War of the Snakes

Blog Tour: The War of the Snakes by Julian Cheek

This is one of the last stops on the blog tour of The War of the Snakes. I often do not do book tours, but when a fantasy ya pops up, like The War of the Snakes, I had to give it a read!

You might need a few breadcrumbs from book one, The Awakened, for this review to flow. Sam is grappling with the loss of this brother David. David’s death has ruptured Sam’s life. While coping with his grief, he enters a dream world called Maunga-Atua. Sam refuses to accept the existence of such a place because it is a crazy situation to be in. By no means is that an in-depth review of book one, but just enough to give you what you need. 🙂

This brings us to book two, The War of the Snakes. Regardless of how Sam feels about the existence of Maunga-Atua and his past adventure, there are bigger problems at hand. The creatures from Maunga-Atua are looking for Sam–on earth. He must quickly accept the existence of Maunga-Atua and his role in the world. Will he step up to the plate and save Maunga-Atua? Can Sam harness the power, his power, to save Manuga-Atua?

My thoughts:

The War of the Snakes is a tad bigger than book one The Awakened, the added weight is much needed to fully expand upon Maunga-Atua and the epic tale that unfolds. I would consider The Awakened a day read and The War of the Snakes a weekend read.

I liked The War of the Snakes, and I think any lover of fantasy will as well. Looking past the fantasy elements of this budding series, which are all interesting, I have to touch on Sam. Sam is the main character of the Ethereal Series. He is slowly processing the loss of his brother. Through his own memories and events that unfold in his quest, you see Sam grapple with his emotions. Sam growing as a character, was my favorite part of The War of Snakes.

One of my favorite quotes from The War of Snakes is below. It is not a happy one, but one to spoke to me as a reader.

The tragic sadness of a loss needed to be allowed its release, but more importantly, the loss was allowed to flow only IF one knew that ultimately it was OK to grieve….

The focus of the story is not on death or loss, but the journey those events push you on unwillingly. Sam didn’t want his brother to die, just as he didn’t want to be the “chosen one” for Maunga-Atua. But he tackled it. The War of Snakes is a story that will not only take you on a fantasy adventure but also an experience through your own emotions.

I am excited to see where book three takes us. What is next for Sam and his friends? I, like you, will have to wait until 2021 when book three is released.

I was given a copy of The War of Snakes for, but my thoughts are honest and mine alone :). Happy reading, guys!