el dang reviewed Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson
Faced with a coming apocalypse, a woman must reckon with her past to solve a …
Bitter, entirely devoid of subtlety, and very very good
5 stars
This is the rare sequel that I like even better than its predecessor. The action is all in one world this time, and that lets the magical physics element disappear into the background. It also lets Ashtown and Wiley City both feel more developed - they're much more complete places in my mind now. More importantly, this is a much more direct, much more straightforwardly angry book. Johnson clearly wanted to wield a chainsaw, and she's very good at that.
It was not an escapist read in 2025, but the conclusion was very satisfying.