Darkwar Trilogy #02: Warlock

The second book in the Darkwar trilogy sets up Marika's madness in book three. Personally, I found this book a little hard to get through at times, but all in all I enjoyed the story and found it was better when viewed through the lens of book three.

The series seems to continue with small tragedies happening to the main character. Every time, she overcomes the setback and comes out stronger, until the last tragedy which simply brings all of the others to the forefront and depresses her more than anything before. While I am not one for tragedies, it is a tale well told which will have you walking around numb for days afterward.

The second in the Darkwar trilogy, Warlock shows Merika's maturation into a deadly force fighting for the survival of her community. As the first book introduced us to a primitive society on the edge of extinction, Warlock exposes us to the larger world, technologically advanced and decadent, living off rich resources with no thought to the future. Merika is forced to do despicable things, but still we sympathize for her because she bled first. Cook weaves a tapestry of treachery, intrigue and deceit and Merika is our brutal sword slashing through it all and making her own path while we follow helplessly. In this book we also get even more savage descriptions of battle carnage, culminating in the introduction to the world of human history's most devastating weapon.