Peasread: Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White (Song of The Last Kingdom, Book 2)

The Song of The Last Kingdom books have been some of my favorites to read this year. If you've read my review for Song of Silver, Flame Like Night you already know what the author Amelie Wen Zhao's writing style is. It is poetic, and lush, and brings to mind the landscapes of the Last Kingdom beautifully. Storytelling that will have glued to your seat and not wanting to stop until you've reached the end. Even then, you'll want more.

This book starts off from where we last left Zen and Lan. They have gone their separate ways. They have the same goal. Eradicate the colonizers and restore their people. While they both want the same thing, both believe in different methods of achieving their goals. Lan refuses to use the power of the Silver Dragon bound to her believing that the Demon God and its counterparts bring nothing but death and destruction. Zen believes the only way to rid the land of the Elantions is to use the power of the Demon Gods. He has made a deal with the one who dwells within him. One that will cost not only his body and mind but in the end, his soul. 

Who is right? Who is wrong? In the end, will either of them be able to save what they hold most dear to them?

Description from the publisher:

 The epic sequel to the book Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, is a fast-paced, riveting YA fantasy inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

The Demon Gods have risen. Skies’ End has fallen to the colonizers. And Lan and Zen have chosen sides.

But they will not fight together.

Though Lan inherited the power of the Silver Dragon, she understands the path she must take. She believes the Demon Gods to be the cause of war, conflict, and turmoil, and that the future of the Last Kingdom depends on their being eliminated forever. Worse, she knows that if the Elantians manage to bind one of the legendary beings, their army will be unstoppable. To save her kingdom and her people, Lan will need to find the only mythical weapon capable of destroying the Demon Gods: the Godslayer.

Zen is sure that the only way to free the Last Kingdom is to use the power of the Demon Gods. When he bound the Black Tortoise, he paid the ultimate price: to inherit its strength, he will forfeit his body, his mind, and his soul. Yet one Demon God is not enough against the might of the colonizers. In the ruins of the northern Mansorian lands slumbers a magical army of demonic practitioners capable of facing off against the Elantians—but Zen must find the Seal to awaken them to fight by his side.

At the center of both Lan’s and Zen’s journeys is one city: Shaklahira, a former stronghold of the Imperial Court that vanished without a trace when the Elantians invaded. Its location is a mystery, and both are sure that it holds the answers they need, but the past it hides might be more dangerous than anything they’ve faced yet.

The battle for the Last Kingdom rages on. But to win the war, Lan will have to decide: Can she face the boy she loves again? And when she does, can she kill him to free her people?

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”