2 out of 4 stars
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So, the second book in this series of five continues to disturb and shock. In my humble opinion, it does not get better after the first, as the author promises. I found myself more confused than ever with many added characters to try and keep track of. Whereas The Turn takes place two years after the apocalyptic event that still puzzles the survivors, The King of May is set only a month later. The two main characters Ashley and The Scholar continue to play a pivotal role. Their actions at the end of the first book have set off a new series of alarming and mysterious events. Amongst other things, the altered world is now populated with various gods and their respective powers. Most of them are vying for domination. Some of them just want to be left alone to get on with their tasks. As an aside, in case you haven’t yet read The Turn, you need to; these are not stand-alone novels.
The King of May, by Matthew Tysz, is bizarre, to say the least. A dancing king who is a god. The complex Cattleprod who can’t decide if he’s good or bad, and grows more powerful by the day. Floating islands that fly through the sky. The continuing themes of human misery, power and greed run through this story but in an even darker form than before. Cattleprod, Ashley, the Scholar, and The King of May all become intertwined in a no-holds-barred battle for supremacy over the last remaining humans on this vastly changed planet.
The warning is the same here as for the first book: this story is of an adult nature and is definitely not for the sensitive or the younger reader. Apart from brutal violence, it also has crude and obscene language and descriptions. I found myself cringing at various points, feeling that it wasn’t absolutely necessary for the story. One example is the character of Braden Hale. I’ll not go into detail here but suffice it to say that the story is bizarre enough without the addition of this man and his weird fetish. It seemed to me that the author was going for maximum shock value in this second book, often at the expense of a good tale. This played a large part in my not enjoying it as much as the first. I also found that the fantasy aspect just became too much. The story itself was so convoluted that I gave up trying to keep track of all the extra characters and events.
If I am to be completely honest, I lost interest in this novel about a quarter of the way through for those reasons, and will probably not read any more in this series.
One thing I do like, which I mentioned in my review of the first book, is the author’s very natural, easy writing style. If he were to keep his storyline a bit simpler and less complicated, I might read more of his work. I'm sure, too, that there are readers out there who will enjoy the author's over-the-top fantasy world.
Yet again the editing was of poor quality, and I found silly mistakes all the way through the novel. This has become annoying and for this reason, and the factors mentioned above, I rate The King of May 2 out of 4 stars.
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The King of May
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I quite enjoyed The Turn, though. Maybe have a read of my review of that one and see if it appeals to you? Appreciate your feedback, thank you! 
