NIGHTWATCH ON THE HINTERLANDS

An unlikely duo searches for the culprit behind a gruesome murder in Eason’s new series set in her Arithmancy and Anarchy universe.

Years have passed since the events of How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge (2021), and the war between the colonizing forces of the vakari Protectorate and, well, everyone else is long over. Vakari who were opposed to the Protectorate eventually broke away, starting a civil war, and that war came to an end when the Protectorate accidentally ripped a hole in reality itself. This rip, the Weep, supplied surges of horrifying monsters, the Brood, and hasty alliances were made by all factions in order to deal with the new threat. Iari is a tenju “templar,” meaning a member of a sort of religious military force called the Aedis. She’s been assigned to escort Gaer, an ambassador (and spy) from the faction of vakari that defected from the Protectorate, as he researches the effects of the Weep on the planet Tanis. Gaer is an expert in arithmancy, the SF magic system introduced in Eason’s previous books. So when a wichu arithmancer is found brutally murdered, Gaer is in a unique position to help Iari investigate. And Iari will need his friendship, as well as his protection, when her virtue and sense of justice lead her to pursue the murderer at all costs. Other than building on the setup from How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge and using the system of arithmancy, this new series doesn’t seem interested in the charming narrative style or clever use of fairy-tale tropes that made Eason’s debut novel, How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse, such a standout. While that is a shame, Iari and Gaer’s dynamic is engaging, and the shaky alliances amid a magical disaster provide a lot of interesting political tension perfect for complementing Eason’s excellent action sequences.

A promising start even if the new series lacks the sparkle of the old one.