Review: The Four Revenants by Cas E. Crowe

The Four Revenants (Wayward Haunt, Book #2)

by Cas E. Crowe

Release Date: February 19, 2022

2022 Cas E. Crowe

Ebook Edition; 332 Pages

ISBN: 978-0648876526

ASIN: B09QRZLSBB

Genre: Fiction / Fantasy / Dystopian

Source: Review copy from author

4.5 / 5 Stars 

Summary

Zaya Wayward is a necromancer on the run. Pursued by the United League of Dissent and hunted by the Haxsan Guard, Zaya is uprooted from the Tarahik Military Base and sent into hiding in Scarmouth. Bordered by lush rainforest and golden sands, the coastal village should be a utopia, but a gruesome incident transpires on the beach one evening—a ritual that demands the sacrifice of many lives.

All Zaya wants to do is find her friends and rescue Captain Jad Arden, the man she loves, but something deadly is woken by the ritual. The Four Revenants—the bringers of the apocalypse—hunger for Zaya’s blood. Dragged into a nightmarish landscape, Zaya makes a perilous journey through dense jungle and forested mountains in an attempt to survive, but is she running away from danger, or straight into its arms?

My Thoughts

The Four Revenants is the second book in the Wayward Haunt saga, and in this one we see Zaya thrown into hiding, due to events in the first book, with little understanding of where she is or what she needs to do.  Unfortunately, she lands right in the middle of enemy territory and learns quite quickly the United League of Dissent, the one group she must avoid at all costs, has seized control of the area and is rounding up recruits to join their cause by any means necessary.  This was such a fun, fast-paced novel, and I enjoyed learning more about the political structure of this world as well as more about its history.

I love Zaya's character and it was intriguing to see her develop her necromancy powers in this book.  While she is brave and loyal, she is not without her faults, and I definitely enjoyed the little mind-games she plays when she is angry or upset with those around her as it makes her that much more relatable. I definitely would react the same way if I had to tramp through jungle with some of the people with which she was forced to rely on for her survival.  She is unquestionably a compelling character. And while I was happy to learn more about some of the other characters, I would have liked a bit more development with regards to them as so much focus was on Zaya that I felt sometimes the others weren't as fully developed. There are a couple of others who have some interesting stories to tell and while I don't necessarily need their POV, it would be nice to learn more about their backgrounds and it would help develop the social system in this world.

This story was action-packed, moving along so quickly you barely had time to take a breath between action scenes.  The things that happened were unexpected, and there were so many twists and turns coming at me that I had trouble putting the book down.  Descriptions merge so well with the action, and I amused myself trying to guess the names of the cities that were described in this book as this takes place in a far-distant Earth.  I like how the author integrates the political system into the story so you figure out what's happening as the characters learn about shifting politics and events that are happening. I don't have it all figured out, but I like learning about new worlds in this way as I find it more interesting.  The book is written from Zaya's POV, so you learn about what is happening as she learns about things.  

Verdict

The Four Revenants was better than the first book and does not suffer from second book syndrome. The writing is sharp with good character and world development, and moves along at a swift pace. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for suspense, great action with good world development, and believable and relatable characters. Book three was just released and book four will be coming out sometime in 2024.