The second book in the Dies The Fire trilogy keeps things ticking along. The book takes place six and eight years after the Change of the first book—there are interspersed chapters that flashback to a group of English refugees that give us a picture of what's been going on in the wider world. In Oregon, the chaos of the early years is coalescing into something like small nations, but the Protector of Portland isn't pleased with any competition and gears up for war. Spoiler alert: the title of the book is a bit of a tease. There is a lot of preparing for war in this book, and some battles, but no real all-out war. There are a number of extraordinary coincidences, but enough swashbuckling adventure to distract from those.

The book also continues to meet my particular pet peeveishness: despite being the middle book in a trilogy, it begins and ends in a very satisfying fashion that one could finish as a standalone read.

FuzzyCo grade: A