“Men were the cruelest of animals—especially those with swords at the throats of the helpless—and war had a way of bringing out the worst in them.”
Even though I enjoyed The Way of Edan a lot, I was a bit nervous to pick up The Prophet of Edan since I’d heard it leans heavily into war and battles, and that’s not always my favourite thing. But honestly, I was hooked almost immediately, and now I am just embarrassed that it took me so long to finally get around to this sequel. Chase just takes everything that worked in book one, tightens it up, makes it hit harder, and then casually adds dragons into the mix like it’s no big deal. Which, for me, will always be a big win.
First things first, I truly cannot imagine experiencing this story without the audiobook narration by Allen Walker. Don’t get me wrong, Chase’s writing is worthy of all the praise on its own, but Allen just really makes it all come to life on a whole new level. The way that he captures all the unique character voices and breathes tension into every scene, from the simplest conversations to the most epic battles, is honestly nothing short of masterful. His narration just kept me grounded all the way through, even when the scale of all that’s happening across Eormenlond started to feel utterly overwhelming.
Because yes, there is a lot going on in The Prophet of Edan, like… a lot a lot. The action is relentless at times, but somehow it worked a lot better for me than I expected because it Chase never fully sacrifices the character work. I will say I didn’t always feel as emotionally attached as I wanted to, but I truly can’t deny how well written and complex this divers cast of characters is. Dayraven’s whole internal struggle with the elf shard and the sheer weight of what he carries is still a primary focus here, but I have to admit that he has never been and probably never will be my personal favourite, simply because he leans a bit too close to godlike for me to fully connect to. Sequara, though, has had my heart from the start, and I just loved how we got to see new aspects of her strengths here in this sequel. Also, hello romance and yearning! I will always be cheering for that, even if part of me thinks she could have done better than Dayraven, sorry not sorry.
But honestly, the real surprise stars of The Prophet of Edan were Gorn and Orvandil for me. Their dynamic just clicked instantly, and they immediately gave me strong Gimli and Legolas vibes without ever feeling like copycats. Their banter is effortlessly entertaining, their bond felt really earned, and I overall just loved what they represented in this story. Watching them push past prejudice and cultural divides to stand together was so powerful and satisfying, and because I got attached to them so quickly, every scene they were in had me completely hooked.
Even so, I did hit a bit of battle fatigue here and there, because there’s just so much conflict that sometimes it blurred together a little for me. But at the same time, I kind of respect how Chase committed to showing the full weight and scale of this war, especially as it felt so scarily relatable to everything that is going on in the real world right now. The Prophet of Edan makes it very clear that when something like this breaks out, everyone suffers, not just the main players. And more than that, it shows how those who choose to sit silently by will ultimately be brutally confronted with the consequences of their moral cowardice sooner rather than later, and I absolutely loved that unflinching rawness and reality amidst all the fantastical wonders.
Speaking of magic, The Prophet of Edan goes even harder on that than its predecessor, and I was equally entranced and terrified by it all. The Buddhist influences are so powerful in this series, and the strong connection to nature and that whole ‘one with everything’ idea just really speaks to me as a more spiritual person myself. It feels thoughtful without being preachy, and I loved how Chase explored both the beauty and the danger of that kind of power, especially with the dragons (which are very much not your friendly animal companions here).
And you can’t talk about The Prophet of Edan without talking about the whole religious aspect of it, which I thought was handled really well. As the holy war continues to escalate, the contrast between Bledla and Dayraven just becomes sharper and more complex, and I loved how Chase really explored how personal beliefs and aspirations can twist a beautiful faith into something absolutely horrifying and destructive. Also, I don’t know if I am more impressed or concerned by how scarily well Chase wrote the villain perspectives of Bledla and Earconwald, but holy hell, do I hate those two with a fiery passion. Still, even when I felt so deeply uncomfortable being in their heads, I couldn’t stop reading those chapters because I was just morbidly fascinated by them.
Needless to say, The Prophet of Edan really surprised me in all the best ways, and I loved how Chase balanced all the different character arcs and wove all the many plot threads together into such a stunning whole by the end. There are quite a few moments in here that felt almost transcendent to me, and I loved how the final stretch somehow has the weight and intensity of a full series finale, which leaves me very excited and curious about where this is all going next.
