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.
I originally completed this post in March 2020 and it has turned out to be one of my most popular blog posts. At the time I made the list below I had not read all the authors, I still haven’t read them all, but I have been able to get through a few more. So, I thought I would update the original post to include them.
Here it is, the original post, updated to include the additional authors on the list that I have now had the pleasure to read (and a few additional details).
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I know I harp on about Joe Abercrombie (JA) being my favourite author, and that’s because he is, but I have been trying to find some new favourite authors to add to the list. So, I put a call out through some of my groups on social media to find similar authors to JA, and this is what my contacts came back with:-
Anthony Ryan
Luke Scull
Daniel Polansky
Mark Lawrence
Scott Lynch
Brian McClellan
Richard Kadrey
Charlie Huston
Peter Newman
Ed McDonald
Steven Erikson
Jonathon French
Brian Staveley
Michael R Fletcher
Richard Morgan
Anna Smith Spark
Stephen Donaldson
A Z Anthony
Glen Cook
Jay Kristoff
I haven’t read all these authors yet, but I have added them to my list of authors to try. Of those I have checked out, I offer my opinions below:
Anthony Ryan – I love this author and have added him to my favourites. I read his novel ‘Blood Song’ and while I don’t get a JA vibe from his work, I really enjoyed the book. Anthony has his own style and tells a great story. I highly recommend checking him out.
Update: I have now read ‘The Waking Fire’. This is another great story with some interesting characters in an unforgiving world. I did enjoy this book, though my personal preference is for ‘Blood Song’.
Luke Scull – This is another great author that I have added to my list of favourites. I read his ‘Grim Company’ novel and I found his world and characters to be very similar to JA. In fact I constantly found myself thinking this guy is so like 9 fingers, or I love these Northmen. Luke does have a style of his own and tells a unique story that is interesting and pulled me through the book. I highly recommend giving him a go.
Daniel Polansky – I read the novel ‘She Who Waits’ by this author. I can’t say that I see any resemblance to JA other than the world is really gritty. I didn’t love this author, I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, but I doubt I will read anymore of his work. The world was not quite what I expected or wanted and it threw me off a little right from the start. If you like Grimdark that isn’t your typical medieval world, don’t discount this author. His style is sound, his characters are well rounded, and his writing is solid, his world just wasn’t what I was looking for and I don’t particularly like 1st person POV. If however you are chasing an author similar to JA, I’d give this one a miss.
Mark Lawrence – When I saw a copy of ‘Grey Sister’ at a local bookstore and grabbed it. I must say, I really enjoyed this book. The story is good, I liked the characters, and while the author’s style is different to J.A. it is still a good writing style. I do wish I had started with the first book in the series, but it didn’t stop me enjoying this title. There is plenty of magic, action, blood, and gore. What more could I ask for?
Scott Lynch –Scott was on my list for a long time having been recommended to me by a friend long before I put this list together. I picked up a copy of ‘The Lies of Loche Lamora’ with high expectations. I enjoyed the story, it had a solid plot with great characters, and a suitably gritty world. However, I was a little disappointed. It was too slow to get started for me and I didn’t love the author’s style. While I do think he is a sound fantasy author, he is no J.A. in my opinion.
Brian McClellan – I read ‘Wrath of Empire’ from this author, and I loved it so much that I have also added Brian to my list of favourite authors. I didn’t draw any similarities between his work and JA’s. Brian has his own style, a great world, great characters, and a good storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed his work and would definitely recommend him, just don’t expect his work to remind you of JA.
Richard Kadrey – I didn’t actually read this authors work, I picked up one of his books and read the first few pages. It didn’t grab me because it seemed to be more of a western world and I was after good old medieval fantasy. So, I can’t really make any comparisons to JA for this author, nor recommend/criticise his work.
Peter Newman – I tried to read ‘The Vagrant’ by this author and it’s the one book on my DNF list. I didn’t like the author’s style or the world the story was set in. I certainly wouldn’t compare this author to JA. I do not recommend reading this authors work if you’re looking for something similar to JA. I’m not saying don’t give him a try, I’m just saying this author isn’t for me and I can’t see any similarity to JA’s work. I do know people who have read and enjoyed this author, so make your own mind up on this one.
Ed McDonald – My first encounter with Ed’s writing was through is novel ‘Blackwing’. This is some real dark shit and a true ‘Grimdark’ work in my opinion. I loved it! If you have read many of my book reviews, you will know that I don’t like first person POV. This book is written in first person POV and I still loved it. Ed’s writing style differs from Abercrombie’s, but he is a great writer in his own right. If you like the Grimdark genre, I strongly recommend this author.
Steven Erikson – I selected ‘Gardens of the Moon’, the first book in ‘The Malazan Book of the Fallen’ series. I have to say, I absolutely loved this book! The author’s style is more from the old school fantasy in my opinion, and does not compare to J.A. But, he has certainly got what it takes to satisfy my fantasy cravings. I would recommend this author any day of the week.
Well, I’m still working through the list myself and this is as far as I’ve gotten. I’m keen to give Mark Lawrence, Scott Lynch, Steve Erikson, Brian Staveley and Ed McDonald a go. So I’ll probably prioritise these above the others, but hopefully I will find a few more gems on this list that will be added to my favourite authors list.
Happy Reading!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I haven’t done a post that isn’t a book review for some time now, so I thought I would put one together for you. I had a little think about what I could do and came up with this idea, a post on some of the awesome libraries I have visited locally and across the world. So, here are a few of the photos I have taken while on my travels (and one photo I didn’t take).
This is the forest of Wisdom in South Korea:
This library is located in an area called Paju Book City and is close to the border of North Korea. This place is full of publishers and book related businesses. The library even has rooms you can book and stay at.
And a printing press museum:
This next one is Oodi Library in Helsinki. I didn’t have a decent photo of this library, so I grabbed this one by Seppo Palander, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This is the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia:
The State library of South Australia in Adelaide, Australia:
This one is Kurilpa Library in West End, Queensland Australia (My local library):
And to finish up, here are a couple of the communal libraries around my area:
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.
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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It is no surprise to my regular followers when I say that my favourite author is Joe Abercrombie. If you follow my blog you will hear me mention him frequently. So, I must say that I am super excited about, and eagerly awaiting to read, the new trilogy he is working on ‘The Devils’. Unfortunately, it is not scheduled for publication until 2025, so we have a bit of a wait. If you haven’t heard/read about it, here is the blurb:
The Devils begins a series which fuses the best of fantasy with the most gripping elements of heist, spy and thriller fiction. In a magic-riddled Europe under constant threat of elf invasion, the ten year old Pope occasionally needs services that cannot be performed by the righteous. And so, sealed deep beneath the catacombs, cathedrals and relic stalls of the Sacred City lies the secret Chapel of the Holy Expediency. For its highly disposable congregation—including a self-serving magician, a self-satisfied vampire, an oversexed werewolf, and a knight cursed with immortality—there is no mission that cannot be turned into a calamitous bloodbath…
A must-read, this is accessible fantasy fiction with the addictive Abercrombie twist which has seen his novels hit bestseller lists around the world, delight millions of readers, and cemented his position as one of the leading fantasy writers of his generation.
Let’s hope he finishes it a little sooner than expected. Happy Reading!
