An enjoyable sequel to the first in the series…
Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame is a follow-on to Meg Long’s previous book, Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, and several key characters appear in both books, including Sena and Iska (the protagonists of the first book), and Remy, who is the main focus of this one. However in Swift/Fierce, we’re in a new place – a planet called Maraas that’s also an Edge world, but is hot, stormy, and jungle-y, rather than brutally cold and harsh.
I read Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, a while back and loved it, so I was eager to read Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame. And I enjoyed it a lot as well, but just a teeny bit less than the first book in the series. Many of the things I liked were the same in both books: the pacing was sharp, there was lots of action, the story kept me reading, and I could easily imagine myself in the world(s) that Long has created. It felt to me, however, as if there is still a ways to go with the development of Sena’s and Iska’s characters, and so I had a little trouble accepting Remy as the main character now. This wasn’t a huge deal, since we do see and learn more about Sena and Iska, and Sena’s heritage, but they’re not the primary storyline any more. In that way, I oddly feel as if I would have liked Swift/Fierce a bit more if I hadn’t read the first book, and had just started with this one, with Remy as the lead from the beginning.
In any case, though, I definitely recommend Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame, and I’m hoping for another book in the series soon. Please keep in mind that for me, a four-star review is a solid “read this book rating”, since I try not to give too many five-star reviews. And finally, my thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advance review copy. Oh, and FWIW, I love the cover of the book!
Buy (coming Jan 17): Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Kobo US | Kobo Canada