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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
A fascinating blend of traditional fantasy elements. Those who enjoy a bit of a melancholy overtone will be especially pleased.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Did no one ever tell Ryan how to punctuate a sentence? Did no one at Ace read this before they started printing and shipping copies?
The story is okay, I guess, but I'm just worn down by an endless cascade of comma splices. So very many comma splices. Could not finish.
The story is okay, I guess, but I'm just worn down by an endless cascade of comma splices. So very many comma splices. Could not finish.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The run-on sentences. Dear God, the run-on sentences. Appearing on every page, sometimes three times a paragraph, often making what was supposed to be an emotional or intense moment feel like a stream of delirious fever-dream rambling instead (forcing me to interrupt myself and re-read a section in the register or flow it was *supposed* to have).
Examples: "None of them escaped unscathed, Vaelin bore a livid scar on the back of his hand where a speck of molten metal landed, the pain and the smell of his own skin burning was uniquely sickening." "The enraged Alpirans fought back savagely, more than a few knights disappeared under the mass of stamping hooves, but they had neither the numbers nor the steel to stand against such an onslaught."
The constant mental editing really takes away from the experience of the story, to the point that I don't know if I'll be able to finish. Periods and semicolons: they're important!
My second gripe: I'm over 100 pages in and we're still in an almost excruciating account of the protagonist's schooling/training. It's not as dull as it could be and I can tell it's important to get to know this cast of characters, but it still drags a bit, especially after what sounded like a very interesting prologue--I want to get to the Hope-Killer part and I feel like we're 1000 pages away! ;_;
I'll soldier on for a few more pages to see if anything happens to give the story some momentum, but at this point I just don't know.
Edit: Okay, so things did pick up around page 130 and it became a more interesting story from there. But I'm still giving it only 3 stars because of the long wait and the constant run-on sentences...and one instance of describing someone's pale pallor (seriously, where was the editor?!). I might pick up the next volume later, but for now I need a rest from the constant mental editing.
Examples: "None of them escaped unscathed, Vaelin bore a livid scar on the back of his hand where a speck of molten metal landed, the pain and the smell of his own skin burning was uniquely sickening." "The enraged Alpirans fought back savagely, more than a few knights disappeared under the mass of stamping hooves, but they had neither the numbers nor the steel to stand against such an onslaught."
The constant mental editing really takes away from the experience of the story, to the point that I don't know if I'll be able to finish. Periods and semicolons: they're important!
My second gripe: I'm over 100 pages in and we're still in an almost excruciating account of the protagonist's schooling/training. It's not as dull as it could be and I can tell it's important to get to know this cast of characters, but it still drags a bit, especially after what sounded like a very interesting prologue--I want to get to the Hope-Killer part and I feel like we're 1000 pages away! ;_;
I'll soldier on for a few more pages to see if anything happens to give the story some momentum, but at this point I just don't know.
Edit: Okay, so things did pick up around page 130 and it became a more interesting story from there. But I'm still giving it only 3 stars because of the long wait and the constant run-on sentences...and one instance of describing someone's pale pallor (seriously, where was the editor?!). I might pick up the next volume later, but for now I need a rest from the constant mental editing.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Great start to a series. Reads like a lighter version of Game of Thrones and follows just one character.
HECK. Yeah.
I'm throwing my five stars out there with the rest of the population who has read this superbly crafted book. The momentum and solid direction of Blood Song is really quite exceptional, especially considering the book's substantial length. I particularly admire the understated, unassuming quality of Anthony Ryan's writing. This story revolves around the Sixth Order Brother Vaelin, a young boy who grows into a rather deadly man. Readers get to watch the beginning of a legend, yet Ryan never pushes the epic-ness in our faces. I might think, "Holy sh*t! That's cool." But I'm never slathered by that sentiment. The epic-ness is somehow subtle, quiet, yet no freakin' less epic. Moreover, unlike most other high fantasies that I know, the focus is almost exclusively on the character Vaelin. No multiple POV shifts here--well, there is an intriguing frame story told in first person, but for the most part the writing is in third person flashback. And, omigosh, the frame story! It's completely brilliant in how it pulls the story together and leads the reader to question just how in the heck Vaelin got to that point. I had a sense of complete trust in the author's knowledge of the direction of the story, which is dang rare let me tell you, especially in the high fantasy genre.
Furthermore, there is a humbleness to this book that just makes it even cooler. Perhaps I am just projecting my feelings on how the book was originally independently published as an ebook and eventually garnered enough attention to be picked up by ACE and printed in hardcover. Nevertheless, the awesomeness is undeniable. Go read this exciting addition to the genre and get lost in the story of the five brothers Vaelin, Nortah, Caenis, Barkus, and Dentos. I am highly anticipating the next book [b:Tower Lord|18138189|Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2)|Anthony Ryan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1382486392s/18138189.jpg|25481154]. More, please!
I'm throwing my five stars out there with the rest of the population who has read this superbly crafted book. The momentum and solid direction of Blood Song is really quite exceptional, especially considering the book's substantial length. I particularly admire the understated, unassuming quality of Anthony Ryan's writing. This story revolves around the Sixth Order Brother Vaelin, a young boy who grows into a rather deadly man. Readers get to watch the beginning of a legend, yet Ryan never pushes the epic-ness in our faces. I might think, "Holy sh*t! That's cool." But I'm never slathered by that sentiment. The epic-ness is somehow subtle, quiet, yet no freakin' less epic. Moreover, unlike most other high fantasies that I know, the focus is almost exclusively on the character Vaelin. No multiple POV shifts here--well, there is an intriguing frame story told in first person, but for the most part the writing is in third person flashback. And, omigosh, the frame story! It's completely brilliant in how it pulls the story together and leads the reader to question just how in the heck Vaelin got to that point. I had a sense of complete trust in the author's knowledge of the direction of the story, which is dang rare let me tell you, especially in the high fantasy genre.
Furthermore, there is a humbleness to this book that just makes it even cooler. Perhaps I am just projecting my feelings on how the book was originally independently published as an ebook and eventually garnered enough attention to be picked up by ACE and printed in hardcover. Nevertheless, the awesomeness is undeniable. Go read this exciting addition to the genre and get lost in the story of the five brothers Vaelin, Nortah, Caenis, Barkus, and Dentos. I am highly anticipating the next book [b:Tower Lord|18138189|Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2)|Anthony Ryan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1382486392s/18138189.jpg|25481154]. More, please!
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book after I got into it…as it took a couple or restarts of the first few chapters to really focus in on the characters and storyline. It is a slow burn, and required concentration to keep track of the people and places and missions. Though once I got hooked, I was in!! I gave it 4 stars, because I was left satisfied enough with the ending, that I likely won’t read the rest of the series. Which also makes me wish more fantasy books were stand alone.