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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
3.5 stars.
I had high hopes for this one - with the coming of age/recounting your history/battle school combination I thought this would be an easy 5 stars. However, despite Vaelin being a compelling main character, we didn't get quite enough from the supporting cast for me to fall in love with this one. The impactful moments failed to land for me and I wasn't as emotionally invested as I wanted to be.
Still, a solid fantasy novel that combines a modern writing style with classic tropes and one that would serve as an effective escape when you're looking for something to remind you why you fell in love with the genre.
I had high hopes for this one - with the coming of age/recounting your history/battle school combination I thought this would be an easy 5 stars. However, despite Vaelin being a compelling main character, we didn't get quite enough from the supporting cast for me to fall in love with this one. The impactful moments failed to land for me and I wasn't as emotionally invested as I wanted to be.
Still, a solid fantasy novel that combines a modern writing style with classic tropes and one that would serve as an effective escape when you're looking for something to remind you why you fell in love with the genre.
Paint-by-numbers writing, but entertaining nonetheless.
It's a like Name of the Wind, in how the story is narrated.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Brillant!!
Think R. E. Fiest, but grittier, David Gemmel, but more character involvement.
Strong diverse characters, both male and female. It's a book for all to read and enjoy.
Think R. E. Fiest, but grittier, David Gemmel, but more character involvement.
Strong diverse characters, both male and female. It's a book for all to read and enjoy.
I am so glad I picked up this book when I did. I had started and DNFed three or four books in a row (unusual for me) and was getting more than a little irritated trying to find something that didn't make me want to pitch it across the room after 25 pages.
This book is familiar in a lot of ways. If you have read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss or Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, there will be some recognizable elements to the opening novel of this fantasy trilogy.
Vaelin al-Sorna is the young son of a realm's battle-lord who is entrusted to the "care" of, for lack of a better term, battle monks who train young boys in the Faith of the realm, and to become loyal soldiers.
There is a "school" element to the training and the brothers who teach the boys, so fans of fantasy school settings should be appeased. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved here. It begins simply enough: with Vaelin feeling abandoned and not understanding why his father left him. But as time wears on and Vaelin begins discovering truths about his family, other mysteries with far wider implications are revealed and begin to slowly unfurl.
I always enjoy when an author manages to surprise me, and that happened a couple of times in these pages. I was positive I had a major plot twist figured out, but was horribly wrong and was okay with that because the reveal made sense.
While it didn't bother me, people who have issues with UK spelling might be put off by this book.
All in all, it was a better-than-average fantasy coming-of-age tale with a fair amount of sword and sorcery, but heavier on the sword. I'll definitely be continuing this series at some point.
This book is familiar in a lot of ways. If you have read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss or Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, there will be some recognizable elements to the opening novel of this fantasy trilogy.
Vaelin al-Sorna is the young son of a realm's battle-lord who is entrusted to the "care" of, for lack of a better term, battle monks who train young boys in the Faith of the realm, and to become loyal soldiers.
There is a "school" element to the training and the brothers who teach the boys, so fans of fantasy school settings should be appeased. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved here. It begins simply enough: with Vaelin feeling abandoned and not understanding why his father left him. But as time wears on and Vaelin begins discovering truths about his family, other mysteries with far wider implications are revealed and begin to slowly unfurl.
I always enjoy when an author manages to surprise me, and that happened a couple of times in these pages. I was positive I had a major plot twist figured out, but was horribly wrong and was okay with that because the reveal made sense.
While it didn't bother me, people who have issues with UK spelling might be put off by this book.
All in all, it was a better-than-average fantasy coming-of-age tale with a fair amount of sword and sorcery, but heavier on the sword. I'll definitely be continuing this series at some point.
More of a 2.5. Well written fantasy but just didn't grab me. Different characters, even major ones, felt pretty imperceptible a lot of the time. A shame as I'd looked forward to it and maybe bit at some of the favourable reviews.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Moje recenze na Fantasyi: http://fantasya.cz/clanek/na-poli-fantasy-zazni-fenomenalni-pisen-krve