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A review by thirdsaint
The Blood of Whisperers by Devin Madson
3.0
I decided to embark on the originally self-published Vengeance Trilogy due to Devin Madson’s latest The Reborn Empire trilogy from Orbit. The fantastic cover art of We Ride the Storm drew me in as well as the rave reviews. The other reason is I never like starting in the middle of a world, even if both trilogies can be read independently without needing the other. The thing is, I’m a sucker for easter eggs in books, and the fact that there are some in the latter trilogy if you read the first sealed the deal for me. Starting with the solid novella, In Shadows We Fall, you see an empire on the cusp of being fractured. The Blood of Whisperers takes place about twenty years after those events, and you see how the fractured empire has affected many lives. I highly recommend reading that novella before you start this story.
Initially, I was a little confused as to who was who, partially because the characters themselves are just as confused. There are three points of view, all told in first person, and it is interesting to see how entwined their lives are. The reader comes to obtain knowledge the other characters don’t have, which leads to anticipating what will happen when the truth comes out. In this world, it seems that no one can truly trust anyone else in any way. Least of all, no one should trust Malice, one of nine Vices that all have been given names that appear to match their abilities and temperament. Of the three POV’s we are given, Hana is my least favorite. I found her story more interesting in the beginning, but then found her frustratingly boring and annoying in the second half. Darius and Endymion were always interesting due to their special ability called Empathy.
Empathy and the overall magic system the Vices use is very intriguing and I wish to know more. At least in this first novel, it is more of a soft magic system with no clear rules or limitations set out. On my wish list for the rest of the series, would be discovering more of the different abilities each Vice has and what makes them so special as to be able to use it. It appears hereditary which then begs the question, where did it come from? The Blood of Whisperers is a short novel so there aren’t many answers by the end, only more questions.
The aforementioned Vices also fascinate me, and I hope to learn more about them. The reader gets minor interactions and glimpses of their powers through each of the main characters with not much being explained up front. They work as a wonderful plot device too as you never know whose side they, or Malice, are on. The reader is often just as confused as the people in the world. One thing though, Malice talking like this is annoying, yes? Every single sentence, yes?
One word of warning, there are a couple of scenes of near rape that I found very uncomfortable and something I could have done without. This book is gritty with a good deal of graphic violence and some strong swearing. I realize, though, that it’s part of the sub-genre of grimdark. I don’t have much experience with it, but I could’ve done without a few of those scenes. The action scenes are few and far between, and, when they are occur, they are quick and brutal, if not slightly confusing. There’s also no real concrete resolution to the book, which makes sense since it is a trilogy.
The Blood of Whisperers is a solid debut novel that is well worth reading. It’s not one of those poorly written self-published novels with horrible prose and a confusing plot. No, everything goes together quite well, and the pace is strong with progress being made in every chapter. You can tell it’s a first novel for an author, but it’s a well written one. After finishing the series as a whole, I can say that the first book ended up being the best of the series. Looking back, I realized I enjoyed the story and characters more, despite Hana still being annoying. She's least annoying in The Blood of Whisperers though, as are the other characters.
The Vengeance Trilogy
The Blood of Whisperers - 7.5/10
The Gods of Vice - 6.5/10
The Grave at Storm's End - 7/10
Initially, I was a little confused as to who was who, partially because the characters themselves are just as confused. There are three points of view, all told in first person, and it is interesting to see how entwined their lives are. The reader comes to obtain knowledge the other characters don’t have, which leads to anticipating what will happen when the truth comes out. In this world, it seems that no one can truly trust anyone else in any way. Least of all, no one should trust Malice, one of nine Vices that all have been given names that appear to match their abilities and temperament. Of the three POV’s we are given, Hana is my least favorite. I found her story more interesting in the beginning, but then found her frustratingly boring and annoying in the second half. Darius and Endymion were always interesting due to their special ability called Empathy.
Empathy and the overall magic system the Vices use is very intriguing and I wish to know more. At least in this first novel, it is more of a soft magic system with no clear rules or limitations set out. On my wish list for the rest of the series, would be discovering more of the different abilities each Vice has and what makes them so special as to be able to use it. It appears hereditary which then begs the question, where did it come from? The Blood of Whisperers is a short novel so there aren’t many answers by the end, only more questions.
The aforementioned Vices also fascinate me, and I hope to learn more about them. The reader gets minor interactions and glimpses of their powers through each of the main characters with not much being explained up front. They work as a wonderful plot device too as you never know whose side they, or Malice, are on. The reader is often just as confused as the people in the world. One thing though, Malice talking like this is annoying, yes? Every single sentence, yes?
One word of warning, there are a couple of scenes of near rape that I found very uncomfortable and something I could have done without. This book is gritty with a good deal of graphic violence and some strong swearing. I realize, though, that it’s part of the sub-genre of grimdark. I don’t have much experience with it, but I could’ve done without a few of those scenes. The action scenes are few and far between, and, when they are occur, they are quick and brutal, if not slightly confusing. There’s also no real concrete resolution to the book, which makes sense since it is a trilogy.
The Blood of Whisperers is a solid debut novel that is well worth reading. It’s not one of those poorly written self-published novels with horrible prose and a confusing plot. No, everything goes together quite well, and the pace is strong with progress being made in every chapter. You can tell it’s a first novel for an author, but it’s a well written one. After finishing the series as a whole, I can say that the first book ended up being the best of the series. Looking back, I realized I enjoyed the story and characters more, despite Hana still being annoying. She's least annoying in The Blood of Whisperers though, as are the other characters.
The Vengeance Trilogy
The Blood of Whisperers - 7.5/10
The Gods of Vice - 6.5/10
The Grave at Storm's End - 7/10