Title: A History of Madness
Author: Rebecca Crunden
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi/Dystopian
Publication: 14 July, 2017
My rating: 5/5

The four remaining fugitives are now spread across the Kingdom. And with the fate of the others unknown to him, Nate Anteros prays for a fast execution.

Yet execution does not come. After a meeting with the King which leaves Nate questioning his sanity, he’s sent to a workcamp in Argon Basin for five years of hard labour. It’s there that Nate learns what became of his friends upon their arrest.

And as his strength returns to him, and he’s plagued by dreams which are much too real to be ignored, Nate decides five years is far too long to wait …

A History of Madness by Rebecca Crunden is the second book in the Outlands Pentalogy series and one of my favourite reads of the year. Last year I read the first book, A Touch of Darkness, and was very excited to read the second book, A History of Madness, as the first book ended with a cliffhanger. I must say that I loved this book more than the first one.

The story begins with the prison hangman of Cutta educating some of the local children about the horrific punishments of their Kingdom and the importance of not violating their law. The two main protagonists, Nate and Kitty, covered most of the plot and their characters were well described.

I liked how the author made the character Tommy( Nate’s brother) alive throughout the book without his presence in any of the scenes. Nate was not very expressive in the first book, but we got to see his emotional side in this book. You can feel his unconditional love for his younger brother Tommy in his every conversations.

There are so many unique secondary characters in this book and their part was also equally intriguing. Each of their backstory helped me understand why and how they are connected with Nate’s life. I also liked Engus chapter where we get to know how Radiants see humans. Like her previous book, this one also ends with a cliffhanger. I can’t wait to read the third book in this series which I’m sure is going to be in Tommy’s point of view.

In short, Rebecca Crunden’s Outlands series is an underrated gem and the best dystopian fiction I read till date. It has adventure, slow burn romance, sibling bond, travel trope and everything that can be expected of a good novel. If you love dystopian fiction, then do yourself a favor and pick this up. I highly recommend this series.

*Thanks to the author for the review copy. All opinions are my own.*