****(4) out of 5 stars
The action of Clanless picks up right where Nameless left off!
Gryphon, the former golden boy of his military mess unit, now a traitor to his Ram clan, has been captured and bound by his former brothers-in-arms. Needless to say, he does escape, with the rather surprising help of an old friend and a new enemy. Running for his life, trying to alert the Raven clan to an impending threat, Gryphon goes to great lengths – both physical and metaphorical – trying to honor the memory of the woman he loves whom he believes is dead.
The only thing is – Zo isn’t dead! Also wrongly informed that her love is gone, Zo struggles to complete the mission she has set for herself of shepherding her two young charges and a helpless band of Nameless to the Allies for protection. She definitely has her hands full, struggling against various groups of Clanless, trying to avoid Ram patrols, and basically just trying to stay alive, all while mourning Gryphon.
I liked this second book much less than the first of the series, mainly because the best parts of the story are the interactions between Gryphon and Zo. With the two of them separated – and thinking that the other one is dead – for the majority of the narrative, it takes away a lot of the emotional connection to the characters, as well as the enjoyment of their interplay. This book is all about war and preparations for it, and as such it is mostly dark and dreary and somewhat depressing. It does, however, do a good job of advancing the story in preparation for what is anticipated to be the ultimate battle of clans in the third book.
Hopefully, the final installment of the series will turn out well for the protagonists, Gryphon and Zo, and they will have some measure of a happy ending together. From the look of things so far though, that doesn’t seem very likely. I can hardly wait for the sequel!
I received an eBook copy of this title free from Month9Books,
and have willingly provided an honest review.
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