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writerroguereader's review against another edition
5.0
I have many things to say about this novel!!! First off, amazing. I was drawn in from page 1. The characters, the setting, the drama etc all of it makes for a compelling story. Well done! Second, if you love fantasy, there is a name to watch out for: Justin Lee Anderson! I will be watching and hoping for more and will be first in line for book 2! Third (and finally, because I could continue talking about this book forever), I applaud the masterclass example of a long con. I went in expecting one story and realized I vastly underestimated the intricacies and twists and turns this novel would take me on! It's a story that draws you into the dark and stabs you in the back by the last page (RIP you -know-who). Incredible story and now I neeeed book 2!!!
lacunaza's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
sylaratheranger's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
phsugimo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
hindessm's review against another edition
5.0
Close to perfect. The end makes me want to read it again straight away. Book 2 will skip to the front of my to-read list.
randaltron's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I was hoping the ending would be compelling enough to redeem it, but it wasn’t.
samjohnst's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
shirin_mandi's review against another edition
3.0
“Words are easy weapons when fear is the enemy,”
Review for both will come in the second book...
Review for both will come in the second book...
queenterribletimy's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted on RockStarlit BookAsylum!
Actual rating: 3.5, but decided to turn it up.
This is my first time reading anything from Justin Lee Anderson and aside from a couple of friends loving it, I had no idea what to expect from The Lost War. Definitely not what I got out of it in the end. It took me way longer than I would have liked to get hooked, but eventually I did, and I’m happy for it.
The war has just ended, Aranok, the king’s envoy and his bodyguard, Allandria just arrived back in town to rest. Or so they thought as King Janaeus has other ideas. Together with the general Glorbad and the captain of the navy, Nirea they are sent to escort a foreign queen back to her country in the hopes of building diplomatic relationships. Aranok also takes the young blacksmith, Vastin under his wings. But Aranok is not really in a hurry as he is more worried about his family in Mournside. Although the war is over against a powerful draoidh, Eidyn can’t breathe freely yet. Its lands is ravaged by the neighboring Reivers (I still have no idea who they are and how they got into the whole conflict) as well as ridden by a plague who makes people into Blackened. The cast gets completed by the White Thorn Knight, Samily and the head of the order, Meristan. Their road is quite dangerous and twisty and does not lack blood and loss.
On the surface The Lost War seems like your average adventure fantasy – a group of mismatched people go on a quest to save their kingdom while they come across dangerous creatures and enemies. And for the first half of the book, I kept wondering if there really wasn’t anything else to it. Questing is not among my favourite fantasy tropes, so I was a bit worried that I won’t see what everyone else likes about this book. Was the problem in me? The fact that I wasn’t really into the narrator – I half listened to the audiobook, half read it – didn’t help things either. It’s not like there was anything wrong with him, I think it might have been his accent? I’m not quite able to put my finger on it. One other thing that bothered me was the awkwardness of the dialogues, especially in the first half of the book. There were too many dialouge tags, especially “said” to the point it was really repetitive.
But I think my biggest issue overall was the fact that though the characters are very diverse and are well written, I just couldn’t really connect with any of them. It really comes down to the fact that there is a wide range of characters and they don’t have enough spotlight to really make us care for them on a deeper level.
Anyway, once I started to read it more than listen and it became clear there is a deeper mystery to the story, making the puzzle pieces dropped along the way slowly coming together, I got hooked. I had to know how the events will play out and who is behind the whole thing. My suspicions were proved, but Anderson still managed to surprise me with a twist toward the end. For which I tip my hat, because it was damn smartly written. It took me a while to see it and I was on the verge of just putting the book aside, I’m glad I didn’t do it.
Though I was left with questions – well, this is only the first book of a series, so that’s expected – I felt like The Lost War got a satisfying ending. Justin Lee Anderson clearly put a lot of work into the worldbuilding and it shows. There were parts I especially loved, like the time the group spent at the University or their time in that kirk – I can’t be more specific, because spoilers. I also liked how the group grew together during their journey and how they learned to trust each other. And that one of the strongest characters is one of the youngest, Samily. I admired her dedication, rock solid faith, quick wit and strength.
Although my review has been a bit on the critical side, I believe the Eidyn series has a lot of potential to become a great one. The Lost War, although an ambitious novel, fell a bit short on the execution. Felt like Anderson wanted to cram into a bit too much than it was required. Despite a rocky start, the mystery masterfully woven into the plot eventually got me hooked and then kept me glued to the pages. The Lost War is an intriguing blend of adventure, mystery and mindfuckery.
Actual rating: 3.5, but decided to turn it up.
This is my first time reading anything from Justin Lee Anderson and aside from a couple of friends loving it, I had no idea what to expect from The Lost War. Definitely not what I got out of it in the end. It took me way longer than I would have liked to get hooked, but eventually I did, and I’m happy for it.
The war has just ended, Aranok, the king’s envoy and his bodyguard, Allandria just arrived back in town to rest. Or so they thought as King Janaeus has other ideas. Together with the general Glorbad and the captain of the navy, Nirea they are sent to escort a foreign queen back to her country in the hopes of building diplomatic relationships. Aranok also takes the young blacksmith, Vastin under his wings. But Aranok is not really in a hurry as he is more worried about his family in Mournside. Although the war is over against a powerful draoidh, Eidyn can’t breathe freely yet. Its lands is ravaged by the neighboring Reivers (I still have no idea who they are and how they got into the whole conflict) as well as ridden by a plague who makes people into Blackened. The cast gets completed by the White Thorn Knight, Samily and the head of the order, Meristan. Their road is quite dangerous and twisty and does not lack blood and loss.
On the surface The Lost War seems like your average adventure fantasy – a group of mismatched people go on a quest to save their kingdom while they come across dangerous creatures and enemies. And for the first half of the book, I kept wondering if there really wasn’t anything else to it. Questing is not among my favourite fantasy tropes, so I was a bit worried that I won’t see what everyone else likes about this book. Was the problem in me? The fact that I wasn’t really into the narrator – I half listened to the audiobook, half read it – didn’t help things either. It’s not like there was anything wrong with him, I think it might have been his accent? I’m not quite able to put my finger on it. One other thing that bothered me was the awkwardness of the dialogues, especially in the first half of the book. There were too many dialouge tags, especially “said” to the point it was really repetitive.
But I think my biggest issue overall was the fact that though the characters are very diverse and are well written, I just couldn’t really connect with any of them. It really comes down to the fact that there is a wide range of characters and they don’t have enough spotlight to really make us care for them on a deeper level.
Anyway, once I started to read it more than listen and it became clear there is a deeper mystery to the story, making the puzzle pieces dropped along the way slowly coming together, I got hooked. I had to know how the events will play out and who is behind the whole thing. My suspicions were proved, but Anderson still managed to surprise me with a twist toward the end. For which I tip my hat, because it was damn smartly written. It took me a while to see it and I was on the verge of just putting the book aside, I’m glad I didn’t do it.
Though I was left with questions – well, this is only the first book of a series, so that’s expected – I felt like The Lost War got a satisfying ending. Justin Lee Anderson clearly put a lot of work into the worldbuilding and it shows. There were parts I especially loved, like the time the group spent at the University or their time in that kirk – I can’t be more specific, because spoilers. I also liked how the group grew together during their journey and how they learned to trust each other. And that one of the strongest characters is one of the youngest, Samily. I admired her dedication, rock solid faith, quick wit and strength.
Although my review has been a bit on the critical side, I believe the Eidyn series has a lot of potential to become a great one. The Lost War, although an ambitious novel, fell a bit short on the execution. Felt like Anderson wanted to cram into a bit too much than it was required. Despite a rocky start, the mystery masterfully woven into the plot eventually got me hooked and then kept me glued to the pages. The Lost War is an intriguing blend of adventure, mystery and mindfuckery.