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A review by kitvaria_sarene
Blackdog by K.V. Johansen
4.0
This is a really epic read, that needs you to fully focus on it all the time, or you'll spend a lot of time rereading bits. *Coughs*
It has a wonderfully detailed and rich world, full of small gods, demons, magic, different cultures and religions.
I loved the mix of slow burn world building and a lot of action and very well written fight scenes.
It features complex relationships between characters, gods and factions. It describes the life in a mercenary troupe traveling the desert as well as living in what feels a bit like mountain enclave, with a mad god at its head. I enjoyed the small scale bits just as much as the overarching "fate of the world" plot that the whole book runs toward.
There's quite some different POVs, some time jumps and different locations to keep track of, so again - it's a rather epic and definitely demanding read.
But you get rewarded with a unique world with a silk road feel to it. Inspired by a Himalayan village, central Asian caravan guards, some possibly Mongolian influences and more made for a real feast of different views and ideas.
There's also an amazing cast of characters who grew and changed organically over the course of the story. I especially liked the well written female characters.
All the different POVs run together nicely in the end. While you keep wondering what everything has to do with anything else, the different storylines slowly start to meet, mingle and weave themselves into one big braid. And it all makes for a fantastic finale, that will have you on the edge of your seat.
And another gigantic plus: while this is the start of a series, and has enough intrigue left to want to read on, it can also be read as a stand alone. All the major plot arcs are resolved and it is a very satisfying end all on its own, even if you don't move on to the sequels.
It has a wonderfully detailed and rich world, full of small gods, demons, magic, different cultures and religions.
I loved the mix of slow burn world building and a lot of action and very well written fight scenes.
It features complex relationships between characters, gods and factions. It describes the life in a mercenary troupe traveling the desert as well as living in what feels a bit like mountain enclave, with a mad god at its head. I enjoyed the small scale bits just as much as the overarching "fate of the world" plot that the whole book runs toward.
There's quite some different POVs, some time jumps and different locations to keep track of, so again - it's a rather epic and definitely demanding read.
But you get rewarded with a unique world with a silk road feel to it. Inspired by a Himalayan village, central Asian caravan guards, some possibly Mongolian influences and more made for a real feast of different views and ideas.
There's also an amazing cast of characters who grew and changed organically over the course of the story. I especially liked the well written female characters.
All the different POVs run together nicely in the end. While you keep wondering what everything has to do with anything else, the different storylines slowly start to meet, mingle and weave themselves into one big braid. And it all makes for a fantastic finale, that will have you on the edge of your seat.
And another gigantic plus: while this is the start of a series, and has enough intrigue left to want to read on, it can also be read as a stand alone. All the major plot arcs are resolved and it is a very satisfying end all on its own, even if you don't move on to the sequels.