Tag: Magic

Throwback Thursday – Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday1 Comment

Dead Beat Cover

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 3 May 2005)

Series: Dresden Files – Book Seven

Length: 15 hours and 7 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  For this latest review I dive back into the epic Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher with the seventh entry, Dead Beat.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve had a ton of fun finally getting into the iconic Dresden Files books by legendary author Jim Butcher.  Generally considered one of the very best urban fantasy series, the Dresden Files are a deeply captivating series that follows Chicago’s resident wizard, Harry Dresden, as he investigates a series of mystical cases throughout the city, often resulting in epic moments loaded with magic.  I started this series with the latest book, Battle Ground (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020), and then went back to the start to experience the series from the beginning.  So far, I have managed to read Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks and Blood Rites, as well as last year’s novella, The Law.  All these books have been extremely good in their own way, and I have loved the elaborate stories each of them contained.  As such, when I was in the mood for something I was guaranteed to love this week, listening to the next Dresden Files book on my to-read list was an easy choice for me, with the seventh book, Dead Beat.

Harry Dresden, private wizard detective and magical protector of Chicago is always willing to help a person in need no matter the cost.  But even he is unprepared for how far he’ll have to go when an old and merciless enemy imperils one of the people closest to him.  The ancient vampire Mavra has evidence that could destroy his best friend, Karrin Murphy, and threatens to unleash it unless Dresden recovers a powerful book of magic written by the legendary, long-dead necromancer Kemmler.

With no choice but to find the book, Dresden begins his search around Chicago, attempting to discover any trace of its location.  However, his search soon leads him into conflict with a new dark power arriving in the city.  Three of Kemmler’s students have their eyes on the book and the rituals it contains, and they are willing to destroy everyone and anyone to get it, including each other, especially when the prize at stake is godhood.

Caught between the three warring necromancers and their minions, Dresden needs to find the book first to stop their dark ultimate ritual before it can decimate Chicago.  However, each of Kemmler’s students far outclasses him in terms of magical ability and ruthlessness, and with only limited allies to call upon, it looks like even Dresden will have trouble saving the day again.  To survive, he might have to a make a dark deal with an even more malevolent evil, one that that has the potential to damn him forever.

I don’t know how he does it, but every single one of Jim Butcher’s novels that I read is so damn addictive and epic that I always struggle to put it down.  Dead Beat was another outstanding entry in the Dresden Files series, and honestly it might be one of the best I have read so far.  I absolutely powered through its clever and elaborate story as I tried to get to the end, and everything about it was highly enjoyable and fun.  Dead Beat gets another easy five-star rating and I have so much love for how amazing this seventh entry in the series turned out.

Dead Beat has an amazing story to it that effortlessly drew me in with the cool combination of magic, character moments and investigative angles.  Starting off quickly with Dresden drafted into the search for a powerful magic book, the protagonist begins his new investigation, only to discover the dangerous necromancers waiting for them.  Dresden soon has deadly encounters with all three necromancers in Chicago searching for the book, as well as their various minions and associates, which results in some brilliant scenes.  Dead Beat continues by setting Dresden and his allies on a dark course as they simultaneously attempt to find the book and the full extent of the warring necromancer’s plans, while also fending off their attacks.  Dresden keeps getting confronted again and again by his foes, barely escaping each time while also learning more about what is to come.  At the same time, he is forced to deal with certain personal issues, including trauma, complicated relationships, and a literal demon in his head, tempting him with power and knowledge.  There are some great twists, dark moments and emotionally powerful scenes set up around the middle of the novel, and I loved how well Butcher laid out the storylines and hinted at some big moments to come. Everything leads up to an epic concluding final third of the book as Dresden makes some hard decisions and compromises to save the day.  The final confrontation with the bad guys is pretty damn awesome, especially as the protagonist, utilising his usual restraint and good judgment, unleashes a very monstrous response to the antagonist’s minions.  This entire narrative was enthralling from start to finish, and I cannot emphasise just how addictive and entertaining the entire story was.

Dead Beat featured Butcher’s usual excellent writing style which once again lent itself extremely well to the elaborate narrative he came up with.  The pacing of this book was constantly fast and exciting, which guarantees that the reader is always paying attention, especially as every page has either action, some intriguing bit of lore or history, or some intense and compelling character development.  Butcher also ensures that this latest novel has the right blend of great story elements to it, and I deeply enjoyed how the fantasy and mystery elements are well featured as the protagonist is forced to do detective work to get the answers.  All this is overlayed by a great smattering of humour, mostly from the funny protagonist, who approaches the dark events and villains with his usual cockiness and disrespect.  The use of a first-person perspective from Dresden is also quite effective, and I loved seeing events through his eyes, as it allows readers to fully grasp the mystery, while also showcasing the great character developments.  While Dead Beat can be read as a standalone read, especially as Butcher is good at quickly recapping events, at this point in the series readers will benefit from going back and reading the earlier Dresden Files books first.  Dead Beat proves to be a key entry in the larger series, with multiple major events occurring here, and there are a ton of references to the preceding books, including the return of several fantastic characters.  I really got a lot more out of Dead Beat’s story for having read the previous novels, especially as you get to see how much Dresden has been through in the lead up to this book.  Overall, this was a very well-written and impressive novel, and Butcher really ensured that his cool story came through perfectly.

As with the rest of the Dresden Files books, I was really impressed with the blend of fantasy and urban fiction elements in Dead Beat, especially as Butcher has come up with such an elaborate world to set his stories in.  The author adds some cool new elements into his complex world throughout Dead Beat, as Dresden is forced to deal with a whole new branch of dark magic, necromancy.  Necromancy, or the control over the dead, is always a great villainous power in fantasy fiction, and Butcher makes excellent use of it in this book, with three rival necromancers vying for power.  Each uses a different form of necromantic magic in battle, and this results in some outstanding scenes where Dresden is forced to confront them.  The resulting magical mayhem is pretty epic, and Butcher’s unique depiction of zombies was both fun and a little scary.  This intriguing new form of magic ensured that Dead Beat really stood out, and I appreciated how Butcher turned it on its head towards the end when Dresden gets creative.  These excellent portrayals of magic fit within the fantastic setting of modern-day Chicago and it is always fun to see the elaborate balance of magical and mundane features that Butcher has set up within the city.  These great fantasy inclusions blend well with the character work and mystery elements of Dead Beat, and I look forward to seeing how Butcher further expands it in future books.

One thing that I felt Butcher did particularly well in Dead Beat was how he portrayed his brilliant cast of characters.  The Dresden Files always contain great protagonists and villains, but this novel had some of the best portrayals of them to date.  This is especially true for series protagonist and point-of-view character Harry Dresden, who had a great outing here.  Dresden has always been a damaged and conflicted figure in the series, but recent traumas are really weighing him down in Dead Beat as he struggles with a terrible hand injury, as well as the malign influence of the fallen angel bound to him, Lasciel.  The protagonist spends most of the book trying to deal with the influence of Lasciel who subtly manipulates him in many ways, tempting him with power or a solution to his many problems.  Each damaging and desperate encounter that Dresden survives in Dead Beat forces him to reconsider the wisdom of refusing her help, and the subsequent internal battles produce some of the most intense and compelling scenes in the novel.  This continued temptation and manipulation alters Dresden’s personality at times, and it was interesting to see how his allies and friends treat him, especially as Dresden begins to understand the different ways that members of the magical community view him.  Of course, Dresden hides most of his internal pain with his usual hilarious wit and humour, and his irreverent opinions, funny observations, and sheer ability to annoy anyone he encounters, results in most of the book’s humour and over-the-top moments.  Throw in other concerns, including complex relationships, unrequited love, and the character’s desire to prove himself and do the right thing, and this was some of the best character work that Butcher has ever done around his main protagonist.

On top of Dresden, Butcher also features a brilliant cast of support characters and villains that really help to enliven the book.  Dead Beat features a mixture of established supporting characters, as well as several great new ones, each of whom get some excellent moments to show off throughout the book.  I particularly enjoyed how well Butcher utilised the character of Waldo Butters in Dead Beat.  Butters, a kooky and big-hearted mortal medical examiner who had minor roles in a previous novel, is thrust into the limelight during this book, becoming a major ally to Dresden.  Butcher weaves some great storylines around him as he simultaneously finds his courage and begins to understand the magical world that keeps trying to kill him.  Butters proves to be a great supporting figure to Dresden in this book, and I loved their amusing team-up and developing friendship.  There is also a couple of great hints at some of the future storylines involving Butters, and I look forward to seeing more of him.

Aside from Butters, I also enjoyed the appearance of Dresden’s half-brother, the vampire Thomas Raith, who has been crashing at Dresden’s place.  Butcher paints a fun brotherly relationship between the two in this novel, which was quite entertaining at times.  However, the more humorous elements of their relationship are often overshadowed by the deep pain within Raith as he tries to overcome the emotional damage done to him in the previous novel.  I also loved learning more about Dresden’s skull spirit companion, Bob, in Dead Beat, and his dark history proves to be quite fascinating, especially as his former nature contrasts substantially with his usually entertaining persona.  The three necromantic villains, Grevane, the Corpsetaker and Cowl, each bring a certain level of sinisterness to the table, and they prove to be exceptional antagonists in their own way.  Finally, I must highlight the inclusion of Dresden’s new dog, Mouse, who has an awesome outing in Dead Beat.  A young and growing gentle giant, Mouse is a fun animal companion to Dresden and his allies, and I look forward to seeing more of his hijinks in the future.  Honestly, the entire cast of Dead Beat was pretty damn exceptional, and their powerful interactions and internal issues, added so much to the impact and power of this awesome novel.

As with all the Dresden Files novels, I chose to listen to Dead Beat on audiobook, which was an exceptional experience as the audio format helps to enhance the great characters and magical action.  Coming in at just over 15 hours, this is a substantial audiobook, however, I manage to knock it out in a few days, especially once I got caught up in fantastic story.  Naturally, the best thing about the Dead Beat audiobook is the return of actor James Marsters as the narrator.  Marsters, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators thanks to his work on this series, did another brilliant job in Dead Beat and I have so much love for his outstanding performance.  After lending his voice to all the previous Dresden Files novels, Marsters has all the characters down, and each figure is given a fitting and powerful voice that carries through from book to book.  I particularly appreciated his portrayal of main character Harry Dresden, and Marsters perfectly captures the protagonist’s deep emotions and cocky demeaner, ensuring that you are both drawn to his pain and entertained by his antics.  In addition to the excellent voices, Marsters also has some noticeable and contagious enthusiasm in his narration, especially when it comes to the magical battles, and you can really feel his passion and excitement in parts of the story, especially when he loudly shouts out Dresden’s magical spells.  This narration from Marsters is so damn good, and it ensures that I had an exceptional time with Dead Beat’s audiobook, while is the absolute best way to enjoy a Dresden File novel.

In the seventh entry in his iconic Dresden Files series, Dead Beat, Jim Butcher has produced another exceptional read and one that I cannot recommended enough.  Featuring a particularly impressive and captivating narration, cool magical inclusions, and some of the best character work Butcher has ever done, Dead Beat is one the best Dresden Files novels I have read so far, and I loved everything about it.  This was such an amazing book, and I am very much intending to read several more entries in this outstanding series later this year.

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Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books2 Comments

Son of the Poison Rose Cover

Publisher: Macmillan Audio (Audiobook – 10 January 2023)

Series: Kagen the Damned – Book Two

Length: 25 hours and 55 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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One of my favourite authors, Jonathan Maberry, returns to his intriguing fantasy world in a big way with the second Kagen the Damned novel, Son of the Poison Rose.

Readers familiar with my blog will know I am a massive Jonathan Maberry fan, and the path to my current obsession with his work is well documented throughout The Unseen Library.  I started off by reading his fantastic 2018 novel, Deep Silence, quite early in my blogging career, and this ended up getting me into the rest of his exceptional Joe Ledger series, including The Dragon Factory, The King of Plagues, Predator One and Dogs of War.  I have also had a great time reading his sequel Rogue Team International series, which featured the epic books Rage (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019) and Relentless (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), as well as the fun standalone novel Ink (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2020).  Needless to say, I have deeply enjoyed his cool books, and this only increased when he made his impact into the fantasy fiction world last year with Kagen the Damned.

Kagen the Damned was an amazing and exceptional dark fantasy novel that took the reader on a wild ride.  Set in a brutal fantasy world of Maberry’s own invention, Kagen the Damned followed the titular character of Kagen Vale, a highly regarded hero and palace guard of the Silver Empire who loses everything in a single night when the armies of the dread nation Hakkia invade with dark magic, led by the powerful and deadly Witch-king.  Forced to watch his parents, his empress, and the royal children he was sworn to protect die terrible deaths, a haunted Kagen flees, only to be further destroyed when he beholds his gods turning their back on him, damming him for his failure.  Now known as The Damned, Kagen travels the world in a daze before finally regaining his senses and launching an attack on the Witch-king at his coronation.  However, this reveals secrets that shock Kagen further and spelling doom for the entire world.  I had an epic time reading Kagen the Damned last year, and it ended up being one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022.  Between this and the cool Kagen the Damned novella I Say Your Name in the Dark Nights, I have been eagerly awaiting a second novel and I was very excited when I heard that Son of the Poison Rose was coming out.  Son of the Poison Rose was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I finally managed to read it a short while ago and it was everything I hoped it would be and more.

“There is blood on the ground between us!”

Following his failed assassination attempt on the Witch-king of Hakkia, Kagen Vale, better known as Kagen the Damned, is once again the run with his companions, Tuke Brakson and Filia alden-Bok, attempting to find safety and come up with a new strategy of survival and revenge.  While their plan to kill the Witch-king failed, their attack stopped the return of the Hakkian God, Hastur, while also opening up the possibility of war, as the Witch-king’s fellow monarchs see the Hakkians as vulnerable.  However, Kagen also uncovered the terrible secret that the Witch-king is his older brother Herepath, who has turned his back on everything he once believed in to unleash great evil upon the world.

Wandering the wilderness, Kagen, Tuke and Filia attempt to come up with a new way to strike back against the Hakkian forces.  Their journey eventually leads them to the north of the continent, where they attempt to recruit an army of nationless-rogues, mercenaries and fighters to their cause.  But force of arms alone will not be enough to stop the Witch-king, instead Kagen and his allies will need magic.  But with magic long banned within the Silver Empire, only the Hakkians have any real knowledge of the mystic arts.  To that end, Kagen turns to former nun turned spymistress, Mother Frey, who sends Kagen on a deadly mission to a long lost city in a dangerous jungle in the hopes of recovering ancient books of dark magic.

However, the Witch-king is far from idle while Kagen is working against him.  With his army spread thin and the nations of the former Silver Empire all gearing up for war, the future looks grim for the usurper and his advisors.  But with new dark allies arriving every day, called to his side by magic, the Witch-king plans to unleash a magical plague, one that will turn his enemies into a ravenous, unthinking horde.  With such power at the Witch-king’s command, will Kagen’s quest reveal something powerful enough to defeat him?  And even if he does, will Kagen be able to fight his own brother?

Wow, wow, wow, what an epic and exceptional book!  Maberry can really do no wrong when it comes to his writing and this impressive sequel really hammers home what a talented author he is.  Masterfully expanding on the narrative set up in the first book, Son of the Poison Rose contains Maberry’s trademark blend of intensity, awesome action, complex characters, and dark world building that I love so much.  I absolutely powered through this lengthy novel, and it earns Maberry another easy five-star rating from me as I loved every single second I spent with it.

Maberry continues his sprawling and dark narrative in Son of the Poison Rose, as this book takes the reader in some great and captivating new directions.  Taking place in the explosive aftermath of Kagen the Damned, Son of the Poison Rose starts off in a big and action-packed way as Kagen and his allies find themselves being hunted by everything the Witch-king can throw at them.  Maberry quickly establishes his usual practice of featuring a huge number of different perspectives to showcase not only the adventures of the protagonists, but also the actions and schemes of the antagonists and the impacts that their machinations have throughout the world.  The main story of Kagen is pretty epic as it sees the protagonist and his friends struggling through new lands in the search of allies and magic.  While this results in some great scenes for Kagen in the first two thirds of the book, including a great haunted house sequence, his story here feels a little meandering at times without too much progress being made.  However, this is more than made up from the various alternate perspectives and worldbuilding that occurs in the same period.  It is so damn fascinating and entertaining to see the various dark and often horrifying plots of the antagonists come into effect as they plot for war.  These storylines blend spy thriller and dark fantasy elements together really well and you are drawn into these storylines, especially as Maberry takes the opportunity to strengthen the followers of the antagonists in some big ways.  The simultaneous build-up of other complex supporting characters, as well as the many examinations of various corners of Maberry’s new fantasy world adds to the impressive tapestry of the first two thirds of the story, and I was pretty damn hooked during this part of the book.

Maberry ramps up the intensity in the final third of the book as the various intriguing storylines he set up in the start of the novel really come to fruition.  This is headlined by Kagen and his allies travelling into a dangerous jungle nation to find a legendary ancient city where magical texts are hidden.  While I was initially concerned this part of Kagen’s story was going to be rushed, it ended up being very well written and awesome, as they encounter all manner of evils out in the jungle.  This final third of the book was again firmly enhanced by the continued dive back to the antagonists, where you see their evil plot to fill the jungle with zombies and other deadly creatures to kill Kagen and his comrades.  This results in an epic series of battles which keep you on the edge of your seat, as you know Maberry will not hesitate to kill off his characters.  The author chucks in several massive revelations around this part of the book, including finally showing the motivation behind the Witch-king’s actions, and the entire narrative ends on a big note while also expertly setting the stage for even more chaos in the following novel.  This ended up being a particularly epic story and I was firmly hooked the entire way through.

Those who are familiar with Mabbery’s novels will know that the author has a very distinctive style which has worked wonders in his many thriller novels.  Maberry successfully transported this style across to the fantasy genre last year with Kagen the Damned, and I felt it really enhanced his already impressive story.  Naturally he continues it in Son of the Poison Rose and it is still really effective at conveying the vast scope of his tale.  The main basis for his style is the utilisation of a vast number of shorter perspective chapters which showcase events from multiple characters across the narrative.  This results in a vast and complex story that not only allows the reader to see the adventures of the protagonist but also highlight the other players throughout the realm, including the antagonist, his court, the members of the resistance, and even several kings and rulers from unaligned nations who are making plans for war.  Maberry further expands out the plot by including a series of intriguing, often standalone interludes, which showcase smaller, self-contained stories within the wider universe.  These interludes are usually pretty cool, both by themselves and as extensions of the larger story, and I love how inventive and dark Maberry can be at times.  This mass of perspectives really helps to create an extensive and complex plot that has so many different aspects to it.  Seeing the protagonist and antagonist constantly reacting to the actions of each other, as well as other figures in the book, really ups the stakes and intensifies the plot, and I loved how Maberry gave this fantasy novel a strong thriller feel, especially with the continues focuses on politics, espionage and revenge.

Now, one thing about Maberry’s writing style that is not going to appeal to everyone is just how dark and disturbing the author makes the story.  Maberry is a particularly over-the-top writer at times, as he really does not hold back on the gore, violence and depravity, with the characters witnessing or causing all manner of mayhem or gruesome acts.  While this excessive violence and brutality fits the dark fantasy realm that Maberry has created, particularly as it highlights just how evil the antagonist and his legions can be, it is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  The torture, abuse and sadism of many scenes can be a bit much at times, and anyone that dislikes that sort of inclusion is probably best served to avoid this series.  However, for those that remain, I will point out that Maberry’s attention to bloody detail does ensure that the action sequences are extremely awesome.  The author has a gift for bringing the brutality and intensity of the battlefield to life in some truly glorious scenes, and you will be enthralled by every swing of the dagger or sword that he writes.  These action scenes are a beautiful, if bloody, highlight of this book, and the overall excessiveness of some of the scenes, especially when focusing on an over-the-top villain really plays into the wider narrative and setting.

I am still in love with the cool new dark fantasy world that Maberry created in Kagen the Damned, especially as the author took his time to populate with evil creatures, Lovecraftian gods and so much damn despair.  His first book served as a brilliant introduction to the various intriguing nations, and I deeply appreciated the intricate depictions of the Hakkian invasion, as well as the subtle and slow reintroduction of magic into this world.  Maberry continues to build up this world in several ways throughout Son of the Poison Rose, which results in some amazing story elements.  The focus on several of the other realms not seen in the first book is pretty interesting, as is the examination of the complex politics of the land as these now independent nations contemplate war with Hakkia after the concluding events of Kagen the Damned.  This builds up several great storylines as these rebelling nations and the Witch-king’s court plot different strategies to win any future wars.  Maberry also has a lot of fun exploring several new lands that were only hinted at in the previous books, and the protagonists soon end up in several unique and deadly landscapes, including cursed snowscapes with mysterious creatures, lethal jungles, and massive ruined cities dedicated to overthrown gods.  All of these locations are expertly introduced and described by Maberry, who uses them to his full advantage to increase tension and ensure that all the inevitable battles have a compelling new edge to them.

Another excellent thing that Maberry continues to do in Son of the Poison Rose is show how magic is slowly returning to the land due to the machinations of the Witch-king.  Thanks to several great chapters and interludes, you get to see the full horror as old magical creatures re-emerge, including the always reliable zombie, which plays very heavily into the plot.  Maberry is no stranger when it comes to zombies, having featured them in several books before (Patient Zero and Code Zero for example) and he uses to them to great effect here, both as political tools for the antagonist, and as rabid obstacles for the protagonists.  Other awesome features include the unstoppable, demonically powered, Razor Knight, which has a great showing at the end of the book, and it will be interesting to see how that, as well as some of the other magic unleashed in Son of the Poison Rose, come into effect in the rest of the series.  I also really appreciated how Maberry kept including a few references to his other series throughout Son of the Poison Rose, which is always a lot of fun for his established fans.  The hints of connection between this world and the settings of other books from Maberry is noticeable and fun without being too mysterious for new readers.  I especially loved the inclusion of a fantastic new villainous character who readers of the Joe Ledger books will be well familiar with under a different name, which I thought was an awesome touch for those who have read his other books.  I deeply enjoyed the impressive world building that Maberry did in Son of the Poison Rose, and I look forward to seeing how else he expands it in the rest of the series.

As always, one of the absolute best parts of Son of the Poison Rose were the exceptional, complex, and well-written characters that Maberry has expertly crafted together.  This includes a great combination of established figures from the first book, as well as a good collection of new characters who add some outstanding original spice to his second book.  Thanks to huge number of perspective chapters, the Kagen the Damned series features a pretty massive cast of damaged or sinister figures that Maberry uses to full effect to tell an elaborate overarching narrative.

Unsurprisingly, most of the focus of the book falls on series titular character, Kagen Vale, better known as Kagen the Damned.  Kagen had an outstanding introduction in the first book, where you see him lose everything, including his gods, in a single night, which drives him to great despair.  While he has managed to mostly recover from this thanks to his friends, he is still haunted by that dark night, especially after learning the truth about who the Witch-king is, as well as the identity of his heirs.  Driven by even further guilt, confusion, and anger towards his brother and his treachery, Kagen continues his impressive and emotionally rich journey in Son of the Poison Rose, and I had an outstanding time along the ride with him.  Maberry writes Kagen in an outstanding way throughout this book, and you really feel his pain and continued anger as he tries to deal with everything that has happened to him.  While he does bear some noticeable similarities to Maberry’s other major protagonist, Joe Ledger, especially when it comes to lethal prowess and severe psychological damage, I think that the author does enough to set Kagen apart, especially as his painful motivating event is a lot more raw and personal, resulting in some emotionally charged sequences.

Aside from Kagen, Maberry sets up a great supporting cast who add a lot to the main storyline while also introducing their own intriguing character moments.  It was great to see the return of Kagen’s main associates, Tuke and Filia, who continue to follow him into hell.  These three characters have great chemistry together and they form an impressive emotional centre to the story, especially as Tuke and Filia serve as Kagen’s conscience and voice of reason.  I also liked the return of Mother Frey, the clever spy mistress who is attempting to control the resistance against the Hakkians.  Her insights into the world and its political players often expands the intrigue of the story and she serves as a compelling figure in the plot.  I did find it interesting that one of the major figures from the first book, Ryssa, barely appeared in this novel after her fantastic storyline in Kagen the Damned.  However, her few appearances seem to hint at some sinister things in the future, and I look forward to seeing what Maberry organises with that.  Some of the more complicated and disturbing scenes of Son of the Poison Rose revolve around the captured Alleyn and Desalyn/Gavran and Foscor, the royal twins who were captured during the invasion, psychologically broken down, and forcibly given new identities.  These two mentally mutilated children spend the entire book trying to retain and regain their memories in some pretty dark scenes and thanks to their affliction, they run the gauntlet from sweet and damaged, to homicidal maniacs.  I felt that Maberry really showcased the twins’ mental state perfectly, and their dark storyline was an excellent addition to the plot.

However, to my mind, some of the best characters in Son of the Poison Rose are the villains, who add an entertaining and impressively sinister edge to the book, while also expanding out the political intrigue aspects of the plot.  These complex antagonists are led by the evil and destructive Witch-king, who was revealed to be Kagen’s long lost brother Herepath.  Empowered by dark magic, vengeance, and a need to keep his true identity hidden, the Witch-king continues his mission to kill Kagen and ensure that and opposition to this power is utterly destroyed.  The Witch-king proves to be a particularly malevolent figure throughout Son of the Poison Rose, even after his motivations are revealed to the reader, and he is the perfect foil to Kagen and his companions.

The Witch-king is backed up by a court of loyal, terrified advisors, each of whom are dedicated to the Witch-king’s plans, while also trying to stay alive and gather their own power.  This includes the fantastic trio of Lord Nespar, Lady Kestral and Jakob Ravensmere, each of whom have their own reasons for serving the Witch-king, and who each suffer for it in different ways, especially Kestral.  Nespar and Ravensmere deeply enhance the political thriller focus of Son of the Poison Rose, as their analysis, plotting and attempts to keep the Hakkians strong on behalf of their master results in some fantastic and powerful moments.  I also must call out the mysterious new evils that join the Witch-king’s side during Son of the Poison Rose, especially as many bring their own form of magic and despair with them.  The highlight of these new characters is the fantastic and devilish Prince of Games, a mysterious figure who comes to the Witch-king’s side to give advice, counsel and chaos.  The Prince of Games really stood out to me, not just because of his portrayal in Son of the Poison Rose but because of the great, universe-spanning implications his appearance has, and I cannot wait to see what havoc he creates throughout this series.  All of the antagonists are pretty great, and they all bring their own horror and darkness to the story, especially as they all do some pretty terrible and gruesome things to stay in power.  Honestly, every character in Son of the Poison Rose is awesome and memorable in their own way, and Maberry once again shows himself to be the master at effectively bringing together a truly complex cast of damaged and misfit figures.

In my opinion, the only way to properly enjoy a Jonathan Maberry novel is to listen to its audiobook, especially if that audiobook is narrated by the legendary Ray Porter.  This has been the case for pretty much every Maberry novel I have had the pleasure of reading, including Son of the Poison Rose, and all these epic audiobooks have been something special.  Not only do Maberry’s elaborate storylines and settings get the gravitas and exposure that they deserve in this format, but Porter’s narration really amps up the dark nature of the narrative and provides perfect depictions of the characters.  Porter, who is easily one of my favourite audiobook narrators, does another exceptional job in Son of the Poison Rose and I absolutely powered through this audiobook thanks to it.  His voice really lends itself to every dark and deadly scenario that Maberry envisions in this novel, and the way that he can convey fear, hatred and pure evil with his voice is just amazing.  His real talent lies in his ability to bring all Maberry’s complex characters to life in a particularly fitting way.  I especially love how he portrays the main protagonist, Kagen Vale, and he really captures every bit of pain, despair and resolve that this battered character contains.  Throw in a series of particularly disturbing voices for all the inhuman and horrifying creatures that the characters encounter, and this is a perfect narration that adds so much to my enjoyment of an already epic book.  With a run time of nearly 26 hours, Son of the Poison Rose is a particularly long audiobook (it would come in at number 14 on my latest Longest Audiobook I Have Ever Listened To list), but it is well worth the time investment especially once you get caught up in the twisted story.  I personally powered through it extremely quickly, as the combination of the amazing writing and impressive narration ensured I was listening to it continuously and loving every damn second of it.  As such, I must once again strongly recommend the audiobook format to anyone wanting to check out Son of the Poison Rose, and you will not be disappointed if you do as this is easily one of the best audiobooks of 2023.

I could go on for ages about Son of the Poison Rose, as Jonathan Maberry has done another exceptional job with this second Kagen the Damned novel.  Featuring an electric and addictive dark fantasy narrative, loaded with carnage, battles, great characters and an elaborate world on the brink of war, Son of the Poison Rose was a joy from start to finish, especially in its audiobook format.  This is easily one of the best fantasy books I have read all year and I cannot wait to see how Maberry continues this epic story in the future.  A masterful second book in one of the best ongoing dark fantasy series!

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The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Fantasy, Young Adult2 Comments

The Isles of the Gods Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin (Trade Paperback – 2 May 2023)

Series: The Isles of the Gods – Book One

Length: 456 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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One of Australia’s best young adult fantasy authors, Amie Kaufman, returns with another impressive and captivating read that combines amazing fantasy elements with a great cast of teenage characters in The Isles of the Gods.

Amie Kaufman is an outstanding Australian author who has produced several amazing series over the years.  While she has written individual series, such as her Elementals trilogy, Kaufman’s career has been particularly defined by her collaborations with other impressive authors, including Meagan Spooner, with whom she cowrote the Starbound trilogy and Unearthed series, and Jay Kristoff, with whom she cowrote The Illuminae Files series.  I best know Kaufman from another series she wrote with Kristoff, the Aurora Cycle trilogy.  This outstanding trilogy, which featured the amazing books Aurora Rising, Aurora Burning and Aurora’s End, told a brilliant story about a squad of teenage space peacekeepers as they attempt to save the universe from all manner of dangerous threats.  I had a lot of fun with this series, and I have been meaning to read more from both Kaufman and Kristoff for a while.  As such, I was very excited when I received a copy of Kaufman’s new young adult fantasy, The Isles of the Gods, and I made sure to read it as soon as I could.

Following a devastating war between the gods that destroyed nations, peace has reigned in the world for five hundred and one years.  This peace was hard won, as the aggressive Macean, God of risks, was only brought to heel by the actions of the warrior God Barrica and her followers from the Kingdom of Alinor.  The sacrifice of Alinor’s king allowed Barrica to imprison her brother in a deep sleep, one that Macean has been unable to awaken from in half a millennium.  With the other gods stepping back from reality, only Macean and Barrica remain in the world, with Barrica serving as eternal sentinel over her brother’s sleep.  However, as tensions once again being to rise in the world and Barrica’s power seems to fade, the people of Mellacea, loyal followers of Macean, begin to plot war with Alinor and seek to bring back Macean once again.

Selly is a young and ambitious sailor whose many desires, be they the command of her own ship or of magic, seem always just out of her reach.  Trapped by circumstance in the Alinor capital of Kirkpool, Selly plots to sneak away from her controlling ship’s captain and try to reach her father.  However, her plans are ruined when she unexpectedly runs into the cocky and flamboyant Prince Leander of Alinor.  A powerful magician generally considered a fop by his people, Leander commandeers Selly and her ship for a secret mission to the legendary Isles of the Gods, where Leander needs to perform a ritual which could end the war before it even begins.

As the journey begins, Selly finds herself clashing with the prince, who she sees as spoiled and incapable of taking his responsibilities seriously.  But as they continue, they soon find themselves caught in the middle of a disaster.  Forces from Mellacea are plotting to start the war, and their first strike destroys the diversionary fleet Leander was supposed to be travelling on.  Fleeing from enemies on all fronts, Selly and Leander will need to work with a young scholar to survive and try to achieve their goal.  But to win, they’ll need to defeat a dangerous group of killers which includes an ambitious criminal desperate to prove herself to her sister and her god, and one of Leander’s former best friends, who is determined to get revenge.  Can Selly and Leander succeed and stop the war, or will the gods once again rise to devastate the world?

Kaufman produces another elaborate and captivating read with The Isles of the Gods, which I had an outstanding time reading.  Featuring an excellent new fantasy setting, a powerful young adult narrative, and some absolutely amazing characters, The Isles of the Gods is an epic read that I managed to power through in a few fantastic days.

The Isles of the Gods has an excellent and fast-paced young adult fantasy narrative that is guaranteed to drag you in and keep you hooked the entire way through.  Starting off with a bit of useful exposition, especially in a compelling prelude, the main narrative quickly introduces the reader to the five main characters of the story through their specific perspective chapters.  While each character has their own specific story, the main plot is practically split into two as three of the characters, Selly, Leander and Keegan, attempt to head to The Isles of the Gods, while the other two characters, Jude and Laskia, are involved in the plot to kill Leander.  Kaufman builds up an intriguing and powerful story around these alternate narratives, and the reader is soon caught in the captivating journey across the sea that each of them undertakes.  Split into four parts, the story has a good flow to it as all the characters find obstacles to overcome.  This includes a nautically focused first part, an intense second part with the protagonists trapped in enemy territory, a short third part which again is strongly nautically based, while the climatic fourth part brings everything together as the reader is engulfed in tragedy and the intriguing conclusion to several character arcs and storylines.  Each part of the story is pretty exciting and emotionally powerful the entire way through as the characters engage in their respective quests while trying to deal with their many personal dramas and relationships.  There are some very dark moments loaded into the narrative and I deeply appreciated the way that Kaufman slowly teased out revelations about each character ensuring that there was always more for the reader to learn.  The Isles of the Gods ends on a very interesting note as every character completes their respective arcs and a new potential chapter of their life is revealed.  It is very clear that there is a lot more of this story to go and it will be quite intriguing to see what happens in the author’s next novel.

Kaufman utilised an excellent and easy to enjoy writing style in The Isles of the Gods that complimented the complex narrative and ensured that the reader would get really caught up in all the relevant events.  The split of the story around five separate point-of-view characters worked exceedingly well, and I really appreciated seeing multiple sides to the same events, especially as you get the perspective of protagonists, antagonists, and reluctant followers, each of which brings something very different to the story.  The short, sharp chapters from multiple perspectives really moves the story along at great pace while also leaving plenty of room to develop the characters and dive into the compelling relationships and issues between each of the protagonists.  Kaufman hits a fantastic balance between action, intrigue, humour, world building, romance and character growth throughout The Isles of the Gods, and there was barely a second that wasn’t compelling in its own way.  I particularly enjoyed the many scenes set on the water as Kaufman had a lot of fun in a primarily nautical novel.  Nautically themed fantasy books aren’t always the easiest of things for an author to pull off, but I felt Kaufman did an outstanding job with it as she crafts multiple outstanding sequences out on the waves which is often enhanced by the character’s use of magic.

As I mentioned above, The Isles of the Gods is a young adult novel, which, thanks to its excellent teenage cast, is focused towards a younger audience.  This is one of those young adult novels that will appeal to quite a large audience of readers, especially as Kaufman has featured a lot of mature themes throughout the book, including war, death, sacrifice and finding oneself.  Teenage readers will really appreciate the way that Kaufman doesn’t pull any punches with her story and leaves a lot of complex elements for them to get to grips with.  At the same time, this more mature content, intriguing new fantasy setting, and complicated characters will ensure that older readers can still have a lot of fun with this novel, and any major fantasy fan will deeply enjoy and appreciate the fantastic story that Kaufman pulled together.  As such, I would strongly recommend The Isles of the Gods to a huge range of different readers, and there is really something for everybody here.

Something that always impresses me about Amie Kaufman as an author is the way that she can create new and sophisticated new fantasy realms for each of her excellent series.  The Isles of the Gods is a particularly good example of this as Kaufman sets her narrative around a great new fantasy realm with some intriguing backstory and elements to it.  I loved the cool history, which involves fallen gods and warring nations, that the author works into the overarching plot perfectly, ensuring that all these intriguing details become quite essential to the main story.  The resulting world gets some gets some substantial exploration throughout The Isles of the Gods, and Kaufman takes the time to visit some of the more fascinating and distinctive locales in this world, while leaving the door open for more to be explored in the future.  The world itself has a good mixture of steampunk technology and magic to it, and I liked how the authors dives into the mechanics behind both religion and the spirt based elemental magic that was so key to the plot.  The recurring focus on sacrifice, which proves to be essential for both magic and the gods, was particularly noteworthy, especially as it results in some powerful moments, and it really made these fantasy elements pop.  All this creativity from Kaufman helped to turn The Isles of the Gods into an outstanding read, and I look forward to exploring more of this realm in the future.

One of the big highlights of The Isles of the Gods for me was the exceptional collection of focal characters.  The plot of this impressive fantasy novel focuses around five teenagers, each of whom have multiple chapters shown from their perspective.  Kaufman develops some amazing and moving character arcs across the book and you really get drawn into the personal stories and the intriguing relationships that form between them.

A large amount of the plot revolves around the characters of Selly and Leander, who form the emotional heart of the book.  Selly is a sailor and failed magician who is desperate to escape her current life and finally become the captain she things she deserves.  She runs straight into the beacon of overconfidence and charisma that is Leander at the start of the book and their storylines end up intertwined the entire way through.  Leander is easily the most entertaining character in the entire book and his fun manner, exceptional magical abilities and ability to charm most people will swiftly have you falling in love with him.  This works in great contrast to Selly, who is one of the few people unimpressed with Leander, and the two enter a somewhat antagonistic relationship as they clash on everything.  Of course, this eventually leads to a romance (this is young adult fiction after all), but the build up to it works really well.  The two characters play off each other perfectly, especially as they call out each other’s flaws and mistakes, and you really grow to enjoy the banter between them.  Along the way, the characters both address some of their deeper issues, such as Selly’s failure when it comes to contacting spirits and Leander’s inner fears and guilt which drives him to act so over-the-top.  Kaufman works these compelling character issues into the narrative extremely well and it helps the reader to build a stronger attachment to Leander and Selly throughout.  Their joint arc ends up being a major highlight of The Isles of the Gods, and it will be interesting to see how Kaufman continues it in the future.

The Isles of the Gods features three other point-of-view characters, each of whom has their own distinctive and compelling story arc.  The first of these is Keegan, an Alinorish noble who has run away from his family and responsibilities to try and become a scholar.  A former classmate of Leander’s, Keegan is dragged into the adventure inadvertently when Leander charters Selly’s ship on which he is a passenger.  Portrayed as asexual and a little antisocial, Keegan is a solid member of the cast who is initially reluctant to help but eventually becomes a firm companion to Selly and Leander.  His scholarly knowhow and history with Leander lead to some big moments in the novel, and he is partially responsible for Leander’s growth within the book.  Another character with a complex history with Leander is Jude, a noble bastard from Alinor who was also at school with Leander and Keegan.  However, he has since moved to Mellacea after an apparent betrayal by Leander and now works for a crime lord.  Forced into the plot to kill his former friend, Jude goes through quite a lot of conflict throughout the novel as he finds himself getting dragged deeper and deeper into the chaos against his will while also trying to understand his complex past with Leander.  Jude serves as a quite a good alternate perspective within the antagonists’ ranks, showcasing a more conflicted and human view of their actions, and his story added a lot to the plot.  The final character is Laskia, who serves as the main antagonist of the story.  The younger sister of a notorious Mellacean crime lord, Laskia is an ambitious religious fanatic, desperate to prove herself to her sister and to her god Macean.  She leads the conspiracy to kill Leander, and despite her ruthless actions is shown to be troubled and unsure of herself.  However, her ambitious and righteous fury continue to drive her on, and she has a powerful and dark arc throughout the novel that really drew me in.  Honestly, all five point-of-view characters were pretty exceptional, and it will be very interesting to see how Kaufman continues their storylines in the future.

Amie Kaufman continues to dominate the young adult fantasy scene in a big way with her latest epic book, The Isles of the Gods.  This very talented Australian author has produced another amazing and awesome read that blends complex characters, a cool new setting, and an addictive and impressive young adult fantasy narrative, that had me hooked the entire way through.  I had such a brilliant time reading The Isles of the Gods and I’m extremely keen to see how Kaufman will continue it in the future.  This is an exceptional young adult fantasy novel that you need to check out!

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The Tyrant Skies by David Annandale

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Superhero, Tie-in NovelLeave a comment

The Tyrant Skies Cover

Publisher: Aconyte Books (Ebook – 2 May 2023)

Series: Marvel Untold

Length: 254 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Two of Marvel’s greatest villains square off in this highly entertaining tie-in novel from talented author David Annandale, The Tyrant Skies.

As most people familiar with this blog will know, I am a man who loves a good tie-in novel, be it related to Star Wars, Star Trek or Warhammer.  However, one genre of tie-in books that I haven’t had a great deal experience with is those based around comic books, having only read a few in recent years, such as Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee and Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Mass.  However, that looks set to change as I was recently lucky enough to receive a couple of particularly fun Marvel tie-in novels through Netgalley.  The first of these is The Tyrant Skies by David Annandale, which focuses on the always awesome supervillain, Doctor Doom.  Introduced as part of the Marvel Untold novel sub-series, The Tyrant Skies is the third Doctor Doom novel by Annandale, who previously released The Harrowing of Doom and Reign of the Devourer.  This third novel also has a great story to it as it sees Doom face off against an old rival, the Red Skull.

After defeating the deadly monsters that haunted his realm, Victor Von Doom has established peace within Latveria.  However, this peace is short-lived as a new danger begins to rise in the world, one with an unhealthy obsession with both Latveria and Doom.  The newly formed island nation of Wolkenland has just revealed itself to the world and quickly establishes itself as a playground for the rich and powerful, while also appearing to offer new lives for the world’s dispossessed.  However, Wolkenland hides a dark secret at its heart: it’s true ruler is the insane fascist Red Skull.

Still enraged by his failed invasion of Latveria and his humiliating defeat at the hands of Doom, Red Skull is determined to gain revenge on his enemies by using the influence and power of Wolkenland.  Utilising advanced technology and cosmic power, Red Skull transports Wolkenland to float above Latveria and begins a deadly invasion to capture the country and its advanced technology.

Doom’s only choice is to travel to Wolkenland and confront Red Skull directly, but even the might of Doctor Doom is unable to face the full power his enemy has amassed.  With his country threatened, his body weakened, and the only woman he ever loved held hostage on Wolkenland, Doom will need to use every bit of cunning, intelligence and manipulation in his possession to face down the Red Skull.  But even if he succeeds, the Red Skull has an ace up his sleeve that could destroy Latveria and break the entire world.

This was a pretty solid and deeply enjoyable novel from Annandale that tells a great story while also referencing some interesting elements from classic Marvel comics.  The story in The Tyrant Skies follows on a degree from Annandale’s last two novels and this time sees Doctor Doom and his country facing an insidious invasion from the Red Skull and his new island fortress.  The story advances at a pretty awesome pace, and the early highlights include Doom invading Wolkenland and unleashing his trademark havoc upon his foes.  After the necessary setback for the protagonist, the story evolves into an intriguing phase with a de-powered Doom leading a slave rebellion against Red Skull, while down in Latveria several of the series’ supporting characters fight off the invasion using tools featured in the prior books.  The action and intrigue were pretty non-stop the entire way through, and Annandale keeps the reader hooked to the book with some amazing and elaborate sequences.  I personally loved some of the twists that developed, especially as Annandale brings in a couple of foes that haven’t been seen in comics for a very long time, and it was great to see how Doom faced off against them.  The story does get pretty big and explosive at times, and I liked some of the great underlying examinations of tolerance, fascism and the vices of the mega-rich, all of which were used to great effect to make Doom, the brutal and deadly tyrant, actually seem like the good guy.  The author ends everyone on a pretty compelling note, and I ended up coming away from The Tyrant Skies fairly happy with the cool action-filled and entertaining story that Annandale served up.

As I mentioned before, The Tyrant Skies serves as the third book in an intriguing trilogy from Annandale that dives into Doom’s connection to his country as well as his own dark ambitions and adversaries.  I felt that The Tyrant Skies continued this story thread extremely well, and it was interesting to see how several of the recurring characters and their storylines developed as a result.  However, Annandale also makes The Tyrant Skies quite accessible to new readers as well, and if this your first Marvel novel you can dive into it with very little prior knowledge about the series.  While substantial comic or Fantastic Four knowledge isn’t needed to enjoy this book, Annandale does fill the story with several compelling references to previous comics, some of which were published a very long time ago.  Not only does the origin of Doom and Red Skull’s feud emerge from the pages of these older comics, but there are references to Doom’s dark relationship with Valeria, especially her death in the main comics, as well as other previous adventures.  Annandale also pulls one particularly intriguing feature out of a very old, obscure comic by Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber and Stan Lee, which I had honestly never heard about.  The author’s fun description about this somewhat absurd comic will get a chuckle out of aficionados of classic comics who will appreciate the intriguing references.  Annandale’s love for all things comic related really shines through with his writing, and I loved how he was able to effectively describe and bring to life several scenes that would usually need a full comic spread to appreciate.  I personally thought this was an outstanding and very clever tie-in to the larger Marvel universe and The Tyrant Skies is a great book to check out no matter how connected you are to source material.

Of course, one of the major parts of The Tyrant Skies is Annandale’s excellent portrayal of Victor von Doom, who steals any scene he is in.  Doom is probably one of the best villains (or anti-heroes, depending at how you look at him) in the entire Marvel canon, so anything featuring him is bound to be good (excluding a few Fantastic Four movies).  Annandale’s use of Doom in The Tyrant Skies is pretty spot on, and he shows the protagonist at his full power and intelligence.  I love the sheer arrogance and pride that dominates much of Doom’s character, and every scene shown from Doom’s point of view works to highlight this.  Annandale also looks deep into the powers and abilities of Doom, puling out some interesting elements of his abilities over the years.  Not only do you get to appreciate the technological prowess of Doom, but Annandale also makes sure to fully feature his magical skills, something which the mainstream media usually avoids, and even his old-school abilities to hypnotise people.  However, the best part of Doom is his sheer intelligence as he manages to outsmart anyone he goes up against, even when disadvantaged in other ways.  There are some great scenes when a de-powered and vulnerable Doom manages to secretly organise and inspire a slave revolt and lead his new followers on a deadly rampage against a superior foe.  Watching him succeed in controlling everyone just with his sheer force of personality while tactically outthinking his opponents was pretty damn epic and it really captures just how impressive Doom can be as a character.

Aside from Doom, there are several other great characters featured throughout The Tyrant Skies that add a lot to the story.  This includes the infamous villain of the story, the Red Skull, who serves as a great foil to Doom in this book.  Few villains can make Doom look like a sane, noble and reasonable figure, but the Red Skull is one of them, especially in Annandale’s hands.  The author seeks to make Red Skull as evil and diabolical as possible, causing chaos and initiating world-ending plots for petty reasons and prior defeats.  I loved seeing the rivalry between Doom and Red Skull that formed the basis for much of the novel, and the author did a great job capturing the hatred they both have for the other.  It was interesting to see Red Skull’s methods against Doom in this book, and he proves to be a very dangerous opponent, able to outsmart Doom at several turns, which works to make the novel pretty compelling and fun.  As such, Red Skull is a very impressive villain for this book and it was really something to see these two iconic figures square off once again.

I felt that the rest of the cast, which includes a combination of some over-the-top second-tier villains and several recurring figures from Annandale’s existing novels, were worked into the plot well, and there are some great scenes, especially with the characters of Doctor Elsa Orloff and Captain Kariana Verlak, who have become heroic figures within Latveria during the last two books.  I also deeply appreciated the inclusion of Valeria, Doom’s long-lost love, who is a key part of his origin story.  The powerful reunion the two have in this novel is quite impressive, especially as it is clear that Doom still has feelings for Valeria, despite her reluctance to trust him and his nature.  This was a very interesting inclusion, especially considering how their story spun out in the comics, and I am glad that the author attempted to dive into this older character element of Doom.  Throw in some craven, evil and incompetent members of the uber-wealthy, many of whom are parodies of certain business owners, and The Tyrant Skies proved to be a very rich novel in terms of character, and I liked the wider story elements that emerged thanks to this cool alternate focus.

Overall, The Tyrant Skies is an outstanding and highly entertaining novel that perfectly ties into the larger Marvel universe.  I deeply enjoyed how David Annandale set two of the genre’s best villains against each other in this novel, and I had a ton of fun with the thrilling encounters that emerged.  Featuring a great blend of story development, references to classic comics, and amazing portrayals of Doctor Doom and the Red Skull, The Tyrant Skies has something for all comic book fans, and you are guaranteed to have a fantastic time getting through this amazing novel.

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City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books1 Comment

City of Last Chances Cover

Publisher: W. F. Howes (Audiobook – 15 December 2022)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 20 hours and 7 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Acclaimed fantasy and science fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky delivers one of the best fantasy books of 2023 with the intricate and captivating City of Last Chances.

Over the last year I have been really getting into the works of Adrian Tchaikovsky, one of the most inventive and imaginative authors of fantasy and science fiction writing today.  Tchaikovsky is a skilled and prolific author who has been a major figure in genre since 2008.  Best known for his Shadows of the Apt, Children of Time, Echoes of the Fall and The Final Architecture series, as well as a compelling collection of standalone novels and novellas (I personally have my eye on his previous novel, Guns of the Dawn), Tchaikovsky has a great habit of creating elaborate new worlds filled with intriguing characters and scenarios.  I have only read a couple of his books so far, including Tchaikovsky’s first Warhammer 40,000 novel, Day of Ascension, and his outstanding 2022 novella, Ogres, but both were outstanding reads and I loved the epic stories both of them contained.  Because of this, Tchaikovsky’s latest standalone novel, City of Last Chances, has been on my radar for a while.  It was released last year, and I finally managed to get a copy on audiobook a short while ago and dove into it as soon as I could.  However, I was unprepared for just how captivating its story would be.

There has always been a darkness hanging over the ancient city of Ilmar.  Known colloquially as the City of Long Shadows, the City of Bad Decisions, and the City of Last Chances, Ilmar is home to many dangerous magical occurrences, including the mysterious Anchorwood at its centre, which serves as a gateway to other far-off worlds.  However, a far more sinister enemy has arrived at Ilmar, the soldiers of the Palleseen, a powerful empire seeking to bring its ideas of perfection and order to all it conquers, whether they like it or not.

After several years of occupation, Ilmar is at a tipping point.  Its citizens are fed up of the corrupt and brutal soldiers, and everyone in Ilmar, be they rebels, criminals, refugees, idealistic students or factory workers, is looking for an opportunity to strike back and make their lives better.  With these forces straining to be unleashed, all it takes is one spark to set the fire of anarchy.  That spark occurs when a powerful Palleseen official leads an ill-advised expedition into the Anchorwood, searching for additional power.  However, he is unaware that an opportunistic thief has stolen the necessary protective amulet in advance, and the expedition is massacred by the creatures that live within the wood.

As news of this crime spreads throughout the city, chaos begins to rear its head.  Everyone is searching for the valuable amulet that was stolen as it represents the greatest chance of freedom many will see, while the Palleseen soldiers are clamping down on the entire city, determined to find those responsible and make them pay.  In this chaos, a mixture of Ilmar’s citizens, including a desperate priest, a violent murderer, an unlucky thief, a duplicitous lecturer and several of the most lost people in the city, will seek to survive the oncoming storm, only to fan the flames further.  However, none are truly prepared for the full danger about to engulf Ilmar, or the heartbreak that follows with it.

Well damn, now that was a pretty damn epic book.  Tchaikovsky has delivered an exceptionally intriguing and addictive novel in City of Last Chances that got me hooked very early on.  I was honestly blown away with the captivating and unique narrative that City of Last Chances contained, and Tchaikovsky drew me in with every fantastic detail and distinctive character.  This book gets a very easy five-star rating from me as I am still thinking about every detail of this book.

City of Last Chances has an amazing fantasy narrative at its centre, which Tchaikovsky backs up with his impressive and distinctive writing style that results in an extremely entertaining, powerful, and intense read.  City of Last Chances follows a raft of different characters as they attempt to navigate a series of deadly events following a single theft.  Tchaikovsky sets out the story in a very interesting way, and the book initially feels more like a collection of short stories than one cohesive narrative; for most of the first half of the book, each chapter acts as a semi-independent story that introduces the reader to a new character and shows their place in Ilmar.  These new characters are often supporting or named figures from a previous character’s chapter, who have their own unique stories and lives.  These character-driven stories are all quite enjoyable and compelling in their own way, and Tchaikovsky cleverly alters the tone so that some come off as very serious, some are quite dark, and others can be a little more comedic and thought provoking.  Some of my initial favourites include the funny and philosophical first chapter around the priest Yasnic and his relationship with God (which reminded me a lot of Small Gods by Terry Pratchett), Langrice’s scene-setting chapter at the mysterious Anchorage inn, and the chapter that gave a proper and humorous introduction to the grim figure of Blackmane as he finds himself about to be executed by a very cheery hangman.  Not only are these chapters very entertaining in themselves, but they effectively set up a larger narrative within City of Last Chances, while also providing great character moments and more and more glimpses into the many aspects of Ilmar.

As the book continues, the character-driven chapters begin to flow on from the preceding storylines, with the catalytic theft of the Palleseen artefact leading to bigger events down the line.  Each chapter adds its own spin to these events by showing new factions, impacted characters, or horrors within the city, or by introducing a new series of spiralling events that begin to unwind the situation even further.  As the story continues, a main cast begins to develop as more of the chapters focus on certain characters.  This really starts to bring the overarching narrative together, and soon the best parts of each unique character and their arcs begin to mingle with the other fantastic figures.  The story soon develops into a great tale of revolution with some Les Misérables vibes to it, as students, refugees, resistance fighters and factory workers begin to revolt.  The substantial main cast is worked into these events extremely well, and the reader is soon wrapped up in their powerful character arcs as well as the overarching story of Ilmar as everything begins to unfold.  Most of this is captured in a series of great chapters focused on the main cast, although new characters are still introduced right up into the end, with some unique, if brief, storylines skilfully worked into the larger narrative.  The author really pushes everything up a notch as the book comes towards the end, and every danger, unusual occurrence and strange character is unleashed to some degree.  There are some outstanding reveals, big battles, and some deeply personal moments that really help to bring the entire fantastic story together.  I particularly loved how some great story elements that were hinted at earlier in the book are brought to the fore at the end, especially as this includes some outstanding twists (Hellgram’s wife was a fun one for me).  However, the true joy is in the way that every major character gets a resolution to their emotional and complex character arcs, leaving the reader breathless in multiple ways.  I felt that Tchaikovsky wrapped everything up perfectly, and this serves as a brilliant and captivating standalone fantasy narrative.

I cannot compliment the way that Tchaikovsky presented this outstanding story enough, as his distinctive writing style really helped to compliment the epic and complex plot.  I have already mentioned his great use of different character focused chapters above, and I must once again highlight how effectively they were used to tell a cohesive and distinctive narrative with so many entertaining facets.  While it did take me a little while to fully appreciate what Tchaikovsky was trying to achieve with these semi-independent chapters, once you notice how the story is coming together through character-focused sequences, you really grow to appreciate it.  The continued change of character focus ensures that Tchaikovsky keeps the pace of City of Last Chances pretty brisk, and it is easy to quickly move through the story, especially once you get caught up in the tale of Ilmar and its people that the author is developing.  Tchaikovsky also introduces some impactful changes in tone throughout the book, as City of Last Chances runs the gauntlet from being light-hearted to emotionally draining, as the protagonists go through hell and back while also trying to deal with their own personal problems.  The author puts in some pretty intense scenes throughout this powerful story, many of which leave the characters reeling in different ways, and there are also some quite terrifying or shocking sequences as the full horror of this city is revealed in gruesome fashion.  However, these darker scenes are often undercut with some fun and amusing humour that helps to diffuse the tension at some key parts of the plot and which I found to be very refreshing.  This humour is often a little black and cynical in context, which ensures that the reader is left amused, and sometimes laughing, without the story getting too light and drifting away from its harsher content.  I really think that Tchaikovsky found the right balance here, and I rather enjoyed how he mixed everything together.  I had so much fun seeing how Tchaikovsky wove his complex tale into this book and City of Last Chances really emphasises just how talented he is as an author.

One of the key things that made City of Last Chances such a hit for me was the outstanding setting of Ilmar.  Tchaikovsky has always been exceedingly good at effectively building up an inventive and complex new setting for his stories, and this is some of his best work yet.  The author shows Ilmar through the eyes of so many different characters in this book, each of whom adds a new aspect to its history, character, and energy, as the story progresses.  This proves to be quite an effective way to introduce the setting, and the reader soon gets an impressive picture of the entire chaotic glory of this oppressed city.  I love all the aspects of this place, including the magical dimension-hopping wood and the responsibilities surrounding it, the demon powered factories, the oppressed refugee areas, the idealistic student academy and the sinister Reproach, an abandoned part of the city filled with magically cursed wretches dancing to their death.  Each of these complex and compelling elements are explored to their fullest throughout City of Last Chances and I really appreciated how Tchaikovsky built them up and then effectively featured them again later in the story.

The author also explores various parts of the world outside of Ilmar, and it is interesting to see how that impacts on the main story.  I particularly liked the use of the Palleseen as the overarching antagonists of the story and Tchaikovsky paints them as an obsessed group of fanatics trying to bring their ideas of perfection to an unwilling world.  This plays into several of Tchaikovsky usual themes about oppression and revolution, and he sets the Palleseen up as a vindictive group, who are often hamstrung by the practices and bureaucracy they force on their enemy.  The entire focus on the city of Ilmar being unleashed to face the occupiers was an excellent part of the book, and Tchaikovsky built up all the factions and chaotic nature of the city really well.  As such, Ilmar is a brilliant background setting to this great story and I really appreciated how Tchaikovsky set his story into it.

While I loved so many of City of Last Chances elements, for me the most important and powerful part of the book is the characters, as Tchaikovsky introduces the reader to a massive and captivating cast of figures who travel through the story in their own fashion.  Due to the way the story is set out, there are quite a lot of characters in City of Last Chances, with new cast members being added in every chapter, either to support the current point-of-view protagonist or to set them up for their own chapter later.  As such, there is a real focus on quickly and effectively getting to the root of each character in their first chapter, and I think that Tchaikovsky did a great job on this score.  You get to know each of these figures really quickly and you really get drawn into their unique tales and arcs, many of which are perfectly developed over the course of the book.  While the cast is pretty massive, each of these characters is given plenty of time to develop and many prove to be particularly complex and relatable as a result.

While there are so many great characters, several definitely stood out to me, especially as Tchaikovsky kept going back to them.  This includes Yasnic, the last priest of a diminished and petty god who now haunts his one follower.  Yasnic is a fantastic and occasionally comedic character, which reminded me a little of the protagonist of Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods.  While I did think that Yasnic was a bit one-note at the start of the book, he develops as the story continues, and you really appreciate just how complex and damaging his life as a priest has been, thanks to his god’s arbitrary rules, many of which have actual good reasons behind them.  Watching him try to balance his faith and connection to his god against the terrible things being done to him and the city is a key part of the book, and it leads to some emotionally powerful scenes, especially when Yasnic thinks that his god is being taken away from him against his will.

Other great characters include Langrice, the shunned owner of the Anchorage, the inn that borders the Anchorwood, and Blackmane, an Allorwen refugee and former sorcerer, who serves as a criminal pawnbroker.  Both characters are older and wearier figures who are trying to survive the harsh circumstances of their lives the best way they can.  Both are shown to be outcasts to their own people in different ways, and this leads to a compelling relationship between the two, even if they do not actually trust each other.  I also quite liked the character of Maestro Ivarn Ostravar, a lecturer at Ilmar’s Gownhall university, who acts as a great patriot to his students while actually collaborating with the Palleseen.  Ivarn is a particularly arrogant figure who manages to manipulate people’s views of him, and it is really fun to see him thrown into situations outside of his control, especially when his own reputation works against him and forces him to become the figure head of resistance.  His student, Lemya, is also a great part of the book due to her fervent idealism brought on by Ivarn’s teachings.  Off course, her naivety comes back to bite her and the other characters repeatedly, and while her actions are often a little frustrating, it is great to see her slowly realise she is being manipulated and gain some common sense.

However, to my mind the best character in the book is Ruslav, which is frankly a shock as he initially shown as a simple thug with an obsession for women.  However, Tchaikovsky keeps coming back to him as the story develops and each new situation he finds himself in makes him more complex and likeable.  His first chapter shows how his entire perspective on life is changed when he falls in love with a beautiful painting, which starts a great character arc of self-discovery and confusion for him.  Tchaikovsky keeps developing Ruslav’s story as the book continues and he soon faces more and more challenges, including a mortal injury, a hanging, and forced religion.  The latter is the most damaging to him as he is forced to give up violence, the one thing in life he is good at, to stay alive, which results in quite the existential crisis.  Watching him try to fit all the unusual events occurring to him into his insights as a street thug proves to be entertaining and very relatable, as you understand just how much of a struggle each of his new experiences are for him.  His coarse humour fits into this arc very well, and watching him swear at his new, inadvertent god and all the people of different backgrounds he is forced to deal with, makes for some very fun scenes.  However, not all of Ruslav’s storyline is comedic, as Tchaikovsky loads in continued tragedy for him as well, that really shakes him, and the reader, to their core.  The author seems to both love and hate Ruslav, and the resulting damage and development he goes through result in some of the most emotionally rich parts of City of Last Chances.  I honestly am still surprised that Ruslav turned out to be such a great character, but he and the rest of the cast really make City of Last Chances an epic book, and I am really glad I got the opportunity to dive into their unique lives.

As with many of the larger fantasy books I tend to read, I chose to seek out the City of Last Chances audiobook format, which served as an outstanding way to enjoy this fantastic and elaborate book.  This new Tchaikovsky audiobook is pretty long with a run time of just over 20 hours, and it did take me a little while to get through it, although it was very much worth the time.  I always find that listening to an audiobook helps me to absorb more detail for some books, and this was particularly useful for City of Last Chances as Tchaikovsky has once again loaded his unique setting and captivating story with so many intricate elements.  As such, I was really able to full appreciate the full complexity of the dark city of Ilmar and its many, desperate residents.

I was also extremely impressed with the voice work of narrator David Thorpe, who ensured that the listeners could full enjoy every single aspect of City of Last Chances.  Thorpe, whose narration I have not had the pleasure of before, did a spectacular job here in City of Last Chances and I honestly enjoyed every second he spent telling this story.  Not only has he got a great base voice that tells the main story at a clipped and exciting pace but he also provides a ton of impressive tones for all the characters in this book.  Every one of City of Last Chances’ unique characters is given a particularly fitting voice that captures their personalities and really helps to convey to the reader some of their key points, such as Yasnic’s meekness, Ostravar’s arrogance, or Lemya’s unbridled idealism.  Thorpe also comes up with several great accents that he uses to differentiate some of the different races and nationalities contained within the city, and I felt that this really helped to emphasise the cultural elements contained within the story.  Overall, the City of Last Chances audiobooks is pretty damn spectacular, and I loved how the entire thing came together.  I had so much fun listening to Thorpe’s great take on the characters, and this is easily the best way to enjoy this epic read.

City of Last Chances is a brilliant and wonderful novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky that I cannot start raving about.  I quickly became enthralled the outstanding and compelling narrative that he pulled together throughout City of Last Chances, and his fantastic delivery, intriguing setting, and impressive characters all drew me in.  This is easily one of the best books I have read so far in 2023 and it comes very highly recommended by The Unseen Library.  I cannot wait to see what amazing book Tchaikovsky comes up with next, as if it is any where as good as City of Last Chances, I am going to love it.

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Throwback Thursday – Warhammer: Giantslayer by William King

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Throwback Thursday, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer4 Comments

Giantslayer Cover

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 3 April 2003)

Series: Gotrek and Felix – Book Seven

Length: 10 hours and 23 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.  After having a ton of fun listing my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels last week, I dive back into Warhammer Fantasy in a big way with the seventh epic entry in William King’s Gotrek and Felix series, Giantslayer.

While the Warhammer franchise has many great series, few are as iconic or long-lasting as the epic Gotrek and Felix books.  Following a doomed dwarf Slayer Gotrek Gurnisson and his human chronicler Felix Jaeger as they travel across the Warhammer Fantasy landscape, trying to find a worthy death for Gotrek, these books are amazing and fun action-packed reads guaranteed to keep you entertained with their excellent stories.  Each of these books is an outstanding read in their own way, and I have had a wonderful time getting through the previous Gotrek and Felix books by King, including Trollslayer, Skavenslayer, Daemonslayer, Dragonslayer, Beastslayer and Vampireslayer.  Giantslayer actually marks the end of William King’s run on the Gotrek and Felix series, and he brings his tenure of the series to a powerful and impressive end.

Following their arduous and costly battle against the vampires of Sylvania, Gotrek, Felix and their companions attempt to deal with the losses they all have suffered.  However, the evils of the Old World are never considerate of grief, and soon the heroes find themselves attacked by a horde of beastmen.  Following them to their lair, they discover a mysterious cavern full of tunnels pulsing with unnatural power.

Separated from their friends and dragged through an unnatural gateway, Gotrek and Felix find themselves transported to the legendary island of Albion, home of ancient tribes, dark forces, and massive giants.  Fate brings the two companions into contact with the legendary High Elven mage Teclis, who has journeyed to Albion to uncover the source of dangerous magical energy that threatens to sink the High Elves’ home island of Ulthuan and devastate the rest of the world.

Reluctantly agreeing to work with the elf mage, Gotrek and Felix travel across Albion, attempting to uncover the cause of the latest magical threat facing the world.  They soon discover that the island is far from tranquil; instead it is a dark land corrupted by magical power and the dangerous legacy of the Old Ones, the mysterious beings who created the world.  Worse, the island has been invaded by the dark forces of Chaos who are determined to harness Albion’s unique magic for themselves.  Caught between dark sorcerers, corrupted giants, an army of greenskins and the long-lasting enmity that exists between elves and dwarves, can Gotrek and Felix work with Teclis to save the world, or will the Slayer finally find his doom on Albion?

Giantslayer was another great and highly entertaining Gotrek and Felix novel that successfully showcased the outrageous protagonists while further exploring the elaborate Warhammer Fantasy universe.  This was another amazing book from William King, and I felt that he ended his run on this series on a great note, especially as Giantslayer contained a fantastic and fast-paced story.  Taking place in the immediate aftermath of Vampireslayer, Giantslayer quickly thrusts the protagonists into the midst of the action while simultaneously introducing the reader to the character of Teclis, who serves as a great additional central character.  The first few chapters of the book are pretty trippy in places, especially as all the characters find themselves trapped in a mystical realm, and the subsequent escape results in some fantastic sequences.  The characters are then transported to Albion and must explore this intriguing new landscape while trying to overcome their many personal issues, namely the animosity between Gotrek and Teclis, which adds a fun edge to the entire narrative.

King expands the story as the book continues, introducing the reader to several fantastic supporting characters from amongst the people of Albion, and soon shapes the major threat facing the world, namely the forces of Chaos overwhelming the magical energy of the island for their nefarious purposes.  King utilises an excellent series of villains at this point of the novel, including the recurring sorcerous twins who have been dogging the protagonists since Dragonslayer.  Everything eventually leads up to the massive final confrontation as the protagonists and their allies find themselves in the middle of a massive three-sided battle as they attempt to achieve their goal.  There is a ton of action, sacrifice, magical duels, and of course a giant, in this last part of the book, and King really built up an explosive and powerful conclusion to the entire novel.  I really enjoyed how this entire book came together, and it was great to see the characters embark on a final adventure under King’s reign.  While the story itself can be read as a standalone, the author does fit in a ton of references to the previous entries in the series and long-time readers will enjoy the cool callbacks.

I think that King did an interesting job of wrapping up his run on this series with this final fantastic action story, and fans of his writing style will not be disappointed with Giantslayer.  This is very much another epic hack and slash Warhammer novel, and King always manages to make that style of novel stand out, especially with his excellent attention to detail and ability to make all the fun action really pop.  The use of multiple perspectives, including through Felix, Teclis and several antagonists’ eyes, gives the reader a very wide narrative to explore, and I loved the fantastic and fun moments that emerged through their adventures.  King utilises very quick pacing for this book, so it is quite easy to power through it, especially as there is really never a dull moment as the characters jump from one deadly scenario to another.  I do have to be a little critical and point out that King is a somewhat repetitive writer; if he finds a phrase, description, or sentence that he likes, he tends to overuse it slightly throughout the plot.  This is particularly noticeable after seven Gotrek and Felix books and readers of this series will no doubt know what phrases I am talking about (wool cloaks and beads of blood).  However, while this repetition is occasionally distracting, it honestly didn’t mess up my enjoyment of the story too much and I had a ton of fun getting through Giantslayer.

Giantslayer also serves as a particularly interesting and lore-heavy addition to the Gotrek and Felix books as King spends a lot of time diving into the history of the Warhammer Fantasy world and the original creators, the Old Ones.  The book is primarily set on the island of Albion, the setting for the 2001 Warhammer Fantasy campaign series, Dark Shadows, and the author really leans heavily into the setting, showing the rain drizzled island in all its swampy and deadly glory.  King sets it a little before the events of Dark Shadows, and much like the campaign’s descriptions the island of Albion is shown as a very Celtic landscape, very much inspired by Scotland.  This serves as a brilliant background to the main story, and I loved seeing the characters traverse and fight across the various settings to achieve their goal.  As one of the few Warhammer Fantasy books set on Albion, fans of the Dark Shadows campaign can have a bit of fun with Giantslayer, and it was great to learn a little more about the local societies and the history of the island.  History really is a major part of the book, and the protagonists end up finding a lot of about Albion and the Old Ones as the story continues.  This includes a dive into the Path of the Old Ones, a series of magical gateways existing outside of the main reality which can be traversed.  The sequences set within this gateway are very trippy and dark, especially as they have been invaded by daemons, and King really knows how to make all these unique locations stand out with his excellent writing.  As a long-time Warhammer Fantasy fan who can remember the Dark Shadows campaign, I really liked the heavy lore inclusions in this book and I felt that King utilised them perfectly throughout Giantslayer to tell a powerful narrative with some really heavy stakes for the protagonists.

I need to highlight the great characters contained within Giantslayer, especially as you get to see more of the titular protagonists, Gotrek Gurnisson and Felix Jaeger.  This odd-couple pair of suicidal Slayer and pragmatic human is always a ton of fun, and King keeps this up all the way to the end, as the two characters play off each other perfectly.  Gotrek’s glee at each encounter is usually only matched by Felix’s understandable reluctance to travel into the dangerous places their quests take them, and you can always count on a sarcastic and fatalistic statement from Felix, and it makes for some amazing, if slightly predictable scenes.  King has never done a lot of character development when it comes to these protagonists and this continues again in Giantslayer.  Gotrek remains the same old unstoppable and unflappable Slayer that he always has been, constantly diving into danger, with the author never showing his perspective or providing too many hints at this past.  While King does however provide some intriguing insights in Gotrek’s seemingly unkillable nature, this was pretty much a status-quo book for Gotrek, which still has its fun moments.  Felix also had some minimal growth in this book, although King does dive into the emotional impacts that the previous adventures have had on the character, which does provide some insights into his cynical and reluctant personality.  I did like the more scholarly bent that was shown around Felix in this novel as he learns more about the history of the world and it was fun to see him finally get the idea to start writing the books that have introduced all the prior Gotrek and Felix adventures.

While the character work around Gotrek and Felix was minimal in Giantslayer, King more than makes up for this with the inclusion of the master mage Teclis, one of the more significant High Elf characters in the game.  Teclis is a very fascinating character in the lore, and I deeply enjoyed how King portrayed him throughout Giantslayer.  King amped up the arrogant, ethereal and ancient qualities of Teclis in his storytelling, and you can really feel how apart from the various human characters he is, especially in the many scenes that he narrates.  Teclis is also, by his nature, a rather darker cynical figure, even compared to other elves, and it was great to see this featured throughout the book, especially when it comes to his dealings with the other characters.  Despite this, he is still a good person whose sole concern is the preservation of his homeland and the rest of the world.  I think that King utilised him perfectly throughout Giantslayer and he served as a great alternative narrator to Felix.  I loved seeing this iconic mage in action, and it was especially fun to see him interact with Gotrek considering how antagonist dwarfs and elves are with each other.  The two engage in a petty war of words for most of the book, which proves to be highly amusing, as these usually collected characters end up bickering like children.  This makes for an extremely unique dynamic throughout the novel that I found to be highly entertaining.  King backs up Teclis with a series of great supporting characters and intriguing villains, all of whom add a certain amount of flair and strength to the story.  While King once again fails to include any substantial or distinctive female characters, except for a few minor figures, I enjoyed the excellent character inclusions to the series and you get really invested in some new personal stories in this book.

While I did manage to get a physical copy of Giantslayer (as part of the Gotrek and Felix omnibus), I ended up listening to it on audiobook out of convenience, and due to my love of the format.  Coming in at just under 10 and a half hours, this is rather easy audiobook to get through quickly, and I manage to knock it out in a couple of days.  Like most of the Gotrek and Felix books, the audiobook format for Giantslayer was very fun and I loved how it managed to enhance the epic nature of the book.  Not only does it really showcase King’s elaborate descriptions of the Warhammer world, but it also ensured that all the many action scenes really popped as you were drawn right into the heart of the battle through the cool narration.

It helped that the listener was once again treated to the awesome narration of Jonathan Keeble, a veteran voice actor and audiobook narrator who has lend his voice to a huge number of Warhammer audiobooks, including all the Gotrek and Felix books.  Keeble is a particularly skilled narrator, not only because he produces a huge number of distinctive voices but because he brings a high level of excitement to his performances that really drags the listener in.  I love how Keeble’s voice speeds up to match the carnage and the enthusiasm and energy that permeate his voice as he describes every blow or crazy moment makes you feel like you are sitting there watching it.  I also love the very fitting voices that he brings to all the characters, all of which are pretty damn perfect and a lot of fun.  The gruff and brutal voice of Gotrek and the sarcastic, scared, yet determined tones of Felix are still just as good here as they were in Trollslayer, and all the new voices introduced by Keeble in the Giantslayer audiobook work just as well.  I loved the more ethereal and arrogant voice that Keeble used for Teclis, which really fit King’s portrayal of the character in the novel, and the cool Scottish accents that the natives of Albion spoke with were very distinctive and helped to really characterise these awesome supporting figures.  Keeble also brings a great range of monster voices to the book to fit the various Chaos creatures, orcs and giants that are such a prominent feature of the plot, and I loved how dedicated he got to bringing these creatures to life with his narration.  Keeble is a very talented narrator, and his performance adds so much to this audiobook while also helping to enhance the already exciting narrative of Giantslayer.  As such, I would highly recommend the audiobook version of this book, and you are guaranteed to have a ton of fun listening to it.

Overall, I felt that William King brought his run on the iconic Gotrek and Felix to an end in a fantastic way with Giantslayer which was another awesome and electrifying entry in the series.  Featuring an epic, lore-rich story, a ton of action, and the complex and enjoyable characters that King has spent seven books developing, Giantslayer is King at his best and all Warhammer fans will have a blast with this outstanding novel.  This entire impressive series has been so much fun to get through and King’s work on these books really stand the test of time as the Gotrek and Felix series are still the premier Warhammer Fantasy books.  I will hopefully dive into the next book in the series, Orcslayer, later this year, and while it will be odd not to have it written by King, I am very intrigued to see what Nathan Long brings to the franchise.

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The Voyage of the Forgotten by Nick Martell

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books3 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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Waiting on Wednesday – The Will of the Many by James Islington

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Waiting on Wednesday4 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For my latest Waiting on Wednesday, I look at an awesome upcoming fantasy novel with a dark magical school setting, The Will of the Many by James Islington.

The Will of the Many Cover

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One of the things that I love about fantasy fiction is that there are so many awesome potential settings that can be used as a backdrop for an epic tale.  Fantasy can incorporate anything from modern urban settings to outrageous alien communities, and everything in between, and you can get some amazing reads out of that.  However, if I had to choose one of my absolute favourite settings for a fantasy, it would have to be a magical school.  Maybe its because the Harry Potter books were such a big part of my childhood, or maybe because there have been some outstanding recent novels set in fantasy academies (check out a Top Ten Tuesday list I did on the subject), but I have always loved these novels in a big way.  As such, when I see that a talented fantasy author is releasing a cool new book with a magical school setting later this year, it really gets my attention.

This upcoming book is The Will of the Many by new-to-me author James Islington, which is currently set for release in May 2023.  Set to combine mystery, intrigue, politics and the future of a nation with a dark magic school, The Will of the Many sounds particularly epic, and I am actually really excited to check it out.  The plot synopsis below has some very intriguing details to it, and the entire magical system, which is based on people ceding their Will into someone else to give them power, is very unique and opens up a raft of possibilities.  I look forward to seeing how Islington will bring everything together and I have feeling that The Will of the Many is going to end up being one of the most interesting and compelling fantasy novels of 2023.

Plot Synopsis:

At the elite Catenan Academy, where students are prepared as the future leaders of the Hierarchy empire, the curriculum reveals a layered set of mysteries which turn murderous in this new fantasy by bestselling author of The Licanius Trilogy, James Islington.

Vis, the adopted son of Magnus Quintus Ulcisor, a prominent senator within the Hierarchy, is trained to enter the famed Catenan Academy to help Ulciscor learn what the hidden agenda is of the remote island academy. Secretly, he also wants Vis to discover what happed to his brother who died at the academy. He’s sure the current Principalis of the academy, Quintus Veridius Julii, a political rival, knows much more than he’s revealing.

The Academy’s vigorous syllabus is a challenge Vis is ably suited to meet, but it is the training in the use of Will, a practice that Vis finds abhorrent, that he must learn in order to excel at the Academy. Will—a concept that encompasses their energy, drive, focus, initiative, ambition, and vitality—can be voluntarily “ceded” to someone else. A single recipient can accept ceded Will from multiple people, growing in power towards superhuman levels. Within the hierarchy your level of Will, or legal rank, determines how you live or die. And there are those who are determined to destroy this hierarchal system, as well as those in the Academy who use it to gain dominance in internationally bestselling author James Islington’s wonderfully crafted new epic fantasy series.

Quick Review – Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Fantasy, Quick Review, Young Adult2 Comments

Only a Monster Cover

Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia (Trade Paperback – 1 February 2022)

Series: Monsters – Book One

Length: 410 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Only a Monster by Australian author Vanessa Len is a particularly wonderful debut highlight of last year that I have been meaning to talk about for some time.  A brilliant and awesome young adult fantasy read, Only a Monster is an impressive novel that sees a shocked girl realise that everything she thought she knew about her family was a lie and that deep down she really is a monster.  Intense, incredibly clever, and beautifully inventive, Only a Monster was pretty damn epic and proved to be one of the best debuts of 2022.

Plot Synopsis:

With the sweeping romance of Passenger and the dark fantasy edge of This Savage Song, this standout YA contemporary fantasy debut from Vanessa Len, is the first in a planned trilogy.

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero.


Only a Monster has an awesome story that takes a teenage girl on a dark journey of self-discovery and magical adventure as she tries to figure out who she is and what lies within her.  Len starts this book quickly, with a good introduction to central protagonist and point-of-view character Joan Chang-Hunt, who is part of the unusual Hunt family.  A shuddering moment of unreality reveals that she is really half monster, someone who has the ability to steal time from humans to power their time-travelling abilities.  Though Joan initially tries to avoid this revelation and enjoy time with her crush, Nick, an encounter with the malevolent Oliver family of monsters forces her further into their hidden world, especially when it is revealed that Nick is secretly a monster slayer destined to kill every monster in existence, including Joan.  After a brutal series of events that sees most of her family and the other monsters of London killed in a single, coordinated massacre, Joan flees into the past with her surviving cousin Ruth and the youngest member of the Oliver family, Aaron, hoping to find a way to save their families.  Their quest leads them to try and recover a legendary artifact that will allow them to rewrite time.  But to do so, they will need to go up against the mysterious King of the Monsters and his dangerous plot to control reality.  Caught between monsters and monster slayers, the characters are forced into a series of deadly encounters which will force Joan to choose whether to retain her humanity or embrace her inner monster.

Len really came up with something special in Only a Monster, and I personally loved how this outstanding debut unfolded.  The author keeps a pretty fast pace throughout the entire book, and you are constantly thrown from intense moment to intense moment as the protagonist and her companions attempt to stay ahead of their enemies and find a way to bring back their families.  I felt that Len did a great job introducing her compelling world, fantastic characters and unique magical elements, and you quickly learn to appreciate the author’s inventive ideas.  This is actually a pretty dark read, especially as it starts with a massacre and focuses on a group of magical beings who can suck the life force out of normal humans to power their abilities.  I personally deeply enjoyed this darker tone, as Len balances it well with her unique creative ideas and the emotional character development to create an intense and addictive read.  The magical time travel elements of this book are very well done, and the darker ideas behind the absorption of people’s time span helped to make it a malevolent gift that the protagonist is forced to use by necessity.  Despite this, it does produce some fun time travel jokes, and I had a laugh at some of the pop culture references that were utilised in the identification of the period.  Len also lays down a series of interesting twists throughout the story which are revealed at perfect moments and which help to produce a pretty amazing story.  However, the absolute highlight of this book had to be the epic ending that Len decided to traumatise her readers with.  While I’m not going to give away anything here, let’s just say it is pretty insane, and I was deeply impressed with how Len set it up and executed it.

The final thing I really need to gush about when it comes to Only a Monster is the deeply complex and damaged characters featured within.  Only a Monster features a fun crew of central protagonists, each of whom are going through their own epic journeys.  The primary focus is on central character Joan Chang-Hunt, a sweet and nerdy character who, in the course of a day, finds out she is a half-monster with life-sucking time travel abilities, and then witnesses her entire extended family getting massacred.  This naturally causes her to experience a lot of emotions and trauma as she constantly tries to come to terms with how her life has unravelled and changed forever.  The main focus of her character arc is the examination of her inner monster as Joan tries to get to grips on whether she wants her abilities, especially as they force her to drain away people’s time.  She is also dealing with intense guilt over her role in the massacre that destroyed her family, partially thanks to her relationship with Nick, and this clashes hard with her own concerns about being a monster.  All this, and more, ensures that Joan is forced to grow up a lot throughout the course of Only a Monster, and she must keep making harder and harder decision as she gets closer to crossing lines she doesn’t want to.  Her final actions in this book bring all these deep feelings close to the surface as she is forced to make a terrible decision in a heartbreaking and powerful scene.  Len did an outstanding job when it came to Joan in this book, and I look forward to seeing how she continues to develop in future entries in this series.

Two other major characters I need to highlight are Joan’s accidental companion, Aaron Oliver, and her crush/personal nightmare, Nick.  Both characters have pretty dark introductions to the story, especially as they end up trying to kill Joan in the starting chapters, but Len develops them separately as the book continues.  Aaron ends up working with Joan as they try to stay alive and find a way to save their families, and they become an intriguing and combative duo throughout the book.  While Aaron is initially arrogant and antagonistic, you soon see that this is a façade, as Aaron is also incredibly damaged due to the actions of his cruel family.  Len does a wonderful job of slowly uncovering this deeper side of Aaron throughout the course of Only a Monster, and the eventual bond he forms with Joan is a touching and moving part of the book, even if it isn’t destined to last.  Nick, on the other hand, is an outstanding villain for this story, especially when it is revealed that he is an unflinching and implacable monster hunter.  Despite the connection he had formed with Joan before the events of this book, mainly because he sees her as more human than monster, Nick soon starts fanatically hunting her throughout time and becomes determined to stop her at all costs.  Clever and dark reveals about Nick come to light as the book continues, painting him in a somewhat sympathetic light, but this doesn’t stop him from hunting Joan, which leads to an exceptional and shocking confrontation towards the end of Only a Monster that perfectly changes everything.  The powerful character work contained in these central characters, as well as the intense bonds they form with Joan, are such a key part of Only a Monster, and you will come away heartbroken and moved with how their storylines unfold.

Overall, I had an incredible time with Vanessa Len’s Only a Monster, and not only was it one of the best debuts of 2022 but one of the best young adult books of the year as well.  This brilliant and powerful fantasy read had an amazing story and you will be impressed and excited by the complex characters and deeply inventive fantasy elements that are worked into this compelling narrative.  Intense, dark, and full of hope, Only a Monster is an incredible read that comes highly recommended to anyone interested in seeing the start of an extremely promising career in fantasy fiction.  I am very excited to check out the sequel, Never a Hero, later this year, and if Len keeps up the amazing writing from Only a Monster, it is going to be particularly epic and exceptional.

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Silver Queendom by Dan Koboldt

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy, Thriller3 Comments

Silver Queendom Cover

Publisher: Angry Robot (Trade Paperback – 1 November 2022)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 407 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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For some fun fantasy heist goodness, make sure to check out the awesome recent release from Dan Koboldt, Silver Queendom.

I am always on the lookout for very fun sounding books, especially in the fantasy genre, and I was lucky enough to come across a particularly outstanding example of this late last year with Silver Queendom.  The latest novel from intriguing author Dan Koboldt, Silver Queendom had an outstanding plot to it that blended fantasy fiction with a compelling heist storyline.  I cannot emphasise how awesome this plot sounded when I first heard it, and it ended up living up to my expectations as a fantastic and exciting read.

In a disreputable corner of the queendom of Rethalta lies the notorious Red Rooster inn, a place of poor ale and even worse service.  Seen over by grouchy innkeeper Darin, beautiful, if lazy, barmaid Evie and gigantic bouncer Big Tom, the Red Rooster attracts few paying customers.  Luckily, the staff of the Red Rooster have other ways of making money, as they are secretly one of the best team of thieves and con artists in the entire Old Queendom.

However, when their latest job goes bust and the find themselves owing the wrong crime boss a load of money they do not have, Darin and his team are going to have to get inventive if they want to survive.  A chance meeting with a mysterious stranger offers the best possibility of paying off their debt when they are tasked with stealing a cart of the most valuable substance on the continent, imperial dreamwine from the Jewel Empire.  Created through secretive means and capable of mentally transporting the drinker to their version of heaven, dreamwine is worth its weight in gold, and is infinitely more precious.  It is also impossible to steal, as the elite warriors of the Jewel Empire guard it fanatically, ensuring that it always reaches its destination.

With time running out before their debt is called in, the Red Rooster crew have no choice but to take the job and attempt to steal the unstealable.  Teaming up with the inn’s new brewmaster, Kat, Darin begins to work out a master plan that will allow them to steal the wine and get paid.  But between rival gangs, a traitor in their midst, their own nefarious employer, and the horde of angry soldiers from the Jewel Empire hunting them down, survival doesn’t look likely.  However, the Red Rooster crew are the best for a reason, and they are just getting started.

Silver Queendom was an extremely compelling and fast-paced novel that I had an outstanding time reading.  Told from the perspective of four outrageous characters, Silver Queendom takes the audience on an intriguing journey of crime and cons in a cool new fantasy setting.  Starting with an amusing party scene that quickly and efficiently shows off the protagonist’s main character traits, as well as their relevant skills and personalities, you are soon dragged into the story as the characters engage in a series of early cons and schemes while also bonding as a team.  You grow to quickly appreciate the protagonists and the way that the author blends unique fantasy elements with great crime thriller storylines, even before you get to the main heist.  I must admit that I was a tad surprised at how long it took the author to reach the theft of the imperial dreamwine, as I thought that plan would be introduced closer to the start of the book.  Instead, Koboldt eased the reader into this central plot point, taking the time to establish the team, the setting, and some of the other players in the story, which helped to increase the anticipation for the main heist.

The second half of the book is all about the quest for the dreamwine as the protagonists start pulling together their scheme to steal the treasure and get away with it.  Koboldt does a good job laying out just enough of the heist plans in advance to keep the reader intrigued without giving away the whole game.  At the same time, additional obstacles are built up for the protagonists, including disputes within the team, rival players, and even their own duplicitous employers.  Everything comes to a head in the fantastic heist part of the book, which really shows off Koboldt’s flair for writing elaborate sequences of utter chaos.  The way that the heist unfolds is very clever and quite funny, especially as they plan all manner of insane surprises that come together in quite an entertaining way.  While I do think that some of the inevitable double-crosses were a little too predictable and solved in some coincidental fashions, the rest of the plot unfolds in an amazing way, and I loved how most of the problems were solved by the protagonists.  Everyone comes away from the story extremely satisfied and there is even room for Koboldt to expand this book into a larger series, which I really hope he does.  The author did a really good job of blending together the fantasy and heist elements in this book, and the unique story and characters really kept me engaged the entire way through, especially as there is a constant fast pace with a lot of humour attached.  This is an overall awesome and captivating read.

While the crime story itself is a lot of fun, I was also quite impressed with the intriguing new fantasy landscape that Koboldt set out within Silver Queendom.  A classic, if grim and entertaining fantasy world, Silver Queendom takes place on a large continent broken up into four separate realms.  While having the continent’s four realms be broken up into near perfect quarters was a tad lazy, I felt that Koboldt did a good job of effectively conveying key parts of this world to the reader and working the crime focused plot into the new universe.  The author primarily focused on one of these realms in Silver Queendom, Rethalta, where the Red Rooster inn is located, and you get a good idea of its politics and people, especially as the protagonists journey all around it getting into all manner of mischief.  Koboldt also takes the time to explore elements of one of the other realms, the Jewel Empire, mainly as that is the realm the dreamwine is coming from, although certain character perspectives about it indicate the author’s plans to spend more time there in the future.  These intriguing realms serve as a great background for the book and Koboldt further adds to the fantasy fun with some unique magic that was a key part of the plot.  Magic in this universe primarily revolves around silver, which is a much more precious metal than gold as magic users are able to gain great power by manipulating and utilising silver.  This results in several really cool scenes, especially as there are some intriguing magical abilities available that were well featured during the course of the narrative.  All of these elements, and more, were quite fantastic, especially when paired with the brilliant story, and I think there is some real potential for the author to really expand this setting in future books.

Finally, I need to highlight the excellent character work contained within Silver Queendom as Koboldt introduces an excellent cast of protagonists that are very fun to follow around.  As I mentioned above, the story is told from the perspective of the four main characters, each of whom has their own unique personality and history that comes into play throughout Silver Queendom.  Koboldt does a great job of breaking up the story between these main characters, which produces an excellent and compelling mixture of development and personalised plots.  Each of the four protagonists brings something unique to the table, whether it’s Darin Fields’s battle to control his untrained magic or ingrained hatred of the Jewel Empire, Evie Garraway’s family shame, Big Tom’s capacity for violence which is tempered by his likeable personality and occasional lapse in judgement, or maternal character Kat’s introduction to the criminal lifestyle.  Throw in an outstanding supporting group of characters, which includes a humorous witch mentor, an ultra-violent rival gang, a gentile crime lord and a self-serving employer, and you have a pretty exceptional overall cast who really help to make this story just that little more personal and entertaining.

I really enjoyed Silver Queendom by Dan Koboldt and I was very glad that I got a chance to read it before the end of 2022.  Cleverly combining outrageous fantasy elements with an amazing heist storyline and fantastic characters, Silver Queendom is exceedingly entertaining from start to finish and you are guaranteed to have an awesome time reading it.  An excellent and highly recommended read, I hope that Koboldt provides some sequel to Silver Queendom in the future, especially after impressing here.

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