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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
Very cringe writing. Reads like a Brandon Sanderson fanfic.
Amateurish and contrived. The character building in particular is laughably shallow, relying on the cheapest and laziest tropes. The world is well thought out but the author somehow makes it a bore to read about. The only reason I finished was because of Michael Kramer and Kate Redding, but even they couldn't save this one.
That was, unexpected. I like Shad and his story and world he created, but the more it delved into Daylen's past the more uncomfortable it became. I was thinking of giving it two stars and wouldn't be keeping it in my future collection just because of that until something happened.
Areck and Lyra found out who Daylen truely was and became hell bent on killing him and I realized how much I care about them as friends. And even more so when Areck forgave him and realized how serious a redemptive story this is.
(All potential misspellings of names are due to listening to the book instead of reading it)
So, ok. Bring on the next book Shad.
Areck and Lyra found out who Daylen truely was and became hell bent on killing him and I realized how much I care about them as friends. And even more so when Areck forgave him and realized how serious a redemptive story this is.
(All potential misspellings of names are due to listening to the book instead of reading it)
So, ok. Bring on the next book Shad.
I was recommended this book. At the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to get on with it, especially as I couldn't stop comparing it to The Way of Kings. But it soon went off in its own direction and I ended up really enjoying it.
This book has a really good mix of an interesting plot, strong characters, good humour and some really brutal scenes (in fact I liked that Brooks didn't shy away from the realistic brutality of certain situations). I really liked the idea of following a story after the huge event that most stories would lead up to; in this case after the Emperor has been overthrown.
The world building was very intriguing. It took me a while to get my head around it, but it is quite clever and unique once you understand it. Similarly the magic system is quite unique with complex rules that also don't seem to apply to everyone equally. So much thought has been put into all of the different countries and the people that populate them, the world feels fully formed and I loved it.
The characters were probably the best part of this book. I loved them all. Daylen is such a grumpy old man, but shoved into a teenager's body, which allows for amusing humour. I found the exploration of his character and how he has changed and yet is still fighting against his own nature to be one of the best parts of this book. I loved Cueseg, he was my favourite character and his interactions with Lyrah were hilarious. He absolutely did not deserve that ending.
Shadow of the Conqueror has so many similarities to The Way of Kings, that I'd definitely recommend it to those that have enjoyed the Stormlight books. They both have similar fun with creating really interesting worlds and magic systems which makes their stories very enjoyable. Shad has worked with Sanderson to check the accuracy of some of his writing around the weapons and fighting scenes and is a fan of his work, so you can see the influence that this has had on Shad's own writing.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see where the story goes in the sequel.
This book has a really good mix of an interesting plot, strong characters, good humour and some really brutal scenes (in fact I liked that Brooks didn't shy away from the realistic brutality of certain situations). I really liked the idea of following a story after the huge event that most stories would lead up to; in this case after the Emperor has been overthrown.
The world building was very intriguing. It took me a while to get my head around it, but it is quite clever and unique once you understand it. Similarly the magic system is quite unique with complex rules that also don't seem to apply to everyone equally. So much thought has been put into all of the different countries and the people that populate them, the world feels fully formed and I loved it.
The characters were probably the best part of this book. I loved them all. Daylen is such a grumpy old man, but shoved into a teenager's body, which allows for amusing humour. I found the exploration of his character and how he has changed and yet is still fighting against his own nature to be one of the best parts of this book. I loved Cueseg, he was my favourite character and his interactions with Lyrah were hilarious.
Shadow of the Conqueror has so many similarities to The Way of Kings, that I'd definitely recommend it to those that have enjoyed the Stormlight books. They both have similar fun with creating really interesting worlds and magic systems which makes their stories very enjoyable. Shad has worked with Sanderson to check the accuracy of some of his writing around the weapons and fighting scenes and is a fan of his work, so you can see the influence that this has had on Shad's own writing.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see where the story goes in the sequel.
Amateurish and contrived. The character building in particular is laughably shallow, relying on the cheapest and laziest tropes. The world is well thought out but the author somehow makes it a bore to read about. The only reason I finished was because of Michael Kramer and Kate Redding, but even they couldn't save this one.
Warning: I stopped reading at 50% and have a positive bias as a shadiversity fan.
This felt like the lazy, self insert, power fantasy fanfiction that is popular with young teen writers. The main character is allegedly 80 years old, but acts like every cliche fantasy teenager. This is not how a monarch with decades of experience acts.
He does not struggle in the slightest to learn his new powers. Which is insane because the reader learning the magic system alongside the main character is like crack for fantasy fans. Instead we get a chapter of exposition dumping. He is a genius engineer who knows everything. And also a genius sword fighter with an obnoxiously long title. He knows about every faction and culture and how to act accordingly. His sword is super special and better than everyone elses.
The premise could have been interesting if an old man traveled the world using his powers to do good. Instead he needs to be transformed into a young, perfectly built, incredibly sexy teen with the musculature of a thirty year old.
The humor is repetitive or falls flat. The introduction chapter of the two archons was painful to finish. Nearly every character through the first half is shallow or one dimensional. The sexist portrayals of the women in the story have been mentioned by others already. The only positive thing was the world building of the flat earth.
It was not a surprise to discover this was self published. It needed a serious overhaul and rework by an editor.
This felt like the lazy, self insert, power fantasy fanfiction that is popular with young teen writers. The main character is allegedly 80 years old, but acts like every cliche fantasy teenager. This is not how a monarch with decades of experience acts.
He does not struggle in the slightest to learn his new powers. Which is insane because the reader learning the magic system alongside the main character is like crack for fantasy fans. Instead we get a chapter of exposition dumping. He is a genius engineer who knows everything. And also a genius sword fighter with an obnoxiously long title. He knows about every faction and culture and how to act accordingly. His sword is super special and better than everyone elses.
The premise could have been interesting if an old man traveled the world using his powers to do good. Instead he needs to be transformed into a young, perfectly built, incredibly sexy teen with the musculature of a thirty year old.
The humor is repetitive or falls flat. The introduction chapter of the two archons was painful to finish. Nearly every character through the first half is shallow or one dimensional. The sexist portrayals of the women in the story have been mentioned by others already. The only positive thing was the world building of the flat earth.
It was not a surprise to discover this was self published. It needed a serious overhaul and rework by an editor.
I very much enjoyed this book and the audiobook was just fantastic.
To be honest I really don't understand all the negative reviews.
Is this a perfect book? No but it has very interesting and unique world building.
Do I like the MC? No but it is always refreshing to get a new perspective - in this case an old, genocidal maniac that gets a second chance and ends up in a 17 year old body.
Do I think he is redeemable? No but it was still interesting to watch him try.
My two major criticisms would be that the MC isn't even trying to conceal who he is - not really anyway. He keeps getting annoyed when people call him young and he keeps saying he isn't young.
He calls even old people kid. He knows EVERYTHING the conqueror new and makes no secret out of it. Towards the end he gets exposed but honestly it should have happened a lot earlier or he should have at least tried harder to hide his true identity.
The second one would be rape as a plot device. I just hate it. I understand it is part of war crimes etc but can we maybe at least try to give women a different backstory?
And then the female main side character completely breaking down towards the end?
Another younger rape victim throwing herself at every available man? Just no.
That being said I think the story as a whole has a lot of potential and I am very much looking forward to the next installment.
To be honest I really don't understand all the negative reviews.
Is this a perfect book? No but it has very interesting and unique world building.
Do I like the MC? No but it is always refreshing to get a new perspective - in this case an old, genocidal maniac that gets a second chance and ends up in a 17 year old body.
Do I think he is redeemable? No but it was still interesting to watch him try.
My two major criticisms would be that the MC isn't even trying to conceal who he is - not really anyway. He keeps getting annoyed when people call him young and he keeps saying he isn't young.
He calls even old people kid. He knows EVERYTHING the conqueror new and makes no secret out of it. Towards the end he gets exposed but honestly it should have happened a lot earlier or he should have at least tried harder to hide his true identity.
The second one would be rape as a plot device. I just hate it. I understand it is part of war crimes etc but can we maybe at least try to give women a different backstory?
And then the female main side character completely breaking down towards the end?
Another younger rape victim throwing herself at every available man? Just no.
That being said I think the story as a whole has a lot of potential and I am very much looking forward to the next installment.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
*I did not finish the book*
This is the first fantasy book I had to put down before finishing. I gave it a chance until the end of chapter 3 but could not go on. It was difficult to give this review a two stars since I'm biased towards the author. I love Shad and all the super high quality content he produces on YouTube. I give Shad a lot of credit for pursuing his dreams and writing his own fantasy book. I don't want this review to take away from that. That being said, I still wanted to give an honest review. I figured it would be most honorary to treat Shad like how I would treat any other author in a review.
I am going to start off with what I enjoyed first. I liked the story arc type of a villain turned good and having to deal with the consequences of their wrong doings. It's not a common arc and it's intriguing. I was hooked by the letter Daylen writes in the introduction. Additionally, I thought Shad did a great job on the worldbuilding. I think anyone reading can see the time, thought, and love Shad put into this world.
I had a lot of problems with this book right from the start. My main criticism is the overbearingly large amount of exposition dumping. Thing after thing is constantly explained to the reader and it kills the prose. There is far too much "tell" and not a lot of "show" going on. Additionally, I found the dialogue and pacing to be poor. In the first chapter the reader is told about Daylen's past, introduced to 2 characters, introduced to magic systems, and travels to a city with all the ethnicities and cultures of this fantasy world. It's too much at once and I think the story could have benefitted from slowly easing into this world, letting the reader slowly learn more and more about the thorough worldbuilding by showing it off. The dialogue in my opinion felt sloppy and crude. Almost instantly there is a "retarded + mentally disabled" joke and it rubbed me the wrong way.
This story felt a lot like a Brandon Sanderson knockoff, especially Rhythm of War, but executed with a lot of exposition dumping. There are some similarities with Daylen's character and Kaladin from Stormlight archives and I wanted to elaborate to drive in my point about "show don't tell". Both characters are badass fighters who start off their stories feeling broken and wanting to commit suicide. However, the execution is so key in why Kaladin was compelling and Daylen wasn't. The reader is shown Kaladin's mistakes and we see the consequences of Kaladin's rebellious nature in getting other people killed. This makes for a more compelling story and allows the reader to empathize more with Kaladin. With Daylen however, the reader only gets explanations of what Daylen did in his past. Nothing is shown and so when Daylen attempts to commit suicide this tragic event doesn't feel earned. (side note, the tone when Daylen tries to commit suicide didn't even feel that serious). I think had we gotten to see some of the consequences and horrors of Daylen's actions, or even see the transition of him realizing his actions were a mistake before he attempts suicide, this would have made the scene more compelling.
Lastly, I thought Daylen as a character had major structural problems. The self hate and regret Daylen feels about his past doesn't feel earned since we as the reader don't see this, only having it explained. He is presented as badass in everything and this takes away from his regrets and sins. He is super smart, an engineer, one of the best skilled swordsmen in the world, and conquered all of Tellos. I don't find characters who are great at everything to be interesting since nothing is an obstacle (think Rey from the Star Wars Sequels). Additionally, his horrible atrocities didn't seem presented with the gravity of the acts committed. At times he felt glorified although as the reader we are told that he shouldn't be.
This is the first fantasy book I had to put down before finishing. I gave it a chance until the end of chapter 3 but could not go on. It was difficult to give this review a two stars since I'm biased towards the author. I love Shad and all the super high quality content he produces on YouTube. I give Shad a lot of credit for pursuing his dreams and writing his own fantasy book. I don't want this review to take away from that. That being said, I still wanted to give an honest review. I figured it would be most honorary to treat Shad like how I would treat any other author in a review.
I am going to start off with what I enjoyed first. I liked the story arc type of a villain turned good and having to deal with the consequences of their wrong doings. It's not a common arc and it's intriguing. I was hooked by the letter Daylen writes in the introduction. Additionally, I thought Shad did a great job on the worldbuilding. I think anyone reading can see the time, thought, and love Shad put into this world.
I had a lot of problems with this book right from the start. My main criticism is the overbearingly large amount of exposition dumping. Thing after thing is constantly explained to the reader and it kills the prose. There is far too much "tell" and not a lot of "show" going on. Additionally, I found the dialogue and pacing to be poor. In the first chapter the reader is told about Daylen's past, introduced to 2 characters, introduced to magic systems, and travels to a city with all the ethnicities and cultures of this fantasy world. It's too much at once and I think the story could have benefitted from slowly easing into this world, letting the reader slowly learn more and more about the thorough worldbuilding by showing it off. The dialogue in my opinion felt sloppy and crude. Almost instantly there is a "retarded + mentally disabled" joke and it rubbed me the wrong way.
This story felt a lot like a Brandon Sanderson knockoff, especially Rhythm of War, but executed with a lot of exposition dumping. There are some similarities with Daylen's character and Kaladin from Stormlight archives and I wanted to elaborate to drive in my point about "show don't tell". Both characters are badass fighters who start off their stories feeling broken and wanting to commit suicide. However, the execution is so key in why Kaladin was compelling and Daylen wasn't. The reader is shown Kaladin's mistakes and we see the consequences of Kaladin's rebellious nature in getting other people killed. This makes for a more compelling story and allows the reader to empathize more with Kaladin. With Daylen however, the reader only gets explanations of what Daylen did in his past. Nothing is shown and so when Daylen attempts to commit suicide this tragic event doesn't feel earned. (side note, the tone when Daylen tries to commit suicide didn't even feel that serious). I think had we gotten to see some of the consequences and horrors of Daylen's actions, or even see the transition of him realizing his actions were a mistake before he attempts suicide, this would have made the scene more compelling.
Lastly, I thought Daylen as a character had major structural problems. The self hate and regret Daylen feels about his past doesn't feel earned since we as the reader don't see this, only having it explained. He is presented as badass in everything and this takes away from his regrets and sins. He is super smart, an engineer, one of the best skilled swordsmen in the world, and conquered all of Tellos. I don't find characters who are great at everything to be interesting since nothing is an obstacle (think Rey from the Star Wars Sequels). Additionally, his horrible atrocities didn't seem presented with the gravity of the acts committed. At times he felt glorified although as the reader we are told that he shouldn't be.