Tag: book review

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Book Review: The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley.

The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley is a grimdark fantasy novel with monks, soldiers, assassins, friendships, and betrayals, set in a cruel and brutal world where you don’t know who you can trust. 

The Cover: The cover version on my copy of this book is a shade of blue and depicts a man’s hand clasped around the blade of a sword. The hilt is fashioned with gold with two serpentine creatures that form the guard. It clearly presents as a book in the fantasy genre. The title font is a clear, simple, gold text that is in good contrast with the background. The author’s name is of similarly good contrast, in a clean white font. I like this cover. It is the sort of design that captures my attention when looking for a fantasy novel to read.

The Good Stuff: This author is new to me, a recommendation from a grimdark readers group I am a member of, and I am very grateful this author was made known to me. From page one, this book carried me through the story seamlessly, turning pages until I had to put the book down, not because I wanted to, but because if I didn’t I wasn’t going to be up in time for work the next day. I loved this story, the characters, the world, and the writing style.

The Bad Stuff: Okay, I do have a bit of a couple of niggles with this story. Nothing that would deter me from reading more of this author, but firstly, I hate the term ‘Kent-kissing’. Why? Just why? Why use this lame term as a cuss. It was very frustrating as it is used way too often in my opinion. Secondly, I’m a little disappointed I didn’t see more fighting and protagonist use of learned skills. One of the main protagonists has been training for 8 years to be an elite fighter. Yet, every time he gets in a scrap or a sticky situation, I’m let down by his lack of skill. I admit he is up against other elite fighters most of the time, but there just wasn’t enough demonstration of skills in these encounters that justify the 8 years’ worth of training for me.

Overall, the cover is strong for the genre. Despite the afore-mentioned niggles, I really loved this book. The story is interesting and kept me tuning the pages. I also found he characters interesting. I have a soft spot for assassin/elite fighters in my fantasy reads. The world is cruel and unforgiving, like any good grimdark world should be, and the author is not afraid to kill off a character or two. I’m compelled to give this one a mind-sensing, muscle-straining, pain-enduring, 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

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.

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Book Review: The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan

The Waking Fire by Anthony Ryan is a Grimdark/fantasy novel with adventure, war, spies, pirates, and assassins, set in a world shaped by dragons. 

The Cover: The cover on the version I have is a good fit with the fantasy genre. It depicts a black dragon, broken chains flailing about its body as it rises up before a cloaked man. The font is simple, with both the white title and the red author’s name, clearly visible against the black background occupying the lower half of the cover.

The Good Stuff: I like this author and he didn’t let me down with this book. It reminded me of ‘Blackwing’ by Ed McDonald, but with dragons. The story line is solid, the characters are interesting, the world is well established, and all is suitably dark/gritty. Just the way I like it. I also liked the writing technique employed for the chapter structure, assigning individual chapters to each of the main characters. The author left some good cliff-hangers at the end of the chapters, which kept me wanting to read on to find out what was going to happen next along each of the character paths.

The Bad Stuff: While I enjoyed this story, I didn’t enjoy it as much as his other work ‘Blood Song’. The magic system in ‘The Waking Fire’ revolves around dragon blood, with a number of different coloured dragons within the world. There were a lot of references to the colour types, which I found quite repetitive and a distraction at times. Overall, the cover is nice and is the sort of cover that would draw my attention when seeking out a fantasy novel. The story is good and there are plenty of interesting characters, in a world that mixes magic and technology successfully. I’m giving this one a wrench-turning, blood-mingling, fire-breathing, 3.5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

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.

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Book Review: Imperfect Magic by C.N.Rowan

Imperfect Magic by C.N. Rowan is an Urban Fantasy tale set in France, about ‘almost’ immortal wizards who have been trying to keep evil from taking over the world for centuries. They’ve been pretty successful, but when a powerful adversary turns up looking for vengeance, things start to go awry.  

The Cover: I really don’t like this cover. However, it is a matter of personal taste. The cover suits the genre and aligns with so many other, similar YA Urban Fantasy covers, that I also don’t like. The white font is clear on the dark green background, and also fits the genre.

The Good Stuff: I actually really enjoyed this story. The characters are true to themselves, the plot is good, there’s some nice touches with the world-building having many real locations, and I really didn’t know who the antagonist was until it was revealed. There is a lot of humour in this story, and it is done so well. It starts from page one and is relentless, carrying through to the end of the book. While set in France, there are a few English sayings and things that are typical from my childhood in the UK, which I could really relate that made it hit some good chords with me.

The Bad Stuff: Another book written in first person POV! Why torment me with this style? I really don’t like first person POV. However, this one is done really well. I admit at the start of the book it pulled my out of the story a couple of times, but after that, I really didn’t notice it. That is a sign of good writing. I have already touched on the cover, so I won’t harp on that. There are a few English sayings and things that are typically from the UK, and some readers in places like the US, might not click with these. There are one or two clunky sentences and a typo here and there, but I find this in a lot of books and it is nothing too unusual. It certainly wasn’t enough to spoil the content of the book.

Overall, I would not have picked this book up if I had seen it on a bookshelf. The cover doesn’t call to me, saying ‘Read me, read me”. The book was gifted to me by my Aunty, and I am so pleased that she gave it to me. I really enjoyed this book, it has a great story, great characters, and it’s packed full of humour. I’m giving this one a body-swapping, ass-kicking, slime-covered, 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks (and that’s not an easy feat for a story in first person POV).

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.

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Book Review: Blackwing by Ed McDonald

Blackwing by Ed McDonald is a story set in a wasteland, where war has been waged for lifetimes between magical beings who live longer than can be imagined. Humans are their pawns, used and discarded in a long-game plan, known only to them.  

The Cover: I love this cover and it’ simplicity. The version I have has the image of a black raven on a greyish-white background. The title is in big, bold letters, contracted against the background, and uses an easy to read font. It stands out for all to see. The authors name and an accompanying quote from a review also seem to be black, but are in fact a purple foil that glistens when the light strikes at the right angle. Flecks of the same purple foil are scattered across the image of the raven. The cover fits the Grimdark/Fantasy genre well, and overall I think it is one of my favourite covers ever.

The Good Stuff: Wow! What a story. I loved it. The overall plot has a solid grounding in the genre, which is a good thing, especially when you don’t foresee the details of how that plot would unfold, and there were certainly twists I had not expected. The world is cruel, unforgiving, and gritty, with characters to match and an unfortunate love story thrown in for good measure. This is everything a Grimdark novel should be.

The Bad Stuff: Arghhh… Why did it have to written in first person POV! I hate first person POV. But once I got over the shock of it, I got sucked into the story big time. If you are like me and don’t like first person POV, don’t let that stop you from reading this. It is worth pushing through. Yeah, every now and then it will jump out at you, and you’ll shake your head and cuss, but then you’ll dive right back in and keep reading. What can I say…? It was part of a Grimdark experience for me, but I got over it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I love the cover. I’m giving this one a mind-worming, Phos crackling 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks (and that’s with my hatred of first person POV).

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.

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Book Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch tells the tale of an orphan who falls into a life of thieving. Locke’s mischief pushes him into a small gang of ‘Gentlemen Bastards’ run by a false priest, who trains him in a variety of aspects, honing his skills. When the priest passes away, Locke becomes the brains of the operation, and his scheming leads them all into a dangerous game of life and death.

The Cover: The cover is fairly simple, depicting the silhouette of a man perched on a boat mooring pole, in the canals of a great, Venetian-style city, looming in the background. The title font is a golden/copper foil, sitting on the lower half of the cover, and is set on a plain green background. The title stands out well when the light hits the foil, but is quite dark when not reflecting the light. The image and text combined lean towards a fantasy novel and overall I like the cover. I feel it fits well with the story.

The Good Stuff: I enjoyed this story. The plot has been well thought out with and the plot devices have been prepositioned so things fall into place as the story unfolds. The world building conjures a cruel and dirty city with clearly defined class distinctions. The characters are likeable and for the most, have their own goals and personalities.

The Bad Stuff: It took a long time to tweak my interest in this story. I have had it on my ‘to read’ list for a long time and I was really looking forward to reading it, but I didn’t really commit to this book until around page 190. It was a slow burn for me as the author laid down the foundations of the story. The main character is not introduced until page 9, and I don’t feel his goals were made clear at the start, only developing over time as the tale progressed. I found a lot of the description was dumped onto the pages in bulk, rather than being fed into the story as it unravelled. I also feel that the fight scenes had unnecessary prose that slowed them down, with details that could have been provided at a more suitable time.

Overall, after a slow start, I enjoyed this book. I’m not a great fan of the authors writing style, but the plot, the characters, and the world building were good. Once I committed to the story it held my interest and for that, I’m giving this one a cash grabbing, sword slashing, 3 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

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.

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Book Review: Unsouled (Cradle: Volume 1) by Will Wight

Unsouled (Cradle: Volume 1) by Will Wight follows the story of Lindon, an ‘Unsouled’; a boy unable to follow a magical path in a world that revolves around the paths of the sacred arts. He is determined to follow a path… any path, and decides to forge his own.

The Cover: The cover is simple, depicting a wooden token/badge on a plain background. It has a strong white font that contrasts well against the red background. I would not associate the image with a fantasy novel. I would question if this was a thriller as it is not clear to me, but it does represent the Asian culture the world is built around. It is a good fit with the story, but I don’t feel it is a strong representation of the genre.

The Good Stuff: I really enjoyed the story line in this book. I am a big martial arts fan and this reminded me so much of the movies I used to watch in my younger days. The world building works well for me and I can imagine the clan villages, their politics, their clothing, etc… clearly in my mind. The main character has a strong focus on his goal and I find the magical elements is intriguing.

The Bad Stuff: I hate to say this as I am no expert on writing, but a review is an opinion piece, so I will share my opinion. I thought the writing style was weak. There are sentences starting with ‘As’, ‘And’, and ‘But’. There is a lot of telling and unnecessary wordage. There is also description in the fight scenes that slow down the pacing. In my opinion this all detracts from the story.

Overall, this is a good story and I feel it is worth reading. I enjoyed it and will look at reading more of the series. I’m giving this one a fist smashing, sword slicing, 3 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

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.

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Book Review: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman is the comical tale of an angel and a demon who have been living on Earth for quite a while, awaiting the apocalypse. But when the time is nigh, a slight mishap at the birth of the anti-christ sows the seed of change, and the end of the world doesn’t quite go as things were written.

The Cover: The cover on the version I own is a great cover, based on the TV adaptation of the novel. It shows the demon (David Tennant) and the Angel (Michael Sheen) sitting on the world with the biblical apple and serpent sitting in a tree between them. It is a great fit for the title with a good choice of colours and fonts.

The Good Stuff: I enjoyed this more than I expected, it is well written and very amusing. The characters are well created and all have their own goals. It may even take your mind back to reminisce on your childhood days. Having seen the TV adaptation myself, I can say they did a very good job bringing the book to life on the screen.

The Bad Stuff: This isn’t a bad thing for me, but it did feel a little childish, which is fine and suits the story and the characters. I just thought I would mention it as if you are after a serious read, this is not the book for you. But really, the authors’ names should be enough to hint at that. Overall, this is a fun read that will bring a smile to your face and a few giggles along the way. It has interesting characters and will keep you amused to the very end. I’m giving this one a rib tickling 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

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.

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Book Review: Half a King by Joe Abercrombie

This was a re-read for me, below is my original review with a few added comments:

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie is the story of a boy with his life planned out, suddenly forced to become a king, only to thrown from grace to the depths of depravity where he strives to take back his life and his rightful place among his people. More so, it is a story of greed and betrayal, friendship and loyalty, but most of all… Vengeance.

The Cover: I like the cover for this book. The image on my copy is that of a party of six figures walking past a twisted tree on a rocky outcrop. It is clearly a fantasy novel with both picture and font lending themselves to the genre.

The Good Stuff: I have been trying to read a wider variety of authors over the last year, but I was only a few pages into this story when I thought to myself – ‘Damn, I’ve missed the quality of Joe’s writing’. This is another great book, which I must say is without doubt, written by my favourite author. This title has the same amazing character development, great description, and everything else I love about Joe’s work. Maybe not as gory or bloodthirsty as his First Law Trilogy, and certainly less coarse, making it more suitable for a broader audience. I am a big fan and with quality writing such as this, who wouldn’t be?

On re-reading, I found that I had forgotten so much of the detail within this story that it almost seemed like I was reading it for the first time again, and I loved it! The way Abercrombie weaves and twists his plot, building character depth with so many great characters (such as Yarvi, Sumael, Nothing, and Shadikshirram to name a few) with a thoroughly engaging story, is masterful in my opinion. This title is a pleasure to read and makes me want to re-read Half a World and Half a War now.

The Bad Stuff: (Insert the sound of Crickets chirping here). On re-reading once again… (Crickets chirping) Overall, this really is a great fantasy novel with all the elements I love – good world building, great characters, and a solid story line with twists and turns you will… and won’t, see coming. I’m giving this one a whip lashing 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

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.

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Book Review: Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence is the second book in The Ancestor Series.

The Cover: The version I have has a grey background of cloud with a lone female figure holding a sword, walking amongst a number of spears and blades. The title is in a silver font with slender curved edges that flow into points, resembling scimitars in my opinion. I like it and think it fits the genre well.

The Good Stuff: This is the first book I’ve read by Mark Lawrence and I was not disappointed. This author knows how to write a good fantasy. I only wish I had started with the first book in the series. Having said that, it wasn’t hard to pick up and read this book out of sequence. The writing style is good and the story pulled me in. There is also plenty of magic, plenty of action, and plenty of blood and gore.

The Bad Stuff: There were a couple of times when I felt things were over explained, mostly near the end of the book where the action really picks up. I didn’t like the prologue either and was relieved that the style it was written in did not carry across the whole book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it has everything I like in my fantasy reads. I will definitely be reading more from this author. It gets a thread weaving, path blazing 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.

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Book Review: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land by various Robert A Heinlein is a Sci-fi novel about a man from mars who visits earth.

The Cover: The cover image on the version I have shows a mountain range that forms the profile of a human face lying down against a somewhat psychedelic sky. I can’t say the cover clearly defines it as Sci-fi, but I would have assumed it to be so. The artwork is a bit boring to me, but the title font is a good choice and is clear in white against the coloured background. I will say this is a 1991 publication of this book and it seems the image has been updated since.

The Good Stuff: I did enjoy the beginning of this story and found I wanted to read more. I think it was a good concept and I did find myself liking the characters more as time went on.

The Bad Stuff: I believe this book was originally published in 1961 and it shows. It is quite sexist and it doesn’t seem to be just the characters that come across this way, but more a reflection of the attitudes at the time of writing. There are parts that go on unnecessarily about things that have little relevance in my opinion (such as the mailing system introduced to review the mail received by the man from mars). The book also goes on about religion too much for my liking.

Overall, I got bored with this book about halfway through, started to skim, and ended up giving up on it about 2 thirds of the way in when it was banging on about religion too much. If you love this book, I’m sorry. It just isn’t my cup of tea and only gets a mind vanishing 1 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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