At the end of the previous book, we find the remaining of the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai chased from the city and across the Great Shangazi Desert by Meriam, the interloping blood mage and once-queen of Qaimir, now ripped from the blood ways, but no less driven by vengeance and ambition. The thirteen tribes of the desert have been attempting to unite against their common foes, but originally, that was the Twelve Kings and now, there's Meriam and Queen Alansal of Mirea. Who, exactly is the enemy that the tribes should band together to fight against? It's hard to say, when they have so many enemies, all of which are against each other, as well. And, if it's difficult for one person to decide, imagine how difficult it is to get thirteen tribes to agree...
It's up to Çeda, our favorite daughter of the desert, the White Wolf, herself, to bring the tribes together to thwart the plans of the young gods and to close the portal to the farther fields. If the young gods succeed in crossing that threshold, the bounds of the wrought destruction is unknown. It is foretold that it will destroy Sharakhai and unmake the Great Shangazi, but will it stop there? Would it destroy life and reality as they know it? This is the threat that Çeda must unify the tribes against. However, Hamid, a shaikh of one of the desert tribes who is viewed as Macide's successor, giving him a good bit of sway over the other tribes, save the Thirteenth tribe, is more concerned with seeking vengeance on Sharakhai. His anger and hatred for the kings and being ousted from the city has burned any compassion from his mind; he doesn't care what happens to the innocent bystanders in the city when they attack. It's up to Çeda to expose Hamid for the cruel and traitorous cad that he is, but in order to prove her case, she will have to find a way to share the acacia's visions with the tribes... and to convince the acacia to show the truth of Hamid's past.
Ultimately, the coming war will not merely include the remaining (ex-)Queen Meriam, Kings of Sharakhai and the desert tribes, but Queen Alansal's forces, the asarim, the enclave, the young gods, demons, Nalamae and even the elder gods. Expect action-filled sand-ship battles, daring strategies, subterfuge, and, well, more action, as Bradley P. Beaulieu brings The Song of the Shattered Sands to a tumultuous conclusion.
Thankfully, Bradley P. Beaulieu wraps up the book (and the series) with a lengthy Epilogue that provides an idea of the new normal after the events in the series (and, more to the point, this book). There are a couple of loose ends that could spin off into some further writing, but I would expect that, if anything, those would be some short stories here or there. A Desert Torn Asunder makes it fairly clear that the story of The Song of the Shattered Sands has reached its conclusion.
I highly recommend A Desert Torn Asunder, specifically, and The Song of the Shattered Sands series, in general. Grab yourself the six-pack of books, curl up in your favorite reading chair, play some desert sounds* in the background and practice a bit of social distancing as you take a magical journey to the Great Sharakhai to witness Çeda's story unfold. You'll be glad you did.
