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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
Absolutely blown away by a relative unknown. Feels like when I was introduced to Patrick Rothfuss - couldn't put it down for more than a few hours until I'd finished.
Okay so I read Blood Song over the weekend and totally loved it. Hardly put it down.
I love 'coming- of-age' style stories and learning about the world as our 'hero' does, I loved the wilderness/journey aspect of Vaelin learning to be a brother and all the training too. I loved the brotherhood of the boys and found Vaelin to be a great character, I really love him. I've read SO many of these style of books yet Vaelin was a fresh character for me.
The story moved along at a fantastic pace written very smartly with a 'show not tell' style letting the reader drawing their own conclusions. For me the all the hype is/was worth it and I'm glad I bought all 3 books over the years so now that I'm ready I can read them all at once. Yay!
Also Mark Lawrence writing the cover blurb sold it instantly for me.
Onto Tower Lord next...
I love 'coming- of-age' style stories and learning about the world as our 'hero' does, I loved the wilderness/journey aspect of Vaelin learning to be a brother and all the training too. I loved the brotherhood of the boys and found Vaelin to be a great character, I really love him. I've read SO many of these style of books yet Vaelin was a fresh character for me.
The story moved along at a fantastic pace written very smartly with a 'show not tell' style letting the reader drawing their own conclusions. For me the all the hype is/was worth it and I'm glad I bought all 3 books over the years so now that I'm ready I can read them all at once. Yay!
Also Mark Lawrence writing the cover blurb sold it instantly for me.
Onto Tower Lord next...
It was a very good book, but I had some trouble connecting with the characters, and I think it may be because the writing style was a bit dense.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'd have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this first entry in the Raven's Shadow trilogy. I enjoyed Ryan's storytelling style with the time jumps being easy to follow but very effective.
The story itself is slow-paced but never boring. It follows Vaelin through his time training to be a brother of the Sixth Order to his various campaigns in service to the king and to the Order. Each location has interesting events happen that help the characters grow, all the while teasing a greater threat to come in later books. It's very well done.
Most of the characters are also interesting. Vaelin's band of brothers are each unique in their own way and are quite compelling to follow. Oddly enough, it's actually Vaelin who is the weak link here. While he's a good character himself, he's a little too good at everything. He succeeds at virtually everything he tries to accomplish, oftentimes with relative ease. It makes his character a little boring sometimes.
Overall, this is an excellent start to a series. Unfortunately, everyone I know who has read the rest says the series falls off a cliff after this, so I'm not looking forward to the rest. But I will give it a shot and see for myself.
The story itself is slow-paced but never boring. It follows Vaelin through his time training to be a brother of the Sixth Order to his various campaigns in service to the king and to the Order. Each location has interesting events happen that help the characters grow, all the while teasing a greater threat to come in later books. It's very well done.
Most of the characters are also interesting. Vaelin's band of brothers are each unique in their own way and are quite compelling to follow. Oddly enough, it's actually Vaelin who is the weak link here. While he's a good character himself, he's a little too good at everything. He succeeds at virtually everything he tries to accomplish, oftentimes with relative ease. It makes his character a little boring sometimes.
Overall, this is an excellent start to a series. Unfortunately, everyone I know who has read the rest says the series falls off a cliff after this, so I'm not looking forward to the rest. But I will give it a shot and see for myself.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An enjoyable and enticing read, difficult to put down. The mystery hidden in the struggles Vaelin faces is revealed so slowly and carefully, each tidbit building a desire for the next. Very well done.
An interesting use of commas, though. One wonders if Anthony Ryan is familiar with the semi-colon, which by rights he should have used several times throughout the narrative. Oh well. It is not enough of a problem to make the book any less enjoyable to read.
An interesting use of commas, though. One wonders if Anthony Ryan is familiar with the semi-colon, which by rights he should have used several times throughout the narrative. Oh well. It is not enough of a problem to make the book any less enjoyable to read.
Přečteno 2022
Tak jsem se konečně pustila do rereadingu Písně krve. Potřebovala jsem si osvěžit příběh před tím než se vrhnu do pokračování. A tím osvěžit myslím to, že to bylo jako bych to četla poprvé, protože po 8 letech jsem si nepamatovala téměř nic.
Musím ale říct, že to pořád boží! Ano, na začátku jsem měla trochu problém s postavami, protože autor jich představil poměrně dost hned na začátku a stále přibývali. Nemění to nic na tom,že jakmile jsem se zorientovala a pořádně začetla, tak jsem se nemohla odtrhnout. Stále se mi líbí to, že Vélina vidíme vyrůstat spolu s ostatními chlapci ze Šestého řádu. Jejich výcvik je opravdu tvrdý a divím se, že alespoň jeden z nich nevzal nohy na ramena.
Líbil se mi i styl vyprávění, kdy na začátku každé části máme kapitolu z přítomnosti. Vélin v této kapitole vyprávý svůj přípěh kronikáři a tím vždy naznačí o co se v dané části knihy bude dít.
Přečteno 2014
To byl teda nářez! Píseň krve se mi líbila od začátku až do konce a nemůžu se dočkat až v ruce budu mít druhý díl :D
Recenzi najdete na blogu: http://bookshelf-stories.blogspot.cz/2015/01/receze-pisen-krve.html
Tak jsem se konečně pustila do rereadingu Písně krve. Potřebovala jsem si osvěžit příběh před tím než se vrhnu do pokračování. A tím osvěžit myslím to, že to bylo jako bych to četla poprvé, protože po 8 letech jsem si nepamatovala téměř nic.
Musím ale říct, že to pořád boží! Ano, na začátku jsem měla trochu problém s postavami, protože autor jich představil poměrně dost hned na začátku a stále přibývali. Nemění to nic na tom,že jakmile jsem se zorientovala a pořádně začetla, tak jsem se nemohla odtrhnout. Stále se mi líbí to, že Vélina vidíme vyrůstat spolu s ostatními chlapci ze Šestého řádu. Jejich výcvik je opravdu tvrdý a divím se, že alespoň jeden z nich nevzal nohy na ramena.
Líbil se mi i styl vyprávění, kdy na začátku každé části máme kapitolu z přítomnosti. Vélin v této kapitole vyprávý svůj přípěh kronikáři a tím vždy naznačí o co se v dané části knihy bude dít.
Přečteno 2014
To byl teda nářez! Píseň krve se mi líbila od začátku až do konce a nemůžu se dočkat až v ruce budu mít druhý díl :D
Recenzi najdete na blogu: http://bookshelf-stories.blogspot.cz/2015/01/receze-pisen-krve.html
The Brothers of the Sixth Order are the swords of the realm. They kick ass and smite unbelievers. Vaelin Al Sorna was left at the doorstep of the Order when he was just a boy of ten, as his father rode off into the mist. Vaelin will spend the next many years training in the arts of war, making both friends and enemies. Vaelin’s father held the title of Battle Lord, the highest possible honor to be acquired, so Vaelin’s got a lot to live up to.
Anthony Ryan initially self-published Blood Song at the beginning of last year, and I stumbled across it while perusing Amazon one day. It piqued my interest, so I bought it, but for some strange reason I never ended up reading it. Fast-forward a year, and Anthony’s been picked up by Orbit and Blood Song is one of the highest rated books I have ever seen (and it was a self-published debut!). As the days went on, more and more great reviews popped up until I finally caved.
I can’t pass up a good coming-of-age-in-school story. If there’s one trope I don’t think I will ever tire of, this is it. Being able to follow the character(s) through their journey into adulthood while at the same time seeing them go through the trouble that school often brings (almost) always provides a well-rounded tale. Whether it’s Rowling, Rothfuss, Grossman, Le Guin, or Ryan, I love ‘em.
Blood Song features a similar narrative to Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles in that it has the protagonist relaying their past to another person. In the work of Rothfuss, the Chronicler is the listener, and in Blood Song, Verniers Alishe Someren records the tale. Where Rothfuss succeeded, Ryan didn’t quite hit the mark. Vaelin told his story, but we read it in a fully third person perspective, where any time Vaelin would have said “I”, the story replaces it with his name. It’s as if, while Vaelin told the story, Verniers had the skill to actively change “I” to “Vaelin” and so on throughout while keeping pace with the tale. In Kingkiller, we had a first-person tale within a third-person one, and it worked very well. Blood Song had it different, and though it was still very good, it wasn’t quite there. I’ve always had a problem with novels that used the story-within-a-story narrative. How are we supposed to believe the character has an impeccable memory and can remember what he ate on any given day twelve a decade or more ago? It just seems unrealistic. It’s a different approach to the split past/present narrative that many novels use, and it’s a nice change once in a while, but it’s hard to believe.
We follow Vaelin and his brothers through their journey into adulthood, through their training and through their tests. The characters are trained in the art of killing, so their flaws are seen in their struggle to make moral decisions, including some that go against the Faith and against their teaching. Ryan particularly shines in the tests that Vaelin faces, whether they’re in school or on the field of battle, they’re damn fun to read.
You’ll find nothing new in it, but when a debut author can kick in the door and slap a book like Blood Song down on the table you can’t help but be impressed.
Anthony Ryan initially self-published Blood Song at the beginning of last year, and I stumbled across it while perusing Amazon one day. It piqued my interest, so I bought it, but for some strange reason I never ended up reading it. Fast-forward a year, and Anthony’s been picked up by Orbit and Blood Song is one of the highest rated books I have ever seen (and it was a self-published debut!). As the days went on, more and more great reviews popped up until I finally caved.
I can’t pass up a good coming-of-age-in-school story. If there’s one trope I don’t think I will ever tire of, this is it. Being able to follow the character(s) through their journey into adulthood while at the same time seeing them go through the trouble that school often brings (almost) always provides a well-rounded tale. Whether it’s Rowling, Rothfuss, Grossman, Le Guin, or Ryan, I love ‘em.
Blood Song features a similar narrative to Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles in that it has the protagonist relaying their past to another person. In the work of Rothfuss, the Chronicler is the listener, and in Blood Song, Verniers Alishe Someren records the tale. Where Rothfuss succeeded, Ryan didn’t quite hit the mark. Vaelin told his story, but we read it in a fully third person perspective, where any time Vaelin would have said “I”, the story replaces it with his name. It’s as if, while Vaelin told the story, Verniers had the skill to actively change “I” to “Vaelin” and so on throughout while keeping pace with the tale. In Kingkiller, we had a first-person tale within a third-person one, and it worked very well. Blood Song had it different, and though it was still very good, it wasn’t quite there. I’ve always had a problem with novels that used the story-within-a-story narrative. How are we supposed to believe the character has an impeccable memory and can remember what he ate on any given day twelve a decade or more ago? It just seems unrealistic. It’s a different approach to the split past/present narrative that many novels use, and it’s a nice change once in a while, but it’s hard to believe.
We follow Vaelin and his brothers through their journey into adulthood, through their training and through their tests. The characters are trained in the art of killing, so their flaws are seen in their struggle to make moral decisions, including some that go against the Faith and against their teaching. Ryan particularly shines in the tests that Vaelin faces, whether they’re in school or on the field of battle, they’re damn fun to read.
You’ll find nothing new in it, but when a debut author can kick in the door and slap a book like Blood Song down on the table you can’t help but be impressed.