Nights of Villjamur

I don't know that I want to get sucked into another continuing fantasy series.  I hate forgetting the plot between books.  I'm hoping to stick to my guns on this and not dive into Mark Charan Newton's Legends of the Red Sun series, but it's going to be tough. I've read nothing but good things about the recently published in the US Nights of Villjamur.  The second book is already about in the UK.  Lucky Brits.

It's the layered story that appeals to me.  At the core of the story is a noirish investigation into the murder of a councilor--reviews note that this is a clever vehicle for introducing readers to the inner workings of Newton's fantasy land.  The murder happens in the city of Villjamur while it's being filled with refugees seeking sanctuary from the impending ice age.  The emperor in Villjamur has committed suicide, and a commander of the Nightguard has been sent to the Boreal Archipelago to retrieve the emperor's daughter so that she may take the throne.  Reviews also hint at political intrigue, in addition to an unknown danger moving in from the north.  As a fan of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, any mention of political intrigue and dangers from the north in a fantasy novel tend to catch my attention.

I've gathered much of my info from the Speculative Horizons review of the novel, which I'm singling out from my other sources on account of it's two-part interview (part 1, part 2) with author Mark Charan Newton. I'm fairly confident that I'll enjoy Nights of Villjamur, and will immediately need info on the next book, which is discussed in the interview.  That's another one of those hassles of getting sucked into a good series.  I always want the next book ASAP.