Review by Karl Verhoven

How nice it is to see consideration for readers of this second volume with a summary provided of the first for those with short memories.

Of course, while it supplies the plot points that matter, absent are the character interactions and insights that made Book One so readable. The contracted resumé is humans and orcs need to put their mutual antagonism behind them to cope with the vicious and merciless new threat of the Vangol. As good faith, Orc healer Tara joined Cal Battlechild’s Last Man Standing group, but there’s been a disagreement and she departed alone.

G. Willow Wilson’s opening chapter doesn’t pick up in the obvious place, instead focussing on the Last Man Standing and their awareness of what has been lost. She follows up with a chapter detailing Tara’s regrets, then one in which neither greatly features. They don’t move the overall plot forward, but Wilson’s deft characterisation is what we really want, and it’s here in spades. A big part of that is Chris Wildgoose’s intuitive art, the postures and glances he draws revealing feeling, and it’s not just restricted to the main cast.

The plot eventually does move forward, at first gradually, then in a rush, and Wildgoose proves as good with action as he is with quieter moments. The design work on the first book serves him well as the Vangol come into greater prominence as the book continues, and he also makes the most of their subterranean surroundings.

It could be The Hunger and the Dusk ends here. While there are enough hints of what may come, there’s also the satisfaction of a particular story well told and brought to a satisfying end. If the first book captured your heart, Book Two will consummate the relationship. “History is not written in monuments, it is written in moments”.

Depending on budget, you may want to wait until September 2026’s publication of a Deluxe Edition combining both books.