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A review by joeri81
The Grim Company by Luke Scull
3.0
I've been in a bit of a reading slump of lately so it took me a long time to finish this book (about 3,5 months). It's not that it was a bad book, I enjoyed it good enough, I was just focused on other stuff and didn't find the time to read. Once I really started, I finished the remainder of the book in a short time. It's got fluid writing so it is easy to read, it's got a multiple interesting characters, suspense, intruigue, lots of action and a lot of blood and gore ... a lot of things I'm looking for in a good fantasy book. It's probably the fantasy book I enjoyed the most in the last couple of months ... but still I've given it only 3 stars.
The books tells the story about the Trine, consisting mainly of three major cities: Shadowport, Thelassa and Dorminia. Each of them is controlled by a Magelord, one of the few remaining mages who took part in bringing down the Gods 500 years ago. The focus is in the first place on Dorminia and the Magelord Salazar who rules like a tyran over his citizens. It's not unexpecting that there have been plots against him in the past and others are still plotting against him now. One of the groups that want to bring him down are the Shards with their leader Garett, an influencial merchant in the city. Other important characters within the Shards are Davarus Cole, a youngster who thinks too much of himself. There is also Sasha, the love interest of Davarus Cole.
When Cole stumbles into a highlander on one night he triggers a lot of events, bringing him finally to the other side of the Trine, into Thelassa and into the service of the White Lady. The Highlander; Brodar Kayne aka Sword of the North, sets out to destroy the mining business for raw magic with the other Shards. All of this will lead to a great climax at the end with the war between Dorminia and Thelassa.
I can understand the critics that Luke Scull isn't writing one of the most original stories, there are indeed paralells with other books I've read. One of the most cited books are those of Joe Abercrombie and his First Law trilogie. Personnally I'm not a fan of this series, especially the first book is a huge letdown. It gets better from there, but it never gets amazing. In comparison to that trilogy I already liked the first book of the Grim Company better. I'm curious how this will continue in the coming books.
Conclusion:.
The problem with the book is that it doesn't excel in anything. It's enjoyable and it has a lot of good aspects but it lacks the true 4 or 5 star quality I expect from such books. In the end I've given it it only 3,5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.
Rating: 7.1/10
The books tells the story about the Trine, consisting mainly of three major cities: Shadowport, Thelassa and Dorminia. Each of them is controlled by a Magelord, one of the few remaining mages who took part in bringing down the Gods 500 years ago. The focus is in the first place on Dorminia and the Magelord Salazar who rules like a tyran over his citizens. It's not unexpecting that there have been plots against him in the past and others are still plotting against him now. One of the groups that want to bring him down are the Shards with their leader Garett, an influencial merchant in the city. Other important characters within the Shards are Davarus Cole, a youngster who thinks too much of himself. There is also Sasha, the love interest of Davarus Cole.
When Cole stumbles into a highlander on one night he triggers a lot of events, bringing him finally to the other side of the Trine, into Thelassa and into the service of the White Lady. The Highlander; Brodar Kayne aka Sword of the North, sets out to destroy the mining business for raw magic with the other Shards. All of this will lead to a great climax at the end with the war between Dorminia and Thelassa.
I can understand the critics that Luke Scull isn't writing one of the most original stories, there are indeed paralells with other books I've read. One of the most cited books are those of Joe Abercrombie and his First Law trilogie. Personnally I'm not a fan of this series, especially the first book is a huge letdown. It gets better from there, but it never gets amazing. In comparison to that trilogy I already liked the first book of the Grim Company better. I'm curious how this will continue in the coming books.
Conclusion:.
The problem with the book is that it doesn't excel in anything. It's enjoyable and it has a lot of good aspects but it lacks the true 4 or 5 star quality I expect from such books. In the end I've given it it only 3,5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.
Rating: 7.1/10