The Merciless Ones
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- Create Date：2022-07-22 09:52:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Namina Forna
- ISBN：147495958X
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Summary
Fans of The Gilded Ones and Children of Blood and Bone will love the second book in an epic fantasy series about a girl who is the key to saving the empire--or its greatest threat。
It's been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is。 There are now wars waging across the kingdom。 Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation。 Deka is called a monster。
But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge。 Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses。 Only as she begins to free them， she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor。 There's something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses。 Even worse， it seems to repel her powers。 She can't command or communicate with the new deathshrieks。 In fact， she can't even understand them when they speak。
Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning。 She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol--something merciless--that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles。 But Deka's powers are only getting stronger。。。and her strongest weapon could be herself。
It's been six months since Deka has freed the goddesses and discovered who she really is。 There are now wars waging across the kingdom。 Otereans now think jatu are traitors to the nation。 Deka is called a monster。
But the real battle has only just begun and Deka must lead the charge。 Deka is tasked with freeing the rest of the goddesses。 Only as she begins to free them， she begins to see a strange symbol everywhere in places of worship and worn on armor。 There's something unnatural about that symbol; just looking at it makes Deka lose her senses。 Even worse， it seems to repel her powers。 She can't command or communicate with the new deathshrieks。 In fact， she can't even understand them when they speak。
Deka knows freeing the goddesses is just the beginning。 She can tell whatever dark force out is powerful and there is something sinister out there threatening the kingdom connected to that symbol--something merciless--that her army will need to stop before humanity crumbles。 But Deka's powers are only getting stronger。。。and her strongest weapon could be herself。
Reviews
Bethany
，
The start of this book was overwrought and a little boring to read。 After about the 50% mark it got easier to read。 I will probably read the final book of the series， because I expect this from the 2nd book of a series。 The first book was better though。 Still love the covers。
Leah-May
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4。5🌟 I absolutely adored this book， I never wanted to put it down。 All the plot twists were phenomenal， with Deka actually being part of the Singular。 The Mothers being evil and the Idugu being real。 I actually cried at Keita dying， but him coming back as a true jatu who could use fire！！！ I LOVED IT！！ I love all the characters and love their development and their relationships。 I can't wait to find out more about Deka's mother Umu。 I loved it so much， always had me gripped！！ I also love the dive 4。5🌟 I absolutely adored this book， I never wanted to put it down。 All the plot twists were phenomenal， with Deka actually being part of the Singular。 The Mothers being evil and the Idugu being real。 I actually cried at Keita dying， but him coming back as a true jatu who could use fire！！！ I LOVED IT！！ I love all the characters and love their development and their relationships。 I can't wait to find out more about Deka's mother Umu。 I loved it so much， always had me gripped！！ I also love the diversity in the characters and all their different identities。 。。。more
Abby Tait
，
God damn this series is just so good and enthralling。 Already cannot wait for the third and final book。
Avery LuBell
，
This sequel was everything I was hungry for， I devoured it！ The first book was very much Girl Power because it was about Deka - and by extension， all the girls of Otera - learning to be and love and liberate themselves。 But THIS book widens the umbrella: NO ONE should be assumed to have， or forced to conform to， a particular temperament or behavior， based on physiology。 This book addresses queerphobia， gender identity and spectrum， the trauma engendered from birth - from conception， even - of ha This sequel was everything I was hungry for， I devoured it！ The first book was very much Girl Power because it was about Deka - and by extension， all the girls of Otera - learning to be and love and liberate themselves。 But THIS book widens the umbrella: NO ONE should be assumed to have， or forced to conform to， a particular temperament or behavior， based on physiology。 This book addresses queerphobia， gender identity and spectrum， the trauma engendered from birth - from conception， even - of having an expectation of what a child should be rather than celebrating who they are， generational trauma， religious genocide， toxic masculinity， grief and the importance of therapy， toxic family vs found family， how feminism does NOT mean anti-male， and the importance of unity and overcoming the human instinct to categorize then judge/segregate/punish based on the arbitrary Us/Them lines WE'VE drawn。 This book is POWERFUL in its themes！ For anyone who thought the first book was a little too binary， oh no baby birds， no no no， just you wait。 Namina Forna knows what she's doing。 She's pacing you。 The Gilded Ones was an appetizer。 The Merciless Ones is going to fill you up， never fear。And lest you're worried from above that this book is all themes no substance， rest assured dear readers， it stands as a fantastic fantasy， too！ So many twists and turns， nothing is as it seems。 The main characters are diverse， strong， shrewd， and supportive of one another。 The stakes are even more dire （which is saying something， when the end of the last book was， "Destroy the patriarchy！"） There are even more unique creatures， magics， and lands， and everything has that air of myth about it， like it came to life out of a book of folklore。 It's cinematic in its action scenes， and poetic in its quiet scenes。 And like any good bit of magic， the book leaves you wanting more。I CANNOT WAIT for the third book in this trilogy！！！ What a treasure！！！ 。。。more
Amanda Eskeets
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wow。 That’s all I can say。 I wondered from the ending of the first one if this new development was going to happen， and it did。 I loves the foreshadowing of Ixa’s unease， despite Deka explaining it away。 While this book isn’t as spectacular as the first one， that is to be expected in the second of a trilogy， and my score reflects that。 More importantly， it does have solid plot development that is believable within the world established- nothing feels like a plot device- which is rare for sequels Wow。 That’s all I can say。 I wondered from the ending of the first one if this new development was going to happen， and it did。 I loves the foreshadowing of Ixa’s unease， despite Deka explaining it away。 While this book isn’t as spectacular as the first one， that is to be expected in the second of a trilogy， and my score reflects that。 More importantly， it does have solid plot development that is believable within the world established- nothing feels like a plot device- which is rare for sequels。 I’m impressed so far。 Now I just have to wait for the last one！ 。。。more
Jas
，
This book was a rollercoaster from start to finish。 The number of revelations and plot twists in this book was insane。 There were moments where I had absolutely no clue what was going to happen next and I absolutely loved that。 This book has everything in it that I loved in the last one: short chapters， fast pacing and a strong main character。 The Merciless Ones is one of those books where I kept telling myself ‘just one more chapter’。 I was also really glad that some of the side characters got This book was a rollercoaster from start to finish。 The number of revelations and plot twists in this book was insane。 There were moments where I had absolutely no clue what was going to happen next and I absolutely loved that。 This book has everything in it that I loved in the last one: short chapters， fast pacing and a strong main character。 The Merciless Ones is one of those books where I kept telling myself ‘just one more chapter’。 I was also really glad that some of the side characters got more character development in this book — specifically Britta， Belcalis and Keita。 I found myself caring for the whole group way more than I did in the first book。 There were some sentences that I felt were slightly repetitive， but that didn’t stop me enjoying this book from start to finish。 I loved reading about Deka as her powers continued to evolve， and I can’t wait for book three。 I’d recommend this book to any lover of YA fantasy or any teen wanting to get into the genre。 。。。more
Jonathan Kim
，
just wow I was surprised how great this book was。 The first book was already great but this one somehow beat it。 I couldn’t put the book down with all the twists and turns！
Art Hyrst
，
Character - 7Atmosphere - 6Writing - 6Plot - 5Intrigue - 5Logic - 5Enjoyment - 6Rating: 3 / 5。71 stars
Sarah Monte
，
The Merciless Ones completely BLEW ME AWAY。 I enjoyed the first book and thought it was good （The Gilded Ones）， but this second installment far exceeded all my expectations and quickly rocketed up to the top of my list。 It's now the best book that I've read all year so far， and is perhaps one of my top faves ever。 I am amazed。 There's non-stop action with lots of twists and turns that I couldn't predict。 It takes everything you think you know and turns it in its head。 Everything is so much more The Merciless Ones completely BLEW ME AWAY。 I enjoyed the first book and thought it was good （The Gilded Ones）， but this second installment far exceeded all my expectations and quickly rocketed up to the top of my list。 It's now the best book that I've read all year so far， and is perhaps one of my top faves ever。 I am amazed。 There's non-stop action with lots of twists and turns that I couldn't predict。 It takes everything you think you know and turns it in its head。 Everything is so much more nuanced。 The main character， Deka， becomes an even more awesome heroine and leader。 The book also has important commentary on gender roles and gender identity， in a much more meaningful way than the first book， which just scratched the surface in comparison。 There's also more LGBTQ+ representation this time around。 I expected The Merciless Ones to be good， but I never expected it to be this amazing。 I was completely wowed。 It's a thrill from beginning to end。 。。。more
Beth Horn
，
It had highs and lows for me， still looking forward to book 3。
Sol
，
Incredible！ Read it ！So many new plots and surprises ， the turn of events are thrilling and keep you until late at night。 One of the best books I have ever read ！
Sue Nyakubaya-Nhevera
，
This whole book is just a twist of events and I loved it！
Rachel
，
This book continue Deka's story。 She becomes more powerful。 So do her friends， but much of that power is coming from her， and there's more to her than she knows about。 She kills lots of bad guys and rescues lots of people， mostly women。 But it seems like the Goddesses have been editing her memories and lying to her about all kinds of things。 And she is much more， and different， than she's been told。 The book is written wonderfully。 A bit too much violence and blood for me， but that's intrinsic t This book continue Deka's story。 She becomes more powerful。 So do her friends， but much of that power is coming from her， and there's more to her than she knows about。 She kills lots of bad guys and rescues lots of people， mostly women。 But it seems like the Goddesses have been editing her memories and lying to her about all kinds of things。 And she is much more， and different， than she's been told。 The book is written wonderfully。 A bit too much violence and blood for me， but that's intrinsic to the story。 Deka is an appealing character， and you have to like her。 Even as she's chopping off heads， etc。 I will read the third book as soon as it comes out。 。。。more
Barbara
，
What a twist on everything we learned in 'The Gilded Ones' this book was！ The story was just as captivating as it was in the first book and I must say I really liked the direction this novel took。 It made the story much more unique and fascinating and it made me wonder how the author's gonna deal with this set up in the final installment。I felt like this book was a little bit more plot driven than the first one， which I think made sure to focus more on the other characters not just Deka。 'The Me What a twist on everything we learned in 'The Gilded Ones' this book was！ The story was just as captivating as it was in the first book and I must say I really liked the direction this novel took。 It made the story much more unique and fascinating and it made me wonder how the author's gonna deal with this set up in the final installment。I felt like this book was a little bit more plot driven than the first one， which I think made sure to focus more on the other characters not just Deka。 'The Merciless Ones' - maybe because I read the prequel some time ago - didn't really make me care for them。 Still， I didn't mind that shift in the direction of the story。What I did mind a little bit though was the pacing of the novel。 It felt like too many big things and revelations were happening one after another while at the same time， some parts felt a bit dragged。In some parts， I was bothered by how the characters always conveniently had the resources or discovered the powers which easily helped them with the situation they were in。 It just gets a bit 'unrealistic' （as much as something can be unrealistic in a fantasy novel） and annoying at times。 I could also see some twists coming from miles away but that didn't bother me much。Overall， it was a great sequel and I can't wait to read the conclusion to this story。 。。。more
Dana
，
The Merciless Ones picks back up as Deka， her friends， and their new allies are at war with the kingdom that had lied to her about the truth of her identity。 However， Deka begins to suspect that she is being lied to again--this time by the goddesses she has trusted and revered。The Merciless Ones starts a bit slow， and it took me a bit of time to get my bearings。 I could have probably used more of a refresher of where the last book ended。 That said， this sequel turned out to be fast-paced and del The Merciless Ones picks back up as Deka， her friends， and their new allies are at war with the kingdom that had lied to her about the truth of her identity。 However， Deka begins to suspect that she is being lied to again--this time by the goddesses she has trusted and revered。The Merciless Ones starts a bit slow， and it took me a bit of time to get my bearings。 I could have probably used more of a refresher of where the last book ended。 That said， this sequel turned out to be fast-paced and deliver even more twists than Book 1。 Also in keeping with the first， Forma delivers plenty of social-political commentary， especially on gender。 Whereas the first book was fairly black and white （good v。 evil， women v。 men）， Forma introduces more complexity and nuance this time around， problematizing binary gendered assumptions。From a social-emotional standpoint， there is a lot of strong intrapersonal and interpersonal growth happening in this follow up。 Deka begins to realize that even strong， borderline divine entities like she is becoming still need meaningful relationships to be nourished and whole。 She learns to rely on and trust her closest friends， and she is able to forgive past harm by her father。 。。。more
Eliza ♡
，
1。 this should have been a wlw love story， the female relationships deka has are so much more fleshed out and interesting than her actual romance。2。 i cannot believe namina forna really said let me make a book about a deeply patriarchal society in which women are completely subjugated and have no rights or autonomy。。。。 and make the big reveal of book 2 （spoilers ahead obviously） that the female goddesses are actually worse than the male ones and it made total sense for the men to have imprisoned 1。 this should have been a wlw love story， the female relationships deka has are so much more fleshed out and interesting than her actual romance。2。 i cannot believe namina forna really said let me make a book about a deeply patriarchal society in which women are completely subjugated and have no rights or autonomy。。。。 and make the big reveal of book 2 （spoilers ahead obviously） that the female goddesses are actually worse than the male ones and it made total sense for the men to have imprisoned them all that time ago。 :| sigh。 full rtc。 。。。more
Christoph Neumann
，
Well， finally something realistic。 Everyone is the bad guy and all characters are traumatized in one way or another
Caitlin
，
The Merciless Ones #2⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4。5Deka has learnt the truth about her world and the patriarchy but is now faced with an even bigger and shocking revelation where the gods she thought were all loving and good aren’t being wholly truthful。The author managed to shock me with a new take on equality， sexuality， gender norms and accepted norms in an action packed， twisting second instalment。
Thornblue
，
This book gave me absolute whiplash， to the point it doesn't even feel like it belonged to book 1。 It felt like it went hard compensating for "mistakes" in the first book to the point I felt like I'm reading a new series。 Could not stay engaged or interested as all the secondary characters felt like cardboard cut outs， only there to serve and revere Deka。 Deka felt like part of a computer game where if she completed a chapter she got to Level Up With A New Super Power。 Every。。。。second。。。minute。。 This book gave me absolute whiplash， to the point it doesn't even feel like it belonged to book 1。 It felt like it went hard compensating for "mistakes" in the first book to the point I felt like I'm reading a new series。 Could not stay engaged or interested as all the secondary characters felt like cardboard cut outs， only there to serve and revere Deka。 Deka felt like part of a computer game where if she completed a chapter she got to Level Up With A New Super Power。 Every。。。。second。。。minute。。。。Mild spoilers may apply below。All the plot points， the twists， the messages of book 1 are just redundant now too。 Feminist book about Black girl magic and rising against the patriarchy？ Not anymore。 👏🏻 In fact， men are oppressed here。 The female gods are the oppressors， secretly， and the entire book （view spoiler）[is just them wanting to eat little boys to power up （hide spoiler）]。 Deathshrieks are now men， gods can be men。 I'm genuinely so confused as to what even the message of this series is now。There's also forgiving your abusers。 There's a scene that comes out of nowhere where a gay character explains that the priests would abuse the queer boys sent to the temples because "the priests too were hiding their queerness"。 （Sorry。 WHAT。） Apparently Belcalis is meant to be asexual （as said on twitter） but on page she only talks about not wanting romantic relationships （that's not asexuality？？） and not to mention she is the character who's been horrifically sexually abused。 That's meant to be our ace rep？？ There is also a nonbinary character who comes out suddenly （despite being in book 1 and giving no hint they are nonbinary） and in the very。 sentence。 they。 come。 out。 the book is misgendering them。 Their PARTNER is at dinner saying something about "this thing is only about women" and the nonbinary character has to say "not just woman" to which they all go "oh yeah right sorry forgot about you love。" They were partners？！？！ It gave strong energy of: her pronouns are they/them！！！ And my eyes roll。The queer rep just felt so off to me because one of my biggest complaints in book 1 was the extraordinarily binary world， and then suddenly there's a ton of queer characters， and of course they all are horrifically abused for their queerness。The book also finally acknowledged that women covering/veiling themselves isn't a sign of oppression。 But where was that in book 1。 Deka had no room to grow because she was just Power Level 10000 the whole time and Belcalis and Keita have to call her out ONCE for prioritising her feelings over everyone else's but she doesn't seem to really learn from it。 It just felt boring。 Characters will die and there'll be a tragic， gut-wrenching death scene。。。only for them to respawn in the same chapter。There just were no rules for the magic system， so any character could get these random epic powers at any time。 We don't even know。 Magic doors。 Magic artefacts。 New gods。 Whatever。 No parameters to work with。 This doesn't make the plot twists feel big and powerful -- it makes them feel convenient because there's no ability to foreshadow changes because there are no rules。 Even Deka kept being like "oh i just didn't know this was possible earlier" which felt like this thin excuse for the book to be like: eh just didn't think of it in book one。 This book felt like it was saying: surprise！ plot twist！ Not All Men And women can be even more evil than men can！ 。。。more
Ayah
，
The first book >>>
Ian Jones
，
I would say I’m not a great fan of fantasy novels， but then I remember how many fantasy novels I’ve read since the Narnia books and Lord of the Rings in a long-ago childhood。 However， The Merciless Ones is certainly not a children’s books and I wouldn’t classify it as “young adult” fiction either。 It has plenty of relevance of someone of my advanced age。 Namina Forna takes us for a second time into a cleverly imagined world which has enough detail to make it real but not so much that we get bogg I would say I’m not a great fan of fantasy novels， but then I remember how many fantasy novels I’ve read since the Narnia books and Lord of the Rings in a long-ago childhood。 However， The Merciless Ones is certainly not a children’s books and I wouldn’t classify it as “young adult” fiction either。 It has plenty of relevance of someone of my advanced age。 Namina Forna takes us for a second time into a cleverly imagined world which has enough detail to make it real but not so much that we get bogged down in lengthy descriptions and digressions。 That in itself reflects the writer’s art。 Too many fantasy writers feel a need to pad out their narratives with long lists of long-dead rulers and other distractions。 This author gets straight to the point。 Having said that， you don’t get all the detail up front。 As the narrative develops， new and often surprising details are revealed to the reader – and to the narrator， Deka – and things become more complicated and uncertain before the fog clears。 I won’t say any more about the plot except that this sequel is full of surprises and overturns many of the assumptions you might have been making at the end of The Gilded Ones。One thing I can’t help doing when I read a fantasy novel is trying to discern how much it relates to or derives from contemporary reality。 In the first volume we had a deeply patriarchal society fuelled by a religion that teaches female subjugation。 The religion is clearly an amalgam of our monotheistic with a priesthood， purity rituals and a holy text。 Girls are forbidden education and women must wear a mask and be chaperoned when they go out。 In the sequel we begin by believing that the patriarchs’ religion is false， their gods don’t exist and the only true gods are female。 However， as the story unfolds， the theology changes。 We move a long way away from a binary world of female and male and good and evil。 The only certainties are that Deka and her companions remain loyal to each other。 It’s a great myth （and I mean that in a positive sense） of enduring friendship。 Deka’s story doesn’t end with this novel and I can see a third volume on the horizon。 。。。more
Jessica Hesselink
，
I don’t think I’ve said how much this is my newest series obsession enough。 Best book I’ve read in a long time。
Aidan
，
I bought this book a few weeks ago， and it took a while to decide to start it。 I had forgotten most of the first book， as although it was good it didn’t stand out to me particularly。 All that out of the way， the second instalment here is phenomenal。 I’ve torn through about 80% of the book today and there is so much development， so many twists， and I’ve fallen back in love with this series。 10/10， I will definitely reread this book later。
Tilly
，
2 StarsI am gutted about this book。 I adored the first in this series and was so excited for this one but it completely let me down。 Unfortunately I got disconnected from the story pretty quickly。 This is because it seemed to me that the personalities from book 1 had just disappeared and so I felt no real connection to them at all。 I also didn't particularly enjoy the storyline and the direction the author decided to take it in。 I also found that it got a bit confusing at times and at others the 2 StarsI am gutted about this book。 I adored the first in this series and was so excited for this one but it completely let me down。 Unfortunately I got disconnected from the story pretty quickly。 This is because it seemed to me that the personalities from book 1 had just disappeared and so I felt no real connection to them at all。 I also didn't particularly enjoy the storyline and the direction the author decided to take it in。 I also found that it got a bit confusing at times and at others there were things that happened that were just too perfect or coincidental which put me off the story even more。 I'm gutted that this didn't work for me and I won't be continuing this series。 。。。more
Phil Cooper
，
A masterpiece of fantasy。
MexX
，
Macht gut nach dem ersten Band in gleicher Art und Weise weiter。
Tassa Jalal
，
I didn’t like this book as much as the first。 The book is too draggy at times and I was struggling to finish。
Celia
，
The Gilded Ones was such a wild ride that diving into book two gave me all the twitchy-fingered joy。 Unfortunately， I found this installment disappointing。 I still love Deka and all her raw and beautiful self， and I also love her friendships and ties to those she respects and admires。 But the slow pace in this one had my mind wandering。 I get it， Deka needs a bit of a breather after what went down in TGO， but like book one's， readers need that hook and I wasn't seeing it。 Deka's power also becam The Gilded Ones was such a wild ride that diving into book two gave me all the twitchy-fingered joy。 Unfortunately， I found this installment disappointing。 I still love Deka and all her raw and beautiful self， and I also love her friendships and ties to those she respects and admires。 But the slow pace in this one had my mind wandering。 I get it， Deka needs a bit of a breather after what went down in TGO， but like book one's， readers need that hook and I wasn't seeing it。 Deka's power also became an issue for me。 She's just now coming into them， but she reads like one who's had them forever。 I know this may sound strange， but I like to see a protagonist struggle with their newfound power。 One doesn't grasp the concept and role with a snap of his or her fingers。 Also， the deus ex machine just giving her more power every time something harder comes along。 I see this a lot in YA fantasy and I'm starting to wonder why so many authors do this。 The course of this series seems to have shifted dramatically， but I do hope book 3 will steer us back on the path。 。。。more
Jenna Waldman
，
I found this sequel entertaining， but not as satisfying as the first。 Although， I will still listen to the next in the series， because I'm curious enough to see how it unfolds。 I found this sequel entertaining， but not as satisfying as the first。 Although， I will still listen to the next in the series， because I'm curious enough to see how it unfolds。 。。。more
Emma MacDonald
，
In love love love with this book。 The emphasis on acceptance no matter who you are is so beautiful。 I also love the theme of balancing feminine and masculine to achieve balance！！ Can NOT wait for the third book ❤️❤️
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Merciless Ones
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Merciless Ones&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Merciless Ones&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0