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A review by justgeekingby
The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell
4.0
Originally posted on Just Geeking by.
Content warnings:
Two things drew me to The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell; it was by an author I had really enjoyed previously and the synopsis. I mean, who doesn’t love a book that openly mocks the trope of wizards and promises to show you what a “real” wizard? As someone who is not a fan of a certain epic fantasy, I’m the type of reader who loves books that subvert what’s expected of genres. It didn’t take long for me to start devouring this one, just like all the other de Castell books I’ve read.
The book opens in the middle of battle showing very clearly that our protagonist, Cade, and his companions are not the good guys. They’re mercenaries, wonderists (de Castell’s term for mages/wizards) for hire and at that moment in time they are working for Ascendant Lucien to help him take control of the lands of another Ascendant. As Cade’s friend explains, they get paid to conquer one group and then years later the second group hires them to kill the first group. Of course, Corrigan Blight uses a lot more curse words when he actually says it and if you’re not someone who likes cursing then this isn’t the book for you.
The Malevolent Seven is a dark fantasy book and is set in a world loosely based on the Christian mythology of heaven and hell. The world is ruled by the human worshippers of the Lords Celestine the benevolent rulers of the Auroral realms as they prepare for the Grand Crusade; the final confrontation with their enemies the Lords Devilish. The Lords Devilish are the rulers of the Infernal realms, and the two sides have been in conflict for millennia. The problem is that neither side can exist in the mortal realm, so until they can find a battlefield where they are able to do battle they build armies and use humans to help them gain any advantage they can.
When the job with Lucien goes sideways, Cade has nowhere else to run except towards a job that Corrigan has accepted – one that he had just turned down. It’s a suicide mission that requires seven mages to fight seven powerful mages. Cade soon finds that finding a team is easier said than done, as Corrigan leads him on a trip to fill the roster. As they begin to find members for their team and edge closer to their destination, revelations come to light that and Cade starts to realise that not everything as it seems.
De Castell has written a book that is dark and gritty with brutal honesty and humour mixed in. Bringing his skill for evocative storytelling and characters with layered backstories, this is de Castell without any restraints and writing complete chaos. It was a pleasure to read the wild and tempestuous Corrigan who at times felt like an immature teenager and other times was terrifying. There’s a rat mage who is both annoying and yet impossibly charming, with fascinating magic. Other characters I do not want to mention due to spoilers, but they are also fabulously interesting and captivating.
As for Cade himself, his backstory is brilliant. While The Malevolent Seven is very different to the Spellslinger series, I see similarities between Cade and Kel. Both of them are outsiders who do what they have to do to survive in a world that doesn’t want them to. They also very much have this attitude of “can you please just go away and leave me alone?” and the world doesn’t want to. There’s also an animal character, as seen on the cover, who while not quite squirrel cat material will worm his way into your hearts nonetheless.
The Malevolent Seven is not going to be a book for everyone. It’s a book about anti-heroes, and it’s description as being a fantasy Deadpool is right on the money. It’s being compared to Terry Pratchett, but having only read one book I can’t answer that. I can say that if you read The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnson then you will probably also love this.
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Content warnings:
Spoiler
This book contains a lot of gore, death, violence, torture, and generally scenes of vile behaviour. The world that this book is set in is very dark and people are often used and/or abused in a variety of ways by those in power. This often begins in childhood, and sexual and physical abuse of children is referenced at various points including a form of slavery that views sexual acts as “divine”. None of this is condoned, or takes place on page.Two things drew me to The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell; it was by an author I had really enjoyed previously and the synopsis. I mean, who doesn’t love a book that openly mocks the trope of wizards and promises to show you what a “real” wizard? As someone who is not a fan of a certain epic fantasy, I’m the type of reader who loves books that subvert what’s expected of genres. It didn’t take long for me to start devouring this one, just like all the other de Castell books I’ve read.
The book opens in the middle of battle showing very clearly that our protagonist, Cade, and his companions are not the good guys. They’re mercenaries, wonderists (de Castell’s term for mages/wizards) for hire and at that moment in time they are working for Ascendant Lucien to help him take control of the lands of another Ascendant. As Cade’s friend explains, they get paid to conquer one group and then years later the second group hires them to kill the first group. Of course, Corrigan Blight uses a lot more curse words when he actually says it and if you’re not someone who likes cursing then this isn’t the book for you.
The Malevolent Seven is a dark fantasy book and is set in a world loosely based on the Christian mythology of heaven and hell. The world is ruled by the human worshippers of the Lords Celestine the benevolent rulers of the Auroral realms as they prepare for the Grand Crusade; the final confrontation with their enemies the Lords Devilish. The Lords Devilish are the rulers of the Infernal realms, and the two sides have been in conflict for millennia. The problem is that neither side can exist in the mortal realm, so until they can find a battlefield where they are able to do battle they build armies and use humans to help them gain any advantage they can.
When the job with Lucien goes sideways, Cade has nowhere else to run except towards a job that Corrigan has accepted – one that he had just turned down. It’s a suicide mission that requires seven mages to fight seven powerful mages. Cade soon finds that finding a team is easier said than done, as Corrigan leads him on a trip to fill the roster. As they begin to find members for their team and edge closer to their destination, revelations come to light that and Cade starts to realise that not everything as it seems.
De Castell has written a book that is dark and gritty with brutal honesty and humour mixed in. Bringing his skill for evocative storytelling and characters with layered backstories, this is de Castell without any restraints and writing complete chaos. It was a pleasure to read the wild and tempestuous Corrigan who at times felt like an immature teenager and other times was terrifying. There’s a rat mage who is both annoying and yet impossibly charming, with fascinating magic. Other characters I do not want to mention due to spoilers, but they are also fabulously interesting and captivating.
As for Cade himself, his backstory is brilliant. While The Malevolent Seven is very different to the Spellslinger series, I see similarities between Cade and Kel. Both of them are outsiders who do what they have to do to survive in a world that doesn’t want them to. They also very much have this attitude of “can you please just go away and leave me alone?” and the world doesn’t want to. There’s also an animal character, as seen on the cover, who while not quite squirrel cat material will worm his way into your hearts nonetheless.
The Malevolent Seven is not going to be a book for everyone. It’s a book about anti-heroes, and it’s description as being a fantasy Deadpool is right on the money. It’s being compared to Terry Pratchett, but having only read one book I can’t answer that. I can say that if you read The Maleficent Seven by Cameron Johnson then you will probably also love this.