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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun and thoughtful.
Loved Heden and examining the effects of oathes and their interactions with others within your own faith. Hope Matt can corn these out.
Loved Heden and examining the effects of oathes and their interactions with others within your own faith. Hope Matt can corn these out.
Colville is a phenomenal author who manages to weave a beautiful fantasy tale filled with complex and well made characters perfectly.
"A man is better than the worst thing he's done."
"A man is better than the worst thing he's done."
Struck Speechless
It's damn rare that a first book really blows me away but Colville has accomplished it. I am at a loss for words and feel like anything I could write about Priest would only pale in comparison to what is found in these pages. I was hooked by chapter 5 and it only got better from there. If you're a fan of fantasy at all then this should be the next book you read.
It's damn rare that a first book really blows me away but Colville has accomplished it. I am at a loss for words and feel like anything I could write about Priest would only pale in comparison to what is found in these pages. I was hooked by chapter 5 and it only got better from there. If you're a fan of fantasy at all then this should be the next book you read.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
A D&D Priest as a Main Character - Awesome
The characters and world felt wholly original yet familiar. It feels like D&D but in an entirely new space. Archetypes remain but they're given much more personilatiy like our central character, Heden. He's alone for most of the book where our typical D&D party exists mostly in his past.
I really enjoyed exploring this world though it does throw out a lot of names and ideas that we don't understand at the moment or never do by the end.
The biggest downside to this book is that it felt like half of a novel. A lot of the novel is spent with Heden being confused and things thrown into the story that don't make sense till the very end when the dots are connected. I'd like to think I'm clever enough to guess some things but I could not really figure out the central mystery early.
The characters and world felt wholly original yet familiar. It feels like D&D but in an entirely new space. Archetypes remain but they're given much more personilatiy like our central character, Heden. He's alone for most of the book where our typical D&D party exists mostly in his past.
I really enjoyed exploring this world though it does throw out a lot of names and ideas that we don't understand at the moment or never do by the end.
The biggest downside to this book is that it felt like half of a novel. A lot of the novel is spent with Heden being confused and things thrown into the story that don't make sense till the very end when the dots are connected. I'd like to think I'm clever enough to guess some things but I could not really figure out the central mystery early.
General Overview
Priest is indeed a hardboiled fantasy, with a true focus on characters and their struggles, painted on the backdrop of an interesting fantasy setting. I would recommend this novel to any fan of fantasy, but also those who like a good detective story, or wild west novel.
Style
Matt Colville has a sharp writing style, with some of the most natural dialogue I have seen in a fantasy novel in some years. The sense of the main character, Heden, being a detective is thick for me through my read. Also of a grizzled gunslinger from any good western. You could pick Heden up, dump him on the border of Mexico, replace his blade with a gun, and he'd be well set. This style is engaging, and makes it stand out from most over novels in the same genre.
Not a word is wasted in this gripping story. There is no filler. No paragraphs of unneeded description. Everything you read brings you deeper into the world, the characters, and the story. Some could argue that key scenes of battle or travel are missed. The sense of them is gained though, and not havng them reduces an already sizeable novel. Nothing, in my opinion, is lost from the removing of some of these scenes.
Story
I will keep this brief to avoid spoilers. The main plot is gripping. There is a sense of what has come before, that makes you feel as if you known the characters for years and from other books even. Its flow is perfect. I never felt bogged down in chapters, or as if something important had been skipped.
The subplots are interesting. They leave me excited to read the next book in the series (Thief) not just for the main story arch, but for the whole of this book.
Priest deals with some interesting issues such as PTSD, and the rights and wrongs of killing. They are handled tactfully and well, and add another string to this books already impressive bow.
Final Thoughts
If you love fantasy, read this. If you know people who want to get into fantasy, recommend this, and to those who like a good mystery, with realisitic characters.
Priest is indeed a hardboiled fantasy, with a true focus on characters and their struggles, painted on the backdrop of an interesting fantasy setting. I would recommend this novel to any fan of fantasy, but also those who like a good detective story, or wild west novel.
Style
Matt Colville has a sharp writing style, with some of the most natural dialogue I have seen in a fantasy novel in some years. The sense of the main character, Heden, being a detective is thick for me through my read. Also of a grizzled gunslinger from any good western. You could pick Heden up, dump him on the border of Mexico, replace his blade with a gun, and he'd be well set. This style is engaging, and makes it stand out from most over novels in the same genre.
Not a word is wasted in this gripping story. There is no filler. No paragraphs of unneeded description. Everything you read brings you deeper into the world, the characters, and the story. Some could argue that key scenes of battle or travel are missed. The sense of them is gained though, and not havng them reduces an already sizeable novel. Nothing, in my opinion, is lost from the removing of some of these scenes.
Story
I will keep this brief to avoid spoilers. The main plot is gripping. There is a sense of what has come before, that makes you feel as if you known the characters for years and from other books even. Its flow is perfect. I never felt bogged down in chapters, or as if something important had been skipped.
The subplots are interesting. They leave me excited to read the next book in the series (Thief) not just for the main story arch, but for the whole of this book.
Priest deals with some interesting issues such as PTSD, and the rights and wrongs of killing. They are handled tactfully and well, and add another string to this books already impressive bow.
Final Thoughts
If you love fantasy, read this. If you know people who want to get into fantasy, recommend this, and to those who like a good mystery, with realisitic characters.
This is a rough review. I know of Matt Colville from the gaming community. I've watched a video or two of his on YouTube and he expresses himself well and I do not doubt his talent in the realm of RPGs. Random note: He speaks very quickly, but is strangely articulate. It's like overwhelming to me how fast he talks.
The writing: Colville's writing is acceptable. I had a hard time getting started with the book, but eventually it grabbed my attention enough to continue on.
The good: The plot was odd, but interesting. The main character, Heden was interesting and I loved his position within the church. The rescue of the girl was a good subplot. While some of the largest good points were RPG related, the plot would truly not be a fit for a tabletop game. Very cool spells, magic items, and combat, which were all tripped my gaming geek trigger.
The bad: The plot was stretched to the point of breaking. There were many times that Heden's past was mentioned/referred to, but we are left in the dark too much. Heden's kind of a sad sack and it gets old. The knights were annoying as hell with their reticence to say anything to him. Secondary characters are flat and two dimensional.
The gaming stuff: Heden is obviously a very high level character. He has a bag of holding with a magic carpet in it, he gets a loaner sword that's an artifact level magic item. All that stuff is very cool to me despite verging on ridiculous. The races in the book are renamed at times like orcs and halflings, but not in the case of trolls. Sure - maybe they are not actually orcs and halflings, but we aren't given enough to really understand that. In short - they are renamed without it serving a purpose except to confuse.
Bottom line: I found the book rough. I'd heard the second one was better and am giving it a try. If you are a big time D&D fan, you might enjoy it for the gaming parts.
The writing: Colville's writing is acceptable. I had a hard time getting started with the book, but eventually it grabbed my attention enough to continue on.
The good: The plot was odd, but interesting. The main character, Heden was interesting and I loved his position within the church. The rescue of the girl was a good subplot. While some of the largest good points were RPG related, the plot would truly not be a fit for a tabletop game. Very cool spells, magic items, and combat, which were all tripped my gaming geek trigger.
The bad: The plot was stretched to the point of breaking. There were many times that Heden's past was mentioned/referred to, but we are left in the dark too much. Heden's kind of a sad sack and it gets old. The knights were annoying as hell with their reticence to say anything to him. Secondary characters are flat and two dimensional.
The gaming stuff: Heden is obviously a very high level character. He has a bag of holding with a magic carpet in it, he gets a loaner sword that's an artifact level magic item. All that stuff is very cool to me despite verging on ridiculous. The races in the book are renamed at times like orcs and halflings, but not in the case of trolls. Sure - maybe they are not actually orcs and halflings, but we aren't given enough to really understand that. In short - they are renamed without it serving a purpose except to confuse.
Bottom line: I found the book rough. I'd heard the second one was better and am giving it a try. If you are a big time D&D fan, you might enjoy it for the gaming parts.