Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Malice

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Malice by John Gwynne

26 reviews

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!

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kmack79's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Even the brave will fall"

There are humans, draighs, giants, wyrm, wolven, and a talking bird.
The world building was good and the magic system I feel is just the beginning in this book.

The black sun is gaining its ascendency and there are going to be far larger problems to come than this war. The prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust

Corban is a young warrior who is learning to protect and serve under King Brenin. He finds a wolven who he raises from a pup that now has grown and is his protective companion. He is the main character in this book so you definitely root for him.

Veradis is a very skilled swordsmen who is in the High prince Nathair's warband. He seems like a cool character. Seems like a Jamie Lanister type except isnt so cocky. ; )

Nathair- the High Prince, doesn't agree with his father (High King Aquilus) to summon his fellow kings to council.

The book reminded me of Game of thrones in many ways. Its violent. Don't get too comfortable with characters they may die!

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grunks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? No

4.5

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bebby92's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.5

This is a very slow burn and feels like a set up for the rest of the series but it’s so worth it.

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arbitrary_convenience's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The only thing that makes this not a perfect 5/5 is that sometimes the descriptions are a bit tedious and you have to reread the same paragraph 10 times.
But it’s so exciting every time I pick it up. And I get so hype seeing what happens next.

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