Thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien, the stereotypical impression of fantasy are big books that come in three. Trilogies are the staple of the fantasy genre, and most of the attention is paid either to book one or three. Does the first book take off? If so, will the author end it with a bang? Second books don’t quite get the love that they deserve, and there is an argument to be made for it being more important than the other books. After all, it has to build on the world and story of the first book, develop existing characters while introducing new ones, and grab the reader without overshadowing a potentially amazing finale. The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina Lostetter does more than this. She doesn’t just build upon the foundation of the first book, she’s dives straight into the mythology and attacks it. This excellent followup to The Helm of Midnight takes the mythological creatures from book one and explores them in a depth and detail that I wasn’t prepared for. The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina Lostetter was not what I was expecting from a second book in a series, but it was exactly what I wanted.
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Any and all opinions that follow are mine alone.
© PrimmLife.com 2023
TL;DR
The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina Lostetter builds upon and surpasses the first book in the Five Penalties series. Readers, once again, follow Krona through crimes, through mystery, and through magic. This time, Krona will learn secrets that she isn’t prepared for. Highly recommended.
From the Publisher
The Cage of Dark Hours is the second novel in the epic fantasy trilogy from acclaimed author Marina Lostetter, where the defeat of a serial killer back from the dead has pulled the mask off the myths and magics of a fantastical city.
Krona and her Regulators survived their encounter with Charbon, the long-dead serial killer who returned to their city, but the illusions of their world were shattered forever.
Allied with an old friend they will battle the elite who have ruled their world with deception, cold steel, and tight control of the magic that could threaten their power, while also confronting beasts from beyond the foggy barrier that binds their world.
Now they must follow every thread to uncover the truth behind the Thalo, once thought of as only a children’s tale, who are the quiet, creeping puppet masters of their world.
The Five Penalties Series:
The Helm of Midnight
The Cage of Dark Hours
Review: The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina Lostetter
Thalo Child opens the book by being part of a Thalo ritual. He walks with the procession as six year old children are led to altars to place cement on their eyes. (It’ll come off eventually.) In attempt to soothe the nervous children, Thalo Child uses his magic to bring up a good memory for each child to experience during the ritual. But as Thalo Child is only a child, he’s caught by his overseer, who removes those memories from the other children all together, leaving Thalo child with the guilt of knowing his kindness led to the loss of their cherished moments. This the readers first view of the abusive tyrant that is Gerome. Next readers once again meet Krona, from The Helm of Midnight. She’s overseeing a punishment for people who broke one of the five gods’s laws. This particular punishment comes from Knowledge, and it is the removal of a hand. Krona watches inside her Regulator armor, all the while knowing that she’s guilty of the exact same crime. She grieves the death of her older sister, and in her free time, she’s attempting to find ways to connect with her. Krona possesses the mask made from her sister’s soul, and though Krona specializes in suppressing the echoes inherent in masks made from the dead, she fails when it comes to her sister’s echo. Krona lets her sister’s echo merge with her own identity, which is dangerous. Finally, readers meet Mandip, a noble. He’s also a twin, which in this world is special. Two of the Five God’s are twins; so, twins are revered. Being a twin and being noble means that Mandip and his brother are also in line to take over rulership of the city/region of Lutador. Mandip, due to his petty nature, sweeps up his cousin’s escort, who just so happens to be Thibaut, a.k.a. Krona’s informant. As they’re jockeying for interpersonal power, Mandip and Thibaut encounter Juliet, a popular opera singer. She invites them to her performance that night for the gathering of nations in Lutador’s rotunda. During Juliet’s show, the First Marquise is murdered, and Krona is framed for it.
The Cage of Dark Hours is a third person point of view novel. It’s fast paced, intriguing, and fun. Where The Helm of Midnight was heavily tilted toward a mystery/investigation story, this is an adventure tale as Krona seeks to clear her name, Mandip learns that the world he thinks he knows is a lie, and Thalo Child simply wants to survive.
The Foundations of Lostetter's Fictional World
Often in fantasy, a society’s myths are left as myths. In The Helm of Midnight, readers learned about Thalo Puppets. They were treated as monsters out of fairy tales. In most other fantasy series, that’s all the explanation needed. Lostetter goes the opposite way. She delves right in to the mystery of the Thalo and gives readers insight into these mythical creatures. Turns out, they’re not creatures at all. They’re human with a very special type of magic. I won’t spoil that secret because Lostetter explores it much better than I ever could. The ramifications of this magic, though, shred the foundations and history of human society in the valley.
Part of the Thalo storyline reads like a conspiracy theory. These elites that run the world behind a secret veil is a fun choice. In the age of Qanon, it struck me as not quite as fun as it would have before 2016. I don’t know what to do with that because I love this story, and I think Lostetter has set it up for an explosive and fantastic finale. But the idea of a secret cabal manipulating everything behind the scenes is a bit off-putting for today’s world. There’s definitely more to ponder here.
Counting Down the Clock
One of the innovative ways Lostetter provides readers with backstory is through multiple timelines. Thalo Child’s story starts three year prior to Krona and Mandip’s. Each successive chapter for Thalo Child moves forward in time so that by the end, the two timelines merge. This provides a lot of needed information about Thalos and their society. It also provides a bit of tension because the countdown reminded me that I was headed towards some sort of crossover event.
Technological Level
Throughout the story, readers catch glimpses of oddities that place the tech level of this society in question. For example, steam trains are being researched and developed. But one character makes a comment about being camera ready. I found these odd references that are either anachronistic or purposely written clues that this is more than just a medieval equivalent fantasy society. We still don’t know what exists beyond the valley. Is this a fallen civilization? One that was walled off from the outer world on purpose and brought to an earlier technological level? Am I obsessing about issues within my ARC copy? Who knows! But I think Lostetter has created an interesting world, and what we learn in The Cage of Dark Hours has me paying attention to every little thing to see if I can catch Thalo manipulation.
Magical Plague
Mandip
The introduction of two new characters – Thalo Child and Mandip – worked for me. I liked Thalo Child right away. He’s innocent, caring, and sweet. You’ll want to protect him as much as I did. Krona, I still loved from the first book. Here she’s haunted, she’s grieving, and she’s almost broken. Lostetter gives her a chance to find her way back to herself. Mandip took some time to grow on me. He starts out as an annoying noble. He’s entitled; he’s petty; he’s naive and easily manipulated. He seems ambitious in wanting to rule Lutador. Like all rich, he believes that he knows best how to improve society. What saves him is his ability to learn, even if the lesson takes a couple of tries. Mandip really does want to help his fellow humans, and as the toil and strain of adventure wear on him, he rises to the occasion. The same noble who rigs a fencing match later learns the true cost of violence. He could pout and shutdown; in fact, he seems on the verge of it more than once. Yet, he never does. Mandip was a great addition to this novel, and by the end, I found his chapters surprising and more thoughtful than I expected.
Conclusion
Marina Lostetter’s The Cage of Dark Hours is the second book of the Five Penalties trilogy, and it’s a definitive change in gears from The Helm of Midnight. This adventure story explores the roots of Lostetter’s fantastical world and shines a bright light on its secrets. By showing us the mysteries at the heart of Krona’s world, Lostetter has gone where few fantasy series go. In effect, she’s pulling back the curtain to show us the wizard operating the machine. The Cage of Dark Hours cements The Five Penalties trilogy’s place on my must read list. Highly recommended.
The Cage of Dark Hours by Marina Lostetter is available from Tor Books on February 14th, 2023.
© PrimmLife.com 2023
Pingback: Review: The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan – Primmlife