As a reminder, The Chronicles of Hanuvar is the story of a brilliant general named Hanuvar, traveling the world after his people and culture were wiped out by an enemy country. Instead of seeking vengeance, he seeks to simply gather up the captured and lost survivors of his city-state and try to build something new. The book focuses very much on how people cope in the wake of tragedy and Jones models an incredibly positive path forward while also exploring in depth the difficulty and challenges of moving on and healing. In book one, Lord of a Shattered Land worked as an introduction to the premise, narrative style, and stakes. Books two and three expand on this by continuing to introduce new elements and factors that Hanuvar must circumnavigate, changing him in the process. By Shadow of the Smoking Mountain, Hanuvar has become so involved in the world again that his wants and desires have become unmanageably complicated. He has to navigate vast tracts of the morally grey, carefully balancing his original goal of freeing his people with his newer quests. Jones begins to introduce magic more consistently as the series goes on and by book three we have firmly expanded into more fantastical elements with grander stakes.
The beauty of this story is in the step-by-step process that took us from chapter one to where the narrative is now. The narrative structure remains the stalwart champion of the series. Each chapter is a small 30-40 page self-contained story written like a fairy tale or fable. In each chapter, we follow Hanuvar as he follows a lead on the location of some of his people, arrives at a new location in the world, and sets out on an impossible task against an unbeatable foe. Jones does an incredible job of illustrating how the story progresses in several ways that really pull the book together. I mentioned in my first review that each of these chapters feels additive. At the end of book three, I feel like I have undergone a true journey. It’s incredible how much progress Hanuvar has made, and how well it works as a metaphor for crawling back from despair. Sometimes the only answer is to keep going, one story at a time, until you find your way back home.
I won’t overstay my welcome and just blabber on about how great this series is, especially with a third book that I can’t talk too much about plotwise. Please pick up this story, it is not being talked about nearly enough to do it justice. A quick look at all the other reviews of the series will show you I am not the only one who feels this way. Shadow of the Smoking Mountain continues to be a huge success in my book despite badly needing new readers. Jones has taken the best parts of old sword and sorcery classics and modernized them with a powerful narrative structure and punch. Don’t let The Chronicles of Hanuvar be consigned to the back shelf of a bookstore to be forgotten.
Rating: Shadow of the Smoking Mountain – 9.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.