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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
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
While this did lack a certain charm missing my favorite pair of lovable scoundrels, I still had an absolute blast in this world. Sullivan has a way of providing an epic fantasy adventure thats reminiscent of old school fantasy but with such a fun modern twist. I do question some of his character name choices (one in particular) but overall I am so excited to be back in this world and loving this new group of "heroes"
First of all, I will like to say that I love fantasy books those ones engage with an amazing story, war, interesting setting and believable characters. This one didn't disappoint me at all. However, I feel like there was that "something" missing. The story starts with Rithe and his father that are trying to hunt something beyond the trespassing, an area that was forbidden and is only for "Gods"(The Fhreys). eventually, they come across with Shegon a Fhrey with two rhunes(a race that is believe to be less than freys and more like animals) slaves that follow him. He orders them to leave and give them the sword his father had and since he has so much pride he didn't so he kills him. Eager and shock by his fathers murder Rithe reacts instinctively and attacks Shegon, eventually killing him with the help of Malcon one of Shegon's slaves.
This is just the beginning...
they begging a journey where do we eventually meet other significative characters that are as important as Rithe and Malcon.
-there is Persephone the widow of the chieftain Reglan of Dhal Ren, the strongest female character and one of my favorites .
-Suri and Minna: lovely and odd characters that make the book mystic
-there's Arion story but she kind of bores me off and I just keep wanted to go back to Dahl Ren of course eventually every character stories collide.
- Other relevenat characters like Lothian (the fane of Fhreys), Moya, Brin, Gryndal, The Galantials and renegades like Nyphron, Maeve,Reglan.
I had such a fun time with Rithe and Malcom. I found Malcom to have the funniest and sarcastic personalities for being an ex-slave.
Another relevant characteristic that stood out from the book were the creatures that make it feel like a magical land. As an example the grimballs, the land of Nog where there always a party and if a human goes there they never return.
The Art(A type of magic in this world) is another relevant feature of this book. unique name but is obviously the same as magic.
Overall super entertaining book. with distinctive parts that made it special. But like I said, I feel like there was something missing. something that will make me want to re-read it or buy the second book like other great fantasy books that I have read.
Anyways I guess I will read the second one because I want to see what's happening next.
I leave a good quote from this book:
"Power has a way of seducing by saying what you want to hear. Remember, it’s easier to believe an outlandish lie confirming what you suspect than the most obvious truth that denies it"
This is just the beginning...
they begging a journey where do we eventually meet other significative characters that are as important as Rithe and Malcon.
-there is Persephone the widow of the chieftain Reglan of Dhal Ren, the strongest female character and one of my favorites .
-Suri and Minna: lovely and odd characters that make the book mystic
-there's Arion story but she kind of bores me off and I just keep wanted to go back to Dahl Ren of course eventually every character stories collide.
- Other relevenat characters like Lothian (the fane of Fhreys), Moya, Brin, Gryndal, The Galantials and renegades like Nyphron, Maeve,Reglan.
I had such a fun time with Rithe and Malcom. I found Malcom to have the funniest and sarcastic personalities for being an ex-slave.
Another relevant characteristic that stood out from the book were the creatures that make it feel like a magical land. As an example the grimballs, the land of Nog where there always a party and if a human goes there they never return.
The Art(A type of magic in this world) is another relevant feature of this book. unique name but is obviously the same as magic.
Overall super entertaining book. with distinctive parts that made it special. But like I said, I feel like there was something missing. something that will make me want to re-read it or buy the second book like other great fantasy books that I have read.
Anyways I guess I will read the second one because I want to see what's happening next.
I leave a good quote from this book:
"Power has a way of seducing by saying what you want to hear. Remember, it’s easier to believe an outlandish lie confirming what you suspect than the most obvious truth that denies it"
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Rounded up from 2.5 stars.
I found the central plot of this book very intriguing; who wouldn't love a mystery about a demonic bear? I wasn't a huge fan of how this narrative was embedded within a larger epic fantasy for the simple reason that the chosen one was almost completely unnecessary to everything having to do with the bear. Also, his relationship with the leading lady has 0 substance, feeling as though it is only there to check a romantic subplot off the list of required elements. It was kind of gross for the initial disinterest of the widow to shift because she found out her late husband had an affair.
My final critique is that the dialog is horrendous. Everyone sounds the same and the voice doesn't match the bronze age setting.
So why rate it at 2.5? I loved watching the mystery unravel as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Will I read the next book? If I can find it at my library, sure.
I found the central plot of this book very intriguing; who wouldn't love a mystery about a demonic bear? I wasn't a huge fan of how this narrative was embedded within a larger epic fantasy for the simple reason that the chosen one was almost completely unnecessary to everything having to do with the bear. Also, his relationship with the leading lady has 0 substance, feeling as though it is only there to check a romantic subplot off the list of required elements. It was kind of gross for the initial disinterest of the widow to shift because she found out her late husband had an affair.
My final critique is that the dialog is horrendous. Everyone sounds the same and the voice doesn't match the bronze age setting.
So why rate it at 2.5? I loved watching the mystery unravel as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Will I read the next book? If I can find it at my library, sure.
Love this book. Great world building rolled out in a way that is easy to comprehend and tied to the plot but leaves just enough mystery to keep you turning the pages. Compelling characters that manage to feel real and grounded in fantastical circumstances. And the plot has a great mix of twists that I saw coming and made me feel smart covering twists that completely blindsided me but made complete sense in hindsight.
Only thing that kept this book from being a five star for me was that I didn't find the Fhrey chapters quite as compelling. They just felt so removed from the rest of the story in the early stages of the book and required a bit more info dumping given the more fantastical nature. Once the Fhrey storyline intertwined with the stories of the other characters I found this to be less of a problem for me.
Only thing that kept this book from being a five star for me was that I didn't find the Fhrey chapters quite as compelling. They just felt so removed from the rest of the story in the early stages of the book and required a bit more info dumping given the more fantastical nature. Once the Fhrey storyline intertwined with the stories of the other characters I found this to be less of a problem for me.
Good characters, good setting, well written: good book.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Was I there
This book had me mesmerized. I didn’t want to put it down. The characters and places are so vivid I felt like I was there. Can’t wait to get to the rest of the series!
This book had me mesmerized. I didn’t want to put it down. The characters and places are so vivid I felt like I was there. Can’t wait to get to the rest of the series!