At the end of 2023, I included The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson as one of my book of the year picks. As I read it in December, I hadn’t had a chance to write a full review but included the book on my list as I’d very much enjoyed it. Since I also had book two of the Eidyn Saga, The Bitter Crown, I wanted to read that before reviewing to see how the books worked as a pair and whether the continued series maintained the same high quality.
It most definitely does. The books as a pair now probably edge out the other fantasy entries as my book of the year choice. My absorption into the land of Eidyn, and its battle for survival, only deepened as the books went on.
What Is The Eidyn Saga?
Eidyn is a land ravaged by battle. As the Lost War opens, Aranok and his King have won the war, but just barely. Their main foe is not vanquished, only caged in a castle. The zombie-like “Blackened” still roam the nation, infecting people as they go, and pockets of demons still cause devastation wherever they turn up. The war may be over, but the battle to reconstruct a nation has only just begun.
Aranok is the king’s right-hand man and a “draoidh” (druid). Events of the two novels center around him and the team of people put together by the king to retrieve a noblewoman trapped in a far-off town. It’s fair to say things don’t go according to plan. An ever-changing situation and the continual assimilation of new information leave Aranok and his team battling their way across the war-ravaged nation, holding back one calamity after another.
Why Read The Eidyn Saga?
When I opened The Bitter Crown and started reading, I realized just how much I enjoyed The Eidyn Saga. I can’t say too much about The Bitter Crown lest I spill important plot points, but I was riveted. I can’t remember the last time a book captured me quite so completely. A race against time was on, and I had to know who would win!
The Lost War opens in a fairly mundane fashion—disgruntled kingdom, a quest of sorts, and a disparate bunch of colorful characters. As the novel progresses, however, it becomes something significantly more than that. The characters grow into themselves, expanding beyond their fantasy template and becoming a strong group of people with flaws, hopes, and dreams that we, as readers, want to root for.
And so it is with the book’s magic system and the world in which the story is set. An awful lot is going on here, and author Justin Lee Anderson drip-feeds us how his world functions and how its magic works, which by the end of two novels is turning into one of my favorite magic depictions in fantasy fiction.
The story is innovative too, and shocking in places, because of unexpected turns but also because of the visceral nature of some of the scenes. The book is rarely overtly gory but has passages filled with deep and uneasy menace. I had moments of true horror reading The Eidyn Saga.
Yet, none of those are my favorite things about the novels. I love science fiction/fantasy writing when it is used to mirror real-life situations. The Bitter Crown, in particular, is filled with metaphors and allusion to the state of the world in the 2020s. The underlying observation and commentary elevate The Eidyn Saga towards true greatness.
There is a discrimination thread that runs through both books, with the draoidh being feared and facing massive prejudice. The depiction of their struggle and treatment has definite echoes with the current immigration rhetoric that rages here in the UK.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” is often used trope, but Justin Lee Anderson breathes new life into it, partly by marrying the idea with religious certainty. These combine into a fascinating examination of the ends justifying the means and whether a strong sense of right and wrong can miss the shades of grey that come with human nature. This all adds to the sense that we’re reading a thoughtful novel with very real characters.
Anderson also treats us to an artful analysis of the difficulty of expunging conspiracy theories and the frustrations of those who are trying to dispel them. Whilst its references are not overt, one definitely feels that the author may have been looking at the US political landscape when carving out some of his characters’ actions.
I could go on. I was continually surprised and delighted by the depth of the world-building in the Eidyn Saga—not just how the fantasy bits work, but on a deeper, real-world, political level. It’s impressive stuff. A third book in the saga is on the way, and I can’t wait to read it. I always start my reading year filled with optimism with all the brilliant books that I’m going to read over the next 12 months. It’s still only January, but with The Bitter Crown and the Eidyn Saga, I’m off to a very good start!
If you would like to pick up a copy of The Lost War (Book 1 in the Eidyn Saga), you can do so here in the US and here in the UK. (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews.
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
