A review by samusc
The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was incredibly excited for this book as The Final Strife was my favorite read of 2022, and this absolutely delivered!
Saara El-Arifi took a bunch of risks with this title, and executed them flawlessly:

  • Anoor and Sylah are apart for the entire book, and yet their love for one another still drives their decisions. 
     
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    Sylah is knocked out from a severe injury for a decent amount of the book, providing opportunity for strong character moments from Jond and the mysterious old man Niha. 
     
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    Anoor 's paranoia increases as she accuses nearly everyone in her inner circle of murder, which has heavy consequences. By the end of the book, she's made some truly awful decisions. While emotionally hard to read about, it makes sense given everything she's been through. She's a young traumatized women who's entire worldview has been rocked; she's ripe for manipulation.
  • Locations and cultures of people new to our main characters were revealed masterfully. By the end of the first book in the series, Sylah didn't have much to go off of beyond a map showing land beyond the sea and Loot's yellow blood. In comparison, by the end of this title, both the reader and characters of a much larger understanding of the world. This includes one of my favorite aspects of worldbuilding, also seen in the Roots of Chaos series, when groups of people have different explanations for similar religious phenomena, largely due to migration.
  • A big theme in The Battle Drum is sacrifice. Unfortunately, we lost many characters on this journey in brutally detailed ways. However, these heartbreaking moments are presented alongside hopeful ones, as is necessary in any fantasy (in my opinion). It's a joy to read about Hassa and Kwame's growing relationship, as well as Jond's adoption of a sand kitten. 

This installment in the Ending Fire Trilogy is a perfect example of what a second book in a fantasy trilogy can be, akin to The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri.
Once I got to the last third of this book last night, I had to finish it, there was just so much happening! It then took me over an hour to fall asleep because my mind was buzzing with everything these characters had gone through and predictions for the third book. 
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