Review – World Warden (Wurl #2) by Albert Nothlit

This was a fabulous second book in the Wurl series. I loved Book 1, Life Seed, which I reviewed last year. (Read the review here.) There is always a danger with a second book that once the world has been established, there’s not a lot left to the story. Not so in this case. If anything, there is even more to explore on the planet, as boyfriends Elias and Tristan go on a quest to rescue Elias’s younger brother, Oscar, and a precious life-giving egg from the clutches of Dresde, a Wurl queen with a grudge.

The plot is complex, and you need to keep paying attention if you’re not going to lose your way. There was a bit of a lag in the middle of the book, when Elias and Tristan are marooned in the middle of the ocean, but apart from that small gripe, I loved the fast pacing of the book and the sweet relationship forming between Oscar and his captor’s slave, Samantha.

It was a great romp through a world not dissimilar to our own, with terrifying creatures and inhospitable territory. I loved Samantha’s family and their very human story and emotions, which kept the story relatable even for a non-sci fi reader such as myself. The action scenes were exciting and worked well. It was a heart-pounding ride at times, which I had to take several days to read, but I love this author’s writing. He knows how to create relatable characters and build worlds and sew it all together to make a great adventure which is definitely worth checking out.

BLURB

Now that colonists Elias Trost and Tristan MacLeod have learned of the existence of another intelligent species on this planet, their life on New Skye has become even more perilous. Dresde, the ruthless wurl queen, has kidnapped Elias’s brother, Oscar, along with the egg of a rival queen.

Oscar Trost finds danger and privation under Dresde’s reign, but he isn’t alone. A small group of humans from the original colony ship, long lost from memory, live on the eastern continent as slaves to Dresde’s horrific whims. In order to survive, Oscar must find his courage and prove himself to these others while he awaits the rescue he is sure will come.

Elias and Tristan have to find Oscar and the egg, and fast. Every day their search becomes more desperate. But sprawling between them and Dresde’s lair is the untamed alien wilderness, teeming with threats from ground and sky. And in the vast ocean they must cross lies something else—something ancient that should not be disturbed….