The Mortal Tally
Bring Down Heaven • Book 2
by Sam Sykes
Why You'll Love This
The demon isn't the villain here — he's the one making the only argument that actually makes sense.
- Great if you want: morally compromised heroes and a fantasy world actively falling apart
- The experience: dense and sprawling — multiple storylines collide with mounting dread
- The writing: Sykes writes chaos with precision — dark humor cutting through genuine brutality
- Skip if: you haven't read book one — the threads don't stand alone
About This Book
The city of Cier'Djaal is falling apart — not dramatically, not all at once, but the way real things collapse: under the weight of too many factions with too many grievances and not enough people willing to stop fighting long enough to notice the bodies piling up. While his companions attempt the impossible task of keeping civilization from devouring itself, Lenk pursues the demon responsible for it all into a forbidden wilderness — only to discover that the demon's promises are harder to refuse than they should be. That tension, between what a man knows is right and what he desperately wants to believe, is where this book lives.
Sam Sykes writes sprawling, messy, morally tangled fantasy with genuine wit and an eye for the absurd tragedy of people trying to do good in situations designed to punish them for it. The Mortal Tally earns its length — 688 pages that juggle multiple storylines without losing momentum or coherence — and Sykes brings a sharp, darkly funny voice to scenes that could easily tip into grim monotony. Readers willing to sit with complicated characters making questionable choices will find this second installment richer and more confident than its predecessor.
