Morningside Fall, Book 2 of the Legends of the Duskwalker series, is like the second book of many other trilogies. It acts as a bridge from the first book to the last and resolves little on its own. In this case Jay Posey also chooses not to do much world building, which was also lacking in the first book, and instead chooses to introduce a bunch of new characters to the storyline. Most of these new characters have military training which results in there being a lot of tactical squad based combat throughout which makes this book feel more like a military Sci-Fi novel than anything else. Although these characters all start out with rather similar military-esque personalities, they do eventually differentiate themselves and grow on you thus rightfully earning their place in the story.

After the events at the end of the first book, Wren and Cass find themselves in leadership roles in the city of Morningside, where things go from bad to worse rather quickly. Wren is thrust into the role of Governor after the death of his father and his attempts to rule with compassion are rather misplaced in this apocalyptic future. As is common for such stories, doing the right thing isn't always the right thing to do and Wren's moral decisions cause all kinds of problems. Problems that fracture his power base and eventually put him and Cass back on the run.

The main issue with the story returning to Wren and Cass on the run is that Three was the titular character in the first book and it was his presence that really made 'being on the run' quite interesting. Instead, this story feels like a lesser version of the one presented in the first book and it doesn't come together until an antagonist of substance is eventually established. This sets up the finale nicely but it isn't enough to elevate this book to the same level. Luckily, the final book manages to expertly combine the mystery offered by Three's persona in the first book with the military precision offered in this one to deliver a compelling conclusion to the series. So this book is worth it only if you plan to finish off the series by picking up Dawnbreaker.

Luke Daniels does an excellent job narrating military Sci-Fi novels so he is a great fit as the narrator of the audiobook version.