D.A. Chan’s The Kindred Chronicles: Gathering Storm is a sweeping epic of war, identity, power, and the complex webs of loyalty and love. Set in a rich and layered world teeming with fantastical cultures and mythic structures, this third installment dives into the aftermath of a major conflict and sets the stage for a larger confrontation with a corporate villainy that blends magic with modern industry. We follow Chris, a reluctant hero burdened with both trauma and responsibility, alongside a cast of warriors, mystics, and rulers, each with tangled motivations and deep emotional wounds. As the characters navigate political alliances and personal betrayals, the book pushes forward with high-stakes missions and wrenching personal decisions, all laced with lyrical prose and carefully built lore.

Reading this felt like slipping into a world I didn’t want to leave. The writing is confident and lush, but never overbearing. There’s something poetic about the way Chan strings his sentences together, even when he’s describing something as brutal as a blade through bone. The worldbuilding is top-notch. You can smell the marble in the war rooms, feel the dust of battlefields, and get lost in the shifting allegiances of ancient houses. The dialogue, particularly the kindred tongue, gave the book an almost sacred cadence. And those moments of silence between characters? They said just as much—sometimes more—than the battles. Sometimes the pace slows in philosophical musings or dense political mechanics. But even then, I didn’t mind lingering. I liked the thinking space it gave me.

Emotionally, this book hit me harder than I expected. Chris is haunted in a way that’s painfully familiar—trauma doesn’t just disappear, and Chan gets that. Watching him fight while shouldering his ghosts is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring. Elline and Empyrean’s relationship, especially, brought a kind of intimate storm to the plot. Their love was more than just romance, it was a war of wills and ideals. I didn’t always like Empyrean, but I understood him. The jealousy, the pride, the grief, it all made him maddeningly relatable. And Grace is the wild card, the heartbeat of something new and unpredictable. I found myself caring about her more than I expected.

If you love your fantasy high-stakes and high-emotion, Gathering Storm is your kind of book. It’s perfect for readers who want more than just sword fights and magic—they want characters who bleed, who doubt, who love fiercely and fail spectacularly. It’s not a light read, but it’s a worthy one. I’d hand this book to fans of The Stormlight Archive or The Broken Earth series in a heartbeat.

Pages: 454 | ASIN: B0FB8J837R