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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
A nice middle ground between High Fantasy and Modern Fantasy - I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!
Actual rating: 7/10
Thank you to Angry Robot for a chance to review The Coward by Stephen Aryan in exchange for an honest review. I was super intrigued by the description, I love a good coward as much as I love a good hero. That cover is just gorgeous, too.
Well, the first thing that could be said is that this book is definitely polished and it’s going to be right up the alley of many fantasy readers. There’s humor, battles, an epic journey, and an unlikely group of travelers that become like family to one another on that journey. If you are a fan of Kings of the Wyld, I could definitely see this being something you’d enjoy. I, on the other hand, DNF’ed KotW (hangs head in shame). The issue for both of these books was that I started out with the audios and really didn’t vibe with the respective narrators. Luckily, with The Coward I decided to switch to physically reading at about 50%. I enjoyed the second half of the novel much more than the first. I don’t think that’s all due to the audio, though, and I know this narrator will actually be perfect for others.
The first half went a lot slower for me. I was a bit bored, if I am honest. I actually thought I was going to end up rating this book a bit lower. I didn’t care about any of our characters for a good while. The second half was filled with action and revelations, and the ending promises for a fun adventure in the future. I found myself endeared to our characters by the end of it and it completely saved my rating. A huge bonus: the excerpt for the second book intrigued me greatly, so I will probably end up continuing with the series. I do like that this could be read as a standalone if one desires!
One thing I really enjoyed in this novel was the uncertainty of the fate of our main characters. Aryan does not tread lightly and this is something I love when reading fantasy. I enjoy being afraid for our characters, even if that means that someone I really liked dies. I also love that so much of our story revolves around a lie and that Kell sheds a truthful, ugly light on the journey of the heroes that we hear about in fabled tales.
Take my review with a grain of salt and check The Coward out for yourself, so far it has been getting rave reviews!
Thank you to Angry Robot for a chance to review The Coward by Stephen Aryan in exchange for an honest review. I was super intrigued by the description, I love a good coward as much as I love a good hero. That cover is just gorgeous, too.
Well, the first thing that could be said is that this book is definitely polished and it’s going to be right up the alley of many fantasy readers. There’s humor, battles, an epic journey, and an unlikely group of travelers that become like family to one another on that journey. If you are a fan of Kings of the Wyld, I could definitely see this being something you’d enjoy. I, on the other hand, DNF’ed KotW (hangs head in shame). The issue for both of these books was that I started out with the audios and really didn’t vibe with the respective narrators. Luckily, with The Coward I decided to switch to physically reading at about 50%. I enjoyed the second half of the novel much more than the first. I don’t think that’s all due to the audio, though, and I know this narrator will actually be perfect for others.
The first half went a lot slower for me. I was a bit bored, if I am honest. I actually thought I was going to end up rating this book a bit lower. I didn’t care about any of our characters for a good while. The second half was filled with action and revelations, and the ending promises for a fun adventure in the future. I found myself endeared to our characters by the end of it and it completely saved my rating. A huge bonus: the excerpt for the second book intrigued me greatly, so I will probably end up continuing with the series. I do like that this could be read as a standalone if one desires!
One thing I really enjoyed in this novel was the uncertainty of the fate of our main characters. Aryan does not tread lightly and this is something I love when reading fantasy. I enjoy being afraid for our characters, even if that means that someone I really liked dies. I also love that so much of our story revolves around a lie and that Kell sheds a truthful, ugly light on the journey of the heroes that we hear about in fabled tales.
Take my review with a grain of salt and check The Coward out for yourself, so far it has been getting rave reviews!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lots of typos was weird; really solid and cool plot with great twists but the characters and environments were too tame/generic which let it down; weird use of r*pe and assault at 2 points which seemed completely unnecessary; kind of got lost towards the end with random events but was still fun
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun fantasy adventure with a side of political intrigue. The religion discussed in the book was a barely disguised version of Christianity (their god is The Shepherd who presented humanity with 12 “pillars” and the church is ruled by priests and nuns who have a hefty dislike of pagans) with a scathing commentary on the evils within the church. I enjoyed all the characters and the pacing was excellent. I’ll definitely be reading the sequel.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
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
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes