Mantles of Oak and Iron

Turrim Archive, Book 2

By: Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

Narrated by: Benjamin Fife

Grayden thought he had four years to decide his future… he was wrong.

War is imminent. The Igyeum has already begun incursions across Telmondir’s borders. The headmaster of the military academy issues a new directive: all students will be fast-tracked through the program. They will be full-fledged defenders by the end of the year. But when a training exercise turns deadly, Grayden must keep his head and become the leader his friends need.

Captain Marik has witnessed evil beyond imagining. Enough to make him sign on to the wizard Dalmir’s cause. But will the council of the west accept a pirate among their ranks? And will Marik’s crew join this mission, or will they consider him a traitor to all they once stood for?

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains lurks a hidden danger that threatens them all.

©2024 Jenelle Leanne Schmidt (P)2024 Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

Soooo good!

Definitely recommend! This is Book 2 of The Turrim Archive, so you’ll want to start with The Orb and The Airship (Book 1)—get ready for quite the adventure, the chess-board drama, characters you will love… Okay, I’m going to start Book 3 now.

Myriad characters quickly approaching intersection

Continuing on the heels of The Orb and The Airship (which contained a good amount of world building and character introductions), this second book begins the freefall of turbulent and chaotic actions by all players involved in securing the region, whether it be for benevolent or nefarious purposes. There are soldiers training for combat. Wizards practicing magic. Spies, likely on both sides, infiltrating opposing camps looking for advantages. Murder. Mayhem. And mysteries yet to be explained. The stories (both books, so far) are very character centered while providing detailed and tactile descriptions of the landscapes where we find them. Benjamin Fife brings each line of text to life with nuanced and charismatic voices spanning generations and genders, while also tugging at our emotions where appropriate. Start (or continue) your fantastic journey through the Turrim Archive and experience its countless wonders. [Disclosure: I received this title for free and listened at 2.1x.]

Part two of five: read in order

Mantles of Oak and Iron is the second book in the five part Turrim Archives.

While the first book did have a large cast it did eventually bring everyone together.

This book splits the party.

Personally I was more invested in Grayden and the other academy students than the more political plotline of the other characters. Though, I enjoyed all of Delmar's lore drops.

The narrator is one I keep coming back to. Benjamin Fife has an excellent talent for voices. No two Characters sound quite the same.