Tag: Multiple Character Perspectives

Days of Shattered Faith by Adrian Tchaikovsky

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books9 Comments

Publisher: Head of Zeus (Audiobook – 5 December 2024)

Series: The Tyrant Philosophers – Book Three

Length: 21 hours and 39 minutes

My Rating: 5 out 5 stars

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One of the current top authors of all things fantasy and science fiction, the improbably imaginative Adrian Tchaikovsky, continues to greatly impress with his outstanding and epic early 2025 novel, Days of Shattered Faith.

I think it is fair to say that few fantasy and science fiction authors are as consistently prolific and entertaining as the relentless Adrian Tchaikovsky, who has been continuously putting out clever books over the last few years.  While he has written many intriguing series and standalone novels throughout his career, I am more familiar with some of his more recent works, including the novella Ogres, the gripping interstellar novel Alien Clay, one of my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels, Day of Ascension, and the hilarious and insightful robot apocalypse novel, Service Model (one of my favourite books of 2024).

While the above books are all quite exceptional, my favourite body of Tchaikovsky’s work has so far been The Tyrant Philosophers series.  A gripping, brilliant and highly amusing series, the Tyrant Philosophers novels are set in a cool fantasy world filled with magic, gods and demons, all with a fun Tchaikovsky twist to them.  With the first two books, City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds, both of which were amongst my favourite books of 2023 (with City of Last Chances being one of the best audiobooks of 2023) the series has really grabbed my attention over the last couple of years.  Much of it is down to the author’s clever narratives that work to expand this intriguing fantasy world through some interesting overlapping characters and events.  In particular, the series examines the dark impact of the Palleseen, a conquering army of fanatics who violently supress superstition and belief in the gods in the name of expanding their own worldview of perfection and correctness.  Both the previous books in this series were quite impressive, and I was very eager to read Days of Shattered Faith when it first came out.  While I have been delayed in writing a review for this book, it proved to be an outstanding read, especially with its rich and powerful narrative.

Plot Synopsis:

Welcome to Alkhalend, Jewel of the Waters, capital of Usmai, greatest of the Successor States, inheritor to the necromantic dominion that was the Moeribandi Empire and tomorrow’s frontline in the Palleseen’s relentless march to bring Perfection and Correctness to an imperfect world.

Loret is fresh off the boat, and just in time.

As Cohort-Invigilator of Correct Appreciation, Outreach department, she’s here as aide to the Palleseen Resident, Sage-Invigilator Angilly. And Sage-Invigilator Angilly – Gil to her friends – needs a second in the spectacularly illegal, culturally offensive and diplomatically inadvisable duel she must fight at midnight.

Outreach, that part of the Pal machine that has to work within the imperfection of the rest of the world, has a lot of room for the illegal, the unconventional, the unorthodox. But just how much unorthodoxy can Gil and Loret get away with?

As a succession crisis looms, as a long-forgotten feat of necromantic engineering nears fruition, as pirate kings, lizard armies and demons gather, as old gods wane and new gods wax, sooner or later Gil and Loret will have to settle their ledger.

Just as well they are both very, very good with a blade…

Wow, what an incredible read.  Adrian Tchaikovsky continues to deeply impress with his elaborate and intense narratives, especially as he expertly continues his Tyrant Philosophers series in his distinctive and creative way.  Featuring a complex plot that follows various damaged and self-serving characters as they navigate the attempts to influence and control a mighty city, Days of Shattered Faith was an addictive read from start to finish, and I loved how the entire novel came together.  A very easy five-star read, Days of Shattered Faith was one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of 2025, and I had such an exceptional time getting through it.

I really loved how Days of Shattered Faith’s story turned out, especially as Tchaikovsky managed to turn this into both a powerful standalone novel as well as a moving entry in the larger Tyrant Philosophers series.  This book has quite a complex and layered narrative to it, as it follows multiple intriguing characters through chaotic events that are about to overtake the city of Alkhalend.  Initially focusing on the two Palleseen characters, Sage-Invigilator Angilly and Cohort-Invigilator Loret, Days of Shattered Faith sees them as unlikely ambassadors in a city that mostly hates and fears the Palleseen and their attempts to subvert and control the world.  When the sudden death of Alkhalend’s ruler results in a brutal civil war, Angilly and Loret attempt to help the Palleseen supporting heir to retain the throne following a coup from his brother.  At the same time, various other figures in the city, including a familiar former priest and several unconventional doctors, attempt to survive the chaos engulfing their home.

Tchaikovsky does an excellent job building up a lot of complex storylines, details of the main setting, and character arcs in the first half of Days of Shattered Faith, all of which came into play in fantastic ways as the novel continued.  Following a large collection of complex character-driven storylines throughout the novel, Tchaikovsky moulds these together into a compelling overarching narrative, with these protagonists impacted by various major events.  This includes the brutal civil war at the centre of the novel, which completely changes the course of the narrative and sets several major characters down some compelling and dark spirals.  Due to the appearance of more Palleseen influence in the second half of the book, things in Alkhalend naturally go to hell in a variety of ways, especially when all the unconventional and imperfect methods of Angilly and her unusual Palleseen colleagues in Outreach are questioned and changed by her more by-the-book superiors, who also drop the subtle tactics when it comes to controlling the city.  This results in a darker, more intense second half of the novel, where every protagonist makes mistakes or experiences greater tragedy.  The author perfectly builds up the tension and suspense before leading up to the big revolution sequence where all the separate character arcs converge for the last time, which was as devastating and crazy as you would expect from Tchaikovsky.  Everything ends on a satisfying, heartbreaking note, especially as several characters find themselves in worse positions then when they started.  It will be very interesting to see where the wider narrative of the series goes from here, especially for the series’ recurring protagonist, but it’s clear that the events of Tchaikovsky’s universe can only get sadder from here.

Tchaikovsky has a very distinctive and compelling writing style for the Tyrant Philosophers novels that coveys his elaborate and entertaining narrative in some unique ways.  Once again relying heavily on multiple perspective changes to tell his layered story, Tchaikovsky embarks on providing a deep and personal story, set around a large collection of compelling supporting characters.  The author excels at creating elaborate and complex backgrounds for the various characters, which are worked into the larger plot extremely well, especially as each character has their own unique motivations and damage.  All these varied story elements are well woven together into one complex story, and it was fascinating to see all the different figures react to the continually changing events.  As with the previous books, Days of Shattered Faith has a range of tones within it, as Tchaikovsky works hard to produce the right balance of intrigue, action, world building and dramatic and moving character moments, all of which are done perfectly and work to create an impressive novel.  The elaborate battle sequences pair well with the subtle and often forced betrayals of the various characters, while deeper personal troubles and dark histories lurk just beneath the surface.  All these sequences are well laced with the excellent and often cynical humour of the author, which really ties the entire thing together quite nicely.  I loved how so many complex scenes were made better by the sarcastic and realistic commentary of either the characters or the narrator, which worked to highlight the dark, and often absurd nature, of so many of the fantasy elements of the story.

As with the last two books in the series, Days of Shattered Faith works well as both its own distinctive, standalone narrative and as a continuation of elements and character-focused storylines from the previous books.  Due to how it initially focuses on an original group of central characters navigating an unfamiliar setting in the series’ wider world, new readers can easily come into this series without any real pre-knowledge of the other books.  However, as the story eventually grows to focus on several major characters from the first two novels, I think those readers who know the full story of these figures and the complex events they’ve had to navigate will end up appreciating the plot of Days of Shattered Faith a little more, especially as Tchaikovsky continues to torture a certain former priest with even more tragedy and hardship.  The author also features references to events from the previous books throughout Days of Shattered Faith, and readers will find it fascinating to see how certain decisions or plots from the recurring characters, such as some vengeful religious conversion in House of Open Wounds, had larger, devastating impacts on the wider world.

Tchaikovsky once again pulls together an elaborate setting for his compelling narrative, as while Days of Shattered Faith is set in the same fantasy world as the other Tyrant Philosophers novels, much of the action occurs around the newly introduced complex city of Alkhalend.  Loaded up with cut-throat politics, various conflicting religions, distinctive magic, and various otherworldly beings who have migrated from other realities, Alkhalend is an exceptional focus for much of the plot.  Tchaikovsky excelled at introducing the various unique elements of Alkhalend and its surrounding nations in the early part of the book, and it was fascinating to see how they impacted the plot going forward.  Alkhalend honestly had so many fun and quirky unique fantasy features, and this had to be one of the more memorable settings I have had the pleasure to see in fantasy figure.

Of course, as this book is set within the Tyrant Philosophers universe, Tchaikovsky had to once again include the Palleseen, who serve as the main antagonistic group in the series.  Ideological zealots often bound by their own rules and processes as they slowly and greedily try to take over the world, all the books in this series are dedicated to examining their methods and serves as a humorous critique of militarisation and empire building.  While the previous books have either looked at the Palleseen as an occupying force or at their weaponisation of magical medical practices, Days of Shattered Faith focuses on their diplomats and how they influence conflicts in lands outside their empire.  This ends up showcasing a new side to the Palleseen machine, especially as the empire’s diplomatic department, Outreach, is made up of more fluid personnel, willing to go outside of standard practices to achieve their goals.  It was quite entertaining to see the differing methods of this empire conflict with each other, especially when it brings some conflict between the various Palleseen characters, and it added some great drama to the second half of the book.  I loved once again seeing the dangerous bureaucracy and insatiable desire for more magical material turn the Palleseen from reasonable allies to controlling occupiers as the plot continued, especially as it perfectly influenced various characters to take a new course of action.

As I have mentioned a few times above, Tchaikovsky loaded this novel up with an outstanding array of complex or damaged characters who are the true highlight of the plot thanks to their collective dark histories and layered motivations.  The sheer range of different characters in Days of Shattered Faith is very impressive, featuring a great mixture of locals of Alkhalend, Palleseen visitors, and other memorable figures seeking refuge in the sandy city.  Much of the plot was focused around the two members of Palleseen Outreach in the city, Sage-Invigilator Angilly and Cohort-Invigilator Loret, whose unique take on diplomacy often causes more chaos.  Angilly was a great lead for much of the plot as a pragmatic Palleseen operative, who finds her loyalty compromised by her romantic connection to the city’s crown prince.  This doomed romance leads to all manner of trouble for both characters, and the various betrayals and eventual end resulted in some of the author’s more tragic writing.  Loret, on the other hand, was a great fish out of water in this novel as she attempts to learn the rules of diplomacy and understand the many facets of Alkhalend, all while keeping her troubled past a secret.  I felt that Tchaikovsky used Loret well as a good stand in for the audience to showcase his new city setting in more detail, while her eventual development and tragic past connected to the events of the previous book proved to be a particularly compelling, if bloody, part of the plot.

The rest of the cast are also impressive, including a couple of opportunistic Palleseen operatives who have less issues with exploiting the people of Alkhalend for their own means.  I also personally enjoyed the return of several familiar figures from the previous Tyrant Philosopher novels, including the unusual batch of former military doctors who made their escape in the previous novel.  While given less focus in this novel, Tchaikovsky still makes excellent use of these fugitive doctors, and it was interesting to see how the most junior member of the troupe got upgraded to a major character now he’s a little older.  Accompanying the doctors is character now known as Happy Jack, who readers of the series may recognise as the priest of small gods from the first two novels, Yasnic.  Now bereft of his original petty deity, Jack has now found happiness and contentment in Alkhalend, especially thanks to an unlikely doomed romance.  Of course, that happiness can’t last too long, and Tchaikovsky soon returns to torturing one of his best characters, ensuring he’ll be even more compelling in the next book of the series.  Throw in the many other unusual denizens of Alkhalend, which includes pirates, necromantic priests, scheming nobles, and even a giant frog god, and the cast of Days of Shattered Faith is impressive, especially as the author carefully balances the many alternating character storylines to create an overall outstanding narrative.  I cannot wait to see what awesome characters Tchaikovsky comes up with in the rest of the series, but I’m expecting some truly fascinating figures going forward.

While I did end up buying a physical copy of Days of Shattered Faith, I ended up listening to its audiobook format instead, mainly because I had such a good time with the City of Last Chances audiobook.  Days of Shattered Faith also proved to be an incredible listen, with the audiobook format deeply enhancing the complex plot and showcasing all the excellent fantasy elements in even more detail.  Coming in with a notable runtime of nearly 22 hours, I was able to get through Days of Shattered Faith quickly, especially with the outstanding David Thorpe narrating the story.  A veteran narrator who has lent his voice to many of Tchaikovsky’s audiobooks, Thorpe did an excellent job bringing Days of Shattered Faith to life, especially as his tones and voices matched the style of the author’s writing.  Thorpe really dives into the various unique characters loaded into Days of Shattered Faith, coming up with a range of fun and fitting voices.  I felt that these voices, as well as his excellent narration of the complex fantasy plot details of this novel, turned Days of Shattered Faith into a very enjoyable audiobook, and it was such a good format to enjoy this unique story.  Easily one of the top audiobooks I have so far enjoyed in 2025, Days of Shattered Faith comes highly recommended in this format, and you are guaranteed to have an amazing time listening to it.

With even more crazy characters, distinctive fantasy elements, and a twisty and captivating plot, Days of Shattered Faith was another exceptional novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky.  A perfect continuation of the incredible Tyrant Philosophers series, Days of Shattered Faith had so many awesome elements to it, and I loved its complex story and compelling protagonists.  An outstanding read I loved so much, Days of Shattered Faith is one of the best fantasy novels of 2025, and I cannot wait to see how the rest of the series unfolds.  Indeed, the fourth book in the series, Pretenders to the Throne of God, is out in a few months’ time, and it is already shaping up to be another epic read.

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Grave Danger by James Grippando

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Thriller3 Comments

Publisher: Harper Audio (Audiobook – 14 January 2025)

Series: Jack Swyteck – Book 19

Length: 10 hours and 53 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out 5 stars

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One of the top authors of intense legal thrillers, James Grippando, returns with another outstanding entry in his long-running Jack Swyteck series, Grave Danger, which places the titular protagonist in the middle of a particularly captivating case.

Of the various crime fiction subgenres I have the pleasure of reading, one of my favourites is the legal thriller.  There is just something exciting and addictive about well-written and thrilling books set around the courtroom, especially if they feature complex or life-altering legal cases.  While there are several great authors who specialise in legal thrillers, one of the more intriguing ones I have come across in recent years is veteran author James Grippando, who has been writing compelling novels for over 30 years, with a combination of long-running series, including his main Jack Swyteck series, and other gripping standalone reads.  I personally only started reading Grippando last year when I had the opportunity to read his latest Jack Swyteck novel, Goodbye Girl, a fascinating read that saw the titular Miami lawyer attempt to save a glamorous popstar from several music piracy-related lawsuits.  Goodbye Girl was one of the more entertaining and memorable legal thrillers I read last year, and I was keen to try out the next book in the series, Grave Danger, especially as it had an intriguing plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

Bestselling author James Grippando’s legendary criminal defence attorney Jack Swyteck is back to defend a single mother accused of kidnapping her own child in a perilous case involving politics and international diplomacy that will test his legal expertise and his marriage.

Jack Swyteck’s new client fled Iran to Miami with her daughter, and has been accused of kidnapping by her husband. The seasoned attorney must not only plan a winning defence. To stop the father from taking the girl back to Tehran, Jack must build a case under international law and prove that returning the child would put her at risk.

But everything in this case isn’t what it seems, and Jack quickly learns that his client is really the child’s aunt and that the biological mother may have been killed by Iran’s morality police. But what role did the father play in his wife’s death, and why is Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, being pressured by her bosses to persuade Jack to drop the case?

Plunging into an investigation unlike any other, Jack must discover who is behind the legal maneuvering and what their interest is. As politics threatens to derail the case and compromise the best interests of the child, Jack and Andie find themselves on opposite sides—with their marriage hanging in the balance. For their relationship to survive, the couple must navigate a treacherous web of deceit that extends from a Miami courthouse to the highest echelons of Washington DC, and spells grave danger at every turn.

James Grippando continues to impress with this fantastic and exciting new legal thriller.  Cleverly set around some unique legal circumstances and compelling world-politics, Grave Danger had an outstanding plot loaded with a ton of drama that is guaranteed to hook you all the way to the end.

I felt that Grippando pulled together a very interesting and emotionally charged narrative for Grave Danger, which quickly drags you in with its unique and powerful elements.  The main story primarily involves protagonist Jack Swyteck choosing to defend Iranian refugee Ava Bazzi in a custody case around her daughter Yasmin, with the Iranian government backing Yasmin’s father Farid in the case.  However, as the case proceeds, it becomes clear there are more angles to the story, mostly related to whether Jack’s client is Yasmin’s mother, and whether the real Ava Bazzi is alive or has been killed by the Iranian morality police.  At the same time, Jack is dealing with deeper personal issues as his career has put a strain on his marriage with Andie, who once again is facing pressure from her bosses to influence Jack’s case.  As the various trials continue, both Jack and Andie uncover deeper lies and conspiracies from all the participants in the case, including the United States government influencing events from behind the scenes, and Grave Danger’s narrative goes in some very interesting directions.  Grippando wraps the story up with some excellent twists, which includes some tense action and danger, and readers come away satisfied with the conclusion and curious where certain long-running story points in the series will go next.

Grave Danger was another well-written novel from Grippando that provides readers will all the entertaining legal thrills and courtroom drama you could want.  Serving as the 19th entry in the Jack Swyteck series, Grave Danger works well as a continuation of the series, especially when it comes to the personal drama of the protagonists.  At the same time, Grippando has an accessible style which allows new readers to enjoy this novel without any prior knowledge of his previous books.  There are a lot of great elements to this new novel, although I personally enjoyed all the outstanding courtroom sequences, which prove to be a true highlight of the book.  The author clearly puts a lot of care, attention and personal knowledge into all the legal aspects of Grave Danger, and you really get drawn into the complex aspects of the case and the protagonist’s attempts to help his client.

I personally enjoyed how Grippando featured a complex, international custody case in this book, which gave Grave Danger a very distinctive edge, especially as it features some obscure bits of law.  The author’s intriguing dive into US-Iranian relations and how this would potentially impact a case like this was also very fascinating, especially with certain recent real-world events happening around the time I was reading this novel.  Grippando covers all these events in a measured and thoughtful manner, and the underlying political and diplomatic elements of the plot added a lot of fantastic tension to the overall narrative and helped turn Grave Danger into a particularly compelling read.

One of the more interesting elements of Grave Danger are the compelling or relatable characters featured within the plot.  Primarily focused on Jack Swyteck, a lawyer struggling with draining personal battles on top of his own legal case, the book has some interesting sequences with the protagonist, especially as he deals with the lies of his client and the emotional strain of the case on his marriage.  The rest of the cast was quite entertaining or complex, including Jack’s client,  Ava Bazzi, who has escaped from Iran with her daughter/niece, and who seeks to keep custody no matter the cost.  Ava’s various secrets add some deep intrigue to the plot, and Grippando builds some intricate storylines around her, especially with the reveal of who she is and the greater history behind Ava’s treatment by the Iranian morality police. The opposing client, Farid, Ava Bazzi’s husband and the father of Yasmin, proves to be an interesting semi-antagonist in the novel, especially with his alternating motivations and a particularly vindictive lawyer in his corner.

While I enjoyed all these characters, I must say that I had issues with how Grippando utilised Jack’s wife, FBI Agent Andie Henning, in this novel.  Despite being Grave Danger’s secondary protagonist (and the titular protagonist of another series), Grippando somehow manages to make Andie into one of the most annoying figures in the entire novel with her unreasonable requests around her husband’s work, constant combative nature, and sheer determination to get her way.  The author compounds this further by portraying her in this book as being particularly naïve, constantly ignoring several obvious conspiracies and lies actively working against her husband, despite her status as an FBI agent.  I honestly felt that Grippando’s portrayal of Andie was a real weak point of Grave Danger, and I struggled a little bit with her scenes.  Hopefully the author will utilise her a little more effectively going forward, as her appearance here just added way too much unnecessary drama to an otherwise excellent book.

After enjoying Grippando’s previous novel on audiobook, I made sure to get Grave Danger on the same format, primarily because it once again featured the narration of Jonathan Davis.  One of my favourite audiobook narrators, Davis is probably best known for his work voicing various Star Wars audiobook, including Kenobi by John Jackson Miller, Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber, Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray, Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp and Brotherhood by Mike Chen, just to name a few.  This excellent voice work translates across to the Jack Swyteck series extremely well, and I deeply enjoyed his work on Grave Danger.  Not only does he bring the perfect pace to the court cases and other high-intensity parts of the plot, but he also provides some great voices to the varied characters featured within.  I ended up breezing through Grave Danger’s near 11-hour long runtime because of this great narration, and the audiobook version comes very highly recommended as a result.

Overall, Grave Danger was another excellent novel from James Grippando, who continues his excellent Jack Swyteck series in impressive fashion.  Featuring a particularly compelling legal centre, as well as some great thriller elements, Grave Danger was an amazing read from start to finish, and I fully intend to read more novels in this series going forward.  Indeed, the 20th Jack Swyteck novel, the extremely interesting sounding The Right to Remain, is coming out in early 2026, and I cannot wait to read it.

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The Widow by John Grisham

On By The Unseen LibraryIn ThrillerLeave a comment

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 21 October 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 404 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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Iconic author John Grisham continues to shine as one of the leading authors of the legal thriller genre with his outstanding new novel, The Widow, a clever, character-driven book that relentlessly drags you in.

Most people will be very familiar with author John Grisham, considering he has been presenting awesome novels filled with complex legal cases since 1989, many of which have been turned into films or television series.  I started reading Grisham in the last few years, having been lucky enough to receive copies of some of his latest novels, including The Judge’s List, The Boys from Biloxi, Sparring Partners, The Exchange and Camino Ghosts.  All these novels proved to be a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the interesting collection of stories and sub-genres that Grisham would explore in these books.  As such, I was very keen to read Grisham’s new novel, The Widow, especially as it had an exciting and compelling plot behind it.

Plot Synopsis:

She needs a lawyer. He needs a payday.

Simon Latch is a small-town lawyer struggling with debt, gambling issues and an impending divorce. But when Eleanor Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, visits his office to secure a new will, it seems his luck has finally changed: she claims she’s sitting on a $20 million fortune and no one else knows about it.

She could be the ticket to his fortune.

Once he’s hooked the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar, even from his own assistant. But there are complications: other lawyers are circling his client like vultures.

But when she is hospitalised after a car accident, Eleanor’s story begins to crack. Simon realises that nothing is as it seems. And as events spiral out of control, he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

The Widow was a very interesting and captivating novel from Grisham that combined a distinctive story of a down on his luck protagonist, with a complex mixture of murder and thrilling legal elements.  A very clever read that I had an excellent time getting through, The Widow is Grisham at his best and proved to be a particularly engaging read.

Grisham relies on a well-crafted character-driven narrative for The Widow, which gradually draws the reader in until they are unable to put the book down.  Starting off with a deliberate, slower pace, the early parts of The Widow are primarily focused on introducing and showcasing the life of protagonist Simon Latch, as well as the various people in his orbit.  A lawyer with a stalled career, gambling issues, and a failing marriage, Simon is eager for fresh opportunities, which seems to walk in the door in the form of elderly widow Eleanor Barnett, who requires a new will.  Unable to resist the allure of Eleanor’s reputed fortune, Simon secretly takes her on as a client, hoping to manipulate her into signing a favourable will that he can later abuse for his own financial gain.  Forced to remain in Eleanor’s orbit for his scheme, Simon begins to learn more about his unusual client, who seems to bring trouble down on all around her.  At the same time, Simon keeps making all the wrong decisions in the other areas of his life, which results in him becoming increasingly desperate for a payday.  Grisham does an outstanding job of building up the extensive background of the characters and their motivations in the first half of The Widow, and the elaborate picture of greed, secrets and self-destructive behaviour allows for a very impressive second half of the book.

Deftly amping up the pace in the second half of The Widow, things change quite dramatically when Eleanor passes suddenly, and Simon is free to enact his plan.  However, before he can go through with it, Simon is charged with Eleanor’s murder and soon finds himself a pariah in his own town.  With the evidence stacked against him, the protagonist finds himself embroiled in an elaborate court battle as he tries to prove his innocence.  Expertly building on all the events and interactions in the first half of The Widow, Grisham sets up an impressive and very realistic series of court sequences, all while the Simon’s life falls even further apart around him.  There is a brilliant sense of desperation and despair in this second half of the book, and you really get drawn into the thrilling legal battles, which are laced with beautiful uncertainty, as you are unsure if the protagonist is truly innocent and where the story is going to go next.  I personally was enthralled with this second half of The Widow and powered through it extremely quickly, as I was keen to see how the court case ended and the reveals about who was responsible for Eleanor’s death.

While I loved all the key legal battles, and the extensive court case that takes up a good chunk of the second half of the book, I must admit that I was a little disappointed with how The Widow ended.  This was because the final 50 pages contained a rushed, and slightly unlikely, investigation arc that looks to uncover the truth of how the titular widow died.  While there are some excellent elements to these final pages, the revealed truth about Eleanor’s death comes a little out of nowhere and derailed the careful nature of the rest of the plot.  While there are some hints about who or what was responsible earlier in the book, I think that Grisham erred with this ending, and a different reveal more connected to the main plot would have been better.  Still, it was a mostly satisfying conclusion to book’s overall narrative, and readers will be happy where some of the main cast, especially the protagonist, finish up.

I really enjoyed how Grisham wrote The Widow, as the author effortlessly pulled together a complex story of the legal system told primarily through the eyes of an ethically dubious lawyer.  Featuring elements reminiscent of the author’s other small-town legal thrillers, particularly those set in Clanton, this was an amazing character-focused book.  Grisham does an excellent job of effectively introducing the protagonist, Simon Latch, and viewing his descent from respected lawyer to suspected killer thanks to his own greedy actions.  Thanks to Grisham’s clever examination of all the events of the protagonist’s life, you feel very sympathetic towards Simon, even if he continuously makes things worse for himself.  The somewhat simplistic dishonestly of Simon is well matched by some of the more devious or naturally deceitful characters in The Widow, including the elderly Eleanor Barnett, who suddenly becomes the most important person in Simon’s life.  Old, crotchety and stubborn, Grisham paints a great layer of uncertainty around Eleanor, which ensures the reader is never quite sure whether she is genuinely rich, or pulling some sort of elaborate con on Simon and the other lawyers in his town.  The eventual reveal of this truth is extremely fun, and thanks to the way the two characters are entangled at the end of Eleanor’s life, it helps produce a fantastic murder trial that you can really sink your teeth into.

The resulting criminal defence case was the true highlight of The Widow, and Grisham was in his wheelhouse writing not only the trial but the more mundane legal elements of the protagonist’s practice, which proves to be a key part of the plot.  I deeply appreciated how well the court case played out in the second half of The Widow, which cleverly revisits the events of the first half of the book to examine the protagonist’s guilt.  It soon becomes clear that Grisham did an amazing job hiding a lot of hints and relevant details in the early parts of the plot, and the way these elements come to be used later in was extremely clever.  While I still have my doubts about the novel final reveal, the rest of the book has an excellent flow to it, and I really appreciate how Grisham upped the pace in the second half of the book with a truly gripping court battle.  Throw in an excellent depiction of small-town life and the Virginia legal system, thanks to the portray of fictional town of Braxton and this ended up being a very compelling novel I honestly couldn’t put down.

John Grisham continues to highlight why he is one of the very best writers of legal thriller fiction with The Widow.  A complex and powerful novel, with a compelling protagonist focus, The Widow was a brilliant read, and I loved how wrapped up I got in the book’s outstanding mystery and the various secrets and legal battles surrounding it.  While there are some stumbles towards the conclusion, The Widow was an overall incredible read that is going to appeal to all Grisham fans and those who love a good legal thriller.  I look forward to diving into whatever Grisham writes next.

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Star Wars: Sanctuary by Lamar Giles

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel4 Comments

Publisher: Random House Audio (Audiobook – 6 August 2025)

Series: Star Wars – The Bad Batch

Length: 11 hours and 46 minutes

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

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New Star Wars author Lamar Giles presents an epic and highly entertaining novel that follows everyone’s favourite group of rogue clones, with the Bad Batch focused novel, Sanctuary.

2025 has been an awesome year for Star Wars fiction.  Between the intense political novel, The Mask of Fear by Alexander Freed, and the upcoming Darth Vader-focused novel, Master of Evil by Adam Christopher, there are some interesting and heavy books coming out to further the lore of this iconic franchise.  However, there have also been some highly entertaining entries in this canon, including the fantastic novel Sanctuary.  Written by young adult fiction author Lamar Giles, Sanctuary is the author’s very first Star Wars novel, having previously written a short story in an anthology book.  A tie-in to The Bad Batch animated series, Sanctuary was an intriguing adult Star Wars novel that wasn’t originally on my reading radar.  However, in the mood for an audiobook from a familiar franchise, I decided to check it out, and boy was I glad that I did.

After turning on the Empire and deciding to live their own lives, the members of Experimental Clone Force 99, better known as the Bad Batch, are on the run, taking odd jobs and helping the innocents of the galaxy.  Made up of the grizzled Hunter, brilliant Tech, loveable powerhouse Wrecker and child prodigy Omega, the Bad Batch members have become an unlikely family.  However, after a series of dangerous missions, the members of the squad are tired, especially with their former comrades Echo and Crosshair on their own separate journeys. 

Needing a safe place to rest, the Bad Batch have found sanctuary on the planet of Pabu.  An idyllic settlement hidden from the eyes of the Empire, Pabu appears to be the perfect place for the clones to finally settle down and escape the constant battles.  However, before they can enjoy the peace of their new home, they’ll first have to help rebuild it.  With the settlement desperate for resources after a massive tidal wave, the members of the Bad Batch team up with pirate and self-proclaimed liberator of treasures, Phee Genoa, who promises an easy payday.

Hired to recover a valuable relic from an auction house, the crew’s ploy to steal it is quickly discovered, forcing them to revert to their usual fugitive ways.  However, their escape plan becomes complicated when Phee insists that they take on a second job, ferrying a mysterious couple to safe harbour.  Going against his better judgement, Hunter agrees to take on the passengers, but soon discovers that their new cargo has many secrets.  Forced to contend with an obsessive ISB agent and murderous tycoon with dangerous connections, the Bad Batch will risk it all for their new home.  But have they finally found an enemy too dangerous to defeat?

Sanctuary was an excellent and very entertaining Star Wars novel that proved a lot of fun to read.  Perfectly bringing the characters from The Bad Batch to life for an exciting new adventure, Sanctuary was an outstanding read that featured a compelling and action-packed story of love and life in the Star Wars universe.

Giles pulled together a captivating and very fitting narrative for Sanctuary, the serves as a great addition to The Bad Batch show, while also telling its own unique story.  Set towards the end of second season of the series, right after the events of the 13th episode, Pabu, Sanctuary is a fast-paced, character-driven story that takes the protagonists into the gritty underbelly of the Star Wars universe.  Starting with a very entertaining heist sequence, which goes about as well as any of the team’s plans, the titular Bad Batch and their pirate associate Phee Goena, escape with the loot, planning to sell it to a wealthy buyer.  At the same time, they take on two passengers, pregnant woman Keshiri Sohi and her masked partner Kuuto, who require smuggling across the galaxy.  Giles does a great job setting up all these initial story elements, and he quickly adds in some compelling complications that add some exciting drama to the narrative.  This includes a righteous ISB agent, Supervisor Sendril Crane, who is hunting their passengers, as well as the squad’s potential buyer, Cellia Moten, who would prefer to kill Phee Goena rather than pay her.

After an excellent shootout sequence halfway through the book where the protagonists are forced to simultaneously resist both Crane and Moten, the book slightly slows down as Giles works in some excellent story elements for both the protagonists and antagonists.  This includes growing drama between the Bad Batch and their passengers over their various secrets and lies, which also ties in nicely to internal conflicts amongst the team.  At the same time, Crane finds himself in the sinister orbit of the highly connected Cellia Moten, with the two trying to manipulate the other for their secrets and influence.  After a series of personal scenes for the protagonists that finally get them on the same page, Giles moves the story towards the end game, with the antagonists finding out where they are hiding.  This results in a series of awesome action sequences, with all the protagonists forced to fight to escape.  All the book’s characters, including its two villains, have their moment to shine here, and there are some powerful examinations of the relationship between new characters Crane and Sohi.  After some suitably climatic moments, the book ends on a high note that fans will really enjoy.  Giles also adds in an excellent cameo at the end that serves as a cathartic conclusion to another character’s story, and which I thought was a fitting and fun way to end the book.

I really enjoyed Giles’s writing style for Sanctuary, especially as he managed to achieve a lot in this novel.  Not only do we get a fantastic Bad Batch focused narrative loaded with action, adventure and other exciting Star Wars elements, but Giles also managed to include some powerful, personal moments, as various character dramas from both the show and this specific novel are played out.  The result was a slick and fast-paced novel that quickly draws the reader in with its easy humour and fun focus on The Bad Batch’s entertaining characters.  Thanks to some excellently timed shifts in character perspective, all the key members of Sanctuary’s cast have their moment to shine.  I particularly loved parts of the book that showcased the antagonist’s journey, which served as outstandingly entertaining contrast to some of the more character-driven chapters around the protagonists.  The combination of intrigue and Imperial politics in these scenes, as well as the mind games between to delightfully devious villains, was a true highlight of the book, and it allowed Giles to up the stakes of the plot, especially when it starts diving into some deeper Star Wars elements with some excellent references.

As a fan of The Bad Batch animated series I personally really enjoyed Sanctuary as Giles perfectly captured the tone and humour of the show.  Working as a great tie-in, Sanctuary fills in some interesting gaps between two of the show’s episodes, and the author does an excellent job of examining some of the issues the characters are facing during this period.  While naturally geared towards those familiar with The Bad Batch, Giles ensures that Sanctuary isn’t too show-lore dependent, and most general Star Wars fans will be able to read this book and have a great time.  Indeed, those unfamiliar with the animated series get a good glimpse at the humour and character dynamics in this novel, and it could serve as a good entry point to show.  Even if they don’t, the author also adds in a bunch of references that anyone familiar with Star Wars will be able to appreciate.  I felt that Giles did an excellent job exploring the period the novel is set in, the early days of the Empire a couple of years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, which is one of the more fascinating times in the franchise’s lore, and it was interesting to see how some of the new characters fit into this time.  As such, Sanctuary is going to appeal to a wide range of readers, and it’s a great read for fans of the Star Wars extended universe.

I have already mentioned a few times the excellent character work in Sanctuary as Giles features a great cast for this book.  Naturally for a Bad Batch book, the titular cast get much of the focus in Sanctuary, with excellent portrayals of Hunter, Tech, Wrecker and Omega.  Giles expertly captures their personalities from the show and reproduces them in Sanctuary.  As such, you are given some very interesting insights into the minds of each of these characters at this point in the series, with a particular focus on each clone’s glance towards the future and what they want out of life.  While there are some interesting alternating characters here amongst the cast, including Omega trying to become more independent, Tech’s unlikely romance with Phee, and Wrecker’s simple desire to blow things up, much of the character development for the main cast revolves around Hunter.  Giles spends a large amount of time diving into Hunter’s issues with losing control and no longer being a soldier, as well as some of the resentment he has from Crosshair’s abandonment of the squad.  This results in several fractious family moments, especially as Hunter’s caution tends to put him at odds with the rest of the team’s desires, and his distrust of Phee and their new passengers causes some noticeable friction.  These character dramas are a compelling part of the book’s overall plot, although Giles also does a good job of showcasing the more happy-family version of the Bad Batch, which fans of the show will appreciate, considering we all know what’s coming in a few episodes time.  That being said, I’m not sure I can forgive Giles for his line about Tech’s grapnel gun never failing him.

Aside from the titular Bad Batch, Giles features several additional outstanding characters, including returning show favourite Phee Genoa.  A free-spirited pirate and treasure hunter, Phee was a breath of fresh air amongst the stuffier clone soldier protagonists, and it was entertaining to see the unique interactions she had with the other characters.  Her antagonism of the rigid Hunter was particularly fun, especially as it brought up some much-needed drama, however, it was her relationship with Tech that was a true highlight of the book.  Giles did a good expanding on the feelings hinted at in the show, and they proved to be a very distinctive couple as a result.  I felt this gave some of the upcoming events of the animated series a little bit more of a tragic air, as you try to imagine what could be, and you end up liking them in a very bittersweet way.  The main cast of protagonists were well rounded out by new figures Keshiri Sohi and the masked Kuuto.  Mysterious passengers with secret pasts who cause all manner of trouble for the main cast, Sohi and Kuuto spend much of the book seemingly untrustworthy with their own agendas.  However, thanks to some excellent reveals, as well as a couple of good flashbacks, you grow to understand the complexity around their actions, and they proved to be a compelling addition to the cast as a result.

While I really enjoyed the protagonists, I felt they somewhat got overshadowed by the book’s impressive antagonists.  This includes ISB Supervisor Sendril Crane, a diligent and intense figure on the heels of Sohi and Kuuto.  Crane has a brilliant introduction in this book, which shows off his intelligence and ruthlessness, and he only gets better from there as you come to understand his background as a spy and his obsession with Sohi.  While Crane proves to be a ruthless adversary, he is well matched by Sanctuary’s other main antagonist, Cellia Morten.  An ultra-rich, politically connected tycoon with a penchant for murder, Morten is shown to be an outstandingly deranged figure early on, and she swifty amps up her evilness as the book continues.  Giles does an exceptional job sculpting Morten into the very worst rich villain he could, especially once her motivations for killing are revealed, and it was very fun for to eventual face reality on the real power structure in the galaxy.  While both serve as great antagonists to the main cast, the real beauty of these villainous characters occurs when they interact with each other, which results in a series of manipulative conversations which are thoroughly entertaining.  I particularly enjoyed how Morten continuously got the better of the normally unflappable Crane, especially in their first meeting when she gets out being arrested by asking if he had been sent by her good friend Sheev, with her use of namedropping and connections only getting better from there.  These two antagonists played off each other perfectly, and their battle of wits and cruelty, was even more entertaining than their hunt for the protagonists.  All these great characters added so much to my enjoyment of Sanctuary, and I loved the amazing arcs and interactions that emerged.

Naturally, I ended up listening to Sanctuary on audiobook, rather than seeking out a physical copy, as the audiobook format is the absolute best way to enjoy a Star Wars novel.  I love how incredible a Star Wars novel can sound when read out, and this was particularly true with Sanctuary, as all the awesome action and great characters were so much more impactful and fun in this format.  A lot of this is due to the narration of Marc Thompson, who does an exceptional job voicing all the characters and bringing the entire book to life.  Thompson, who is one of my favourite audiobook narrators, has long been one of the top narrators of Star Wars fiction thanks to his brilliant vocal talents and ability to impersonate various characters from the shows (see my previous reviews of Thrawn and Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn and Dark Disciple by Christie Golden).  His skill was on full display in Sanctuary, especially as he perfectly voiced Hunter, Tech and Wrecker throughout this novel, as well as several other characters from the show.  I was honestly so impressed by how he managed to accurately he was able to voice the three main clones from the show, with each of their distinctive but similar voices, coming across so damn close to their voice actor in the show, Dee Bradley Baker.  At the same time, he also does a good take on Wanda Sykes’s character Phee Genoa, and even does a passible voice for Omega, which includes the New Zealand accent of actress Michelle Ang. 

Thompson’s outstanding narration is further enhanced by the fantastic inclusion of Star Wars sound effects and music, which is an outstanding part of all Star Wars audiobooks.  The entire story really comes to life when you can hear crowd sounds and blaster fire amongst the dialogue, while the iconic Star Wars music makes several scenes just a little more epic, especially when they help remind you of moments from the films.  These extra audio inclusions pair perfectly with Thompson’s narration, and it honestly felt like you were listening to an episode of The Bad Batch with this audiobook.  I really enjoyed this full listening experience, and I ended up powering through Sanctuary’s near 12-hour long runtime in no time at all.  This was such a great listen, and this was honestly one of the better audiobooks I had the pleasure of listening to in 2025.

With a brilliant story, fun characters and a ton of action, Lamar Giles’ Star Wars novel, Sanctuary, was an outstanding hit.  An excellent tie-in novel that follows the entertaining characters from The Bad Batch animated series, Sanctuary was an impressive and exciting novel that had me hooked very early on.  A deeply compelling and addictive read, Sanctuary comes very highly recommended, especially on audiobook, and all Star Wars fans are going to have a great time with this awesome read.

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Warhammer 40,000: Final Deployment by R. S. Wilt

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer1 Comment

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 30 August 2025)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 11 hours and 23 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for battle as R. S. Wilt presents his debut novel, Final Deployment, a captivating read that perfectly highlights bloody war in the grimdark future of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

There are few franchises that bring me as much joy as the Warhammer 40,000 series, which follows the numerous factions of the infamously grimdark 41st millennium.  The sheer amount of imaginative stories and tales that are featured in this universe, as well as the talented authors who contribute to it, is quite impressive, and includes some major established writers.  I particularly like how the Warhammer 40,000 publishers also give some interesting opportunities to new authors looking to break into the fantasy or science fiction space.  Many aspiring authors have had their very first novel published in the Warhammer canon recently, and I deeply enjoy reading debuts from these new writers.  Examples of this include Fire Made Flesh by Denny Flowers, The King of the Spoil by Jonathan D. Beer, Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid, Longshot by Rob Young, Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward and Lord of Excess by Rich McCormick, to name a few.  Many of these debuts are first class reads, and I’ve featured a few on my favourite Warhammer 40,000 novels lists over the years.

Due to my previous awesome experiences with debuts in this franchise, I am always very excited to check out first Warhammer 40,000 novels from new authors, especially those with epic plots.  The latest example of this is Final Deployment by R. S. Wilt, which was the author’s very first novel.  Spinning off from his previously published short story Eradicant, Final Deployment had a very exciting plot behind it that follows the most lethal human soldiers in the grimdark future, the Tempestus Scions.

In the far future, the Imperium of Man battles for survival on thousands of planet-spanning battlefields, with untold numbers of human soldiers fighting and dying every day against monsters, xenos and heretics.  Of these soldiers, none are more deadly or skilled than the Tempestus Scions.  Moulded into unquestionable killing machines from a young age with relentless training and mental manipulation, the Tempestus Scions serve as an elite force with the soldiers of mankind, taking on the missions that no other soldier could complete.

Amongst these Tempestus Scions are the fighters of First Eradicant squad of the Xian Tigers.  Led by Tempestor Traxel and “inspired” by Commissar Fennech, First Eradicant are an unusual regiment made up of several misfit Scions damaged by the battles they have seen.  Deployed to the planet of Rilis, a formerly loyal world now fighting a brutal civil war, First Eradicant is tasked with destroying the rebelling regiments and bringing order to the planet.  Utilising their superior training and equipment, First Eradicant quickly turn the tide against the enemy and being to lead the loyalist forces on Rilis to victory.  However, their success leads them discover the full strength of the traitors, as well as their dark allegiances.

After a disastrous battle that sees their loyalist allies massacred, First Eradicant find themselves facing monstrous opponents even more lethal than they are; three Chaos Space Marines from the Iron Warriors legion.  Determined to slay the ancient, genetically enhanced traitors, First Eradicant take the fight to the Iron Warriors across the planet.  However, with their leader traumatised by past battles and Commissar Fennech playing his own sinister games, can even the best human soldiers in the galaxy defeat the evolved might of the Chaos Space Marines?

R. S. Wilt starts his professional writing career off in explosive fashion with this amazing and compelling debut. Final Deployment was a deeply exciting character-driven Warhammer 40,000 story that followed several highly damaged characters as they attempted to survive the horrors of war. Intense, action-packed and deeply addictive, Final Deployment was an outstanding read that I had an incredible time getting through.

I really enjoyed the epic and deeply exciting narrative that Wilt pulled together for Final Deployment, which perfectly showcases futuristic special forces soldiers going after a deadlier opponent.  Set after the events of the author’s previous short story Eradicant, Final Deployment has a quick and effective start to it, as Wilt first sets the scene for the war on Rilis, before introducing the members of First Eradicant as they literally drop onto the scene.  Each of the protagonists, especially lethal and reckless recon trooper Norroll, gets their moment to shine in these opening scenes, which also work well to highlight Wilt’s intense writing style.  You are soon dragged into the story, and while the initial parts of the book are a tad slow, that changes with the pivotal battle around a third of the way through that sees the Chaos Space Marines arrive in bloody fashion.

Wilt did an outstanding job of changing the tone of Final Deployment after this big moment, as the protagonists find themselves heavily on the backfoot, and there are some notable PTSD elements hitting Tempestor Traxel.  The rest of the novel revolves around the protagonists attempting to hunt down and stop the Chaos Space Marines, no matter how the rest of the war is going.  The story from that point is essentially broken down into three distinctive parts, each of which showcase the very different, but equally brutal, fights against the separate deadly antagonists.  Wilt does an excellent job setting up the scenarios around these battles, which include infiltrating a deadly facility, a brutal ambush by a daemonic possessed foe, and an air drop into enemy territory, and you soon get enthralled in the protagonist’s desperate mission.  These events work extremely well as a sequential and cohesive narrative, and you get really absorbed in the mission of the slowly dwindling group of Tempestus Scions.  Everything leads up to the desperate final confrontation between the protagonists and their deadliest foe, which hits hard and keeps you guessing about who is going to survive.  I felt this entire story came together perfectly, and the ending does an excellent job wrapping up Final Deployment as a standalone Warhammer 40,000 story, with the potential left open for a sequel.  An overall excellent narrative that was quite impossible to put down at times.

While the story is very cool, I also felt that Final Deployment was extremely well written, as Wilt produces a powerful, character-driven narrative that focused on the horrors of war in the grimdark future.  Expertly utilising the iconic Warhammer 40,000 universe in this clever and brutal war story, I loved how the intense personal narratives blended with the more outrageous elements of franchise.  Wilt puts his evident skill at writing brilliant and bloody action sequences to good use in Final Deployment, and the resulting firefights and close combat sequences were some of the more intense and striking you are likely to see in Warhammer fiction.  The author maintains an excellent, fast pace throughout the entire novel, and there wasn’t a single slow moment or inclusion that didn’t play into the story in some interesting or compelling way.  I also appreciated the great use of alternate perspectives, as the story cleverly jumps between several key characters.  This is primarily utilised to showcase multiple angles to the book’s awesome action sequences, which was a ton of fun.  However, I also enjoyed how Wilt took the opportunity to examine the plot from the perspective of several interesting supporting character, including a couple of antagonists.  This helps Wilt to present an even more layered narrative, and it is always really entertaining to see the villain’s reactions to the protagonist’s actions.

Final Deployment is also an excellent and entertaining addition to the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, which works well as an exciting standalone novel.  Despite diving straight into the universe, Final Deployment is accessible to readers no matter their experience with Warhammer fiction, as the author provides a lot of intriguing universe details.  This includes the Tempestus Scions, who serve as the human faction’s ultimate special forces unit outside of the genetically enhanced Space Marines.  The author does an incredible job showcasing the skill and tactics of the Scions throughout Final Deployment, and you really appreciate that they are a highly trained and better equipped regiment.  While Wilt somewhat exaggerates the effectiveness of the Scions and their equipment for narrative purposes (especially carapace armour), you get a realistic sense of these figures in combat, and I appreciated how the characters were slowly debilitated by injuries and losses.  There is also a fascinating look at the harsh training and religious brainwashing these figures undergo, which fits the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe perfectly.  Other elements of Warhammer fiction are cleverly utilised here, and I loved the author’s depiction of just how dangerous Space Marines and their chaotic counterparts are compared to normal humans, even the Tempestus Scions.  The damage three Iron Warriors were able to do to the loyalist army, and the lengths the protagonists went to beat them, was so beautifully excessive, and I felt it was an appropriate amount of power scaling.  Thanks to these cool features from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, this book will primarily appeal to established fans of the franchise, although thanks to Wilt’s great writing, new readers will also have a lot of fun with it, even if they didn’t read the author’s previous short story.

While much of the appeal of Final Deployment was its epic story, great writing, and impressive action, I also felt the complex characters helped to make it even more special.  Primarily set around a group of Tempestus Scions, Final Deployment featured an intriguing look at these figures, their damaged pasts, and the struggles they experience on and off the battlefield.  Wilt does an excellent job of splitting the focus of Final Deployment over much of the extended cast, and indeed its nominal main characters, Tempestor Traxel and Commissar Fennech, don’t have that much of the book shown from their perspective.  Instead, most of the story is told through the eyes of other key members of the squad, including Norroll and the squad’s medic, Daviland.  This allows these secondary figures in the squad much more room to shine, and I felt the book was stronger as a result.  Norroll in particularly was quite a fun character.  An overly reckless Scion, Norroll finds himself caught between loyalty to Traxel and his squad, and his own death wish, and it was often really intriguing to see him in the middle of the bloodiest scenes in the book.  Daviland served as an excellent counter to Norroll’s more outrageous perspectives, especially as she is one of the saner members of the squad.  A transplant from another regiment, Daviland provides an interesting outsider’s perspective to the book, especially as she has a lot less mental damage the rest of First Eradicant.  Despite her loyalty primarily being to Fennech, Wilt writes an excellent storyline around Daviland becoming closer to her squad, and I felt that her perspective scenes were some of the more thoughtful and provided some great insights in the minds of the rest of the characters. 

Of the rest of the cast, Tempestor Traxel and Commissar Fennech, had the most presence.  Despite not serving as perspective characters, both were major parts of the book’s plot, and Wilt did an excellent job showcasing their personalities and issues through the eyes of the other protagonists.  This includes Traxel’s mental trauma at once again facing Chaos Space Marines after a previous deadly mission, and his impacted leadership adds an extra layer of difficulty to the protagonists’ mission.  Fennech, on the other hand, was a great portrayal of a classic, cold-blooded Imperial commissar, shooting allies first and never asking questions.  Fennech served an interesting role as both an ally/gun-bearing motivator, and a potential secondary antagonist to First Eradicant, especially as he questions their effectiveness and resolve.  While Fennech’s storyline doesn’t go as far as it could have, and I would have liked seeing some of the book through his steely eyes, I felt that he was an outstanding inclusion to Final Deployment’s cast that added some excellent alternative menace.

In addition to these characters, I enjoyed how the rest of First Eradicant also got their time to shine in this novel.  Featuring a mixture of existing members and later transfers from another squad, each of these characters had their own unique charm, and their compelling interactions added a lot to the novel’s enjoyment.  While there isn’t an excessive amount of development with some of these characters, which is mainly down to the mental indoctrination they’ve gone through, they were still fun to follow.  Just make sure not to get too attached to them, as the death toll in this novel is quite high.  Wilt matches these excellent perspective characters with several additional outsider characters, including several gloriously over-the-top antagonists, and the clash of styles and mentalities increased the overall fun and excitement I had with Final Deployment.

Unsurprisingly, I ended up listening to Final Deployment on audiobook, rather than seeking out a physical copy of the book.  I always find that the audiobook format brings out the very best of the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe and the unique characters that inhabit it, and the Final Deployment audiobook was a great example of this.  Perfectly narrated by Andrew Wincott, who previously impressed me with his voice work in Deathwatch: Shadowbreaker by Steve Parker and Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom by Mike Brooks, the intense action and harsh nature of war featured in Final Deployment really comes through in this audiobook, and I loved hearing all the intense firefight sequences come to life.  Wincott did an excellent job moving this intense story along at a quick clip, while also providing all the characters with distinctive voices that really fit their unique and gritty personalities.  The fun mixture of voices between the battle-weary human soldiers and the more unnatural forces of Chaos was extremely enjoyable, and you really get drawn into the compelling narrative as a result.  I honestly flew through the over 11-hour long audiobook in no time at all, and I loved every second I spent listening to it, especially some of the more brutal and deadly fight sequences.

Loaded with awesome action, damaged characters and an epic narrative, Final Deployment by R. S. Wilt was an incredible read and an amazing piece of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  A fast-paced novel that follows some intense protagonists through hell and back, Final Deployment was an outstanding debut from Wilt, and comes very highly recommended, especially on audiobook.  I look forward to seeing how Wilt’s writing career continues in the future, and I am sure I will enjoy any additional contributions to the Warhammer franchise.

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Warhammer 40,000: Dominion Genesis by Jonathan D. Beer

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Tie-in Novel, Warhammer1 Comment

Publisher: Black Library (Audiobook – 21 September 2024)

Series: Warhammer 40,000

Length: 10 hours and 47 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Destitute tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus embark on a massive quest for redemption in the excellent 2024 Warhammer 40,000 novel, Dominion Genesis by Jonathan D. Beer.

Beer is a talented rising author in the Warhammer 40,000 fiction space who has so far impressed with two interesting books covering unique spheres of the fandom’s canon.  I deeply enjoyed his first novel, The King of the Spoil, which was a particularly epic entry in the Warhammer Crime sub-series, and which ended up being one of my favourite debuts of 2023.  Beer followed up this debut last year with his second novel, Dominion Genesis, an intriguing read that takes place in a very different Warhammer 40,000 setting.  I had an excellent time with Dominion Genesis, although I spectacularly failed to write a review for it last year.  However, with Beer’s third Warhammer 40,000 novel just released, I felt that this was a good time to finally write something about Dominion Genesis, which honestly was an awesome read.

Plot Synopsis:

Gryphonne IV is dead – one of the mightiest forge worlds in the arsenal of the Adeptus Mechanicus, succumbed to the relentless hunger of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Devoured. Lost.

The few magi that survive drift in idleness, robbed of purpose and direction. But there is one who rejects that fate.

READ IT BECAUSE
It’s the gripping tale of an Explorator desperately seeking ancient technologies from humanity’s past as she races against time to restore one of the mightiest forge worlds in the Imperium.

THE STORY
Explorator Talin Sherax seeks ancient and miraculous technologies from humanity’s distant past. When she learns of a fabled relic that could restore all that has been lost, Sherax embarks on a journey, the outcome of which could change everything. Nothing will stand in her way… even if the quest brings her to the brink of heresy.

Dominion Genesis was a particularly intense and compelling entry in the Warhammer 40,000 canon that proves quite enthralling to read.  I like how Beer managed to achieve quite a few things with this book, as he produced an excellent quest narrative with a focus on obsession, trauma and survival, while also cleverly showcasing several different factions of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Beer came up with a very awesome story that hits a lot of highly emotional story notes early on.  The start of Dominion Genesis was one of the more striking sequences of Warhammer fiction I have read, as the protagonist, Explorator Talin Sherax, is forced to witness the destruction of their home world.  Moving quickly into a time skip, you see a very different version of Sherax several years in the future, as she still attempts to make sense of the destruction while searching for valuable lost technology.  After a great sequence aboard a derelict spacehulk, Sherax finds a clue about a potential artifact that could help to restore her planet.  Going against the orders of her superiors, Sherax leads a crew of human soldiers and Adeptus Mechanicus forces on a quest to several deadly and hidden locations in the galaxy.  Along the way, the protagonists examine their humanity in several different forms, while also being stalked by dangerous alien fighters determined to stop them achieving their goal.

There are some great sequences in the middle of this book, as the protagonist desperately follow the clues into a trap, which shakes all the characters to their core.  After a gruelling sequence of events that help to highlight and move along several, well-constructed character development arcs, the adventure moves to its destructive conclusion.  After another disaster, the protagonists are dropped in amongst a war between rival xenos forces and must journey into the fray to achieve their goal, resulting in a brutal series of battles and the intense conclusion to the narrative.  Beer wrote in some great tragic moments as the protagonists are outmatched at nearly every turn, although many of these sequences work well to provide closure to some of the book’s various character arcs.  The conclusion to Dominion Genesis was as bleak as you would hope for a novel in the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe, but it provides some great closure for the main character and will keep readers very satisfied.

I felt that Dominion Genesis was a particularly good addition to the Warhammer 40,000 canon, as Beer provides a thoughtful and complex novel loaded with unique action and damaged characters trying to survive the inherent darkness of the war-torn universe.  Beer ended up producing an intense character-driven story for Dominion Genesis, and I loved the great balance between action, exploration and interaction between certain unique Warhammer races, and the focus on character elements.  I personally really enjoyed the deep dive into the Adeptus Mechanicus, with various character perspectives diving into their culture and thought processes, even though certain sections of the plot need to be altered to emulate the machine nature of the tech-priests.  Beer tried to showcase a more emotional side to the Adeptus Mechanicus in this book, especially through his protagonist which, while different from other portrays of this faction, fits the trauma-rich narrative as all these characters struggle with the loss of their home.  The author also has fun fitting in several of the main alien races of the Warhammer 40,000 universe into the story, including orks, Tyranid, Aeldari and Necrons.  While not a lot of focus is given to understanding them, they serve as good foils to the obsessed protagonists, and it was interesting to see the Mechanicus takes on these different enemies.  In the end, Dominion Genesis proved to be a compelling, and impressive standalone novel that makes great use of its Warhammer 40,000 elements.  However, be warned that this novel is probably better read by more established fans of the franchise, rather than newer readers, as Beer covers a lot of complex lore in a short period of time.

One of the key things I liked about Dominion Genesis was the rich array of compelling characters featured throughout the plot.  Beer does an outstanding job introducing and following several very damaged figures, including the protagonist Explorator Talin Sherax, who finds herself in a depressed state following the opening sequence of book.  Cutting herself off from the technological hivemind used by the rest of Adeptus Mechanicus brethren, Sherax proves to be a brilliantly complex figure in Dominion Genesis, and Beer’s take of her as the depressed member of a group known for having no emotions was really fascinating.  The author also features an interesting array of other Adeptus Mechanicus members who provide great alternate viewpoints to that of Sherax.  I really enjoyed how Beer managed to include a lot of intriguing individualism in these machine-like Adeptus Mechanicus characters, and the range of different opinions and feelings around Sherax and her mission added some interesting drama to the story. 

Finally, I must highlight the human members of the Dominion Genesis cast, who provide intriguing alternate viewpoints to cybernetic protagonists. I particularly enjoyed the focus on a depressed former Imperial Knight pilot, who, after losing his ancient war machine, decides to join the crew of Sherax’s ship.  There are some fascinating focuses on his parallel grief to that of the Adeptus Mechanicus characters, as well as his own self-anger, especially while forced to pilot a seemingly lesser machine.  Beer writes some interesting side plots around this more human character, including his relationship with an Imperial Guard regiment also aboard the ship, and he must balance his need for human contact with his own grief and arrogance.  I felt this compelling collection of distinctive characters helped to make Dominion Genesis really stand out, and I enjoyed seeing their unique interactions.

As with most Warhammer 40,000 novels I review, I ended up listening to Dominion Genesis on audiobook, which is pretty much the best way to enjoy this series.  The Dominion Genesis audiobook ended up being a lot of fun to listen to, and I managed to get through it’s near 11-hour runtime quickly.  It helped that Dominion Genesis was narrated by the very talented Colleen Prendergast, who is becoming the go-to narrator for any Warhammer 40,000 audiobook that features a human female protagonist, such as Justin D. Hill’s Cadia series, or standalone books like Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid or Longshot by Rob Young.  Prendergast did an outstanding job bringing the various complex cast members of Dominion Genesis to life, and I particularly appreciated the skill need to voice a variety of cybernetic humans with altered or robotic voices.  This great voice work turned Dominion Genesis into a fantastic listen, and it was very easy to enjoy Beer’s outstanding and lore-heavy story when it was being read out.

Overall, Dominion Genesis was an amazing second novel by Jonathan D. Beer, who did an outstanding job pivoting to a different area of Warhammer 40,000 fiction.  I loved the complex character-driven narrative contained within Dominion Genesis, and this was one of the more enjoyable Warhammer 40,000 novels that came out last year.  I cannot wait to see how Beer continues to develop as a writer in the future, and I currently have a copy of his latest book, Tomb World, in my audiobook queue to listen to.

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Born of an Iron Storm by Anthony Ryan

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books7 Comments

Publisher: Orbit/Little Brown Audio (Audiobook – 26 August 2025)

Series: Age of Wrath – Book Two

Length: 19 hours and 33 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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Acclaimed fantasy author Anthony Ryan continues to explore an epic fantasy world of warriors, scholars and monsters with his outstanding new novel, Born of an Iron Storm, the impressive second entry in his Age of Wrath series.

In recent years, one of my favourite fantasy authors has been veteran writer Anthony Ryan.  Known for several intriguing and varied series, I become a fan of Ryan a few years ago when I started reading The Covenant of Steel series.  Following a young bandit turned scribe, who finds himself taking on many roles in his chronicled adventures, including that of knight, spy, rebel and heretical traitor, this amazing series was a really impressive example of fantasy fiction, and I had an incredible time with The Pariah (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021), The Martyr (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2022), and The Traitor (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2023), all of which were five-star reads.

Due to how much I loved these amazing novels, I was very excited last year when Ryan released the first book in the Age of Wrath series, which served as a sequel to the Covenant of Steel books.  The first Age of Wrath novel, A Tide of Black Steel, is set a couple of decades after the events of The Traitor and builds on some of the events of the first series, while also featuring its own unique story.  I really enjoyed A Tide of Black Steel, which veered away from the chronicle style of the previous trilogy, and instead set out a Norse saga inspired tale of adventure and war.  Just like the Covenant of Steel novels, A Tide of Black Steel got a full five-star rating from me, and it was one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2024.  As such, I have been very eager to get my hands on this sequel, which was one of my most anticipated books of 2025, and Ryan once again did not disappoint.

War and treachery have come to the sprawling island nation of Ascarlia, as the long-lost nation of Nihlvar begins an invasion centuries in the making.  The once powerful Sister Queens of Ascarlai lie dead at the hands of one of their own, the deranged Sister Lore, and their capital of Skar Magnol has been captured by Nihlvarian forces.  With their massive fleet in Skar Magnol’s harbour, and the forces of Ascarlia scattered, the Nihlvarian victory looks assured, and soon their eye turns to the wealthy port city of Olversahl and the lands of Albermaine beyond.

However, there are some who chose to resist the Nihlvarian threat.  In Skar Magnol, the young scholar Elvine finds herself trapped as an unwilling accomplice to Sister Lore.  To survive, she must play along with her queen’s twisted designs, while setting her own rebellious schemes into motion.  At the same time, loyal Ascarlian war leader Thera has survived the first skirmish against the Nihlvarian in the Outer Islands and finds herself leading a mismatched fleet against the invaders.  However, facing overwhelming odds, Thera must seek allies wherever she can, while the burdens of leadership lay heavy upon her, as if she fails, all Ascarlia falls.

As war rages in Ascarlia, other fights for survival occur across the sea.  Following his discovery of the Vaults of the Altvar, Thera’s brother Felnir has been promised a kingdom, and voyages to a hidden land filled with blood and suffering.  If he wishes to rule, Felnir will have to fight for the loyalty of his new people, while discovering the ancient secrets of those who came before him.  At the same time, in Nihlvar, the captured Ascarlian Ruhlin and his friends have escaped from captivity and are now fugitives from the Nihlvarian ruler, the Vortigurn.  If he wishes to keep himself and his comrades alive, Ruhlin needs to learn to control his inner monster and escape the bonds of prophecy, but dark secrets and beings have their eyes on him.

As war continues to spread like fire, Elvine, Thera, Felnir and Ruhlin must all fight their own desperate battles to survive and find their place in this new world.  But with treachery and hard choices all around, can these four unlikely heroes survive the wrath of the Vortigurn, or will their ambitions, fears and doubts tear them apart?

Anthony Ryan continues to showcase why he is one of the leading modern authors of fantasy fiction with this incredible and impressive novel.  Serving as an outstanding second entry in the Age of Wrath series, Born of an Iron Storm brilliantly continued Ryan’s complex, multilayered narrative, while taking the series in some exciting new adventures.  A classic fantasy tale filled with great characters, complex worldbuilding and intense, nautical action, Born of an Iron Storm was an epic read which gets a full five-star rating from me.

I felt that Born of an Iron Storm had an awesome overall narrative to it, as Ryan continued his elaborate series in strong fashion.  Once again split between the returning point-of-view characters from A Tide of Black Steel, you are essentially treated to four separate storylines, each with their own unique focus, setting and style.  This includes the intrigue laden storyline around Elvine as she attempts to survive the chaos surrounding the coup at Skar Magnol, which results in a compelling, espionage focused narrative.  Elvine’s story goes hand-in-hand with Thera’s storyline, which sees this protagonist attempt to raise an army to defend Ascarlia and retake the capital.  Thera’s chapters were some of the more action-heavy in the book, with a ton of great naval combat sequences, and it was fascinating to see this character grow into a leadership position.  Aside from Elvine and Thera, there was also the fantastic narrative around Felnir, who sets out to claim a new land as king by taking down a group of religious fanatics whose origins mirror that of the Nihlvarians.  Finally, escaped slave and occasional monster Ruhlin finds himself and his new comrades being hunted through Nihlvar and must seek an alliance with the land’s original inhabitants to survive.

Unlike the first book in the series, which saw several of the storylines cross over regularly, all four distinctive character plotlines remained mostly separate in Born of an Iron Storm, with only a few points of interaction in the Elvine and Thera narratives occurring.  This essentially meant that each of the narratives developed in a vacuum and were allowed to play out at their own pace.  Not only do these separate narratives stand out on their own merits but they come together nicely to form an intricate and addictive overarching narrative, as the alternating character-driven tales came to parallel each other extremely well.  All four of these distinctive narratives started off a lot quicker in Born of an Iron Storm than they did in the previous book, which allowed the reader to effectively get drawn into each character’s journeys as their storylines proceed.  Each storyline went in some intriguing directions, and the disparate adventures resulted in quite an exciting novel.  Ryan ensured that there were some exciting moments and compelling character interactions in each character’s respective chapters, and there was a great focus on action and war in this second Age of Wrath book.  Indeed, there were a few chapters that saw all four protagonists essentially fighting their own separate battles at the same time, with near simultaneous naval conflicts, sieges, pitched battles and forest ambushes.  Ryan ends each action and adventure laden narrative of Born of an Iron Storm on a very compelling note, with a few interesting twists and reveals hitting the two plotlines set outside of Ascarlia.  It also leaves the overall narrative of the series in a great place for the third, and presumably final, book, and I am extremely keen to see what happens to each protagonist in the next thrilling instalment.

I deeply enjoyed how Born of an Iron Storm came together, and it works well as the second entry in this epic series.  Ryan utilises many of the same style elements of A Tide of Black Steel, with the Viking-inspired setting and focus on multiple character adventures working particularly well to present an overall layered narrative with a lot of moving parts to it.  The author’s switch from the first-person chronicle style in the previous Covenant of Steel books to a third-person perspective told from four distinctive protagonists in this series allowed for a wider focus to the book, and Ryan makes sure to provide some intriguing expansions to his fantasy world.  Each chapter switches the narrative to another of the four perspective characters, and it was interesting to see how each switch would change the tone of the narrative depending on whichever protagonist was in focus.  I felt that Ryan did a great job of balancing the four distinctive storylines throughout the novel, and each plotline developed in some compelling ways.  I honestly found myself enjoying each of these separate storylines equally, with no noticeable weak links.  However, my favourite was the Elvine plotline, thanks to its inherent intrigue and focus on one of the book’s more fascinating protagonists, and Thera’s chapters, which had the most action and multiple cool scenes of long-ship on long-ship warfare.

Due to being the second book in a complex fantasy series, which is itself a sequel to a previous trilogy, Born of an Iron Storm is probably best enjoyed by those who have read the preceding novels from Ryan.  While there is a very intensive summary of the events of A Tide of Black Steel at the front of this novel, Born of an Iron Storm dives into the narrative very quickly, and reading the previous book really does help to increase enjoyment and understanding of the plot.  Ryan does a good job of recapping key plot points as he writes, and when combined with the comprehensive summary, new readers can probably drop into Born of an Iron Storm without too much effort.  However, this novel is going to appeal to those existing Ryan fans the most, especially those who previously enjoyed the Covenant of Steel novels.  While not too excessively vital to the plot, there are a lot of references to the events of the Covenant of Steel series, including the appearance of a couple of minor characters from these books, which was fun to see.  The events of these original books also play a big role in a couple of characters storylines and development, especially in the Elvine sections of the book (which features the two children of the Covenant of Steel’s protagonist), which lead to some compelling and intense moments.  I personally loved seeing Ryan continue to build on his already existing setting, and it was great to see what followed the chaotic events of the Covenant of Steel novels.

Ryan once again spent a lot of time developing his four central characters in Born of an Iron Storm, and their unique personalities, histories and continued changing perspectives, added some intriguing elements to the narrative.  Each of these characters have some fascinating moments and interactions in this novel, which cleverly builds on their storylines from the previous novel.  This includes Elvine, the young scholar revealed to be the long-lost daughter of Alwyn Scribe, who is forced to find her inner courage in this novel after being trapped in the captured Skar Magnol.  Caught up in the madness of Sister Lore, who develops a dark obsession with her, Elvine finds her inner rebel, while also trying to comprehend the sentient magical spear she recovered in the previous book.  Elvine’s storyline was really well written in Born of an Iron Storm, and Ryan had fun turning the previously mousy scholar into a dangerous warrior and leader, who gets into just as much trouble as her father.  Ryan’s other badass female protagonist in this novel was Thera, who finds herself the reluctant leader of the Ascarlian loyalist forces.  A skilled fighter, Thera spends much of Born of an Iron Storm learning to take on the mantel of leadership, while also dealing with her traumatic past, and her current emotional complexities.  Thera proved to be a very intriguing character to follow, especially with her chapter’s naval content, and it was fascinating to see her influence grow thanks to her actions.

On the other side we have the male protagonists, Felnir and Ruhlin, both of whom go through their own development and hell in this book.  Ruhlin’s character arc was a good continuation from A Tide of Black Steel, as he works to control his newly discovered inner monster and turn it into a force for good.  Like Thera, Ruhlin finds himself reluctantly leading a group of people who have placed their lives in his hands, and it was interesting to see him rise to the challenge, especially when even more figures put their hope in him.  Felnir, on the other hand, works to change fate by actively seeking leadership in a fun contrast to his sister and rival, Thera.  Finding himself in an unfamiliar land, Felnir works to inspire people unfamiliar with his past and soon finds the acclaim and respect he’s always wanted.  However, Ryan also writes a great storyline around his unchecked ambition and the consequences it has on those around him, and there is a great darkness to this character that is going to make him the wildcard of the series.

While the above four characters naturally get most of the focus in this series, Born of an Iron Storm also features a massive supporting cast, some of whom prove to be just as compelling and memorable as the main protagonists.  A lot of these figures are returning from A Tide of Black Steel, and I must admit that I was glad that Ryan put up his comprehensive summary at the front of this book, or I would have probably lost track of who they were.  Most of the best characters in this book were primarily in Elvine’s chapters, with the returning Colvyn (son of a certain scribe and a dark saint), being very fun, even if he got a little less focus here.  The ancient Ascarlian warrior and spymaster, Margnus Gruinskard, the Tieldwald was a great inclusion, first as a prisoner, then a reluctant ally to Elvine, and Ryan wrote a distinctive wearied element to him in this novel.  The author also did an amazing job of building off the big twist at the end of A Tide of Black Steel by featuring more of the traitor Sister Queen, Sister Lore.  Ryan made Lore into a particular twisted and dangerous antagonist, and her obsessive interactions with Elvine were some of the most compelling parts of the book.  Aside from these figures from the Elvine chapters, my favourite supporting figures were Lynnea, the innocent yet dangerous companion to Thera, and the mysterious Wohtin, who serves as Felnir’s guide to his new land.  Both were outstanding supporting characters in this novel, and I loved the intense, and very different, interactions they had with their respective protagonist.  I’m honestly barely scratching the surface of all the great supporting figures in Born of an Iron Storm, and I really appreciated the strong and varied cast that emerged in this novel.  All of them were very well written, and I really appreciate how Ryan utilised them to enhance his excellent narrative.

As I have tended to do with Ryan’s previous novels, I ended up enjoying Born of an Iron Storm on audiobook, which was an amazing experience.  I often find that compelling fantasy novels really come across well when read out by a talented narrator, and Born of an Iron Storm was an excellent example of this.  Thanks to the excellent narration of Steven Brand, who previously narrated the Covenant of Steel series, Born of an Iron Storm was a great treat to listen to, and I ended up powering through its near 20-hour long runtime.  Brand did an amazing job diving into the multilayered narrative and bringing out all the detail, action and compelling story elements through his narration, and I ended up absorbing a lot more detail thanks to having the story read out.  The narrator also brought back all his fantastic character voices from the previous audiobook, as well as a few new ones, to give the cast of Born of an Iron Storm life.  These characters came across amazingly, and I ended up having a blast listening to Born of an Iron Storm, especially the cool action sequences, which were so epic to listen to.  As such, I really recommend checking out this novel on audiobook, as you will be in for an amazing time.

Overall, Born of an Iron Storm was another exceptional novel from Anthony Ryan, who continues to expand on his cool fantasy world with another amazing, adventure-filled read.  Loaded with action, a fun story, and some excellent characters, Born of an Iron Storm was an impressive second outing in the author Age of Wrath series, and I loved how the story continued to evolve.  As such, this book comes highly recommended, and I cannot wait to see how Ryan continues his outstanding series next year.

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The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Fantasy5 Comments

Publisher: Orbit (Trade Paperback – 12 August 2025)

Series: The Rakada – Book One

Length: 470 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Prepare for one of the most entertaining, thrilling and over-the-top fantasy novels of 2025 with the intensely fun novel, The Bone Raiders by Jackson Ford.

Jackson Ford is a compelling author who has written an interesting array of outrageous novels over the years.  Probably best known for The Frost Files series, which followed a telekinetic protagonist as she got in all manner of trouble, Ford has also released several fantastic science fiction novels under the name Rob Boffard.  I have been hoping to read some of Ford’s books for a while now, and I decided to finally take the plunge with his latest release, The Bone Raiders.  The first book in the author’s new The Rakada series, The Bone Raiders sounded extremely cool thanks to its entertaining plot and fun cover, and I couldn’t wait to dive into it.

In the grasslands of the Tapestry, raider bands used to run free as the supreme force of the wilds, pillaging towns and caravans at their leisure.  However, the glory days of the raiders are over, thanks to the rise of a new Great Khan with a vision to have all the people of his realm living under his thumb.  From his capital in Karkorum, the Great Khan has organised the slow destruction of anyone living in the Tapestry, with his mighty armies killing all who defy him.

Of the remaining raiders, none are as feared as the Rakada.  Better known as the Bone Raiders, the members of the Rakada are deadly fighters capable of fighting off most threats in the Tapestry.  However, their greatest weapon is their carefully cultivated reputation, gained by adorning their armour with the bones of the few people stupid enough to fight them.  But after the constant battles to escape the Khan’s armies, the Rakada only have a few raiders left.  With little food or viable targets to raid, the future of the Rakada looks grim, until a chance encounter with an araatan, a giant, fire-breathing lizard, gives young Rakada scout Sayana a bright idea.

After falling on the back of an araatan and accidently guiding its wild rampage to save the lives of her comrades, Sayana believes that these creatures are the future for her band.  Determined to find and train an araatan to be the ultimate combat mount, Sayana forcefully enlists the help of a legendary animal trainer from the capital.  However, coming up with the plan is one thing, but actually learning to ride the giant beasts without being burned alive is a very different proposition.  Worse, thanks to Sayana’s actions, the Rakada soon find themselves being hunted by the Great Khan’s ruthless right-hand, who wants her kidnapped sister returned to her.  To survive the vengeful onslaught coming their way and have any chance at a future, Sayana and her band will need to do the impossible and learn to ride the araatan or die trying.

Ford really did not disappoint with The Bone Raiders, as this awesome novel was everything I had hoped for.  Loaded with slick action, entertaining characters, and a particularly epic fantasy premise, The Bone Raiders was a fiery blast of fun from start to finish.  Working extremely well as the first book in the author’s new The Rakada series, The Bone Raiders was a great fantasy read with a lot of unique heart to it.

I have a lot of love for Ford’s ambitious and particularly awesome plot idea for The Bone Raiders, which saw a small band of badass, bone-covered female raiders attempt to change the status quo of their land by taming walking dragons, which frankly sounds a little out there, but which the author really makes work.  Starting off with a raid which goes bad very fast, Ford provides an excellent opening for The Bone Raiders, which features great character introductions amongst an unfortunate ambush and the sudden appearance of a giant fire breathing lizard, whom one of the protagonists, Sayana, inadvertently rides to save the day.  I really enjoyed how Ford quickly and effectively provided all the key details about this new fantasy universe, and some of the unique characters who inhabit it in this scene, and you get a great sense of the author’s style and humour here.  This opening sequence soon leads to Sayana coming up with the ambitious plan to train the araatan and ride them into battle against the Khan’s forces.  Forced to commit some light kidnapping of an additional supporting character, the protagonist is soon on her way to commit her plan, despite the worries of the Rakada’s leader.

While the protagonists attempt to gain the trust of a wounded araatan, Ford ups the stakes of The Bone Raiders’ plot through the sinister perspective of the book’s main antagonist Yesuntei.  Yesuntei proves to be an excellent complex villain for this first novel, and her deadly hunt for the Rakada leads to all manner of trouble.  Following some excellent sequences in the middle of the book, including a flooded raid and a brutal battle interrupted by sudden araatan attack, The Bone Raiders goes full throttle into its impressive final third, as Ford really amps up the action.  Thanks to a well-executed betrayal, the protagonists enter a particularly dark spiral which can only be resolved by a truly desperate plan.  As you can imagine in a book about first-time dragon tamers, things get crazy in this final section, including an all-out battle sequence with some true carnage.  I loved how all the key story elements of this book come together in this final scene, and it truly was the chaotic ending The Bone Raiders’ deserves.  Finishing off with a final foreshadowed reveal that sets up for some interesting continuation to the series, The Bone Raiders was so much fun to read, and I love its highly entertaining story.

I really enjoyed how this novel came together, and Ford clearly had a lot of fun writing The Bone Raiders, as the book featured a light-hearted style that expertly matched its over-the-top story.  Bringing together a great blend of high-octane action, chaotic characters and amusing humour, there is a lot to love and laugh about The Bone Raiders, as Ford tries to reach those readers who love a more comedic tilt to their epic fantasy.  However, there is far more to The Bone Raiders than that, as the author cleverly inserts inventive world building, subtle messaging, and some devastating emotional stakes around a particularly powerful cast.  All this captivating complexity is well showcased through three separate perspective characters, each of which provides a different take on the events of the book, including the main antagonist’s hunt for the protagonists.  Combine this with Ford’s excellent ability to pull together an over-the-top sequence of events, including several with araatan-riding shenanigans, and this was a very entertaining read that makes great use of the author’s complex and emotional writing.

One of the things that makes The Bone Raiders work so well is the varied and unique characters featured within the plot.  Ford does an amazing job of breaking the story up between three fantastic main figures, and there is some compelling character development which adds to the complex emotional intensity of this crazy novel.  Of these, the main protagonist is Sayana, a young scout of the Rakada, who ran away from a life of privilege to be free.  The idealistic and determined Sayana proves to be a great catalyst for many of the book’s main plot elements, and Ford provides some interesting character interactions amongst her plans, especially as she finds romance, rejection and the resentment of her chief in the same place.  The author writes an excellent arc around Sayana as she attempts to find herself, while also providing some hints at her past and who she truly is.  While I saw the big reveal about Sayana coming, it was still fun and should lead to some additional glorious carnage in the future.

While much of the focus of the plot is around Sayana, you also get some excellent chapters from the perspective of her fellow raider, Hogelun.  The Rakada’s muscle and brawler, Hogelun was an interesting choice for a secondary perspective figure, but it was one that worked well.  A straightforward figure, Hogelun provides some interesting alternate viewpoints to the plot, while also trying to deal with a complex romantic relationship.  Ford works in an excellent storyline about Hogelun finding her confidence and not letting others think for her, and I really enjoyed seeing her opinion on the chaotic events of the plot.  While Hogelun is fun, my favourite point-of-view character was the antagonist, Yesuntei.  A deadly figure who serves as the Great Khan’s right-hand, bringing about his vision, Yesuntei is resolutely determined to achieve her master’s goal.  However, when her sister is kidnapped by the Rakada, she risks everything to recover her, including returning to her war-crime roots.  Yesuntei ends up being a very worthy villain for this book, especially as Ford slowly strips away her veneer of control to showcase the deranged figure within.  Ford also increases the audiences dislike of this character by showing the layers to her manipulations, especially towards her sister, that are cleverly revealed as the book continues.  This helps turn Yesuntei into an excellent antagonist for this novel, and I was impressed with how Ford wrote her alternate perspective.

Of the remaining cast I need to highlight, one of the more significant is the eagle hunter, Tuya.  Yesuntei’s sister, Tuya’s affinity for training and controlling animals sees her kidnapped by Sayana and Hogelun to help in their wild plan.  Tuya proves to be one of the few truly selfless figures in the entire novel, and she proves to be a clever foil to both Sayana and Yesuntei, calling them out on their faults.  Ford writes a great storyline around Tuya getting her freedom, and her reactions and motivations are some of the more realistic in the entire book.  I also must highlight the other members of the Rakada, each of whom play a great role.  The Rakada chief, Chimeg, was a great pillar of wisdom for the book, even if her advice is ignored by the others, and Ford writes a great story around her weariness of the fight, especially after so many defeats and setbacks.  The archer Erhi was another great inclusion as the brains of the Rakada, as well as Hogelun love interest, and her complex narrative has some definite ups and downs.  Finally, there is the particularly awesome final member of the Rakada, Khun, a seemingly crazy raider who joined the Rakada and has been having fun ever since.  Khun is the book’s chaotic centre, and there were some hilarious scenes involving her.  However, as with the rest of the cast, Khun has a dark past that is cleverly revealed by Ford as the book progresses, and which helps to make the already entertaining Khun a favourite character.  All these great figures and their complicated development help to enhance the book’s amazing and epic plot, and I really appreciate how Ford uses them to make The Bone Raiders into something special.

With some brilliant chaotic energy, amazing action and a great sense of fun, Jackson Ford blazes into an awesome new series with The Bone Raiders.  An outstanding novel, The Bone Raiders was a highly addictive read that effortlessly keeps the reader’s attention.  I had an incredible time reading The Bone Raiders, and I cannot wait to see how The Rakada series progresses going forward.  The recently announced sequel, Sisters of the Lizard, is already a highly anticipated 2026 fantasy release for me, and if it’s as entertaining as The Bone Raiders, I already know I’m in for a good time.

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The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski

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

Publisher: Gollancz (Trade Paperback – 30 September 2025)

English Translator: David French

Series: The Witcher – 0.1

Length: 310 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Quick Review – Landfall by James Bradley

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Quick Review, Science Fiction, Thriller1 Comment

Publisher: Penguin (ebook – 23 April 2025)

Series: Standalone

Length: 336 pages

My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

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Those in the mood for a though-provoking and powerful Australian crime fiction read would do well to check out the excellent 2025 release, Landfall.  Written by acclaimed Australian author James Bradley, Landfall was a clever and intense standalone novel that presented a gritty crime fiction scenario in a dark Australian future.

Plot Synopsis:

In an already swamped city, a disastrous weather system looms, making the search to find a missing child urgent.

A missing child.

A city on edge.

Time is running out…

The world is in the grip of climate catastrophe. Sydney has been transformed by rising sea levels, soaring temperatures and rocketing social divide and unrest.

When a small girl on the margins goes missing, Senior Detective Sadiya Azad is assigned to find her. She knows exactly what it is to be displaced, and swallowed by the landscape. A murder at the site of the child’s disappearance suggests a connection and web of corruption, but fear keeps eyes turned and mouths closed.

With few leads to go on and only days until a deadly storm strikes the city, Sadiya and offsider Detective Sergeant Paul Findlay find themselves locked in a race against time.

Chilling and utterly compelling, Landfall is crime writing at its best – and a terrifying vision of the future bearing down on us.

Landfall was an excellent and exciting novel from earlier this year that presented a compelling crime fiction read with a complex and emotionally charged background setting.  Taking place in a dystopian version of modern Sydney that is starting to flood due to climate change, Landfall follows Senior Detective Sadiya Azad and her new partner, Detective Sergeant Paul Findlay, as they attempt to find a child who went missing around the Tideline, a slum area of the city that has been most impacted by rising sea levels.  However, they soon find their investigation hampered by multiple elements including corrupt policing, uncooperative family members with their own political agendas, rampart social divides and more.  This proves to be a strong start to Landfall, and Bradley does a good job of setting up the reality of Sydney, as well as introducing the case and some of the key players.

The story takes an interesting turn when a murdered body is found at a site connected to the child’s disappearance.  Assuming the two cases are linked, the protagonists are forced to investigate suspects related to the murder victim and her corporate ties, and the missing child, trying to find out who is responsible, while also dealing with the dark threat of an oncoming tropical cyclone that looks set to destroy half the city.  At the same time, several other key perspective character are introduced, including Tasim, a refugee living on the streets, who witnesses the abduction and finds himself dragged into events, and Sadiya’s dementia-suffering father, Arman, whose fractured mind provides greater context to their family’s history, as well as showing the early days of some of the environmental crisis’s impacting the world.

These character-focused storylines combine nicely to create an intriguing and compelling overall narrative, and I liked the various themes and outlooks at the future they contained.  The main investigative focus of Sadiya’s narrative is well balanced by the more human stories of Tasim and Arman, and Bradley also makes use of some intense flashback sequences to really build up the tragedy surrounding all these figures.  The mystery narrative also goes in some interesting directions, and while the culprit isn’t too surprising, Bradley does a good job focusing on the characters building their case and pulling together the conclusions.  Unsurprisingly, the climax of Landfall comes together amid the cyclone, with all the characters facing the storm in different ways.  This last part of the book, while dramatic and featuring a high-stakes backdrop, was a little rushed, and could have used a little padding to make it more satisfying.  Still, this is a mostly well-balanced narrative that allows for a good conclusion to the main story arc while also allowing Bradley to make all his thematic points.

Landfall ended up being an excellent overall read and Bradley succeeded in pulling together a complex novel with a lot of moving parts to it.  The central mystery element of the novel, while compelling on its own, was greatly enhanced by the author’s examinations of the future, which features some dire predictions and warnings, wrapped up in very human stories to make them even more impactful.  While an excellent police protagonist, I felt that Sadiya’s personal story was a bit overshadowed by Tasim and Arman’s arcs, especially as Tasmin’s story about losing his family to heatwaves and the harsh journey to Australia, as well as the very realistic depictions of dementia with Arman.  All three of these character’s stories are well wrapped up in the final chapters of the book, although I do wish there had been another chapter or two just to showcase what happened in the aftermath.  The overall focus on the potential dire future for Sydney and the world was probably the most impressive and notable part of Landfall, and Bradley provided a compelling, if terrifying, portrait of probable events to come that gives this book a fantastic edge that scrapes the edge of overshadowing the main mystery, and allows for quite a powerful overall read.

With its complex characters, intense story, and compelling visions of the future, Landfall by James Bradley was one of the more distinctive Australian novels of 2025, and I was glad I got the chance to check out my first book from the author.  An extremely interesting novel that blends crime fiction with social messaging, Landfall comes highly recommended, especially for those with one eye on the future.

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