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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
Alright, I’ll try not to rant but I make no promises not to rage about this book. For an in-depth review check out UTT's video on Shadow of the Conqueror.
First of all, its premise - an aged old tyrant, repentant of his ways seeks and finds redemption - could be a great story if executed well. Was this executed well? NOOOOOO! Instead what I got was an aged old pedo rapist tyrant who is sick of being old and impotent (in more ways than one because omfg his ability to obtain an erection is like a plot B in this story, judging by how often it’s mentioned) decides to end his life in the most convoluted way possible but instead the Light decides to make him young again and grant him superpowers for having some mild-vague-barely-there regret. He takes this as a sign that he should start playing vigilante by brutally murdering any wrong-doer, sometimes with no prior proof. It’s like any problem he sees, he tries to solve through murder or maiming.
The book’s biggest problem is that the author loves his MC and his world-building too much. Every time Daylen does anything related to his powers, even if it’s supposed to be an action-filled fight, everything is put on pause for a physics lesson. It effectively kills any momentum in the story, pun intended. Also, if you took a shot every time someone gasped in shock and awe at something Daylen did, you’d be comatose halfway into the book.
Nothing in this book is thought through. The author contradicts his own thesis at every step and misuses his own concepts. Here I’m referring mostly to the whole inner light doesn’t equate to goodness idea. Honestly, I’d have loved it if light was like a natural resource/human need like water and air. It would have tied so much better with the way people become Shades. It would also have worked better with how he got his powers without taking any vows or doing any vigil. Instead, it’s a measure of someone’s confidence in their actions, so a murderer who is convinced he’s doing the right thing by killing has a brighter light than a guy stealing to feed his family. And right after he explains this to us, he promptly starts using it as a tool to determine who should be killed and who should be spared. Why does he think he should be judge and jury? And how does this fit in with his whole "I'm a changed man and I'll try to live a better life"? He's doing the exact thing he did as a dictator: excusing any means for an end. He's not changed, he's not better, he's the same bad guy, only now the Light has validated his life choices by making him young and giving him superpowers.
I would be remiss if I forgot to mention that this book’s/author’s view on women is disturbing. The only women we meet are either being SAed, have been SAed, are shamed for wanting to have sex or are dedicated to being wives and mothers. There isn’t a single woman with speaking lines in this book that falls out of these categories. Additionally, it’s implied that women should keep their rape babies and that motherhood is the only way a woman can be truly fulfilled. I don’t need to explain to anyone why this is wrong on so many levels.
To close this out, I also have to point out the one thing that I thought was kind of neat was that the way their world worked made me think that they were living inside a black hole. Unfortunately, that was it. There are some interesting nuggets of world-building buried in the book, but they never got polished into a finished product.
Because I think I've already spent too much time on this book, I'll end my final thoughts here. This book didn't work for me and is a cautionary tale for authors who love their MCs too much.
First of all, its premise - an aged old tyrant, repentant of his ways seeks and finds redemption - could be a great story if executed well. Was this executed well? NOOOOOO! Instead what I got was an aged old pedo rapist tyrant who is sick of being old and impotent (in more ways than one because omfg his ability to obtain an erection is like a plot B in this story, judging by how often it’s mentioned) decides to end his life in the most convoluted way possible but instead the Light decides to make him young again and grant him superpowers for having some mild-vague-barely-there regret. He takes this as a sign that he should start playing vigilante by brutally murdering any wrong-doer, sometimes with no prior proof. It’s like any problem he sees, he tries to solve through murder or maiming.
The book’s biggest problem is that the author loves his MC and his world-building too much. Every time Daylen does anything related to his powers, even if it’s supposed to be an action-filled fight, everything is put on pause for a physics lesson. It effectively kills any momentum in the story, pun intended. Also, if you took a shot every time someone gasped in shock and awe at something Daylen did, you’d be comatose halfway into the book.
Nothing in this book is thought through. The author contradicts his own thesis at every step and misuses his own concepts. Here I’m referring mostly to the whole inner light doesn’t equate to goodness idea. Honestly, I’d have loved it if light was like a natural resource/human need like water and air. It would have tied so much better with the way people become Shades. It would also have worked better with how he got his powers without taking any vows or doing any vigil. Instead, it’s a measure of someone’s confidence in their actions, so a murderer who is convinced he’s doing the right thing by killing has a brighter light than a guy stealing to feed his family. And right after he explains this to us, he promptly starts using it as a tool to determine who should be killed and who should be spared. Why does he think he should be judge and jury? And how does this fit in with his whole "I'm a changed man and I'll try to live a better life"? He's doing the exact thing he did as a dictator: excusing any means for an end. He's not changed, he's not better, he's the same bad guy, only now the Light has validated his life choices by making him young and giving him superpowers.
I would be remiss if I forgot to mention that this book’s/author’s view on women is disturbing. The only women we meet are either being SAed, have been SAed, are shamed for wanting to have sex or are dedicated to being wives and mothers. There isn’t a single woman with speaking lines in this book that falls out of these categories. Additionally, it’s implied that women should keep their rape babies and that motherhood is the only way a woman can be truly fulfilled. I don’t need to explain to anyone why this is wrong on so many levels.
To close this out, I also have to point out the one thing that I thought was kind of neat was that the way their world worked made me think that they were living inside a black hole. Unfortunately, that was it. There are some interesting nuggets of world-building buried in the book, but they never got polished into a finished product.
Because I think I've already spent too much time on this book, I'll end my final thoughts here. This book didn't work for me and is a cautionary tale for authors who love their MCs too much.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A story that's basically "what if Hitler felt really bad about doing all the genocide stuff... Everyone would forgive him right? Right?".
The main character's use of modern slurs like "gay" and "retarded" really made this whole book seem very childish.
The main character is also the most Mary Sue like Mary Sue I've ever read in a book. Any problem can be solved by let's just use magic to make me smarter.
Lastly, sexual violence was such a big part of the book while also not taking any of the care authors need to use such trauma. There were so many "women be crazy, right boys" tropes regarding sexual violence that just made me sick.
The main character's use of modern slurs like "gay" and "retarded" really made this whole book seem very childish.
The main character is also the most Mary Sue like Mary Sue I've ever read in a book. Any problem can be solved by let's just use magic to make me smarter.
Lastly, sexual violence was such a big part of the book while also not taking any of the care authors need to use such trauma. There were so many "women be crazy, right boys" tropes regarding sexual violence that just made me sick.
1.5 Stars.
Normally, I just score a book, and move on - Very rarely do I put words to screen.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It played with some interesting ideas, if somewhat extreme, but, to use an analogy that is not perfect, but is easily understandable
"What if Hitler lived, and was pretty sad about what he did?" (He's more of a Stalin, to be fair)
The whole text needs a pass again by an editor, the magical system wears it's inspiration on it's sleeve.
Daylen is a mass murderer, rapist, pedophile, amongst many other things. He once ruled an Empire spanning nations under the name Dayless the Conqueror, and has lived the last twenty years of his life in hiding, slowly coming to realise that hey, he was the bad guy. Instead of turning himself in, he decides it's more just that he must continue to live to suffer, but at 82, he realises that his death is inevitable, and decides to go out on his own terms.
Spoiler alert, he's so bad at killing himself, he de-ages to a teenager, and gets super powers - the poor man. It's stressed over and over that this is, in his mind, the greatest punishment that the Light (the psuedo deity stand in) could deliver upon him. With his new body, he takes this chance to attempt to erase his existence, but Ahrek, a Lightbringer (A Cleric type) is guided by the Light to accompany him, and so Daylen must pretend he is actually his own son.
The large majority of the book focuses on the quest of Daylen to dole out justice where he sees fits now that he has immense power, and also to head to the Capital, to forge some documents before he gets found out. During all this, some Archknights are on their trail, as Daylen's new powers are a mirror of their orders own, something that should not be possible without their rituals and commitment to fighting evil.
Throughout all of this, most of the exposition is from Daylen's perspective, and I'm unsure if we're meant to feel sympathy for him, to feel that he really has repented for his past, to root for him when he faces adversity - honestly, I just couldn't care about him. The writing strength just isn't enough to push along this narrative, and I'm honestly not sure I can think of any author that could do this. Daylen also suffers from extreme Mary Sue-ness, very rarely does he come up against any kind of challenge that he does not have a skill set to resolve, and when he finally does? He just uses his powers to make himself smarter, and then solves the impossible problem.
I listened to this as an audiobook, with Michael Kramer and Kate Reading performing, and they are marvellous as always. Would I read another book in this series or by Shad? Honestly, even with my scoring, the answer is yes. I believe this author has the potential to create works that would appeal to me, it just didn't happen this time.
Normally, I just score a book, and move on - Very rarely do I put words to screen.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It played with some interesting ideas, if somewhat extreme, but, to use an analogy that is not perfect, but is easily understandable
"What if Hitler lived, and was pretty sad about what he did?" (He's more of a Stalin, to be fair)
The whole text needs a pass again by an editor, the magical system wears it's inspiration on it's sleeve.
Daylen is a mass murderer, rapist, pedophile, amongst many other things. He once ruled an Empire spanning nations under the name Dayless the Conqueror, and has lived the last twenty years of his life in hiding, slowly coming to realise that hey, he was the bad guy. Instead of turning himself in, he decides it's more just that he must continue to live to suffer, but at 82, he realises that his death is inevitable, and decides to go out on his own terms.
Spoiler alert, he's so bad at killing himself, he de-ages to a teenager, and gets super powers - the poor man. It's stressed over and over that this is, in his mind, the greatest punishment that the Light (the psuedo deity stand in) could deliver upon him. With his new body, he takes this chance to attempt to erase his existence, but Ahrek, a Lightbringer (A Cleric type) is guided by the Light to accompany him, and so Daylen must pretend he is actually his own son.
The large majority of the book focuses on the quest of Daylen to dole out justice where he sees fits now that he has immense power, and also to head to the Capital, to forge some documents before he gets found out. During all this, some Archknights are on their trail, as Daylen's new powers are a mirror of their orders own, something that should not be possible without their rituals and commitment to fighting evil.
Throughout all of this, most of the exposition is from Daylen's perspective, and I'm unsure if we're meant to feel sympathy for him, to feel that he really has repented for his past, to root for him when he faces adversity - honestly, I just couldn't care about him. The writing strength just isn't enough to push along this narrative, and I'm honestly not sure I can think of any author that could do this. Daylen also suffers from extreme Mary Sue-ness, very rarely does he come up against any kind of challenge that he does not have a skill set to resolve, and when he finally does? He just uses his powers to make himself smarter, and then solves the impossible problem.
I listened to this as an audiobook, with Michael Kramer and Kate Reading performing, and they are marvellous as always. Would I read another book in this series or by Shad? Honestly, even with my scoring, the answer is yes. I believe this author has the potential to create works that would appeal to me, it just didn't happen this time.
DNF (Did Not Finish)
I love Shad's YouTube channel and this was a promising premise, but the novel is annoyingly unpolished and objectionable.
As for the unsavory elements, there are copious references to rape, ravaging and sex trafficking (as well as beastiality).
Gratuitous language include several instances of: d*mn, *ss, *sshole, b*st*rd, and bl**dy, as well as crap, piss, tit and retarded. Which is kind of out of character for an author that wears a shirt saying, "I want you to watch your language."
This contemporary swearing, along with modern phrases (such as "Don't be a smart*ss"), and a plethora of contractions every page, takes you out of the fantasy setting over and over again.
Sadly, another editor or two were desperately needed to refine all of the writing flaws. In chapter 2, a question ends with a period. There are awkward phrases like "said embarrassedly" or sentences that are just grammatically clumsy:
However, there are numerous times where the author ignores the golden rule of "show, don't tell" when we get continual info dumps on the kingdom, magic and character backgrounds. A reader should feel like they are dropped into the middle of a world and they slowly unravel clues as it goes along.
For what I read, it was like a choppy and distasteful rough draft, so I returned my kindle book for a refund (a rarity for me).
From now on, I'll stick with Shad's sword videos and the likes of Brandon Sanderson for fantasy reading.
I love Shad's YouTube channel and this was a promising premise, but the novel is annoyingly unpolished and objectionable.
As for the unsavory elements, there are copious references to rape, ravaging and sex trafficking (as well as beastiality).
Gratuitous language include several instances of: d*mn, *ss, *sshole, b*st*rd, and bl**dy, as well as crap, piss, tit and retarded. Which is kind of out of character for an author that wears a shirt saying, "I want you to watch your language."
This contemporary swearing, along with modern phrases (such as "Don't be a smart*ss"), and a plethora of contractions every page, takes you out of the fantasy setting over and over again.
Sadly, another editor or two were desperately needed to refine all of the writing flaws. In chapter 2, a question ends with a period. There are awkward phrases like "said embarrassedly" or sentences that are just grammatically clumsy:
"Daylen didn't want to explain that once he managed to climb into the blackened thing he didn't want to have to climb out of it only to get into another one."
"Thankful for the windshield he leaned back, trying to recover his breath."Additionally, many paragraphs are only a single sentence or two (and they weren't ones with dialogue).
"Daylen pulled his coat shut and did up the large buttons running down its front.I did love that women have longsword parasols (can I have one?!), and Shad definitely knows his weapons, so there's that.
Still holding the small sunstone-lined box, Daylen opened it and took out the darkstone with two fingers.
He tossed the box aside."
However, there are numerous times where the author ignores the golden rule of "show, don't tell" when we get continual info dumps on the kingdom, magic and character backgrounds. A reader should feel like they are dropped into the middle of a world and they slowly unravel clues as it goes along.
For what I read, it was like a choppy and distasteful rough draft, so I returned my kindle book for a refund (a rarity for me).
From now on, I'll stick with Shad's sword videos and the likes of Brandon Sanderson for fantasy reading.
I had high expectations for this book, however if it wasn't for my husband asking me to read this to let him know what I thought I wouldn't have finished this at all. The character was insufferable and genuinely seemed to just like the sound of his own voice, the story was far too descriptive (unnecessarily descriptive in places), and overly complicated for no reason.
The world didn't make sense, nor the way the stones worked, the descriptions were all over the place, and overall the book felt like a rough first draft that was trying too hard to be like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson. I won't be reading any more in the series, assuming any more will be published, and regret reading this.
The world didn't make sense, nor the way the stones worked, the descriptions were all over the place, and overall the book felt like a rough first draft that was trying too hard to be like Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson. I won't be reading any more in the series, assuming any more will be published, and regret reading this.
Sad to have this on my "Read" list but I had to read this to review it. I will be brief because I treasure my time and I already spent too much on this book. And, just to be clear, my rating would be 1 star if not for the minor potential of the story. The book doesn't achieve what it aims to do. It wasn't well-written enough for this to endeavour.
The author insists that people who review the book so negatively have misunderstood it. No, I haven't misunderstood the book, sir. You misunderstood what you've achieved with your writing. Please don't insult my intelligence a second time (the first time was when you thought the book was ready to be sold to fantasy lovers like myself)
The misogynistic views of the author are shown through his character and the narrative - meaning, it wasn't just a trait of his main character. Shad's views shine through certain passages, like the character of Lyra, and the Trial, where rape victims feel better about their rape when they got a child out of it. The author is removed from this complex situation and didn't put any effort into understanding it. When writing a book full of raped women and a serial rapist MC. The lack of care and craft in this book is astounding.
The narrative shows a juvenile understanding of the world. Pair this trait with the extreme self-indulgence that permeates this book, down to MC's speech against the "SJWs" of his world.
Descriptions of the world are long and tedious, showing that the author isn't aware of the genre he's writing and doesn't have the skill to support a fantasy world through writing.
Structure? What structure? The story felt like it didn't go anywhere most of the time. I felt a "main plot" came out of nowhere in the second half of the book.
As I said, the world had some potential and the magic system was... okay. But all the issues stuck out like a sore thumb and made the overall experience of the book negative.
The author insists that people who review the book so negatively have misunderstood it. No, I haven't misunderstood the book, sir. You misunderstood what you've achieved with your writing. Please don't insult my intelligence a second time (the first time was when you thought the book was ready to be sold to fantasy lovers like myself)
The misogynistic views of the author are shown through his character and the narrative - meaning, it wasn't just a trait of his main character. Shad's views shine through certain passages, like the character of Lyra, and the Trial, where rape victims feel better about their rape when they got a child out of it. The author is removed from this complex situation and didn't put any effort into understanding it. When writing a book full of raped women and a serial rapist MC. The lack of care and craft in this book is astounding.
The narrative shows a juvenile understanding of the world. Pair this trait with the extreme self-indulgence that permeates this book, down to MC's speech against the "SJWs" of his world.
Descriptions of the world are long and tedious, showing that the author isn't aware of the genre he's writing and doesn't have the skill to support a fantasy world through writing.
Structure? What structure? The story felt like it didn't go anywhere most of the time. I felt a "main plot" came out of nowhere in the second half of the book.
As I said, the world had some potential and the magic system was... okay. But all the issues stuck out like a sore thumb and made the overall experience of the book negative.