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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
Set 3000 years before Herald, this is a short and very dark telling of the common folk meeting ruthless demons. Seen through the eyes of one very brave girl.
This is dark! (Not one for the cozy readers!)
Loved it :)
Loved it :)
Unrelenting is the only word.
We start off pleasantly enough, but every major advancement in the story can be quickly summarized as 'and then things get worse.' all the way through the climax.
Brutal, hard to read at times, and fantastic. Unrelenting as it pushes forward and downward.
This is the last of God Eater phase 1 for me, following the recommended reading order. I'm definitely not going to disagree with the author's recommended order, but I do feel ending this phase on the darkest entry makes it a harder sell until the next set is ready to release.
All in all I've been loving God Eater and I'm very much looking forward to the next 2 waves of releases.
We start off pleasantly enough, but every major advancement in the story can be quickly summarized as 'and then things get worse.' all the way through the climax.
Brutal, hard to read at times, and fantastic. Unrelenting as it pushes forward and downward.
This is the last of God Eater phase 1 for me, following the recommended reading order. I'm definitely not going to disagree with the author's recommended order, but I do feel ending this phase on the darkest entry makes it a harder sell until the next set is ready to release.
All in all I've been loving God Eater and I'm very much looking forward to the next 2 waves of releases.
Don't think this does anything new or interesting with the world of Godeater, feeling kind of redundant and, unlike Deathless, a little predictable because it's a prequel (really wanted a twist or conspiracy like that other book had but it just played into what we were told). I'm kinda gutted this wasn't the best of the three, as it had the best premise but it's just alright! See, even a 'bad' Rob J Hayes book is still a good book!
Can't wait for the phase 2 books of Godeater tho!!!! Gimme them now, Rob!!!!
(I mean, book one of The War Eternal is sat on my tbr pile and his new Mortal Techniques novella just released, so I could do them but...angel flesh be tasty!)
Can't wait for the phase 2 books of Godeater tho!!!! Gimme them now, Rob!!!!
(I mean, book one of The War Eternal is sat on my tbr pile and his new Mortal Techniques novella just released, so I could do them but...angel flesh be tasty!)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Demon by Rob J. Hayes is the last book one of the three trilogies released all at once last year. As I've mentioned in my recent review of Deathless, I plan to circle back around to Herald when the time comes for the second books in each series to be released. I feel I'll have a very different perspective and understanding of the world and it's characters now that I've completed all three book ones.
If you haven't seen my other reviews yet, it was explained to me that all three series are in the same world but in different timelines. Demon goes back the further in time before both Deathless and Herald and gives us even more background and understanding of this world.
For another shorter book similar to Deathless, the pacing is still very solid. This one also sits around the 200 pages mark. I only had a day or two before kicking off a readathon so I picked up a copy of the audio just to get through it a little quicker as I knew I wouldn't have as much time to sit down and visual read through this one in that short of time.
This means I've done the audio for both Herald and Demon which were enjoyable and visual read Deathless which was equally enjoyable for me. The two audiobooks were narrated by different individuals. I'm hoping the same individuals continue to narrate their perspective series in the future. I just like that continuity in most cases. Though there are plenty of cases where a change of narrator did fit better for the given book. In this case Demon is narrated by Annalee Scott who I felt did an excellent job brining this dark and almost hopeless tale to life.
The world building is really good in Demon when looking at it on it's own. But when you take the step back and look at it in combination of Herald and Deathless, this world is simply phenomenal. As mentioned this is a very dark storyline as we go even further back in the timeline and learn yet more information about the Hostain family. I mean with a title like Demon, you'd have to assume at least a bit of darkness. But who are the demons? Where did they come from? You'll just have to dive into this world and series to find out.
The character development is probably the strongest aspect of Demon when looking at it on it's own. Sure the pacing and world building are both really good especially with the connection to the other two books in the saga. But Dien's character and her family in general just has such an amazing story arc to experience. She is honestly learning about her family's past right along with us the reader.
One take away I have at this point is we rarely know who are really the good guys and the bad guys in history. It's very true that history is written by the victors. Rob has taken on that fight to peel back the layers of history one generation at a time with this epic saga.
I've mentioned in several reviews in past that I love a story with a great history and background to it and each of these reads has just added more and more depth to this story and I'm here for it!
On thing I found myself more than once saying out loud while listening to this story was "Weak meat, slow meat!" And mmm meat soup! This story definitely had some demented twists but it has it's place in this dark tale.
I've finish reiterating that I was hesitant on this format of release the author chose for this saga, but damn if it don't seem to be working perfectly for me. I'll concur with the reading order of Herald, Deathless then Demon as it was top notch in my experience.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
This was such an amazing book. I love Rob J Hayes writing style with the way that he can tell his stories make them constantly intriguing. This story was very interesting and straight away the main character Dien was very intriguing and i wanted to be able to find out more. She had to face many challenges in which she had to face, it was a challenge for them. It became a story which I didn’t want to put down, I just wanted to be able to keep reading it to find out what was going to happen next. There was so many twists and turns that occurred which surprised me as it was somethings that I didn’t expect. With how the ending of the book happened it has definitely made me excited for the next book in the series.
dark
tense
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After having read Herald and being blown away by it, I decided I would read everything in Rob J. Hayes's God Eater universe, and so Demon is next on the list. While not quite as good as Herald (which I didn't expect since it's such a short book), this is still an amazing entry into what is quickly becoming a favorite series.
The entire story follows the POV of Dien Hostain, a girl from a small village called Berrywhistle. If you've already read Herald like I did, then the name Hostain is a familiar one, but this story takes place 3,000 years before that. The village is invaded by demons, who kill many of its people and enslave the rest. We follow Dien's time in captivity, her interactions with demons and fellow captains, and her plans for escape and revenge.
The first thing to mention is this book is DARK. I just finished Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio and Bloodchild by Anna Stephens, both dark books in their own right, and even they aren't as dark as this one. Normally events that happen in this book feel more like torture porn when they happen elsewhere, but that isn't the case here. As brutal and graphic as it is, it does a good job at conveying how hopeless the situation is that the characters are forced into. The slightest resistance is met with over the top cruelty to serve as an example to the others. It's often hard to read but hard to put down.
As for the characters, Dien is a solid main character, not overly likeable but not one to hate either. There's nothing special about her except her overwhelming ability to never give up hope. It's what drives her throughout the whole thing. The side characters are good, but again, nothing great which is understandable considering their situation. But they are good enough for the story being told.
I am completely captivated by the world that's created here, and I will be moving on to Deathless by next month at the latest. Luckily, Hayes writes so fast that there won't be a long wait before book 2 to all 3 of these trilogies comes out.
The entire story follows the POV of Dien Hostain, a girl from a small village called Berrywhistle. If you've already read Herald like I did, then the name Hostain is a familiar one, but this story takes place 3,000 years before that. The village is invaded by demons, who kill many of its people and enslave the rest. We follow Dien's time in captivity, her interactions with demons and fellow captains, and her plans for escape and revenge.
The first thing to mention is this book is DARK. I just finished Ashes of Man by Christopher Ruocchio and Bloodchild by Anna Stephens, both dark books in their own right, and even they aren't as dark as this one. Normally events that happen in this book feel more like torture porn when they happen elsewhere, but that isn't the case here. As brutal and graphic as it is, it does a good job at conveying how hopeless the situation is that the characters are forced into. The slightest resistance is met with over the top cruelty to serve as an example to the others. It's often hard to read but hard to put down.
As for the characters, Dien is a solid main character, not overly likeable but not one to hate either. There's nothing special about her except her overwhelming ability to never give up hope. It's what drives her throughout the whole thing. The side characters are good, but again, nothing great which is understandable considering their situation. But they are good enough for the story being told.
I am completely captivated by the world that's created here, and I will be moving on to Deathless by next month at the latest. Luckily, Hayes writes so fast that there won't be a long wait before book 2 to all 3 of these trilogies comes out.