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missgarceau's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
I just really didn’t have a particularly fun time reading this tbh.
Had I checked content, I would have skipped it entirely.
Definitely do not recommend going in blind.
I did well with the prose, and overall plot and character development.
It’s only book 1- so there’s plenty left to be developed. That’s a given.
Like all big epics- I was mentally prepared for the information overwhelm. The amount of characters could give Wheel of Time a run for its money.
I was disappointed in the strategies and political plots. Felt very “made for TV” and typically why I avoid political plots, in general.
A part of me felt like this was the typical “dude fantasy” that I avoid at all costs. I’m not entirely sure that’s inaccurate.
But, I still binged the shit out of it- and immediately dove into the second book. Guess that means I didn’t complete hate it. It’s complicated.
Commentary re CW: The animal brutality was just sooooo unnecessary and I’m pretty sure NO ONE WANTS THAT!!! It was… a LOT! And the sound effects were just insult to injury. I wanted to DNF and chuck the entire thing sooooo many times. But people I trust have convinced me to carry on.
Had I checked content, I would have skipped it entirely.
Definitely do not recommend going in blind.
I did well with the prose, and overall plot and character development.
It’s only book 1- so there’s plenty left to be developed. That’s a given.
Like all big epics- I was mentally prepared for the information overwhelm. The amount of characters could give Wheel of Time a run for its money.
I was disappointed in the strategies and political plots. Felt very “made for TV” and typically why I avoid political plots, in general.
A part of me felt like this was the typical “dude fantasy” that I avoid at all costs. I’m not entirely sure that’s inaccurate.
But, I still binged the shit out of it- and immediately dove into the second book. Guess that means I didn’t complete hate it. It’s complicated.
Commentary re CW:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
roorooreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.75
This book was an emotional ride. Punches were not pulled and I had a great time meeting and leanring about all the characters. I did have to take notes so i could keep everyone straight at first and it was slow on the beginning but after that, especially at the end, I couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Alcoholism and Self harm
kliberty21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.25
Malice is a slow burn with a BIG pay-off. There is a large cast of characters, but once they are introduced and the web begins to spin, and the wheels start turning, strap yourself in for one incredible ride!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Torture
rase's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Misogyny, Blood, and Grief
arian_dragonelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This took a long while for me to get into. That’s really the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars. This was intense. I could handle all the fighting scenes, but it was hard for me to get through the animal deaths. Poor Buddai! I teared up imagining the faithful hound lying on his master’s chest as he died. That was rough. I did see some things coming, but that wasn’t a bad thing. I was kind of irritated that we didn’t get any information about Corban. John Gwynne had been teasing it for I don’t know how many chapters, and then the book just ends. Thankfully I do have Valor, but I don’t know if I want to go straight in. I think I need to sit in this for a little bit. I need to go read a cozy mystery or reread a favorite romance. There is only so much head chopping a person can take!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
chrisb913's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am incredibly shocked this was a debut novel. The way Gwynne had me gripped to the edge of my seat as I devoured this story. I had heard there was slow pacing and that is factual. But I could not put this book down. The character work for me was phenomenal. The way he incorporated so many povs into this story, yet still was able to seamlessly weave the narrative between them and progress the overarching plot between so many different subplot going on. If this was his first novel, and everything gets better from here? I cannot wait to continue on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Torture
iceberglives's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.25
This book seems like it is setting up for a great epic fantasy series. My only complaint is that the combat is not written as well as some other books/ series. The characters are compelling and after a slow start the book starts picking up steam before a strong finish.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism and Gore
l_noona's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
happyknitter2020's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved it. My first John Gwynne book, become attached to the characters, developed an ecomap of each group, so could keep up with the POVs as they developed & listened to the audio book to reflect on what I had read. Thiscreally helped me get through the first half, after this I felt I was in their world.
So many people that I cared for died so quickly without preparing.
So many people that I cared for died so quickly without preparing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
isi__1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
What a pleasant surprise this was! This book was exactly what I needed at the moment. It‘s a very typical adult epic fantasy book with a lot of common tropes. Even though this book certainly didn‘t reinvent the wheel, I do think that it executed everything quite well.
I do have to admit that the first half or so didn‘t entirely manage to pull me in. It was a bit slow-going. There was a lot of exposition and it took a while to get to know the different p.o.v. characters, the world, and figuring out where the plot was headed. This was to be expected, seeing as this is a 4-book adult epic fantasy series. The 1st book in such a series always takes some time setting up the characters, world, magic, and plot.
I was also not having the highest expectations because I‘ve heard a lot of people (even fans of the series) say that this first instalment isn‘t the best and that the series just gets better and better with each book.
Even in the beginning, I was nevertheless intrigued to see where this is going, even though I wasn‘t fully immersed yet.
After that, though, things just started escalating all of a sudden. I could barely put the book down in the second half. I was at the edge of my seat. Especially the ending blew me away. I was shocked the entire way through. It was amazing!
Even though the start was a bit slow and the pacing was a little weird at times, I ended up feeling connected to the characters. So, when bad things started happening, it made me quite upset, because I cared about the well-being of the main characters and important side characters.
I kept wanting to know what would happen next. The plot became quite fast-paced towards the end. Overall, the world-building I‘ve seen so far seems very interesting, although I‘m pretty sure I‘ve barely scratched the surface.
This first instalment seems like a solid setup for the series to come. I can‘t wait to read the next book!
I do have to admit that the first half or so didn‘t entirely manage to pull me in. It was a bit slow-going. There was a lot of exposition and it took a while to get to know the different p.o.v. characters, the world, and figuring out where the plot was headed. This was to be expected, seeing as this is a 4-book adult epic fantasy series. The 1st book in such a series always takes some time setting up the characters, world, magic, and plot.
I was also not having the highest expectations because I‘ve heard a lot of people (even fans of the series) say that this first instalment isn‘t the best and that the series just gets better and better with each book.
Even in the beginning, I was nevertheless intrigued to see where this is going, even though I wasn‘t fully immersed yet.
After that, though, things just started escalating all of a sudden. I could barely put the book down in the second half. I was at the edge of my seat. Especially the ending blew me away. I was shocked the entire way through. It was amazing!
Even though the start was a bit slow and the pacing was a little weird at times, I ended up feeling connected to the characters. So, when bad things started happening, it made me quite upset, because I cared about the well-being of the main characters and important side characters.
I kept wanting to know what would happen next. The plot became quite fast-paced towards the end. Overall, the world-building I‘ve seen so far seems very interesting, although I‘m pretty sure I‘ve barely scratched the surface.
This first instalment seems like a solid setup for the series to come. I can‘t wait to read the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Death of parent