Official Website of Allan Walsh
Bestow your eyes upon my fantasy weapon of the week. One of a series of concept art images from my collection of cursed weapons forged by a dark lord. This is the first in the series; a short sword that thirsts for souls. It whispers to the blood-thirsty warrior. But beware… those who wield it are destined to be damned.
What would you name this weapon?
Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the third book in The Broken Empire Series. Once again King Jorg has to defend his kingdom, but this time it’s against the Dead King and his undead army, and it’s not just Jorg’s kingdom at stake, but the whole empire.
The Cover: This is another a good cover for me. The image depicts a man, holding a crown above his head, a red cloak draping from his shoulder. We see him from behind, as he faces away, looking over a pile of dead bodies, still impaled by the swords that snuffed out their lives. The swords jut up, the hilts at the top, like crosses on graves. It matches well with the other covers in the series. The title in a large silver font and the author’s name in a white font, contrast well against the dark black/grey cover art and also align with the series. It screams dark fantasy/Grimdark and represents the story well.
The Good Stuff: Another solid fantasy novel by Mark Lawrence with a number of characters we have met before. When I started this series I didn’t like the main character much at all, but I have grown to like King Jorg of Ancrath and understand his character much better than before. He is still a murderous bastard, but that’s part of his charm. This final book in the series completes the story arc and has a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I am accustomed to this world now and the blend of modern tech and fantasy was expected, therefore it didn’t bother me this time around. A very enjoyable read if you like dark fantasy and grimdark novels as much I do.
The Bad Stuff: The 1st person POV did pull me out of the story a few times, I just don’t like 1st person. I found the ending a little confusing and think I will have to read it over to grasp what actually happened, but that could just be me. I may look at other reviews to see if anyone else has thought so. Other than that, I can’t think of much else to say in this segment – and that’s a good thing.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and the series. It is a sound grimdark story with a strong fantasy feel. The story has continued on and developed well. Book 3 in the series is getting a dead walking, blood spraying, emperor making, 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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Hello readers and welcome to the first post in my ‘Dark City’ series. In this series I’ve used Gen AI to reimagine what cities around the world would look like in a dark fantasy setting. The images generated, while not maintaining an entirely correct layout, have captured key landmarks and certainly tweak the imagination.
I thought it appropriate to start here in Australia. So let me ask you…
‘What if Melbourne’s laneways hid more than graffiti? What if something ancient still walked them? What sort of foul creature would it be? Where would it lurk?’
Ponder these questions while you enjoy this deliciously dark Melbourne cityscape.
Next week I’ll be bringing Brisbane into the gloom to sate your dark desires.
Until then,
Happy reading!
To see my other Dark City and World Building related posts, visit Fantasy Worlds under the categories section.
For those who are interested, you can purchase your very own ‘Dark City’ mug from my merchandise.
Hello Readers,
I know, I know… It’s been a long time since my last post. To be honest, I’ve had a lot going on. I went away for a few weeks on holiday to South Korea and came back with Covid and the flu all at the same time. Then I got a chest infection, and after that I got some styes on my eye, I guess because I was a little run down after being unwell, but it has taken months and I still have a stye that just doesn’t want to go away. And now my job has been made redundant, so I’m looking for work. The knock on effect is that I came nowhere near to finishing the reading list I committed to for 2025, which drives the reviews I post here.
All up 2026 has started out as a bad year for me, but life goes on, and I’m looking forwards to things getting better! Sometimes we get comfortable in our lives and the problems and changes we experience, shake things up. I look at this as a good thing. It creates opportunity for improvements and can force us to actually do something new, starting new adventures in our lives.
Speaking of new things, before I went on holiday I started playing around with some AI image generation to see if I could generate some artwork related to my books. It took a little while working with the prompts to get something close to what I was after, but here are a couple of images based on ‘Blood Rage’.
This one is the Ku-Shee, my prompt asked for red eyes, I didn’t get them, but I really like the image itself, it is very close to what I had imagined when I wrote the creature into my book.
Here is another attempt in a more active pose:
I got the red eyes I asked for on this one, which is inspired by the scene where the Ku-Shee is chasing Conall and Erin and leaps at Erin’s horse.
I hope you like the images. I am feeling much better now, but as I still need to look for a new job it may be a while before my next post.
Until then… Happy Reading!
King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the second book in The Broken Empire Series. In this book, King Jorg has to defend his new kingdom against the huge army of an adversary who wants to unite the nations. The odds are stacked against him, old enemies continue their attempts to bring him down, and the struggle between of a fire mage and a dead king are threatening to tear him apart.
The Cover: This is a good cover in my opinion. There is a cloaked man sitting on a stone throne draped with a red cloth, wresting one hand on a skull, and holding a large blue disc in the other. Similar to book 1, he is surrounded by dead bodies, or rather, sitting atop a mound of dead bodies, with more swords jutting up all around. It ties in well with the series covers and the title stands out in the large silver font against the dark black/grey cover art. Likewise, the author’s name contrasts well in a white font at the top of the cover. It is a solid fantasy image and encompasses the story within.
The Good Stuff: This is a solid fantasy novel by Mark Lawrence. His is an author with strong writing skills, and I was pleased to see his characters grow in this book. My issues with the first book disappeared with book 2. The first person POV didn’t bother me at all. I’m not sure if it is because I was expecting it and had already accepted that it would be first person, or if the first person POV writing has improved to the extent that I hardly noticed it. I also found Jorg to be much more likable in this book.
The Bad Stuff: This is a personal preference only. I love my fantasy to be set in a medieval type setting with all kind of creatures like elves, ogres, dragons, vampires, zombies, etc… But the magic of this type of fantasy world is disrupted when modern technology is introduced. I have seen a few authors do this, (including my favourite author). A modern world destroyed and returned to more primitive times. It is a good idea and lots of people love it, but I prefer not to see modern items like guns and watches in my fantasy.
Overall, I enjoyed this book more than book 1 and will finish the series. There are strong fantasy elements and a good story that continues on from the 1st book. Like any good fantasy, there are power struggles, politics, and betrayals, as well as magic, monsters, strong friendships and comradery. Book 2 gets a dream tainted, sword clashing, dead raising, 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence is the First book in The Broken Empire Series. Young prince Jorg is deeply scarred in an assassination attempt. He is left hanging to die in a bramble of deadly thorns, after witnessing the murder of his brother and mother. His only goal in life is revenge.
The Cover: I love this cover. There is a cloaked boy leaning upon a sword, surrounded by dead bodies, with more swords jutting up all around like crosses marking graves. The title is in a large red font with that stands proud against the white background, and the author’s name sits on top in black text. You know this is a fantasy novel straight away and the book’ cover is a good representation for the story within.
The Good Stuff: This is anothergood fantasy novel by Mark Lawrence. His writing is good, he has some interesting characters, and holds a good grasp on what makes good fantasy.
The Bad Stuff: I am not a fan of first person narrative. I wish he had written this in third person. I kept getting pulled out of the story because of this. It is a personal preference for me, I want to read about a character’s story. If I had listened to the audiobook it probably wouldn’t bother me, because it would seem like someone telling their story, but when I read sentences start with ‘I’ it throws me out. The other problem I have with this story is I really don’t like the main character.
Overall, I enjoyed this read and will progress through the rest of the series. It is a good story and while I didn’t like the main character, I did enjoy the other characters and their interactions. After reading this, I will say that I much preferred his ‘Book of the Ancestor’ Series but this is only book 1 and I will see how I feel at the end of the series before passing final judgement. This one only gets a hatred-consuming, vengeance-seeking, blood-spilling, 3 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries. If you liked this post please share it with your friends on social media.
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence is the First book in The Ancestor Series.
The Cover: The version I have is mostly bluish-white representing the ice and snow. Long sword-like icicles are jutting down across the entire cover; a fanged cage ensnaring a lone female figure, who is facing away in the top right corner, sword lowered in her right hand, against the blackness beyond. The title is in a slim, red font with that stands proud against the white and the author’s name in black text at the bottom. It suits the genre and the story well. I also feel like the icicle cage has a strong association with the character, whether it was intended or not.
The Good Stuff: I have said it before and I will say it again, Mark Lawrence knows how to write a solid fantasy novel. His writing style is good, his characters are well formed, the magic system intriguing, and he provides plenty of action, blood and gore. This book is everything a good Grimdark novel should be.
The Bad Stuff: I honestly have nothing to comment on here. I read through this book at such a fast pace because I wanted to keep on reading. There was nothing that pulled me out of the story.
Overall, I loved this book, it is my type of fantasy novel and I would highly recommend it. Mark Lawrence now sits in the number 2 slot for my top authors. This one is getting a poison lacing, blade scraping 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
If you liked this post please share it with your friends on social media.
Hello Readers,
I scheduled this post to be published in January, but I just realised it didn’t publish for some reason. I have already reviewed a few of the books in this book haul and am still reading through the others. While this is later than intended, I thought I would post it anyway. so you can see what’s left on my reading list for this year and check out the previous reviews you may have missed.
Here is the originally intended post:
Ok, so here are the books I plan to read over 2025, in no particular order:
Red Sister – Mark Lawrence
Prince of Thorns – Mark Lawrence
King of Thorns – Mark Lawrence
Emperor of Thorns – Mark Lawrence
Dead Man’s Steel – Luke Scull
The God is Not Willing – Steven Erikson
I picked all these up from local secondhand bookstores. If I enjoy them, I will find a place for them on my bookshelf, among the others in my collection, and give them a new home. If not, I will send them back to one of the local secondhand stores for someone else to enjoy.
I have read Mark Lawrence before and enjoyed his work. So, I grabbed a few more of his books when I saw them. I can’t wait to get stuck into these, but I need to finish my re-read of Half a War by Joe Abercrombie first.
As always, I will post my reviews for you after I finish reading each book.
Happy Reading!
Hello Readers,
Well, another year has passed by and what do I have to show for it? To be honest, as far as my writing goes, not a lot. I can’t recall doing any writing in 2024. I’m sure I did a little bit on some works in progress, but it was so long ago, I can’t remember how much or on what. I did manage to read 4 books through the year and I also got half way through a re-read of Half a War by Joe Abercombie. Pretty poor, I know. You can read all my reviews under my Author page on Goodreads.
I’m setting a target of 6 books for 2025, which is manageable for me while also working full time, and doing the other things I enjoy, like playing badminton and travelling. I’m hopeful I will also get some writing done in 2025. I plan to work on my works in progress and have also been looking at extending my short story and novella in the Blood Rage series to turn it into a trilogy of novels. I’m just not sure how much I will get through and what will take priority at this time. That’s something I need to sit down and work out, but I think I will most likely try to finish the WIP projects, before rewriting other work.
Happy Reading!
Hello Readers,
This is my first post of 2025 and I just wanted to wish you all a (belated) very happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
I didn’t do much in the way of writing or blogging in 2024. I have been taking some time out to enjoy other interests, but the thought of writing is always there in the back of my mind. This year I try to post a bit more frequently, and hopefully do some more writing too.
Until then,
Happy Reading!