Ardor Benn is a ruse artist, but a ruse artist who finds himself entangled in con jobs that are of the world-changing variety. In the first book of The Kingdom of Grit (reviewed here), Benn and his “colleagues” get wrapped up in a plot to steal a king’s armor and confronting a dragon. In the second novel of the series, The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn, he and his best friend Raek and their fellow rogue Quarrah are pulled into what seems to be a murder mystery: the death of a royal heir. Of course, there’s much more than that to their escapade.
The second in an action-packed epic fantasy series: In a world with dragon-fueled magic, master con artist Ardor Benn must infiltrate a centuries-old secret organization to find a missing royal heir.
Ardor Benn saved civilization from imminent destruction, but his efforts brought war to the kingdom. It is believed that the rightful rulers have all been assassinated. However, a young heir might have survived.
An ancient organization known as The Realm is behind the chaos, working from the shadows. Under the anonymity of masks, information is distributed sparingly.
Ard’s been hired to infiltrate them, but he’s got competition from an old friend. One who’s set to prove she’s better than the self-proclaimed “Ruse Artist Extraordinaire.”
If Ard can’t find the heir then his world may again approach ruin. Stopping the complete and utter collapse of civilization is quickly becoming Ard’s specialty.
As Whitesides did in the first novel, he begins the novel in the middle of a con, with Ardor Benn in a coffin, play-acting a dead man, about a year after the events of the first novel in the series. With that particular ruse complete, he flees the scene until he literally runs into his next ruse when he jumps into a carriage occupied Queen Abeth. She mistakes his identity as a renowned investigator and she hires him with getting to the truth of the death of her son, the prince Shad: she believes him to still be alive. Ard can’t resist.
This again leads Ard down a path of not just the typical deceit of his ruses, not just the magic derived from dragons, but also discovering a secret society that pulls many strings known as The Realm. I don’t think it is too much of a spoiler at this point to say that part of Ard’s ruse and mission for the Queen involves him joining the Realm.
What Whitesides does so well in this sequel/second book in the series is multifold. First, he continues to tell a story with a brisk and magnetic narrative, which made it difficult to pull my eyes away from the page. Moreover, much of what was laid down as foundational in this world in the previous volume is cast in a new light and Whitesides does so with a deft hand, it isn’t a dreaded retcon, but rather a different point of view with a different set of knowledge. That “different view” also sheds additional light on the world’s history and magic, how they are intertwined and what that all means for the story in this novel, and maybe the series/world as a whole. Sure, that’s one way of saying “standard middle book” but The Shattered Realm of Ardor Benn is so much more than that because it builds on established elements and reveals new elements in a finely balanced fashion.
This second book also deals with some of the very drastic and life altering consequences of the events of The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn. There’s no “wiping of the slate” to reset anything and that more than anything lends weight to the story Whitesides is telling in this trilogy. Too often in long, long form fiction (Comic Books, TV shows, or even some book series), Big Events happen that are soon erased. Nope, not with these books. So far, everything has consequences for our three main characters: Ard, Raek, and Quarrah.
Let’s get back to Quarrah a little bit. In the first book she was something of a potential romantic interest for Ard, but she’s very much on her own in this novel. Sure, she and Ard find themselves working together, but their tension is a little different, and maybe more one-sided. Quarrah was also very much a lone female character. Whitesides has balanced his cast out more prominent female characters in the second volume, which was maybe the only real criticism I could think of in the first novel.
In a trilogy or series, if a writer delivers “more of the same, but better,” then they’ve hit a minimum. Whitesides has done fare more than that, the action is more gripping, and the magic becomes more detailed. By already knowing our characters from one book, we can really settle into them and enjoy their quirks, conversations, humor, stubbornness even more. This is a leveling up of what came before and brings new to the table as well.
The Kingdom of Grit is turning into a top-notch saga two books into the series. It has everything I like in a fantasy novel: fun characters, some humor, interesting world-building/magic, consequences, and great storytelling. As of this writing, I’ve already begun reading the final book The Last Lies of Ardor Benn so that is probably a good indicator of how enthralled I am with this trilogy.
© 2020 Rob H. Bedford
Orbit Books | Trade Paperback
November 2020 | 684 Pages
http://www.tylerwhitesides.com/
Excerpt: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/tyler-whitesides/the-shattered-realm-of-ardor-benn/9780316520287/#module-whats-inside
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
