with this is it. Warrior of the wind was more character development and less action. There is some action scattered throughout, but you get a lot more character perspectives and dig deeper into what drives them and what may break them.

On the whole I enjoyed it especially the last quarter of the book. The writing is fabulous and I was surprised to find Nems story to be so intriguing. I feel as though this was less second book slump and more building to an epic third part of the story.

Thank you Orbit and Net Galley for the ARC

This second book really was the icing on the cake. I love the new characters and these new creatures as well.

While I had somewhat mixed feelings about the first book in the series, Son of the Storm, my impression leaned towards the favorable, so I was intrigued enough to pick up the sequel, Warrior of the Wind. And I more or less enjoyed this one, being more impressed with how most things developed overall.
I had forgotten that there had been a mini-controversy due to a review bringing up the way the term “yellowskin” could be seen as racist to Asian people. That was clearly not Okungbowa’s intent, and it did not register with me to take it that way, but I respect the grace with which he handled it, providing context both in a review response (one of the few times I’d say an author response to a review was warranted, and it remained more or less civil on both ends from what I could tell) and also providing fuller context on how albinism is stigmatized in Africa and how that creates its own form of discrimination, and is “not intended to be representative of real-world racism, especially not ‘reverse racism’ or ‘inverted oppression.’” Even without knowing this context, I felt the story stood well on its own, and now, with this knowledge, the story feels even richer and more unique in that regard.
The cast, particularly the POV characters, feels much larger, although at its core, the central focus is still on Danso and Lilong, as they are on a new adventure as fugitives. With them being on the run, it was interesting seeing how their tenuous alliance would shake out, given that while they had a reason to work together for the moment, their goals weren’t necessarily fully aligned.
I also enjoyed getting more of the scope of the world and its politics through other major characters, especially Esheme and Nem.
The plot was pretty interesting, and I liked that there was a heist element, adding more intrigue. There were still some pacing issues, with it being a little slow in places, but given that my investment flagged a lot more while reading book one, this one engaged me a lot more by comparison.
I’ve enjoyed this series so far, and I can’t wait to see how it ends! If you’re looking for an epic fantasy series with a unique, African-inspired setting and colorful cast of characters, I’d recommend checking this out!

Immersive world-building, multiple POV's that were each interesting and masterfully used. This one is slightly less action packed, but has more political maneuvering and general intrigue. This felt like a lovely set up for book three and felt as if it had more traveling than the other. I don't typically enjoy travel fantasy, but the ties and moves in this one made it more interesting.

First, off let me say I love the characters, I even love the ones I hate because they all have their own motivations that make it hard not to see their side of things when you are reading their point of view.

The storyline kept me hooked throughout and that ending had me mad (in a good way) I will definitely be picking up the sequel.

My thanks to netgalley for this e-arc.

Absolutely fantastic. Having previously really enjoyed Son of the Storm, I was very happy to get a copy of Warrior of the Wind; I think I may like this sequel even more than the first book!

Warrior of the Wind offers everything I loved about its predecessor – more incredible immersive world-building and effective use of multiple POVs – and what felt like more political maneuvering and intrigue. Some may find this one less action packed – there is a lot of travelling from place to place – but I really enjoyed the pace of this installment; while it sets up book three nicely, it doesn’t feel like ‘middle book filler’ at all. I really love this series!

I appreciate the inclusion of a recap of the first book, a list of characters, a map, and a glossary – I finished the first book a year and a half before starting this one, and these were excellent for refamiliarizing myself with the series; that said, I wouldn’t suggest reading this book without having read the first book in the series.

Content warnings provided by the author at the beginning of the text (list copied verbatim): “albinism, animal death, artificial insemination, blood/gore, caste and class segregation, colourism and discrimination, death, pregnancy loss and miscarriages, murder, PTSD and anxiety, violence, and xenophobia”

Thank you to Orbit Books, NetGalley, & the author for providing an e-copy of this book to me for review.

i did not realize that this was book 2, my feedback will be posted and updated in netgalley before the pub date i just need to read book one. The premise of both books seems extremely interesting and up my alley!

There's not as much action in Warrior of the Wind as in Son of the Storm, but that's no bad thing. We're given eight (!) points-of-view to digest, along with more of the excellent worldbuilding found in the first book.

Our characters are in the process of finding various things: allies, artifacts, knowledge, and power, and, while there's a lot of traveling and a few fights, this is somewhat of a bridge book between SotS and (presumably) the showdown in the next one. Our main heroes, Danso, and Lilong, are allied for now, but they are not necessarily aligned.

I truly appreciated the series recap and the "persons of interest" guide the author provided.

Why you should read this: intriguing characters, interesting magic system, complex world

Why you might not want to read this: If you haven't read the first one, the recap and character index might be enough to keep you from getting lost, but having that backstory will help you appreciate this book even more.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended.

I received an advance copy from Orbit Books via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Warrior of the Wind by Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a multi-POV fantasy novel billed as being mainly about Lilong and Danso, two people on the run. Lilong is from the Forgotten Islands and Danso is a jali, but I didn’t get much more than that when it opened. I didn’t realize it was the second in a trilogy and I was lost at the start. There are a lot of names of people and places that the author throws at the reader that I didn’t understand (ibor, Diwi, jali, etc), but I did appreciate that she started me in Lilong’s POV and kept me there for several chapters so I could have a small tether. It was hard for me to get into and took me quite a while to read.

Lilong and Danso didn’t always feel like the main characters a lot of the time. We get in the heads of many characters to see what’s happening around the world. It leads to a decent amount of mystery about what is happening in various places and the author connected them pretty well. I also found that I didn’t particularly like any of the characters except for Nem, until the very end, when Lilong’s (and Danso’s) motives became clearer. Maybe they would have if I’d read the first book, but I would have liked it to be clearer so I knew why I cared what happened to them.

The world was fascinating. I loved that it was inspired by West Africa. However, my biggest issue with this is that not a whole lot happened in the story. There’s a heist, but it mostly felt like a lot of moving pieces around the playing board and even the end, which should have been a big moment, felt a little anticlimactic. There’s a big cliffhanger and there’s a third book coming, but I can’t find it in myself to want to know how it ends.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me to read this book as an ARC so I could share my honest review.