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A review by hawkeyegonzalez
Herald by Rob J. Hayes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My first book of 2025, and it's a 5-star read. I was not expecting that, but this book definitely deserves it.
Herald follows the adventures of a young girl named Renira, who lives in a world where God is dead, and the country is ruled by the Godless King Emrik Hostain, who helped kill God and has been spreading lies that God and the angels were nothing more than tyrants. Renira discovers that angels are in fact real and goes on a journey to help a surviving angel start the Fifth Age and bring God back to life.
The lore in this book is absolutely fantastic. I am completely fascinated every time it mentions what happened in the past, whether it's about the Hostain family's time spent with the angels or the war against Heaven itself. I'm glad that Rob J. Hayes also wrote companion books covering that time period, as I will be reading them very soon. As for the story, it's pretty long and honestly does start off a bit slowly. The journey definitely gives off Lord of the Rings vibes with the group constantly traveling, then stopping for a major event, then on to more traveling. If there's one knock against this book, it's this part as it could have been shortened just a little.
Even though Renira is the main character here, the story is told through various POVs from both the "good" side and the "bad" side. Oftentimes when books do this, I find myself far more interested in the bad side POVs, but that's not the case here. Each side's story is extremely interesting to read, and I never found myself wishing to hurry through a particular POV. The characters themselves are equally great, from Renira to Sun to Armstar to Emrik to Borik. Each person is extremely unique without being stereotypic or over the top, and Hayes does such a good job with their tone that it's easy to know whose POV you are reading even if it didn't mention their name.
The last thing I really love about this book is the ending. While I knew there would be a twist somewhere in there, I honestly did not expect it to go the way it did. Hayes does a great job of building everything up then delivering something that is unexpected but makes complete sense. I can't wait to see where the story goes next.
Going into this, I have only read one other series by Rob J. Hayes, that being The War Eternal, which I really enjoyed but not to the point where Hayes becomes a must-read author. I think Herald just might have changed that, and I'm definitely going to check out more of his stuff while I wait for the next book in this series.
Herald follows the adventures of a young girl named Renira, who lives in a world where God is dead, and the country is ruled by the Godless King Emrik Hostain, who helped kill God and has been spreading lies that God and the angels were nothing more than tyrants. Renira discovers that angels are in fact real and goes on a journey to help a surviving angel start the Fifth Age and bring God back to life.
The lore in this book is absolutely fantastic. I am completely fascinated every time it mentions what happened in the past, whether it's about the Hostain family's time spent with the angels or the war against Heaven itself. I'm glad that Rob J. Hayes also wrote companion books covering that time period, as I will be reading them very soon. As for the story, it's pretty long and honestly does start off a bit slowly. The journey definitely gives off Lord of the Rings vibes with the group constantly traveling, then stopping for a major event, then on to more traveling. If there's one knock against this book, it's this part as it could have been shortened just a little.
Even though Renira is the main character here, the story is told through various POVs from both the "good" side and the "bad" side. Oftentimes when books do this, I find myself far more interested in the bad side POVs, but that's not the case here. Each side's story is extremely interesting to read, and I never found myself wishing to hurry through a particular POV. The characters themselves are equally great, from Renira to Sun to Armstar to Emrik to Borik. Each person is extremely unique without being stereotypic or over the top, and Hayes does such a good job with their tone that it's easy to know whose POV you are reading even if it didn't mention their name.
The last thing I really love about this book is the ending. While I knew there would be a twist somewhere in there, I honestly did not expect it to go the way it did. Hayes does a great job of building everything up then delivering something that is unexpected but makes complete sense. I can't wait to see where the story goes next.
Going into this, I have only read one other series by Rob J. Hayes, that being The War Eternal, which I really enjoyed but not to the point where Hayes becomes a must-read author. I think Herald just might have changed that, and I'm definitely going to check out more of his stuff while I wait for the next book in this series.