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alecsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
twilliamson's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I've been craving a good swords-and-sorcery epic for a while, and The Lost War was mostly just the ticket. Heavily influenced by pen-and-paper roleplaying games and drawing on Scottish culture for world-building elements, the novel presents an action-packed adventure featuring an interesting ensemble cast representing different tabletop tropes. The book moves pretty quickly and contains at least one major conceit I've not seen in a lot of fantasy fiction, all of which makes for a pretty enjoyable read.
Nevertheless, the book began to feel fairly fractured after the first few chapters. While the last thirty pages or so dump a lot of exposition that tidies up some of the fractured nature of the narrative, it's clear that the book was heavily inspired by episodic tabletop gaming, and as such loses some coherence and consistency throughout the book. Every couple of chapters feels like a clear table-break, giving the story more and more of a serial adventure consistency than a novelistic one.
Mileage is going to vary on how much that affects enjoyment of the book. For me, I think reading the book as a serial adventure probably would improve a lot of my estimation of it. But read as a whole, the book loses some of its compulsion, a little too bogged down with needing story to happen to keep things moving; this is not a rich, character-driven fantasy. It is, on the contrary, a very plot-driven story, where characters must adapt to what the story demands they do instead of the plot being driven by character decisions and action.
It's been a while since I've read something truly plot-driven, and while I think it works the best in fantasy, I can't help shake the feeling that The Lost War is missing a vital component that would make it withstand the test of time. It is a fabulous adaptation of a tabletop game, and I actually think it serves as a phenomenal campaign guide book to memorable tabletop storytelling. As a novel itself, though, it lacks the hallmarks of a strong epic tale; the purpose, for me, in reading an epic at all is to get connected to characters and invest in their outcomes.
The Lost War is strong enough that I will definitely be reading the sequel, and I definitely think it's worth reading if you're craving that D&D-style adventure. It is inarguably the best of its kind that I've read, but it still has room for improvement--which I hope the sequel can deliver.
Nevertheless, the book began to feel fairly fractured after the first few chapters. While the last thirty pages or so dump a lot of exposition that tidies up some of the fractured nature of the narrative, it's clear that the book was heavily inspired by episodic tabletop gaming, and as such loses some coherence and consistency throughout the book. Every couple of chapters feels like a clear table-break, giving the story more and more of a serial adventure consistency than a novelistic one.
Mileage is going to vary on how much that affects enjoyment of the book. For me, I think reading the book as a serial adventure probably would improve a lot of my estimation of it. But read as a whole, the book loses some of its compulsion, a little too bogged down with needing story to happen to keep things moving; this is not a rich, character-driven fantasy. It is, on the contrary, a very plot-driven story, where characters must adapt to what the story demands they do instead of the plot being driven by character decisions and action.
It's been a while since I've read something truly plot-driven, and while I think it works the best in fantasy, I can't help shake the feeling that The Lost War is missing a vital component that would make it withstand the test of time. It is a fabulous adaptation of a tabletop game, and I actually think it serves as a phenomenal campaign guide book to memorable tabletop storytelling. As a novel itself, though, it lacks the hallmarks of a strong epic tale; the purpose, for me, in reading an epic at all is to get connected to characters and invest in their outcomes.
The Lost War is strong enough that I will definitely be reading the sequel, and I definitely think it's worth reading if you're craving that D&D-style adventure. It is inarguably the best of its kind that I've read, but it still has room for improvement--which I hope the sequel can deliver.
literarilyminded's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Started slow, as is typical for fantasy novels, but picks up the further you go in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship dynamics between the characters. And the twist! Some of the bigger parts I expected but not the minor details. I loved it and am diving straight into book 2!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Gore
piperkitty's review
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? Yes
4.5
samuelson_obi's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, the twist right at the end left me reeling.
This was a four stars for me. I really liked it.
This was a four stars for me. I really liked it.
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to Black Crow PR for sending me a copy of The Lost War for review and to partipate in the Book Tour. All opinions remain my own.
Well, this was bloody marvellous. Inspired by the authors characters in his and his friends' long role playing game campaign (not named, but I'd assume D&D), we follow the King's Council as they come together to try to uncover the conspiracy that threatens the kingdom, before war ravages Eidyn again.
Straight away I knew I was going to love this, with a healthy dose of expletives and rash conversation.
I instantly was taken in by our lead character, Aranok, the natural leader of the group, and was fascinated by his headstrong (sometimes... oftentimes, stubborn) sense of what was right for the kingdom... and how far he pushed these thoughts to his best friend and king... Janaeus.
Allandria was such a solid, bad ass type of character. No shit attitude, impeccable archery skills and stealth and just oozed this "don't mess with me" mentality. I couldn't help but picture Vex from The Legends of Vox Machina whenever she was on the page.
Vastin was adorable and such a sweetheart. Reflecting back on this story, I realise there wasn't an awful lot of time where he was in this book, but I'm hopeful there will be more of him in the sequel.
Samily and Meristan instantly intrigued me as soon as they were introduced to the saga. Meristan the monk seemed to fit the bill of PTSD from war and I was interested in seeing what his story would be. He had such a sweet, gentle giant air about him, but was struggling deeply within himself. Samily, on the other hand, despite all her great strength and capability, felt like she really hadn't found herself yet, outside of her servitude role to her God and the kingdom as a Holy Knight. Samily's dedication to her faith and the way she spoke about it, really made me want to believe - it was quite a beautiful character trait, she had. I was really looking forward for when these two were to meet the rest of the gang.
Glorbad and Nirea felt like a dynamic duo. It took me a while to warm to the both of them, Glorbad in particular. He just seemed to standoffish, but he was battling his own demons and trying to stay above it all with some unsavory vices that would get the better of him, a lot of the times. Nirea was a very stoic character. I felt like it was hard to get a reading on her, but she was another strong female character that would take no crap. She had all those same perks that Allandria had, but she felt distinctly her own. I would have loved to have learned even more about her pirating days.
I fear it would be unfair to ignore another dynamic duo Glorbad had though, and that was this blossoming mentorship/friendship that he had with Vastin. It was so fragile and awkward and completely wholesome.
I loved the subtle but natural conversations on sexuality in this. The way asexuality was described for one character felt like such a vulnerable and honest moment and it was such a great display of trust between characters on the road, learning about each other.
I feel like this was then sort of not maliciously shared by someone who it wasn't their right to share. It was a conflicting feeling it left me with, but added more depth to characters as I wondered about potential motives and sincerity of actions and reactions.
I can't fault that all of this felt very honestly human, even in error of character judgement. The layers to this book was so multifaceted. Look how it's made me fixate on a particular scene that doesn't have any major consequence or effect on the rest of the story. I loved that this had me thinking as if these characters were real people!
I think the only critique I can think of is that some of the earlier battle scenes got a little lost in the excitement of the action that some of the details were a bit lost, such as if the monster was still on a character for the next move to make sense etc. This felt like it developed well after a few scenes like this, that or I just stopped noticing it/being bothered by it.
The plot twists were incredibly unpredictable, the connections made between our core group and those already established but shown (not just told) with side characters was phenomenal. The magic and political intrigue was absolutely exquisite. The descriptions of the rich/decaying landscape made me feel as though I was walking these paths along side the characters.
It was such an immersive read!
I adored writing little notes on sticky tabs about my thoughts and suspicions in this adventure and I have so much more to say, but I may have to leave that for a spoiler video, because this book was so, so good and I have lots more I could talk about.
What an excellent book to see the year out with. If I don't finish any more over the Christmas period, the time on this would have been worth it anyway, hands down.
Well, this was bloody marvellous. Inspired by the authors characters in his and his friends' long role playing game campaign (not named, but I'd assume D&D), we follow the King's Council as they come together to try to uncover the conspiracy that threatens the kingdom, before war ravages Eidyn again.
Straight away I knew I was going to love this, with a healthy dose of expletives and rash conversation.
I instantly was taken in by our lead character, Aranok, the natural leader of the group, and was fascinated by his headstrong (sometimes... oftentimes, stubborn) sense of what was right for the kingdom... and how far he pushed these thoughts to his best friend and king... Janaeus.
Allandria was such a solid, bad ass type of character. No shit attitude, impeccable archery skills and stealth and just oozed this "don't mess with me" mentality. I couldn't help but picture Vex from The Legends of Vox Machina whenever she was on the page.
Vastin was adorable and such a sweetheart. Reflecting back on this story, I realise there wasn't an awful lot of time where he was in this book, but I'm hopeful there will be more of him in the sequel.
Samily and Meristan instantly intrigued me as soon as they were introduced to the saga. Meristan the monk seemed to fit the bill of PTSD from war and I was interested in seeing what his story would be. He had such a sweet, gentle giant air about him, but was struggling deeply within himself. Samily, on the other hand, despite all her great strength and capability, felt like she really hadn't found herself yet, outside of her servitude role to her God and the kingdom as a Holy Knight. Samily's dedication to her faith and the way she spoke about it, really made me want to believe - it was quite a beautiful character trait, she had. I was really looking forward for when these two were to meet the rest of the gang.
Glorbad and Nirea felt like a dynamic duo. It took me a while to warm to the both of them, Glorbad in particular. He just seemed to standoffish, but he was battling his own demons and trying to stay above it all with some unsavory vices that would get the better of him, a lot of the times. Nirea was a very stoic character. I felt like it was hard to get a reading on her, but she was another strong female character that would take no crap. She had all those same perks that Allandria had, but she felt distinctly her own. I would have loved to have learned even more about her pirating days.
I fear it would be unfair to ignore another dynamic duo Glorbad had though, and that was this blossoming mentorship/friendship that he had with Vastin. It was so fragile and awkward and completely wholesome.
I loved the subtle but natural conversations on sexuality in this. The way asexuality was described for one character felt like such a vulnerable and honest moment and it was such a great display of trust between characters on the road, learning about each other.
I feel like this was then sort of not maliciously shared by someone who it wasn't their right to share. It was a conflicting feeling it left me with, but added more depth to characters as I wondered about potential motives and sincerity of actions and reactions.
I can't fault that all of this felt very honestly human, even in error of character judgement. The layers to this book was so multifaceted. Look how it's made me fixate on a particular scene that doesn't have any major consequence or effect on the rest of the story. I loved that this had me thinking as if these characters were real people!
I think the only critique I can think of is that some of the earlier battle scenes got a little lost in the excitement of the action that some of the details were a bit lost, such as if the monster was still on a character for the next move to make sense etc. This felt like it developed well after a few scenes like this, that or I just stopped noticing it/being bothered by it.
The plot twists were incredibly unpredictable, the connections made between our core group and those already established but shown (not just told) with side characters was phenomenal. The magic and political intrigue was absolutely exquisite. The descriptions of the rich/decaying landscape made me feel as though I was walking these paths along side the characters.
It was such an immersive read!
I adored writing little notes on sticky tabs about my thoughts and suspicions in this adventure and I have so much more to say, but I may have to leave that for a spoiler video, because this book was so, so good and I have lots more I could talk about.
What an excellent book to see the year out with. If I don't finish any more over the Christmas period, the time on this would have been worth it anyway, hands down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Murder, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gore, Grief, and Animal death
myckroft's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
westphall's review against another edition
5.0
i’m only mad I didn’t know this was part of a series. now i’m dying to know what happens next. one of the best modern fantasy-esque books i’ve read in ages.