Ancestral by Nathan Field (#2 in The Many)

This is the second book in a planned trilogy and you definitely need to read THE MANY before beginning this one as you will miss the backstory that explains the events that happen in this one.

Dawn Flint and Karl Morgan are on the run and on the hunt for the faceless men. They've figured out that Dawn's pregnancy is the main thing keeping them alive as The Many have eyes and ears everywhere. Dawn and Karl are seeking out anyone with knowledge and information about this secretive group in hopes of finding out their ultimate plans. What is the goal of these monsters and can they be stopped? Anytime the stories of what this cabal has done come out, abject fear and silence are the reactions. Armed with some of the secrets, Dawn and Karl may have a plan. NO SPOILERS.

This was typical of most middle books in any trilogy. There's a lot of time spent with absolutely nothing happening and the author really shovels out completely banal details about Dawn and Karl and their activities. The two don't really have meaningful conversations about what they are doing and thinking as they aren't always honest with each other. Dawn's motives for their quest are not the same as Karl's. I can't really say that I cared at all for the character of Dawn despite all the awful stuff that's happened to her and her behavior and attitude got old and she seemed very immature. Karl didn't score much higher for me, but he was trying to be her protector even though kept in the dark floundering around wondering what the heck was going on with Dawn all the time. Tedious. The best part of the book is the church scene and glad that my slog through paid off as I was hoping for something redemptive after all those pages. So much of the premise is ludicrous and it's hard to continue the suspension of disbelief at times. Truth told, it reminded me a lot of Dean Koontz's Jane Hawk series though this one is not quite on the same level. It's a good enough thriller and provided the requisite entertainment but I mostly just wanted to finish it. A lot of the narrative just meandered with lots of excessive details and interactions that weren't advancing the plot. At this moment I'm not sure that I will read the final book, but who knows. I have a thing about finishing what I start.

Thank you to NetGalley and Silvermac Publishing for the e-book ARC to read and review. I read #1 and #2 back to back.

This is the second book in The Many trilogy and not a standalone.