A Skillful Warrior is the sequel to A Necklace of Souls by R.L. Stedman. I loved A Necklace of Souls, so much so that when I met R Stedman socially I found myself acting like a fanboy asking when the sequel would be out.
I was provided with an electronic copy of A Skillful Warrior which I enjoyed, however, I have to say that I subsequently received a paper copy and I still prefer having a physical copy.
The story continues with Dana, Will, Jed, and N’tombe travelling together. During this journey, Dana becomes more familiar with the guardians and the skills she is developing.
I’m liking
Characters previously cast as bad guys now show characteristics that indicate they’re not all bad, while I realised that one person I’ve previously trusted maybe isn’t entirely trustworthy, or at least has another agenda to Dana. I like that the world isn’t black and white and people respond to the situation they’ve been presented with.
That being said – the actual bad guys are great bad guys.
Things that made me go hmmmm
As their journey continues, Dana discovers that she needs to complete a quest. However, the book ends just as she is within sight of the quest’s goal. Maybe I’m greedy but I was hoping to see how they achieved their goal given it was quite a focus of the book.
The conclusion
A Skillful Warrior is a slightly different book to A Necklace of Souls but I enjoyed the book and especially enjoyed meeting the characters again. Stedman leaves room for you to think about things in her books and sometimes you are left wondering if your interpretation is correct – which I think is a great thing.
