A review by tezzarudge
We Men of Ash and Shadow by H.L. Tinsley

4.0

3.7 rounded to 4 on my SPFBO7 finalists scoring matrix.

There are some excellent parts of this story and its a series I will instantly be continuing.

I enjoyed the pacing of this book in the main and for a 300 page book, there is a huge amount of content. I did feel it could of done with another 50 to 100 pages to flesh out the finale of the book however.

I found Vanguard to be a brilliant character and thoroughly appreciated his arc and journey. I am a sucker for a main character almost loathing themselves whilst finding out their true worth to the world. I didnt particular bond with many of the other characters in the story and I suspect this was due to so many of the characters being morally grey. Whilst that built the intrigue in the story, it did create a distance in attachment for me as the reader.

I liked that this book actually felt like a darker version of Michael Sullivans - Hadrian and Royce stories (without the bromance) . I cant quite place why the Riyria stories kept coming to mind during this read, but as they are some of my favourite books, it was most welcome.

This is a good book and one I would recommend