When I review, I try to think less about my personal connection to a book and more about who the book will work for, since a book could be chalk or chWhen I review, I try to think less about my personal connection to a book and more about who the book will work for, since a book could be chalk or cheese to two different readers. Battlemage will appeal to fans of military fantasy. This book is about a war: nations and ideologies clash, soldiers do gritty soldier things, mages employ deadly spells, shadowy figures work espionage in the background. There is a clearly defined side to support, and a clearly defined enemy. If you enjoyed books by David Gemmell, Glen Cook and Steven Erikson, then I think that BATTLEMAGE is likely to be up your alley. In some ways BATTLEMAGE felt like a throwback to me; reminiscent of a style of fantasy we don't see so much of in current publisher's lists. It's big, it's epic. I listened to the audio book. I found the narrator to be pretty soothing, and overall it made a good bed time listen. If you enjoy war as the central focus of your fantasy, BATTLEMAGE is one to check out....more
I decided to give Darkmage a try after asking for recommendations in a Facebook group, having heard the series mentioned a number of times in the pastI decided to give Darkmage a try after asking for recommendations in a Facebook group, having heard the series mentioned a number of times in the past with a consistently positive reception.
Darkmage is a fun epic fantasy that holds it own against other contemporary works. The world has depth, and from the very beginning there is a great sense of epic background and history. The character's feelings about their allegiances and oaths are well expressed. This is really important, as the oath taken by the magic users is something of a baffling one (refusing to harm anyone else, even as their own city is being annihilated), and had their own sense of zealousness failed to come across effectively it would have been an issue. As it stands, however, the Sentinel's bindings are made believable by the legends and history of the world. This world feels deep.
Spencer's word crafting is polished, clipped and practical. The prose reminds me of a faithful palfrey in the best possible way. It's not an overburdened packhorse, slogging on with too much baggage, and neither is it a flamboyant showhorse, prancing for attention. It carries the reader from A to B at just the right pace without causing distraction, which for me is the best option. The writing style allowed me to get on with the story, and that's what I tend to want with this kind of story.
I don't think that I would like to live in the Rhen, and I certainly don't want to have to go and guard the border. There is a feel of bleak, impending doom, where ultimately the castle must fall. The nations that comprise the Rhen seem to not bother supplying their guardians with anything except criminals, who are all then given rusted weapons to fight with alongside a promise that they won't survive more than a couple of years at best. Although I wouldn't call Darkmage a grimdark book necessarily, there are certainly some bleak elements!
I would recommend Darkmage to fans who enjoy big epic fantasy, getting to grips with a magic system from the inside, and impending doom. Elements reminded me of Gemmell's Legend and Jordan's Wheel of Time and if that's your bag, then Darkmage may be the book for you....more
I am not a fast reader. Usually it takes me about a month to read a book. I enjoyed Priest of Bones a"It's quite a thing to see a human body explode."
I am not a fast reader. Usually it takes me about a month to read a book. I enjoyed Priest of Bones and devoured it in four days. Priest of Lies took me two.
Priest of Lies is fast paced, dark fantasy gangster-bloodbath with characters you can't help loving, even if you wouldn't turn your back on any of them.
Mclean continues the stylised use of character voice and pacing that made Priest of Bones a success, but this story felt even richer to me. Perhaps it's because I've known the characters for longer, but what I enjoy most in Mclean's books isn't necessarily the overarching plot, but the relationships and interactions between the characters. There's plenty of that, and though the overall story does progress, to me, Priest of Lies was mostly a book about the people that inhabit it.
One of the key themes that Mclean explores throughout this book, even more so than in Priest of Bones, is the idea of PTSD and the effects of trauma on even the strongest people. The different ways in which characters dealt with the horrific things that they had seen, and continue to see, adds a necessary element of humanity to the gang of gangsters, humanising them and showing that they are just as messed up as everyone else. There were also interesting moments of sympathy and humanity from them, and that kept the balance. Usually I hate anything about gangsters, but Mclean gets this dead on right.
This is no doubt a fairly dark read. Frequently bloody, large amounts of death both on and off screen, and torture all play a part. But then, if you are averse to those things then it's odd that you'd be reading the sequel to Priest of Bones. Tomas Piety continues to be that strange "moral gangster" type, who on the one hand will hang anyone who crosses him, but simultaneously is probably better for the people than the uncaring government as even if he extorts them, he does protect them.
The book is divided into three sections, and the middle section features a very welcome change of location. The new location felt like a real place to me, though it is not overly described and I felt that I understood the way that it worked, and the people that lived there. There's some fantastic intrigue going on, and I hope that Mclean never runs for office because if he does, woe betide those that go up against him. For me, this section was the highlight of the book.
All of the old gang make reappearances. Many people's favourite character is Bloody Anne, but for me it's always Aisla. A new character, Sasura, was also very enjoyable to read about. I'm very hopeful that we'll get a third instalment in the series because I'm sure that Aisla's story isn't quite over yet, and there are enough threads left dangling at the end to tempt anyone back.
Who is this book for: Readers of any kind of speculative fiction will enjoy Priest of Lies, but in particular if you enjoy low fantasy, and like your characters to live near to a pig sty, then this is the book for you.
Thomas Piety puts the 'die!' into priest. Or he would do anyway. Those are the times we live in....more
When I was in my teens, I loved fat books. I don't think I'd even have bothered with a book that came in at under 500 pages. I wanted heavy, long epicWhen I was in my teens, I loved fat books. I don't think I'd even have bothered with a book that came in at under 500 pages. I wanted heavy, long epics - and I had the time to read them. Then, as adult life and career and relationships and writing all ate into my time, I switched onto lighter books. 400 pages or fewer. So I am not sure why it was that one night, wondering what to read, having already begun another novel 3 days before, that made me pick up Chris Wooding's 800 page beast.
But I am very, very glad that I did.
The Ember Blade is the island of goodness and hope for humanity in the sea of grimdark. I can't remember where the term 'Noblebright' came from, and it was mocking when it was coined, but if there was a book to make you suddenly think 'Shit, Noblebright can actually be a thing - and it can be amazing, exciting, and still retain a realistic world view of people and how they think and act and feel,' then this would be it.
At its core, The Ember Blade is a coming of age quest story in the very best traditions of The Belgariad or the Runes of War, and sits brilliantly as The Lord of the Rings for a modern, more cynical generation of readers. There is a long journey, perilous haunted castles, a party of adventurers who each have their own particularly useful skills, evil enemy agents, and nasty creatures from the Abyss. If you're looking for epic quest fantasy then this is the book for you.
It would be wrong not to talk about the characters. Every character in the 'party' - and there are a lot of them - undergoes a character development arc (maybe Ruck doesn't, but Ruck is a dog). My favourite character was Grub, and I was glad of the way he developed and what he ends up doing. Not everyone makes it through the story - when I say 'noblebright' I'm not telling you that this is all happiness and smiles. People die, sometimes tragically. Friends betray one another. Families are slaughtered or abandoned. But it's all so very well crafted that the nuance of the causality is ever present. One of my favourite characters was Overwatchman Klyssen, who I actually completely understood and sympathised with, even if he is working against our heroes.
So I guess that I've praised enough, and ought to try to be at least a little bit critical. I would have liked to have seen one morally upstanding, decent Krodan. There is some excellent nuance, particularly towards the end, about concepts of right and wrong. I hope that this is something that will be addressed in the next instalment.
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