TL;DR: Staying strong and showing growth.
Source: NetGalley, so many thanks to the publisher!
Plot: Wu Ying goes on a quest to save his village with the help of his friends
Characters: Our same cast with some interesting new dynamics.
Setting: We travel outside the sect and state which was very fun.
Fantasy: We get a lot more action in this one with a full on war happening, so more cool fights.
Summary:
Winter has passed, taking with it the hope of peace. The state of Wei deploy an increasing number of cultivators and soldiers, intent on taking over the state of Shen. Caught in-between the armies is Wu Ying’s village and all those that he cares about.
Advised to keep away from the approaching war, Wu Ying will have to decide what is more important – his journey to immortality or the ties to the mortal that he holds onto still. Or perhaps, there is a third way, one that balances both the needs of Heaven and destiny and the karmic ties of the family.
Thoughts:
The First War takes Wu Ying out of the sect yet again, this time with a group traveling on a quest. While this is a quest/journey book, I’d say it’s light on the quest and journey and heavier on the war aspect so don’t fret if that’s not your favorite. Instead we have Wu Ying develop slowly, but surely and relationships between himself and others begin to solidify (or deteriorate).
There is some great action here as well. We do have some fight scenes, and even some excellent full scale battles. Through that we see Wu Ying reflecting on things like helping one another, helping one another, etc. It made for an interesting contrast in the middle of war.
While there were fewer jaw dropping moments such as in book two’s ending, I really enjoyed the slower pace on this one. It wasn’t slow, but comparatively for me it was a bit more meditative, even with the action. There were also just a handful of times when certain words or phrases were repeated back to back that made me cringe. Besides that I’m all in for the next installments. I can’t wait to continue this series and really recommend it for cultivation fans.
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