notesurfer 's review for:

Blood Song by Anthony Ryan

3.0

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Blood Song is a compassionate, dark, power fantasy. The protagonist is genuinely kindhearted, but that doesn't stop events from forcing him to use his godlike warrior powers to eviscerate obstacles. His friends and enemies are not entirely one-dimensional, but the various twists and reveals lack emotional punch. This is likely down to the terrible prose, replete with simplistic phrasing and confusing run-on sentences. In that sense this is a great story told in the wrong medium for this creator. Additionally the setting is unnecessarily misogynist and violent without a corresponding narrative payoff. Many interesting ethical questions are raised and then dismissed with superficial puerility. It's not a bad book, it just doesn't say anything beyond "Fantasy sure is fun, isn't it?"