Book Review: The Painted Man by Peter V Brett

The Premise of the Painted Man (The Warded Man outside the UK) by Peter V Brett is a great one. When night falls Demons or Corelings rise up from the ground and wage war on the Human’s. 

The only way to survive the night is to keep the Demons out by creating a Warded area around you, this could be warding the walls and entries of a home or by a portable warded circle carved into wood that can be set up. 

Due to the constant Demon attacks and travel being hard to do the world has remained in a semi medieval setting unable to advance. The Demons seem to come from nature, Rock Demons being made of rock, wood Demons made of wood, etc, and range in sizes from small to bigger than a human. The Human race after years or terror just hide behind the wards and hope to survive one more night.

Almost all Humans that is. Not everyone. 

Arlen is the main character. As a boy he sees first hand the tragedy that the Demon’s cause and he sets out to prove that you don’t need to live in fear of them. He becomes a master Warder, someone whose job it is to go round and design and maintain the wards that protect homes and villages and towns and then he begins looking for ways to fight back. 

 What I love about this book is the World Building. The Plot allows the characters to move from one place to another and this allows Brett to build a large world with plenty of history. We do briefly meet different cultures from the main one where the three characters we follow are, and I do hope that in subsequent stories these different cultures and different ways of dealing with the Demons are explored more. 

 The three characters themselves are well fleshed out and the backstory to each one is told in vivid detail that allows you to relate and care for the Characters. 

Surprisingly the character I struggled with most was Arlen, the main character. The beginning of the book is his back story and while it shows what led him on the path he is on, by the time he shows up later as an adult he is so far removed from that person that it makes it seem a little pointless learning so much of his history. Arlen’s backstory was also where I felt the story slowed down a little too much, I understand Brett wanted to give plenty of information about the world and show the trials and hardships they endure but I do thing there was probably a better way of doing it. 

Once the three main characters meet up however, the plot really takes off and I couldn't put the story down. Most of the supporting characters are also very interesting, in particular those in Leesha’s storyline, Bruna and her Father are particularly well done. Some of the other characters, especially those just used to move the plot or are only in the story for a short period can feel a little one-dimensional but in a story with this much history and world building, fleshing out every side character fully would leave a pretty chonky book. 

 This story is great for those wanting an interesting take on the Demon trope, who enjoy good world building and fast paced action heavy plot (after the first few chapters). I am very keen to continue the series and can't wait to see where Peter V Brett takes this world.

Book Review: A King's Radiance by L.R. Schulz

You should never judge a book by its cover. Whoops. I am going to be honest here, I only picked up this book because of the amazing cover, I mean look at it, it's gorgeous. But I am so glad it had such a beautiful cover because it definitely has the substance to back it up. This book is fantastic and one of my favourite reads so far this year. 

 The book follows three children of an ailing King, Dazen, Isha and Raiz. The World is split into different Kingdoms which are ruled by their own King's, but all of the Kings bow down to a central dictator and his band of "Eagles", magically strong Lords who, if their strength and perceived "Godlikeness" can do what they want. 

 The book opens with the three POV characters as children, and their Father, preparing for a visit from one of these Eagles. Upon seeing the middle Child, the Daughter Isha, the Eagle decides he wants her for his collection of beautiful and unique things and takes her. The story then jumps forward a number of years. Dazen and Raiz, the remaining brothers have grown apart, each trying to cope in their own way. Their Father is ill and Isha is dealing with her life as a pampered hostage. 

 The Characters are where this book really excels. Each character feels unique, shows good character growth throughout the story and is very likeable. 

 Dazen is the oldest child, the heir to the throne, having to juggle between doing what he wants, with doing what he needs to do to protect his Kingdom. Dazen was my favourite character and the growth he shows as the story progresses is fantastic. 

 Isha, at first seems to be a bit of a cliche, the beautiful princess needing others to stand up for her but as you read more about her you see that she is immensely strong-willed and doesnt let the situation she has been forced into break her. She cares deeply for others and goes out of her way to help them and never stops trying to help herself and those she cares about. 

 Raiz is the youngest and after the taking of Isha he flees his home on a revenge mission, here he meets up with a band of Vigilantes and together they begin to hunt the Eagles. The characters he meets are great and his POV is the most action packed. I did struggle with Raiz though as I initially found him to be a dislikeable character, he was good at everything and was a bit of a jerk to people, however this changed as the story progressed and his character did develop as he dealt with the consequences of his actions.

 The magic system in this book is also really good. It is very simple but also very intriguing. In a nutshell some people can channel the power of the sun and use it to fight with. Most of the nobility have this gift and some of the lower classes do too but those that show the gift are rounded up and made to fight in the Armies. I loved this magic system and the gifts and curses that came with it. It was used very well and resulted in some very amazing action and fight scenes. My only main concern was that it did seem to be making some characters too strong, making them almost invincible towards the end of the story and I hope this power creep doesn't continue into the next book. 

 This story is LR Schulz's debut and I must say it was very well written. The dialogue was good and felt unique to each character, the action scenes were easy to read and kept me engrossed and the story moved at a good pace with a lot of world building brought on through the character's actions rather than info dumping at certain points. The story does rely on a number of fantasy tropes but they are well handled and I enjoyed them. Some of what I felt was supposed to be plot twists and shocks were maybe reveleaded a bit too soon in the story but that is a very minor issue.

 In summary this is a great book that introduces a well crafted world with a unique magic system and some amazing characters. I will be watching out for the next book very closely and can't wait to continue reading. If you like epic fantasy and magic heavy stories then I definitely recommend picking this book up.

Book Review: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan is an important young adult/fantasy series and I am ashamed it has taken me this long to review the book. It has been made into a fairly successful film (although heavily criticised for deviating from the books) and an upcoming series on Disney+, and the book series itself is regularly included on best lists of the fantasy and young adult categories.It had a lot of hype to live up to, and I had to wonder, could it? 

 Yes, yes it could. 

 The Lightning Thief begins with Percy Jackson and his friend Grover on a school trip to a museum. Percy isn’t a bad child, but he is constantly finding himself in trouble. He has dyslexia and adhd and has to deal with bullies picking on him. He also has the slight issue of his teacher changing into a Greek monster and trying to kill him, so you know standard high school problems. 

 You see it turns out that Percy Jackson is a Half-blood, he has one Human parent and one parent who is a Greek God, in Percy’s case he has a Human mother and a Father who is a Greek god.

 The beginning of the book focuses on Percy discovering who he is, avoiding the monsters trying to kill him and enrolling at Camp Half-blood where he can learn the skills he will need to survive. The second half of the book revolves around an argument between the Gods, someone has stolen something of Zeus’, you can probably guess what it is from the title of the book, but somehow Percy finds himself being blamed and the only way to clear his name is to go and retrieve what was stolen. So with the help of his friend Grover and the smart, but cranky, Annabeth, another Half-blood, they must travel across America and into the underworld which is situated in LA, because, well where else would it be? 

 From reading this book I can definitely see why it is so popular and why Percy as a character is so loved. The plot moves at a good pace, staying long enough in each place that you get a feel of the action and drama but never feels bogged down or drags. As the plot progresses we come into contact with bits of Greek Mythology brought to life and I must say they were very well done, a good play on the Myths I learned in school while being able to fit them into modern America and using them for hints of humour throughout.

 Initially I struggled a little with the characters, I found the dialogue to be quite juvenile and some of the attempts at jokes just felt a little too immature for me. Then I remember that the characters are around 12-13 and rereading the dialogue with this in mind felt a lot more natural and I began to fall in love with them, especially Percy. I can see why he gets so much love. He is funny, sarcastic, tries to do the right thing, and is brave in a realistic way. I was worried at one point that he was going to become a bit of a Gary Stu but while he did develop skills in some things he also had stuff he wasn’t good at. 

 Grover and Annabeth, I struggled to engage with quite as much. Grover was portrayed as a bit of a bumbling idiot and I couldn’t understand why he was allowed to go on such an important quest if he was such a liability, but I am glad he did as I did grow to like him. Annabeth felt a little underdeveloped, she was smart and a good fighter, funny and wise, but I did feel that maybe Riordan didn’t quite know what to do with her. I have been told she is used much better in subsequent books which I am looking forward to.

 In summary this is a fantastic story which will engage and delight readers of all ages. The Greek mythology is well done, the characters are fantastic and the plot is perfectly timed and will keep you reading on. If you haven’t read The Lightning Thief yet, then you should.

Book Review: Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

Before They Are Hanged is the second book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law Trilogy. The first book,  The Blade Itself, is one of my favourite books so I was excited to read this one. I am happy to say it lives up to its predecessor and I loved it.

Before They Are Hanged continues exactly where The Blade Itself finished, following the same group of characters. I am not going to go into each character's individual storyline because, one there are so many the review would be too long, and two I don't want to spoil anything but each storyline is engaging and I didn't feel bored reading one POV and hoping to get to another characters which I enjoyed more, all characters go through exciting challengers and show real growth as people which I loved to read.

Joe Abercrombie has rightly received a lot of praise for his character work, I raved about it in my first review, but what I think goes slightly under the radar is how good a storyteller Abercrombie is. His pacing of this book in particular is masterful, keeping you engaged and eager to read on whilst also going slow enough to allow the characters room to grow.

Also his world building is incredible. In this book we learn more about the history of the world, mainly through the Bayaz storyline and Abercrombie gives enough history to flesh out the world whilst avoiding slowing the story down. 

This is a fantastic continuation of the story, that builds on the characters introduced in the first book, and moves the plot forward to what I feel is going to be an amazing ending. 

If you haven't read The Blade Itself because you were wondering if the rest of the trilogy was good, then do not fear. If you have read The Blade Itself then definitely pick up this book, I don't think you will regret it. 

Review: Of Blood and Fire (The Bound and The Broken book 1) by Ryan Cahill

Of Blood and Fire begins with three friends Calen, Rist and Dann preparing for the Proving a coming of age task that they must do to be consideref men. An encounter whilst on this task is the start of a sequence of events that will thrust them into the middle of a long fought war and change their lives forever. 

This book is Ryan Cahill's debut full length novel and what a strong start. Cahill is a fantastic author. The pacing of the book is incredible, it feels like both an action packed page turner and a fully fleshed out fantasy epic at the same time. The world building is incredible and information is presented in a clear concise way without pulling you out of the story.

I also really enjoyed the character work on the main characters. The three friends Calen, Dann and Rist have a great friendship and as the story progresses you really feel for them and their friendship. I do wish some of the secondary characters were a little more fleshed out but I have a feeling that it is mainly due to time and hope that characters like Ella will play a bigger part in book 2.

Ryan Cahill uses a lot of fantasy tropes and the beginning of his book starts out as a great homage to some classic fantasy epics, I picked up on influences from the likes of Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson and of course Tolkien. However, these tropes and influences were done with such a high level of skill that at no point did the book feel like a mere copy or retelling, and during the second half the story really comes into its own.

I would recommend reading this book if you enjoy fantasy, dragons, epic battles and any of the authors I mentioned above. 

There is a sequel out now and a novella prequel available called the Fall which can be read either before this book or after. I personally read The Fall after reading this book and I preferred it that way as a lot of where the story went was a surprise to me. However, people who have read the Fall before this book tend to say it should be done in this way so it appears to be up to the reader.

Ryan Cahill has created a fantastic fantasy book that pays homage to some of the best fantasy authors around, as well as starting what I firmly believe will be an amazing book series. 

Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is the first book in the Stormlight Archive and continues in the Cosmere Universe that Sanderson has created. 

It follows three main POV's, along with a number of side characters, and takes place amongst an ongoing, several year war between the Alethi people and the Parshendi. The book opens with the King of Alethkar being murdered by an assassin and after the Parshendi take credit a war of revenge begins. The story then picks up a number of years later and follows our three main Characters.

The most prominent of POV is that of Kaladin, a slave who is sold to an army taking part in the war and made to run in a bridge crew. A bridge crew carries large wooden bridges to the battle zone so the soldiers can use them to cross chasms and get to the battles quicker. The bridge crews are considered the lowest of the low in the army and the fatalities are massive. 

Kaladin is suffering mental health issues and PTSD from things in his past, which we learn about through flashbacks throughout the book, yet despite this is a natural born leader and skilled warrior. Sanderson is fantastic with creating characters you care about and Kaladin is one of my favourite fantasy characters.

The second character is Dalinar. He is a Highprince, brother to the murdered King and Uncle to the new King. He is honourable and principled, unlike the other Highprinces, and a wonderful father to his two sons. He is also suffering visions which come on when the magical storms hit which unfortunately is quite frequent and because of this is position and reputation is under threat.

The final POV is Shallan. She begins the story trying to become the Ward of the King's Sister, Jasnah Kholin, who is a fantastic scholar but also very controversial in society. Shallan herself is very intelligent and a gifted artist. Her POV is used to do a lot of world building and gives us the history of Alethkar. Due to this it's a little slower paced than the other two POV's but it did always have interesting and valuable information.

This book is an epic. It's huge in idea, world building, characterisation and word count. The Way of Kings, and the Stormlight Archive, is beginning to be seen as a classic of Epic Fantasy and it's reputation is well deserved. 

The magic system is amazing and unique. The world Sanderson has created is huge and there are so many different cultures that are touched upon in varying degrees that you just have to marvel at the attention and effort that has gone into building this universe. The history we learn about also makes the world so rich and filled that you feel like you just want to keep reading and don't want to stop, which is a good thing because as I touched in above, the books are huge. 

Finally the characters are amazing. The main characters are all fleshed out and interesting, they make believable decisions and have both good and bad moments. They are also different enough that we see a wide view of the culture and world Sanderson has built. 

Also, moving away from the main characters there are some great side characters. Some you will fall in love with instantly and some are only touched upon but you will want to know more about them and as this is a huge ongoing series I have no doubt we will.

My only issue with this book, and it is a very small one, is that the book does take a little while to really grip you. Because of all the world building there are passages that slow the pace of the story down and when this happens directly after a compelling action scene you sometimes get pulled out of the story. However the last third of the book really picks up pace and goes hurtling to the ending.

If you like Epic Fantasy and have not picked up this book yet I would recommend it. This is going to be a staple in the Fantasy genre for many years and for a very good reason. It's fantastic. 

UK Bookshop code

https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6822/9781473211513