Lying with Scorpions by Aleksandr Voinov

Adrastes does things Kendras can’t live with.Īnd alongside this, Kendras also struggles with his own identity. The game leaves him uneasy and uncomfortable. While he still feels the bone deep need to protect him, as the book and the political wrangles and struggle for power play out, Kendras becomes more and more disillusioned with Adrastes. Kendras does not like the King Adrastes’ becomes. At the heart of the plot is his struggle to find his place as the new Officer of the Scorpions, and his deep-rooted unease with his extra role as Adrastes’ bodyguard.

The whole book is, as with the first, told entirely from Kendras’ POV. I thought I expected it, I did expect it, and yet somehow, it took me by surprise. And though I was upset at the demise of a relationship I’d invested in from the previous book, the subtle disintegration of their bond was very well written. Though he and Kendras continue to share a relationship, sexual and otherwise, it doesn’t feel quite….right. While Kendras is uncomfortable with the lavish finery, it’s clear Adrastes isn’t….that he feels right at home. While Kendras takes on the vacant role of Officer, Adrastes returns to the power and riches from which he came. In the previous book, Kendras and Adrastes became lovers (of sorts, as everyone in their clan of Scorpions shares some sort of sexual bond), but in this book, it’s clear from the beginning that things have moved on.Īdrastes is no longer the Officer of the Scorpions, he is now the king, and any hopes I, or indeed Kendras, may have had that his new role won’t change him, are dashed from the start. Lying with Scorpions is the second book in the Memory of Scorpions series and picks up with Kendras after Adrastes has tentatively taken the throne of Dalman, and tells the tale of the struggle for power that follows. Nevertheless, I will try and dissect it the only way I know how….which is rambling… The plot is dense and convoluted, and I will definitely have to read this book over and over to fully appreciate its complexities. I really loved this book, but I know the review is going to be as complex to unpick as the book itself.

If you lie with Scorpions, you’d better have a taste for poison…

Lying with Scorpions by Aleksandr Voinov