Reviews

Malice by John Gwynne

chriscoman's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

maniactoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I find it hard to rate this one. I think it will depend on the sequels. This felt like one long inciting incident. Without knowing where this is leading, it's hard to gauge. I like the characters, and the chapter pacing was nice (except I always wanted to stick in Corban's or Cywin's POV and was tired of rolling my eyes at Veradis). On a reread I could see myself increasing my rating, but for now, all I can says is I will be continuing on to book 2. 

kelly_sophia's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.0

desolation73's review against another edition

4.0

To be honest it started off slow for me and I nearly gave up, but Im glad I didnt and in the end it turned into a humdinger of a book and I glad I stuck with it. A fantasy epic for lovers of Games of thrones but John as with so many writers has his own style. When I get a bit of my TBR down I will be picking up the next part of the story Valour.

alanp's review against another edition

5.0

This is possibly the best book I've ever read. I loved it: The characters, the story, the pacing, the writing. All of it. Non-stop enjoyment the whole way through, and often impossible to put down.

All of the many different threads of the story and character viewpoints were so exciting, and John Gwynne changed back and forth between them expertly. Man... such a great book, absolutely amazing.

I've always had "The Wheel of Time" as my favourite fantasy series (admittedly I haven't read too many full series...yet...), but if the rest of "The Faithful and the Fallen" series is as good as this first book... I can't see how it won't take the #1 spot! I cannot say enough good things about this book. Looking forward to more John Gwynne in the very near future and delighted he has so many more books for me to dive into!

ashley409's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bookish_withsky's review against another edition

3.0

Really a 3.5.
I really enjoyed it, I think it just suffered from ‘first book in a series.’ It gave me the feeling I missed from Game Of Thrones. I think the first half is iffy. It got a little tough to get through, but then the second half saved it. I appreciated the time spent on allowing the audience to grow to care for the characters. The lore was awesome. I can’t wait to follow through with the rest of the series.

nilla_beanie19's review against another edition

3.0

3.75

xosammyjo's review

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mitskimonday's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25