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boprawira 's review for:
Promise of Blood
by Brian McClellan
A decent debut novel. I was expecting a more comprehensive worldbuilding and magic system than what I found. The author appeared to want to keep the actions flowing by sacrificing some details of both the world and the magic system. The prose is also quite simplistic, which made it an easy read. The pacing is definitely good.
However, the similarities to the Mistborn world are too striking. For example the powder mages is definitely inspired by the Mistborn / Mistings magic system. There are also similarities in the back story of Tamas vis-a-vis Kel as the two characters are leaders of the coup that attempt to topple the kings in their respective world. I hope there would be more things that diverge from Mistborn in the remaining 2 books of the series.
Another element that is less compelling than Brandon Sanderson’s works are the characters. I was invested emotionally to root for Kel and the rest of the gang. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the same attachment with Tamas, Taniel and the rest of the ”good guys”. The characters that really intrigued me are Ka-Poel, a mute who had no POV in this book; and Nila, whom we just saw for a few instances before disappearing (hopefully to play a bigger role in the 2nd book). But, I just didn’t really care if either Tamas or Taniel survive. Maybe it’s just me.
But, overall it’s a decent beginning. The ending redeemed the boom somewhat by presenting an interesting antagonist for our protagonists.
However, the similarities to the Mistborn world are too striking. For example the powder mages is definitely inspired by the Mistborn / Mistings magic system. There are also similarities in the back story of Tamas vis-a-vis Kel as the two characters are leaders of the coup that attempt to topple the kings in their respective world. I hope there would be more things that diverge from Mistborn in the remaining 2 books of the series.
Another element that is less compelling than Brandon Sanderson’s works are the characters. I was invested emotionally to root for Kel and the rest of the gang. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the same attachment with Tamas, Taniel and the rest of the ”good guys”. The characters that really intrigued me are Ka-Poel, a mute who had no POV in this book; and Nila, whom we just saw for a few instances before disappearing (hopefully to play a bigger role in the 2nd book). But, I just didn’t really care if either Tamas or Taniel survive. Maybe it’s just me.
But, overall it’s a decent beginning. The ending redeemed the boom somewhat by presenting an interesting antagonist for our protagonists.