The Crimson Campaign by Brian McClellan

This book is even uglier than the first. I think the gore was ramped up to 11 this time. The coup has created mass chaos and dozens of intrigues. Adro is coming apart at the seams, and the one man that held them together has been deemed dead. There seems to be no parting of the clouds. 

We again are following the story line of three men tied together by the, unlikely, common friend, Borbador, the last of his kind. Treachery still dogs Tamas's footsteps. Taniel is--changing. Adamant is stalking a sadistic kidnapper and running out of friends.

Through all this, I have to admit I began to like the revolutionary military fiction a little bit better. I didn't seem to get bogged down in Tamas's sections as I had with Promise of Blood. This go around I seemed to be more bogged down with Taniel's story line, despite it's religious intrigue and Ka-poel.

The intrigues were around every corner, and the action kept the story rolling along. The much improved editing also kept the reading pace quick. I ended The Crimson Campaign with more intention to complete the series than after book one.