With the Godking dead Cenaria at last has a chance to recover. Terah Graesin has seized the throne but Kylar is intent on placing Logan Gyre there, whether he likes it or not. Dorian has infiltrated his dead father's kingdom in an attempt to find the woman he loves but is soon caught up in the fight for succession and forced to take the throne. Meanwhile a group of vurdmeisters have used the Godking's death as an excuse to try and claim power for themselves.
Like the previous volume Beyond the Shadows comes across as far too chaotic with simply too much going on. As a result a lot of important scenes feel rushed which gives the novel very serious pacing issues. It is pretty obvious that Weeks had five or six books worth of material here. This is a real shame as he is certainly a more talented author than this book makes him look and there are some really good ideas floating around. Dorian's struggle with himself and the cost of Kylar's immortality could have been really interesting if given enough time to develop. I would really like to see Weeks focus more in future works, like he did so well in his first novel.
Overall Beyond the Shadows is even more chaotic in it's predecessor. There is a good book (or five) in here somewhere but it really struggles to come out. 6/10.
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