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Under the Northern Sky #1
The Wolf
The Wolf is a thrilling, savagely visceral, politically nuanced, and unexpectedly wry exploration of power - and how far one will go to defend it.
Violence and death have come to the land under the Northern Sky.
The Anakim dwell in the desolate forests and mountains beyond the black river, the land under the Northern Sky. Their ancient ways are forged in Unthank silver and carved in the grey stone of their heartland, their lives measured out in the turning of centuries, not years.
By contrast, the Sutherners live in the moment, their vitality much more immediate and ephemeral than their Anakim neighbors. Fragile is the peace that has existed between these very different races - and that peace is shattered when the Suthern armies flood the lands to the north. These two races revive their age-old hatred and fear of each other. Within the maelstrom of war, two leaders will rise to lead their people to victory.
Only one will succeed.
Violence and death have come to the land under the Northern Sky.
The Anakim dwell in the desolate forests and mountains beyond the black river, the land under the Northern Sky. Their ancient ways are forged in Unthank silver and carved in the grey stone of their heartland, their lives measured out in the turning of centuries, not years.
By contrast, the Sutherners live in the moment, their vitality much more immediate and ephemeral than their Anakim neighbors. Fragile is the peace that has existed between these very different races - and that peace is shattered when the Suthern armies flood the lands to the north. These two races revive their age-old hatred and fear of each other. Within the maelstrom of war, two leaders will rise to lead their people to victory.
Only one will succeed.
465 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2018
About the author
Leo Carew
5 books394 followersThe third of four children, Leo Carew grew up in the centre of London, in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Inspired by audiobooks, he developed a late interest in reading and began trying his hand at writing soon afterwards.
Carew read Biological Anthropology at Jesus College, Cambridge, after which he pursued a long-standing love of cold and wild places to the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard - Old Norse for 'The Cold Edge.' Here, he lived in a tent for a year, training and working as an Arctic guide, and subsequently an explorer. This was also when he revisited a novel he had begun at the age of 12, which was rewritten as The Wolf, the first book in his Under the Northern Sky trilogy.
A reluctant return to London followed to pursue a career as an army medic, during which he completed the sequels - The Spider, and The Cuckoo. Carew currently works as a British Army doctor, plotting his next book, and his next expedition to high north, south or altitude.
Carew read Biological Anthropology at Jesus College, Cambridge, after which he pursued a long-standing love of cold and wild places to the High Arctic archipelago of Svalbard - Old Norse for 'The Cold Edge.' Here, he lived in a tent for a year, training and working as an Arctic guide, and subsequently an explorer. This was also when he revisited a novel he had begun at the age of 12, which was rewritten as The Wolf, the first book in his Under the Northern Sky trilogy.
A reluctant return to London followed to pursue a career as an army medic, during which he completed the sequels - The Spider, and The Cuckoo. Carew currently works as a British Army doctor, plotting his next book, and his next expedition to high north, south or altitude.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 530 reviews
May 22, 2023
Jaw-droppingly wonderful in every way. One of the best political fantasy stories I've ever read.
Watch my video review by clicking here.
Watch my video review by clicking here.
May 6, 2018
I got this beautiful stained/numbered/signed edition with bookmark the day before my BDay! Sweet.
Loved it!!
Mel 🖤🐾🐺
Loved it!!
Mel 🖤🐾🐺
August 3, 2019
A book much stronger in the blood of war than in the quieter machinations of politics.
Split in to three main parts that cover the events of a single Autumn, Winter, and Spring, the book sees the Sutherners of Albion (which just so happens to be oldest name of Great Britain) demolish a long held peace and bring war to the ancient race of Anakim. It is focused through the clash of three main players: Roper, the new 'Black Lord' of the Anakim, whose abrupt empowerment following the death of his father places him in a position that is tenuous at best; his main rival, Uvoren, a famous Anakim warrior whose popularity and position at the head of the Sacred Guard allows his deadly ambition to challenge the throne; and Bellamus, a wiley Sutherner determined to break out of his low-born status by starting and winning a war in the North. Each of the three will do whatever it takes to stay at the top, pitting them against each other in an uncompromising battle of wills played out though savage battles and political intrigue.
The first part of the book hits hard with brutal scenes of death and betrayal, quickly sketched characterisations that nevertheless effectively reveal the essence of each person, and more than a few surprises. Yet once the basics are all established, things start to fall apart, for Roper and the novel. The challenges faced by young Roper as he struggles to find his place rapidly invests the reader in his plight, as do the cast of characters he rather magically brings to his side. It is here that Carew does his best work, bringing colourful and appealing characters to the page, as well as injecting some real humour. I must note, however, that having one snarky woman who helps a bit in the background but also , does not a good female character make, and there are so few women that their portrayal matters. Anyway....rather than a gradual evolution, Roper morphs from threatened youngster to skilled leader far too quickly, then makes a series of bizarre political and moral choices against the advice of his closest allies. This factional to-and-fro in the middle section of the book is SLOW, without the necessary character development it would take to make it interesting. The art of war is portrayed more vibrantly, with scenes of one-on-one combat by far the most impressive, though some of the larger battle sequences run on just that bit too long. Even here, there are some questionable decisions by the author to skip over battles and only have them recounted in retrospect-the first time was plot driven and necessary, but then again? Not so much.
Additionally, the world in which this is played out felt too ephemeral, somewhat of a surprise considering so much was over described. The author happily spends three pages detailing a fortress or a wild hunt, but rather than add to the wider picture, these mini segments took the reader further away from the action. There was so much time spent not doing or saying anything important that skimming became inevitable, particularly in the second and third sections of the book, which were padded with irrelevant scenes, repetition, and unnecessary conversations. At times, the pacing was glacial. The natural world fared somewhat better. The maps at the beginning of the book indicate the Northern Sky of the Anakim covers lands which approximate everything above modern day Leeds and is it easy to imagine an amplified version of that landscape, a wilder and more unwelcoming place filled with dangerous terrain and predatory beasts. The Anakim are an essential reflection of their home- there's a chilling scene played out where the invading army is surprised by Anakim warriors high in the mountains, appearing silently out of the mist... truly the monsters of Suthern legend. Yet while these individual scenes have significant impact, the greater impression is of disconnection- the author may have told too much, but it was too little of what the reader really wanted to know.
Overall, some promising signs, but the failure in cohesion and pacing drained far too much of the fun.
ARC via Netgalley
Split in to three main parts that cover the events of a single Autumn, Winter, and Spring, the book sees the Sutherners of Albion (which just so happens to be oldest name of Great Britain) demolish a long held peace and bring war to the ancient race of Anakim. It is focused through the clash of three main players: Roper, the new 'Black Lord' of the Anakim, whose abrupt empowerment following the death of his father places him in a position that is tenuous at best; his main rival, Uvoren, a famous Anakim warrior whose popularity and position at the head of the Sacred Guard allows his deadly ambition to challenge the throne; and Bellamus, a wiley Sutherner determined to break out of his low-born status by starting and winning a war in the North. Each of the three will do whatever it takes to stay at the top, pitting them against each other in an uncompromising battle of wills played out though savage battles and political intrigue.
The first part of the book hits hard with brutal scenes of death and betrayal, quickly sketched characterisations that nevertheless effectively reveal the essence of each person, and more than a few surprises. Yet once the basics are all established, things start to fall apart, for Roper and the novel. The challenges faced by young Roper as he struggles to find his place rapidly invests the reader in his plight, as do the cast of characters he rather magically brings to his side. It is here that Carew does his best work, bringing colourful and appealing characters to the page, as well as injecting some real humour. I must note, however, that having one snarky woman who helps a bit in the background but also , does not a good female character make, and there are so few women that their portrayal matters. Anyway....rather than a gradual evolution, Roper morphs from threatened youngster to skilled leader far too quickly, then makes a series of bizarre political and moral choices against the advice of his closest allies. This factional to-and-fro in the middle section of the book is SLOW, without the necessary character development it would take to make it interesting. The art of war is portrayed more vibrantly, with scenes of one-on-one combat by far the most impressive, though some of the larger battle sequences run on just that bit too long. Even here, there are some questionable decisions by the author to skip over battles and only have them recounted in retrospect-the first time was plot driven and necessary, but then again? Not so much.
Additionally, the world in which this is played out felt too ephemeral, somewhat of a surprise considering so much was over described. The author happily spends three pages detailing a fortress or a wild hunt, but rather than add to the wider picture, these mini segments took the reader further away from the action. There was so much time spent not doing or saying anything important that skimming became inevitable, particularly in the second and third sections of the book, which were padded with irrelevant scenes, repetition, and unnecessary conversations. At times, the pacing was glacial. The natural world fared somewhat better. The maps at the beginning of the book indicate the Northern Sky of the Anakim covers lands which approximate everything above modern day Leeds and is it easy to imagine an amplified version of that landscape, a wilder and more unwelcoming place filled with dangerous terrain and predatory beasts. The Anakim are an essential reflection of their home- there's a chilling scene played out where the invading army is surprised by Anakim warriors high in the mountains, appearing silently out of the mist... truly the monsters of Suthern legend. Yet while these individual scenes have significant impact, the greater impression is of disconnection- the author may have told too much, but it was too little of what the reader really wanted to know.
Overall, some promising signs, but the failure in cohesion and pacing drained far too much of the fun.
ARC via Netgalley
October 19, 2018
Book Reviewed by Steve on www.whisperingstories.com
The Wolf tells the tale of Roper, son of Kynortas, the Black Lord. When Kynortas is felled during a failed battle against the Sutherners, control of the legions and the Black Kingdom is instantly bequest to Roper, forcing him to make the most difficult decision on the battlefield.
On his return to the Black Kingdom, he has to face the music. An inexperienced ruler facing opposition from everywhere possible, including the Captain of the Sacred Guard, Uvoren, Roper has to use all of his strength and cunning to fortify his position as the Black Lord. Quickly developing political skills, Roper learns where he needs to make allies and where he needs to ultimately befriend people, that even the Black Lord himself shouldn’t be associated with, putting not just his position, but his life in danger.
During this journey, Roper twists and turns to try and carry favour with the people of the Black Kingdom, getting help along the way from a few trusted allies. The only real way to gain the complete support of his subjects is to take revenge on the Sutherners for what they did to the forces of the Black Kingdom, and what they did to his father. Roper has the ultimate test ahead of him.
The Wolf is set in medieval times, with armies of pike men, cavalry and berserkers, where the sword is typically the weapon of choice. If you don’t know much about this era, you needn’t worry. Leo does a wonderful job of setting scenes. His descriptions of buildings, rooms and atmosphere are fantastic and it is very easy to put yourself in the scene, right there with the characters. The battle scenes would be right at home in the film Braveheart and are wonderfully detailed.
I’m not a particularly fast reader (3-4 weeks for a book), but I could not put this book down, finishing it in barely a week. I couldn’t wait to see how Roper would overcome his next challenge or see who else would choose to go up against him. There is so much more that I could have included in the synopsis that I have written, but I really didn’t want to spoil the events of the book, and there are many of them.
With a fast pace and wonderfully descriptive writing, The Wolf is well worth a read, even if the medieval time isn’t your normal area of interest. This book is so easy to read and you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it. If I had one criticism of the book, I would say that some of the chapters could be shorter – I’m a fan of the sort of length that Dan Brown uses, making it easy to put the book down when you realise that you’ve been reading it for too long – but I have to say, with this book, even when you do realise that you’ve been reading it too long, you still won’t want to put it down!
I am now eagerly looking forward to the second book in the series, The Spider, which is released April 2019.
The Wolf tells the tale of Roper, son of Kynortas, the Black Lord. When Kynortas is felled during a failed battle against the Sutherners, control of the legions and the Black Kingdom is instantly bequest to Roper, forcing him to make the most difficult decision on the battlefield.
On his return to the Black Kingdom, he has to face the music. An inexperienced ruler facing opposition from everywhere possible, including the Captain of the Sacred Guard, Uvoren, Roper has to use all of his strength and cunning to fortify his position as the Black Lord. Quickly developing political skills, Roper learns where he needs to make allies and where he needs to ultimately befriend people, that even the Black Lord himself shouldn’t be associated with, putting not just his position, but his life in danger.
During this journey, Roper twists and turns to try and carry favour with the people of the Black Kingdom, getting help along the way from a few trusted allies. The only real way to gain the complete support of his subjects is to take revenge on the Sutherners for what they did to the forces of the Black Kingdom, and what they did to his father. Roper has the ultimate test ahead of him.
The Wolf is set in medieval times, with armies of pike men, cavalry and berserkers, where the sword is typically the weapon of choice. If you don’t know much about this era, you needn’t worry. Leo does a wonderful job of setting scenes. His descriptions of buildings, rooms and atmosphere are fantastic and it is very easy to put yourself in the scene, right there with the characters. The battle scenes would be right at home in the film Braveheart and are wonderfully detailed.
I’m not a particularly fast reader (3-4 weeks for a book), but I could not put this book down, finishing it in barely a week. I couldn’t wait to see how Roper would overcome his next challenge or see who else would choose to go up against him. There is so much more that I could have included in the synopsis that I have written, but I really didn’t want to spoil the events of the book, and there are many of them.
With a fast pace and wonderfully descriptive writing, The Wolf is well worth a read, even if the medieval time isn’t your normal area of interest. This book is so easy to read and you will get a lot of enjoyment out of it. If I had one criticism of the book, I would say that some of the chapters could be shorter – I’m a fan of the sort of length that Dan Brown uses, making it easy to put the book down when you realise that you’ve been reading it for too long – but I have to say, with this book, even when you do realise that you’ve been reading it too long, you still won’t want to put it down!
I am now eagerly looking forward to the second book in the series, The Spider, which is released April 2019.
December 9, 2022
On re-read/audio: 4.5⭐
I enjoyed the audio way more and a lot of the stuff I found dumb bypassed my brain the second time. Really enjoyed and was going to read the 2nd one except that Liene betrayed me so now I refuse.
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3.5 stars
I enjoyed the audio way more and a lot of the stuff I found dumb bypassed my brain the second time. Really enjoyed and was going to read the 2nd one except that Liene betrayed me so now I refuse.
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3.5 stars
July 31, 2021
I really enjoyed this much more then I thought I would have, to be honest. Basing this off of the mixed reviews I have seen on it prior to picking it up
The politics of the story had me intrigued. There are some likable characters and some to full of themselves that you want to see fall.
The first 100ish pages I knew it wasn't going to be a 5 star book for me. There too many moments that I got taken out of the story, a tad slow and overly descriptive (and I like descriptive) but it didn't flow the same as other overly descriptive books I have read.
Despite that I was still very intrigued because the plot and the battles keep me reading. I love a good political fantasy. I had this sectioned off into daily pages that I wanted to read for the week, I found myself reading ahead of schedule each day. I finished last night, it should have been today.
There is a lot that we have not seen and I look forward to reading book to because I think it's just going to get even better.
The politics of the story had me intrigued. There are some likable characters and some to full of themselves that you want to see fall.
The first 100ish pages I knew it wasn't going to be a 5 star book for me. There too many moments that I got taken out of the story, a tad slow and overly descriptive (and I like descriptive) but it didn't flow the same as other overly descriptive books I have read.
Despite that I was still very intrigued because the plot and the battles keep me reading. I love a good political fantasy. I had this sectioned off into daily pages that I wanted to read for the week, I found myself reading ahead of schedule each day. I finished last night, it should have been today.
There is a lot that we have not seen and I look forward to reading book to because I think it's just going to get even better.
December 22, 2018
my blog
Have you ever read a book that you were so dead certain you would love because it incorporates everything you’re interested in, but then are let down so horribly that you don’t even know what you like anymore? Well, that is this book for me! War, Norse influence, with a bloody twist and its own language, it sounded so cool to me. However, it was only an interesting premise with a less than engaging plot line. Such a cool idea for a story, i really wish it delivered more for me.
The writing style is really what did it in! It was just so “to the point” with little to no emotion added to it. It just seemed to drone on and on, the chapters each getting longer as you continue and it really was a struggle for me to finish. The book is very much founded on politics. Most of it is the kingdoms/legions discussing politics and war, but it all just seems to go around in circles and there are no decisive actions taken until the very end.
The characters are also quite plain, and it didn’t seem like it was a priority to Carew to actually flesh them out. Roper, our main character is intelligent, strong, and a born leader but after fails as well as wins, he doesn’t seem to grow at all and just remains the same emotionless character from start to finish. The rest of the characters each had a role to play but again they felt stuck in that role and didn’t deviate at all. Where are the emotions and feelings in this?? I just couldn’t connect to anyone at all and that contributed to my struggle.
The plot is actually interesting though. Two warring Kingdoms, both completely different, from looks to actions. Competing for title and land in a barren and brutal landscape. If this plot was actually focused on more, than it would have been really interesting, but unfortunately it was just too political for me to cope with. Even one of the battles was entirely skipped over, and the battles were the only interesting/engaging part…Why would you skip this? That being said the ending was pretty spectacular which is why i gave this book an additional star, but after i finished it i just kept thinking “why wasn’t the entire book written like this.”
Big letdown for such a cool concept. I just couldn’t get into a story with poorly developed characters and so much talking/arguing throughout. I do wish i could write a better review for this but in the end, i always put honesty first and this book just wasn’t for me.
Have you ever read a book that you were so dead certain you would love because it incorporates everything you’re interested in, but then are let down so horribly that you don’t even know what you like anymore? Well, that is this book for me! War, Norse influence, with a bloody twist and its own language, it sounded so cool to me. However, it was only an interesting premise with a less than engaging plot line. Such a cool idea for a story, i really wish it delivered more for me.
The writing style is really what did it in! It was just so “to the point” with little to no emotion added to it. It just seemed to drone on and on, the chapters each getting longer as you continue and it really was a struggle for me to finish. The book is very much founded on politics. Most of it is the kingdoms/legions discussing politics and war, but it all just seems to go around in circles and there are no decisive actions taken until the very end.
The characters are also quite plain, and it didn’t seem like it was a priority to Carew to actually flesh them out. Roper, our main character is intelligent, strong, and a born leader but after fails as well as wins, he doesn’t seem to grow at all and just remains the same emotionless character from start to finish. The rest of the characters each had a role to play but again they felt stuck in that role and didn’t deviate at all. Where are the emotions and feelings in this?? I just couldn’t connect to anyone at all and that contributed to my struggle.
The plot is actually interesting though. Two warring Kingdoms, both completely different, from looks to actions. Competing for title and land in a barren and brutal landscape. If this plot was actually focused on more, than it would have been really interesting, but unfortunately it was just too political for me to cope with. Even one of the battles was entirely skipped over, and the battles were the only interesting/engaging part…Why would you skip this? That being said the ending was pretty spectacular which is why i gave this book an additional star, but after i finished it i just kept thinking “why wasn’t the entire book written like this.”
Big letdown for such a cool concept. I just couldn’t get into a story with poorly developed characters and so much talking/arguing throughout. I do wish i could write a better review for this but in the end, i always put honesty first and this book just wasn’t for me.
November 26, 2022
I liked this overall but nothing really stuck with me or blew me away. The combat was pretty well done and I think excelled when there were 1:1 style fight scenes. I enjoyed how much of it reminded me of or felt like Vikings and The Last Kingdom and damn near every time someone said "lord" I just heard Uhtred talking. Also, this is definitely Vikings because there is a family named Lothbrok. Also also, Albion? That's Fable!
April 3, 2018
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
While I enjoyed this book while reading, I find that overall my impression is that it is just an okay read. The book has a very Norse feel to it (in me limited experience) and is about two cultures at war.
The Anakim are the Northerners who have a culture of battle and a deep-seated love of nature. They are long-lived, have an oral tradition, and have very little art. The Suthern folk are more like medieval humans. Both sides dislike the other but have been at a limited peace. Then an upstart Suthern commoner, Bellamus, has a plan to use the Anakim in a plot to gain power and fame. The Northerner, Roper, is suddenly thrust into a position of power when his father is killed. Can he keep the Anakim intact with also fighting a civil war from within?
I felt that the characters, battles, and politics were a little flat. Me favourite sections were the discussions of the culture of the Anakim and particularly their relationship with nature and hardship. I also liked the civil war elements of the Anakim sections and the parts that took place at the Northern keep. Roper’s wife was awesome and I wish she would have played a bigger part.
While in general I cheered for the Anakim side, I did occasionally find Roper to be a ineffectual leader whose successes seemed more lucky than skillful. Also the set-up for the next book was a bit abrupt in the end. I will potentially be reading the next book in the series but will wait for me crew’s reviews before making that decision.
Side note: I wish that fantasy authors would stop using the North as lands of ice, snow, and barbarians and the South as lands of heat, culture, and learning. There be other cardinal points, folks!
So lastly . . .
Thank ye Orbit Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
While I enjoyed this book while reading, I find that overall my impression is that it is just an okay read. The book has a very Norse feel to it (in me limited experience) and is about two cultures at war.
The Anakim are the Northerners who have a culture of battle and a deep-seated love of nature. They are long-lived, have an oral tradition, and have very little art. The Suthern folk are more like medieval humans. Both sides dislike the other but have been at a limited peace. Then an upstart Suthern commoner, Bellamus, has a plan to use the Anakim in a plot to gain power and fame. The Northerner, Roper, is suddenly thrust into a position of power when his father is killed. Can he keep the Anakim intact with also fighting a civil war from within?
I felt that the characters, battles, and politics were a little flat. Me favourite sections were the discussions of the culture of the Anakim and particularly their relationship with nature and hardship. I also liked the civil war elements of the Anakim sections and the parts that took place at the Northern keep. Roper’s wife was awesome and I wish she would have played a bigger part.
While in general I cheered for the Anakim side, I did occasionally find Roper to be a ineffectual leader whose successes seemed more lucky than skillful. Also the set-up for the next book was a bit abrupt in the end. I will potentially be reading the next book in the series but will wait for me crew’s reviews before making that decision.
Side note: I wish that fantasy authors would stop using the North as lands of ice, snow, and barbarians and the South as lands of heat, culture, and learning. There be other cardinal points, folks!
So lastly . . .
Thank ye Orbit Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
September 20, 2024
💫I’ve read books about robots with more feelings💫
The Anakims and the humans are at war, all because a stupid man wanted to play with swords. On top of losing men in battle, the heir to the Anakim’s throne, Roper, has to deal with the internal fights among the different houses and the continuous assassination threats carried by the hand of a magical, mysterious society that works in the shadows. With no support, Roper would have to do the impossible in order to save not only his life, but his whole species.
The Wolf started strong: we are in the middle of the battle, there is blood and betrayal and a lot of action. I couldn’t stop reading and I was sure this was going to be one of the best fantasy books I’ve read this year. It’s one of those books focused on giving you plot, so it’s very engaging when you start reading it, but when you reach the two/three hundred page mark you realize the characterization is very bland and you don’t care about anything that’s happening. I had the same problem with Grace of Kings, which a lot of people love, so if you are a reader who doesn’t mind sacrificing characters for the plot, maybe you’ll appreciate this one more than I did.
As I was saying, the book started well. Even though it was written in a very cold tone from the beginning, the author did a great job at introducing the characters quickly and effectively. The premise, though nothing new, was interesting enough. I enjoyed having some political intrigue and liked that we were following mainly the Anakims while the humans were the villains of the story. I also liked that the author wasn’t afraid of killing characters and how much dialogue we had.
However, I felt everything was too rushed to feel realistic and the battles got quite repetitive. There were too many scenes of men sitting around the fire sharing war tales. I went from liking them to finding their little chats insufferable. It didn’t help that it was obvious this was written by a man. Oh, he tried to give ‘female representation’ in the form of a very ‘clever’ and ‘strong’ noblewoman but I felt her POV was just there to please the audience and the author would rather be sitting with the condecorated warriors.
As for the main character, Roper, he started as a naïve nineteen-year old and became this perfect commander way too easily, only to go back to being a terrible politician. I got tired of seeing him committing mistakes because I just didn’t care about him at all. He was a good guy trying to do his best, but I couldn’t bear his burden if he never shared it. It was the same for all the characters. For example, there was this scene where a man discovers he’s about to be a father and his whole emotion is laughing to express he’s happy about the news before continuing on his way. I was expecting him to reflect on the fact that his parents won’t be able to meet the baby, worrying about the safety of a baby in the middle of a civil war or maybe not feeling ready to be a father. But we got nothing. I’m sure I’d get more emotions if I was reading a book about trees.
I didn’t find the content especially original. The Anakims were supposed to be another species but they acted as humans, they are only bigger and able to live longer. To be honest, it’s hard for me to understand why some people loved this book, but I know some readers only care about the plot, so I guess not having to read about feelings was a win for them. It’s very fast-paced, so I’d only recommend it if you want to read about war tales, battles and dialogues between very skilled warriors (men) about the heroics of war. I personally hate when the war is seen as something ‘fun’ but maybe that’s why females are left at home.
In any case, I went from enjoying it to finishing it only because I wanted to be able to say: yes, I reached the end and, no, it didn’t get any better.
The Anakims and the humans are at war, all because a stupid man wanted to play with swords. On top of losing men in battle, the heir to the Anakim’s throne, Roper, has to deal with the internal fights among the different houses and the continuous assassination threats carried by the hand of a magical, mysterious society that works in the shadows. With no support, Roper would have to do the impossible in order to save not only his life, but his whole species.
The Wolf started strong: we are in the middle of the battle, there is blood and betrayal and a lot of action. I couldn’t stop reading and I was sure this was going to be one of the best fantasy books I’ve read this year. It’s one of those books focused on giving you plot, so it’s very engaging when you start reading it, but when you reach the two/three hundred page mark you realize the characterization is very bland and you don’t care about anything that’s happening. I had the same problem with Grace of Kings, which a lot of people love, so if you are a reader who doesn’t mind sacrificing characters for the plot, maybe you’ll appreciate this one more than I did.
As I was saying, the book started well. Even though it was written in a very cold tone from the beginning, the author did a great job at introducing the characters quickly and effectively. The premise, though nothing new, was interesting enough. I enjoyed having some political intrigue and liked that we were following mainly the Anakims while the humans were the villains of the story. I also liked that the author wasn’t afraid of killing characters and how much dialogue we had.
However, I felt everything was too rushed to feel realistic and the battles got quite repetitive. There were too many scenes of men sitting around the fire sharing war tales. I went from liking them to finding their little chats insufferable. It didn’t help that it was obvious this was written by a man. Oh, he tried to give ‘female representation’ in the form of a very ‘clever’ and ‘strong’ noblewoman but I felt her POV was just there to please the audience and the author would rather be sitting with the condecorated warriors.
As for the main character, Roper, he started as a naïve nineteen-year old and became this perfect commander way too easily, only to go back to being a terrible politician. I got tired of seeing him committing mistakes because I just didn’t care about him at all. He was a good guy trying to do his best, but I couldn’t bear his burden if he never shared it. It was the same for all the characters. For example, there was this scene where a man discovers he’s about to be a father and his whole emotion is laughing to express he’s happy about the news before continuing on his way. I was expecting him to reflect on the fact that his parents won’t be able to meet the baby, worrying about the safety of a baby in the middle of a civil war or maybe not feeling ready to be a father. But we got nothing. I’m sure I’d get more emotions if I was reading a book about trees.
I didn’t find the content especially original. The Anakims were supposed to be another species but they acted as humans, they are only bigger and able to live longer. To be honest, it’s hard for me to understand why some people loved this book, but I know some readers only care about the plot, so I guess not having to read about feelings was a win for them. It’s very fast-paced, so I’d only recommend it if you want to read about war tales, battles and dialogues between very skilled warriors (men) about the heroics of war. I personally hate when the war is seen as something ‘fun’ but maybe that’s why females are left at home.
In any case, I went from enjoying it to finishing it only because I wanted to be able to say: yes, I reached the end and, no, it didn’t get any better.
March 2, 2023
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I’m not sure how to feel about this book.
On one hand, you have an interesting premise for a story (Neanderthal vs Human), some really poignant scenes, and lots of political intrigue. On the other, you have a loose plot structure that felt a bit under-composed at times, a flat main character who won his victories without struggle, and a few unrealistic details here and there that were enough to pull me out of the story.
It’s a mixed bag.
And to boot it wasn’t anything like I was expecting. I pictured a very Shadow of the Gods (Gwynne) atmosphere and setting where the indigenous aspect was played-up and it felt very cold and miserable. It wasn’t like that in the slightest. Taking up a more classic fantasy “urban” approach with cobbled streets and bustling cities. It was drastically different than I thought it would be, but I’m not holding that against it. It’s what I get for not reading the overviews carefully before starting (they generally contain too many spoilers!).
Overall I’d say I enjoyed the process of reading this tale, and the scenes that were good were really good. There were just too many minor things that added up to keep me from really loving this one. I tell you who the most interesting character was: wifey. She had a shrewd intelligence when dealing with others that was super fun to read. I love savvy characters. There were a few other good ones, but I didn’t feel much of a connection to them because they didn’t face any meaningful inner struggles. The society as a whole kept me plenty interested because it was cool to see the different philosophies of lifestyle and morals between the two factions. So what I lacked in character connection, at least I made up for in good world-building content.
Somewhere along the halfway point, I started to lose the thread of the plot (thanks Sonja, for the wording), and could not longer see what we were working towards. The scenes during these parts were strong, but they lacked a connection to the whole that eventually left me feeling a bit disengaged. I kind of zoned out near the end, only to have to backtrack over an hour to get the setup I missed for a big event. Then the epilogue happened and it was one of the best tension-generating scenes I’ve read in ages.
And now I’m reading the second book.
Recommendations: pick this one up for an interesting politically-driven fantasy. It’s not perfect, but it sure is entertaining.
Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Katrin, Melissa, Derek, Tonya, Betsy, and Mike! <3
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
I’m not sure how to feel about this book.
On one hand, you have an interesting premise for a story (Neanderthal vs Human), some really poignant scenes, and lots of political intrigue. On the other, you have a loose plot structure that felt a bit under-composed at times, a flat main character who won his victories without struggle, and a few unrealistic details here and there that were enough to pull me out of the story.
It’s a mixed bag.
And to boot it wasn’t anything like I was expecting. I pictured a very Shadow of the Gods (Gwynne) atmosphere and setting where the indigenous aspect was played-up and it felt very cold and miserable. It wasn’t like that in the slightest. Taking up a more classic fantasy “urban” approach with cobbled streets and bustling cities. It was drastically different than I thought it would be, but I’m not holding that against it. It’s what I get for not reading the overviews carefully before starting (they generally contain too many spoilers!).
Overall I’d say I enjoyed the process of reading this tale, and the scenes that were good were really good. There were just too many minor things that added up to keep me from really loving this one. I tell you who the most interesting character was: wifey. She had a shrewd intelligence when dealing with others that was super fun to read. I love savvy characters. There were a few other good ones, but I didn’t feel much of a connection to them because they didn’t face any meaningful inner struggles. The society as a whole kept me plenty interested because it was cool to see the different philosophies of lifestyle and morals between the two factions. So what I lacked in character connection, at least I made up for in good world-building content.
Somewhere along the halfway point, I started to lose the thread of the plot (thanks Sonja, for the wording), and could not longer see what we were working towards. The scenes during these parts were strong, but they lacked a connection to the whole that eventually left me feeling a bit disengaged. I kind of zoned out near the end, only to have to backtrack over an hour to get the setup I missed for a big event. Then the epilogue happened and it was one of the best tension-generating scenes I’ve read in ages.
And now I’m reading the second book.
Recommendations: pick this one up for an interesting politically-driven fantasy. It’s not perfect, but it sure is entertaining.
Thank you to my Patrons: Filipe, Dave, Frank, Sonja, Staci, Kat, Katrin, Melissa, Derek, Tonya, Betsy, and Mike! <3
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
April 13, 2018
The Wolf was in parts a challenging read for me and yet by the end I came to admire it.
The Anakim as a race, a culture, as characters are probably some of the most intriguing I have come across in a while. Entirely geared towards war, their bodies are quite literally built for battles, and war is something they take great pride in, and yet, with the exception of a few too ambitious characters, they keep a very level head about their way of life. The Anakim value their culture, their homes and their country on a very deep-rooted level.
The Sutherners, who share the border with the Anakim, are polar opposites. The Sutherner’s lifespan is shorter, they don’t have the same values or live quite in the same environment as the Anakim. Their country has been developed by the ways of a more ‘modern’ man whereas the Anakim life is more down to earth. I couldn’t help but think how this was kind of like a clash in between modern culture against the more nature-loving way of things.
The two peoples have clashed throughout history although I couldn’t quite figure out, or perhaps I missed it, why exactly would the Anakim want Surtherners’ lands or vice versa. Neither side had hardly enough of that burning desire to occupy the land that was so different to their own. The Anakim are a culture that settle, firmly and permanently, and the Sutherners would hardly manage in the harsh conditions that the Anakim thrive. Then again, all it takes sometimes is just being so starkly different to ‘warrant’ conflict.
When the fragile peace in between the two opposing sides is fractured yet again, many lose their lives, their respect and not the leaders or their army Captains can really be sure their own country doesn’t want to eliminate them in the process. But no matter how devastating the outcome of a war in between two countries is, adding a civil war into the mix ratchets things up another notch.
And so, The Wolf explores the alliances formed, loyalties tested, grudges eliminated…
The world building alone is rich, especially that of the Anakim, and Carew left no stone unturned to give readers the full experience. I do have to say, though, that at times there was perhaps too much information in certain parts. Yes, it was relevant to the particular scene but somehow it still disconnected me from the present timeline of ongoing events. But as I mentioned earlier- after reconsidering the overall reading experience- I can only admire this book as a whole. The everything that it gave me as a reader, the unfolding of events which at times were fast forward, at times slower to enable me to plant myself into the moment…
The Wolf is not at all dialogue heavy, it’s more of a descriptive read and I do believe a picture formed in my head exactly, or quite close to, as the author envisaged it- the bloody battles fought with swords and bows, the chaos of the battlefield. The Anakim and their larger than life war-hardened presence. The Sutherners with their many politically driven ambitions. This is war!!! And yet, there were also moments that reflected the very base human feelings, like fear of dying, proving one’s worth and heartbreaking sadness of losing a loved one.
And now that the scene is set, I quite look forward to the perilous journey the Black Lord will take me next…
The Anakim as a race, a culture, as characters are probably some of the most intriguing I have come across in a while. Entirely geared towards war, their bodies are quite literally built for battles, and war is something they take great pride in, and yet, with the exception of a few too ambitious characters, they keep a very level head about their way of life. The Anakim value their culture, their homes and their country on a very deep-rooted level.
The Sutherners, who share the border with the Anakim, are polar opposites. The Sutherner’s lifespan is shorter, they don’t have the same values or live quite in the same environment as the Anakim. Their country has been developed by the ways of a more ‘modern’ man whereas the Anakim life is more down to earth. I couldn’t help but think how this was kind of like a clash in between modern culture against the more nature-loving way of things.
That is why they are such a voracious race. They have no time, and so they must consume. They each want to see change in their own lifetime. We know that we just have to wait and change will come.
The two peoples have clashed throughout history although I couldn’t quite figure out, or perhaps I missed it, why exactly would the Anakim want Surtherners’ lands or vice versa. Neither side had hardly enough of that burning desire to occupy the land that was so different to their own. The Anakim are a culture that settle, firmly and permanently, and the Sutherners would hardly manage in the harsh conditions that the Anakim thrive. Then again, all it takes sometimes is just being so starkly different to ‘warrant’ conflict.
When the fragile peace in between the two opposing sides is fractured yet again, many lose their lives, their respect and not the leaders or their army Captains can really be sure their own country doesn’t want to eliminate them in the process. But no matter how devastating the outcome of a war in between two countries is, adding a civil war into the mix ratchets things up another notch.
And so, The Wolf explores the alliances formed, loyalties tested, grudges eliminated…
The Black Lord does not cry. So Roper howled instead.
The world building alone is rich, especially that of the Anakim, and Carew left no stone unturned to give readers the full experience. I do have to say, though, that at times there was perhaps too much information in certain parts. Yes, it was relevant to the particular scene but somehow it still disconnected me from the present timeline of ongoing events. But as I mentioned earlier- after reconsidering the overall reading experience- I can only admire this book as a whole. The everything that it gave me as a reader, the unfolding of events which at times were fast forward, at times slower to enable me to plant myself into the moment…
The Wolf is not at all dialogue heavy, it’s more of a descriptive read and I do believe a picture formed in my head exactly, or quite close to, as the author envisaged it- the bloody battles fought with swords and bows, the chaos of the battlefield. The Anakim and their larger than life war-hardened presence. The Sutherners with their many politically driven ambitions. This is war!!! And yet, there were also moments that reflected the very base human feelings, like fear of dying, proving one’s worth and heartbreaking sadness of losing a loved one.
And now that the scene is set, I quite look forward to the perilous journey the Black Lord will take me next…
May 2, 2021
Read for Booktuber Picks my TBR Vlog collab with Liene's Library: https://youtu.be/C-4VnEhxCOY
The Wolf is a really good version of what it is, but my reading experience was a bit of a mixed bag. I think how much you enjoy it is really going to be a matter of preferences. It is a historically inspired fantasy novel with multiple perspectives.
What I Liked:
- Interesting, complex, well-developed female characters. This is always a win from a male SFF author.
- Great political intrigue, clever characters, plots and twists.
- Some interesting mythology and culture, like how the Anakim store memory and history.
What I Didn't Like
- Lengthy descriptions of things I was uninterested in, such as the layout of the castle/keep. The author studied anthropology and builds this world and culture in a way that demonstrates that. For me some of it was boring, but others might enjoy it.
- Belamus. Arghh. I was not a fan and every time we were in his perspective I wanted to be back with the Anakim.
The Wolf is a really good version of what it is, but my reading experience was a bit of a mixed bag. I think how much you enjoy it is really going to be a matter of preferences. It is a historically inspired fantasy novel with multiple perspectives.
What I Liked:
- Interesting, complex, well-developed female characters. This is always a win from a male SFF author.
- Great political intrigue, clever characters, plots and twists.
- Some interesting mythology and culture, like how the Anakim store memory and history.
What I Didn't Like
- Lengthy descriptions of things I was uninterested in, such as the layout of the castle/keep. The author studied anthropology and builds this world and culture in a way that demonstrates that. For me some of it was boring, but others might enjoy it.
- Belamus. Arghh. I was not a fan and every time we were in his perspective I wanted to be back with the Anakim.
July 11, 2018
Review to come.
May 24, 2020
oh man I wanted to love this so much! I was sure it was gonna be my next favorite book.
It had everything I love, even the cover is exactly my cup of tea.
Unfortunately, while the premise was very interesting, the execution fell short for me.
Towards the end it got so boring that I skimmed the last 100 pages which I rarely do.
It had everything I love, even the cover is exactly my cup of tea.
Unfortunately, while the premise was very interesting, the execution fell short for me.
Towards the end it got so boring that I skimmed the last 100 pages which I rarely do.
April 18, 2018
The Wolf by Leo Carew - What it is and what it is not.
What it is - It is a meticulously detailed fantasy of medieval-type warfare with a southern nation being the belligerent and the north the invaded. Nothing in this book is trivial. Every nut and bolt is described. The settings, the cities, the landscape, everything comes alive in the readers mind. The reader is drawn wholly into the author's world. Battles are bloody and intense. No one comes out unscathed from any encounter. The realism is authentic.
"Your windpipe could be severed and wheeze and hiss as life escaped you. Your tangled guts exposed in the air. You could lose a limb, an eye, your hand; the feeble flesh carved open by steel."
What it is not - It is not a tale of complex conspiracies and mystery. While those elements are in the story, they aren't as relevant as I imagine the author wanted them to be. It is an extremely male-dominated world, hostile and savage. Men are fiercely loyal to their leaders and friends, to their Houses and lords. Few if any try to escape or rise above their station other than one of the main characters, Uvoren (good name), who thinks the boy-king Roper should just serve as a figurehead and let him rule. The boy-king manages to acquire allies to challenge Uvoren but it seems these alliances aren't based on his talent or skills, but out of their former loyalty to the deceased father and the House, and their concerns over Uvoren, although Uvoren doesn't seem to be anything particularly evil or wretched, just a talented commander without respect for Roper's lineage. In fact, most of the time, Uvoren seems better equipped to be leader for this particular world than Roper.
The enemy is also part of the story and they are pretty much of the same mindset as the people they are invading. The motivations to invade, fight and survive seem to be the main theme for everyone. I actually took a liking to the Bellamus character. All the men in the story are actually much alike, strong and martial, often in each other's faces if there is a problem. The brutality is intense.
In the end, the books greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.
The attention to detail actually serves to distract from some very good verbal exchanges between characters. I can think of one particular passage offhand where the characters moved through a city and it was like walking in mud, taking nearly three pages to get from one end to the other simply because the author found it necessary to describe everything, and I mean everything they were seeing, hearing, smelling and sensing. In the end, it put the reader there but it wasn't pertinent to the story. We didn't need that information, not that much. I like descriptive world building but I had a difficult time reading through this scene and several others like it. I'm pretty sure people who don't enjoy reading that much description would have trouble finishing something like this.
Don't get me wrong. It's a very good book and the author is extremely talented. No doubt he did his homework and his talent bleeds from every page and sentence. If medieval warfare, blood and guts, male bonding, and two kingdoms fighting to save their cultures is your kind of thing, you will love this book. If you are looking for an intricate, multi-layered world of schemers and strong female leads, this is not that book. Four stars.
What it is - It is a meticulously detailed fantasy of medieval-type warfare with a southern nation being the belligerent and the north the invaded. Nothing in this book is trivial. Every nut and bolt is described. The settings, the cities, the landscape, everything comes alive in the readers mind. The reader is drawn wholly into the author's world. Battles are bloody and intense. No one comes out unscathed from any encounter. The realism is authentic.
"Your windpipe could be severed and wheeze and hiss as life escaped you. Your tangled guts exposed in the air. You could lose a limb, an eye, your hand; the feeble flesh carved open by steel."
What it is not - It is not a tale of complex conspiracies and mystery. While those elements are in the story, they aren't as relevant as I imagine the author wanted them to be. It is an extremely male-dominated world, hostile and savage. Men are fiercely loyal to their leaders and friends, to their Houses and lords. Few if any try to escape or rise above their station other than one of the main characters, Uvoren (good name), who thinks the boy-king Roper should just serve as a figurehead and let him rule. The boy-king manages to acquire allies to challenge Uvoren but it seems these alliances aren't based on his talent or skills, but out of their former loyalty to the deceased father and the House, and their concerns over Uvoren, although Uvoren doesn't seem to be anything particularly evil or wretched, just a talented commander without respect for Roper's lineage. In fact, most of the time, Uvoren seems better equipped to be leader for this particular world than Roper.
The enemy is also part of the story and they are pretty much of the same mindset as the people they are invading. The motivations to invade, fight and survive seem to be the main theme for everyone. I actually took a liking to the Bellamus character. All the men in the story are actually much alike, strong and martial, often in each other's faces if there is a problem. The brutality is intense.
In the end, the books greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.
The attention to detail actually serves to distract from some very good verbal exchanges between characters. I can think of one particular passage offhand where the characters moved through a city and it was like walking in mud, taking nearly three pages to get from one end to the other simply because the author found it necessary to describe everything, and I mean everything they were seeing, hearing, smelling and sensing. In the end, it put the reader there but it wasn't pertinent to the story. We didn't need that information, not that much. I like descriptive world building but I had a difficult time reading through this scene and several others like it. I'm pretty sure people who don't enjoy reading that much description would have trouble finishing something like this.
Don't get me wrong. It's a very good book and the author is extremely talented. No doubt he did his homework and his talent bleeds from every page and sentence. If medieval warfare, blood and guts, male bonding, and two kingdoms fighting to save their cultures is your kind of thing, you will love this book. If you are looking for an intricate, multi-layered world of schemers and strong female leads, this is not that book. Four stars.
April 16, 2024
The Southerners have invaded the Northerners led by a mercenary upstart fascinated by the wild, tribal-like Northern civilisation. Roper, the Northern Lord of the Black Kingdom, faces both war and civil war as Uvoren, one of the legions most respected warriors, tries to usurp Roper’s throne.
I initially picked this up as it was said to be a fascinating study into anthropology. While this may become more transparent as the series progresses, the only standouts were the slight differences in culture and one race being bigger which is pretty standard for a fantasy world.
Theirs was not the only way to be human. The distinct place they occupied on the earth had been disturbed; the narrative of their civilisation had to adapt.
I enjoyed the politics and strategies, reminding me of books by Abercrombie. I also loved the female characters, however few there were. These were wives and daughters of prominent council members and warriors.
The biting back-and-forth of these women with their husbands and each other was funny, endearing, and extremely quick-off-the-mark. They may both be battle-hardened warriors, yet they are each strong, capable, and resilient.
Whilst I typically don’t enjoy battle-heavy books, I thought this book would be more philosophical as mentioned earlier. However, the quick-thinking and internal conflicts of the characters made the fight scenes less over-bearing.
”A few moments of pain is nothing next to the life you have lived. People get too worried about the act of dying itself. it is usually brief."
I would recommend this to fans of The Grace of a kings, Joe Abercrombie, and The Black Coast.
Bookstagram
I initially picked this up as it was said to be a fascinating study into anthropology. While this may become more transparent as the series progresses, the only standouts were the slight differences in culture and one race being bigger which is pretty standard for a fantasy world.
Theirs was not the only way to be human. The distinct place they occupied on the earth had been disturbed; the narrative of their civilisation had to adapt.
I enjoyed the politics and strategies, reminding me of books by Abercrombie. I also loved the female characters, however few there were. These were wives and daughters of prominent council members and warriors.
The biting back-and-forth of these women with their husbands and each other was funny, endearing, and extremely quick-off-the-mark. They may both be battle-hardened warriors, yet they are each strong, capable, and resilient.
Whilst I typically don’t enjoy battle-heavy books, I thought this book would be more philosophical as mentioned earlier. However, the quick-thinking and internal conflicts of the characters made the fight scenes less over-bearing.
”A few moments of pain is nothing next to the life you have lived. People get too worried about the act of dying itself. it is usually brief."
I would recommend this to fans of The Grace of a kings, Joe Abercrombie, and The Black Coast.
Bookstagram
February 8, 2023
In Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings, there is a race of people whose warriors are taller and stronger than the average human, grow bone-like armor out of their bodies, and sing haunting songs as they fight. Their customs, religion, and biology are, while internally consistent and completely at home in the larger world, nonetheless strange and other when compared to the remainder of Roshar’s sentient peoples. The human characters extrapolate their otherness into inferiority, believing that Parshendi’s decisions don’t make sense simply because they are an unexplainable and monstrous people. As the story goes on, though, the readers and characters come to find out that it isn’t the Parshendi that are inexplicable; it’s the humans who haven’t been curious enough to discover why they do what they do.
In Leo Carew’s The Wolf, there is a race of people whose warriors are taller and stronger than the average human, grow bone-like armor out of their bodies, and sing haunting songs as they fight (or at least they do once and then it never comes up again). I can’t know if Carew was (intentionally or otherwise) using ideas from The Way of Kings or even if he’s read it; I’m not trying to claim that he did. I’m starting here because, unlike the Parshendi, the Anakim’s biological and cultural differences from the southern humans are never really explained or explored, and without those explorations, the worldbuilding begins to shake apart, and this is the fundamental issue that underpins so many of this book’s failings.
Why, for example, are there no female warriors among the Anakim? Even if we assume that female Anakim are smaller and weaker than their male counterparts, they’re (presumably) still bigger and stronger than the average human and have the bone-armor advantage. It’s repeatedly stated that the Sutherners’ only real advantage over the Anakim is numbers, so there must a deeply-held cultural belief that stops Anakim women from fighting. If that’s the case it isn’t stated, leaving me to assume that it’s the same as human society (i.e. generations of sexism), which isn’t an invalid world-building decision but also isn’t that interesting, especially since the Anakim are so biologically different from humans.
Generations of sexism would help explain the female characters, though, approximately ¾ of whom are dutiful wives while the remaining ¼ are unfulfilled wives (the lone exception being a scholarly nun who does not get a first name). The most prominent female character’s arc involves her getting married to a man she’s never met, going shopping while fake-seducing an older man, ministering to the sick, getting poisoned, listening to some chants, and getting pregnant. That is pretty much all of her scenes, plus some banter that it not nearly as clever as the characters around her seem to think it is.
At least the poor characterization is egalitarian. Our main character, Roper, is a naïve prince who must transform quickly in order to save the throne from his main rival, whose two character traits are that he is a) good with swords and b) a jackass. Fortunately, Roper has several allies who give him such award-winning political advice as “no one negotiates in negotiations” and executes several brilliant tactical moves that quickly win the hearts and minds of his soldiers, like somehow managing to learn tens of thousands of dudes’ names in all of three weeks. (This, if anything, is proof that elements of this book were not inspired by The Way of Kings, because I don’t know how anyone could read it and still know so little about how leadership works.)
In any event, it is a good thing that the characters tell us when political maneuvers are particularly nuanced, because there is little textual evidence supporting that interpretation of most events. My favorite bit is when a character describes the southern queen is an extremely subtle political creature; this is a woman who previously antagonized her own court ladies for no real reason by tricking them into wearing fancy clothes outdoors and then shaking a wet tree branch over their heads, like a middle school boy.
It is a less good thing that the characters also tell us several excruciatingly boring and pointless stories about wars that they fought in/wars that were fought before they were born. This constant refusal to focus on what’s important is even more galling than it might otherwise be as the author makes the baffling decision to skip over major battles and then spend pages having characters tell other characters what happened in them. And yes, a lot of this book is fights, so the instinct to truncate some of that isn’t necessarily a bad one, but this extends to non-battle events as well, up to and including the main character’s wedding. I’m no romantic, but it is wild that we only have one paragraph for all of their wedding and feelings related to it when we can afford to spend five pages on a historic chant. (Another favorite moment is when our leading lady gives a rival couple side-eye for spending their wedding night apart when her own was such a non-incident within the narrative that I had assumed that she and Roper had also skipped it.)
It is a rare book that compels me to flip ahead to the acknowledgements so that I can know which editor was responsible for this mess, so in that sense, The Wolf is exceptional. I wish the rest of it had been as well.
In Leo Carew’s The Wolf, there is a race of people whose warriors are taller and stronger than the average human, grow bone-like armor out of their bodies, and sing haunting songs as they fight (or at least they do once and then it never comes up again). I can’t know if Carew was (intentionally or otherwise) using ideas from The Way of Kings or even if he’s read it; I’m not trying to claim that he did. I’m starting here because, unlike the Parshendi, the Anakim’s biological and cultural differences from the southern humans are never really explained or explored, and without those explorations, the worldbuilding begins to shake apart, and this is the fundamental issue that underpins so many of this book’s failings.
Why, for example, are there no female warriors among the Anakim? Even if we assume that female Anakim are smaller and weaker than their male counterparts, they’re (presumably) still bigger and stronger than the average human and have the bone-armor advantage. It’s repeatedly stated that the Sutherners’ only real advantage over the Anakim is numbers, so there must a deeply-held cultural belief that stops Anakim women from fighting. If that’s the case it isn’t stated, leaving me to assume that it’s the same as human society (i.e. generations of sexism), which isn’t an invalid world-building decision but also isn’t that interesting, especially since the Anakim are so biologically different from humans.
Generations of sexism would help explain the female characters, though, approximately ¾ of whom are dutiful wives while the remaining ¼ are unfulfilled wives (the lone exception being a scholarly nun who does not get a first name). The most prominent female character’s arc involves her getting married to a man she’s never met, going shopping while fake-seducing an older man, ministering to the sick, getting poisoned, listening to some chants, and getting pregnant. That is pretty much all of her scenes, plus some banter that it not nearly as clever as the characters around her seem to think it is.
At least the poor characterization is egalitarian. Our main character, Roper, is a naïve prince who must transform quickly in order to save the throne from his main rival, whose two character traits are that he is a) good with swords and b) a jackass. Fortunately, Roper has several allies who give him such award-winning political advice as “no one negotiates in negotiations” and executes several brilliant tactical moves that quickly win the hearts and minds of his soldiers, like somehow managing to learn tens of thousands of dudes’ names in all of three weeks. (This, if anything, is proof that elements of this book were not inspired by The Way of Kings, because I don’t know how anyone could read it and still know so little about how leadership works.)
In any event, it is a good thing that the characters tell us when political maneuvers are particularly nuanced, because there is little textual evidence supporting that interpretation of most events. My favorite bit is when a character describes the southern queen is an extremely subtle political creature; this is a woman who previously antagonized her own court ladies for no real reason by tricking them into wearing fancy clothes outdoors and then shaking a wet tree branch over their heads, like a middle school boy.
It is a less good thing that the characters also tell us several excruciatingly boring and pointless stories about wars that they fought in/wars that were fought before they were born. This constant refusal to focus on what’s important is even more galling than it might otherwise be as the author makes the baffling decision to skip over major battles and then spend pages having characters tell other characters what happened in them. And yes, a lot of this book is fights, so the instinct to truncate some of that isn’t necessarily a bad one, but this extends to non-battle events as well, up to and including the main character’s wedding. I’m no romantic, but it is wild that we only have one paragraph for all of their wedding and feelings related to it when we can afford to spend five pages on a historic chant. (Another favorite moment is when our leading lady gives a rival couple side-eye for spending their wedding night apart when her own was such a non-incident within the narrative that I had assumed that she and Roper had also skipped it.)
It is a rare book that compels me to flip ahead to the acknowledgements so that I can know which editor was responsible for this mess, so in that sense, The Wolf is exceptional. I wish the rest of it had been as well.
November 29, 2022
3.0 stars
This is a tough one to rate because I wonder if the issue is me as the reader and not the book. I found this book series to be very dense. The story itself is not necessarily complicated but the writing style felt dry. This is a very character focused series and I unfortunately did not necessarily connect with them as much as I would have liked. While this is classified fantasy, this is not a magical story. In fact I feel that this book will most appeal to readers who love a detailed story with a historical fiction style narrative.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
This is a tough one to rate because I wonder if the issue is me as the reader and not the book. I found this book series to be very dense. The story itself is not necessarily complicated but the writing style felt dry. This is a very character focused series and I unfortunately did not necessarily connect with them as much as I would have liked. While this is classified fantasy, this is not a magical story. In fact I feel that this book will most appeal to readers who love a detailed story with a historical fiction style narrative.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
June 12, 2019
This was a low 3-star for me -- 5.1 on my 1-10 scale.
TL;DR: Not awful by any means. But not my cup of tea mostly due to writing style and plot.
I didn't necessarily "hate read" this book... but by about 40-50% of the way through I was essentially "over it" and probably would have dnf-ed if I hadn't already dnf-ed two books in January... I was determined to finish this book.
It wasn't a miserable read by any means, but for me personally the constant uphill struggle of our main character, Roper, was tiresome. A lot of, "Hey we have a new plan!... Oh frick, that isn't working out how we wanted.... okay new plan! ... Well damn it, that kind of backfired... okay LET'S DO THIS NOW! GENIUS!..." and so on. This kind of a plot is probably fantastic for some, but I am not one of those people.
The world was interesting, which is more or less the only thing that, well, kept my interest!
The character development wasn't great. There was really only one female character who was at all prominent... and the MC had some interesting qualities. But I didn't feel connected to any of them -- in the intense battles, I did not care one way or another who died.
The writing style is a bit repetitive in parts; we have lonnnggg descriptions that last pages, totally pulling us out of any action that was happening. I was heavily skimming by the end, not going to lie.
TL;DR: Not awful by any means. But not my cup of tea mostly due to writing style and plot.
I didn't necessarily "hate read" this book... but by about 40-50% of the way through I was essentially "over it" and probably would have dnf-ed if I hadn't already dnf-ed two books in January... I was determined to finish this book.
It wasn't a miserable read by any means, but for me personally the constant uphill struggle of our main character, Roper, was tiresome. A lot of, "Hey we have a new plan!... Oh frick, that isn't working out how we wanted.... okay new plan! ... Well damn it, that kind of backfired... okay LET'S DO THIS NOW! GENIUS!..." and so on. This kind of a plot is probably fantastic for some, but I am not one of those people.
The world was interesting, which is more or less the only thing that, well, kept my interest!
The character development wasn't great. There was really only one female character who was at all prominent... and the MC had some interesting qualities. But I didn't feel connected to any of them -- in the intense battles, I did not care one way or another who died.
The writing style is a bit repetitive in parts; we have lonnnggg descriptions that last pages, totally pulling us out of any action that was happening. I was heavily skimming by the end, not going to lie.
May 22, 2018
This was a pretty good fantasy debut. It had a touch of military heroic fantasy with majority of the storys main focus being the political scheming. There are two main naitons, the Anakims (North) and the Sutherners (South). The north is more barbarian like as compared to the more civilised South. I had a hard time with that concept as I felt they were equally civilised and at times the Anakim felt more civislised. The action was solid, the characters a little one dimensional as they all felt a little too similar. I really did like Roper and would've loved to have had just him as the one central character. The political scheming element is probably the factor which is reminding people of GoT. To a degree yes but that's like saying every fantasy novel that has political scheming reminds you of GoT. It does it well but just not as good as GoT. the dialogue at times is a little cliched and hard to follow. But I guess thats some of the debut writing coming out. With more experience this element will improve. The world building is great and I can see more room to grow with the other areas on the map. We got glimpses but nothing overly concrete. Good solid fantasy with an author I'm sure will provide more novels with his potential.
April 8, 2018
This didn't feel like a debut. I enjoyed it so much that I actually read it on my Kindle at home, which is rare for me. I much prefer paper.
Fascinating world-building, interesting character development, great action. If you dig politics and war, give it a shot.
Fascinating world-building, interesting character development, great action. If you dig politics and war, give it a shot.
October 14, 2023
I really enjoyed this one. The writing style is totally my jam. The prose, excellent! This book gave me a lot of what I need to stay interested in a novel, even though it was quite character driven. Lots of action, political intrigue, and relationships to root for. I'm very happy I picked this up and am eager to continue.
February 24, 2018
One-Line Summary:
A massive battle of wits, one within a kingdom and one between kingdoms, where the loser forfeits their life and no one truly wins.
Summary:
The Anakim to the north are known as monsters, demons, and fallen angels by their southern opponents, so when what looks like a green snake appears in the sky, the Suthern king is convinced it’s an omen that they should invade in order to please God. So sure of their victory, the Anakim are taken by surprise to find the Sutherners have laid a trapped, one that wipes out many of their soldiers and results in the death of their king, the Black Lord. For the first time in centuries, they’re forced to retreat, under order of the new Black Lord, Roper, who suddenly inherited the position upon his father’s death.
Not everyone is so thrilled with the young, inexperienced upstart, though. Uvoren, Master of the Guard, sees his chance to supplant the rule. After all, he’s popular among the Anakim, and Roper is an upstart with no experience in battle, where favor is won and lost among the Anakim. If Roper intends to take his rightful place as Black Lord, he’ll have to earn it—and fast. And it won’t be easy.
But civil war isn’t the only threat on the horizon for the Anakim. The Sutherners have their own upstart. Not exactly young, but from a lowly and ignoble birth, Bellamus intends to do whatever it takes to earn his status in society. His specialty is information, and as he’s made himself the expert on Anakim, it seems only fitting that he should be the one to lead the Sutherners to victory over the northern tribe once and for all.
Only one person can win this battle of wits, but at what cost?
The Positives:
- Strategy and sabotage and stabbiness and supplanting and all the other great S words (and other letters, probably, too). I’m not into high fantasy in general as a whole, but I do love me some political games, and this book is just rife with it. Everyone has an angle they’re working, and brute force won’t win it for them. They have to be cunning and always one step ahead. Sure, some of the tactics used weren’t all that surprising and I had predicted them, but they were smart and effective. The game of one-upmanship is everything I could have hoped for and then some.
- Keturah and Roper make one heck of a power couple. While women aren’t allowed to fight in the army, it’s clear that they’re not just passive bystanders, either, or not in this case. Keturah has her own game going on behind the scenes. She’s cunning and manipulative and knows just the right strings to pull. She takes her role seriously, and she’s damn good at it. I actually really liked the way this worked out, because despite the Anakim society having traditional male/female roles, there are strong women in this that for sure aren’t just innocent bystanders.
- I’m just a teensy bit in love with Pryce. Missing ear and all. Sure, he’s cantankerous and stubborn, but he’s fiercely loyal to the people he feels worthy of such fealty. He’s a beast not just in his interactions with people but on the battlefield, yet he knows his place. His cockiness and arrogance isn’t misguided; he’s talented and he knows it, but he also knows the limits. I really liked the way his character grew through this.
- Everyone should have a Gray in their life. He’s the father figure most people dream of. He’s insistent that Roper will either succeed or fail on his own, but he doesn’t withhold his advice and attempts to guide him, either. Nor does he shy away from speaking his truth, even when it’s a harsh one. He’s just a brilliant character, and comes out with the best advice and stories. What’s not to love? “And there is nothing to fear about death, because when you reach it—when you have no choice—you can accept it.”
- I’m really interested in Bellamus and the game he’s playing and where it’ll take him. I actually want to know more about his backstory, really, since I’m sure there’s got to be some good stuff in there. He’s such a deep character, and we get to see a lot of character growth and realization in him in this book, but I want to know more about his past. He’s smart and cunning and somehow manages to survive, like a roach. He seems like a worthy adversary for Roper, and I look forward to seeing what he does in the next books.
- The author has a degree in biological anthropology, and it shows. The differences between the cultures and groups is fabulously done. They each have their own religions and beliefs and ways of approaching life, which makes it pretty nigh on impossible for them to actually understand each other. It’s even touched on in the book that as much as Bellamus believes he knows about the Anakim, he still doesn’t understand some of the most vital information that’s just embedded in who they are. There’s a stark contrast between the Sutherners, who live relatively normal human lifespans and are always moving, fluid, and in love with gold, and the Anakim, who can live for easily two hundred years and bond with the environment and the area they inhabit, to the point where they would rather die than resettle somewhere else. I thought the cultures were marvelously done, and I got a really good sense of those two groups. I actually look forward to learning more about the Unhierea, which I assume will come in the later books.
- The ending was the perfect setup for book two. Which obviously there’s going to be a book two, as this is book one. There’s a bit of a cliffhanger, but nothing where you’ll be beating the author over the head with his own book for making you wait. The epilogue is a nice touch to create intrigue for the next book, but it’s also not unexpected. I mean, it was foreshadowed throughout the book, so when it got there, I was more like, “Oh, yes, that. Well, this is about to get interesting.” Like I said, nothing in this book happens without consequences.
- Uvoren is awful. There are times where I thought, oh, look, he has a chance to redeem himself slightly because he’s a garbage person but at least he might have this thing going for him. But no. Every time, he unfailingly proved me wrong. He’s not even worth wasting words on because grrr. That is all I have to say about that.
The Negatives:
- As great as the cultural aspect was, the worldbuilding is a bit lacking. Especially for a high fantasy. There’s maps, so that’s helpful, but beyond that, I don’t have a great sense of the world they’re living in. The map shows that where this takes place is obviously an island, albeit a decent sized one. There’s also mention of the Sutherners having arrived on boats, basically, and settled there, so that hints at a larger world. But beyond that, this feels like it takes place in a microcosm. The races are so vastly different (the Anakim at around seven feet with bone plates under their skin and the Sutherners, who seem to basically be like normal humans as we know them) yet I have no sense of why this is or how it came to be. Maybe the hows and whys aren’t as important, but it feels so much like an alien vs. human concept that I really was looking for more of a grounding in what this world as a whole actually is.
- I actually have absolutely no idea what Anakim look like. Which is problematic, given that I read the whole thing. Well, mostly. I confess, I may have skipped some descriptions when it became too much, so I very well might have missed something rather important. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be just really tall human-like creatures with bone plates or if they look entirely different or what. I guess I pictured them as not entirely human-looking. Though, apparently, it’s possible for Sutherners and Anakim to reproduce, sort of, so I guess they should be at least sort of human-ish. I just really don’t know.
- Yeah, about that skimming thing … I did that quite a bit. There were some fantastic and important descriptions, but there were also times when it became overbearing. I feel like this is a symptom of high fantasy in general, which is why I tend not to read a lot of it, because ultimately, I just don’t care that much. I can conjure up the image of a fort just fine without three pages describing the buildings and exactly what it looked like. It may not be exactly what the author imagined, but it gets the job done. The battles also dragged on in some places and became a bit repetitive. I came for the political mind games, not the war, so those parts really just didn’t interest me and couldn’t hold my attention.
Overall:
Even though I don’t read a lot of high fantasy, I picked this up specifically for the political aspect. As I said, I love a good game of wits. I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed. I easily found myself taking sides, shaking the book, lecturing characters, and altogether getting embroiled in the war itself. All in all, this was a good book. Not great, but good, and enough so where I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series. Just be aware that it’s slow (as most things regarding war and politics are) and there are likely to be places that will be skimmed.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A massive battle of wits, one within a kingdom and one between kingdoms, where the loser forfeits their life and no one truly wins.
Summary:
The Anakim to the north are known as monsters, demons, and fallen angels by their southern opponents, so when what looks like a green snake appears in the sky, the Suthern king is convinced it’s an omen that they should invade in order to please God. So sure of their victory, the Anakim are taken by surprise to find the Sutherners have laid a trapped, one that wipes out many of their soldiers and results in the death of their king, the Black Lord. For the first time in centuries, they’re forced to retreat, under order of the new Black Lord, Roper, who suddenly inherited the position upon his father’s death.
Not everyone is so thrilled with the young, inexperienced upstart, though. Uvoren, Master of the Guard, sees his chance to supplant the rule. After all, he’s popular among the Anakim, and Roper is an upstart with no experience in battle, where favor is won and lost among the Anakim. If Roper intends to take his rightful place as Black Lord, he’ll have to earn it—and fast. And it won’t be easy.
But civil war isn’t the only threat on the horizon for the Anakim. The Sutherners have their own upstart. Not exactly young, but from a lowly and ignoble birth, Bellamus intends to do whatever it takes to earn his status in society. His specialty is information, and as he’s made himself the expert on Anakim, it seems only fitting that he should be the one to lead the Sutherners to victory over the northern tribe once and for all.
Only one person can win this battle of wits, but at what cost?
The Positives:
- Strategy and sabotage and stabbiness and supplanting and all the other great S words (and other letters, probably, too). I’m not into high fantasy in general as a whole, but I do love me some political games, and this book is just rife with it. Everyone has an angle they’re working, and brute force won’t win it for them. They have to be cunning and always one step ahead. Sure, some of the tactics used weren’t all that surprising and I had predicted them, but they were smart and effective. The game of one-upmanship is everything I could have hoped for and then some.
- Keturah and Roper make one heck of a power couple. While women aren’t allowed to fight in the army, it’s clear that they’re not just passive bystanders, either, or not in this case. Keturah has her own game going on behind the scenes. She’s cunning and manipulative and knows just the right strings to pull. She takes her role seriously, and she’s damn good at it. I actually really liked the way this worked out, because despite the Anakim society having traditional male/female roles, there are strong women in this that for sure aren’t just innocent bystanders.
- I’m just a teensy bit in love with Pryce. Missing ear and all. Sure, he’s cantankerous and stubborn, but he’s fiercely loyal to the people he feels worthy of such fealty. He’s a beast not just in his interactions with people but on the battlefield, yet he knows his place. His cockiness and arrogance isn’t misguided; he’s talented and he knows it, but he also knows the limits. I really liked the way his character grew through this.
- Everyone should have a Gray in their life. He’s the father figure most people dream of. He’s insistent that Roper will either succeed or fail on his own, but he doesn’t withhold his advice and attempts to guide him, either. Nor does he shy away from speaking his truth, even when it’s a harsh one. He’s just a brilliant character, and comes out with the best advice and stories. What’s not to love? “And there is nothing to fear about death, because when you reach it—when you have no choice—you can accept it.”
- I’m really interested in Bellamus and the game he’s playing and where it’ll take him. I actually want to know more about his backstory, really, since I’m sure there’s got to be some good stuff in there. He’s such a deep character, and we get to see a lot of character growth and realization in him in this book, but I want to know more about his past. He’s smart and cunning and somehow manages to survive, like a roach. He seems like a worthy adversary for Roper, and I look forward to seeing what he does in the next books.
- The author has a degree in biological anthropology, and it shows. The differences between the cultures and groups is fabulously done. They each have their own religions and beliefs and ways of approaching life, which makes it pretty nigh on impossible for them to actually understand each other. It’s even touched on in the book that as much as Bellamus believes he knows about the Anakim, he still doesn’t understand some of the most vital information that’s just embedded in who they are. There’s a stark contrast between the Sutherners, who live relatively normal human lifespans and are always moving, fluid, and in love with gold, and the Anakim, who can live for easily two hundred years and bond with the environment and the area they inhabit, to the point where they would rather die than resettle somewhere else. I thought the cultures were marvelously done, and I got a really good sense of those two groups. I actually look forward to learning more about the Unhierea, which I assume will come in the later books.
- The ending was the perfect setup for book two. Which obviously there’s going to be a book two, as this is book one. There’s a bit of a cliffhanger, but nothing where you’ll be beating the author over the head with his own book for making you wait. The epilogue is a nice touch to create intrigue for the next book, but it’s also not unexpected. I mean, it was foreshadowed throughout the book, so when it got there, I was more like, “Oh, yes, that. Well, this is about to get interesting.” Like I said, nothing in this book happens without consequences.
- Uvoren is awful. There are times where I thought, oh, look, he has a chance to redeem himself slightly because he’s a garbage person but at least he might have this thing going for him. But no. Every time, he unfailingly proved me wrong. He’s not even worth wasting words on because grrr. That is all I have to say about that.
The Negatives:
- As great as the cultural aspect was, the worldbuilding is a bit lacking. Especially for a high fantasy. There’s maps, so that’s helpful, but beyond that, I don’t have a great sense of the world they’re living in. The map shows that where this takes place is obviously an island, albeit a decent sized one. There’s also mention of the Sutherners having arrived on boats, basically, and settled there, so that hints at a larger world. But beyond that, this feels like it takes place in a microcosm. The races are so vastly different (the Anakim at around seven feet with bone plates under their skin and the Sutherners, who seem to basically be like normal humans as we know them) yet I have no sense of why this is or how it came to be. Maybe the hows and whys aren’t as important, but it feels so much like an alien vs. human concept that I really was looking for more of a grounding in what this world as a whole actually is.
- I actually have absolutely no idea what Anakim look like. Which is problematic, given that I read the whole thing. Well, mostly. I confess, I may have skipped some descriptions when it became too much, so I very well might have missed something rather important. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to be just really tall human-like creatures with bone plates or if they look entirely different or what. I guess I pictured them as not entirely human-looking. Though, apparently, it’s possible for Sutherners and Anakim to reproduce, sort of, so I guess they should be at least sort of human-ish. I just really don’t know.
- Yeah, about that skimming thing … I did that quite a bit. There were some fantastic and important descriptions, but there were also times when it became overbearing. I feel like this is a symptom of high fantasy in general, which is why I tend not to read a lot of it, because ultimately, I just don’t care that much. I can conjure up the image of a fort just fine without three pages describing the buildings and exactly what it looked like. It may not be exactly what the author imagined, but it gets the job done. The battles also dragged on in some places and became a bit repetitive. I came for the political mind games, not the war, so those parts really just didn’t interest me and couldn’t hold my attention.
Overall:
Even though I don’t read a lot of high fantasy, I picked this up specifically for the political aspect. As I said, I love a good game of wits. I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed. I easily found myself taking sides, shaking the book, lecturing characters, and altogether getting embroiled in the war itself. All in all, this was a good book. Not great, but good, and enough so where I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series. Just be aware that it’s slow (as most things regarding war and politics are) and there are likely to be places that will be skimmed.
Disclaimer: I received a free eARC copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 8, 2024
Even better on re-read. Can't wait to get to books 2 and 3. The love, thought, and care that Leo Carew put into this world, plot, and characters is remarkable, but there's still just a little bit too much telling instead of showing for me. Damn, the foreshadowing is incredible though.
Original review: It is a triumph that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. This book, as evidenced by the author's writing on his website, is very much a means to an end with that end being telling us about this alternate earth. Normally a book that is this focused on the world over the plot and characters would not be for me, but this one really worked, and I think it because of how much care, love and detail Leo Carew put into fleshing out this alternate timeline Earth that really shows through in the story. The worldbuilding does lean a bit too much into telling rather than showing, and is very intentional and detailed, but rarely goes so far as to become a chore to get through. It's clear that world was built first and then a story wrapped around it, but in this case it actually works as the plot fits the original premise of the world extremely. The characters are the least fleshed out compared with the setting and plot, but while slow, the characters do get stronger as you get through the book, and there are a couple that immediately explode of the page in their first appearance. I think the book's greatest accomplishment though is how well it captures and conveys the scale of the world. It is set on an alternate earth, so its a bit easier to wrap your mind around the scale when you know that, but even before knowing that its amazing how well Carew shows the reader that the story takes place in a large plot of land, but that is only a tiny portion of the whole world which is not something I often get out of fantasy. This book is a slow burn, but the journey and payoff are well worth the wait.
Original review: It is a triumph that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. This book, as evidenced by the author's writing on his website, is very much a means to an end with that end being telling us about this alternate earth. Normally a book that is this focused on the world over the plot and characters would not be for me, but this one really worked, and I think it because of how much care, love and detail Leo Carew put into fleshing out this alternate timeline Earth that really shows through in the story. The worldbuilding does lean a bit too much into telling rather than showing, and is very intentional and detailed, but rarely goes so far as to become a chore to get through. It's clear that world was built first and then a story wrapped around it, but in this case it actually works as the plot fits the original premise of the world extremely. The characters are the least fleshed out compared with the setting and plot, but while slow, the characters do get stronger as you get through the book, and there are a couple that immediately explode of the page in their first appearance. I think the book's greatest accomplishment though is how well it captures and conveys the scale of the world. It is set on an alternate earth, so its a bit easier to wrap your mind around the scale when you know that, but even before knowing that its amazing how well Carew shows the reader that the story takes place in a large plot of land, but that is only a tiny portion of the whole world which is not something I often get out of fantasy. This book is a slow burn, but the journey and payoff are well worth the wait.
July 14, 2023
CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
✅ well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
🔲 gripping
✅ exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
✅ nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
✅ immersive
🔲 you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
✅ picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down
Great military fantasy, but the descriptions were a bit too wordy, and the pacing too slow for my taste.
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
✅ well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional
PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
🔲 gripping
✅ exceptional
🔲 mind=blown
WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
✅ nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own story
ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
✅ immersive
🔲 you forget you are reading a book
PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
✅ picks up with time
🔲 page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down
Great military fantasy, but the descriptions were a bit too wordy, and the pacing too slow for my taste.
August 13, 2023
Gush review for this wonderfully engaging story: https://www.solseit.com/blog-2-2/the-...
really a 4.5 stars story; I am curious to know what the rest of the series has to offer but this was exceptional with regards to world building (and created an incredibly complex society) and plot wise.
I would appreciate women having a more interesting role but the male characters were handled really well!
really a 4.5 stars story; I am curious to know what the rest of the series has to offer but this was exceptional with regards to world building (and created an incredibly complex society) and plot wise.
I would appreciate women having a more interesting role but the male characters were handled really well!
March 2, 2019
3.5/3.75
It had some pacing issues and I'd prefer if the relationships between the characters had been explored a little more, but all in all - the closest feeling thing to The Vikings I've ever come across.
It had some pacing issues and I'd prefer if the relationships between the characters had been explored a little more, but all in all - the closest feeling thing to The Vikings I've ever come across.
September 19, 2024
Good plot and well chosen protagonists, but the writing didn't entirely work for me. It's a bit repetitive and leaves little room for interpretation. The author needs to trust his audience more, but it's a debut, there's time to improve, it just took me out. I like war books were both sides of the conflict are portrayed, though, and there isn't good vs. evil, but I'm not as much into the world building as the people that recommended this to me and the characters are fun and interesting, but not entirely engaging.
March 13, 2023
“To fight well, you must first forget.”
Political Intrigue✓ Slow-Paced ✓ Clever Female and Male Characters ✓
What is the Book about?
In the mysterious dark forests of the North, the battle for Albion's future begins...
In Albion, the centuries-old peace is shattered when the hosts of the South invade the harsh realm of the North. Young Roper, son of the House of Silver Wolf and heir to the throne of the North, faces his first battle - and soon finds himself surrounded by enemies. For not only does the Queen of the South want to wipe out his people, but powerful enemies within are also reaching for the throne. Roper's only chance is an alliance with the beautiful Keturah, daughter of the powerful House Vidarr. But his opponents are already planning the next move - with only one goal: to make the howl of the Silver Wolf fade away forever ...
_______________________
Rating
Plot ★★★★☆
Characters ★★★★☆
Excitement ★★★☆☆
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Writing Style ★★★★★
Favourite Character
Gray, Keturah
My thoughts while reading it
A book at the same time emotional and yet distant, that lets you participate very closely in the events. This gives such a unique feeling, as the last time Malazan has managed. The setting feels large and powerful, as you are drawn into the battles. Be it bloody battles described in detail, or even distant tales from days gone by. This allows emotions such as anger and sadness, and yet sometimes hatred to bubble up in one. Also, the author allows enough time to act out these emotions, since it is not at an important event into the next plot twist, but it is left to one time to understand these emotions. The scenes after that are appropriately inserted so that the whole book is an emotional ride.
Also, the book is written extremely intelligently as you learn about many facets of war. It's really fun to get involved in the battles between the allied lords and also to see who is trying to steal power from the others. Just as this book describes war, I imagine it happening in real life. For in war there are no good ones, and even though as a people we should stick together, selfish power games are fought out. The author writes this plot with such sophistication that you can't tell the difference between the book and the real world.
Lastly, I also want to emphasize that this book is very slow-paced - and that's what I love so much. You have time to get to know characters, world and your own emotions. It is written so pictorially that you can imagine every single scene. It's just fun to read the author's words, so I didn't even need a real story.
If you love dramatic stories that put the main focus on politics and war, you must have read this book.
Reading Recommendation? ✓
Favourite? ✓
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Political Intrigue✓ Slow-Paced ✓ Clever Female and Male Characters ✓
What is the Book about?
In the mysterious dark forests of the North, the battle for Albion's future begins...
In Albion, the centuries-old peace is shattered when the hosts of the South invade the harsh realm of the North. Young Roper, son of the House of Silver Wolf and heir to the throne of the North, faces his first battle - and soon finds himself surrounded by enemies. For not only does the Queen of the South want to wipe out his people, but powerful enemies within are also reaching for the throne. Roper's only chance is an alliance with the beautiful Keturah, daughter of the powerful House Vidarr. But his opponents are already planning the next move - with only one goal: to make the howl of the Silver Wolf fade away forever ...
_______________________
Rating
Plot ★★★★☆
Characters ★★★★☆
Excitement ★★★☆☆
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Writing Style ★★★★★
Favourite Character
Gray, Keturah
My thoughts while reading it
A book at the same time emotional and yet distant, that lets you participate very closely in the events. This gives such a unique feeling, as the last time Malazan has managed. The setting feels large and powerful, as you are drawn into the battles. Be it bloody battles described in detail, or even distant tales from days gone by. This allows emotions such as anger and sadness, and yet sometimes hatred to bubble up in one. Also, the author allows enough time to act out these emotions, since it is not at an important event into the next plot twist, but it is left to one time to understand these emotions. The scenes after that are appropriately inserted so that the whole book is an emotional ride.
Also, the book is written extremely intelligently as you learn about many facets of war. It's really fun to get involved in the battles between the allied lords and also to see who is trying to steal power from the others. Just as this book describes war, I imagine it happening in real life. For in war there are no good ones, and even though as a people we should stick together, selfish power games are fought out. The author writes this plot with such sophistication that you can't tell the difference between the book and the real world.
Lastly, I also want to emphasize that this book is very slow-paced - and that's what I love so much. You have time to get to know characters, world and your own emotions. It is written so pictorially that you can imagine every single scene. It's just fun to read the author's words, so I didn't even need a real story.
If you love dramatic stories that put the main focus on politics and war, you must have read this book.
Reading Recommendation? ✓
Favourite? ✓
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