Tag: Gollancz

The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski

On By The Unseen LibraryIn English Translation, Extended Universe, FantasyLeave a comment

Publisher: Gollancz (Trade Paperback – 30 September 2025)

English Translator: David French

Series: The Witcher – 0.1

Length: 310 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Legendary fantasy author Andrzej Sapkowski returns to the epic world of The Witcher with the outstanding and awesome prequel novel, Crossroads of Ravens.

I doubt anyone familiar with fantasy fiction is unaware of the cultural juggernaut that is The Witcher franchise.  An exciting and intense fantasy series revolving around Geralt of Rivia, a wandering, monster hunting witcher who finds himself drawn into chaotic events that threaten the entire world.  The initial series birthed seven original novels that were released in Poland the 1990s (later released in English), as well as a series of short stories.  However, The Witcher novels would gain prominence around the world after they were used as the inspiration for an incredible video game series, as well as a later Netflix television show.  I personally have enjoyed several excellent pieces of The Witcher fiction over the years, including the previous novel Season of Storms.  As such, I was very happy when I received an early copy of the new prequel novel from the series, Crossroads of Ravens, which proved to be a gripping read.

Long before the events that would make him a legend, grant him the sobriquets of the White Wolf or the Butcher of Blaviken, or even before he claimed to be from Rivia, Geralt was a young, recently graduated witcher.  Descending from the witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen for the first time, Geralt soon discovers that the world is a harsh place where ideals of heroism only get you into trouble, and that the entire continent holds nothing but disdain for his kind.

Swiftly finding himself on the wrong side of the law and a noose, Geralt is only saved by the intervention of grizzled veteran witcher Preston Holt.  An enigmatic and damaged figure with his own agenda, Holt takes the young Geralt under his wing, teaching him the true reality of being a witcher and honing the important skills that the future White Wolf needs to survive. 

Emboldened by this training, Geralt soon begins to gain fame as a witcher, serving the people previously protected by the ailing Holt.  However, as Geralt wanders the land, he finds many eyes on him, including those who hold a grudge against his order.  As new adversaries and dangerous secrets from the past are uncovered, Geralt will have to decide whether to become the noble hero he always envisioned himself to be, or the monster the world believes all witchers are.

Andrzej Sapkowski continues to expertly expand the lore of The Witcher universe with this exciting and action-packed prequel.  Crossroads of Ravens was an amazing novel that takes the readers on a series of intense adventures, loaded with intrigue, conspiracy and death that all fans of the franchise are going to have an outstanding time with.  I ended up powering through this novel in less than a day, and it proved to be a very impressive read.

Crossroads of Ravens was an outstanding and very exciting novel that piled on the action, intrigue and adventure in its fantastic story.  Starting off with an effective bang that sees a young Geralt in trouble during his first foray out as a witcher, Sapkowski does an excellent job of quickly setting up the scenario and introducing Geralt, and the reader, to a new mentor figure with the entertaining Preston Holt.  What follows is a series of compelling adventures, as Geralt initially learns from Preston, before journeying off into the wilds, facing off against various monsters and the even more troublesome human population of the land.  Sapkowski has fun placing Geralt into a new, mostly self-contained adventure each chapter of Crossroads of Ravens, the events and characters of which may reappear later in the book.  This allowed for a quick-paced and very interesting overall narrative, and it was entertaining to see the young Geralt in action.

While there is a good focus on Geralt’s independent adventures, Crossroads of Ravens has a larger, overarching narrative, that sees Geralt seeking knowledge of a historical attack on Kaer Morhen many years earlier.  Thanks to hints revealed in some of the earlier adventures, a run-in with a complex secondary antagonist, and in-universe notes from intelligence officers keeping watch on Geralt and Preston, readers get the general shape of this matter in the first half of the book, and it lies like a dark shadow over Geralt’s main adventures.  Everything comes to a head perfectly towards the last quarter of the book, as Geralt fully understands the threat towards him and those he cares about, and decides to act.  This leads to a tragic series of events, especially as Geralt faces the consequences of his action and his order’s history, while also trying to determine whether he should stay as a selfless witcher or become something far more vengeful.  Sapkowski makes sure that several open story threads from the protagonist’s previous adventures are also tied together by the end of the book, and it was interesting to see how certain plot elements from these earlier chapters came into play in the conclusion.  The result was an excellent and highly enjoyable story that serves well as both a standalone adventure and a prequel to the rest of The Witcher series.

I rather enjoyed how this great prequel Witcher novel came together, as Sapkowski imbues Crossroads of Ravens with his usual flair and wry humour.  Loaded with action, quick-paced stories and an array of unique monsters, Crossroads of Ravens was very reminiscent of early Witcher novels, especially as containing certain adventures to a specific chapter is very similar to the series’ original short-story format.  Naturally, this novel will be best enjoyed by those established fans of The Witcher franchise, especially readers of Sapkowski original novel series.  Crossroads of Ravens features various references to future events or characters in its pages, which long-running readers of the series will enjoy, and there is some great early characterization of the protagonist as well.  There are also interesting alternate versions of events readers might have seen in other media, including the historical attack on Kaer Morhen, which was featured in the Nightmare of the Wolf anime film.  While older fans will get the most of this book, anyone with any knowledge of the franchise will be able to enjoy Crossroads of Ravens to a great degree, especially as it is the earliest book in the current canon of The Witcher series.  As such, this novel will have a lot of appeal to wide array of readers, who will be in for a great time with the action and adventure.

As with all The Witcher books, Crossroads of Ravens features an excellent array of characters, including a great supporting cast around protagonist Geralt.  I very much enjoyed Geralt in this novel as Sapkowski features a young and inexperienced version of his iconic protagonist.  It was fascinating to see Geralt’s initial forays into both the world of ignorant humans, and monster hunting, especially as his reactions to both are different at a young age.  A great example of this can be seen in one adventure where Geralt attempts to save a girl turned into a striga, which parallels The Witcher short story, which is the first entry in Sapkowski’s original novel/short story collection, The Last Wish.  This adventure in Crossroads of Ravens goes very differently from the author’s original story, and it was fascinating to see how a younger, less confident Geralt dealt with the same situation.  I also quite enjoyed seeing Geralt, upon experiencing loss, go on a mission of vengeance, which threatens his previous attempts to be a respected hero rather than a monster.  I felt that Sapkowski cleverly balanced Geralt’s conflicting emotions in these sequences, and the end scene where he makes a choice about what sort of witcher he is, was a great finish to his story.  Throw in an array of excellent additional characters, including a wise, vengeful mentor, a dedicated investigator, a kind healer and many other fun figures, and Crossroads of Ravens proves to be an awesome book for fans of Sapkowski’s entertaining characters.

With another fun and captivating adventure, Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series continues in all its monster-hunting glory with Crossroads of Ravens.  An outstanding prequel novel that features an array of fantastic storylines and characters, Crossroads of Ravens serves as a highly entertaining entry in this acclaimed series that will appeal to a wide audience of fantasy fans.  I had a great time reading Crossroads of Ravens, and it’s worth checking out for anyone in the mood for fun action and an interesting narrative from an excellent established series.

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Mort by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1987)

Series: Discworld – Book Four/Death – Book One

Length: 7 hours and 18 minutes (Planer version)/7 hours and 57 minutes (Clifford version)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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My dive into the always outstanding Discworld series by the legendary Terry Pratchett continues with one of the earlier classics, Mort, a clever and highly entertaining novel that still hits hard after all these years.

Readers of this blog will be aware of my obsession for all things Discworld, which I have been a mega fan of for many years.  I have had the very great pleasure of reading all the books in the Discworld series multiple times, and I honestly love everything about them, so much so that I even named this blog after a key setting in the series.  I’ve recently been having one of my periodic re-reads of the series, which has seen me finally review some of my favourite Discworld entries, including Pyramids, Guards! Guards!, Moving Pictures, Small Gods and Men at Arms.  The next entry in the series I decided to reread was the wonderfully compelling Mort.  The fourth book in the series, this is one of the earlier Discworld novels and serves as the first book in the Death sub-series.

They say that death comes for everybody, but on the Discworld that statement couldn’t be more true, as everyone will eventually encounter Death, the black-robed, scythe wielding skeleton who personifies the end of life.  However, not all encounters with Death are the same, as terminally unqualified teenager Mort is about to discover, as instead of taking his life, Death offers Mort a job.

Suddenly saddled with the responsibilities of being the apprentice of Death, Mort finds his life a lot more complicated.  Reaping the souls of the recently departed is one thing, but learning to walk through walls and deal with the unlikely whims of his new master is another, especially as Death seems determined to set Mort up with his adopted daughter Ysabell.  However, the big problems begin when Mort impulsively decides to change fate and save the life of a young princess destined to die.

Forced to find a way to stop the diverging threads of reality while keeping the princess alive, Mort soon discovers that being the Grim Reaper isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  Worse, with the real Death suddenly discovering the joys of life, Mort’s own humanity is starting to slip away.  Can Mort and a group of unlikely companions save reality, or will he have to face his final judgement at the hands of the universe’s most unyielding employer?

Mort was a particularly impressive Discworld novel from Pratchett, especially as it was probably the book where the author finally found his true writing groove.  Fun, thoughtful and featuring a clever and concise story, Mort was an outstanding read, and I once again powered through in very short order.  As such, Mort gets a very well-deserved five-star rating from me and is a particularly awesome Discworld novel to check out.

I loved the very impressive story that Pratchett came up with for Mort, which takes the concept of Death finding an apprentice and going to the extreme with it.  Starting at an initially slow pace that introduces the key characters of Mort and Death, you soon get invested in Mort’s tale of young man coming into his own in a very unusual field.  Things get interesting quickly when Mort decides to save the life of a young princess destined to die and soon splits reality down the middle.  This leads to a very addictive middle section, as Mort attempts to save the princess while also ensuring reality doesn’t split apart.  At the same time, Death, who finds his time freed up thanks to his assistant, begins to wonder around the world learning about humans and trying to have fun.  The resulting outlandish interactions with Death are a great counterpoint to Mort’s storyline, especially as this results in the apprentice starting to obtain his own powers, often with hilarious results.

Everything cleverly and quickly leads up to the big final third of the novel, where a less-than-human Mort and a scrappy Ysabell attempt to do a disappeared Death’s duty, while also finding a way to save the doomed princess, whose own attempts to stay in reality have been less than successful.  At the same time, fun supporting character Albert, Death’s manservant, returns to his old profession on the Disc and tries to find the original Death, who has found his own unlikely niche in the mortal world.  This final third of Mort is extremely fun, fast-paced and surprisingly impactful, especially as the author keeps raising the stakes for the protagonists, and you are very much unable to stop reading it as you try to see where all the entertaining storylines are going.  However, it’s the inevitable showdown between Death and Mort that really ties everything together perfectly.  Their intense, deeply personal and perfectly showcased duel is amazing, especially as it expertly builds off all the character growth in the novel.  Ending on a hopeful note that sets the tone for a great character going forward, you come away from Mort very happy and with an interesting new outlook on life and its always-grinning counterpart.

I really enjoyed how Mort came together, especially as this is the Discworld novel where Pratchett perfects the style and storytelling methods that make his later novels such a treat to read.  As such, Mort is an early classic in the series, so much so that it is a perfect entry point for new Discworld fans, who get to see a lot of key ideas develop here, while also being introduced to the author’s humour and clever storytelling.  Mort definitely benefited from Pratchett developing a more concise storytelling style here, keeping the narrative a little more focused than the previous novels, and this works as a well-crafted standalone read.  Pratchett also does an outstanding job combining cool fantasy elements with outrageous humour and complex characters, and the result is a very entertaining read that will appeal to a wide range of readers.  Part coming-of-age story, part examination of an extreme mid-life crisis, Mort’s narrative hits a lot of generational notes, and while some of his ideas about splitting reality and the nature of the Discworld are a little complex, Pratchett ensures that readers can completely follow his thought all the way to the fantastic conclusion.

As with all Discworld books, Pratchett imbues Mort with an amazing level of humour, and I loved how intensely funny this novel was at times.  Despite Mort essentially being a novel about mortality and destiny, this is a very light-hearted novel thanks to the entertaining characters and the unusual situations they find themselves in.  There are several different levels of humour contained within Mort, ranging from obvious jokes and over-the-top situations to well-setup references or clever name gags, as well as the subtly funny footnotes that really dive into the absurdity of this flat world that lies atop a giant turtle.  Some of the funniest parts of Mort lie in the usually hardboiled and cynical inhabitants of the Disc suddenly encountering Death in unlikely scenarios.  This becomes particularly prevalent later in the novel when Death leaves the job to Mort and wanders the world looking to understand “fun”, and the various scenes with Death fishing, going to parties, getting drunk, gambling and even searching for a job, are particularly hilarious, especially as everyone else involved in these situations is either deeply unsettled or completely terrified.  Other great jokes involve wizards coming to terms with an apparently animated statue, very long-running bar tabs, fun, if short-lived, political intrigues, unlikely deaths, and the young protagonist upsetting everyone by unwittingly walking through walls.  I laughed myself silly multiple times in Mort, even though I had heard all the jokes many times before, and you are guaranteed to have a lot of fun with this great Discworld entry.

As with all of Pratchett’s novels, Mort features an excellent array of entertaining characters, whose unique arcs add some excellent power to book’s overall narrative.  The cast of Mort was particularly compelling and well-rounded, and I think that Pratchett did a great job of introducing some excellent new figures while also making use of one of the best side-characters in the entire series.  Unsurprisingly, most of the novel’s focus settles on the titular character of Mortimer (Mort), a young teen who unexpectedly finds himself the apprentice of Death.  Shown at the start of the book to be an awkward and unusually thoughtful figure, Mort’s storyline revolves around his attempts to fit in, learn his unlikely trade, and the interesting relationships that form thanks to his new position.  Pratchett works in a very compelling coming-of-age narrative around Mort, especially as he grows into his new role and gains the confidence that comes with finding oneself, while also walking the fine line between morality and duty.  However, there is a definite dark edge to Mort’s storyline towards the end, as Mort starts to lose his humanity and becomes more like Death, and it falls to the rest of the characters to keep him human.  Pratchett did a really good job introducing and building up Mort as a complex young character, and he ended up being one of the author’s better one-shot protagonists.

While much of the book is focused on Mort, the character who constantly steals the show is Death.  The literal personification of death on the Discworld, Death appeared in the first three novels in the series, serving as an ethereal and often entertaining figure on the sidelines who occasionally haunted the author’s original protagonist.  Pratchett cleverly expands on Death in this book, showcasing him as a wise and implacable figure doing his duty in a dispassionate way.  However, his interactions with humans, especially Mort, soon start to change his personality, especially as he becomes curious about life and tires of his eternal station.  This allows him to become a particularly entertaining figure in the second half of the book, as he roams the Disc in unlikely situations, trying to learn how to have fun.  His various ponderings on mortality and human nature result in some hilarious moments, and there are so many fantastic and funny interactions that occur here.  However, it is the final third of the book where you get a real sense of Death’s character; at first, he wistfully tries to embrace life, only to leave that behind when confronted by the actions of Mort.  The anger and sadness that accompany his return to his role and his confrontation with Mort is extremely powerful, and you can’t help but feel for him as he faces an impossible choice, as well as rejection from those he loves.  An overall excellent first deep dive into the character of Death from Pratchett, and you can really see why the author wrote several more books around this character going forward.

Aside from Mort and Death, the rest of the main cast of Mort is quite concise and contains an excellent blend of distinctive and impactful characters.  This includes Death’s adopted daughter, Ysabell, a seemingly spoiled princess and lover of over-the-top romance, who is initially antagonistic to Mort.  Despite her attitude, Ysabell soon turns into quite a likeable and sympathetic character, especially when certain traumas from her unusual life become apparent.  Due to her having some of the more emotionally poignant dialogue and character moments in the book, Ysabell is an excellent part of Mort, and I liked how Pratchett paced her storyline.  The other major resident of Death’s domain featured in this story is Albert, the mysterious servant determined to hide his past from Mort and Ysabell.  Pratchett does an excellent job of setting him up as a bigger figure within the Disc’s history, and his explosive return to form after some entertaining scenes between him and a threatening Mort are a highpoint of the book.  Other major characters include Princess Keli, a young princess who finds her sudden reign made even more difficult due her convoluted existence, and young wizard Igneous Cutwell, who serves as a great foil to the more serious Mort and Keli and becomes an excellent comic relief for the book.  Throw in an array of over-the-top minor Discworld characters whose lives briefly become that much more interesting due to their interactions with either Death or Mort, and Mort has an especially fun cast that Pratchett uses to great effect within this masterful novel.

I must once again highlight the amazing audiobook formats that are my favourite ways of enjoying the Discworld series.  I honestly have so much fun with the Discworld audiobooks, mainly because the format does such an incredible job of showcasing Pratchett’s legendary humour and inventive worldbuilding, and there is frankly no better way to enjoy this cool series.  Like the rest of the series, Mort has two particularly awesome unabridged audiobook versions, both of which come highly recommended by me.  This includes the old-school version narrated by the legendary Nigel Planer, who provided his voice to over half the unabridged Discworld audiobooks.  As with all the Discworld books he narrated, Planer does a remarkable job in this early entry in the series, and I loved the impressive array of voices that he utilised in Mort.  Due to this being the first Death audiobook, Planer had a ton of fun featuring his amazing Death voice, which combines beautifully with some of the other new character tones he had to come up with for this novel.  His great voice work also helped to showcase some of Pratchett’s excellent jokes and key bits of humour, and you really get drawn into the author’s brilliant story and fantastic writing with this classic audiobook release.

Despite my love for the Planer version of Mort, which in some ways is still the definitive audiobook version of this novel, I must also really hype up the new Mort audiobook that was recently released.  Part of the recent rerecording of the Discworld audiobooks I have spruiked in previous reviews, this new version of Mort was extremely awesome, and in some ways it surpasses the old-school version.  Coming in with a runtime of just under eight hours, around half an hour longer than the Planer version, this was a brilliant listen, especially with the impressive combined voice work of Sian Clifford, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy.

Sian Clifford (of Fleabag fame) did an excellent job as the main narrator for this audiobook, reading out most of the story and the voices of the associated cast.  This results in a swift, well-voiced and deeply compelling version of Mort, and I loved how effectively Clifford brought the story to life and helped to showcase the author’s great humour.  You really get drawn into the cool narrative as Clifford reads it out, and I enjoyed her fresh take on many aspects of the audiobook.  Despite Mort being a rather male character dominated entry in the sub-series, Clifford did an excellent job portraying the cast, and there are some great voices featured here, including of some iconic figures from other sub-series (her Rincewind voice was sufficiently terrified and grovelling).  Clifford clearly has fun when it comes to some of the more outrageous members of the cast, such as Albert, while her take on Princess Keli was excessively regal, and captured both her irritation at the events unfolding around her, while also showcasing her fear and uncertainty.  I must also highlight the voice Clifford provides for the main character, Mort, as the narrator really paints a great picture of a gangly, uncertain teenage boy who starts to come into his own as he gains confidence, and more.  I particularly enjoyed the clever voice changes that Clifford did later in the book, especially when Mort started becoming more like his employer, and the corresponding changes to Death’s voice were just perfect.  This was honestly some amazing voice work from Clifford, and I look forward to listening to her narration of the other Death audiobooks, especially once Susan is brought in as the main character.

While Clifford is amazing, I felt that Peter Serafinowicz clearly stole the show in Mort, playing his character to perfection.  Voicing the recurring character of Death in all the new Discworld audiobooks whenever he appears in the plot, Serafinowicz hits listeners with a deep and final tone that perfectly portrays the Discworld’s Grim Reaper in all his bony glory.  For most of the audiobooks, this is just a fun extra inclusion, as Death only appears in a few hilarious scenes.  But for Mort, this is much more of an involved role, as Death is one of the book’s main characters, and so much of the book’s humour and complex narrative is based around Death interactions with humanity.  As such, Serafinowicz has a ton of fun voice Death through various unusual situations and emotional states, all while keeping up the foreboding Death voice.  The clever and subtle changes to this voice that Serafinowicz makes are extremely impressive, and the humour that results from hearing Death engage in these unlikely scenarios and conversations cannot be overstated.  I also must highlight one brilliant sequence where Serafinowicz hilariously hummed the classic funeral march in his Death voice in response to the text describing Death walking away humming a tune.  Details like that in Serafinowicz’s performance, as well as the increased utilisation of Death in this audiobook, really enhanced the overall impact and humour of Mort, and I loved every second I spent listening to it. 

The final actor featured in this audiobook is the legendary Bill Nighy, who also has a recurring role in all the new Discworld audiobooks.  Nighy has a very important job of narrating all the various footnotes that Pratchett includes in his text, and his gentle voice really brings out the subtle humour hidden in these footnotes.  While Nighy doesn’t get much to do in Mort due to author only featuring a few footnotes in this novel, he still makes an impact, and I’ve really enjoyed how expertly he enhances these clever inclusions.  Honestly, all three of these narrators did an outstanding job in this new version of Mort, and I deeply appreciated how well their compelling performances blended into one impactful listen. As such, Mort is best enjoyed on audiobook, and whether it be the classic Planer version, or the new one with extended cast, you will have a wonderful time listening to it.

As the above rambling pages no doubt prove, I have a lot of love for Mort which was an excellent early Discworld novel from Terry Pratchett.  Featuring some excellent storytelling and fully embracing the clever writing style and comedic charm that made the later Discworld novels so damn awesome, Mort was a brilliant read, and one that proves impossible to put down.  An outstanding novel that really shows how impressive Pratchett could be as an author; Mort comes highly recommended and is guaranteed to be enjoyed by any reader.

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The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books3 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 13 May  2025)

Series: The Devils – Book One

Length: 25 hours and 7 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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The master of grimdark fantasy fiction presents a bold and over-the-top new story with The Devils, an outstanding, addictive and highly entertaining read that you will not be able to turn away from.

Joe Abercrombie is an impressive and compelling author who has been wowing fantasy fiction authors with his complex reads for nearly 20 years.  While he has written some other cool books, like his Shattered Sea trilogy, Abercrombie is best known for his iconic First Law series of dark fantasy novels, that followed a group of highly damaged people as they tried to survive war, magic and politics in a messed-up fantasy world.  I really enjoyed the original First Law trilogy, and Abercrombie has cleverly expanded it out over the years, including with three standalone novels and his sequel Age of Madness trilogy.  The Age of Madness novels were ones that I particularly enjoyed reading, and A Little Hatred (one of my favourite books of 2019), The Trouble With Peace (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020) and The Wisdom of Crowds (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), were very highly rated by me, and I could not get enough of this series.

Needless to say, I am a pretty big fan of Abercrombie’s novels, and I have been eagerly awaiting a new book from him since I finished The Wisdom of Crowds.  While I had hoped that we would be getting a new First Law novel, Abercrombie instead decided to present readers with something a little different with his new The Devils series.  Starting off with The Devils, this series is another clever dark fantasy series, set in an alternative, magic filled version of medieval Europe.  One of my most anticipated books of 2025, The Devils sounded so damn good, especially with its crazy plot and intriguing new setting.

The lands of Europe are in dire peril.  Between the constant wars, dangerous monsters, ruinous famines and deadly plagues, the various kingdoms of Europe are in poor condition, barely held together by the fractured church.  However, the real danger lies outside its borders, as the mysterious elves gather their power in the Holy Lands, preparing for another invasion of Europe that will surely lead to the destruction of all humanity.

In response to the growing threat of the elves, the church and its juvenile pope determine that a new ruler needs to be placed upon the Serpent Throne of Troy after its evil sorcerous empress dies.  With all four of the empress’s duplicitous and power-hungry sons unfit for the crown, the church surprisingly finds that their ideal candidate is a lowly street thief from the Holy City called Alex.  A ferrety sneak with no noble bearing or confidence, Alex is shocked to discover that she is really the long-lost Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos of Troy, destined to reunite the churches of Europe by claiming the throne.

Turning the reluctant and terrified Alex into a potential princess is one thing, but getting her to Troy is a far more difficult prospect, especially as her rival contenders to the throne are stalking Europe with their deadly, magically enhanced followers, determined to claim Troy for themselves.  To succeed in marching Alex through the European hellscape and placing her on the Serpent Throne, the church will need far more than prayers and the blessing of saints; they are going to need devils.  Luckily, such devils are close at hand. 

Deep within the Holy City lies the Chapel of Holy Expediency, which binds dangerous heretics and monsters and forces them to seek redemption through holy missions for the pope.  Led by the hapless Brother Diaz, the congregation of the Chapel of Holy Expediency is charged with getting Alex to Troy and placing her on the throne.  But can a terrified monk, an immortal knight, an arrogant necromancer, an invisible elf, a sarcastic vampire, an uncontrollable Viking werewolf and the most experienced woman in Europe succeed in making a street-rat an empress, or will their new mission only bring even more death and destruction to the continent? 

Joe Abercrombie once again shows why he is one of the very best authors of dark fantasy fiction with his captivating and deeply impressive new novel.  The Devils was an ultra-entertaining read that perfectly introduced the author’s intriguing setting and populated it with highly amusing characters and dark deeds.  Exciting, clever and loaded with over-the-top humour, The Devils was an absolute joy to listen to, and I loved every second I spent with it.  One of the most addictive novels of 2025 so far, The Devils gets a very-well deserved five-star rating from me, and readers are guaranteed an extra fun time with this crazy novel.

I absolutely loved the cool and highly entertaining story that Abercrombie came up with for The Devils, which was essentially a fun dark fantasy iteration of The Dirty Dozen/Suicide Squad narrative with some amazing monsters.  Providing a quick introduction to the key characters, the reader soon becomes highly invested in the narrative, as the memorable and very amusing protagonists begin their trek to Troy.  What follows is a classic travelling adventure story with some dark and comedic twists, as the protagonists encounter all manner of foes on the way to their destination, which they are forced to dispatch with ruthless efficiency.  While parts of this story start to become a tad formulaic, especially as the protagonists are intercepted multiple times by one of Princess Alexia’s cousins, with each encounter resulting in a deadly battle for survival against different occult forces, you are generally so entertained by the compelling characters, interesting interactions, and over-the-top action sequences, you don’t even really mind.  Abercrombie works to break up these encounters with some fun side quests, as well as altering the circumstances by having the characters occasionally split up into unlikely pairings, exploring the fun alternate medieval Europe that works as such an effective setting for this book.  This allows for some interesting changes of pace in the main quest narrative, while also allowing for some outrageous character moments as the reader gets to know the protagonists a little better.

Everything nicely leads up to the last third of The Devil, which sees the protagonists arrive at their destination against the odds.  Without going into much detail, things naturally go to hell, and everybody is forced to fight for their lives.  This chaotic series of events isn’t unexpected, as the reader is waiting for the other shoe to drop the entire book, but the who and the how of it makes for great reading.  Some excellent twists come to life here, often revealed in a fun meta way, and, while you see a couple of them coming, the entire ball of surprises and reveals make for quite an exciting end sequence.  These twists are well backed up by some of the grittiest action sequences in the entire book, and you are constantly on your feet waiting to see what happens next.  The entire novel ends on a tragic, if thoughtful note, especially when you’re left to consider who the true monsters of the story are.  An overall impressive narrative, that blends alternate history and classic adventure narrative threads with Abercrombie’s wild imagination to create something exceedingly entertaining and addictive.

The Devils was a very fun and well-written story as Abercrombie provides a very intense and hard-hitting tale, bound together by dark humour, over-the-top sequences, and complex characters.  Abercrombie once again showcases his skill at balancing multiple distinctive perspectives to tell an integrated and ongoing narrative, with the story cleverly bouncing between the viewpoint of several impressive protagonists.  The continued switches between the characters allows for a very elaborate narrative, and the reader is drawn into both the overarching plot and the more personal battles of the protagonists.  I liked how Abercrombie was able to tailor the descriptive narration of each of the perspective chapters to suit the character it was following, and each chapter has a slightly different tone as a result.  However, this is a very dark overall story, as the characters encounter outrageous scenarios of death and destruction, and the resulting carnage allows for some intense moments.  I will say that The Devils did feel a little sillier than some of Abercrombie’s previous novels, although the author uses this extra layer of ridiculous energy to full effect to tell an extremely addictive story.

As you would expect from Abercrombie, the intense action sequences are a highlight of The Devils, with the many brutal sequences coming to life thanks to the author’s great descriptive style.  There was a certain casualness to some of the fights, especially those featuring the plot’s more dangerous killers, and which was enhanced by the clever overall narration of the writing.  I loved how Abercrombie set out all his scenes, with a lot of subtle humour revolving around cynical description of events, especially as the author provides some ironic results and meta commentary.  This more subtle writing of events is counterbalanced by the over-the-top humour of the dialogue, especially when it comes to certain characters.  A lot of the dialogue gets downright filthy at times, with some very adult discussions coming out in outrageous fashion.  While this excessive crass language had the potential to distract from the story, I think that Abercrombie got the right balance, with the ridiculously rude dialogue fitting in well amongst the crazy events of the plot.  While the combination of ugly events, adult humour and cooky carnage isn’t going to be everyone, I think most fantasy fans are going to have a ton of fun with it, especially as it plays into Abercrombie’s grimdark style.  Throw in a clever alternative medieval Europe as the elaborate setting which will delight history buffs with the intricate differences, and The Devils was a very impressive read that perfectly plays the author’s strengths and talent for entertaining and dark fantasy fiction.

Fans of Abercrombie will know that the author specialises at making damaged and captivating characters to set his narratives around, and The Devils is no exception to this.  The author introduces an amazing cast of complex and memorable characters in The Devils, and I love the very impressive storylines that emerge around them.  This includes six separate perspective protagonists, two major supporting characters, and an array of interesting figures throughout Europe who play various roles in the outcome of the plot.  Abercrombie does an excellent job of introducing and utilising this complex cast, with all the major characters getting their chance to shine in some impressive ways.  While some of the characters in The Devils didn’t quite have the complexity of the protagonists from the First Law books, Abercrombie instead amps up the entertainment aspect of these figures, introducing several particularly hilarious, ridiculous and highly relatable monsters, each of whom added a great deal to the overall reading experience.

The first two characters I want to talk about are major perspective protagonists, Brother Diaz and the newly discovered princess, Alex.  Despite neither being members of the titular devils, both have major roles in this book and are shaped by their experiences with the monstrous pawns of the church.  Brother Diaz, a simple monk who is brought in to guide the devils, is initially shown to be a hapless and terrified figure, clearly out of his depth when it comes to the dangerous mission he has been entrusted with.  Abercrombie has a lot of fun showcasing him as a useless social climber at the start of the novel, and he initially has more of a comedic role in the plot.  However, as the story progresses, Diaz starts to gain a little confidence as he continues to survive, and you soon see flashes of the man he could be.  Despite falling to temptation (repeatedly), Diaz ends up being quite a stalwart figure in the book, and I loved some of the scenes where he got to show off his intelligence (including one particularly entertaining legal battle).  The way in which Abercrombie subtly added more and more depth to Diaz’s personality as the story continued was very impressive, and his growth as a character was a highlight of the book.  The author also ensured that Diaz was one of the more relatable characters in The Devils, especially as he continuously makes mistakes, finds himself shaken by his fears and failings, yet continues to try to do the right thing.

Much like Diaz, the other non-devil perspective protagonist, Alex, is also shown to be an imperfect figure who finds themselves thrust into events outside of their control.  Initially shown as a simple thief, Alex, or Princess Alexia Pyrogennetos, is ill prepared for the events before her, and is forced to rise to the occasion when she is declared long-lost royalty.  Mostly shown as the book’s damsel in distress, Alex is generally scared and lacking confidence, especially as she knows she is not the princess everyone wants her to be.  Like Diaz, Abercrombie writes Alex slowly rising to the occasion throughout course of The Devils’ plot, as she learns to fight back and become a leader.  I really liked following Alex’s journey in The Devils, and while the journey to the character finding her self-confidence is a long and bloody affair featuring some good twists, it ended up being a powerful part of the book’s overarching narrative.

Outside of Alex and Diaz, a lot of time is also spent following the other perspective members of The Devils, including Balthazar, Sunny and Vigga, who are a necromancer, an elf and a werewolf respectively.  These three characters are amazing, and I liked how well they played off each other and the rest of the cast with a great mixture of serious and more comedic elements.  For example, Balthazar (or to introduce him properly, Balthazar Sham Ivan Draxi), is a highly arrogant figure who chafes at being captured and controlled by the church.  Much of his story focuses on his many attempts to break the Papal binding compelling him to help Alex, while also dealing with the realisation that he is helpless against those he considers his lesser.  Much of the entertainment around Balthazar is his complete lack of self-awareness or humility, especially within his own mind, and while there are times when it appears that he is going to become a better person, he usually returns to his old personality when he hits a wall.  Sunny the elf, on the other hand, is a far more sensible character, who serves as the team’s shadow thanks to her ability to become invisible.  Despite her nice and helpful personality, Sunny is shown as an alien creature, incapable of understanding the humans who generally hate and fear her.  Imbued with a more subtle humour than her fellow devils, Sunny proves to be quite an interesting figure, especially when you examine her past and her dark experiences with humans.  Probably one of the more likeable and selfless figures in the book, Sunny’s arc adds a lot to the overall story, especially through her unlikely romance angle, and Abercrombie clearly had fun writing the various scenes where she traipses around invisible.

One of the more memorable cast members of The Devils is Vigga, a former Viking raider who was cursed as a werewolf and then captured by the church.  Crass, constantly controlled by her urges, incapable of self-restraint and particularly deadly, even when not a massive wolf, Vigga powers through the entirety of The Devils’ narrative, leaving a major impression whenever she appears.  Featuring some of the more visceral and entertaining perspectives of the book, which includes a combination of hungry sequences from her wolf mind and her more entertaining insights as a human with no impulse control and an inability to focus on anything, Vigga is responsible for a large part of The Devils’ chaotic and outrageous tone, and the book would not be anywhere near as fun without her.  However, as this is Abercrombie, there are quite a few darker moments in Vigga’s story, and you soon become absorbed with her attempts to pull together her fractured mind and control the monster within, especially when she gets close to her travelling companions.  The dark depression that occasionally befalls her because of her uncontrolled actions adds some major drama to certain tragic parts of The Devils’ plot, and Vigga comes away as one of the more sympathetic, if scary, characters in the book.

While the above perspective characters are all particularly impressive, my favourite was the team’s resident knight, Jakob of Thorn.  An old soldier cursed with immortality who has been fighting battles on behalf of the church and God for hundreds of years, Jakob is a tired and haggard figure bound by his many vows.  Suffering from the degradation of his body due to age and the many injuries inflicted on him, Jakob is weariness personified as he attempts to deal with his pain, and the guilt from his long history of death and service to the church.  Readers familiar with the author will know that Abercrombie specialises at writing tired old warriors who are sick of the death and destruction they cause, and Jakob of Thorn is one of his better ones (which is saying a lot).  I loved all of Jakob’s scenes, especially as he doggedly continues to fight despite his pain, often providing some of the book’s best quotes and insights.  Unsurprisingly, Abercrombie makes Jakob suffer a lot in this novel (what else would this sadistic author do with an immortal character?), and you learn a lot about his resolve and psyche as a result, especially as he knows he is the biggest monster of them all.  I really think that Jakob’s grittier and more self-aware perspective chapters helped to balance out the more outrageous character arcs in The Devils, and he was a perfect addition to this outstanding narrative.

The final two major characters I want to highlight are Baron Rikard, an ancient vampire, and Baptiste, a rogue hired to keep the devils in check, who seems to have experience with every profession possible in Europe.  Both these characters are excellent additions to the plot and manage to shine through, despite not being perspective characters.  Indeed, I felt that their role in the book was enhanced by the readers not having direct insights about their motivations or actions, and instead you get to enjoy the mystery surrounding them as you see them through the eyes of the other characters.  Baron Rikard, who serves as a fun, sarcastic figure who only helps when it suits him, proves to be a great inclusion in the plot, especially as his gentlemanly manners and demeaner makes him stand out amongst the other characters.  While a ridiculously charming figure (especially when he starts talking about dumplings), you are initially given the impression that Rikard is another trapped monster keen to escape his binding.  However, Abercrombie nicely turns this assumption on its head as the story continues, and I really enjoyed the character’s revealed motivation, especially as it shades all the character’s actions in a new light.

Baptiste, on the other hand, is a suave and entertaining figure whose impact on the book would be diminished if you got a deeper look at her thoughts, motivations or true history.  I particularly enjoyed how well Baptiste served as a foil to Balthazar, and they had a great back and forth that helped to define them both.  Throw in a range of other impressive supporting characters, including a barrage of outrageous or diabolical antagonists, and the cast of The Devils was something very special.  I cannot emphasise enough just how much fun all these characters were, and their moving and complex arcs and interactions really helped to give some powerful meat to The Devils’ entertaining narrative.  You really come away with some conflicted feelings for many of the protagonists, especially as none of your favourites have a truly happy ending, and it will be interesting to see what happens to the survivors in the future entries of the series.  A special shoutout as well to the fun artwork depicting several of these characters in The Devils paperback, especially as the artist really captures how the author wrote these colourful protagonists.

While I did receive a physical copy of The Devils, I ended up listening to this novel on audiobook, which was a fantastic choice.  Not only did the audiobook version allow for a fuller immersion in Abercrombie’s new fantasy universe and his crazy action sequences, but it also featured the superb voice of actor Steven Pacey.  Pacey, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, previously lent his voice to the audiobook versions of Abercrombie First Law novels, and he frankly does a perfect job of capturing the author’s unique tone and style.  Abercrombie’s complex writing, witty dialogue and excessive humour really come to the fore when read out by Pacey, and the narrator’s tone and cadence in The Devils always perfectly matched the intended mood of the scenes, no matter how dark or over-the-top they became.  Pacey also does some very entertaining and highly fitting voices for the key characters of The Devils, and it is amazing how well he captures all these outrageous figures.  All the defining character details, including the timid nature of Brother Diaz, the arrogance of Balthazar, the pain and weariness of Jakob, the wry amusement of Baron Rikard, the unearthly nature of Sunny and the sheer wildness of Vigga are all amazingly highlighted by Pacey’s various voices, and really come to love the characters the way that Pacey reads them out.  Thanks to Pacey’s brilliant acting and evident love for the content, this was an incredible listen, and I really cannot emphasise enough just how effectively he narrated this crazy story.  I flew through the books lengthy, 25-hour runtime due to this brilliant narration and epic narrative, and I honestly don’t believe that anyone but Steven Pacey could make Abercrombie’s amazing novels come to life in the same way.  An exceptional audiobook and one of the best things I have so far listened to in 2025.

With his trademark blend of chaos, fantastic humour and complex characters, Joe Abercrombie presents one of the very best books and audiobooks of 2025 with The Devils.  A unique and very entertaining fantasy adventure novel, The Devils pushed everything to 11 and beyond, ensuring that you couldn’t turn away.  An exceptional read from start to finish, I had so much fun with The Devils and I cannot wait to see how Abercrombie will continue this series in the future.

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Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday3 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Random (Audiobook – 1993)

Series: Discworld – Book 15/City Watch – Book Two

Length: 12 hours and 58 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After yet another re-read, the classic fantasy satire novel, Men at Arms remains as one of my favourite Discworld novels by the late, great Terry Pratchett, especially as its new audiobook version breaths fresh life into the always impressive novel.

Readers of this blog will have noticed that I have been on a real Discworld rampage lately, having re-read several books from my absolute favourite fantasy series.  Much of this is due to the recent release of a cool new audiobook version of all the Discworld books, featuring an awesome array of new narrators and vocal talents.  This new format has proven particularly awesome for books like Pyramids, Moving Pictures and Small Gods, and I have been eager to see how some of the books in my favourite Discworld sub-series, the City Watch books, come across with the new narrators.

While I have a lot of love for all the books in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, my absolute favourites come from the City Watch sub-series.  Following the unlikely members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, a rag-tag team of guards generally looked down upon by the entire city, the City Watch books features an exceptional combination of fantasy and crime fiction elements, wrapped up in Pratchett’s usual satirical humour, as the protagonists investigate a series of dastardly crimes in the supernatural Discworld.  The series started perfectly with the awesome novel Guards! Guards!, which I reviewed last year, and Pratchett did an outstanding job following this up with the brilliant sequel, Men at Arms.

After saving the sprawling and eternally crime-ridden city of Ankh-Morpork from a fire-breathing dragon, the men of the Night Watch are still at work protecting the city, even though most of the city wishes they didn’t exist.  Despite their previous escapades, it’s a bad time to be a copper in Ankh-Morpork, with species tension between the dwarfs and the trolls at boiling point, while the powerful guilds disregard the Watch’s non-existent authority.  Worse, the Night Watch has been forced to accept three diversity hires, and must now contend with a mad dwarf, a thick troll and a woman (gasp) amongst their ranks.

Despite this, when an explosion at the Assassin’s Guild literally rocks the city, it falls to Captain Samuel Vimes and his small squad to investigate the heist hidden by the blast, despite the deliberate orders of the city’s tyrannical ruler to stop.  Determined to wrap up the case before his impending marriage and retirement, Vimes is soon forced to contend with a series of unusual, but seemingly linked murders, many of which have been caused by a lethal weapon never seen on the Disc.

With riots on the streets, and assassins and fools dodging their questions, all the members of the watch, including their contentious recruits, will need to work together to solve the murders before the city descends into chaos.  But how will they fare when going up against the most dangerous criminal mind the city has ever seen, one determined to bring back the Ankh-Morpork’s ancient kings, while wielding a dangerous new weapon that could change the entire Disc forever?

Even after many, many re-reads, Men at Arms continues to shine as one of Pratchett’s better books.  Featuring an epic crime fiction narrative, loaded with impressive characters, fantastic humour and great use of Pratchett’s iconic Discworld setting, Men at Arms is a complex, emotionally charged and deeply moving read that I could honestly read 100 times and still not get bored with.  A brilliant novel that unsurprisingly gets an instant five-star rating from me.

Pratchett wrote some exceptional narratives throughout his career, but few stand up to Men at Arms in terms of complexity, cleverness and emotional impact.  Expertly reintroducing the cast of Guards! Guards!, while also bringing in some impressive new support characters, Men at Arms starts off an excellent pace, as Pratchett cleverly examines the changes to the characters, sets up the new case, while also showcasing the motivations of the apparent main antagonist.  From there, it doesn’t take long for a dark series of crimes to take place, with Vimes and his squad investigating despite the apathy of the rest of the city.  Pratchett does a lot of excellent set up in the early part of the book, and the reader soon becomes invested in the investigation, especially as the book begins to follow a series of deaths, some of which were caused by a particularly deadly weapon that modern readers will be all-too familiar with.  Some great character arcs are also introduced here, as the extended cast all hit their own various problems they are forced to overcome, with Vimes dreading his eventual retirement, Carrot feeling the added responsibility, the fun buddy-cop arc between Detritus and Cuddy, and Angua dealing with her own problems.  The author sets up and expands on these arcs throughout the book perfectly, providing additional emotional impact, as well as some interesting side angles on the main storyline.

While the first half of the novel sets everything up perfectly, it is in its second half where Men at Arms truly shines.  Pratchett keeps raising the stakes of the story, with more victims, run-ins with the shadowy antagonist, and the Watch characters attempting to understand the nature of the weapon that has been turned against the city.  The author throws in some interesting wrinkles to the case, which shadow who the true villain is, while other events throw emotional shade across several of the characters.  The various connected character arcs start to come together perfectly as the book continues, and you go into the final stretch with a range of emotions around you.  While ostensibly a comedy, Pratchett chooses to hit the tragedy element of the plot really hard in the lead up to the finale, with some big moments that will leave you speechless.  The big end reveal and confrontation is exceptional, and I loved how well all the storylines and cleverly setup plot points came together.  Everything leads up to a very desperate struggle that helps to define some of the main characters in some very powerful ways.  Pratchett chooses to leave the book on a hopeful note that sets the expanded course for the future City Watch books, while also providing some interesting insights into one of the main characters and his role in the city.  An overall epic narrative that twists, turns and keeps you guessing, while constantly entertaining and emotionally charged.

As with his other books, Pratchett perfectly sets out Men at Arms with impeccable writing, and I loved how this complex novel came about.  Featuring his usual impressive blend of fantasy and humour elements at its base, Men at Arms is both intriguing and quite funny in equal measures, and I love the subtle comedy that runs through it.  Many of these scenarios involve classic fantasy scenarios being seen through the eyes of self-aware characters, allowing the situation to be taken up to an 11, with sarcastic commentary from the witnesses.  This humour is well enhanced by several of its best characters, including a fantastic new buddy cop routine, with members of two separate and historically antagonistic species forced to work together and eventually becoming friends.  Some of the other hilarious moments in the book include unlikely members of the city’s population being conscripted into the Watch, unfunny clowns, unconventional investigation methods, and other subtle humour.  You also have to love the brilliant footnotes that seek to enhance the story and showcase just how ridiculous the Discworld is by providing additional details about the universe and the people within it.  All this results in a brilliant and highly entertaining fantasy read, and that’s before you even get to the great crime fiction elements of the story.

As with Guards! Guards!, Men at Arms stands out from the rest of the Discworld series due to the way that Pratchett provides a complex and compelling crime fiction narrative.  Focused on an explosive heist that eventually results in a series of brutal murders, Men at Arms tries to envision how firearms would disrupt the Discworld.  This allows for quite a captivating crime fiction narrative, which I feel was a much better mystery than Guards! Guards!.  Advancing more into police procedural territory than its predecessor, the mystery of Men at Arms proves to be top rate, with the protagonists going after an already known villain for much of the book.  Much of the early story involves the protagonists trying to unfurl the antagonist’s plan and discover how he committed the crime, which allows for some great scenes as the Watch inexpertly investigate.  Pratchett cleverly twists the fact that think you know who the antagonist is towards the end of the book, and I love how well he switched this key story element, especially as the implied true villain of the story is far more sinister than just evil humans.  I really enjoyed how well Pratchett sets up this mystery in Men at Arms, and even after so many re-reads there are still additional subtle clues and foreshadowing that I’m only just picking up on.  The police procedural elements of the story are also extremely well handled, with a lot of humour focused around three very unlikely recruits joining the already scruffy outsiders who make up the Watch.  All these elements come together extremely perfectly and allow for readers of various genres to come into Men at Arms and have an incredible time.

Due to Pratchett’s excellent writing style, Men at Arms does work quite well as a standalone novel, and new readers can generally enjoy this book without any prior knowledge of the Discworld series, especially once they get caught up in the cool story and amazing humour.  However, I do feel that to get the best experience with Men at Arms, readers really do need to have checked out Guards! Guards! first.  The continuing storylines, history of the city and character arcs all come into play extremely well in Men at Arms, and you get a much more complete experience viewing all City Watch novels in order.  There is also a continuation of some character arcs from the standalone novel, Moving Pictures, especially as a few major characters from there get a recurring role in this new sub-series.  As such, I would say that Men at Arms is a novel more aimed towards Pratchett’s established fans, with those who loved Guards! Guards! guaranteed to enjoy its impressive sequel and the compelling direction Pratchett starts to take the City Watch books in.  It helps that the author continued to explore the crumbling and crime-ridden city that is Ankh-Morpork in this Men at Arms, providing even more details about its governance, mindset and people.  This includes really expanding on the species tension between the dwarfs and trolls and showcasing it as a major plot point while also paralleling real-life racial tensions.  This focus on dwarf and troll conflict becomes a major plot point of the Discworld going forward (especially in the later City Watch books), and its setup here was spectacular.  Combine that with the changes that happen to the Watch at the end of the book, and Men at Arms is an important entry in the wider Discworld context, especially as so many key City Watch storylines start here.

While there are so many amazing writing elements to Men at Arms, few things top the exceptional character work that ensured that this novel was far more than just a funny fantasy novel with crime fiction elements.  Instead, the complex and heartfelt dives into its extensive main cast ensured that Men at Arms was one of the more powerful and emotionally charged entries in the Discworld (a very impressive feat).  The combination of returning protagonists from previous books, as well as a few outstanding new characters, allows for a range of different plot perspectives and personal storylines, and Pratchett effortlessly works to make you invested in all these character arcs before hitting you with intense tragedy and powerful moments.

At the centre of the plot lies main character Captain Samuel Vimes, the cynical veteran leader of the Night Watch, who has finally found happiness and romance in his life.  Now on course to retire and become a man of leisure, Vimes must deal with the horror of becoming the thing he hates most: a rich civilian.  Dealing with it by diving into one last investigation, Vimes finds himself facing everything he hates about his job, including bureaucracy and the whims of powerful people, resulting in some brilliantly chaotic scenes.  While it does seem that Vimes’s role in this story is slightly diminished compared to in other City Watch books, especially in the centre, he is still a major part of the book, and Pratchett writes some excellent storylines around him being the dogged and worn-down investigator pushing against authority and trying to solve one more crime.  The focus on his identity as a copper, the sacrifices he makes for his fellow officers, as well as the horror at having to give up the job are major parts of his character arc, and there are some truly heartbreaking moments when he realises he must give it all up.  This is well balanced with his heartwarming romance with his unlikely partner, Lady Sybil Ramkin, whose well-meaning support and determination help to make Vimes a better person.  However, it is the major sequence when Vimes finally encounters the antagonist which really provides the best look at the character.  Forced to decide between being a good cop or a figure of vengeance (a battle that rears its ugly head for Vimes many times during the series), Vimes truly hits his mental and moral limit as he faces down his adversary, and it is one of the most powerful scenes in the entire Discworld series.

While Vimes is the main character of the City Watch series, the focus of Men at Arms is a little more skewed more towards Corporal Carrot Ironfoundersson, as Pratchett expands on his excellent introduction in Guards! Guards!.  Now firmly a part of Ankh-Morpork society, Carrot has evolved from naïve newcomer to a seasoned police officer who knows literally everyone in the city.  Fully utilising his natural charisma, Carrot proves to be a major force for law and order in the city.  I loved how much Pratchett enhanced Carrot in this sequel, as his personality evolves due to his role and responsibility, and despite still appearing quite naïve and obedient, Carrot showcases some impressive intelligence driving much of the investigation.  I especially appreciated the various scenes where Carrot managed to outfox many of the city’s more dangerous figures who fall for the dumb copper routine.  Despite his new confidence and ability to bring out loyalty in others, Pratchett makes sure to show that Carrot isn’t infallible, and you see some vulnerability at times. Carrot also serves as the moral centre of the book, bringing out the best in the other members of the Watch.  His interactions with Vimes in the final confrontation were very heartfelt, especially as he keeps the man he admires most from doing the wrong thing, while the way he handles the antagonists goes to show that he is truly a good man, who you better pray you never face.  I also think that his talk with Vetinari at the end of the book was one of the best scenes in Men at Arms, especially as he truly surprises the Patrician, while also dancing around the tricky subject of Carrot’s potential position as heir to the throne.  His decision to refuse power and ensure that Vimes will be there instead really helps you keep faith in the good of people, and this was frankly Carrot’s best book.

I also have to highlight the fantastic and fun duo that was the newly instated watchmen, Cuddy and Detritus, the later of whom previously appeared in Moving Pictures.  An unusual dwarf and the thickest of trolls, the two make for a particularly unlikely and chaotic duo, which Pratchett uses to full effect as the book continues.  Thanks to the enmity that exists between their respective species, Cuddy and Detritus spend much of the early part of Men at Arms bickering with each other, including in one scene in the middle of a riot.  However, after being forced to work together, the two form a grudging bond, especially when Cuddy stops seeing Detritus as a dumb troll.  I loved how well Pratchett took the classic odd-couple police partner trope and twisted it around the compelling species-rivalry theme of the book, and the fun dynamic that forms between the new friends is a major highlight of the book.  The various sequences that follow the big scene that defines these two partners are some of the most powerful in the entire Discworld.

Following on the heels of Cuddy and Detritus is Angua, the other new recruit to the Night Watch.  Angua is an interesting figure in the story, mainly because she’s one of the few people able to see how ridiculous the entire Night Watch is.  The subsequent storylines surrounding her potentially doomed romance with Carrot and her desire to keep her status as a werewolf secret from everyone, add some excellent alternate perspectives to the plot, and Pratchett did an outstanding job setting her up as a compelling figure for the rest of the series.  It helped that for this first book she worked as a bit of a double act with the small talking street dog, Gaspode, who also previously appeared in Moving Pictures.  Gaspode proves to be a fantastic wise-cracking counterpoint to Angua, and it was hilarious to watch him mess with the various human characters who refuse to believe he can talk.  Their resulting storylines about investigating the crime as canines, as well as the unlikely dog rebellion brewing within the city, works well with the other character focused arcs, and it was fun to get a little more closure on Gaspode’s story after his previous appearance.

Other great supporting characters in Men at Arms includes the returning members of the City Watch, Sergeant Colon and Corporal Nobbs.  While not as well utilised in this book as the rest of the City Watch series, they still prove to be a fantastic addition to the supporting cast.  Entertaining backers to the various other character-driven storylines, both show interesting depths in this book, whether it’s Colon acting as a put-upon drill sergeant, or Nobby’s use of his quartermaster past to obtain a collection of weapons.  Other members of the city also prove to extremely entertaining, with the tyrannical Lord Vetinari being the highlight.  The way in which Vetinari manipulates Vimes throughout the entire novel, while also understanding the true nature of most of the city’s residents is highly impressive, and I love that he stayed on as a major character after Guards! Guards!.  Throw in a complex arrangement of well-hidden antagonists, including an idea of violence that takes on a familiar form, and the cast of Men at Arms proves quite exceptional.  I really cannot emphasise just how much these carefully written character arcs and complex personal storylines increased the impact and emotional power of this novel, and you will come away loving everything about them.

I doubt anyone will be too surprised that I am about to write several paragraphs about Men at Arms’s epic audiobook formats, which I have long described as the very best way to enjoy Pratchett’s stories.  I honestly love all the Discworld audiobooks and luckily for connoisseurs, there are two outstanding versions of the Men at Arms audiobook that you can check out.

The first of these is the classic edition that was released back in 1996 and which is read by Nigel Planer.  Planer, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, lent his voice to most of the early Discworld novels, and is a key reason why I love Discworld books in this audio format.  Planer unsurprisingly does an amazing job with Men at Arms, especially as he perfectly captures Pratchett’s complex humour and intense story arcs with his brilliant narration, with every element of the book coming across in an exceptional and addictive manner.  This includes the brilliant characters, many of whom Planer previously voiced in other Discworld books.  Planner does an amazing job once again diving into these unique characters throughout Men at Arms, and the way he effortlessly portrays each character and shows their full personality and emotional range is just amazing.  He frankly provides the definitive portrayal for all the City Watch characters, and I honestly love the passion he brings to the Men at Arms audiobook. 

While the Nigel Planer audiobook version is always going to be a favourite of mine, I also have come to deeply appreciate the latest Men at Arms audiobook.  Part of a newly released collection of Disworld audiobooks that feature an interesting array of British talents bringing their vocal skills to Pratchett’s classic tales, this new Men at Arms audiobook is very impressive and is just as easy to get lost in at the classic Planer version.  Featuring the amazing cast of Jon Culshaw, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy, this Men at Arms audiobooks has a runtime just short of 13 hours, which is a few hours longer than Planer version.  However, the excellent array of narrators really makes it worth a listen.

The heart of this new Men at Arms’ audiobook is British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw, who dove into this role in a very impressive manner.  Culshaw really makes the story his own with his take on the novel and the characters, resulting in a very different feel that fans of the original Planer version will really appreciate.  Part of the reason why it was so good was that Culshaw brought back the excellent character voices and tones he previously used in Guards! Guards!, many of which provide great and often gritty new takes on some classic characters.  This includes a much rougher and despair filled Vimes, which fits the darker places Pratchett took the character in Men at Arms, especially when he goes up against the system.  His voice for Carrot captures the same keenness and naiveté that we saw in the previous book, however Culshaw’s vocal work also backed up Carrot’s excellent character development as the protagonist came into his own.  His voices for Lord Vetinari and Nobby Nobbs were also a ton of fun, with the dark and insister tones of Vetinari stealing every scene he is in, while Culshaw’s Nobby voices sounded appropriately similar to David Bradley or Jon Pertwee, which is just hilarious.  Culshaw also did an excellent job with several newly introduced City Watch characters, and I felt he got ever new additional cast members’ voice down perfectly.  My favourite was probably the troll Detritus, as Culshaw worked hard to showcase his massive and rocky troll nature, as well as his serious and slow personality.  This excellent vocal work from Culshaw ensured that the core of this Men at Arms audiobook was extremely impressive, and I really could listen to Culshaw’s take on these epic characters all day long.

As with all books in this new collection of Discworld audiobook’s, Culshaw’s main narration was perfectly backed up by recuring voices of Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz. Both play key parts in this audiobook, with Nighy providing the narration for the footnotes, while Serafinowicz was the voice of Death whenever he appeared. These performances were once again perfect, and I especially loved Nighy’s excellent work with the vital, comedic footnotes.  Nighy really enhances the impact and value of these footnotes with his calm and impressive voices, and I especially loved his take on some of the more entertaining footnotes, including one where he partially sings a bad folk song.  Serafinowicz’s role in Men at Arms is also very fun, as he brings the fan-favourite character of Death to life.  Death has several great appearances in Men at Arms, and hearing Serafinowicz’s excellent voice suddenly appear amongst the general narration really increases the impact of the character.  Both Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz’s inclusions were extremely fun, and I felt that they were combined with Culshaw’s main narration in a very impressive way.  These three brilliant British talents ensured that the new version of Men at Arms was particularly impressive, and while the original audiobook will always remain one of my favourite ways to enjoy Men at Arms, this new version is very much worth a listen and will likely inspire a new generation of Discworld fans.

Well, I think that my above excessive ramblings have probably made the point by now that I deeply enjoyed Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett.  One of the best Discworld and City Watch novels, Men at Arms was a glorious, captivating and moving read that perfectly blended crime fiction, fantasy and satire into one truly addictive and impactful book.  Clever, sharp and loaded with truly exceptional characters, Men at Arms was Pratchett at his very best, and I cannot recommend this book enough, especially on audiobook.  I can think of no higher praise for Men at Arms than to once again state that I will never get bored with this exceptional book, and it inspired me to continue the series and re-listen the next City Watch book, Feet of Clay.

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Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1989)

Series: Discworld – Book Seven

Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes (Planer version)/9 hours and 53 minutes (Enoch version)

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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After having an amazing time checking out the new audiobook versions of Guards! Guards!, Small Gods and Moving Pictures, I continue my latest revisit to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.  This time, I examine another one of my favourites with the deeply entertaining seventh novel in the overall series, Pyramids.  An outstanding standalone Discworld novel, Pyramids is a brilliant read that sees a young king go forth and then return to the insanity of his kingdom in a fun satire of ancient Egypt and its perception in Western media.

There are many mysterious realms on the magical Discworld, which travels on the back of four giant elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle.  However, few are more ancient than the tiny river kingdom of Djelibeybi.  Formerly a great empire that ruled over an entire continent, Djelibeybi is a mere shadow of its former self, its wealth drained away by the pyramids constructed to house its dead kings.  Nothing ever changes in Djelibeybi, that is until its young prince decides to get an education.

Prince Pteppicymon (Teppic), future ruler of the kingdom, has been sent away to the Assassins Guild of Ankh-Morpork, both to get the finest education on the Disc, and to learn a way to finally make his kingdom some money.  However, upon graduating, Teppic is forced to return to home when his father suddenly dies in embarrassing circumstances.

Now the god king of Djelibeybi, Teppic hopes to modernise his kingdom and introduce the comforts of the outside world.  However, Teppic has returned to a strange land he no longer understands and finds his desire for modernisation stymied by the controlling high priest Dios, whose intense love of tradition has long restricted Djelibeybi.  However, despite the best attempts of Dios, change is coming to the old kingdom, as a dark figure in the finest black stalks the city, while a massive new pyramid begins to mess with reality.  When disaster strikes, the people of Djelibeybi find themselves beset by both their gods and their dead, and only their king can save them.  But first, Teppic will need to work out how to find his kingdom again.

Pyramids continues to stand the test of time as one of my favourite Terry Pratchett books, as this compelling and wildly entertaining Discworld novel takes you on a wild ride through ancient kingdoms and eternal tradition, and every dangerous thing that comes with them.  An outstanding addition to the series that keeps you laughing the entire way through, Pyramids was peak Pratchett and gets another easy five-star rating from me.

I love the outstanding narrative that Pratchett came up with for Pyramids, which tells a fun adventure tale in an entertaining ancient Egypt facsimile.  While the narrative structure of Pyramids is slightly more basic than some of Pratchett’s other books, I think it is still quite a compelling story that keeps the reader entertained from start to finish.  Broken into several sections, Pyramids starts with an excellent introduction that showcases Teppic attempting to take his final exam at the Assassin’s Guild.  This proves to be a great fun opener, and I loved how Pratchett interspersed the over-the-top test with multiple flashbacks that showcase both Teppic’s childhood in Djelibeybi and his early days at the guild.  This works to set up a lot of key early story elements, while also serving as a memorable start, as the cool scenes of assassin testing are some of my favourites in the entire book.  This first section of Pyramids ends with Teppic finding out his father has died through an unlikely divine messenger, and he returns to Djelibeybi to take the throne.

Pratchett follows up this impressive introduction with a good central part of the story as you return to Djelibeybi proper and Teppic learns the downside to being a king.  Pratchett really works to explore the downsides of the kingdom, as Teppic begins to realise he is just a puppet with the high priest Dios truly in control.  There are some hilarious moments here, especially when it comes to the ridiculous traditions and history of Djelibeybi, and Teppic works well as a great outsider character who finally sees how silly everything is, although he is still bullied into constructing the biggest pyramid ever.  Pratchett also takes the time to introduces a colourful array of supporting characters with some compelling story arcs, including two ambitious embalmers, a disfunction family of pyramid builders, and the handmaiden Ptraci, who Teppic accidentally sentences to death.  His desire to save her leads to many of these issues coming to a head, with Teppic forced to flee from Dios, only to find himself trapped outside of the kingdom when the Great Pyramid goes off and splits Djelibeybi into its own reality.

This brings Pyramids into a compelling interim phase, as Teppic and Ptraci find sanctuary in Ephebe, while the trapped kingdom goes to madness, as all their many beliefs come to life, although not in the way they’d hoped.  I liked the fantastic contrast between the supernatural craziness going on in Djelibeybi and the more human-based chaos Teppic encounters in Ephebe as he tries to get answers out of the philosophers, before finally returning to the kingdom to save the day.  Eventually able to return thanks to a thirsty camel and an easily confused sphinx, Teppic works to destroy the Great Pyramid.  At the same time, several of the ongoing Djelibeybi storylines come together nicely, as the dead of the kingdom, including Teppic’s father, discover the truth about why they were mummified, and this leads to an outstanding and eventually explosive concluding sequence.  Pratchett wraps this up nicely with all the key characters getting the ending they deserve, and he leaves this story on yet another hopeful note that hints at an interesting future for the characters and the kingdom.

As with all the Discworld books, Pratchett does a wonderful job of telling a fun and compelling story in Pyramids that hooks you early with its fantastic elements, entertaining plot, complex satire, and great characters.  An interesting standalone entry in the Discworld series, Pyramids has a more straightforward story that is well split amongst an interesting cast of figures, each of whom find their role in the kingdom altered in some way, and I loved the chaotic plot that emerged.  Pratchett has a lot of fun exploring some great themes in Pyramids, including people attempting to break free of tradition (literally), and finding yourself.  The critique of unnecessary and restricting tradition works well as a central story element, and Pratchett leans into it heavily, showcasing how it can styme progress and lead to a slow death of a culture.  Thanks to that author’s great use of humour, you really begin to appreciate just how damaging or ridiculous some traditions can be, and I always get a chuckle at the hilarious sequences where Teppic’s over-long title is repeatedly read out again and again.

While there is some focus on death and assassination, for the most part Pyramids is a really light-hearted entry in the series, especially as Pratchett leans into the examination of ancient Egypt with its doppelganger in Djelibeybi and resulting satirisation of how ancient Egypt is portrayed in modern culture brings much of the book’s laughs.  Most of this becomes really apparent thanks to Teppic’s newly found modern sensibilities, but Pratchett also throws in some puns and lines that people with some knowledge of ancient Egypt will appreciate, and frankly I find a fun new joke every time I read this amazing book.  Many of Pratchett’s more modern takes on some of more well-known elements of Egyptian culture are very fun, with a lot of jokes about mummies, the economics of pyramid building, and what handmaidens do, proved to be really entertaining.

Much of the rest of the major jokes of Pyramids revolved around the varied reactions to the crazy events that seem to occur everywhere in the Discworld.  I personally laugh myself silly at the spontaneous football commentary that emerges when the various gods of Djelibeybi start to fight over the sun, and the resulting moments of theological debate end in a funny and snappy way.  The sequence with the Sphinx also makes for quite an entertaining inclusion, and Teppic’s assessment and rewriting of the classic riddle into a much more correct metaphor proves to be a lot of fun.  Finally, the opening assassin’s examination sequence is both tense and funny, and there is something about Pratchett imagining undergraduate assassins getting tested in a similar manner to student drivers that really shows off the inherent silliness of this series.  Throw in Pratchett’s usual array of clever puns, well-placed footnotes and witty dialogue, and Pyramids turns into a particularly funny read that still makes me laugh after all these years.

Out of all the amazing Discworld novels, Pyramids might be one of the best entries for a reader to start to explore this amazing series.  The very first standalone Discworld novel, Pyramids can be easily read without any knowledge of any of the previous books, and you really get a good sense of the larger setting and Pratchett’s ability to craft elaborate parodies of certain cultures or genres in a brilliant, self-contained manner.  While some of the elements of Pyramids are reutilised in some of the later books (the philosopher-filled city of Ephebe for one), for the most part none of the characters or storylines here are ever revisited, and you can really dive into Pyramids at any point of your Discworld reading experience.  The opening extended sequence set around Teppic’s exams and flashbacks does provide one of the best examinations of the Assassin’s Guild, a fun institution in the Discworld series, and it was really fun to see them in action here, even if the assassins do get slightly nerfed in some of the future books (especially the City Watch ones).  I do personally think that Pyramids was one of his true early classics, and this book lays at the start of a very big run of some of Pratchett’s best works, especially as he fully finalised his preferred style here.  As such, this is a great read for Discworld readers of all experiences, especially those looking to dip their toe into this amazing universe, and this is a very impressive example of Pratchett’s style and humour.

I do have to also provide a quick shoutout the fantastic array of characters featured within Pyramids, whose compelling storylines and well-thought-out story arcs really compliment the main narrative and help Pratchett explore his intricate central themes.  The main character, Teppic, serves as a great central figure for Pyramids, and his unlikely outsiders perspective allows for much of the plot change and chaotic moments.  Ptraci’s journey from passive handmaiden to unstoppable force of nature was very well handled, and I loved how Pratchett showcased just how much impact a suddenly confident woman can have on the world.  I also always find it quite hilarious that the previous king, Pteppicymon XXVII, only truly finds himself in death, and his later interactions with the embalmers Dil and Gurn lead to some truly heartwarming moments.  The Ptaclusp dynasty of pyramid builders added some fun family chaos to the mix, and their representation of the new generation taking over from the old was quite entertaining, even if the brothers (Ptaclusp IIa and Ptaclusp IIb) had differing views on what the future should be.  Teppic’s classmates from the Assassin’s Guild also added some excellent colour, especially the overconfident Chidder, although I felt that it was a shame that most of those great characters introduced in the opening part of the book where never utilised again.

Out of all the characters featured within the book, my favourite was probably Dios, who can probably be considered the antagonist of Pyramids.  The High Priest of Djelibeybi, Dios is the main administrator of the country, who strictly adheres to tradition and ritual and doesn’t allow Teppic to make any changes or independent decisions.  A strict and rigid person capable of bending anyone to his will, Dios is restricting tradition personified, and the lengths he goes to keep Djelibeybi the same is quite fascinating, while his struggles to keep Teppic in line lead to some amusing moments.  I honestly feel that Dios was one of Pratchett’s more compelling antagonists, as while he does some bad things he’s not actually a bad person; instead he’s someone stuck in the trap of always doing things a specific way and is incapable of thinking any other way.  You honestly feel a little sympathetic for him at times, especially when the full scope of his service is revealed, and while he continues to make the wrong decisions for the future of Djelibeybi, you can kind of understand why he is the way he is.  The final fate of Dios was really well written, if a little horrifying if you actually stop to think about it, although it fulfills his wish of everything staying the same.  A truly complex figure who plays off the rest of the outrageous and outgoing characters extremely well, Dios really tied this book together and I loved how well Pratchett featured him in Pyramids.

Unsurprisingly to anyone who has read my other rambling Discworld reviews, I have a lot to say about Pyramids on audiobook.  Audiobooks are my favourite way to enjoy any book, with the Discworld audiobooks being an exceptionally good example of how this format can make an already awesome novel even better.  Like the rest of the series, Pyramids has two really good unabridged audiobook versions, both of which come really recommended by me as brilliant ways to check out a classic book from Pratchett.

The first of these audiobook formats is the old-school version narrated by the legendary Nigel Planer.  I have mentioned Planer a few times over the years due to his exceptional work voicing over half the unabridged Discworld audiobooks and he remains one of my favourite audiobook narrators as a result.  His ability to come up with new character voices for every single audiobook was just incredible, and I love all his cool vocal choices, especially in Pyramids.  His take on the various characters was quite inspired, and you really get all the characters’ unique personalities, including Teppic’s modern spirit, Dios’s controlling reliance on tradition, the exasperation of the dead former king, and the overpowering personality of Ptraci.  Planer also perfectly showcases all the best jokes in Pyramids, including the fantastic over-the-top sequences where Dios repeats Teppic’s title, or the hilarious scene where the priest provides commentary for the divine fight for the sun.  I have so much love for all of Planer’s original Discworld work, and Pyramids is a particular favourite of mine as he takes that verbal gags that Pratchett sets up and makes them his own.

While the Planer version of Pyramids was the one that I grew up with, I have also had the pleasure of listening to the newer Pyramids audiobook that provides a fresh take on the story.  Part of the same Discworld audiobook series I have recently enjoyed for Guards! Guards!, Moving Pictures and Small Gods, this new version of Pyramids was also extremely good with some great voice work and a compelling pace.  Featuring a runtime just shy of 10 hours, this new audiobook is slightly longer than the Planer version and features the amazing voice work of Alfred Enoch, Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz, with Enoch acting as the main narrator.

Enoch, who is probably best known for his role in the Harry Potter films, did an outstanding job as the main narrator for Pyramids, and I really appreciate his take on the compelling story.  His more youthful voice gave this version of Pyramids some additional energy, and you really move through the main story extremely quickly as a result.  I also really enjoyed how some of the protagonists turned out in this version of Pyramids, and while Enoch lacks the full range of fun character voices that Planer had, he still provides some impressive and fitting tones that expertly captures the various characters.  I felt that his voice for Teppic was especially well done, with his hopeful personality really shining through, while his voice for Dios had the commanding and controlling edge that it needed.  I felt that Dios was probably Enoch’s best voice, especially when it comes to the repetitive gag of having to intone Teppic’s full title.  I also actually quite like the voice he used for Ptraci, which was markedly different to the voice that Planer utilised in his version.  Enoch’s Ptraci voice was a little more curious and confident at times, and I got a much different personality vibe in this version which was quite interesting.  Enoch also ensured that his version of Pyramids stood out by pronouncing some of the character names in a different manner to Planer, mainly because he kept the P silent when it appears at some of the names (for example, Ptraci becomes Traci).  While this was a noticeable difference from the Planer version, I really liked it, as it actually captured Pratchett’s intended pronunciation based on how P is used in ancient Egyptian.  This ended up being an exceptional performance from Enoch, and one that I had a lot of fun with.

On top of Enoch’s main narration, this version of Pyramids also featured the voices of Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz, who have the same roles in every audiobook of this new run.  Both play key parts in this audiobook, with Nighy voicing the various footnotes, while Serafinowicz was the voice of Death whenever he appeared.  Both provided an exceptional performance here, with Nighy in particular giving some excellent gravitas to the essential and humour-laden footnotes.  Serafinowicz’s role in Pyramids was a little more limited, mainly because Death only appeared a couple of scenes, but he really captured this awesome anthropomorphic personification perfectly when he did appear, providing a booming and impactful Death voice that was a lot of fun to hear.  Both Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz’s inclusions were worked into Enoch’s overarching narration extremely well, and I felt that the three complemented each other nicely throughout the audiobook.  This ended up being an overall impressive take on Pyramids, and the new narrators really knew what they were doing here.  As such, this version also comes recommended, and while the Nigel Planer version is still living in my head rent free, this new take on Pyramids was very fun and I enjoyed hearing some new voices take it on.

Overall, Pyramids proved to be quite an awesome book, and I really think it was one of Terry Pratchett’s better early Discworld novels.  Featuring an outstanding story with some fantastic humour, Pyramids is an absolute joy to read, and I loved seeing the author’s distinctive parody of ancient Egypt.  Clever and loaded with complex comedic gold, Pyramids still cracks me up every time I read it, and I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone interested in checking out the exceptional Discworld books, especially in either of its epic audiobook formats.

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Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett – Supplementary Audiobook Review

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Fantasy, Five-Star Books4 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1991)

Series: Discworld – Book 10

Length: 9 hours and 54 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Thanks to a recent road trip, I have once again reviewed the exceptional Terry Pratchett novel, Moving Pictures, which is one of my favourite books in late Pratchett’s exceptional Discworld series.  The 10th Discworld book, Moving Pictures was a Pratchett classic that provided a satirical look at the golden age of the film industry when it mysteriously emerges on the chaotic and magic-laden Discworld.

Plot Synopsis:

The alchemists of the Discworld have discovered the magic of the silver screen. But what is the dark secret of Holy Wood hill?

It’s up to Victor Tugelbend (”Can’t sing. Can’t dance. Can handle a sword a little”) and Theda Withel (”I come from a little town you’ve probably never heard of”) to find out…

MOVING PICTURES, THE TENTH DISCWORLD NOVEL IS A GLORIOUSLY FUNNY SAGA SET AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF A WORLD GONE MAD!

Now, I feel this is a good time to point out that I have already reviewed Moving Pictures on this blog a few years ago.  I provided a pretty detailed examination of Moving Pictures in the review HERE, and lauded it’s many good points, including its compelling plot, its fantastic comedic take on the golden age of film, as well as the impressive way that Pratchett introduced or expanded upon an array of key supporting Discworld characters, many of whom went on to have key roles in other novels in the series.  All these previous points still stand, and I still deeply enjoy Moving Pictures after this new re-read, indeed I picked up on another joke or two that I have missed in previous outings.  As such, I am not going to do a whole new review about this book here, although I do want to quickly spend some time talking the new audiobook version of Moving Pictures.

Fans of this blog will know that I am a massive audiobook lover, and I love checking out compelling series in this format.  The Discworld books are one of my favourite audiobook series, and there have been some awesome versions released over the years.  When I last reviewed Moving Pictures, I talked up the original audiobook narrated by Nigel Planer, who provided his voice to over half the Discworld audiobooks.  The Nigel Planer version of Moving Pictures is the one that I grew up with, and I deeply enjoyed his exceptional take on book, especially as he provided a huge array of incredible voices to the production.  In many ways the Planer version of Moving Pictures is still the best audiobook adaptation out there, but with the recent release of all the Discworld audiobooks with a fresh team of high-profile narrators, I thought I’d give the new version of Moving Pictures a try, especially when engaged on a road trip.

The new Moving Pictures audiobook is part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld novels, each of which features a famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production.  While these have been out for a little while, I have only listened to a couple, including Guards! Guards!, and I have so far been really impressed with how they have turned out.  This new recording of Moving Pictures was a fantastic addition to the series, and I really enjoyed the fresh take on the audiobook production.  Featuring a run time of just under 10 hours, which is slightly shorter than the Nigel Planer version, this proved to be an easy audiobook to power through in a couple of lengthy car-contained sessions.

This latest Moving Pictures audiobook production is primarily narrated by major British actor Jason Isaacs, who does an outstanding job bringing this audiobook to life.  Providing a compelling and different take on the basic narration and some of the characters, Isaacs breaths new life into the production, and I really enjoyed how he presented the book’s entertaining narrative.  Issacs’s basic voice works very well in conjunction with the other narrators working on this production, and I appreciated how smoothly and effectively he moved the plot along.  Isaacs also provides a range of excellent voices to the various characters featured within the audiobook, and I liked some of his interesting takes on Pratchett’s outrageous characters, especially as it casts them in a somewhat different light to how Planer featured them.

The main protagonist, Victor, got a pretty satisfying voice that captured both his intelligence and his role as the straight man of the story perfectly, and I felt that it was a very solid choice by Isaacs.  I also quite liked his takes on some of the more outrageous figures in the book, including the various wizards, who get fantastic crazy old men voices, Detritus the troll, whose voice has a layer of more complexity to it, and Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, who Isaacs gifts a great greasy film producer voice.  I personally thought that his voice for Gaspode the dog was one of his better choices, especially as he perfectly captured the talking dog’s sarcastic personality and occasionally self-pitying manner.  The corresponding voice of Laddie, a dog of normal intelligence, was fantastic in comparison, and it was one that Isaacs had fun matching the dog’s breading and intentions.  Many of the other voices were also extremely well done, and while I think that Planer might have had a better grasp on a few of the characters, such as Ginger, Isaacs proved to be quite exceptional in his own right and masterfully steered this new production along.

As with all the entries in this new run of Discworld audiobooks, Isaacs’s primary narration was backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles.  Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively limited role in Moving Pictures.  Serafinowicz has an awesome Death voice, and I loved when it appears throughout the audiobook as it blends with Issacs’ voices very well.  Nighy continues to voice all the footnotes in the book, which is a perfect role for Nighy, as his calm, consistent tones bring some fantastic class to the story and proves to be an excellent way to highlight Pratchett’s amusing and clever annotations.  While Nighy doesn’t have too much to do in Moving Pictures as there aren’t too many footnotes, some of his takes were pretty fun, especially when he had to translate an exaggerated troll song.  These three distinctive actors did a great job vibing together in this new Moving Pictures audiobook, and they brought some great life and a unique take on this classic Discworld book.

Overall, I felt that this new version of Moving Pictures was a very worthy adaptation, and the team of Jason Isaacs, Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy worked extremely well together.  While Nigel Planer’s original narration is always going to be the gold standard for me when it comes to Moving Pictures (both due to his talent and my own nostalgia), this new version was also extremely good, and will be a great way for a new generation of Discworld audiobook fans to experience this amazing entry.  As such, I would recommend this version to anyone interested in checking out Moving Pictures, and after the outstanding time I had last week, I can guarantee it is an excellent accompaniment for any descent length road trip you might need to take.

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Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Murder Mystery, Throwback Thursday14 Comments

Publisher: Gollancz/Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 1989)

Series: Discworld – Book 8 / City Watch – Book One

Length: 13 hours and 29 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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I recently revisited one of my favourite books in Terry Pratchett’s iconic Discworld series, Guards! Guards!, and I just had to review it to showcase how much fun this series can be.

I have never made any secret of the fact that I love all things Terry Pratchett as the Discworld books were one of the formative series of my youth.  A massively popular series set on a flat world carried through space on the back of a giant turtle and four elephants, the Discworld books present a range of unique fantasy adventures, backed with exceptional comedy and satire.  This series is so much fun, and I honestly love every single Discworld book, having read them all multiple times, usually while laughing myself silly.  Indeed, I am such a big fan of this series that I named my blog after a location in the universe.  Despite my overwhelming love for this series, I haven’t reviewed many Discworld books (the exception being Moving Pictures and The Last Continent).  That changes with my review of the outrageously funny Guards! Guards! which I recently enjoyed while on a road trip.

Guards! Guards! is a particularly entertaining addition to the Discworld series that I have a lot of love for.  Serving as the first book in the City Watch sub-series, Guards! Guards! sees Pratchett blend his typical fantasy and comedy elements with a complex murder mystery.  This book follows the ragtag city watch of this world’s main recurring city, Ankh-Morpork, as they try to solve a series of deaths caused by a monstrous murder weapon.  Due to its brilliant and hilarious story, as well as the fact that it perfectly sets up the rest of the awesome City Watch books, I generally consider Guards! Guards! to be one of my absolute favourite Discworld novels, and I have featured it in various Top Ten Tuesday lists over the years.

On the fantastical and impossible Discworld no place is more dangerous, corrupt or morally unhealthy as the legendary and stinking city of Ankh-Morpork.  The Disc’s largest city, Ankh-Morpork has many terrors haunting its urban depths, where life is cheap and death lurks around every corner.  However, not even the hardest criminals, deadliest wizards or most manipulative politicians are prepared for an ancient and malevolent creature that is about to be unleashed upon the city.

A shadowy secret brotherhood has engineered an elaborate plan to seize power in Ankh-Morpork through use of an unlikely weapon, a dragon.  Summoning a fully formed fire-breathing dragon to cause terror, the brotherhood hopes to use the resulting carnage to bring in their own puppet to control the city.  However, the dragon has its own ideas about what sort of terror it wants to bring down on humanity.

With the rest of the city powerless against the dragon, it falls to the ramshackle Ankh-Morpork Night Watch and its depressed captain, Sam Vimes, to try and stop it.  The only problem is the Watch are the biggest joke in the city, incapable of standing up to normal crime, never mind carnage caused by magical dragon.  But with an unnaturally keen new recruit guilting them into action, and a terrifying dragon fanatic with a crush on Vimes keeping them in line, the Watch is going to try and save the day, even if no-one wants them to.

Guards! Guards! still reigns supreme as one of my top Discworld novels from the always impressive Terry Pratchett.  Featuring a unique plot, loaded with an outstanding mix of mystery, humour and fun fantasy elements, Guards! Guards! brilliantly sets up one of Pratchett’s best sub-series while presenting its own epic and powerful story.  An exceptional read from start to finish, this book gets a very easy five-star rating from me, and I love it so damn much.

The plot of Guards! Guards! is so damn clever and is peak Pratchett in its inventiveness and impressive characters.  Presenting an entertaining and humourous noir murder investigation in a fantasy series, Guards! Guards! has a lot of moving parts to it, including some impressive character-driven story arcs, all of which come together beautifully for a particularly intense and insane story.  Starting off very strong with some great introductions to various key characters, including the young and keen Carrot Ironfoundersson, who journeys to the massive and corrupt city of Ankh-Morpork to join the Night Watch, providing fresh blood, irrepressible honesty and uncontrolled enthusiasm to the small squad of rejects and failures currently staffing it.  Carrot’s arrival corresponds with the start of a bold conspiracy, as a secretive mystic brotherhood plots to dethrone the Patrician and take over the city.  The initial scenes of this book are extremely good, and I love how Pratchett expertly sets up the entire narrative with some hilarious moments, including the opening sequence with the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night, whose petty ideology shows you just what sort of criminal minds we are truly dealing with.

Things go in a chaotic direction as the Night Watch, led by the drunk and depressed Captain Vimes, witness a direct murder by dragon and begin their own investigation into the matter.  Pratchett expertly pivots the story around from its comedic fantasy start into a complex police procedural/noir murder investigation, as the protagonists try to find out why the dragon is terrifying the city and who benefits from the apparent crime.  At the same time, several great character arcs emerge, including a truly nice, if unconventional romance, new friendships, and a fun analysis of dragon mythology.  There is a great twist about halfway through the book as the down-and-out Night Watch witness an interesting change to the classic dragon fantasy tale that sees a unique king take over the city.

The final third of the book is some of Pratchett’s strongest writing, as Vimes identifies the true culprit and must work to undo the damage they caused.  There are some great moments in this last part of the book as Pratchett presents his own unique and hilarious take on classic fantasy tropes, including the famed million-to-one shot, the heroic rescue, and the successful defeat of a dragon.  I felt that the identity of the main villain of the story was very clever, and Pratchett sets it up well with subtle clues, although if you know Pratchett’s thoughts on certain government positions it’s not too surprising.  Still, the final confrontation between the protagonists and this villain is great, and being literal has never been so deadly.  Pratchett leaves Guards! Guards! on a hopeful note, and it’s impossible not to come away with a smile on your face.

Pratchett was really on-point when it came to writing Guards! Guards! and I loved how perfectly it came together.  As with all books in the Discworld series, Guards! Guards! features an exceptional mixture of fantasy and humour elements, as the unusual and cynical Discworld produces some unusual situations, layered in with a great plot and some fantastically complex characters.  A lot of the humour is derived from classic fantasy scenarios that are taken up to 11 and shown in outrageous manners, accompanied by sarcastic comments from the characters as they witness them.  For example, this book serves as an ode to the guards and watchmen from classic fantasy fiction, and there are some funny scenes when these self-aware guards realise how expendable they are in a fantasy story.  However, Guards! Guards! also features a brilliant third element as Pratchett also features a compelling crime fiction read, accompanied with an addictive murder mystery.

The blend of fantasy and crime fiction elements works incredibly well, and it is highly entertaining to watch a serious investigation consider magic, suddenly appearing dragons, and the unique background setting of Ankh-Morpork.  I also loved how many clever and subtle jokes Pratchett was able to weave in because of these crime fiction inclusions, and he ends up lovingly roasting so many classic tropes from police procedurals and noir detective novels.  Despite having read this book many times, I still laugh like crazy at all the humourous moments in Guards! Guards!, especially as you always discover a new joke or pun you previously missed.  I honestly don’t have time to list all the funny scenes in Guards! Guards!, but favourites include the various meetings of the petty and mostly incompetent Elucidated Brethren, Carrot’s naïve overreactions upon discovering crime in the city, and various musings on how to achieve a perfect, million-to-one chance.  Pratchett once again expertly backs up his humour in Guards! Guards! with a series of entertaining footnotes spread throughout the book, that prove to be nearly as much fun as the main story.  These brilliant footnotes contain additional jokes, sarcastic comments, or interesting expansions of the Discworld universe, and they always bounce off the main story perfectly, providing extra laughs and food for thought where necessary.  I really cannot emphasise just how well this blend of genres worked with Pratchett’s unique and endearing humour, and it proves impossible not to have an exceptional time while reading this book.

As with most Discworld books, Guards! Guards! works exceedingly well as a standalone novel, and I feel that anyone wanting a laugh could easily jump in and follow the story without any issues.  Due to its early position in the shared Discworld universe, you don’t have to know anything about the other entries in the overarching series to jump right in, as Pratchett goes a tad light on some of the more outrageous Discworld elements.  As such, I consider Guards! Guards! to be one of the very best entry novels to new Discworld readers.  It also proves to be a brilliant first book in one of Pratchett’s best sub-series, and so many key details of the subsequent City Watch books are introduced here.  This includes some excellent early looks at the chaotic city of Ankh-Morpork and key recurring characters in the larger universal plot.  Ankh-Morpork is a great background setting for Guards! Guards! and it was the first book completely set within the bounds of the city.  I loved seeing this crazy city in even more detail, and all the fun elements set up here help to make it an epic setting.  As such, this is a great book for any Discworld reader, new or old, and it’s one of my favourites for very good reason.

As with pretty much all of Pratchett’s works, the key things that made Guards! Guards! so impressive were the amazing and unique characters that were featured throughout the plot.  Pratchett had a real knack for producing complex, multi-layered figures who can be both comedic and tragic at the same time, and who you couldn’t help but love.  Guards! Guards! was a particularly good example of this, as Pratchett featured a range of brilliant and entertaining characters who would go on to be become major recurring figures in the Discworld canon.  Indeed, Guards! Guards! is one of the most significant books for new characters, and it is frankly amazing how many exceptional major and iconic figures were introduced here.  Each of these characters were so well written, and you have to love both their specific arcs in this book, as well as how they were expanded on in later works.

The most prominent character in Guards! Guards! is Captain Samuel Vimes.  A cynical and damaged man whose habit of calling out social inequities has seen him assigned to the joke position as head of the Night Watch, which he deals with by drinking vast amounts of alcohol.  A parody of every hard-drinking cop and private eye in classic noir fiction, Vimes starts the book with no prospects and too many dead friends.  Given new purpose when the dragon appears in the city, Vimes turns his innate rebellion to a purpose and tries policing and detecting.  Pratchett does an exceptional job setting up Vimes here in Guards! Guards!, and it is no wonder he goes on to be one of his top protagonists.  Vimes’s depressed investigative method proves quite successful, and it was entertaining to watch Vimes attempt to solve the case while sarcastically calling out his fellow citizens’ base stupidity and selfishness.  Pratchett also sets up an impressive redemption arc around Vimes, which comes about through a combination of trusted colleagues, romance, and a renewed determination to uphold the law.  While he ends the book still irritated with the world, the road forward to Vimes doing bigger and better things is well established, and you really get drawn into his arc as a result.

Another impressive character is naïve and innocent City Watch recruit, Carrot Ironfoundersson.  Due to his complex home situation and a late life revelation that he’s human rather than a dwarf (being six and a half feet tall wasn’t a clue to him), Carrot is sent to Anhk-Morpork with a desire to become a watchman, which he incorrectly believes is a noble calling.  Thanks to his literal personality and highly moral upbringing, Carrot proves to be an anathema to the lawless folks of Anhk-Morpork, as he comes to town bringing justice, enforcing obscure laws, and actually arresting thieves: “change your ways”.  A brilliant parody of ultra-righteous fantasy kings, Carrot serves as an outstanding comic relief for much of the book, especially when it comes to his wholesome interactions with the exceedingly criminal inhabitants of the city.  However, beneath his comedic cover, Carrot is written as a complex figure of change, and his ability to inspire the other characters, either through guilt or determination, leads to some big moments.  Pratchett did an amazing job with Carrot in Guards! Guards!, and it was fascinating to see how he evolves from his initial innocent personality, to a more clever, but still determined, character.

Aside from Vimes and Carrot, the other two watch characters are Sergeant Fred Colon and Corporal Nobby Nobbs, both of whom are excellent and solid comedic characters.  The stereotypical fat sergeant and dodgy corporal, Pratchett has fun setting them up as unassailable fixtures of the Night Watch as they do the jobs nature intended for them, and I love how they play off each other.  While Colon has some hilarious scenes, including his attempt at archery and his various ill-timed run-ins with the dragon, you can tell that Pratchett had a lot more fun writing Nobby.  While not all his over-the-top characteristics from the series are shown in Guards! Guards!, Nobby is still a particularly entertaining figure.  Between his coarse language, petty criminal mindset, and uncharacteristic foppish behaviours, every scene with Nobby is highly amusing, and I love how Pratchett expanded off clever stereotypes about lifetime corporals to create this wayward figure.

Outside the members of the City Watch, there are a fantastic array of figures who help to make Guards! Guards! a particularly enthralling story.  This includes one of the few female characters in the book, Sybil Rankin, a dragon-loving heiress who ends up being Vimes’s unlikely love interest.  Deliberately written as the direct opposite of a noir femme-fatale in both personality and appearance, Sybil is a force of nature, using her accumulated nobility to pull the Night Watch, especially Vimes, into her orbit.  It proves impossible not to like Sybil as you watch her confidently go after Vimes or try to put the dragon to heel, and she ends up being one of the most complicated female characters that Pratchett wrote (which is saying a lot when you think of some of his other great female characters).

The other major character that I want to separately highlight is the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, Lord Havelock Vetinari.  While he has appeared in previous Discworld novels (notably Sourcery), this is the first book that showcases him as a full character.  Generally depicted as a Machiavellian mastermind and one of the few people capable of controlling the chaotic city, Vetinari has some great early scenes.  However, it’s not until the second half of the book when you realise just how fantastic a character he is.  Deposed by the false king, Vetinari initially appears to be completely powerless in the dungeons, until Vimes is thrown in with him and begins to realise that he is still in control, especially as he’s managed to cultivate a new intelligence network (procured by providing wartime strategy to magical rats), while also getting locked in a dungeon specifically designed to keep him safe.  His subsequent scenes tormenting the book’s real antagonist and talking about the nature of humanity with Vimes really cement him as an impressive figure, and the seeds for his many later inclusions as the Disc’s ultimate political mastermind are well sown here.

While I know I’ve been going on a bit about characters (blame Pratchett for being such a good writer), I just need to highlight a few more figures who have a great role in Guards! Guards!.  This includes the Librarian, one of Pratchett’s most iconic characters, who proves to be just as much fun outside of a wizard focused book, and it was entertaining seeing him interact with a separate group of friends.  You get a great introduction to the character of Cut-My-Own-Throat Dibbler, whose mercantile tendencies are on full display here.  The unusual swamp dragon Errol proves to be an unlikely pet, and his arc about finding love and his true form was particularly heartwarming.  Finally, I must mention the book’s great antagonist, who fully embraces the mad tendencies that his position demands.  While I won’t go into too much detail about who he is, I will say I loved seeing his various internal rants about the world, and the scenes with his incompetent henchmen were so damn funny.  All these characters, plus even more hilarious figures, are instrumental to so much of Guards! Guards! brilliant charm and humour, and after being introduced to them here, it’s impossible not to follow them on their full journey.

I have had the pleasure of reading Guards! Guards! in a couple of different formats over the years, but to my mind the best way to enjoy this book, and indeed any Discworld novel, is on audiobook.  The Discworld audiobooks are something very special, and I find that the unique stories, excellent humour and elaborate characters really come across when read out by a passionate narrator.  With the recent re-release of various Discworld audiobooks, there are now two different unabridged versions of Guards! Guards! fans can enjoy, and I want to highlight them both here.

The first Guards! Guards! audiobook is the original version with the talented Nigel Planer, who narrated 22 of the original 23 Discworld audiobooks.  Guards! Guards! is one of his best performances, and it set the scene nicely for many of his subsequent Discworld audiobooks, especially as he settled on a lot of key character voices and tones here.  While it has been a little while since I’ve listened to Planer’s version of Guards! Guards!, I have enjoyed it so many times it is permanently engrained in my head (I used to grab the tape cassette version out of my local library all the time).  Planer, who does all the voices himself, really captures the essence of Pratchett’s storytelling and excels at expressing the author’s unique humour through his vocal work.  I also felt that his portrayal of many of the key characters was second to none, and he really brought to life all the City Watch protagonists, as well as some other long-running figures, in some impressive ways.  He would revisit many of these voices in multiple subsequent performances, and it is a testament to his skill that the initial tones he came up with here, worked so well in the later books.  I frankly have so much love for Planer’s original take on Guards! Guards!, which definitely still stands the test of time, and his excellent and heartfelt voice work defines many of the City Watch characters for me.

While Nigel Planers original version is perfect, current Discworld fans may be more familiar with the latest audiobook production of Guards! Guards!, which was part of a recent re-recording of all the Discworld books.  These new audiobooks each feature a different famous British performer voicing the main plot, while acclaimed actors Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy have key roles in every single production.  While these have been out for a little while, I only just listened to my first one .  Coming in at a runtime of 13 and a half hours, which is a tad longer than the roughly 10-hour long Planer version, this Guards! Guards! audiobook was extremely fun, and it served as excellent entertainment on a recent road trip.

The new version of the Guards! Guards! audiobook is primarily voiced by British radio and television personality Jon Culshaw.  Culshaw is amazing in the role, and I was deeply impressed with his take on the Guards! Guards! characters.  Each unique character comes across extremely well in Culshaw’s capable hands, and I enjoyed his take on their unique characteristics and eccentric personalities.  He perfectly showcased protagonist Samuel Vimes’s drunken despair and depression, while various other key members of the watch, such as the extremely keen Carrot and the more cautious Colon, are shown extremely well.  I also felt that Culshaw did an incredible job with several complicated figures from the story, such as the infamous watchman Nobby Nobbs, who Culshaw gifts a gruff and weaselly voice that sounded a lot like David Bradley or Jon Pertwee.  His Lord Vetinari is also amazing, and the deep and threatening tones really capture the character’s dangerous nature.  Finally, I felt that his take on the main female character, Sybil Ramkin, was just perfect, and you really got the full blast of her big personality and excessive aristocratic characteristics.  Many of the other side characters were also perfectly portrayed to my mind, and I must highlight the excellent way in which he disguised the voice of the main antagonist during some key secret society scenes.

Culshaw’s primary narration is well backed up by Peter Serafinowicz and Bill Nighy in their respective roles.  Serafinowicz provides the voice of Death whenever he appears in this audiobook, which works out extremely well even with Death’s relatively minor role in Guards! Guards!.  Serafinowicz has an exceptional Death voice, and hearing it suddenly appear throughout Guards! Guards! is so damn epic, especially during one scene where Death is hiding amongst the soon-to-be deceased.  Nighy, on the other hand, narrates the various footnotes.  Nighy was a perfect choice for this, and his calm, consistent tones, echoing Peter Jones’s similar role in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy radio and TV editions really highlighted the subtle comedy of these footnotes.  I felt that all three of these distinctive actors really vibed together in the Guards! Guards! audiobooks, and the switch between them was seamless, allowing for a particularly awesome listen.  Throw in an interesting short afterword about fantasy elements by acclaimed author Ben Aaronovitch, and this proved to be a remarkable and compelling audiobook I could not get enough of.  While Nigel Planer’s original narration of Guards! Guards! is always going to live in my head rent free, I felt that this new version more than lived up to the hype surrounding it, and I really appreciated the unique and powerful performances these new narrators brought to the table.  Frankly both of the audiobook versions comes highly recommended by me, and it is impossible to be dissatisfied by them at all.

Whew, well in case you could guess from this massive review (it got away from me), I love Guards! Guards! and I have some very strong feelings for it.  One of Terry Pratchett’s best Discworld novels, Guards! Guards! is the perfect blend of fantasy, crime fiction and humour that you could ever want, and I always get wrapped up in its elaborate story.  A wildly entertaining and comedic novel from start to finish, Pratchett added so much heart to this book, and you get drawn into the impressive characters and compelling, crime fiction plot.  A brilliant start to the City Watch subseries, Guards! Guards! is so damn good, and I know I will be reading it many more times in my life.  I can think of no better way to emphasise just how amazing Guards! Guards! is than to mention that I used it to introduce the Discworld to my wife, who is now powering through the series on her own.  So do yourself a favour and check this book out now!

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The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books5 Comments

The Shadow Casket Cover

Publisher: Gollancz (Audiobook – 16 February 2023)

Series: The Darkwater Legacy – Book Two

Length: 32 hours and 37 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Chris Wooding continues The Darkwater Legacy in a big way with his second awesome and massive entry in this great fantasy series, The Shadow Casket.

I was recently in the mood for more epic fantasy reads, so I finally got around to checking out The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding, which has been on my to-read list for most of the year.  The Shadow Casket is the sequel to Wooding’s exceptional 2018 novel, The Ember Blade, which I had a ton of fun reading back when it originally came out.  The Ember Blade followed a band of revolutionaries, including two young teens caught up in the carnage, as they fought to free their country from an evil empire that had conquered it a generation before.  Featuring a classic fantasy adventure plot with some awesome real-life overtones and loaded with a ton of great characters, a powerful story, and a fantastic new world, The Ember Blade was such a great read, and it got an easy five-star read from me.  I have been eagerly awaiting a sequel for some time now, and Wooding finally delivered his second Darkwater Legacy book this year with The Shadow Casket, which took the reader on another dark and captivating journey.

It has been three years since the destructive events at Hammerholt, when the ragtag band of revolutionaries, known as the Dawnwardens, managed to steal back the sacred Ember Blade and kill the Krodan Emperor’s son, seemingly lighting the fires of revolution.  However, despite the Dawnwardens’ hope that recovering the Ember Blade would encourage their people to rise in revolt, the powerful Krodan empire still reigns over Ossia, bringing new levels of terror in their occupation.  With revolution still as far away as ever, the Dawnwardens, and the Ember Blade’s champion, young Aren of Shoal Point, are forced to take a risk that could turn the tide of war.

Taking the Ember Blade out of hiding, the Dawnwardens travel to the Reaches in the far north of Osia, where the wild and rebellious clans of the Fell Folk fight amongst themselves.  Hoping to recruit the fractious clans to their cause, the Dawnwardens soon find themselves once again under attack from the Krodans and their deadliest weapons, the malevolent dreadknights.  Forced to flee with new allies and returning friends, the Dawnwardens embark on mission to find out what the Krodans are truly doing in Osia and just how far they are willing to go to maintain order.

Finding their first successes since the events of Hammerholt, the Dawnwardens form a new plan to finally strike back at the Krodans and start the revolution they have long hoped for.  However, no matter how hard they fight, the Dawnwardens constantly find themselves outmatched by the dreadknights and their foul magic.  To survive this insidious threat, the Dawnwardens hope to call upon the ancient magic of a lost artefact, the Shadow Casket, which has the potential to either save them or doom the world.  But with deadly foes facing them at every corner, and traitors within their own ranks, can the heroes succeed, or will their revolution finally be cut down?

Wooding continues his epic series in a big way with The Shadow Casket, producing an exceptional and captivating novel that was quite a treat to read.  Expertly following the existing storylines from the first book while also providing an awesome new adventure, The Shadow Casket was a gripping and powerful novel that I had an absolute blast reading.

I really loved the amazing story that Wooding came up with for The Shadow Casket, which is massive in every sense of the word.  Told from many different perspectives, The Shadow Casket has a very powerful character-driven plot that really gets you involved in the lives of all the protagonists while advancing the compelling main plot.  The transition to three years after the events of The Ember Blade was a very interesting overarching choice for this new book, but it was one that works very well, and I loved the realistic detail that the protagonist’s previous adventures didn’t magically save the day as they had hoped.  Wooding starts events off at a somewhat slow pace, which was definitely necessary as he had to re-establish all the key story elements, while also introducing the new setting of Northern Ossia and the Fell Folk.  This does mean that the initial chapters of the book might drag a little for some readers, especially those who did not read The Ember Blade first, although I appreciated the refresher on all the protagonists after all this time.  This early part of the book also sets up many plot points for the rest of The Shadow Casket, and Wooding did an outstanding job laying down a lot of groundwork here.

Things do speed up quickly after the reintroductions are done, as all hell breaks loose around the protagonists in some amazing scenes.  This early part of the book also brings back Cade and Klyssen, who were seemingly killed off at the end of The Ember Blade.  This honestly isn’t that much of a spoiler as both come back very early in the plot, and frankly it wasn’t too surprising considering the deliberate ambiguity of their “deaths” in the previous book.  Their return sets up some great character-driven plots which are very well explored in the first half of the book and have some major impacts on the overall story.  The protagonists soon find themselves involved in several distinctive character-focused quests, including the liberation of a prison camp, the machinations of a traitor, and an intriguing dive into a magical organisation that was only lightly featured in the first book.  These various storylines blend into one cohesive plot, and I liked the early focus on world building and character growth in the aftermath of the first book.  Wooding works in an interesting blend of intrigue, action, adventure, and even some horror elements, which really enhanced the classic adventure quest vibe he was trying to replicate.  I did have issues with an ungainly love triangle that got a lot of attention in the first half of The Shadow Casket, which sapped my enjoyment in places.  However, the other complex storylines that were occurring simultaneously did make up for this, and it thankfully does not last the entire length of the book.

The second half of The Shadow Casket is where things really picked up, and it features all the awesome story moments that the author had been expertly building up.  This includes a deadly adventure quest to a lethal island, which amped up the intensity of the plot, especially as secrets are revealed and tragedy awaits several characters.  These storylines and more, all lead up to epic final quarter of the novel, where the protagonists have their long-awaited mass confrontation with the enemy.  Wooding really set up everything leading up to this final quarter perfectly, and I was very excited going into it, especially as it featured a massive siege.  While there is a focus on the action in this final part of the book, Wooding also amps up the intrigue, as various parties make their moves to betray or mislead either side of the conflict.  The author plays this plot line about betrayal and intrigue perfectly, and there were times when you honestly didn’t know who was betraying who, which was so much fun to see.  This last quarter honestly has a bit of something for everyone, and I loved the inherent tragedy, the gritty battles, and the awesome resolution to so many different plotlines and character arcs.  I also really enjoyed the multitude of clever twists and reveals that Wooding layered in this part of the book, especially as I did not see several of them coming despite the great setup surrounding them.  The final play of the protagonists was particularly brilliant, and the unique siege tactics were quite inventive.  While I did think a few things were wrapped up a little too easily or positively at the end, this was honestly a very strong conclusion for this second entry, and it sets up many great storylines for the rest of the series.  I really came away from The Shadow Casket feeling very satisfied, and I cannot wait to see how my heart will get broken in the next book.

I felt that Wooding did a rather wonderful job of presenting his elaborate narrative to the reader, and his fantastic style definitely drew me into the story.  While there are a lot of positives to the author’s writing, the main thing that I was mostly grateful for was how easy he set everything up so that I could dive back into this series.  As I mentioned above, it has been over four years since I read The Ember Blade, itself a hefty read, so I was initially worried that I wouldn’t remember all the key details and get a little lost.  However, Wooding expertly led readers, both new and old, into his new book and those well-thought-out and slower paced introductory chapters really filled in all the gaps for me.  As such, there wasn’t a single moment that I was lost about what was going on, which considering how elaborate The Shadow Casket gets, is pretty damn impressive.

While The Shadow Casket is a great continuation of The Ember Blade, it also has a bit of a different tone to it.  The focus on failure, regret and fighting losing battles was quite interesting and reflected the continued failed rebellion nicely.  The book itself also comes across as more of an adventure novel, with the protagonists constantly moving and taking on new quests and journeys, rather than the more heist focused revenge plot of the first book.  This ensured that The Shadow Casket stood out a lot more than I was expecting, and it really didn’t feel like a sequel or a tired middle book.  Wooding has a great sense for pacing, and the fantastic mixture of action, character growth and betrayal and intrigue helped to turn this into quite an impressive read.  I have so much love for the multiple elaborate espionage storylines that emerged, and Wooding ensured that the reader never knew what was coming.  The excellent use of multiple character perspectives really helped with this, and it was compelling and often very moving to see the various internal struggles, history and biases that drove the characters to do what they do.  The clever alternate views of the same events also helped to create a much more expansive and captivating plot, and I think that Wooding did a great job of splitting the story up, ensuring that all the key characters got their time to shine.  There was the occasional rough chapter transition that added a touch of confusion at times, but this was usually pretty harmless, and I found the overall narrative to be very powerful and bound together excellently.  Throw in a ton of brilliant and brutal action sequences, including the extended battle at the end, and The Shadow Casket has so much going for it that you will find it very hard to put down.

One of the things I liked most about The Ember Blade was the elaborate and complex world that the book was set in.  In particular, the focal nation of Ossia was such an interesting main setting, especially as it was occupied by its stronger neighbour, who had ruled it for years.  This portrayal of Ossia had a lot of similarities to occupied France during World War II, especially as the invading Krodans were an obvious stand-in for Nazis/fascism.  This occupied fantasy nation had a certain realism to it that deeply enhanced the story, especially as the characters interacted with collaborators, rebels and locals who believed the Krodans were helping them, all while witnessing examples of Krodan cruelty.  These issues were further compounded by the fact that Ossia was already a rather fractious nation, and their lack of cooperation and unity helped the Krodan conquest years before.  Wooding continued to expand on this examination of occupied Ossia in The Shadow Casket, especially as revolution and uprisings were such an important part of the plot.  I loved the intriguing plot point about how, despite the protagonist’s actions in the first book, most of Ossia was still too cowed or wracked with infighting to join in the rebellion, making the sacrifices in the first book seem pointless.  This ensured that occupied Ossia continued to be a dangerous and compelling setting for much of the story, and Wooding doubled down on the Krodan comparisons to Nazis, especially as the Krodan’s engaged in massive retaliation strikes against the Ossian populace while also rounding up a minority group into concentration camps.  These intriguing details add a lot to the plot, and it was interesting to see how they continued from the first book.

Wooding also worked in quite a lot of world building as he sought to explore new areas within the larger fantasy realm.  This includes several intriguing and deadly new locations, such as a swamp full of dark spirits and the lethal island of Yaga, where ogres and magical slavers reign supreme.  These areas, which serve as cool settings for several key parts of the book, are great to explore, adding in some very distinctive risks, and it served as a compelling expansion of an already great world.  However, the most significant new setting is probably the northern area of Ossia known as the Reaches.  A hilly area populated by warring tribes, this part of Ossia was culturally segregated from the more urbanised southern setting before the Krogans arrived, and now is even more oppressed.  A large chunk of the novel revolves around the complex tribal politics and history of this region as the protagonists attempt to bring them together as allies while also striking back at the forces oppressing them.  Several of the best sequences, including the final battle, are set around here, and I loved the craggy and isolated feel that Wooding gave this setting.  The author also does a wonderful job expanding on some of the fantasy aspects of his series.  While there were quite a number of great and freaky magical and fantasy elements in the first book, The Shadow Casket really dives into this further, showing several different batches of magic.  This includes a fascinating examination of the Ossian druids, whose magical conclave in the first half of the novel serves as a major plot setting.  There is also a fantastic and dark examination of the magic being used by the Krogans to create their more elaborate weapons.  This look at Krogan mysticism is pretty fascinating and serves as a great contrast to their usual anti-magic dogma.  It also leads to some of the darker scenes in the book, including the exploration of a corrupted prison camp, which honestly bordered more on horror than anything else.  There are some fantastic and complex hints at the dangers to come, and I cannot wait to see how dark and compelling Wooding makes his setting in the future.

However, the most impressive and memorable part of The Shadow Casket has to be the outstanding and elaborate character work that Wooding expertly inserted into the story.  The Shadow Casket has an exceptional and memorable cast, which includes a great combination of characters from The Ember Blade, as well as several intriguing new figures.  All the characters are damaged and complex, especially after the events of The Ember Blade, and thanks to the author’s excellent use of alternating perspectives, you get to see into their minds and find out what drives them and what their intentions are.  I deeply appreciated how well the character stories altered and drove the main narrative and Wooding’s excellent character work really gets you invested in everyone’s personal journey.

As with The Ember Blade, the main character of The Shadow Casket is Aren of Shoal Point.  A teenager drafted into the rebellion by circumstances, Aren is trying to live up to his own legend after masterminding the Ember Blade heist and being declared champion.  Now a figurehead leader chafing under the responsibilities and expectations of everyone around him, Aren starts the book with a lot of his usual certainty and confidence gone, especially as the disappointments of the last three years are hanging over him.  Most of his arc involves him trying to decide whether he deserves all the fame and trust people are putting into him, as well as wondering what his destiny is.  I really liked this compelling character arc that Wooding came up with for Aren, especially as it is totally understandable that he would feel these doubts with his complex history.  While Aren probably was a more passive protagonist than some readers were hoping for, I felt his early mindset of following others fit nicely into the uncertainty he felt, and Wooding did a great job of portraying this and his eventual regained confidence.  Aren also proves to be a linchpin character for The Shadow Casket, mainly because so many other character arcs are defined by the relationships that Aren has formed over the years.  While a couple of these relationships do have some flaws in them, the rest are exceedingly emotionally rich and Aren’s connections help the other characters to grow and develop alongside him.  Aren continued to be an outstanding and complex protagonist for this second Darkwater Legacy novel and I look forward to seeing how he develops in the future.

One of the other major characters I need to highlight is Cade, Aren’s childhood friend who was forced into the adventures in the last book before heroically sacrificing himself at the end of The Ember Blade.  Cade returns quite early in The Shadow Casket, having spent three years away from his friends.  However, he is now carrying some dark secrets and a new hidden history that defines most of his actions throughout The Shadow Casket.  Cade had one of the best and most powerful character arcs in the entire novel, which I will not elaborate on too much here to avoid spoilers.  However, it was extremely well written and added some much-needed emotional depth to Cade’s character.  Wooding does an outstanding job of expanding on Cade’s character arc and story from the first book and the examination of the complex relationship between Aren and Cade resulted in some of the most moving moments in the book.

There are several great antagonistic characters in The Shadow Casket, including sinister Krodan officials and several hidden traitors, but my favourite villainous figure has to be the great character Klyssen.  A member of the Krodan secret police, Klyssen was the primary villain of The Ember Blade, and Wooding takes the opportunity to develop him further in some fantastic ways in the sequel.  Not only does he provide an alternative viewpoint to the Krodans but Wooding manages to make Klyssen into a surprisingly sympathetic character in The Shadow Casket.  Thanks to the events of The Ember Blade, Klyssen starts this new book scarred, disgraced, demoted and divorced, and is now at something of a moral and emotional crossroads.  Now driven by personal reasons, Klyssen has a bit of a redemption arc in The Shadow Casket, and it is honestly a sign of just how good Wooding is at writing characters that you actually feel sorry for this previously despicable villain.  Klyssen ends up being one of the more complex and damaged figures in the entirety of this second book, and I loved his more nuanced mindset and desperate motivations, which make his chapters particularly compelling and emotionally charged.  You really begin to feel for Klyssen, even if you don’t want to, and I really appreciated the complex additional development Wooding worked into him for this sequel.

Of course, I cannot talk about characters in The Shadow Casket without mentioning Grub, who honestly might be one of the most entertaining and hilarious figures I have ever had the pleasure to read.  Gruff, crude and inappropriate in every way imaginable, Grub is a slippery and self-obsessed figure who never fails to get a laugh thanks to his jokes, selfish mindset, fun observations on the people around him, and pure disinterest in what is actually happening.  Thanks to this humour, Grub has some of the best chapters in the entire book, and you always know you are in for a good time.  However, Wooding also creates a particularly complex and intriguing story arc around Grub that really resonates with the reader.  Coming from a culture that venerates heroic actions and tales, Grub was exiled from his people after claiming another person’s deeds.  As such, a lot of Grub’s sVVavsdtoryline involves him trying to redeem himself by become a hero, which really does not come naturally to him due to his selfish nature and upbringing.  This honesty proves to be one of the more complex story arcs in the entire book and you really get invested in his attempts to do the right thing.  A lot of this story revolves around his unlikely friendship with Aren, who serves as Grub’s moral compass, and their compelling relationship is one of the most heartwarming parts of the entire book.  I cannot emphasise just how much fun Grub is as a character, and it honestly is impossible not to fall in love with him, especially with the fantastic depth Wooding adds to his story.  While I would read an entire book about Grub, I think that Wooding did a good job not overusing him in The Shadow Casket, and blending in the other characters extremely well.

Other significant characters include Vika, a powerful druid whose connection with the spirits and the gods offers the only hope against the Krodan dreadknights.  Wooding weaves a fantastic narrative around Vika that dives into her unique and desperate personality while also using her as a focus for the more mystical elements of the book.  I quite enjoyed seeing Vika develop into more of a powerful magical user, although the emotional cost associated with it turns her into a bit of an unpredictable figure.  Wooding really laces Vika’s narrative with some powerful tragedy and distinctive moments, and while I felt that the ending of her arc could have been handled a little better, she was still an outstanding and enjoyable protagonist to follow.

I also need to highlight Mira, the team’s strategist and leader of the Dawnwardens, who comes up with elaborate plans and schemes in the name of liberation.  While Mira does not have as many chapters assigned to her as I would have liked, Wooding does a lot with her in a short amount of time, and I liked how dark the character got as the book progressed.  The dour knight Harod also proves to be an excellent protagonist, mainly because so much of his arc is based around his grief after losing the woman he loved in the last book.  Wooding does a good job expanding a bit on the typically emotionally devoid Harod in this book, especially when a fantastic new secondary character is introduced, and his martial focussed chapters have some heavy personal weight to them.  Throw in the team’s hunter, Fen, whose arc mostly survives an unenjoyable love triangle, and several great new characters, including a troubled revolutionary and a mysterious fighter with his own agenda and this proved to be an exceptionally rich novel in terms of outstanding characters.  This fantastic mixture of compelling cast members really helped to turn The Shadow Casket into an extremely powerful read and I cannot wait to see how these characters develop in the rest of the series.

Like with many epic fantasy novels, I chose to check out The Shadow Casket on audiobook, which I found to be an awesome experience.  Elaborate fantasy novels always come across better in the audiobook format for me, especially when there is a ton of detail and world building, and this was once again the case with The Shadow Casket.  Wooding’s deeply impressive setting was so much cooler when it was read out to me, and I definitely absorbed a lot more detail in this format.  It also helped that they brought back narrator Simon Bubb for this second audiobook in the series.  Bubb does such a good job highlighting all the cool action, fantastic detail, and unique features of this series in The Shadow Casket, and I really liked how effortlessly he moved events along.  Bubb also has a very good handle on the massive cast featured with this book, coming up with original and fitting voices and accents for all the characters, and bringing out all their inherent emotion and struggles.  Highlights for me include the amazing characters of Klyssen, Aren and Grub, all of who really shine through in this format in the most entertaining ways, and I cannot emphasise enough how well Bubb captures all these elaborate figures.  Coming in at over 32.5 hours, The Shadow Casket is a hefty audiobook to get through, and it is one of the longest audiobooks I have ever listened to (coming in at number five on the current list).  I did struggle a bit to get through The Shadow Casket quickly due to its length, and there were a few times where I got a bit fatigued and had to take a break for a while.  However, the compelling story kept dragging me back in, and I maintain that The Shadow Casket is very much worth checking out on audiobook, especially as this format gives you the very best experience.  The great voices, fun depiction of detail, and enhanced story absorption more than make up for the length, and The Shadow Casket audiobook comes very highly recommended as a result.

Overall, this is a very impressive book, and if I did not get it across with the massive review above, I really enjoyed The Shadow Casket.  Chris Wooding is really writing something special with his Darkwater Legacy series and The Shadow Casket proved to be an exceptional second entry.  While I did have a couple of issues with length and some character elements, the sheer power and complexity of the story ensures that The Shadow Casket gets a full five-star rating from me and I had such an incredible time getting through this amazing book.  This is easily one of the best fantasy series currently going and I cannot wait to see how it continues, even if I have to wait a while for the third book to appear.  Highly recommended, all fans of epic fantasy need to get into this series.

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The Voyage of the Forgotten by Nick Martell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books8 Comments

The Voyage of the Forgotten Cover

Publisher: Gollancz (Audiobook – 3 November 2022)

Series: The Legacy of the Mercenary King – Book Three

Length: 19 hour and 47 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of the very last books I read in 2022 might be one of the very best: the latest epic novel from Nick Martell, The Voyage of the Forgotten, which showcases just how much of an impressive, rising talent this outstanding author truly is.

Since 2020, one of my absolute favourite new fantasy authors has been the very, very talented Nick Martell, who burst into the scene in a big way with his elaborate and compelling The Legacy of the Mercenary King trilogy.  This series started with The Kingdom of Liars, an exceptional book that introduced Martell’s intriguing fantasy world and distinctive protagonist Michael Kingman.  The scion of a formerly great family whose patriarch was executed for a murder he didn’t commit, Michael spent most of The Kingdom of Liars trying to prove his father’s innocence while also finding himself dragged into various conspiracies infecting his home city of Hollow.  I had an amazing time reading The Kingdom of Liars, and it ended up being one of my favourite books, audiobooks and debuts of 2020.  Martell expertly followed his first novel up a year later with the equally incredible The Two-Faced Queen, which continued many of the fantastic story threads from the first book.  However, the stakes were raised even further with the protagonist forced to deal with immortals, dragons, assassins, serial killers and more, all while trying to stop the woman he loves from killing him.  This was another exceptional read, and The Two-Faced Queen was easily one of the best books and audiobooks of 2021.  Naturally, there was no way that I would not read the third and final book in the series as soon as I could.  This third book, The Voyage of the Forgotten, was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and I eagerly dove into it just before the year came to a close.

After proving his father’s innocence and restoring his family’s place in Hollow society, Michael Kingman should be happy.  However, the closer he comes to victory, the more tragedy and defeat he suffers.  Not only is the love of his life, Serena, the queen of Hollow, engaged to a merchant prince with his own elaborate agenda, but dangerous conspiracies centred on Michael seem to emerge from around every corner.  His sister is enslaved to an immortal Wolven King who seeks war with his soon to be freed brothers, while his mercenary mentor, Dark, is becoming one of the most dangerous creatures in existence, using his stolen dragon magic to wreak havoc and destruction in the name of love.  However, his true enemy remains Angelo Shade, Dark’s father, who seeks to bring back his dead wife and will burn the world, and everything Michael loves, to achieve it.

Thrust once again into this deadly battle of forces outside his league or ability to comprehend, Michael only has his wits, his barely trained magic ability, and a few dedicated friends to fight against the immortal schemers who have spent years bringing their elaborate plans to fruition.  However, Michael is well used to being outclassed and underestimated by everyone he goes up against, and he resolves once again to make everyone pay to keep those he loves safe from harm.

Gathering his allies, Michael embarks on a foolish quest to fully understand all the world’s secrets that have long been hidden from him and ensure that he has the weapons to survive.  But his course of action will put him at odds with the deadly mercenaries of Regal Company, all three of the ancient Wolven Kings, and even his own mercenary company.  Defeating all of them seems impossible, but that has never stopped him from trying before.  Can even the legendary stubborn Michael Kingman succeed and achieve his goals of becoming a Mercenary King when fate itself seems set against him?  And even if he succeeds, is he willing to pay the terrible price that victory demands?

Wow oh wow, what an epic book.  Nick Martell continues to deeply impress me with his captivating story writing ability as he brings this trilogy to a powerful and momentous end that I was instantly addicted to.  The Voyage of the Forgotten was a truly exceptional read, loaded with amazing characters, elaborate fantasy lore and an intense story that refused to drop my attention.  I can find no higher praise for this book than the fact that I named it one of my favourite books of 2022 well before I had even finished it; the first half was that damn good.

Martell has come up with a pretty epic narrative for The Voyage of the Forgotten, and it is one that I will not forget in a hurry.  However, the first thing that I need to say about the story is: if you haven’t read the first two The Legacy of the Mercenary Kings novels, go back and start at the beginning.  Martell has loaded the entire series with a ton of intricate and interesting lore, and he starts rapid firing back to the events of the last two books extremely early on in the story.  While there is a useful Dramatis Personae, as well as a fun summary of previous events from one of the side characters, which helped to refresh my memory, if you haven’t read the previous books you will get lost very quickly when trying to read The Voyage of the Forgotten.  The narrator is constantly making references to previous events, revelations, or characters who only appeared in the prior books, and it can get a little confusing if you don’t know what he is talking about.  As such, I would strongly recommend reading (or re-reading) The Kingdom of Liars and The Two-Faced Queen in advance, which is a very small chore considering how amazing they are.

Now, if you’re up to speed on the prior books, you are in for a real treat when it comes to The Voyage of the Forgotten’s story.  Told mainly from the perspective of protagonist and calamity-magnet Michael Kingman, Martell weaves together an intriguing, action-packed and character-driven conclusion to the elaborate story he set up in the first two books, which also leaves a lot of room for the larger series to grow in the future.  The author once again primarily utilises a chronicle style from Michael’s perspective, which really helps to tell this unique story, especially as it forces Michael’s chaotic and hilarious personality into the story and made every scene seem that little more entertaining and personal.

The narrative itself starts quickly and effectively, with a series of fun battles, big confrontations, and a horde of vengeful dragons, all of which ensures that the reader is quickly reintroduced to the chaotic main character and the multiple tangled webs and conspiracies that he has found himself involved in.  The story quickly advances to the main issue of this book as Serena Hollow loses her memory, and Michael is forced into an epic quest to find a cure.  This of course leads Michael to fight against the entire world, as everyone is opposed to his quest, and this ends up resulting in multiple intriguing or over-the-top encounters.  At the same time, Michael is constantly trying to unravel the mysteries of the world and his many enemies.  There are some epic scenes and sequences in this first half of the book that I really fell in love with, and Martell has some fantastic writing chops behind him that makes his outrageous concepts really work and come to life.  For example, one of the best sequences in the first half of the book sees Michael trapped in his own mind, forced to experience multiple loops of a historical battle from an ancient time.  The constant death and fighting that occurs over innumerable rotations slowly drives the protagonist mad, which Martell captures perfectly in exquisite detail.  Partnered with this intriguing sequence are several scenes showing an external view of Michael’s body, which has been taken over by a malevolent entity.  This ended up being one of the best moments of the entire book, especially as it has a very fun ending.

In addition to the action, Martell continues to unwind or add to the overlying layers of conspiracies, plots and personal or historical secrets that have always been such a fun part of this series.  Several long-running story threads are finally resolved in the first half of the book, and it is so much fun to see Michael finally get quite a few intriguing answers.  Martell really does not hold back with the revelations in The Voyage of the Forgotten, and the entirety of the book is loaded with characters unburdening their secrets (at least some of them) or discussing the unique history of the wider world.  I absolutely loved every sequence where revelations about this universe and its fun inhabitants came to the surface, and it was fascinating to see how they fit into the wonderful tapestry that Martell has woven throughout this trilogy.  This universe building is further enhanced by a series of great interludes with alternate narrators, which show events outside of Michael’s knowledge and experiences.  Not only do these help to showcase some of the fun supporting characters from the first two books but it also deepens the narrative and shows what schemes his friends, and more importantly his enemies, are up to, which provides some fun foreshadowing.

Everything really comes to a head in the second half of the book as Michael and his companions are thrust towards their destinies.  After several major setbacks and further revelations that show off the sheer scope and intricacies of the story, you and the protagonist are dragged back on the road towards the final epic confrontation.  The author sets all of this off perfectly by finally answering some big secrets that have been bedevilling the protagonist since the beginning, and there is a particularly cool twist that makes you rethink every major event of the first two books.  I really loved how Martell briefly changed the narration around when this big twist is revealed and had Michael address the audience directly to reveal why he never mentioned certain details in his previous storytelling.  This helped to really sell the effectiveness of this major reveal, as well as showcase a previously unseen alternate layer to the character’s personality, and I personally thought that this was bit of pure genius from Martell.  All this leads up to the big final confrontation as Michael finally comes face to face with Angelo Shade, the main architect of his family’s pain, as well as some other surprising foes.  This big conclusion is everything you would want it to be, with some epic moments, utter tragedy and multiple character arcs coming full circle in all the right ways.  While parts of this conclusion do get a bit overly complicated and metaphysical, I felt that it came together pretty damn perfectly in ways that really fit the universe and the controversial main character to a T.  Readers will come away from this conclusion both heartbroken and hopeful, and I felt that it was an exceptional and very on-brand ending to one of the more distinctive fantasy trilogies of the last few years.

I honestly think that Martell wrapped this book up extremely well, and my only major disappointment is that there was not more crammed in, as I would have gladly listened to several more hours of it.  The exceptional narrative, backed up with extensive lore, amazing character development and the very distinctive writing style helped to make this final book really pop, and I was honestly impressed every step of the way.  I was also very happy with how Martell handled the sheer range of extensive storylines that he had set up in the previous books.  My main concern before reading the final book was that Martell would be unable to wrap up every storyline or plot point he had set up.  Indeed, there are still quite a lot of potential storylines and questions that were unresolved by the end of the book, but Martell is clearly setting up a sequel trilogy of some design in the same universe.  Some of the best ongoing storylines have been left to continue in the future, and I for one am very excited for that as I hope to spend many more years getting lost in Martell’s world.  I felt that the author was cleverly selective when it came to which storylines ended in The Voyage of the Forgotten, as he chose to close off the ones connected with protagonist Michael Kingman, while leaving others open.  This ensures that any future stories will probably focus on some of the other characters that Martell has set up in this trilogy, and indeed it is pretty clear who that will be.  I personally look forward to seeing a new take on this universe in the future, and it will be very interesting to see how the narrative continues with a major change in perspective.

One of the things that has always impressed me about The Legacy of the Mercenary King trilogy is the elaborate and well-thought-out fantasy world that the story has been set in.  Its dark and grim nature, coupled with the intricate history, compelling magic system, and diverse people, has always added so much to the story, and this remains true in The Voyage of the Forgotten.  Because he did not shut off this universe completely, Martell was given free rein to continue to expand on his elaborate universe, and boy did he.  The reader is treated to a ton of extra information and history about this amazing world, including some of the strongest glimpses about the mysterious Wolven Kings, the world’s various immortals and other unique creatures, and their long-running battles throughout history.  There are several glimpses of the past thanks to magic, and you really learn a lot about what previously befall many of the immortal characters and how this affects their current motivations.  In addition, several new cities, islands, nations, groups and other great elements are featured heavily in the plot as Michael and his companions explore the wider world and engage on some massive sea voyages.  Martell does a great job of incorporating these new elements or character history into his wider narrative, with the protagonists either spending substantial time exploring this information, or else discussing it with the clear intention that it might become a major detail in the future.  I really enjoyed how many of the previous novel’s mysteries were answered thanks to world expansion featured in this novel, and it is very clear that Martell has a lot more planned for this fantasy world in the future.

Of course, I also need to mention the cool magical system that Martell features throughout The Voyage of the Forgotten, especially as it has some major and extremely clever implications on the plot.  Like the first two books, the main form of magic featured is Fabrication, which forces the user to sacrifice their memories to perform magic.  It is actually quite horrifying to see the consequences of Fabrication misuse, as some of the users forget friends, facts or family, and this is often enhanced by the user’s sacrifice or by the fact that they suddenly lose all concept of someone they’d grown close to.  However, this is nothing to becoming a Forgotten, someone who has completely lost their memories or sense of self, and this is strong explored in this book.  I deeply appreciate the amazing way that Martell utilises this memory loss throughout The Voyage of the Forgotten, especially when it relates to the protagonist, as he often does not remember what he is forgetting, and it is always very heartbreaking when you notice that he, or one of the supporting characters, has forgotten something or someone important.  This darker side of magic is well counterbalanced by the various impressive usages that occur throughout The Voyage of the Forgotten, and there are some rather elaborate battles that take place as a result.  Martell also does a very deep dive into the origins of magic in this novel, and you find out some interesting facts about Fabrication, as well as other magical disciplines that exist in this universe, many of which have been cleverly foreshadowed throughout the trilogy.  I really enjoyed seeing some of the over-the-top magic that was utilised by other characters throughout the various battles, and there are some very interesting moments as a result.  It will be very interesting to see what happens to the magic use in the future, especially considering the major changes to Fabrication theory that occurred at the end of The Voyage of the Forgotten, and I look forward to seeing how Martell continues that intriguing plot thread.

While I can go on about the story, setting, magic and writing, for me the true strength of The Legacy of the Mercenary King books has always been the outstanding and extremely complex characters.  This remains the case in The Voyage of the Forgotten as Martell brings many of his best characters back for a particularly emotional adventure.  There are so many major and dramatic character moments throughout this book as Martell used the end of the trilogy to wrap up multiple character storylines and events.  I really appreciated some of the fantastic development and big character moments that occurred throughout this final book in the trilogy, and fans of the first two novels are going to be very moved by what happens to their favourite characters.

The primary focus of the plot is naturally Michael Kingman.  Martell has done some real wonders around Michael Kingman in the last two books, and he has ended up being one of the most complex characters you are ever likely to encounter.  A highly damaged individual who has had his mind warped by magic, has seen his family destroyed, has been forced to live up to an impossible legacy, and has been kept apart from the love of his life, Michael has had a lot of growing to do in the last two books, and Martell has really laid on the character development.  As such, the Michael Kingman in The Voyage of the Forgotten is wiser and more mature than we have previously seen, although he still has some ways to go.  However, Martell ensures that this growth continues in this final book, as he keeps trying to become a better person, especially when faced with the certainty of his death and the loss of people he loves.  There are some major moments when Michael is forced to face damaging revelations or hard truths and each of them change him in some way, often during a pivotal and well-written scene.  Martell also cleverly includes some great secrets about his past and his life that I thought were pretty damn epic, especially as it answers some major questions about his personal history and why he is stuck in the middle of events.

Despite all this, Michael is still the same cocky bastard that he was at the start of the trilogy and his overconfidence, determination and sheer ability to enrage anyone he comes into contact with is so damn entertaining.  Seeing normally calm and collected characters trying to deal with the Michael problem always result in some of the funniest scenes, and I loved the often hilarious edge that the character brings to much of the story due to his amusing narration.  As such, you find it very hard to dislike Michael, no matter how hard you try, and his unique and heartbreaking tale is one that will appeal to many people.  Martell wraps up much of Michael’s great and intense story in this final book and it was very moving to see some of the dark sacrifices the character is forced to make to save his family and fix some of his biggest mistakes.  I guarantee you will not be prepared for everything that Michael goes through in The Voyage of the Forgotten, but you won’t be able to turn away as Martell does some dark, yet wonderful things, to his best creation.

In addition, quite a lot of the book focuses on major secondary character Serena Hollow, Queen and love of Michael’s life, who has had a turbulent relationship with her Kingman.  This relationship gets even more complex in The Voyage of the Forgotten, especially when Serena becomes a Forgotten without any idea of who she is or what her many responsibilities are.  You see a much more free version of the character in this book, and I found the differences between this person and the vengeful queen of the second book to be very intriguing.  The continued focus on the relationship between Michael and Serena hits extra hard as a result of this loss of memory, and it is fascinating and moving to see them attempt to rekindle what they had.  Honestly, their entire story is pretty tragic in this final book, but I was nice to see a powerful conclusion to their doomed love story and Martell features some damn fine character work when it comes to Serena.

Aside from Michael, The Voyage of the Forgotten features a rich and extensive cast of characters, many of whom are returning from the previous two books.  Standout characters include Dark, the mercenary killer who serves as Michael’s mentor and possibly most dangerous foe, as he attempts to find his own way to bring back the dead.  Dark is a brilliant character, and I love how Martell has written such an edge of menace around him, although by the events of The Voyage of the Forgotten Michael is pretty much immune to it, resulting in some very entertaining interactions.  You also have to love the sinister Angelo Shade as the main antagonist of the book.  Michael’s former foster father and the man responsible for his family’s downfall, Angelo has been an outstanding manipulative bugger the entire way through this trilogy, and I loved seeing more of his games in this final book.  Watching his elaborate plans come to fruition is pretty amazing, and Martell does a good job continuing to show his past and motivations, ensuring his obsession with bringing back his dead wife is mirrored by Michael’s attempts to save Serena.  Other great characters like Naomi, Chloe and Alexis have some fantastic moments in this book as the main supporters of Michael and Serena, and it was great to see some of their storylines.  The rest of the cast make some fantastic appearances as well, although it is interesting that several key characters from the first two novels only had minor appearances, and indeed I was a tad disappointed that some figures, such as amusing immortal nobleman, Charles Domet, were barely featured.  However, it is clear that Martell is saving them up for future entries in this larger series, and I look forward to seeing what happens to them next.  Overall, this was a great cast of characters and Martell should be congratulated on the amazing character work he did.

While I received a massive physical copy of The Voyage of the Forgotten, I chose to listen to the audiobook version of this book when it first came out, and boy was I glad that I did.  I have often said that the audiobook format is the perfect way to absorb vast amount of lore and universe elements (at least for me), and, with all the revelations and expansions that Martell featured here, that proved to be a major boon.  The story came across perfectly in this format, and you can easily visualise the powerful scenes, battles of wits, and some of the more outrageous actions of the characters, as they are read out to you.  It helps that this audiobook was once again narrated by one of my favourite audiobook narrators, Joe Jameson, who has impressed me before with the first two audiobooks in the series, and with his work on King of Assassins by R. J. Barker and the fun Warhammer 40,000 novel, Fire Made Flesh.  Jameson always does a remarkable job with his narration of Martell’s books, and his great tones and pacing help to move The Voyage of the Forgotten along at a fast clip.  However, the main advantage of Jameson as a narrator is the cool voices he brings out for the characters.  While I was not the biggest fan of a couple of his female voices, the majority of his narration was pretty much spot on and I felt that he really showcased the cool personalities and emotions of the key figures.  However, the best voice is saved for the main protagonist and narrator Michael Kingman, who Jameson perfectly encapsulates throughout the course of the audiobook.  Jameson really gets into Michael’s head with his narration and expertly portrays his personality, emotions and thought process.  This great portrayal of the central characters adds so much to overall quality of the entire audiobook, and my enjoyment of The Voyage of the Forgotten as a whole, and I loved every damn second of Jameson’s narration as a result.  This honestly was the best way I found to enjoy The Voyage of the Forgotten, and I very strongly recommend it as a result.  With a run time of just under 20 hours, it does take a little bit of effort to get through this audiobook, however, it is more than worth the effort as you will have a fantastic time.

If this extensive write-up didn’t give it away, I clearly deeply loved The Voyage of the Forgotten.  Nick Martell has wrapped up his The Legacy of the Mercenary King trilogy in an exceedingly epic way, and I deeply enjoyed how the elaborate, powerful, and character rich narrative came to an end.  This is some of Martell’s best work yet, and if you haven’t experienced this amazing fantasy author’s work yet, you are really missing out.  I look forward to seeing how Martell will continue this story in the future, and any follow-up trilogy that will jump to the top of my to-read list the moment it is announced.  In the meantime, make sure to check out this exceptional book, as well as the proceeding two novels in the trilogy, as The Voyage of the Forgotten gets one of the easiest five-star ratings I have ever given out.

The Voyage of the Forgotten Cover 2

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All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, LGBT+, Young Adult1 Comment

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Publisher: Gollancz (Trade Paperback – 30 August 2022)

Series: All of Us Villains – Book Two

Length: 470 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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After wowing the world with their first collaboration, 2021’s All of Us Villains, the superstar young adult fiction team of Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman return with the second book in their impressive duology, All of Our Demise, one of the most anticipated young adult fantasy releases of the year.

For generations, seven prominent families of the city of Ilvernath have each sacrificed one of their children to a legendary death tournament, the winner of which would secure the extremely powerful high magick for their family.  However, this latest tournament has not turned out like anyone expected.  Already exposed to the world thanks to a tell-all book, some of the champions, led by the seemingly heroic Briony Thorburn, are determined to break free from the bloody tournament that has long haunted their families.  But as they attempt to break the curse that binds the tournament to them by destroying the enchanted artefacts and locations associated with their families, their actions will have unexpected consequences on all around them.

For the first time in its history, the magical Blood Veil that physically separates the participants from the outside world has been broken and now everyone can witness the tournament unfold.  As reporters and members of the public swarm into the historic battleground as witnesses, the participants can return to Ilvernath and seek help from those in town.  The destruction of the Blood Veil seems proof that Briony’s plan is working, but not everyone wants the curse to end.

After the miraculous resurrection of his murdered brother, Hendry, Alistair Lowe believes that the only way he can keep Hendry alive is by winning the tournament.  After murdering his entire evil family and after being cursed by the girl he fell for, Alistair finds himself isolated with Hendry, unsure how to proceed.  However, he soon finds himself working with a surprising new ally in Gavin Grieve, the boy no-one expected to survive, and who has his own desperate reasons for working with the Lowes.  At the same time, the formerly glamorous Isobel Macaslan finds herself drawn to the mysterious Reid MacTavish, whose manipulation of the champions has brought nothing but trouble.  Determined to help Briony destroy the tournament, Isobel will break all the rules to survive, even if that means drafting Reid in against his will.

As the battle lines are drawn and the two groups of champions attempt to path their respective courses to victory, they find unexpected obstacles blocking their way.  Not only are the champions’ manipulative families attempting to sway events to their favour, but the media is determined to make all of them infamous in their own way.  Forced to battle each other both in the tournament and in the field of public opinion, the champions will face unbelievable tragedy and despair as they all try to survive.  However, the biggest threat to all of them may come from outside the tournament, and no-one is prepared for the evils waiting for them in the wider world.

Foody and Lynn Herman have delivered quite an impressive sequel here with All of Our Demise, which presents the reader with another epic and powerful story.  Building on the elaborate narrative and character arcs of All of Us Villains, All of Our Demise takes the reader on an exceptional emotional rollercoaster as they watch four extremely complex and distinctive point-of-view characters battle in impossible circumstances.  All of Our Demise ends up being just as good, if not a little better, than Foody and Lynn Herman’s first impressive outing, and it provides readers with an outstanding and memorable conclusion to this captivating young adult fantasy duology.

I’m still reeling a little bit about how All of Our Demise’s story turned out.  Foody and Lynn Hermann did a remarkable job with this sequel and the story continues seamlessly on from the events of the first book.  Told from the perspective of the four main characters, the death tournament focus of the story has evolved due to the events of All of Us Villains and the characters are now forced to contend with outside forces as they fight in an extended battleground.  The protagonists are now split down the middle as some fight to destroy the tournament for good, while they others try to keep it alive so they can win, either for their own survival or to save those closest to them.  All four protagonists have some brilliant character driven storylines around them, and each of them is fighting for something important to them, whether it be redemption, family, reputation, or respect.  In addition, the protagonists are still reeling from the events of All of Us Villains, and no-one has been left emotionally or physically untouched from the events of the first book.  This results in an emotionally heavy storyline, especially once everyone gets a taste of betrayal, either from the other champions or from other malign figures outside of the main group.  The story evolves at a great pace, and the authors chuck in some imaginative and clever twists as each group starts to get closer to their goal.  New relationships are built while others are torn down, and there are some very intense moments as scorned friends finally confront each other over past betrayals.  Everything leads up perfectly to the big conclusion, where there are some big sacrifices and some major changes in the lives of every protagonist as they reach their endgame.  I really appreciated how this impressive story came together, and you will be left shocked, moved and very satisfied with how this outstanding duology came to an end.

I think the excellent team of Foody and Lynn Herman did a remarkable job pulling All of Our Demise together, and this was an extremely well-written book.  As I mentioned above, this is a pretty epic sequel, and the authors strike off right after the cool cliff-hanger that All of Us Villains ended on.  All the great story elements from the first book are seamlessly continued here, and I really appreciated being able to jump straight into the narrative again.  While the authors do ensure that there is some exposition so that readers can remember what happened in the first book, I would say that All of Our Demise is a bit of a harder book to enjoy if you haven’t read All of Us Villains first.  There are some story and character gaps featured here that might be a bit hard to follow without having read the first book, so I would definitely recommend checking that out first.  Once you are into this story, there really isn’t a slow moment, as the characters are constantly engaged in some form of action, the enhanced intrigue surrounding the event, or a deep examination of their psyche and relationships, especially as they continue to examine the terrible events they have found themselves in.  While All of Our Demise is a bit of a brick, you honestly are never left feeling bored or stuck, and you frankly can’t help but move forward as you are drawn into this elaborate tale.  I really think that the split between the four protagonists is handled perfectly as well, and it ensures you get a well-balanced narrative and substantial time to dive into their respective and impressive character arcs.  This was one of those young adult novels that has a lot of appeal both for its target teen audience, and much older readers, as everyone will deeply appreciate its clever storylines and deeply relatable characters.  I felt that All of Our Demise came together exceptionally well, and this ended up being quite an outstanding and addictive read.

I must make special note of the cool death tournament that is such a fantastic feature of this amazing duology.  I love a great young adult death tournament scenario (who doesn’t?), and the one featured in All of Us Villains and All of Our Demise is particularly inventive, loaded with a unique history, fun magical features, and all manner of devastating tragedy.  I was really impressed with how the authors set up and featured this elaborate tournament in the previous book, and they continue to utilise it throughout All of Our Demise.  The constant fight to survive the lethal tournament becomes even more complicated throughout this second book, and it was fascinating to see how the characters deal with the pressure and the constant war they find themselves in.  There are some excellent features of the tournament that come into play in this second book, including the new magical artefacts and locations featured within that give them varying advantages.  These are generally short lived as the champions are determined to destroy them all, which not only requires them to learn more of their various family’s dark histories but forces them to engage in deadly challenges built into the tournament to destroy it.  These challenges are pretty epic, and it was great to see the protagonists involved in progressively more lethal encounters.

However, the most distinctive and entertaining change to the tournament that occurred in All of Our Demise was the sudden lack invasion of the public that occurred due to the breaking of the Blood Veil barrier.  The tournament has always historically been a private affair between the champions, but now the entire battle is a worldwide sensation being constantly reported on by the media.  It was quite fascinating and a little maddening to see the supposed sombre death tournament devolve further into a gaudy spectacle, equipped with baying fans, manipulative outsiders and a ton of paparazzi, all of whom have a very different view of the events occurring.  I particularly enjoyed seeing the ridiculous media coverage that occurred throughout this second part of the tournament, especially as various over-the-top and often blatantly false headlines and discussions of current tournament events appeared at the start of every chapter, replacing the quotes from the tell-all book that were featured in All of Us Villains.  This media coverage nearly always painted the complex characters in such a terrible light for the rest of world, which was a little hard to see, especially after you have become quite attached to the various protagonists.  However, I personally felt that it drew me into the narrative a little more, and it was a very entertaining and fun element that I had an amazing amount of fun with.  This media coverage had an interesting impact on the events of the narrative, as the characters are forced to conduct interviews and discussions with reporters to further their goals.  This entire change in the publicity of the tournament was a brilliant addition to this second book, and it altered the tone of the book in an impressive and amazing way, that really added to my enjoyment of the book.

However, the best thing about All of Our Demise was the exceptional character work featured within.  Foody and Lynn Herman did such a brilliant job setting up the four complex protagonists in All of Us Villains, and these impressive character arcs are continued seamlessly in the sequel, with each of the protagonists forced to deal with some of the further traumas that were inflicted on them in the first book.  All of Our Demise maintains the same four point-of-view characters as before, and I found myself instantly connected to them again as I remembered their compelling history and the devastating events that occurred to them in the first book.  The authors continued to perfectly build these characters throughout All of Our Demise, subjecting them to further trauma, emotional concerns and hardships, and watching them try to deal with these as they fight for their survival is a key and impressive part of this epic young adult book.

Probably the most compelling character in the entire duology is Alistair Lowe, who simultaneously plays the role of the best antagonist and an intriguing and likeable protagonist.  Alistair is the oldest son of the Lowe family, who are generally considered to be the major villains of the tournament.  Despite being raised from birth to be a monster, Alistair was hesitant about his role in the tournament and was initially a reluctant participant, even though he knew it was his destiny.  Thanks to his romantic interactions with fellow champion Isobel and the murder of his brother Hendry by his family to boost his chances, Alistair had a brief brush as being a hero and destroying the tournament with the others.  However, the apparent resurrection of Hendry by the tournament at the end of All of Us Villains caused Alistair to abandon his allies and attempt to kill Isobel as he believes their plan would result in his brother dying again.  Now fatally cursed and having taken brutal revenge on his family, Alistair is forced to re-envision himself as the villain once again to convince himself to kill the other champions, all to save the most important person in his life.

It is very hard not to appreciate Alistair as character as the authors have done an incredible job creating him and turning him into the most complex figure in the novel.  The authors really did a number on Alistair in the last book, and watching him try and work through all these issues here is extremely powerful, especially as he keeps experiencing more setbacks and traumas as he proceeds.  There is so much tragedy and emotional turmoil surrounding Alistair in this book, and the authors write an excellent arc around him for this sequel.  Watching him try to balance his desires and true nature with everyone’s perspective of him as a monster is just so damn fascinating and moving, and you can’t help but feel sorry for this fictional character.  I am glad that Foody and Lynn Herman did work in a redemption arc for Alistair in All of Our Demise, and there are some surprising, but very heartfelt relationships surrounding him in this novel that help to keep him going.  I really think that the authors handled Alistair perfectly, and he is definitely the character that everyone will remember once they finish this book.

Another character who you fall in love with Isobel Macaslan, another person who has gone through absolute hell through the course of the books.  Forced into the tournament against her will, Isobel tried to use her sudden infamy to her benefit and projected an air of confidence before the tournament, despite being terrified and used by her family.  Since then, she had an unfortunate romantic entanglement with Alistair Lowe which resulted in him murdering her.  Resurrected by a dark curse that makes her more corpse than woman, Isobel is in a very bad place during this book.  Still controlled by doubt and despair, Isobel is uncertain about whether she believes in the plan her friends are proposing and spends most of the book coming to terms with her fears and her growing attachment to another dangerous character.  Throw in some major family issues, as she continues to struggle with her selfish family, and a hostile press who produce some typical paparazzi junk about her, and you some excellent and compelling moments around Isobel that are fascinating to see.  Isobel continues to experience quite a lot of tragedy in this novel and watching her power through them and try to fix all her damaged relationships is a great part of the plot.

The third point-of-view character is Briony Thorburn, who serves quite a key role in the plot.  Briony has seen herself as the hero her entire life and was the only person excited for the tournament.  However, after her younger sister was chosen in her place thanks to the machinations of the government, Briony illegally entered the tournament by incapacitating her sister and cutting her finger off.  Now determined to destroy the tournament, Briony leads the charge to destroy the artefacts and landmarks.  However, there are some major concerns about her actual motivations, as many assume this part of her manipulative hero complex.  Briony spends most of the book trying to redeem herself after the mistakes of the first novel, a task that is complicated by her own family, who have their own sinister plans for her and the other champions.  Mentally isolated and hated by the media, Briony has a terrible time in All of Our Demise, and the authors weave some powerful moments around her.  I honestly think that Briony had one of the best and most complete narratives in the entire series, and All of Our Demise brought her character arc together extremely well.  Like the rest of the cast, it is very hard not to grow attached to Briony as you witness her complicated physical and mental battles unfold, and I really appreciated the outstanding way it ended.

The final main character is Gavin Grieve, who proved to be one of the most surprising and captivating characters from the first book.  The chosen sacrifice of the one family who has never won the tournament, Gavin always knew he was destined to die.  Full of rage and resentment, Gavin chose to make a deal with the devil and accessed a dangerous form of magick that drained his own life to gain substantial power.  Made into a lethal contender but slowly dying, Gavin is convinced by outside forces that they can save him, but they require him to work with Alistair Lowe.  Forced to overcome his own prejudices, most of which revolve from the perceived disrespect of the other champions, Gavin grows close to Alistair, and they form an interesting team.  I was really surprised by the direction of Gavin’s storylines in this book, especially as there are some fantastic reveals and changes in personality.  The authors did a great job of explaining his changes in personality, and I felt that it was quite a natural transition, especially when you consider everything he’s gone through.  Gavin rounded out the central cast of damaged, complex protagonists, extremely well, and I thought that this was a brilliant combination of characters.  Their combined complex storylines and arcs are just superb, and while you might get a little more drawn in to one or two of the characters more than the rest, there is no perspective that you are actively wanting to avoid.  I cannot highlight just how impressive these four characters were, and Foody and Lynn Herman should be commended for the exceptional character work they did here.

The wonderful and insanely talented team of Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman have come up with something truly special with All of Our Demise.  Perfectly finishing the brilliant story started in All of Us Villains, All of Our Demise lived up to all the hype surrounding it and ended up being one of the best young adult fantasy books of the year.  Featuring all the great characters from the first book, Foody and Lynn Herman weave an addictive and deeply personal narrative around them that takes the reader back into the midst of a constantly evolving and deeply traumatising magical death tournament.  Intense, captivating and very complex, All of Our Demise is a highly recommended read, and I cannot have envisioned a better end for the exceptional young adult duology.

All of Our Demise Cover

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