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rhimaguire's review
4.0
3.5 stars, tending more towards 4. i enjoyed this quite a bit but i found it lacking in some parts. i could probably tell you very vaguely what about 3 characters look like. while the short chapters leant themselves to fast pacing, it definitely impacted the depth of the characters. also, there was far too little worldbuilding in terms of the gods for my liking. still a solid read though, gonna pick up the sequel when my local library reopens.
somecharm's review against another edition
5.0
Well well well I'm mightily impressed Mrs Stephens. Mightily impressed. Easily up there on top as one of the best debuts I've read this year. Easily.
Great characters and plot work. A even balance between omg how cute (that chapter and holy shit how EVIL!
Evil being the overruling theme of this book with a great set of bad guys and an even greater set of good guys - let the Dancer's Light be upon you s'all I'm sayin'
Godblind had it's own flair for the dramatic and the quick switching between points of view gave the book it's own edge.
Can I have book 2 now?
Great characters and plot work. A even balance between omg how cute (that chapter and holy shit how EVIL!
Evil being the overruling theme of this book with a great set of bad guys and an even greater set of good guys - let the Dancer's Light be upon you s'all I'm sayin'
Godblind had it's own flair for the dramatic and the quick switching between points of view gave the book it's own edge.
Can I have book 2 now?
observantraven's review
5.0
Firstly, a big thank you to HarperCollins for sending me an arc copy of this book for review.
Up until a couple of months ago I didn't know anything about the release of Godblind by Anna Stephens but as soon as I read the synopsis for it I knew I would thoroughly enjoy it.
Upon reading the first chapter of Godblind I was immensely blown away by the world and characters I was reading about as Anna Stephens writing style and the world she has crafted naturally just draws you in and makes you want to just keep reading more and more.
One aspect I found a double edged sword is the amount of characters you are introduced to throughout the book (13 was my final count), the final character doesn't get introduced until approximately the page 130 mark. Due to this I initially found it quite difficult to remember all the characters but once I started to learn more about them and their own personality quirks / traits I quickly came to recognise who I was reading about. The reason why I said it was a double edged sword is because even though I found it initially difficult to remember who a character was I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about them and I don't think there was a single character that I didn't like. Anna Stephens concept of characterization is truly inspiring and she constantly keeps you invested in what is happening to them and world around them. Out of all of the characters my favourite would be either Rillirin or Dom. There are increasingly a number of authors whose books involve strong female characters and Anna Stephens Godblind is definitely a pure joy to read from a female perspective as they don't stick to the traditional trope and it is for this reason that why Rillirin is one of my favourite characters.
From the first moment you dive into the world of Rilpor you are quickly dropped into a very important scene in the book and for me I don't believe there was a single scene that was unnecessary or slowly paced. I have read many authors that have a hard time finding that perfect balance between having necessary scenes and keeping a consistent pace throughout the course of the book. This I believe is one the books greatest strengths because you never want to put the book down as you are always wanting to know more, when it comes to a fight scene you are truly gripped by them as they written in a very natural and progressive aspect as a real life battle would be. As I mentioned above coming to grips with the amount of characters can be difficult at first but the story and the short chapters make it very easy read the book and get yourself lost in the world.
The interest in grimdark books in consistently climbing and I Godblind fits perfectly within that genre and all the great authors it holds as it is a true joy to read and Anna Stephens is truly a fantastic writer and one to watch. If you are looking for a new grimdark or even a new fantasy book to read then I would highly recommend that you read Godblind as it is a fantastic book that will not let you go from the moment you read that first chapter.
Up until a couple of months ago I didn't know anything about the release of Godblind by Anna Stephens but as soon as I read the synopsis for it I knew I would thoroughly enjoy it.
Upon reading the first chapter of Godblind I was immensely blown away by the world and characters I was reading about as Anna Stephens writing style and the world she has crafted naturally just draws you in and makes you want to just keep reading more and more.
One aspect I found a double edged sword is the amount of characters you are introduced to throughout the book (13 was my final count), the final character doesn't get introduced until approximately the page 130 mark. Due to this I initially found it quite difficult to remember all the characters but once I started to learn more about them and their own personality quirks / traits I quickly came to recognise who I was reading about. The reason why I said it was a double edged sword is because even though I found it initially difficult to remember who a character was I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about them and I don't think there was a single character that I didn't like. Anna Stephens concept of characterization is truly inspiring and she constantly keeps you invested in what is happening to them and world around them. Out of all of the characters my favourite would be either Rillirin or Dom. There are increasingly a number of authors whose books involve strong female characters and Anna Stephens Godblind is definitely a pure joy to read from a female perspective as they don't stick to the traditional trope and it is for this reason that why Rillirin is one of my favourite characters.
From the first moment you dive into the world of Rilpor you are quickly dropped into a very important scene in the book and for me I don't believe there was a single scene that was unnecessary or slowly paced. I have read many authors that have a hard time finding that perfect balance between having necessary scenes and keeping a consistent pace throughout the course of the book. This I believe is one the books greatest strengths because you never want to put the book down as you are always wanting to know more, when it comes to a fight scene you are truly gripped by them as they written in a very natural and progressive aspect as a real life battle would be. As I mentioned above coming to grips with the amount of characters can be difficult at first but the story and the short chapters make it very easy read the book and get yourself lost in the world.
The interest in grimdark books in consistently climbing and I Godblind fits perfectly within that genre and all the great authors it holds as it is a true joy to read and Anna Stephens is truly a fantastic writer and one to watch. If you are looking for a new grimdark or even a new fantasy book to read then I would highly recommend that you read Godblind as it is a fantastic book that will not let you go from the moment you read that first chapter.
jesnevertheless's review against another edition
4.0
Quarterly Book Club book! Full review coming soon
vulpasvulpas's review
4.0
this book is so dark and hardcore and kind of awesome it felt like committing an act of violence just by reading it.
daaan's review against another edition
2.0
Not for me. I tried to read this 3 times, making it 3/4 of the way through this time before thinking "the ending is obvious", skipping to the end to confirm and putting it down. To be honest, the ending was obvious about a third of the way through the book, I kept reading in the hope there would be complications or deviations that would throw it off course. That made the whole experience feel like reading backstory, I would almost be interested in reading the next book if it wasn't for my other major problem. I didn't find any of the characters particularly compelling: ruthless warlord, power hungry cleric, jealous princeling, cryptic mystic, ultra tough female soldier, all pretty stock, the novelty is that they are all turned up to 11. They didn't have that third dimension that made them jump off the page like say Stehlen or Wichtig from Manifest Delusions, Logen Ninefingers or Glokta from First Law or Jorg from Prince of Thorns. Part of the problem is that the POV shifts so frequently that you hardly explore past the surface of the character before whoosh you are looking at someone different. That made the audio for this almost unlistenable (that's why attempt no.2 crashed and burned). More than anything, it reminds me of Prince of Nothing, but with more POVs, another book that had very few living characters in it, that also seemed to be mostly interested in chronicling an event rather than telling a story, and had a first book filled with back story.
tien's review against another edition
3.0
When I picked this book up, I thought it was a stand alone. When I got around halfway and things still did not progress to enable a satisfying ending in this book, I started to get a bit confused. It was around then that the Goodreads' page was updated to reflect that this is the first book of a trilogy. I was rather upset...
Nevertheless, it was an interesting but very very dark book. It was also so very violent (I am thinking of one particular incident from which I literally winced & I think all males may just have run to the bathroom and vomit from imagining it only). So, yea, this author was certainly NOT shy! I haven't read all the books in the world so I can't say if it's ever happened anywhere else or if any male author would have written such a scene. Can you tell that it's totally shocked me?
The beginning was quite slow but then again there's a new set of world being built. There were also quite a number of perspectives from a number of different locations. It wasn't that easy to get into but a couple of the characters were easily likeable so that helps. When the battles begin, the rest of the book flew by in what felt like minutes.
If you like your fantasy dark and full of action, I'd recommend this first book of The Godblind Trilogy. It's a brutal world filled with bloodthirsty power-grabbing villains with a vision to rule the world. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for the sequel (warning: a bit of a cliffhanger of an ending).
Thanks to HarperCollins Australia for copy of book in exchange of honest review
Nevertheless, it was an interesting but very very dark book. It was also so very violent (I am thinking of one particular incident from which I literally winced & I think all males may just have run to the bathroom and vomit from imagining it only). So, yea, this author was certainly NOT shy! I haven't read all the books in the world so I can't say if it's ever happened anywhere else or if any male author would have written such a scene. Can you tell that it's totally shocked me?
The beginning was quite slow but then again there's a new set of world being built. There were also quite a number of perspectives from a number of different locations. It wasn't that easy to get into but a couple of the characters were easily likeable so that helps. When the battles begin, the rest of the book flew by in what felt like minutes.
If you like your fantasy dark and full of action, I'd recommend this first book of The Godblind Trilogy. It's a brutal world filled with bloodthirsty power-grabbing villains with a vision to rule the world. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for the sequel (warning: a bit of a cliffhanger of an ending).
Thanks to HarperCollins Australia for copy of book in exchange of honest review
billies_not_so_secret_diary's review
2.0
While this book was completely different than what I was expecting, (I would've passed it by), it was a decent story and was very violent. Some very gruesome deaths. Read at an okay pace, but because of the 'spoilers' I was never pulled in, and I had to push to finish it.
jjcrafts's review
3.0
I felt at times, and anyone who has read the book knows specifically what times, that it was gruesome for the sake of being gruesome. This is not a Scott Lynch type of fantasy, this is an Abercrombie or Mark Lawrence dark fantasy, and if you’re fans of those books then you will love this one. Expect it dark ….. All the way through.
I’m a little annoyed that dark fantasy books like this always seem to be set in a world that is sexist and homophobic. Yes there are main characters who defy those and prove them wrong, it isn’t the tone of the book itself, But I find it annoying that this is nearly always a thing.
The second half got better in my opinion. It drifted away from these problems and I did really enjoy reading it but in the end I felt like there wasn’t enough. I was there for Crys, I liked him from the first chapter he gets. I think he’s the one we’re being made to route for. There are lots of hints at where his story is going but by the end of the book his story hadn’t actually started yet. It just didn’t feel like a full book to me. I know its part of a series but to be a book needs a little rounding off and tying up of ends rather than just stopping.
I’m a little annoyed that dark fantasy books like this always seem to be set in a world that is sexist and homophobic. Yes there are main characters who defy those and prove them wrong, it isn’t the tone of the book itself, But I find it annoying that this is nearly always a thing.
The second half got better in my opinion. It drifted away from these problems and I did really enjoy reading it but in the end I felt like there wasn’t enough. I was there for Crys, I liked him from the first chapter he gets. I think he’s the one we’re being made to route for. There are lots of hints at where his story is going but by the end of the book his story hadn’t actually started yet. It just didn’t feel like a full book to me. I know its part of a series but to be a book needs a little rounding off and tying up of ends rather than just stopping.
terry_saunders's review against another edition
4.0
Gday all,
For the first half of this book I would have rated it as a three.
There was times that I struggled with the multiple POV and the very quick chapters. As the story built and I became more invested this was less and less of a issue for me.
While there are very much some dark elements in the book I feel that they are part of the story and not written to just tick a box so that there are trigger warnings.
Great book overall and looking forward to the rest of the series.
For the first half of this book I would have rated it as a three.
There was times that I struggled with the multiple POV and the very quick chapters. As the story built and I became more invested this was less and less of a issue for me.
While there are very much some dark elements in the book I feel that they are part of the story and not written to just tick a box so that there are trigger warnings.
Great book overall and looking forward to the rest of the series.