The Spider by Leo Carew is a rip roaring follow up to his incredible debut The Wolf. It is sometimes hard to write reviews of books that are in a series due to the fact that I hate spoilers and even more hate spoiling it for other readers. Today. Even the back of books give away the plot if you buy the whole series and read the description. A review is no less true.
The second volume in the Northern Sky series is much darker that the first book. Carew makes it very that clear that none of his characters are infallible and just like people in the real world…they often make grievous mistakes. His writing is strong and with each book it turns to a level of poetic balance and brilliance that is quite rare in a market surrounded by new writers who feel they have to cater to every agenda the news and media regurgitate to the masses. Not Carew. The Spider is entertaining first and foremost with unmatched levels of character development. The reader finds themselves deeply attached to each character regardless of what side of the river they find themselves on.
There is some serious trickery in this novel, played out by some rather sticky characters. The way Carew writes combat scenes is masterful and brutal. They will make you sweat, bleed and at times stand up and cheer only before tearing your heart out.
Read the Spider. Enjoy it and take it for what it is. But do not be surprised when you turn the last past page and realize that you have just read fantasy written on a grand scale without it seeming like it was fantasy. There are no artsy ego-centric elves, fairies or wizards spewing skittles. There are some seriously mean folks in this book. If Robert E. Howard were still around I am sure he would shake Carew’s hand, offer to buy him a beer only before brandishing a pair of swords and offering to spar with him. I have not read anything about Carew being influenced by Conan or Howard’s work. But it would not surprise me one bit. ( )

The Spider is much darker / bleaker than The Wolf. Hit a bit close to home with some of the inter-character battles (human condition?). I really enjoyed the well-developed, not-perfect characters, and can't wait to read book 3!! ( )

The second instalment in the 'Under the Northern Sky' series and it's a ripping sequel - if you like your fantasy with some political machinations and some gripping battle tactics then this is for you! Leo Carew ups the ante in the action stakes with some seriously well written battle scenes. There's also a deeper level of intrigue as the spymaster from the South endures a series of ups and downs in fortune. 'The Spider' is a great bridge between the first establishment of this new world and its characters, into what will no doubt be a climactic final chapter!