Book Review of The Spider by Leo Carew

 

Name of Book: The Spider

Author: Leo Carew

ISBN: 978-0-316-52140-6

Publisher: Orbit

Part of a Series: Under the Northern Sky (The Wolf is prequel, The Cuckoo is sequel)

Type of book: North, Unhieru races, war, politics, strategy, secrets, legions, indifference, ways of life, chess 

Year it was published: 2019

Summary:

A battle has been won, but the war still wages on...

Roper, the Black Lord of the northern people, may have vanquished the Suthern army at the Battle of Harstathur. But the greatest threat to his people lies in the hands of more shadowy forces.

In the south, the disgraced Bellamus bides his time. Learning that the young Lord Roper is planning to invade the southern lands, Bellamus conspires with his Queen to unleash a weapon so deadly it could wipe out Roper's people altogether.

And at a time when Roper needs his friends more than ever, treachery from within puts the lives of those he loves in mortal danger...

Characters:

There are a lot of characters, but main ones are Roper and Bellamus. Roper is the young lord whose father has died in a battle in beginning of the book, and its definitely admirable how he doesn't lose his sense of self and honor throughout the second book. I did get a sense that there is a quiet desperation about him in this novel as leadership strains are starting to make their pains known, especially when he has to navigate constant obstacles in his path to find a desirable path. Bellamus is an upstart and is seeking more of glory rather than safety, at least in my opinion and he also seems to see things as more of business. (I can't help but wonder if the two of them are mirror twins of sorts) There are plenty of secondary characters such as Roper's wife Keturah who takes on a lot of duties as her husband becomes tied up to war and often has a mind of her own as well as numerous men that are part of the secret guard and make their views known. 

Theme:

Sometimes similarities are not enough to bond people together

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative primarily from Roper's and Bellamus's points of view, although other characters such as Keturah, Inger and Salbjorn also get chapters. The novel also traces few important narratives, that of the war, then there is the murder mystery of Roper's younger brother and of Keturah attempting to find means to help them defeat the Sutherners (humans). The book is divided into three parts; the first part is told by Roper and some men that are around him and focuses on Roper's attempts to get an ace into defeating the Sutherners as well as trying to figure out a mystery of what is going on at the school that his younger brothers go to; the second part divides between Roper and Bellamus and Bellamus's attempts at building up the army to defeat Roper's army, and the third part is the best part when there is showdown between the two mighty armies and a lot of secrets come to the fore. And yes, highly necessary to read the previous book before reading this one. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

The third of four children, Leo Carew grew up in the centre of London, in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Inspired by audiobooks, he developed a late interest in reading and began trying his hand at writing soon afterwards.

Carew read Biological Anthropology at Jesus College, Cambridge, after which he pursued a long-standing love of cold and wild places to the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard - Old Norse for 'The Cold Edge.' Here, he lived in a tent for a year, training and working as an Arctic guide, and subsequently an explorer. This was also when he revisited a novel he had begun at the age of 12, which was rewritten as The Wolf, the first book in his Under the Northern Sky trilogy.

A reluctant return to London followed to pursue a career in medicine, during which he completed the sequels - The Spider, and The Cuckoo. Carew currently works as a doctor, plotting his next book, and his next expedition to high north, south or altitude.

Opinion:

I really regret that I read the THE CUCKOO way before reading the first two books because seriously the momentum of the war between Roper and Bellamus continues on from the first book. The second book is definitely addictive as well, carrying the reader into more plotting and details about the world Roper and Bellamus inhabit, which is best described as a cruel world. Considering my understanding from the third book, I was surprised to learn of a few things that either I skimmed or didn't pay much attention to, such as the fact that Roper and his legions were the first to attempt to conquer the humans' domain rather than the other way around. All in all,  an awesome and memorable read. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)