Sons of darkness smashes open the fountain of originality, spilling insidious plot, incredible characters, and grim violence. I loved this book. Described as the Indian ASoIaF, it has feuding families, politics, war, and deceit in equal measures, but tops this with inspired world-building and a plot that starts as embers and ends as a blazing inferno.
Grimdark
The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy #1) by Chris Wooding
Synopsis A land under occupation. A legendary sword. A young man’s journey to find his destiny. Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He’s never questioned it; that’s just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into a prison […]
Book Review: Black Stone Heart (The First Step On The Obsidian Path) by Michael R. Fletcher
Synopsis THE FIRST STEP ON THE OBSIDIAN PATH A broken man, Khraen awakens alone and lost. His stone heart has been shattered, littered across the world. With each piece, he regains some small shard of the man he once was. He follows the trail, fragment by fragment, remembering his terrible past. There was a woman. […]
Review: Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
Synopsis: The end is coming. Logen Ninefingers might only have one more fight in him but it’s going to be a big one. Battle rages across the North, the King of the Northmen still stands firm, and there’s only one man who can stop him. His oldest friend, and his oldest enemy. It’s past time […]
Review: The Martyr (The Covenant of Steel #2) by Anthony Ryan
As far as I’m concerned Anthony wrote what I would class as a perfect fantasy book and its an easy 10/10 for me.
The Hand that Casts the Bone (The Vanguard Chronicles #2) by H.L. Tinsley
The Hand that Casts the Bone is a fantastic sequel, closing the door on any feared second book syndrome with its highly recognizable characters, fascinating plot, and outstanding characterization.
Review: The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Synopsis: Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he’s on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian – leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman Captain Jezal dan Luthar, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, has nothing […]
Review: Until The Last (The Last War #3)
Synopsis: The war with the Egril has changed Tinnstra forever. A coward no more, she’ll go to any length to defeat every last one of her enemies. Zorique has grown into her powers. It’s time for her to lead her army into Jia and spearhead the fight for her homeland. But at what cost? The […]
Review: The Blood of Outcasts (The Bane Sword Trilogy #1)
There’s a lot to love about TBoO, especially its acronym, but it’s an incredibly bloody, gritty, ronin romp that’s well worth checking out.
Book Review/Tour: The Spawn of Spiracy (A Disaster of Dokojin #2) by Jesse Nolan Bailey
Synopsis The Sachem has fled his Fortress. Many fear that he intends to turn on the Decayer Device. Hoping to stop this, Annilasia resolves to track down the Sachem. But her plan falters when she discovers that, should the Sachem succeed in turning on the Device, the dokojin attached to her will rip her apart. […]
Review: Legacy of the Brightwash (Tainted Dominion #1) by Krystle Matar
It’s very rare that I am at a genuine loss for words once I’ve turned the last pages of a book, but that was the exact situation I found myself in after finishing Krystle Matar’s Legacy of the Brightwash. This story is incredible in so many ways and I will try to capture and articulate it in this review, but I make no promises.
Review: A Fool’s Hope (The Last War #2) by Mike Shackle
Synopsis: War takes everything. From Tinnstra, it took her family and thrust her into a conflict she wanted only to avoid. Now her queen’s sole protector, she must give everything she has left to keep Zorique safe. It has taken just as much from Jia’s revolutionaries. Dren and Jax – battered, tortured, once enemies themselves […]