tezzarudge 's review for:

The Forever King by Ben Galley
4.0

Another SPFBO7 finalist read!

Another really strong book from the batch of finalists and I can totally see how this made its way to the final!

I think this book shows very quickly, that it is not a debut. Ben is clearly a well accomplished writer who knows how to frame a story, pace a story and create a vivid world.

This is the strongest aspects of this book as well. The world building in this book, is the best of any of the SPFBO7 finalists I have read. I was totally immersed in the world, throughout the book.

I didnt totally love all of the characters involved. Without giving away too many spoilers. The "good guys" were really well done and fleshed out and I was certainly team Mithred! The bit I struggled with was the "baddies" were pretty flat. I didnt really care or believe their reasons or stance, other than wanting all the POWER!

I also didnt think we needed every type of fantasy character. Minotaur, Demons, Dragons, Gods and Griffins. It diluted the story a little bit for me.

However overall, I really did enjoy the journey and look forward to reading more from the world. I will definitely be going to the other series in this world, as soon as possible