Tag: Fantasy

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Five-Star Books16 Comments

The Book That Wouldn't Burn Cover

Publisher: Harper Voyager (Ebook – 1 May 2023)

Series: The Library trilogy – Book One

Length: 570 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of the world’s inventive and compelling fantasy authors returns with one of his best novels yet, the highly addictive and ambitious novel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, which sets off his new The Library trilogy.

Few authors have had the impact on the fantasy genre than Mark Lawrence has in the last few years, as the author has truly impressed readers throughout the world with his unique and captivating novels that routinely blend fantasy and science fiction elements.  His series include The Broken Empire trilogy, The Red Queen’s War series, and The Book of the Ancestor series.  I myself only started reading Lawrence’s work a couple of years ago with his compelling The Book of the Ice series, which followed several powered teens on a grim frozen planet.  I had an outstanding time with this series, which included The Girl and the Stars and The Girl and the Mountains.  While I still have to read the third book, The Girl and the Moon, I really enjoyed these books, and it was a pretty clever series.  As such, I was very keen to check out Lawrence’s new novel, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, especially as it had a very intriguing plot synopsis behind it.

Throughout the world, there is nothing more important, more significant, nor more permanent than the library.  Built inside a mountain near the great city of Crath, the library contains an impossible number of books fitted within innumerable rooms that no one person can access.  The sheer amount of knowledge contained within the library represents the greatest power in the world, allowing its keepers and the King of Crath to wield great control in the world.  Into this vast and elaborate repository of knowledge and secrets, two young people are about to meet in unusual circumstances.

Livira is a young girl raised in the Dust, the desolate wasteland that surrounds Crath.  Plucky, curious, and incapable of giving up, Livira is a rarity among her people as she seeks to know more about the world outside her home.  But when the alien sabbers destroy her village and kill her people, Livira finds herself lost in the wilderness.  Rescued and brought to Crath, Livira soon becomes certain that her future lies in the library.  Overcoming prejudice and her own humble background, Livira learns to navigate the library and soon begins to find out some of its deeper secrets.  However, the most mysterious of these might be another strange inhabitant of the library, Evar.

Evar and his small family have known nothing but the library their entire lives.  Released after unknown eons frozen as children inside the library’s mysterious Mechanism, Evar and his siblings have grown up in a vast chamber of the library, learning from the books and becoming masters of specialised subjects.  However, Evar has always desired more and has long tried to find a way to leave their book filled prison.  His discovery of a portal within his home soon leads him to a place outside of time where he meets an exploring Livira.  Together, the two attempt to find the true history of the library and the threats it has withstood over the years.  But dark evils haunt the library, and soon the two explorers must find a way to uncover the truth behind the sabbers, their own history, and other deadly threats waiting for them in the future.  Can these two children of the library survive the revelations in front of them, or will the truth tear them apart in ways they can’t even understand?

Well damn, now this was a seriously impressive and epic book.  Lawrence has honestly outdone himself here with this incredible read, and this might be one of the best books he is ever written, which is saying something.  The Book That Wouldn’t Burn features one of the most elaborate settings and narratives you are likely to see in fantasy fiction, and this results in a powerful and moving read that will keep you guessing time and time again.  I had an exceptional time reading The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, and it would be impossible for me to give it anything less than a five-star rating.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is told from two separate perspectives, that of Livira and Evar, and covers their very different lives and experiences within the libraries.  These two character-driven storylines are initially kept separate from each other as Lawrence spends a good chunk of the book introducing the protagonists, setting up their unique stories, and bringing together the elaborate setting that the story is based around.  Both of these storylines are very interesting and fun off the bat, with Livira having her life torn apart, only to find purpose in the library, while Evar details his life lived purely within the library.  While both storylines are really good, I initially got drawn into Livira’s the most, especially as her outsider perspective of the library allows you to really appreciate how alien and strange the massive house of books is.  Livira’s storyline advances at an extended clip, covering years of her life as she learns, grows, and fully develops her adventurous personality as she seeks to fully understand the secrets of the library and everything within it.  Evar’s storyline on the other hand is a little more sedate in its pacing, as it is set only along the course of a few days as he tries to finally understand the structure that has kept him prisoner for so many years.

The first half of the book that showcases these two characters’ initial introduction and growth are pretty damn entertaining, and it does a wonderful job of setting the scene for Lawrence’s elaborate story and background location.  However, the story doesn’t find its true strength until the two protagonists meet and their storylines becomes a lot more intertwined.  Due to the impossible physics and requirements of the library, there is a compelling time element to the meetings between the characters, which Lawrence captures masterfully, and which really alters their perspectives of each other.  Once they are able to properly interact, the two characters grow close and spend an interesting chunk of the novel exploring their respective worlds, as well as the history of the library.  Lawrence really lays the world building on thick during these parts of the book, and it serves to bring the two protagonists together, which just ensures the last act of the book is as tragic, moving and devastating as possible.  The author drops some massive bombshell twists around two-thirds of the way through, which completely throws you and makes you rethink everything you have thought about the preceding narrative.  I honestly was pretty damn shocked at this epic and devastating revelation, and while I had already been pretty damn addicted to the story by this point, this was the moment I realised what a masterpiece The Book That Wouldn’t Burn truly was.

The final third of the novel gets even better as certain background elements of Livira’s storyline finally come to fruition and her entire life begins burning around her.  This causes her and many of the supporting characters from her part of the book to end up interacting with the characters from Evar’s storyline, which is a very interesting change of pace from the previous parts of the book.  There are also some frenetic conflicts and some very dark moments as everything you have previously known about the settings, the characters and the history of the library is thrown around in some excellent and compelling ways.  There are several great new twists in this final section of the book, and Lawrence gets very metaphysical with the reveals, relying on his setting’s unique temporal properties to mess with your mind and bring you surprise after surprise.  I really loved just how cool and complicated this novel got towards the end, and Lawrence leaves an awesome and open conclusion for you to enjoy while drawing you in towards the next book in the series.  I came away from this narrative desperately wanting more, especially after being blown away by all the twists within the book, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Those who are familiar with Lawrence will know that he is a very impressive and talented author, and I really liked how he developed his story and displayed all its outstanding elements to the reader.  The Book That Wouldn’t Burn is a particularly complex read, loaded with damaged characters, elaborate storylines and an inventive major setting.  Lawrence approaches his latest novel with his usual flair and imagination, expertly showcasing every clever detail of this world to the reader and keeping them enthralled the entire way through.  Due to the complexity of the story, you really need to dive into every single word that Lawrence writes, and it honestly took me a little longer to get through this lengthy novel than I expected, mainly because of how much focus I needed to fully appreciate everything.  That said, it has a very good pace to it and there is never really a dull moment as you are constantly drawn into what is happening or the elaborate depictions of the library.

I felt that the author’s use of two narrators was particularly effective, especially as they give very different views of what is happening around them and the setting they find themselves in.  The extra expansiveness of the separate narration really helps to expand the scale of the book, and it takes some major temporal shifts for the two protagonist’s storylines to align.  Once they do, the two separate character arcs intertwine extremely well, and I loved seeing their interactions through each other’s eyes, as well as the elaborate adventures they find themselves involved with.

Lawrence also was very skilled at setting up some of the book’s big twists, and while many of them surprised me when I read them, looking back you could see the subtle clues leading up to them, and you really appreciate just how clever the author was in the earlier stages of the book.  The initial big twist is probably the best, and you really have to love how careful Lawrence was with some of the dialogue and character descriptions to pull that off.  Some of the subsequent twists are a little less shocking, mainly because you are on guard at that point, but I did like how well some of the reveals based around the protagonist’s journey through time were utilised and hinted at in earlier scenes.  The fact that there are completely different faces to some of the major early figures of the book was very cool, and it was clear that the author had a very impressive plan while writing the early stages of the book.  These excellent writing elements, and more, served to enhance an already captivating story, and I cannot get past how well Lawrence set everything up.

There is no way I can move forward without talking about the elaborate library setting that was such an epic centrepiece of The Book That Wouldn’t Burn.  I love how the author’s ultimate major setting is a library, which is something that all readers can really appreciate.  While we can all imagine a pretty massive or full library, Lawrence amped that imagination up to an 11 in this book, describing a seemingly impossible structure, made up of innumerable rooms filled with massive climbable bookshelves and a seemingly infinite number of books and tomes.  The sheer scale of this setting when described by Lawrence boggles the mind to a degree, and it really is an outstanding setting for this story as it is the perfect place for exploration, adventure, and even habitation.  The library naturally features Lawrence’s trademark blend of fantasy and science fiction elements, and the structure has a transdimensional or alien feel to it, as the protagonists find different mechanisms within the structure, as well as strange and unique ways to travel through it.  This blend of fantasy and science fiction elements worked particularly well, especially as you get to experience an intriguing contrast between ancient advanced technology and endless shelves of paper books.

The more unique elements of the library, including the portals, the robotic guardians, the locked doors, and more, are worked into the plot extremely well, and it was fascinating to see how they impacted the story, especially while the characters attempted to find out their origins.  The time travel aspects of the library proved to be particularly awesome, and I loved how Lawrence used them, and other cool features, to twist the narrative in some powerful and unexpected directions, completely changing everything you thought you knew.  It was also really effective how Lawrence explored the library through two very different sets of eyes, as Livira and Evar see it in different ways based on their respective history and cultures.  These alternate views added even more depth to the epic setting, and you have to love the continued focus on exploration, especially when it resulted in some of the best scenes in the book.  Honestly, I could go on and on for pages about just how impressive this outstanding setting is, so let me just be blunt and say: read The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, as you really won’t be disappointed when it comes to this elaborate library setting and the dark world it inhabits.

The final thing that I really need to highlight are the great characters contained within The Book That Wouldn’t Burn, which Lawrence did an outstanding job pulling together.  There is a rich and compelling cast of characters featured within this novel, and their unique stories and experiences play a big role in how the story develops.  However, most of the character work is saved for the point of view protagonists, Livira and Evar.  Both characters have intriguing and tragic backgrounds brought about by encounters with sabbers, and they have found sanctuary within the library as a result.  However, this is where their storylines differ as Livira seeks out the treasures of the library and works to get deeper within, while Evar looks to escape and find a whole new world to explore. This leads to some very conflicted character moments, and it was fascinating to see how these characters’ intriguing histories influences their understanding of the world and what they want.  Both protagonists are well established and utilized by the author in The Book that Wouldn’t Burn, and their distinctive character arcs give the book a different flavour chapter to chapter as you explore both their lives.

I personally enjoyed Livira a little more as a protagonist, as her adventurous spirit, drive to be the best and sheer pluck were quite entertaining to see, especially as it allowed her to uncover so many cool secrets about the library.  However, you also have to appreciate the darker background and narrative around Evar, a man trapped all his life in the library, and who has known only limited contact and love in his life.  Evar’s entire life has been nothing but uncertainty, abandonment and a certain amount of inadequacy as he has only known a few other people, each of whom are the absolute experts in their fields.  These two protagonists, when they meet, prove to be a powerful and interesting combination, and Lawrence was quite masterful and subtle when it came to weaving their chapters together.  You really appreciate the pain, loss and sacrifices that both protagonists make throughout the book, and the bond they formed together, soon becomes such a key part of the story.  While they do experience some major, mind-blowing setbacks, you grow really attached to both of them, and seeing them continue and dive even deeper into the unknowable heart of the library, makes for powerful reading.

Aside from Livira and Evar, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn features an extensive and compelling cast of supporting characters, whose interaction with the protagonists adds some intriguing elements to the plot, especially as many of them are filled with some great surprises.  Both Livira and Evar’s storylines had some excellent supporting figures whose appearances are primarily limited to their respective narrator’s timeline.  My favourite supporting character in the Livira chapters had to be Malar, a rough and tough solider who becomes Livira’s protector mostly against his will.  His gruff attitude is a fun contrast to Livira’s bright and curious nature, and they have some entertaining scenes together, especially as he grows to care for her, and Lawrence works in some particularly compelling story elements around him in the later part of the book.

Evar’s chapters also feature a great range of supporting characters, and due to the more constricted nature of his story and setting, you get to know them a lot better than some of the cast associated with Livira.  These characters include Evar’s adopted siblings, Starval, Kerrol and Clovis, who were also trapped in the Mechanism as children and grew up with him in the library.  However, unlike Evar, who emerged relatively normal, each of Evar’s siblings were warped by the knowledge of the Mechanism and are now masters of a particular subject, including assassination and espionage, war and psychology.  Each of these siblings is now fairly damaged as a result of their complex upbringings and childhood traumas, and it was fascinating to see their unique mindsets, especially through the eyes of Evar, who holds a special place in each of their hearts.  These characters were all raised by the animatronic constructs, the Assistant and the Soldier, servants of the library who took charge of them, and I liked the fun interactions that resulted from them, especially once Lawrence worked his twisty magic on them.  All of these characters and more are pretty damn interesting, and I loved how complex and emotionally charged their interactions became.

Frankly I could go on and on about this book, but I still do not think I would really be able to fully encapsulate just how much I enjoyed The Book That Wouldn’t Burn.  This complex and clever fantasy novel is a true masterpiece from Mark Lawrence, who utilised all his impressive writing skills and imagination to create a unique and powerful read.  The Book That Wouldn’t Burn’s elaborate narrative and massive library setting really grabbed my attention and I had such an epic time getting through this outstanding novel.  Easily one of the best fantasy books of 2023, you need to check The Book That Wouldn’t Burn out, especially if you are already a fan of Mark Lawrence’s amazing works.

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The Will of the Many by James Islington

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Australian, Fantasy, Five-Star Books23 Comments

The Will of the Many Cover

Publisher: Gallery/Saga Press/Audible Studios (Audiobook – 23 May 2023)

Series: Hierarchy – Book One

Length: 28 hours 14 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Talented Australian author James Islington delivers one of the best fantasy books of 2023 with the compelling and complex novel, The Will of the Many, an exceptional read that I had a brilliant time reading.

I am always on the lookout for epic fantasy novels to sink my teeth into, and one that caught my eye when it was first announced was the intriguing book, The Will of the Many.  Set in a cool new magical school setting, The Will of the Many sounded liked a very fun novel and I instantly wanted to read it.  It helped that it was written by James Islington, an Australian author who had been on my radar for a while thanks to his fantastic Licanius trilogy.  While I have not had a chance to check out the Licanius books, I was very keen to dive into The Will of the Many and I was glad I got the chance a couple of weeks ago.  The Will of the Many is the first book in Islington’s new Hierarchy series, which looks set to be a major addition to the fantasy landscape especially after this incredible first book

The Catenan Republic, known as the Hierarchy, rules the world, conquering and enslaving everything before it using its unique magic of Will, which drains power, strength and mental energy from the lower classes and passes it up to those above.  To gain true power and control in the Hierarchy citizens need to battle their way to the top of the pyramid of power and influence, and only those with drive, ambition, connections or no choice can rise.

Vis is an orphan boy with a hidden past, a quick mind, and an utter disdain for the entire Hierarchy.  Lodged in a Catenan orphanage, Vis bides his time while searching for an escape from a future of ceding his Will to the higher echelons of the Hierarchy.  However, his entire life is turned upside down when a powerful Catenan nobleman offers him a chance he never expected.  Ulciscor Telimus is convinced that there are dark dealings going on at the Hierarchy’s most prestigious school, the Academy, and he needs someone to go undercover and discover what has been hidden there.  If he succeeds, he will be adopted into Ulciscor’s influential family and be given a choice about his future.

Reluctantly agreeing to Ulciscor’s terms, Vis prepares to attend the Academy, only to discover it is a dangerous place of corrupt ambition, deadly secrets and deep rivalries.  To succeed, Vis will have to rise through the Academy’s ranks by any means necessary without losing who he is as a person.  But this will be no easy task, as deadly politics, long-buried power and a murderous rebel group all seek to control him.  Worse, the more he advances, the greater the chance that his secret past will be uncovered and his enemies will put him to death.  Can Vis survive against the terrible burden that is weighing him down or will he be ground down by the unstoppable Hierarchy just like everyone else?

Islington has created a pretty exceptional fantasy novel with The Will of the Many.  Featuring a powerful, intense and character-driven plot, all set within an outstanding new fantasy world, The Will of the Many had me hooked pretty early on and I dedicated a lot of time to reading it.  I really got drawn into Islington’s amazing inventiveness and this book gets an easy five-star rating from me thanks to how damn good it is.

I have lot of love for the epic and captivating narrative that Islington set up in The Will of the Many, especially as he simultaneously tells a brilliant introductory story while also expertly setting up the rest of the series.  There are some awesome scenes in the start of this book, including an intense fight club sequence, which do an excellent job getting the reader across some key aspects of the plot, while also showcasing the emotional range and complexity of the protagonist, through whose eyes the entire story unfolds.  I was honestly already very hooked by this point in the story, but Islington quickly picks up the pace and ensures that this character-driven narrative heads off in some very compelling directions.  The introduction of Ulciscor soon presents the idea of the Academy and the dark conspiracies around it, and Islington starts the gradual process of getting the protagonist to the school environment.  Ulciscor is a great addition to the plot, especially as he plays off Vis very well, and the early sequences with him result in some major world expansion and plot movement.  It also sets up the book’s established formula of adventure, world building, politics, mystery and espionage, that carries through the rest of the story, and which ends up being a very heady combination.

Islington keeps building the story as The Will of the Many progresses, and pretty much every new revelation or intriguing world detail is really fun to behold.  There is some good early action, as well as a couple of twists that I liked at this point, but the story is still very much on track for the promised magical school setting.  However, before we get there, there are a series of cool and fascinating training montages which build up Vis as a character and really highlight the difficult tasks to come.  There is also a deeper dive into the complexities of the tasks and the secrets surrounding them, and Islington does an impressive amount of set-up in this first third.  However, the real highlight of this first part of the book is a very surprising and explosive occurrence that pushes Vis into the limelight, while also ensuring that he is caught between some very dangerous people.  This big scene is extremely memorable, bloody and very well-written, and if you weren’t riveted to The Will of the Many before, you sure as hell were now.

From there the story turns into a more magical school focused narrative, which was something that I was really looking forward to.  This intriguing setting had some great elements to it, and the story set within the Academy was a brilliant and compelling blend of education, entertaining rivalries, compelling personal interactions, and a series of secrets, as Vis attempts climb up the ranks, while also completing some of the objectives the various groups trying to control him have forced him to do.  I honestly had a ton of fun during the scenes set in the Academy, and I liked how Islington built up the setting and the fantasy elements behind it, while also slowly advancing the story and the character development.  The substantial part of the novel set in or around the Academy has some fantastic moments to it, including a few big scenes where Vis is forced to encounter deadly enemies, hard tasks, or the secrets from his past, and each of these major moments expertly expands on some part of the plot or universe you are already enjoying, whether it be secrets of the world, or some political machinations that will come back to bite the protagonist later.

Everything leads up to a major extended concluding sequence as the final test of the Academy brings all manner of trouble to the protagonist in a variety of cool and intriguing ways.  Not only do some big secrets come to life but Vis manages to learn more about the magical secrets of the world and the Hierarchy, while also being forced to deal with deadly attacks and threats from a variety of corners.  There are so many epic moments in this final section of the book, and Islington did an incredible job of tying together his many, many story threads to ensure that a variety of previous hints and revelations are well utilised.  I loved some of the elaborate tests and set-ups featured here, and it was very fun to see the protagonist try to run them while also dealing with major threats from every angle.  This final sequence has some massive moments, including major betrayals, compelling reveals about the wider world, and a very tragic death, all of which served as the perfect cherry to an already outstanding story.  While many secrets and hanging storylines are resolved by the end of the plot, quite a few still remain for the sequels.  Islington has already set up some big moments and unique ideas for the future, and I am very curious to see how they turn out.

As you can no doubt tell from my expansive summary above, I really loved this captivating narrative in The Will of the Many and I think that Islington did a really good job of presenting this complex and impressive story to the reader.  The entire book has an outstanding pace to it, and there is barely a scene that is not filled with something exciting or entertaining, whether it be a moving character moment, some compelling world building, or a thrilling bit of action.  I honestly flew through this lengthy novel, and there was no point of the book where I not highly invested in the plot nor gripped by the events unfolding.  The author’s use of a first-person perspective from the character of Vis was a very good choice of narration that allowed the author to tell a compelling character-driven story that simultaneously explored a cool new setting from the outside, while also cleverly capturing all the key elements of the plot.  The intense balancing act of lies, politics, outside influences and personal relationships that the protagonist has to maintain really shines through as a result of this use of perspective, and it was deeply compelling to see Vis attempt to overcome all the obstacles in front of him.  The intense action scenes were particularly good, and Islington perfectly portrays the desperate violence, the life-and-death confrontations, and even some complex but exciting maze running, in ways that grab the reader’s attention and keep them fully engaged.  I personally loved how Islington included so many different compelling storylines, plot points, and fascinating detail into every single page of the book, and you really cannot help but get addicted as a result.

I always love seeing a cool fantasy setting for a new series, and Islington produced a pretty intriguing and compelling one for The Will of the Many.  Much of the main setting of the book sees Islington expand on an ancient Roman society, by adding in some intriguing new details like magic, powered constructs, a rigidly hierarchical community, and a deep political divide between the military, governance and religion bodies.  This results in a very interesting background for much of the story, and Islington showcases it all through the eyes of Vis, a hostile outsider with an established hatred of the Hierarchy, which works to showcase it in even more detail, especially as Vis focuses on both the negatives and the positives of the political and cultural structures around him.  I really enjoyed the clever balance of political concerns, oppressed citizenry and unique inclusions about status and magical power that were explored as a result, and it was fantastic to see them utilised in the plot, especially as Vis has to balance all of them throughout his many guises and missions.  The most fascinating part of this whole setting has to be the focus Will, the magic of the Hierarchy, which sees people at the bottom of society sacrifice part of their strength, drive and health to those above them.  The higher up in the Hierarchy you are, the more people you have ceding their strength to you, and this gives you greater powers, including better physical attributes, the ability to control and manipulate materials to certain purposes, and other magical abilities.  Islington does a really good job of exploring and expanding on this intriguing magical system throughout The Will of the Many, especially as the narrator is also learning about it as he goes.  The author has clearly put some time and great thought into this magical system, treating it like an established science, and I liked seeing the range of abilities it produces, as well as its related social and cultural impacts.  Islington makes sure to highlight that this is not a perfect society, and the cracks that Vis witnesses throughout The Will of the Many should result in some outstanding and compelling ongoing storylines.

I need to point out that one of the main reasons I chose to grab The Will of the Many is that it had a magical school setting.  I love, love, love magical school settings in fantasy fiction, and it is one of the best backgrounds for an excellent fantasy story (make sure to check out my recent list about my favourite books with magical school settings).  The Academy in The Will of the Many is an amazing example of this, and I enjoyed how Islington utilised it as a primary location for the book’s plot.  Just like the rest of the Hierarchy, the Academy is a rigidly hierarchical place based around a pyramid structure, with the most talented students at the top, and the other students below battling to take their place.  This made for a great background of study, competition and rivalries for much of the plot, and it was fun to see the protagonist try to reach the higher classes in a short time period, especially as he was required to overcome numerous obstacles while also coming to terms with the distinctive social structure of the Academy.  Islington adds a further twist to this education setting by introducing the Labyrinth as a unique educational and testing tool.  Essentially, the Labyrinth sees participants run through an elaborate maze while being chased, manipulating a magical gauntlet to move around walls and doors, all to prove that the participant has the concentration and focus to control vast amounts of Will.  Islington did an outstanding job of showcasing this Labyrinth in multiple scenes of The Will of the Many, and it produces some very exciting and compelling scenes, especially when the stakes around it get very high.  There is also a very complex, and highly enjoyable final test that serves as a great background for much of the final confrontation.  Islington clearly has a highly inventive streak when it comes to these unique fantasy inclusions, and I personally loved every second spent in this highly competitive magical school setting.  I hope that we see more of it in the future, and this was honestly one of the better magical schools that I have personally seen in fantasy fiction.

I also must highlight the captivating and nuanced characters that were featured within The Will of the Many, especially the main protagonist, Vis, through whom we see most of the events occurring.  Vis is an outstanding central protagonist, as he is a highly educated individual who sees all the flaws in the society he is forced to live in, and goes into the story with many secrets around him, including the fact that he is secretly the deposed prince of a realm recently conquered by the Hierarchy.  Due to his many losses, his outsider status, and the sheer resentment he holds towards the Hierarchy and those who use Will, Vis has a great deal of anger, bitterness and lack of social ability that he needs to overcome.  Vis proves to be the perfect character for the complex and morally grey narrative that Islington envisions, as Vis has to put all his learned deceit and ability to keep secrets and survive to good use to infiltrate the Hierarchy and the Academy, while being blackmailed by several different people.  Vis has an interesting analytical mind, and I wonderful time seeing him try to work through the various problems, conflicts, and hostile situations he encounters, especially as nearly everything about him is a lie that he needs to keep straight.  Despite his past and the pressures he is under, he is still a mostly kind and noble figure, trying to stay true to his original ideals while still doing what is right in a very corrupt world, and it was wonderful to see him grow throughout the course of the story and finally learn to trust again.  I grew quite attached to Vis as the story continued, and it really hurts to see him suffer time and time again, especially once he comes to terms with the traumas of his past.  I am very excited to see his story continue in the future, especially as it seems like it is going to get quite complex and multifaceted in the next book.

The rest of the cast of The Will of the Many is also very strong, and I liked the compelling and varied supporting characters that Vis has to interact with, including classmates, his new adopted family, rivals, political opponents, high-ranking members of the Hierarchy, and a dedicated group of rebels with dark plans for the future.  The powerful and intriguing interactions that occurred between Vis, who is often lying about his intentions, and these other fantastic characters results in some amazing scenes, and I loved the unique relationships that Vis was able to form with them.  You grow pretty attached to some of these characters as well, and I had my heart broken with one major fatality towards the end of the novel.

To check out this impressive novel I chose to grab an audiobook copy of The Will of the Many, which proved to be a pretty exceptional way to enjoy this fantastic read.  I have a lot of love for the audiobook format when it comes to massive fantasy novels, especially as I find myself really able to absorb the complex narratives and vast new worlds extremely well when listening to it.  This was definitely the case with The Will of the Many audiobook which really allowed me to get to grips with the powerful story it contained, and I lapped up every second that I listened to.  It definitely helped that The Will of the Many audiobook featured an outstanding narrator in the form of Euan Morton, whose work I have previously enjoyed in several Star Wars audio productions (Tarkin, Dooku: Jedi Lost and Doctor Aphra).  Morton has a unique voice that I felt gave The Will of the Many some real gravitas and impact when read out, especially with the distinctive, accented tone he utilised for both Vis and the main narration of the story.  This specific great voice was pretty impressive, and it really helped to make the protagonist’s speech really stand out throughout the audiobook.  The rest of the accents and tones he utilised for the other characters in the book really worked, and I loved how much range Morton had, covering a range of different characters perfectly and gifting them very fitting voices.  All this really helps to make The Will of the Many an absolute pleasure to listen to, and I cannot recommend this format enough to people interested in this book.  With a run time of just over 28 hours, The Will of the Many audiobook does represent a substantial time challenge for potential listeners (it is the 10th longest audiobook I’ve ever listened to).  However, I would say it is well worth the investment, especially as it does not take long for you to get obsessed with this awesome book and its elaborate story.  An exceptional audiobook that is easily the best way to enjoy this amazing fantasy tale.

Unsurprisingly, I loved The Will of the Many, and it was a pretty great introduction to James Islington’s brilliant writing and inventiveness.  The Will of the Many is a captivating fantasy read that makes excellent use of its dark setting and magical school focus to craft a powerful, character-driven tale.  This is easily one of the best fantasy novels of 2023 so far and I would strongly recommend it to anyone wanting an epic read to really lose themselves in.  An exceptional novel that perfectly sets up a bold new fantasy series!

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Waiting on Wednesday – Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I check out a fun upcoming urban fantasy novel from a rising star with Long Past Dues by James J. Butcher.

Long Past Dues Cover

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Last year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the excellent urban fantasy book, Dead Man’s Hand, the first book in the Unorthodox Chronicles and the debut novel from new author James J. Butcher.  Butcher, the son of legendary fantasy author Jim Butcher (check out some of my recent Throwback Thursdays), did a really good job with his first book, producing an intriguing and fast-paced urban fantasy read that I had a lot of fun with.  Following a relatively powerless magic user (an Unorthodox) with minor spells who finds themself in the middle of a massive magical conspiracy in Boston when he is accused of killing a powerful magical law enforcement officer and must team up with the victims retired partner to solve the crime.  Dead Man’s Hand was a very interesting and compelling first novel from Butcher, and it ended up being one of my favourite debuts of 2022.

Due to how impressive Butcher’s first book was, I have been keeping an eye out for any potential sequel for a while now and I was quite excited to see that Butcher had follow-up novel coming out later this year with Long Past Dues.  Set for release in October, the second Unorthodox Chronicles book will continue to follow the protagonist from the first novel as he settles into the world of magical law enforcement.  The new plot below sounds very compelling and I look forward to seeing the protagonist engage in a proper investigation, one loaded with magical rituals, hidden secrets and other cool aspects of this great magical world.  Based on how good Butcher’s first novel was, I am already quite keen for this fantastic sounding sequel and I know I am going to have a great time reading this book.  Long Past Dues has a ton of potential and I cannot wait to read the next book from this awesome new author.

Plot Synopsis:

Grimsby, the newest Auditor in the magical Department of Unorthodox Affairs, finds himself in hot water when he intercepts a friend’s case in this fast-paced and thrilling urban fantasy.

Against all odds, Grimshaw Griswald Grimsby has become an Auditor, enforcing laws about magic for Boston’s Department of Unorthodox Affairs. But Grimsby soon realizes the daily grind of his job is far removed from the glamour he imagined. Overlooked for every exciting case, Grimsby tires of being told to handle mundane magical troubles, and appropriates a case file intended for a friend.

Alongside Leslie Mayflower, the temporarily unretired Huntsman, Grimsby aims to crack the case and discover the origin of a strange, unfinished ritual—one that seems to imitate the handiwork of a foe Mayflower put down twenty years ago.

Together, they’ll have to deal with escaped werewolves, a cursed artifact, and a perilous journey to the mysterious subterranean city below Boston, all to uncover the shocking truth. At any cost, Grimsby must stop this ritual from finally being completed. Yet the cost may be paid not by himself but by his friends. . . .

Top Ten Tuesday – Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2023 (Fantasy and Science Fiction)

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, List, Science Fiction19 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics.  For this latest Top Ten Tuesday participants need to list their top anticipated releases for the second half of 2023.  I am planning to do two versions of this list, one that will exclusively look at upcoming thrillers, crime fiction, historical fiction, and more, and this one that will focus on upcoming fantasy and science fiction books.

2023 has so far been a pretty amazing year for books (something I will cover in next week’s Top Ten Tuesday), with some outstanding and impressive novels coming out and blowing me away.  However, the year is far from over and there are so many incredible and epic-sounding novels set for release in the second half of 2023.  To fill out this list I have scoured my list of anticipated upcoming releases and tried to work out which of the books coming out between the start of July and the end of December I am most looking forward to.  I already have a couple of these books in advance, but I think it’s worth including them here, especially as I still need to make time to read them.

I had initially intended to only do a single list featuring all the genres, however, I ended up with way too many awesome upcoming novels on my radar.  So, to fairly feature them all, and to save myself from some hard decisions, I decided to split this post into two and do separate lists, starting with this one on fantasy and science fiction.  I still had to cut out several impressive upcoming releases, but I was a lot happier with how these lists turned out, especially as I was able to feature so many epic upcoming reads that I am going to have the most fun reading.  Due to how much potential that I think the entries on this list have, several have previously appeared in my weekly Waiting on Wednesday articles, as well as on my recent Winter TBR list.   So let us get to my selections and find out which upcoming novels are my most anticipated fantasy and science fiction releases for the second half of 2023.

Honourable Mentions:

Cypher: Lord of the Fallen by John French – 18 July 2023

Cypher - Lord of the Fallen Cover

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The Hunters by David Wragg – 20 July 2023

The Hunters Cover

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Thick as Thieves by M. J. Kun – 25 July 2023

Thick as Thieves Cover

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Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid – 1 December 2023

Creed-Ashes of Cadia Cover

Top Ten List (by release date):

King of the Spoil by Jonathan D. Beer – 4 July 2023

The King of the Spoil Cover

First up we have the intriguing upcoming Warhammer Crime novel, King of the Spoil.  Sent in a grim, crime-ridden mega city, King of the Spoil sounds like a ton of fun and I always love when they combine intense crime fiction elements with the awesome Warhammer 40,000 universe.

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The Traitor by Anthony Ryan – 11 July 2023

The Traitor Cover

One of my most anticipated fantasy releases of the year is The Traitor by Anthony Ryan.  Finishing off Ryan’s exceptional Covenant of Steel trilogy, The Traitor looks set to be an amazing read and I am very excited to see what happens the series’ great protagonist.  The first two books in this trilogy, The Pariah (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021) and The Martyr (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), were pretty damn epic and I cannot to finish this brilliant trilogy off.

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Longshot by Rob Young – 15 August 2023

Longshot Cover

An intense sniper battle in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, need I say more?

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Cave 13 by Jonathan Maberry – 29 August 2023

Cave 13 Cover

Now I could have probably featured this book in the thriller list, but if I know Jonathan Maberry the science fiction, paranormal and horror elements of Cave 13 are going to be pretty impressive.  The third book in his Rogue Team International series, following on from Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019) and Relentless, Cave 13 will see Maberry’s troubled protagonist, Joe Ledger, investigate a cave full of ancient scrolls with the potential to destroy the world.  This is the second book from Maberry in 2023 (the first being the five-star read, Son of the Poison Rose), and I have no doubt this is also going to be an exceptional novel.  I have so much love for Maberry’s unique science fiction thriller novels and Cave 13 will probably be one of my favourite books of the year.

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Starter Villain by John Scalzi – 19 September 2023

Starter Villain Cover

One of the funniest science fiction authors out there, John Scalzi (Redshirts and The Kaiju Preservation Society) is releasing an amazing upcoming book about supervillains later this year with Starter Villain.  Following a new protagonist thrust feet first into the supervillain business, Starter Villain sounds like a ton of fun and I already have a copy of it.

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Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead by K. J. Parker – 3 October 2023

Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead Cover

The always clever and hilarious K. J. Parker returns with an entertaining new fantasy series this year that starts off with Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead.  Following a protagonist who specialises in looting battlefields, this amazing novel is going to be so much damn fun and I know I am going to love every second that I spend reading it, especially after how impressive Parker’s The Siege trilogy was (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It and A Practical Guide to Conquering the World).

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Storming Heaven by Miles Cameron – 24 October 2023

Storming Heaven Cover

Last year one of the always unique author Miles Cameron released a great fantasy book with Against all Gods, that set a group of desperate heroes against a corrupt pantheon of cruel gods.  I had an outstanding time with Against all Gods and I am very excited that Cameron has a sequel coming out in a few months with Storming Heaven.  Set to continue the war between mortals and gods, Storming Heaven sounds extremely epic, and I cannot wait to see what happens next with this series.

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Defiant by Brandon Sanderson – 1 November 2023

Defiant Cover

After wowing us for years with this impressive young adult science fiction series, Sanderson looks set to bring his Skyward series to an end in a few months with the final book, Defiant.  Following a skilled fighter pilot and her sentient ship as they attempt to save the remnants of humanity from an alien horde, the Skyward series (made up of Skyward, Starsight and Cytonic) has been pretty damn exceptional.  I am really excited to see how Sanderson finishes of the Skyward books and I have no doubt that he will pluck the heartstrings and hit all the action buttons as he does so.

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Murtagh by Christopher Paolini – 7 November 2023

Murtagh Cover

12 years after he finished off iconic Inheritance Cycle, legendary fantasy author Christopher Paolini returns to the world of Alagaësia with the new novel, Murtagh.  I have a lot of nostalgic love for the Inheritance Cycle novels, especially thanks to their great characters and impressive worldbuilding, and it is one of the series that I constantly revisit again and again when I want a comfort read.  As such, I am very, very curious to see how Paolini will revisit it and I look forward to seeing how he has developed as a writer since then.  It helps that this new upcoming book will centre around one of the best figures from the original novels, the anti-hero Murtagh, and I cannot wait to continue his story, especially as he’ll start Murtagh as the most hated being in all Alagaësia.  I have a lot of hope for Murtagh and I already know I am going to love it.

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House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky – 7 December 2023

The final book I want to highlight on this fantasy and science fiction list is the awesome upcoming novel, House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky.  This book has been on my radar for a while, especially after I had fun with Tchaikovsky’s previous reads, Ogres and Day of Ascension.  However, House of Open Wounds became a must-read book for me the moment that I saw it was a sequel to his previous novel City of Last Chances, which is one of the best fantasy novels I have read all year.  House of Open Wounds will bring back one of Tchaikovsky’s best characters from City of Last Chances, Yasnic, a failed priest with a box of orphan Gods, and will see him join an unorthodox military medical unit that uses unusual and illegal methods to heal the wounded.  I’m currently envisioning this as a fantasy version of M*A*S*H, and if my previous experiences of Tchaikovsky’s brilliant writing are any indication, this is going to be an exceptional read.

 

 

That is the end of this list.  I am extremely happy with how my latest Top Ten Tuesday article turned out, and this list contains an intriguing collection of upcoming fantasy and science fiction books that should prove to be incredible reads.  I think that every one of the books I mentioned above has some amazing potential, and most, if not all, will probably end up with a full five-star rating from me.  Make sure to also check out my next list where I dive into upcoming thrillers, crime fiction, historical fiction and more.  Let me also know if any of the above interest you and let me know what your most anticipated releases for the next six months are in the comments below.

Witch King by Martha Wells

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, LGBT+5 Comments

Witch King Cover

Publisher: Tor (ebook – 30 May 2023)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 432 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Acclaimed science fiction author Martha Wells returns to fantasy fiction in a big way with a cool new epic novel, Witch King.  This was an excellent and intriguing new read that I had a wonderful time reading, especially as I finally got to check out something from Wells, who has been on my to-read list for a while.  Wells is a veteran author who has several intriguing novels and series throughout her storied career, including her Ille-Rien, Books of the Raksura and Emilie, and well as tie-in books in the Star Wars and Stargate franchises.  While I am interested in reading her Star Wars book, Wells is best known for her Murderbot Diaries series, which follows a deadly security robot who has gained sentience and finds itself involved in serval complicated situation with various humans.  This series gets a lot of love in review communities and has been on my radar for a while.  However, instead I managed to get a copy of Wells’ new fantasy novel, Witch King and decided to have a read of that.  Featuring an intriguing and compelling story, Witch King was an awesome novel that I found myself really hooked on.

Kai is having a very bad day.  Awakening after an unknown period of imprisonment in a specially designed underwater cell, Kai is annoyed to find an arrogant magic user attempting to bind him to their will.  However, Kai is no mere demon, he is Kaiisteron, the Witch King, a legendary figure who, with the help of his heroic friends, saved the world from the nefarious Hierarchs and the led the current nations to freedom.

Now freed from his tomb and inhabiting the body of the mortal who foolishly tried to control him, Kai needs to find out who trapped him and why.  Accompanied by his long-time friend, the witch Ziede, and Sanja, the young woman intended to be sacrificed to him, Kai emerges once again into the world, trying to figure out what is changed and who benefited from his absence.  However, nothing is as it seems, and Kai and Ziede soon discover that their other friends and comrades have also gone missing.

Determined to get to the truth, Kai, Ziede and Sanja begin their search for answers, but soon find themselves under attack from all corners.  Dangerous magic users, powerful angelic creatures and lethal killers are all hunting for them, and everyone seems to have their own agenda.  To survive, Kai and Ziede will need to dive into their dark history, and the legendary war they fought years ago.  But the secrets they uncover will reveal dark truths about people they thought were their friends, and soon they will be forced to face the terrible consequences of their past mistakes.  Can these legendary figures survive in a world that turned against them to find their loved ones, or has their adventure finally come to an end?

This was a pretty awesome read from Wells.  Witch King has a gripping and intense story that really gets your attention early on and wows you with its elaborate world and interesting characters.  I had a great time reading this book, and while I struggled to get through it quickly, I ended up really enjoying it and I am very interested in seeing how Wells follows it up.

I really enjoyed the great story contained within Witch King, although you have to be prepared for Wells to drop you into some heavy plot right away.  There is not a lot of introduction to the characters or the world at the start of the book; instead you have to build up your own picture of events initially based on what’s going on.  This kind of makes the first few chapters a little harder to follow at times, although there is some fun action, interesting events, and great characters to grab your attention.  Wells eventually provides some of the details you need as the story continues, especially as she starts to split the story into two separate timelines, the current one and one set years in the past.  The modern timeline continues to show the characters as they get to the bottom of why they’re imprisoned and why everyone is after them, while the past timeline shows the earlier days of their history, as well as the legendary war that made them famous and which is still impacting everyone who was involved.  Both of these timelines are told from the perspective of Kai, and it provides a great overarching narrative, especially as you get to see two different sides to the same characters.  The older timeline also provides some much needed context for the modern day storyline, and Wells did a great job of balancing events from the two timelines to tell an intriguing and elaborate story.

Both awesome narratives continue at a great pace and Wells loads both up with some outstanding moments.  Out of the two, I enjoyed the chapters set in the past the most, especially as the young and inexperienced Kai was so very different from his confident and lethal persona in the future.  There was also a greater sense of desperation, oppression, and an overlay of hope in these prequel scenes which really spoke to me.  I also felt that it gave the reader a pretty good supplementary introduction into several of Witch King’s best characters, including Kai and Ziede, both of whom have some fun, complex, and LGBT+ positive arcs.  I loved seeing them as younger characters experiencing some of the worst, and most defining, moments of their lives, and Wells did an outstanding job of building that up.  However, most of the most important action occurred in the present-day storyline, and Wells writes a fantastic and powerful narrative about lost friends and relentless enemies that proved to be very compelling.  There are some great twists and turns here, most of which are rooted in their adventures in the past, and I loved some of the powerful moments that occurred.  Wells features several impressive battle scenes that make full use of the cool abilities of her magical characters, and it was particularly fun seeing Kai in action with his deadly abilities.  Both storylines come to a great conclusion that perfectly complement each other, and I liked the symmetry with the past and present, especially as it relates to the protagonists.  The final twist of the novel was pretty good and I liked how the modern-day storyline was set up to allow the narrative to continue if Wells chooses to.  However, if this was only a standalone novel, it worked really well, and I loved how impressive and fun this fantastic narrative turned out.

In addition to featuring a compelling and well-written narrative with great characters, Wells also comes up with a very distinctive and intriguing fantasy setting for Witch King, which I had a fantastic time exploring.  The world itself is a bit dark and damaged, having seen wars, magical upheaval and conquests, and it serves as a great background for the complex story.  Wells does an outstanding job of utilising some unique elements, such as demons, angelic warriors, dark magic users and mysterious tyrants to bolster the plot and produce some distinctive and exciting sequences.  This is often further enhanced by the author’s great use of the split timeline, as readers get to compare and contrast the settings and abilities of the characters after the massive time difference.  Some of the settings are really outstanding as well, with my favourite being a sinister palace first introduced in the prequel timeline.  This palace makes for an excellent backdrop for most of the early timeline’s plot, and the subsequent visit to it in the present also produces some fantastic and elaborate scenes, especially as actions in the past alter it in some very dramatic ways.  While most of these unique fantasy and world elements are impressive and fun in many ways, I did think that Wells could have done a bit of a better job introducing them.  The author really did just drop readers into the middle of the world at the start of the story with very little explanation and it takes a while to build up a full understanding of all the politics, factions, races, and basis for magic that are relevant to the plot.  While this did lead to the occasional bought of confusion during the early chapters of the book, once you get deeper into the plot (especially after the first few prequel chapters), you really grow to appreciate the elaborate world and the inventiveness Wells put into it.

Overall, Witch King was a pretty awesome and captivating fantasy read, and it was one that served as a great introduction to Martha Wells for me.  The exciting and compelling plot really drags the readers in, and the use of great characters, clever storyline splits, and an epic fantasy landscape proves to be an effective combination.  I really hope that Wells continues some of the storylines set up in Witch King in the future, and I look forward to reading more from the author if she does.

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White Night by Jim Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday7 Comments

White Night Cover

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 3 April 2007)

Series: Dresden Files – Book Nine

Length: 14 hours and 12 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  In my latest Throwback Thursday post, I continue to explore the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, with the exceptional White Night.

Readers of this blog will have noticed that my last few Throwback Thursday posts have been all about the amazing Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.  One of the most impressive and recognisable urban fantasy series in the world today, the Dresden Files are brilliant novels that follow Harry Dresden, a wizard and magical protector of humanity, as he faces off against all manner of unique supernatural foes and mysteries in modern day Chicago.  This series features so many incredible books, such as Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites and Battle Ground, as well as the novella The Law, all of which are five-star reads.  I have been reading this series on and off since 2020, and I recently got back into it, managing to finish off two more books, Dead Beat and Proven Guilty in recent weeks.  These outstanding novels were also pretty exceptional, and I was in such a Dresden Files mood I ended up also listening to ninth book in the series, White Night, which turned out to be a pretty awesome decision.

Harry Dresden, wizard, private investigator, and now Warden for the White Council, is Chicago’s only defence against a range of supernatural threats lurking around its exterior.  However, due to his growing power, the extended war between the White Council and the Red Court vampires, and his new position as a Warden, a lethal magical law enforcer, the ordinary magical users of Chicago have grown to fear him and no longer consider him one of their own.  As such, Dresden is shocked to discover that several lesser practitioners in the city have either died in apparent suicides or simply disappeared.

Investigating the crimes, he discovers several mysterious messages that hint at a serial killer stalking female magic users in the city, one who seems to be taunting Dresden directly.  Diving into the city’s hidden magical underbelly, Dresden soon finds a group of minor witches living in fear, all of whom are convinced that Dresden has something to do with their comrade’s deaths.  Attempting to gain their trust, Dresden tries to find the truth, only to discover that all the evidence points towards his secret half-brother, the vampire Thomas Raith.

Unwilling to believe that his brother has become a murdering monster, Dresden dives deeper, only to discover a far more sinister plot lying beneath the surface.  The vampires of the White Court are on the hunt, and their malevolent schemes are expanding to capture all of Chicago, including Dresden and his friends, in their web.  Working with a range of allies, including wizards, gangsters and an old flame, can Dresden untangle the web and stop the White Court before every human magic user on the planet becomes the ultimate prey?

Damn, it really is proving impossible for me to have a bad time with one of the Dresden Files books.  The ninth novel in this series by Butcher, White Night, was another incredible addition and one that I absolutely inhaled in only a few short days.  Featuring a brilliant and well-written story loaded with the series’ great characters, White Night is an amazing and captivating read that gets another easy five-star rating from me.

Butcher has come up with a pretty epic story for White Night, and it was one that had me hooked the entire way through.  The narrative starts off in familiar ground for a Dresden Files novel, with Dresden helping the Chicago police with a suspicious death that might have magical implications.  Butcher draws the reader in at first by presenting them with a juicy and compelling case, that of a serial killer stalking minor magical practitioners in Chicago and leaving taunting messages or Dresden to find.  This story gets even more intriguing when it turns out that many witnesses or the victims’ friends consider Dresden to be the main suspect, not only because of circumstantial evidence, but because his damaged reputation.  Despite this, Dresden keeps trying to investigate, only to come across evidence that suggests his half-brother, Thomas, a White Court vampire, might be behind some of the crimes.  He also encounters his first love, Elaine, who has been hired by a local group of witches for protection, and who Dresden teams up with again to solve the case.

I really appreciated the investigative focus for the first third of the book, and it really reminded me of some of the more classic Dresden Files adventures that started the series off.  This initial investigation soon leads the protagonists into a pretty massive confrontation, and I loved how deadly and destructive things got around halfway through.  Butcher also works in a rather good flashback sequence at this point, which lends itself well to explaining the protagonist’s mental state and providing some excellent context to his recent actions.  As the story continues, Butcher starts to layer out and fully explore the major mystery of White Night in some fantastic ways.  Not only is one of the killers exposed after some fun revelations, but a massive, elaborate conspiracy is also revealed that places Dresden and his allies in a major predicament.  This leads up to an extended confrontation sequence in the last third of the book where Butcher really cuts loose and provides the reader with all the action and intense scenes that they can handle.  Not only is their a beautifully written duel sequence that was pretty cool to see, but Butcher than provides a massive battle sequence that had so much going for it.  There are explosions, betrayals, carnage and sacrifices here, and it is an impressive extended sequences that was near impossible to put down, especially as Butcher loads in epic surprise after epic surprise.  The entire sequence comes together perfectly, and I had so much fun with it, especially as it opens up some cool storylines for the future.  It also serves as a great conclusion to the narrative, and I was really impressed at the ongoing storylines that were either wrapped up or strengthen.  Everything comes together really well and it honestly left me wanting even more Dresden Files.

Butcher once again backs up his amazing story with some outstanding writing that always works to drag the reader write into the middle of the plot.  Featuring a great first-person perspective from Dresden that showcases his unique view of events, as well as his own deep personal concerns, Butcher moves White Night along at a swift pace, ensuring that every scene has something deeply interesting or exciting to keep the reader’s attention.  I really appreciated the great blend of elements within White Night, as Butcher cleverly balances action, adventure, humour, character growth and dark moments, which, along with the investigation elements, ensures that there is a little something for everyone in this book.  I particularly enjoyed some of the elaborate and intense major action sequences in White Night, especially that epic one at the end, and it was cool how massive and deadly some of them got.  Just like most of the previous Dresden Files novels, White Night can be read as a standalone urban fantasy adventure, as Butcher makes sure to recap and reference and relevant prior event, character or storyline so new readers can easily follow along and still have fun.  However, as this is a key novel in the series which concludes or continues several long-running storylines and character arcs, White Night is best enjoyed by those who have checked out the earlier Dresden Files books, especially as the emotional elements of some revelations or actions are greatly enhanced by continuous reading.  I always have so much fun with Butcher’s style in this series, and I felt that White Night was particularly well served by the author’s ability to tell an amazing story.

I have a lot of love for the cool fantasy setting that the Dresden Files utilises as the combination of modern-day Chicago and classic fantasy monsters and magic is always makes for an excellent story.  There are so many excellent elements to this fantasy society that Butcher has dreamed up over the years, and at this point in the series the lore and history of magic and its various factions is very well established.  Despite this, Butcher always finds intriguing new elements to dive into each book, which is something I really appreciate.  In White Night, he takes the time to look at the less powerful magic users in this society, the ones that don’t have enough magic to bother the White Council or interact with Dresden.  These somewhat marginalised magic users have created their own societies and communities as a result, and it was really interesting to see Dresden interact with them, especially as, due to his position as a Warden, they all fear what he represents, which is a fun reversal of how Dresden was persecuted at the start of the series.  I really loved seeing magic through the eyes of the little guy, and Butcher works them into the story in a very intriguing way.

The book also features quite a few White Court vampires, who feed on emotion and mental energy rather than blood.  The White Court are always a rather distinctive inclusion in any Dresden Files novel, and of course there is the requisite extremely beautiful women and focus on lust that are a key part of the White Court vampires.  However, several of the other factions of vampires are finally introduced here, those that induce and feed off fear and despair.  This adds a rather darker angle to parts of the book, especially when these abilities are unleashed at full blast, and it was interesting to see how badly it can be weaponised.  The accompanying vampiric schemes and backstabbing plans are also very fun, and Butcher manages to weave several elaborate ruses and plots into the narrative with some effective results.  These fantasy elements, and more, really help to create a distinctive and captivating read, and I cannot get enough of Butcher’s ability to come up with and utilise the inventive elements.

As always, the characters contained within White Night were pretty damn amazing, and I felt that their complex and powerful character arcs added so much value and intensity to the plot.  The focus is once again on protagonist and point-of-view character, Harry Dresden, who finds himself under all manner of immense pressure in White Night, which blows up around him in some big ways.  Not only is he dealing with the dual responsibilities of having an apprentice and being the magical law in Chicago, but he also has some major family issues and a tone of intense mental trauma that has been building up over the last few books.  A lot of this comes to a head in White Night, and Dresden actually comes across as a lot more angry and frustrated than he has in previous novels, especially after experiencing more losses and seeing some dreadful things.  Butcher writes some compelling and complex storylines around Dresden’s many emotional concerns in White Night, and it proves very intriguing and powerful to see him try to work through them, especially as he is in denial about several of the more prominent concerns.  The author does an amazing job exploring Dresden’s inner psyche here, and you come away feeling closer to him as a result.  White Night is actually a pretty significant book for Dresden’s character growth, especially as several long-running storylines about his mental state finish up here, and this ends up being a pretty satisfying read as a result, especially if you like how he was portrayed in the previous few novels.  Despite, or perhaps because of, his many issues, Dresden still brings his typical humour and complete disregard for decorum or his opponents to the table in White Night, and his fun comments and witty observations are responsible for most of the book’s comedy and entertainment.  As such, Dresden remains a pretty impressive and likeable central character, and I cannot wait to see what future adventures and pain he has coming to him in the future.

White Night also features a great supporting cast of friends and antagonists to liven up the plot in some awesome ways.  While most of the focus of the story is on Dresden, you see a lot of these characters and there are some fantastic and complex storylines written around them.  The most prominent of these characters in White Night is probably Dresden’s half-brother Thomas Raith, who has been a major figure for the last few books.  Due to his banishment from his vampire family, Thomas has been somewhat adrift in recent books, and it was clear that he had been keeping secrets from Dresden for various reasons.  Most of his secrets are finally revealed here in White Night and it was interesting to see what resulted.  Some of them are quite intriguing, some are pretty funny, and it was nice to finally get some answers, especially as it helped to strengthen the relationship between the two brothers.  Other great characters in White Night include Dresden’s former lover, Elaine, who has managed to bounce back since her last appearance and is trying to become more like Dresden by helping people; Dresden’s dog, Mouse, who is such a fun supernatural canine character; and the fallen angel in Dresden’s head Lasciel, who has some of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the book.  However, my favourite supporting character in White Night is probably Chicago gangster John Marcone, a mortal crime lord who dips his toes in supernatural affairs and often serves as an antagonist/uneasy ally of Dresden.  Marcone is always very fun in these books, especially as he and Dresden play off each other perfectly, and he is the perfect foil to the hot-headed protagonist.  His appearance in White Night is particularly good, as you get a deeper look at his true character, and realise he isn’t as evil as he appears.  Despite that, he still proves to be rather ruthless and Butcher writes some amazing and compelling scenes around him.  These characters and more add so much to the power and impact of White Night’s story, and I love how captivating and complex Butcher makes them.

I can’t talk about a Dresden Files novel without once again raving about its audiobook format.  I love, love, love the Dresden Files audiobooks, and there is honestly no substitute to listening to these amazing stories, especially when all the audiobooks feature the incredible vocal talents of actor James Marsters.  Marsters, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators thanks to this series, is so damn talented, and his take on the Dresden Files books is very special.  This proves to be the case again in White Night, as Marsters utilises all his intensity and passion to bring this epic story to life.  His grip on all the major characters in White Night is pretty damn amazing, and I love how he manages to expertly portray all the characters, ensuring that the reader fully understands their personalities, emotions and inner thoughts when Marsters speaks in their voice.  This is particularly true for protagonist Harry Dresden, a character that Marsters has always done an incredible job voicing, and I deeply appreciated how the narrator was able to capture his full emotional turmoil in this fantastic audiobook.  This brilliant narration, as well as the great story it follows, ensures that White Night was another exceptional listen, and I had an outstanding time getting through this audiobook.  Coming in at just over 14 hours, White Night was slightly shorter than some of the other Dresden Files audiobooks out there, but it still takes a little bit to get through it.  However, it is well worth the time investment, and I cannot recommend White Night on audiobook enough.

Just like every Dresden Files novel I have read, White Night is an exceptional and captivating read that I had an absolute blast getting through.  Jim Butcher’s novels always drag me in with their brilliant storytelling, complex scenarios and fantastic characters, and White Night is one of his more intense and exciting inclusions in the series.  A highly recommended read and an outstanding addition to the series.  I will be reading more Dresden Files novels as soon as I can.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by K. J. Parker

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I take a look at an upcoming fantasy novel that I am particularly excited for, the sure to be hilarious novel, Saevus Corax Deals with the Dead by acclaimed author K. J. Parker.

Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead Cover

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I am always in the mood for a fantasy novel that utilises humour and comedy to enhance the story, and to my mind few current authors manage that as well as exceptional talent K. J. Parker, a pseudonym of author Tom Holt.  Parker/Holt has been delighting authors for over 35 years and his intriguing reads blend his unique sense of humour with some elaborate and well-thought fantasy or historical fiction scenarios.  I have only so far had the pleasure of reading one of his trilogies, but that was more than enough to make me a massive of his.

This series was the very clever and captivating The Siege series, which includes some of the funniest books that I have ever read.  Set around a siege of a massive city, all three books told a unique story of its long and deadly besiegement, that were loosely connected to each other and told from the perspective of a different unreliable narrator.  The first book in the series was the very impressive Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (one of my favourite books of 2019), which saw an amoral engineer take command of the city’s defences and use a mixture of mechanisms and bluffing to keep out the enemy.  This outstanding read was followed up by the extremely funny How to Rule an Empire and Get Away with It (one of my favourite books of 2020).  Set years after the events of the first book, this sequel followed an actor in the still besieged city tasked with impersonating a dead war hero, and who then uses his position to take over everything.  Parker masterfully finished the trilogy off last year with A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (one of my favourite books of 2022).  This outstanding finale saw a scribe and scholar from the city manage to use his unique array of obscure knowledge, as well as a strong understanding of basic human nature, to overthrow a nation and then the entire world in a brilliant sequence of manipulation and cleverness.  I have so much love for this exceptional trilogy, and I really grew to enjoy Parker’s unique sense of subtle humour and the fantastic and entertaining stories he was able to craft using it.

Due to how much I enjoyed The Siege trilogy, I have been keen to see what cool series Parker would right next, and boy does it look like he has something very special planned for us, with his upcoming Corax trilogy.  Starting in a few months’ time with Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead, this intriguing new trilogy looks to follow another complex protagonist as he finds himself stuck in a deadly situation.

Plot Synopsis:

There’s no formal training for battlefield salvage. You just have to pick things up as you go along. Swords, armor, arrows – and the bodies, of course.

Over the years, Saevus Corax has picked up a lot of things. Some of them have made him decent money, others have brought nothing but trouble. But it’s a living, and somebody has to deal with the dead.

Something else that Saevus has buried is his past. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite succeed.

I have to say that I am already really in love with this cool sounding book and I have some very high hopes for Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead.  An adventure novel that follows a battlefield scavenger is going to be very intriguing, and you know that Parker will really dive into the unique elements of this trade, with fun anecdotes looking at the best and worth moments the protagonist has experienced.  Having a compelling protagonist like this at the centre of the novel will ensure that Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead is going to be a very fun read and I look forward to seeing what sort of compelling and entertaining plot the author can come up with to match him.  I have no doubt it is going to be something pretty damn awesome especially when combined with Parker’s brilliant humour and relatable observations about the human condition.

Based on how much I enjoyed Parker’s previous series, there is no way that I am missing this fantastic new trilogy, especially as Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead sounds so damn good.  It also looks like Parker has plans to release all the books in quick succession, as the titles and covers for the rest of the Corax trilogy have already been released.  Both the second book, Saevus Corax Captures the Castle, and the third book, Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder, already have 2023 release dates, and if that holds true, then hopefully we can read the entire trilogy in the space of a few months.  If this is the case, I am very, very excited, as I have no doubt all three are going to be pretty exceptional.  I look forward to finding out what new craziness and fun Parker has cooked up in his new trilogy, and I fully expect Saevus Corax Deals With the Dead, and possibly its two sequels, to top my best books of the year list for 2023.

Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday6 Comments

Proven Guilty Cover

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1 February 2006)

Series: Dresden Files – Book Eight

Length: 16 hours and 16 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  This week I dive into another awesome entry in the exceptional Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher with Proven Guilty.

I have been having an outstanding time reading Butcher’s iconic and fantastic Dresden Files books over the last couple of years.  One of the absolute best urban fantasy series ever written, the Dresden Files follows titular wizard and supernatural protector, Harry Dresden, as he investigates a series of crimes and magical conspiracies in Chicago.  I got into these books back in 2020 and have been slowly getting through the series from the start, with most of the entries getting five-star reviews from me as I go.  This includes the outstanding novels, Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat and Battle Ground, as well as the novella The Law.  I had so much fun reading the previous novels that I just had to dive into the eighth book this week with Proven Guilty, which proved to be another amazing read.

A year after officially becoming a Warden for the White Council of Wizards, Harry Dresden is chafing under his new role, especially the part that forces him to punish young practitioners with no real knowledge of the magic they wield.  However, he must put aside his concerns when he is warned about black magic being used in Chicago, forcing him to start a new investigation into the city’s magical underbelly.

His investigations soon lead him to a seemingly normal horror movie convention where mysterious and sinister events are taking place.  Brought in by one of the convention’s staff, Molly Carpenter, the daughter of holy knight Michael Carpenter, Dresden soon finds himself attempting to stem a series of supernatural attacks against innocent humans.  The dangerous perpetrators all appear in the form of classic horror movie monsters, and their deadly attacks soon leaves a trail of mayhem across the convention.  Forced to circumnavigate the police and other dangers waiting for him, Dresden works to hold back the dark supernatural tide, only to discover dangerous secrets that shock him to his core.

Working with his faithful dog, his vampiric half-brother, a cop with her own problems, and the most dangerous mother on the planet, Dresden attempts to right all the wrongs in front of him.  But to succeed, he’ll need to confront the forces of the Nevernever, a rogue White Court Vampire, dangerous creatures forged from fear, and even the White Council itself.  Can Dresden succeed or will his actions lead to even more suffering for those he cares about the most?

Butcher keeps his epic Dresden Files going in an amazing way with this eighth book, and I had an outstanding time reading Proven Guilty.  Featuring an elaborate plot that effortless combines mystery and supernatural elements in modern day Chicago, while also serving as a key entry in the wider Dresden Files, Proven Guilty is a powerful and deeply captivating read that I had a great time listening to.  I have so much love for this fantastic series, and Proven Guilty got another five-star rating from me as a result.

Proven Guilty has an outstanding story to it which sees the protagonist go up against a cohort of deadly enemies, some of which are disguised as horror movies creatures.  I will admit that the start of the book was a tad slow, and I honestly thought that this was going to be more of a filler novel than anything else.  However, it soon develops into an excellent story that loads up a cool mystery with some exciting encounters, deep emotional moments, strong character development, and the continuation or creation of several major storylines for the entire series.  A conflicted Dresden is dragged into everything when Molly Carpenter requests his help, and he soon finds himself looking into the mysterious events at the horror convention.  The main story goes in some very interesting directions, and I liked the great combination of investigation and fantasy elements as it continued, while several compelling side stories see Dresden facing even more danger and mystery.  Several of these storylines came together quite nicely as the book continued, and Dresden soon identifies the main perpetrator of the threat, as well as other forces taking advantage of their actions.  The impact of the big reveal of who was responsible wasn’t as significant for me, as I’d had that spoiled in advance, but it was still well crafted, especially the motivations behind it.  However, the real meat of the story revolves around darker designs as unknown forces manipulate Dresden and his allies to do their bidding.  This results in some very impressive scenes, including a massive magic battle in the Fae realm, and I loved how everything came together while also leaving some big mysteries open for later in the series.  I also really enjoyed the complex wrap-up chapters, which saw Dresden go up against the White Council in some very intense scenes, as well as providing some excellent emotional resolutions that I deeply appreciated.  Everything comes together perfectly, and this proves to be a fantastic new addition to already impressive series.

Butcher applies his usual excellent writing style to Proven Guilty, which always works well to convey his complex narratives.  Like the rest of the series, Proven Guilty moves at a swift pace, quickly taking readers from one intriguing scene to the next, all of which is great in its own particular way, whether it be character interactions, plot developments, or lore downloads.  At the same time, readers are treated to a great blend of fantasy elements, emotional moments, and a compelling investigation storyline, all of which is overlayed with a fun and signature bout of humour and snark, often directed from the protagonist.  You really get drawn into Proven Guilty as a result, and I always love Butcher’s approach to the urban fantasy style, especially as both his unique fantasy world and the cool investigative story arcs work so well together.  Like the rest of the Dresden Files books, Proven Guilty can be read as a standalone novel, although Butcher is juggling a few ongoing storylines and character arcs that had been built up in the previous entries.  While the author always does a good job of recapping key events and reintroducing key characters, I really do feel that at this point in the series readers need to have enjoyed some of the previous books to get the full emotional and story impact Butcher is conveying.  I do really need to critique one part of Butcher’s writing style for Grave Peril though, particularly how he oversexualised a teenage female character.  The Dresden Files have always featured over-the-top descriptions of women, and while Butcher has gotten better about them as the series continues, he backslid here in Proven Guilty when it came to this character.  While I do get what he was trying to do from a literary perspective, i.e. showing the vulnerability and confusion of teenagers, and how they act out a result, it honestly felt really icky to me, and I think the book would have been better off without it.  Apart from that though, Proven Guilty is very well written, and I had a wonderful time getting through it.

I always really enjoy how well Butcher manages to utilise cool and complex fantasy elements into his narratives and Proven Guilty has some outstanding examples of this.  Thanks to Dresden’s promotion to Warden in the last book, he is now a very prominent member of the White Council, and this provides him some bigger insights into the council and its members.  This results in some great political scenes, as well as a deeper dive into the council’s law enforcement wing, which exists to hunt down and punish magic users who break the laws of magic.  I found this to be pretty interesting and compelling, especially as the council’s determination to enforce the laws leads to some dark moments in the plot, and I liked the clever comparisons between them and the Chicago PD.  The case also sees a return of the Fae Summer and Winter Courts, both of which have been featured heavily in the past, and Butcher has a lot of fun revisiting both and expanding the lore surrounding them.  One of the most pivotal moments of the plot sees Dresden and his allies invading one of the most significant locations of the Winter Court, and I loved the carnage that resulted.  As always, the various scenes of magical battle and encounters are a great highlight of Proven Guilty, and Butcher has a real talent for making the featured spells feel intense and spectacular.  I also rather enjoyed the use of a horror convention (SplatterCon!!!) as a major background for the plot, especially as it allowed for a menagerie of movie monsters to emerge and attack the convention goers.  There were a ton of fun homages here as a result, and it was very entertaining to see Dresden face off against several iconic monsters in some great scenes.  These fantasy elements merge with the rest of the plot extremely well, and it was fun to see Dresden dive through the worst parts of his world to save the day.

One of the major highlights of all the Dresden Files novels in the fantastic cohort of characters that Butcher features and Proven Guilty is no exception to this as the author has utilised another fantastic group of figures, each of whom brings something emotional or compelling to the plot.  The most prominent of these is naturally series protagonist Harry Dresden, who serves as the book’s main voice.  Cocky, confident, emotionally damaged and highly conflicted, Dresden makes a great focal character and I have deeply enjoyed seeing his personal journey throughout this series.  While still responsible for most of the book’s humour thanks to his jokes and fun observations about the other characters and all things magic, Dresden is decidedly a little more serious in Proven Guilty, especially as he is still recovering from some of the traumas of the previous books, including his injuries, his possession by a fallen angel, emotional conflicts with those closest to him, and the guilt over being forced to kill two people in his previous adventure.  This provides a noticeable change to Dresden in this book, and I felt that Butcher did a wonderful job showcasing this in several emotionally charged confrontations and scenes.  At the same time, Dresden is also dealing with his misapprehensions for working for the White Council as a Warden, especially as he is having trouble believing in all their rules.  This leads him into even greater conflict as the book continues, especially when he finds out who is truly responsible for the latest evils he uncovers.  All these personal issues and traumas help to provide a deep emotional layer to the plot, and it was one that Butcher masterfully addressed, providing some compelling and satisfying resolutions to several of them.  I particularly liked how Dresden’s story is coming full circle in some ways, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in the future.

Aside from Dresden, there are a ton of other great characters featured through Proven Guilty who add their own flavour to the plot.  This includes an excellent range of new figures and well-established supporting characters, and I liked the mixture of storylines and character arcs that emerged.  Dresden’s usual allies, Karrin Murphy and Thomas Raith are very well utilised again here, both as supporting characters for Dresden’s adventures, and as individuals with considerable personal and professional issues to deal with.  Molly Carpenter, a minor figure from the previous novels, returns in a big way here and serves as an intriguing new addition to the plot.  While I have some major concerns about Molly’s portrayal at times, her storyline had some great depth and it will be interesting to see how that develops in the future.  This use of Molly also allowed a great focus on her mother Charity, another minor character from the previous novels, who gets a fantastic showing in Proven Guilty, especially as she shows herself to be an absolute badass.  Throw in Harry’s giant dog Mouse, who is one of my favourite characters in this series now, and differing voices of Dresden’s two supernatural advisors, Bob and Lasciel, the angel and demon on his magical shoulder (both literally and figuratively), and you have a pretty outstanding cast here, and one that I always have a great time following.

As always with one of the Dresden Files novels I really need to highlight the exceptional and awesome audiobook versions which are my favourite way to enjoy this amazing books.  The format really lends itself to the intense action, fast-paced storytelling and great characters contained within Proven Guilty, and I really found myself powering through this great audiobook in no time at all.  With a run time of over 16 hours, this is one of the longer Dresden Files audiobooks, but I still managed to knock it off in a few days, as I never got sick of listening to it.  The main reason for this is the outstanding narration of actor James Marsters, who has lent his powerful voice to the entire Dresden Files series.  Marsters effortlessly dives into the story each time, and he brings some real gravitas and feeling to the plot and characters.  The various voices he produces does each member of the complex cast great justice and I love how well he portrays their feelings, interactions, and personalities.  This is mostly easily seen in main character Harry Dresden, who is suffering from a lot of different abuses by this point in the series.  Marsters really does such a great job showcasing his various emotional and personal issues and I am always so impressed with how the narrator just gets this complicated character and brings that out with his voice.  This great performance does so much to enhance the experience of listening to Proven Guilty on audiobook and I cannot recommend this format enough to people interested in checking out this cool Dresden Files entry.

Unsurprisingly, I had an outstanding time with Proven Guilty and it proved to be an excellent continuation of Jim Butcher’s epic Dresden Files series.  Featuring another brilliant story, some fantastic character growth, and even more magic and mayhem, Proven Guilty was a ton of fun to get through, and I have so much love for this series.  Indeed, I had such an incredible time with Proven Guilty that I have already started listening to the next book in the series, White Night, which I will hopefully review next week. I honestly can’t give Proven Guilty a higher compliment than that, and this is a pretty damn amazing read.

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The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy22 Comments

The Malevolent Seven Cover

Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (Trade Paperback – 9 May 2023)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 373 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Rising fantasy star Sebastien de Castell returns with a bold and highly entertaining new fantasy novel, The Malevolent Seven, that takes several dangerous and dastardly characters on a magical journey of death, deceit and despair which is so much fun to behold.

Magic is power and only the strong can hope to wield it, especially if they can make a profit out of it.  Cade Ombra is a powerful wonderist, a magic user who makes his living as a war mage, selling his services to highest bidder to fight in their wars and kill their enemies, even if his employers are monsters.  Cade has long struggled with the ethics of his job, and when his latest employment ends badly, with Cade framed for murder resulting in a relentless band of holy enforcers hunting him, he knows he needs to find a way out.

Luckily, a lucrative new job is looking for wonderists, and the payment is something he’s always desired, an artefact capable of changing everything about his life.  However, to get paid he needs to do one last very bad thing: kill seven heroic mages attempting to take down a corrupt noble and survive everything that wants to kill him along the way.  Determined to win no matter the cost, Cade and his violent colleague Corrigan set off to claim the reward before any of their rivals can.  But to succeed, they’ll need to recruit five more mages capable of taking down their powerful enemies and who have no moral qualms about killing heroes for money.

So begins a deadly recruitment mission as Cade and Corrigan seek out five mages just as crazy as they are.  But even with a mentally unstable blood mage, a fallen angel, a moral demon knight, a charismatic rat mage and a mysterious jackal, can even this mismatched bad of rogues hope to survive against the seven most deadly magic users on this plane of existence?  However, nothing about this job is as it seems, and Cade and the Malevolent Seven find themselves caught up in a deadly game between gods, demons and monsters, with the fate of the world lying in the balance.

Wow, now this was a very, very fun and addictive novel.  Sebastien de Castell wasn’t an author I was too familiar with before this point, although I had heard good things about The Greatcoats series.  However, I am now going to have to go out of my way to read more of his stuff, especially after reading the epic and entertaining The Malevolent Seven.

The Malevolent Seven was such a great read as de Castell pulls together a dark fantasy reimagining of heroic stories like Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.  The book starts of strong with a great introduction to the main character, Cade Ombra, the rules of magic in this realm, and the author’s very entertaining and outrageous sense of humour.  Expertly and hilariously told from the first-person perspective of Cade, whose observations about the insane events going on around him adds so much value to the story, you soon get a great sense of what to expect from this book and de Castell does not disappoint.  The story initially focuses on Cade and his friend Corrigan’s efforts in a brutal war for a mad ruler, but things go south when their employer is killed, Cade is betrayed by his fellow wonderists, and a band of ruthless religious warriors, the Glorian Justiciars, arrive determined to hunt down Cade for his use of demonic magic.  Forced to take a new job with Corrigan to save his skin and quickly get out of dodge, the two take up the mysterious contract to kill seven heroic mages in exchange for a powerful artefact, and begin a recruitment drive for five additional mages.

I love a good recruitment montage in heist or action fiction, and this one is pretty damn fun as de Castell writes in a particularly eclectic and insane group of mages for the protagonists to recruit.  Naturally nothing goes as plan, as the two are forced to take along a half-insane junior blood mage who Cade feels responsible for.  Their subsequent recruitment attempts land them in all manner of trouble as they rescue a highly chivalrous rat mage, save a mysterious fallen angel from a pleasure ship, journey to hell to recruit a demon knight, and end up in the middle of a wasteland, chased by everyone.  This recruitment period took up more of the plot than I thought it would, but it works really well to tell a great overall narrative.  Each scene introduces the reader to more of the world and it allows a compelling dynamic to grow between the various protagonists, especially as they grow to understand each other crazy tendencies.  De Castell also builds up several intriguing long-running storylines of manipulation and betrayal as it becomes clear that someone is influencing their mission and has set gods and demons against them.  This middle section of the book is a lot of fun, and I loved how de Castell keeps up the same blend of humour, intriguing character development, and insane over-the-top moments, that really draws you in at the start of the novel.

Everything perfectly leads up to the final third of the book, when the protagonists arrive at their destination.  Of course, as can be expected by the theme of this story so far, nothing is what they thought it would be, and instead they find themselves facing off against a mysterious foe with very different motivations to what they expected.  I loved how de Castell turned the plot a little on its head at this point, as the characters find themselves in the unexpected position of being the good guys.  This leads to some amazing scenes in the final third, loaded with magic, chaotic confrontations and more, all of which is a ton of fun to see.  There is some great character growth as several storylines come full circle, as well as a ton of twists and turns.  I loved some of the epic reveals that came across, and while I saw a few coming, de Castell managed to surprise me in places, which I really enjoyed.  The final twists about why the characters were on the job and who really wins were pretty damn epic and it sets the story up nicely for a sequel, which I am definitely going to grab a copy of.  I loved how de Castell really enhanced the drama in this final third of the book, especially as several character relationships or conflicts come to the boil in some explosive and captivating ways.  This combines really well with the continued craziness of the story and the inherent humour of the plot, and you really get drawn into all the fantastic elements of this book.  The Malevolent Seven ended up being an incredible read, and I managed to power through this entire story in a couple of days and had a ton of fun doing so.

I loved the dark and despairing world that served as the cool new setting for The Malevolent Seven and de Castell has a ton of fun showcasing this new fantasy landscape throughout the book.  Loaded with petty tyrants, warring nobles, and wandering wonderists who dish out death to the highest bidder, this land is the perfect backdrop for the crazy and self-serving narrative, and I loved seeing de Castell’s great characters traverse it causing trouble.  While there are some outstanding locations, including a magically blasted wasteland and several deadly battlegrounds, the highlight of this setting is the complex magical system that the author came up with.  This magical system is primarily predicated on wonderists breaching dimensional barriers and utilising magic that they have an infinity for.  This results in several unique rules and abilities that de Castell did an outstanding job of effectively introducing, and I loved how weird some of the abilities were, especially those that played into the novel’s humour.  Some of the more interesting realms require the magical users to interact with the associated denizens, including this world’s equivalent of angels and demons, all of whom have a stake in the mortal realms.  Several of the best scenes in the book require the protagonist to make dark and forbidden deals with his demonic contact, and the manipulation of the various mystical entities from both heaven and hell becomes a key part of the book.  The author makes sure to utilise all these fantastic and lethal abilities to their full extent throughout The Malevolent Seven and the epic, ultra-destructive battles that emerged, as well as the clever combination of talents, resulted in some amazingly, electrifying sequences.  It will be interesting to see what crazy abilities de Castell brings to the table for the sequel, but it’s going to be good.

The final thing I want to highlight about The Malevolent Seven are the excellent and compelling damaged characters featured throughout the plot.  De Castell really went out of his way to make his main seven protagonists as random, broken and insane as possible, and this really works in the context of this brilliant story.  The main protagonist is point-of-view character Cade Ombra, a wonderist with a secret past whose current magical ability comes from deals with a literal demon (nice guy actually).  Because of this and many other mistakes in his life, Cade is pretty alone and damaged when the story starts, and he is constantly trying to balance his survival instincts and desire for power, with his conscience, something that keeps getting him in trouble.  De Castell builds up Cade extremely well throughout The Malevolent Seven and I liked his constant growth as he tries to do the right thing, even though it usually makes life even harder for him.  The author sets Cade up as a reluctant leader and hero, and it was intriguing to see the dynamics that form between him and the rest of the team fate brings together around him.  The rest of the titular Malevolent Seven are all pretty entertaining and uniquely crazy in their own way, and the range of diverse and entertaining personalities makes for a great overall dynamic to the story. My favourite character in the group was the excessively violent Corrigan Blight, whose thunder magic matches his outrageous personality.  Corrigan served as the straight speaking, highly reactive and trigger-happy organiser of the group, who plays off the more reserved Cade perfectly, especially as they form a unique and fragile friendship.  Other highlights include the highly charismatic and surprisingly noble Aradeus, whose rat magic proves to be highly effective if a little weird, and the novice blood mage Galass, whose spunky personality is only matched by her deadly abilities that are slowly driving her insane.  I loved this impressive and very entertaining cast and I cannot wait to see what happens to them next.

I think it is very clear that I loved The Malevolent Seven as Sebastien de Castell’s outrageous and inventive dark fantasy tale was a real joy to behold.  The great blend of fantastic humour, twisty storytelling, brutal magic and over-the-top characters, works exceedingly well and I loved the witty and extremely fun story that emerged.  The Malevolent Seven is a great read and if you are in the mood for a cool and highly compelling fantasy adventure than this is the book for you.

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Waiting on Wednesday – Storming Heaven by Miles Cameron

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday2 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I check out the epic upcoming fantasy novel, Storming Heaven, the latest book from acclaimed author Miles Cameron.

Storming Heaven Cover

Amazon

Few of my regularly consumed authors have such a diverse catalogue of books than the very talented Miles Cameron.  The pseudonym of historical fiction author Christian Cameron (who has also released thriller novels with his father Kenneth Cameron under the joint pseudonym Gordon Kent), Cameron has released a huge number of books across the genres in recent years.  While I love some of his historical novels, I have been really getting into his outstanding fantasy and science fiction books.  Not only did he majorly impress me with his epic Master and Mages series, which featured Cold Iron and Dark Forge (one of my favourite novels and audiobooks of 2019), but I loved his first science fiction novel Artifact Space (one of my favourite books of 2021).

Cameron kept the hits coming last year with the amazing novel, Against All Gods, which served as the beginning of The Age of Bronze series.  This awesome book was set in a dark new fantasy world ruled over by a dark pantheon of gods, who murdered the previous gods of the realm and keep the current inhabitants stuck in a permanent bronze age.  The plot of Against All Gods introduced several desperate heroes who, after annoying the gods, become caught up in the webs of a trickster god with a serious grudge to destroy their all-powerful oppressors.  I deeply enjoyed this outstanding book due to its great story and elaborate new setting, which combined to create quite a gripping read.  Against All Gods was one of my favourite books of 2022 and I have been looking forward for the sequel for some time.

Well, it looks like I won’t have too much longer to wait as Cameron is releasing the second The Age of Bronze novel later this year, Storming Heaven.  Storming Heaven will see the scattered protagonists from the first book engage in several plans to attack the gods and finally get the justice they deserve, while fighting off cannibals, divine agents, and the pantheon itself.  Based on how epic Against All Gods was, I know that Storming Heaven is going to be pretty damn incredible and I have very high hopes for it.  This is already one of my most anticipated fantasy novels of 2023 and I cannot wait to see how impressive and cool Storming Heaven turns out.

Plot Synopsis:

Before iron helmets and steel swords, when dragons roamed the world, was an age of bronze and stone, when the Gods walked the earth, and people lived in terror.

A scribe, a warlord, a dancer, a mute insect and a child should have no chance against the might of the bickering gods and their cruel games. But the gods themselves are old, addicted to their own games of power, and now their fates may lie in the hands of mere mortals . . .

By divine plan a plague of cannibals has been unleashed across the world, forming an armada which preys on all who cross their path. Meanwhile the people who allied against the gods have been divided, each taking their own path to attack the heavens – if they can survive the tide of war which has been sent against them.

All they need is the right distraction, and the right opportunity, to deal a blow against the gods themselves . . .

An original, visceral epic weaving together the mythologies of a dozen pantheons of gods and heroes to create something new and magical, this tale of the revolt against the tyranny which began in Against All God s is a must read from a master of the fantasy genre.