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thegoodship88's review against another edition
2.5
Definitely not worth the slog of never ending lists of characters for a predictable plot and not super engaging characters/storyline. If the second book doesn’t improve quickly I probably won’t be continuing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
haz_tyner's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
It was basically just a whole book of build-up and then the book ended before anything happened. The characters were so one-dimensional and just not memorable at all. Two characters I frequently mixed up were Kastell and Veradis (not spoilers). They were just similar and the author didn't do much to distinguish them from each other. There was only one female POV (Cywen) and I really wished I heard from her more because a lot of times her chapters didn't even focus on her. Her character was used for listening in on conversations or just observing events - we didn't really get her feelings/perspective that much. Hearing all the hype about this book made me want to read it but I just don't understand the hype AT ALL, sorry :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Animal death
horses die in battle scenes, characters eat meat, hunting animalschrisb913's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am incredibly shocked this was a debut novel. The way Gwynne had me gripped to the edge of my seat as I devoured this story. I had heard there was slow pacing and that is factual. But I could not put this book down. The character work for me was phenomenal. The way he incorporated so many povs into this story, yet still was able to seamlessly weave the narrative between them and progress the overarching plot between so many different subplot going on. If this was his first novel, and everything gets better from here? I cannot wait to continue on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Torture
happyknitter2020's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved it. My first John Gwynne book, become attached to the characters, developed an ecomap of each group, so could keep up with the POVs as they developed & listened to the audio book to reflect on what I had read. Thiscreally helped me get through the first half, after this I felt I was in their world.
So many people that I cared for died so quickly without preparing.
So many people that I cared for died so quickly without preparing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
ashleykhoffman's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Now this is a war fantasy. Some authors try to write war, but every character comes out relatively unscathed, but this is dark and twisty and heartbreaking. There are a LOT of characters and places, and for a first book in a series, I think a lot of them were unnecessary and just made this slower to get through. I had to take notes to make sure I was even kind of following earlier parts of the book. It does seem like the series will be much easier to follow in subsequent books, but be aware if you're a mood reader that this one takes focus and determination to plow through the world building. But the end is worth it and I'm excited for book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Grief
hails2dabails's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, and Alcohol
angemelb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Lots of characters to get your head around from the get go. Coming of age for Corban, young man who is being trained by mystery man. A Prince, Nathair, counsel-Evnis, and others who filed with greed/ambition.... tale of kings being superceded and who shall win in the end? Help from strange places/ people/ creatures.... really enjoyed this first book and ate throug the pages. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, and Blood
grunks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
xta_07's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is John Gwynne’s incredibly ambitions debut novel, and Oh Boy, this story was a doozy. The first half of it did feel a bit disjointed as Gwynne sets up everyone on the board. Plus he doesn’t do any hand-holding of any kind. You are dropped into the middle of a world, and you need to pay attention and strap in. Because once he gets going he doesn’t stop!
Bandits and Mythical creatures have started to awaken and harass our characters that live in the Banished lands. Heralding the prophesied god war. Essentially this will be a battle of good vs evil, and the characters we follow are beginning to choose what side they will end up on.
I actually enjoyed most of the beginning chapters in this book, I found Corban’s chapters almost cozy in a weird way. Plus no-one writes a battle scene quite like this author, once the action starts it doesn’t stop. I highly enjoyed this read, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.
Bandits and Mythical creatures have started to awaken and harass our characters that live in the Banished lands. Heralding the prophesied god war. Essentially this will be a battle of good vs evil, and the characters we follow are beginning to choose what side they will end up on.
I actually enjoyed most of the beginning chapters in this book, I found Corban’s chapters almost cozy in a weird way. Plus no-one writes a battle scene quite like this author, once the action starts it doesn’t stop. I highly enjoyed this read, and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, and War
Minor: Alcoholism
surdiablo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I did not enjoy this one as much as I hoped, which is unfortunate considering the majority of people who participated in a FatF read-along with me seem to have loved it. I couldn't connect with the prose and found the whole book a bit too plain and predictable overall. As usual, I will say what I liked first. I liked the action scenes well enough as it was immersive and easy enough to imagine. Bonding with animal companions was pretty wholesome and I love Storm. Regardless of all the cons I will list soon, I enjoyed the overall story for the most part. It's the classic 'good vs evil' with a modern touch and the last quarter, especially the final 10 chapters is excellent, which makes me wanna read the next book soon enough. It's an ambitious attempt and definitely has potential to be something amazing.
As for things I didn't like, sadly there's plenty. The author constantly throws several character and location names at you from the beginning and inserts exposition dumps during conversations, which interfered with my immersion. There were way too many characters ( yes, I know that's normal in epic fantasies ) but none of them had any real depth, and those who did stay within their assigned archetype. They all felt like cardboard cutouts so whenever someone died or some major event happened, it fell flat as they lacked any weight or emotional impact. I know fast pacing can be fun but it felt jarring whenever a timeskip happened, and pacing still felt slow regardless of short chapters, since POVs kept switching one after another, ruining the momentum. Plus, you know there's not enough descriptions when you have no idea how any of the main characters even look ( Unless that's intentional for headcanon purposes). They all kinda sound the same too and I won't be able to tell if you ask me Is it Veradis or Kastell talking? from a dialogue scene without context. I also found the twists and turns highly telegraphed so ultimately, nothing really wowed or left an impression on me until the very end. It felt like the author was trying to make everything sound and feel 'epic', but it just didn't land for me due to the aforementioned issues. I know all of these may sound like minor problems and I would agree, except when combined with me not being able to connect with the writing style, they were detrimental enough to my overall enjoyment. I do get that it's a debut book ( hence it's rough around the edges ) and the remaining books might be better indeed, but I can't say I <b>liked</b> this book at all, so I am going with a 2.
As for things I didn't like, sadly there's plenty. The author constantly throws several character and location names at you from the beginning and inserts exposition dumps during conversations, which interfered with my immersion. There were way too many characters ( yes, I know that's normal in epic fantasies ) but none of them had any real depth, and those who did stay within their assigned archetype. They all felt like cardboard cutouts so whenever someone died or some major event happened, it fell flat as they lacked any weight or emotional impact. I know fast pacing can be fun but it felt jarring whenever a timeskip happened, and pacing still felt slow regardless of short chapters, since POVs kept switching one after another, ruining the momentum. Plus, you know there's not enough descriptions when you have no idea how any of the main characters even look ( Unless that's intentional for headcanon purposes). They all kinda sound the same too and I won't be able to tell if you ask me Is it Veradis or Kastell talking? from a dialogue scene without context. I also found the twists and turns highly telegraphed so ultimately, nothing really wowed or left an impression on me until the very end. It felt like the author was trying to make everything sound and feel 'epic', but it just didn't land for me due to the aforementioned issues. I know all of these may sound like minor problems and I would agree, except when combined with me not being able to connect with the writing style, they were detrimental enough to my overall enjoyment. I do get that it's a debut book ( hence it's rough around the edges ) and the remaining books might be better indeed, but I can't say I <b>liked</b> this book at all, so I am going with a 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Alcoholism and Physical abuse