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vinjii's review
5.0
As an avid Bloodborne...addict, this was one of the best books I've read in 2021. I'm not exaggerating, this book made me feel...things.
At times, it felt as though Nathan Hall had written this book specifically for me. Admittedly, that thought is a bit creepy, but...somehow that book was exactly what I wanted it to be.
The prose is exquisite (truly), the world-building while definitely inspired by the Dark Souls games is unique, and the atmosphere, oh the atmosphere...
I breathed this book! I lived this book.
It's rare, at least now that I'm an adult and my brain is racked by the constant reminders of endless responsibilities, that a book simply absorbs me.
I didn't want to look up, I didn't want to stop!
The pacing is...a bit like playing a Dark Souls game. You have to work for it, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. This isn't a book to be devoured in a few hours, it's to be relished, slowly, while sipping something warming.
The only slump I found noticeable was shortly after the halfway point: the pacing had slowed, my initial excitement died down and just for a brief moment, I found myself...dare I say, struggling?
By that point the protagonist had died a dozen times and was one or two deaths away from being consumed by madness, and it occurred to me that perhaps...perhaps Nathan Hall had slowed the pace on purpose.
Right at that point, my mindset mirrored the protagonist's. Frustrated, itching to try again, itching to succeed. Onwards! What a book!
Whether you're a fan of the Souls games or just like dark atmospheric fantasy, do yourself a favour and give this one a try.
At times, it felt as though Nathan Hall had written this book specifically for me. Admittedly, that thought is a bit creepy, but...somehow that book was exactly what I wanted it to be.
The prose is exquisite (truly), the world-building while definitely inspired by the Dark Souls games is unique, and the atmosphere, oh the atmosphere...
I breathed this book! I lived this book.
It's rare, at least now that I'm an adult and my brain is racked by the constant reminders of endless responsibilities, that a book simply absorbs me.
I didn't want to look up, I didn't want to stop!
The pacing is...a bit like playing a Dark Souls game. You have to work for it, but the payoff is absolutely worth it. This isn't a book to be devoured in a few hours, it's to be relished, slowly, while sipping something warming.
The only slump I found noticeable was shortly after the halfway point: the pacing had slowed, my initial excitement died down and just for a brief moment, I found myself...dare I say, struggling?
By that point the protagonist had died a dozen times and was one or two deaths away from being consumed by madness, and it occurred to me that perhaps...perhaps Nathan Hall had slowed the pace on purpose.
Right at that point, my mindset mirrored the protagonist's. Frustrated, itching to try again, itching to succeed. Onwards! What a book!
Whether you're a fan of the Souls games or just like dark atmospheric fantasy, do yourself a favour and give this one a try.
tommock's review
3.0
A Talent In The Dark - More Than Just Monsters
A new Lance pledges himself to the Chained God and departs into the Fallen Lands where he will face the Horrors eating away at the world. He is called to a village where he dies and dies again as he struggles to defeat the Horror that has trapped the people of the village in a cycle of madness, eternally reliving their torments and death. But is he getting any closer to victory, or, like the fallen Lances before him whose stories he sees in visions, is he doomed to suffer forever?
The story of the nameless Lance serves as a frame narrative for several short story visions of the travails of past Lances in the world of An Altar on the Village Green. Viscerally violent, nightmarish and strange with hints of dark poetry, the tone of all these stories is as dark as their circumstances are varied. The earnestness, even naivete, of the nameless Lance helps to balance the horrors of the village as he tries desperately to uncover the source of the evil and defeat it, and also understand the mysteries of his new power, of the cycle and the possibility of changing its outcome. He is a true believer, and though he struggles with hopelessness, we are always routing for him.
Although the frame narrative was slow to develop and felt stretched to make room for the visions, those short stories were active, mysterious, awful, emotional, and concise, giving the reader a broader picture of the world of the fallen lands as well as the characters of different Lances. More than just monster stories, they show Lances who fight against doubt and regrets; who, swamped in madness, succumb to temptation; who are indifferent to the suffering they witness; who return to their own homes, facing their families taken by Horror; and who refuse to let the wicked torment the weak. I would have been delighted if some of those stories, especially Opit's, had been more fully told elsewhere.
This is an ambitious debut I would recommend to fans of grimdark and horror fantasy looking for a new voice and a unique read like something torn from the pages of Weird Tales with hints of Sapkowski's Witcher stories. I think Hall has talent. I'm interested to see what he does next.
A new Lance pledges himself to the Chained God and departs into the Fallen Lands where he will face the Horrors eating away at the world. He is called to a village where he dies and dies again as he struggles to defeat the Horror that has trapped the people of the village in a cycle of madness, eternally reliving their torments and death. But is he getting any closer to victory, or, like the fallen Lances before him whose stories he sees in visions, is he doomed to suffer forever?
The story of the nameless Lance serves as a frame narrative for several short story visions of the travails of past Lances in the world of An Altar on the Village Green. Viscerally violent, nightmarish and strange with hints of dark poetry, the tone of all these stories is as dark as their circumstances are varied. The earnestness, even naivete, of the nameless Lance helps to balance the horrors of the village as he tries desperately to uncover the source of the evil and defeat it, and also understand the mysteries of his new power, of the cycle and the possibility of changing its outcome. He is a true believer, and though he struggles with hopelessness, we are always routing for him.
Although the frame narrative was slow to develop and felt stretched to make room for the visions, those short stories were active, mysterious, awful, emotional, and concise, giving the reader a broader picture of the world of the fallen lands as well as the characters of different Lances. More than just monster stories, they show Lances who fight against doubt and regrets; who, swamped in madness, succumb to temptation; who are indifferent to the suffering they witness; who return to their own homes, facing their families taken by Horror; and who refuse to let the wicked torment the weak. I would have been delighted if some of those stories, especially Opit's, had been more fully told elsewhere.
This is an ambitious debut I would recommend to fans of grimdark and horror fantasy looking for a new voice and a unique read like something torn from the pages of Weird Tales with hints of Sapkowski's Witcher stories. I think Hall has talent. I'm interested to see what he does next.
tommcgorrin's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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