Hollow Empire (Poison War #2)

This has easily been my most anticipated book of 2020. And yes, that’s with more Murderbot and Empire of Gold and other also excellent titles. And while Murderbot has my heart, the Poison Wars series has my soul because all of the characters are just so vital to me. I’m a mix of what Kalina and Jov struggle with most – health and compulsions – and seeing them out there managing to save the lives of themselves and others, do what’s best for their kingdom, and still care for those important to them gives me hope for myself. Anyway. Enough waxing lyrical for a bit, onto the book. We join our heroes two years after the events of the first book. Jov and Tain now have heirs who they need to train in their succession, and enough time has passed now that the theatre guild has put together a dramatic retelling of the siege, and part of it aren’t overly kind to the Oromani family. From here, as with the first book, life-changing events start taking place immediately and it soon becomes clear that someone is targeting very specific people to ensure it looks like the Oromani family are benefitting at every turn, so that perhaps it looks like the Chancellor’s shadowy friend Tain – who whispers are spreading out about his real role on the Council – may be getting a bit carried away… So as if it wasn’t enough to be dealing with their usual duties as Credola and Credo, it’s also time for the biggest celebration Silastra has hosted. Karode, which involves games to display the best sporting ability each nation has to offer, lavish parades, and nights were celebrations take on a significantly more adult turn. It’s during this where the ever-careful Jov falls into something far more dangerous, and as if the book wasn’t hard enough to put down as it already was, be prepared to block out the rest of your day from that point on. In short, I loved it. I loved the new characters – Dija, who is Jov’s apprentice – and Sjease, the new house manager and secretary to Jov and Kalina, who fits in perfectly to their secretive household and is of huge benefit to everyone, (beyond fixing Jov’s lack of taste in clothing.) I could certainly do with a whole series and/or side story involving either or both of these characters. Dija is so quickly intelligent, yet sensitive and fiercely proud of what their family does for the empire. The plot itself was intricate and subtle mentions of things past crop up and become incredibly important – something so hard to pull off without it seeming forced, yet Hawke manages it with finesse. SO much happens within this book – and although it may be longer than some at 550 or so pages it keeps a consistent pace yet feels utterly realistic throughout. The worldbuilding and passing of time was excellent, with the mentions of how particular clothing has changed rapidly as fashions come and go, how the city has changed since the siege’s destruction and the rebuilding that has taken place since. Especially how they’ve managed to put on such a show for their neighbouring royals and leaders in order to show off the best Silastra has to offer. And the character development, I just – I have no words. At the start of the first book you may wonder how three young adults are going to cope when both Tashis are taken from them too early, leaving such a burden on their shoulders… and yet, here we are – two years on, and all three of them are pretty damn impressive with what they notice, what they figure out when a dozen other adults around them fail to, and now with the added responsibility of raising their heirs, well. The background characters are also incredibly interesting, from a princess and an ambassador, to our favourite Lord Ectar who reappears, and a whole cast of villains from the first book as well as new who are targeting fair Silastra. One of my favourite elements was the expansion from what we saw in the first book – where we see why things spiralled out of control – the Darfri situation – and how they were so integral to how Silastra was saved – we see now in the second book that just as in real life it hasn’t magically fixed everything. There’s still racism and childish taunts and accusations, and there are many heartfelt moments that are key in our world today akin to the Black Lives Matter movement – why is it always the Darfri who have to ‘try to understand’, ‘be tolerant and polite’ all to ‘not make you uncomfortable’. It’s impactful, and it has depth and meaning, and Hawke manages it all very well indeed. This book has so much going on that I had to read it twice. I devoured it far too quickly and felt almost drunk on how amazing it all was… so I instantly started it again (not like I’d be able to read anything else for a few weeks anyway) so I could try to take it slowly and appreciate specific bits and characters. And, I won’t lie, cry all over again at a certain part. tl;dr is I loved it, and I want more, and I can’t see what Hawke does next.

This is the (continuing) story of Jovan and Kalina Oromani, who are nobles in the city of Silasta. Since the events of City of Lies, life has for the most part gone on. Jovan has taken on an apprentice proofer (poison taster), Kalina has thankfully recovered from things that occurred, and Tain Iliri is doing his best at being chancellor, despite his health being in somewhat of a decline since those events. When strange things begin happening, and the Oromani family (as well as two others) are seemingly being specifically targeted for scandal and assassination, it takes all three of their skills to unravel what’s really happening and who would have a grudge so large on their family that they’d resort to witchcraft and assassination. Having really liked City of Lies, I knew going in that I was going to like Hollow Empire. I love love love Jov, Tain, and Lini as characters. They are flawed, but never let their disabilities or differences stop them. I especially see myself in Jovan, who has anxiety and something similar in presentation to OCD. He has ticks and compulsions that sometimes even help him solve the mystery at hand. And mystery it is. Just like City of Lies, this one had me suspect pretty much everyone of being the baddie. With the exception of the three main characters, I had my eyes metaphorically narrowed at nearly every single other character. When things really did start coming to light in the end, it was very much a surprise to me. This book, especially the last quarter of it, gave me a couple really good kicks in the feels, and while they weren’t necessarily good feels (some were, though), they really gave the story that depth that always gets me so invested in it. I continue to be invested in these characters after the fact. The story was left in a place that fully closed the plot at hand, and yet left the world open to further exploration, and I for one hope that more exploration comes along. All told, I loved Hollow Empire just as much as I loved City of Lies. Characters that I can’t help but love put into situations that I can’t help but fear for them in. That, to me, a good story makes. It was fantastic!

best if read immediately after the volume 1. Very creative and ending was not telegraphed excessively. Although sometimes authors end up adding unnecessary confusion with similar character names and lack of reference mapping.

Will there be a third? Please tell me there will be a third! I am way more invested in these characters than I expected

Hollow Empire is the second book in Sam Hawke’s series of books ‘The Poison Wars’. Hollow Empire takes place two years after the events of the first book. When City of Lies ended I found myself with more questions than the book answered, with Jovan & Kalina as perplexed as I was as to the reasons why the events of the first book took place. I knew there was more to the story and Sam Hawke skillfully left me hanging with a cliffhanger, and in this, the second book, Hawke answers this question and the reasons why. And it may not be what you thought. I have to admit. When I first started City of Lies, I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. For one, it took me a little while to get used to the two person narrative and the mystery element of the plot (me and mysteries don’t tend to get along). However, as I read more I did get used to it and City of Lies was a bit of a sleeper hit with me, so when I got a chance to read an advanced reader copy of Hollow Empire, I jumped at the chance. And I have to say, wow! I wasn’t expecting that . As I said earlier, the book starts two years after City of Lies, and opens up with an opening line that is similar to the first book. Jovan has taken on an heir called Dija, the youngest daughter of his second cousin. And surprisingly, he has dosed her with some noxious substance as part of her training. As anybody who is familiar with the first book, Jovan is a proofer. A kind of poison taster for the Chancellor, Jovan’s best friend Tain, and this is the family business. Now this is going to be a bit difficult, because if I reveal something here, it kind of spoils the first book, and whilst I suspect that there might be some people who have read this and know the end of City of Lies, there might be those people that are just coming to Hollow Empire without knowing there was a first book. So if you are in the former camp it doesn’t matter, but if you are in the second camp, turn back now – HERE BE DRAGONS. So, all the gang is back together, Jovan, Tain, Kalina and Hadrea (although she doesn’t make an appearance until later in the book) and again the city of Silasta is in danger. However, this time instead of an all out revolution, this time the city is being subverted by a myriad of covert and seemingly unconnected occurrences. Jovan is convinced that there is a plot afoot, but he has difficulty in proving it until things come to a head and inexplicable events take place that indicate Jovan’s suspicions have more value than any of them suspected. Now, the strength of Hollow Empire is in its plotting, pacing and characters, and with these, Hawke really develops in both. I found this second book to be taken up a notch in all things really, The plot development is excellent. When I got to the final act and certain events revealed certain truths to the characters, I was like – I knew it. Yep, you didn’t fool me with that one Sam Hawke. And that is one of the strengths of the Hawkes writing. Yep, she gives you that one where you can feel all superior because you guessed that aspect of the plot, and then she totally blind sides you with something else and you are thinking Whoa! Did not expect that! In terms of character development, nearly all the characters develop in some way. Jovan develops a relationship with his heir, the newly introduced DIja, and Dija is a fantastic new character. Kalina develops in her own way and also develops a relationship outside the family. However, Tain and Hadrea are a bit on the sideline in this one for some of the book, but when they do come into it, Hawke gives them the appropriate attention for them to develop and in a pretty satisfying way, I must say. As I said, the other things that have been taken up a notch, is the plot and the pace. Hawke has really upped the game in Hollow Empire and there is all sorts happening. Shadowy plots, assassinations, magic and witchcraft and ultimately war. In this second book, you can really see the development. The plot is as twisty and turny as anything that you would find in any non fantasy thriller book and the pace, once it gets going, is so high octane that it kept me firmly gripped to the edge of my seat. One of the things that I almost forgot to mention is the world building. In Hollow Empire, the story is not so compact as the last book, which was mainly situated in one location. In this book, we get to see a more fully realised world that is populated with a multitude of cultures, languages, religions and races. That is not to say that it wasn’t there in the last book, it’s just that the plot of the story mainly revolved around the city more in the first book and in this book we step outside the city and see what the estates look like. . The other thing that I like about Hawke’s books, is that whilst they are fantasy books, there are some very real world topics in there again, which I think is a particular strength of her writing, it impressed me in her last book and impressed me again. You can very much equate some of the topics that she covers to what is happening in the world now. In the Hollow Empire, I have simply fallen hook line and sinker for this story. The plot is intricately woven and everything is so tight. The character development of the book is just glorious and the pace had my pulse racing and my head pounding with all the blind alleys that Sam Hawke leads us up. And just let me mention the end! That was one pretty magnificent ending that had me thinking yep, I enjoyed that.

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