Soul Stealers

The second entry in Andy Remic’s The Clockwork Vampire Trilogy, Soul Stealers, is much more tightly focused than Kell’s Legend (the first volume). In the first novel multiple POV’s were followed and most of the continent was covered at all times. In this novel two POV’s occupy most of the story arc, with only the occasional interspersed side POV. Also all of the action moves in one direction this time around.

Beyond that Soul Stealers dramatically alters what the reader knows about the situation. Things we perceived to be true throughout Kell’s Legend are rendered false almost from the opening lines of Soul Stealers. True allegiances are revealed, and the real reasoning behind the Army of Iron’s invasion comes to light as well.

As with the first novel, most of the adventure centers around Kell and his companions. This is largely an old school heroic fantasy tale at its core with a more modern twist brought on by the politics and warfare going on around Kell. This is a combination that worked well in Kell’s Legend and continues to work in Soul Stealers.

Thankfully Remic did not use the cliché of the hero being saved from one monster by an even bigger monster in this go round. That was my one big complaint about Kell’s Legend and I was happy it never reared its narratively lacking head here. Much like the first novel, Soul Stealers is a fast paced thrill ride.

While the overall story arc is less ambitious than Kell’s Legend, Soul Stealers is a very strong middle entry in a trilogy. Largely due to the fact that there is a total change in the perceived power structure right from the start there is nothing about this novel that feels even vaguely like filler. The backdrop of the story is totally changed consistently from the first page to the last. The reader rarely see’s any of the changes coming.

A lot of middle novels and sequel’s fail to live up to the standard set by the first entry in a series. This is not the case with Soul Stealers. The story arc is strong enough to stand alone, granted that would not work well without the history and world building from Kell’s Legend.

Remic knows what worked well and possibly what failed in Kell’s Legend. He stuck to this and moved away from old tired clichés in Soul Stealers. The result is a fun, quick reading second novel in what promises to be a strong trilogy. I can’t wait for the third novel, Vampire Warlords. I give Soul Stealers a 4/5.

Soul Stealers is a publication of Angry Robot Books. It is now available in the UK and Australia (print editions) and ebook format everywhere.