Nightwatch over Windscar

This was outstanding! Nightwatch Over Windscar is the sequel to Nightwatch on the Hinterlands. I loved that, and I loved this. The book continues the story of Iari, Gaer, and company as they look for and counter threats to the Confederation—and the threat turns out not to be what they expected this time.

I was so excited to read this and return to this world and the fantastic characters who live in it. The friendships, especially between Iari and Gaer, are something special. It’s funny, there’s action, and there were parts when I wanted to cheer.

It gets right into the action, and I stayed up too late reading. I couldn’t put it down. The worldbuilding is detailed and adds to what started in the first book in the series.

I can’t wait to read more in this world! I highly recommend this series, The Weep. Nightwatch Over Windscar comes out tomorrow, November 8. Thank you to DAW Books for my copy.

Iari is a Templar for Aedis, a multispecies religious organization tasked to protect the Confederation and eliminate extradimensional horrors. She had helped stop separatists from taking apart the Confederation, and is now promoted and sent to Windscar. Located there are ancient subterranean ruins which local legends say are haunted. Iari is concerned that separatists are hiding there. She is joined by the new Templar Char, a decommissioned battle mecha, and Gaer, a talented arithmancer she knows well. Together they explore the ruins, finding evidence of battle, mechas that reanimate and attack, and dangerous arithmancy. Separatists aren’t the only dangers in the universe.

This is set in the same universe as the duology How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse and How The Multiverse Got Its Revenge, and is the second book in The Weep series. Arithmancy is a form of magic using mathematics and physics, and can be used to manipulate reality. Alchemy is slightly different, only altering physical matter. Different races make up the Confederate, and some of them have been at war for generations. I missed the first novel in this series, but important parts of it are referenced from the start. It might take a bit to get used to the terms, just let it go and it'll eventually make sense. (I did go back afterward to read the first book, and whoa, having the world building up front does make the first few chapters easier for me to read, ha ha.)

The start feels more like Aliens, in that they're exploring and things randomly come alive to start attacking. It's creepy and horror filled; riev are created from the dead, but there are teams that tried to create half-living constructs to attack the Aedis. The horror and bodies give way to political conspiracies, a cult, and infiltrating said cult. Elements of the horror from the first third of the book remain but are much more muted. The last two-thirds of the book essentially has a thread with half the team going in to find abducted comrades, and another thread back at the base figuring out what happens next. Bouncing between the two halves heightens the tension. I don't want to spoil it, but it's fascinating how the different groups interact, hide information from each other, share information as necessary, and then come up with a plan. I fell into this book deeply despite my initial confusion because the characters are so well-written and I was invested in the outcome. I needed to know if they would be okay, and if the cult and their creations would be caught. I definitely had my curiosity satisfied, and hope to see more in this universe.

*Nightwatch Over Windscar* continues *The Weep* series, with all of the strengths of the first (Nightwatch on the Hinterlands) and not a single bit of mid-series downturn. Iari and Gaer are back, and Gaer's chapters continue to be my favorite (and we also get a bonus Char chapter partway through!) Eason sustains character voices masterfully, and as in *Hinterlands* it's delightful to see Iari and Gaer adapt each other's speech patterns.

The story takes off where we were at the end of *Hinterlands*, and if you've read the first book, you'll realize that's no small task - but *Windscar* totally delivers. It's 400 pages of adventure as Iari gets her first field command and has to figure out what that means for her and how she's going to deal with her newfound (and not entirely wanted) responsibility.

I'm always a fan of politics in any spec fic that I read - that's part of why I loved *Rory* so much - and there's enough politics here to keep me happy, but not too much to distract from the mystery & military scifi plots. Indeed, it's pretty incredible how much Eason was able to pack into this novel, without sacrificing depth of character or worldbuilding.

And if it's been a while since you read *Hinterlands*, don't worry - *Windscar* does a pretty good job of jogging your memory at the start, so you'll get caught up on all the important plot points you need to know.

Overall, *Nightwatch Over Windscar* is an easy 5/5 for me, this was the first book I've ever requested as an ARC and I couldn't have asked for a better one!

The novel picks up right after the first one, and follows the main character's new position as a field commander over Windscar. I felt like the novel was a great follow up and did not disappoint in that regard. Overall I think that its a great addition to the world and everyone should be excited about it.