Queen Janessa has taken her father’s place as ruler of the free states, but not at an auspicious time as the ravening hordes of Amon Tugha army is making its way across land to lay siege to her city. Her banner men have rallied, but are hopelessly out numbered. There are mercenaries who will fight for coin, if only Janessa had any. With plots within and without the city Janessa's reign looks to be short and brutal...

The Shattered Crown (391 pages) is the second book in the Steelhaven trilogy from Richard Ford.

The story is told from multiple perspectives Kaira and Ryder become the Queen's bodyguard, but even with this elevated position Ryder finds it difficult to move away from his self-destructive and piteous ways, even to the point of his drinking nearly costing the Queen her life. Rag is stuck in the Guild, something she wished for, but having witnessed the casual brutality she is no longer sure that she is in the right place.

I came to the book with little in the way of excitement or anticipation. At the beginning it looked like many other fantasy books full of medieval environments full of stock characters going through the motions of either questing or fighting some great evil. There are elements of this, but then this is what seems to make up the bulk of this genre. However, read on and there is a much more interesting level to the story.

On the one hand the book could have suffered from being the second act in a three book trilogy. Ford, having created his world and dilemma, is not yet at the point of bringing the whole thing to fruition, so what to fill this book with? Well there are the preparations for the oncoming siege and the machinations of the various power groups in the city - necessary but not enthralling. That is until you realise that the book is actually about families, mostly characters relationships with their parents.

Janessa is having a hard time adjusting to being Queen, in her mind she has elevated her father to the fabled position of warrior King. What then for Janessa, a young girl, trying to protect her people, when she is not even sure she can protect herself. Her father’s ghost is a lot to live up to. She is not the only one with father issues. Ryder having, in his mind, been abandoned by his father and in a state of self-pity squandered what little estate he inherited, is appalled to discover that the Lord Marshall of the Wyvern Guard is none other than his lost parent.

It is this aspect of the book which finally hooks you, the story is very much character driven and with a large cast of characters the pace is nicely brisk. As a standalone novel it takes some getting into, as Ford throws you in at the deep end, with little in the way of a recap of events in the first novel. If you persevere with it the overall shape off the story finally settles down into a good read.

I didn’t get to read the first book of the series, but on the strength of the second, its probably worth picking up the first book as well.

8

Charles Packer