Reviews

A Time of Dread by John Gwynne

cyriax's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

dromwald's review against another edition

5.0

Let me start by saying that this was a book that I didn't want to end. In fact I could probably have finished it in a weekend but knew I had to pace myself. Let me say too that I had some worries initially; returning to a world once populated with characters I came to know and love a hundred years later when most of those characters are dead seemed risky. I needn't have worried. John Gwynne did it again with new equally engaging heroes and villains that made my blood boil, and a story that made me grin from ear to ear at times or brought me to the edge of my seat at others.

Frankly, if I could I would have given this 6 stars and I now just have to wait for the next installment. It's going to be tough wait....

leescratchharry's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

lareads36's review against another edition

3.75

A Time of Dread by John Gwynne 

3.75⭐

Three generations after The Faithful and the Fallen series, good and evil are just as intertwined as ever. Gwen uses the same writing style for this series and I'm wondering if that's a trademark of his. Like his first series, the first book was not quite as amazing as the other two and I'm interested to see if this series will ball the same pattern. The beacon of Truth and courage as dimmed in this series. Fanaticism and enslavement are large themes as colonialism absorbs country after country in the name of protection.

 Read this if you like. High fantasy action pack, battle scenes and complicated politics. 

saltycoffee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, Murder, Blood, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Child death

rjames50's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

itsfreelancer's review against another edition

5.0

And that's a wrap. Took me about 4-5 hours with a little bit of gap in between. And yes, it's good.

is_book_loring's review against another edition

3.0

I am sorry, but everything was a bit too messy and supernatural thingy to me. Personally Drem & Sig saved the book for me, I liked them so much.

frasersimons's review against another edition

adventurous reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

My first Gwynne, and probably the wrong starting point, I’m guessing, since it feels like it’s winking and nodding to something I was completely unaware of. Apparently there’s a series before this one. 

However, it is still pretty fun. Warrior winged angel type people and multiple POVs serving as a setup to a larger conflict around the major factions. 

It’s relatively strong at character interiority and especially at battle scenes, which feel kinetic and interesting, rather than super heroic and bombastic. The realism makes it convincing. 

The dialogue and overall plot is more serviceable than anything, but this is commercial fiction, so I’m fine with that. Annoyingly, when I bought this and the sequel on an audible sale, I thought it was a duology and not a trilogy. This did make me want to keep reading though. Can’t ask for much more than that. 

mimmsmilk's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

SPOILERS HIDDEN

The very aptly named first entry in John Gwynne’s second trilogy is a fantastically tense read culminating in the explosive third act.

I absolutely adored this book. Everything I loved about Gwynne’s previous series (The Faithful and the Fallen) has been improved, while its flaws are rarely seen.

I very much enjoyed getting to know the quartet of POV characters Gwynne introduces,

although from the beginning I was trying to guess which would be the one to die.

So much time and attention is paid to creating separate identities for these characters; they all feel unique, and I cared for all of their journeys. A marked improvement from the previous series with so many POVs it was hard to follow, let alone care, for all of them. I would have liked a little more detail on the characters ages - I’m still not sure how old

Riv is supposed to be.

The worldbuilding is excellent.

It’s 100 years after the final events of the last series, and the changes made to the world are definitely believable. I enjoyed the new tensions created after the supposed “happy ever after” of Wrath.

 

The plot is also pretty good, if a little predictable in the case of

Riv.

Something I loved about the structure is the little pieces of the story the reader was able to put together due to the musings of the different POV characters.

For example, Drem loses the sword, only for it to appear in Drassil where Bleda sees Asroth’s hand chopped off with it, and then later on Drem sees the hand put to use.

. 

The tension built up throughout the book is so good, and I think for the most part it pays off well in the third act - with one exception.

Riv’s closing scenes are confusing and messy, and I’m not sure enough of a relationship was built up between Israfil and Riv to justify her trying to kill Kol, even when including her temper issues.

 

Some of the weaker parts of the book include the romances, or potential romances. They seem superficial, unbelievable, and poorly written. The cast of characters is back; I think it’s a crutch that Gwynne can do without. 

I’m very much looking forward to reading the next entry in the series after this fantastic opener.