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The Lessons Never Learned by Rob J Hayes (The War Eternal: Book 2)
“Opinions are like children. Those who have them want them to be special, rarely realizing they are just as dumb as ugly as all the others.”
I was a little nervous as I started book two. Even though Along the Razor’s Edge was the first book in the trilogy, it could have stood alone as a stand-alone tale. In Edge, there is a single objective and a clear endpoint that remain the story’s focal points and are resolved at the book’s finish. But will the plot be able to retain its amazing speed and character development now that the environment will be changing? The narrator also teased us with a few intriguing plotlines throughout book one, so it seems sense that those mysteries would start to be solved in the follow-up.
As a result, it’s feasible that once we see what’s going on behind the scenes, the “wow factor” will lose some of its appeal. Will there be sufficient new information to startle the reader, or will it mostly focus on revealing all the indications left in book one? Along the Razor’s Edge is also really amazing. The Lessons Never Learned therefore has a lot to live up to. Where this is headed is obvious. Don’t worry, dear reader. This tale has unique qualities.
“We are, all of us, marred by scars, plagued by the faults and insecurities laid upon us by our pasts.”
I won’t go into detail about the story’s happenings, but I will touch on the ideas that set it apart from Razor’s Edge. As this entry covers a longer period of time, we get to see Eska develop and begin to compromise her newfound responsibilities. Despite the fact that she will never have many close friends, she will jealously guard them and go to great lengths to ensure their safety. One of the story’s most masterfully written and emotionally taxing elements is the rigorous test of this concept. Hayes takes his time to analyse these events properly and with enough serious regard to give weight to their repercussions since there are some important topics to address.
Eska must also deal with fresh challenges in her life related to freedom, retaliation, and the numerous guises that love can take. Although she is still being sought for by strong forces, she now has access to a far larger variety of resources. And there are some genuinely terrifying action scenes that left me squirming and flinching over the course of several pages; I experienced a mix of feelings, including stress, amazement, and devastatingness. It serves as just another example of how effectively Hayes has crafted Eskara’s narrative voice; we identify with her, feel her emotions, and comprehend her. We are linked to her every step of the way, even if we disagree with her ways. I said this before and I will say it again: this story is more than a read, it’s an immersive experience of rare caliber.
“Truth is a prison. One that sits behind us our entire lives, just waiting for us to step inside its barred domain. I have heard people say that the truth can set you free. Somewhat ironically, that’s a bloody lie. The truth locks you in, determines a set way of thinking, of feeling, of believing. The truth is the opposite of freedom. Lies, on the other hand, can be whatever we want them to be. Lies can free us from a burden that truth would bury us with. Lies can ease a pain that truth would cause to rot and fester. Lies can make a point, where truth would just expose us for the hypocrites we are, a lesson all parents know well. The world is founded on lie, upon lie, upon lie. But the truth is always there, just waiting for an opportunity to tear down everything we have built.”
Hayes has received numerous honours throughout his writing career, most recently the Booknest Novel of the Year award. He is also a finalist for the SPFBO this year after winning it the year before. However, I have no question that “The War Eternal” is the pinnacle of his writing career despite all of his achievements and experiences in the self- and traditional publishing sectors. From Cold Ashes Risen will make clear that there are other things happening outside Eska’s activities, and I can’t wait to see how this tale turns out. The only thing I can say for sure is that it will be wonderful and that if you miss it, you’ll be planning your own vengeance mission.
The Review
The Lessons Never Learned
9.5 Score
THE LESSONS NEVER LEARNED begins soon after Eskara, or Eska, is free from her torturous underground prison called the Pit. Ten years of her life were wasted toiling in its dark depths for nothing more than hard labor mandated by her jailers Deko and the overseer. But they did not break her. Now she finds herself on the run from a variety of assassins sent forth by the overseer to bring Eska back, dead or alive. You see, nobody leaves the Pit and lives to tell the tale.
PROS
- Just as good as the first one.
- Another masterful fantasy story.
- Rebellious Student of Life.
- A worthy follow up.
CONS
- A drastic shift in the wrong direction.
- Bit over complicated.
- Outside Assistance Required.
- Thoroughly disappointing.
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