BOOK REVIEW | THE JUSTICE OF KINGS REVIEW BY RICHARD SWAN

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I always find these to be the hardest reviews to write, so I haven’t helped myself by writing this so late after reading it. I have no excuse as to why this review has taken so long other than life and work ruining me! BUT…

NEW JOB + FEWER HOURS = MORE TIME DOING WHAT I LOVE. READING, REVIEWING AND WRITING.

So, now it is challenge time…Writing a review that successfully conveys the brilliance that is this book.

Hey, that could be the review. You know I enjoyed it and that you should read it, right?

No?! Do you want more details as to why it is worth your time? Ok. Ok. I can do that. Maybe. We shall see.

To disillusion anyone who may think that this review will just be me rambling, and we’ll, talking shit, I shall now digress.

A few facts about this book:

  • Title: The Justice of Kings
  • Author: Richard Swan
  • Series: Empire of the Wolf
  • Published by Orbit
  • Pages: 496

SYNOPSIS:

Add It To Your Goodreads!

The Empire of the Wolf simmers with unrest. Rebels, heretics and powerful patricians all challenge the power of the imperial throne.

Only the Order of Justices stands in the way of chaos. Sir Konrad Vonvalt is the most feared Justice of all, upholding the law by way of his sharp mind, arcane powers and skill as a swordsman. At his side stands Helena Sedanka, his clerk and protege, orphaned by the wars that forged the empire.

When the pair investigate the murder of a provincial aristocrat, they unearth a conspiracy that stretches to the very top of imperial society. As the stakes rise and become ever more personal, Vonvalt and Helena must make a choice: will they abandon the laws they’ve sworn to uphold in order to protect the empire?

Introducing an unforgettable protagonist destined to become a fantasy icon, The Justice of Kings is an unmissable debut where action, intrigue and magic collide.

REVIEW:

Here are a few things you can expect from this book…

  • Fantastic character development;
  • A dark and gritty story;
  • Exceptional plot advancement and world building; and
  • A THOROUGHLY immersive and enjoyable read!

On to the full review…

One of this books biggest strengths was, none other than, Sir Konrad Vonvalt. The man himself and his interactions with those around him. I should probably go into more detail as to why I loved Helena, Vonvalt, and Bressinger, and I will but not in too much detail. Honestly, just read it and experience this fantastic book.

Vonvalt is a flawed and narrow minded chap whom is being constantly challenged by his own thoughts, the views of those around him and both past and present events. His transition and journey in dealing with this is so well written and so damn gritty. Helena is still finding herself and discovering who she is and what she really wants outside of the duty and obligations she feels endeared to. It was honestly an experience reading their journeys.

I found this to be one of those books that you simply disappear into. You are not reading, you are fully immersed in this world and their lives. It is a book you are left thinking about between reading sessions and again once you have finished it.

There is a fluidity to this gem that has the components of this fabulous book so well connected, from the characters developments to the fantastic unraveling of facts and discovery of new questions. All the while being told from a point of view I was not expecting. That is right, it is in fact told from Helena’s point of view, with her recalling the events of what surely will be a fantastic tale.

The Justice of Kings is superbly written. It’s magic system is well established and a dark thrilling thing to encounter, and the world building is simply exquisite.

Can we also please take a minute to just stare at the cover art. I am using my new toy, iPad Pro for this, and it is quite simply HUGE and the level of detail I can now see on this cover is exceptional. I adore it even more now.

As you can tell I was blown away by this book, this isn’t my most detailed review I’ll admit but it is a book you need to experience.

THE RANKS:

BUY THE HARDBACK | BUY THE PAPERBACK | BUY THE EBOOK | LIBRARY RENTAL OR SALE PURCHASE

Fuck. I am so incredibly lucky to have received a limited arc by Orbit. A HUGE thank you to them.

BOOK REVIEW | DARK OAK BY JACOB SANNOX & NARRATED BY NIGEL PEEVER

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Good Evening Bookish Folk!

This was planned to be an earlier post considering I’m currently at work 🙈 but I forgot to post it before leaving like a dope. Thankful, while I am currently sat on my break eating the most amazing Lotus biscuits I remembered. Yay me. So here it is.

Today, as the post title suggests I will be reviewing Jacob Sannox’s fantasy novel Dark Oak! I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review but I also listened to this via audiobook to. I usually listen to non review books via audio and treat them as my personal reads but I was a little behind with reviews and honestly the audiobook sounded great.

A few facts about Dark Oak:

  • Title: Dark Oak
  • Author: Jacob Sannox
  • Narrated By: Nigel Peever
  • Series: The Dark Oak Chronicles (Book One)
  • Published by Jacob Sannox (Createspace Independent Publishing Platform)
  • Pages: 314
  • Narration Length: 12 Hours 59 Minutes

Synopsis:

Add It To Your Goodreads!

Review:

Here are a few things you can expect from Dark Oak:

  • A high fantasy novel that is beautifully magical but with a darker core feel;
  • An intriguing and unique story concept;
  • INCREDIBLE creatures and magics;
  • Political intrigue; and
  • An incredibly raw and emotional punch from several aspects of this book.

A little bit about the narration…

This was a really good narration, it is the first narration I have ever listened to that has sound effects. Now, I know that for some the may not be a great thing but it really added to the story for me. I LOVED them. It wasn’t overbearing and it wasn’t disruptive my my listening experience. Well, for the most part, there was one single time that it became difficult to listen to, at the point when a group of Dryads were talking as one, pair that with the creaking of their wooden limbs and the throaty tone of their voices I genuinely didn’t know what was said. Luckily, I had the a physical copy so I was able to read that bit. Other than the once instance though I found I really liked the sound effects. They were, more often than not, subtle and only added to my listening experience.

As a narrator I found Peever to be quite good, his pace was easy to follow and his male voices were nicely distinct. Some of his female voices however sounded a like little old cackling witches…

Though saying all of the above, I will listen to the next book via audio narration. Thats how little it put me off.

Now on to the full review…

As I said above Jacob sent me a copy of Dark Oak in exchange for an honest review along with his two other books; The Ravenmaster’s Revenge and Agravain’s Escape. This book is currently sitting with 61 ratings and 25 reviews and has a decent rating of 3.67. I would love to see more people pick this book up as it deserves it, if you look on Goodreads it seems to have a bit of a mix of reviews so many people have loved and a good number haven’t but I would honestly give this book chance!

Dark Oak is a richly imagined world and one I really enjoyed journeying into, it is an incredible fantastical world that is very much in the traditional vein of high fantasy with creatures such as the Dryads, the water folk and even more wonderful elemental beings. Dark Oak gave me Lord of the Rings vibes in terms of its imaginative world!

Jacob does wonderfully at bringing his world to life through his writing and it is a story rich in detail and beautifully described. He brilliantly weaves in the magic that surrounds this world and showcases it impressively, especially the Dryad’s , yet all the while not making you feel as though they are infallible despite their evident power.

At the start of this book there is quite a bit of exposition, which is wholly appropriate and enjoyable. This isn’t the story of the battle that Queen Cathryn won that led our character to be where they are now but in order to fully understand the present you need to know the facts of the past. I really liked the exposition, it was magical and I felt like I was sat wrapped in a cozy blanket cradling a warm cup of tea in my ever cold hands while being told a grand old tale by a wisened old story teller! And that Is something I love.

Each of the characters you come across in Dark Oak are all really good, some I loathed but understood, others I saw the manipulation and others I was rooting for them with everything I had. Some of the character could have had a little more consistency and been a wee bit more well rounded but overall I really enjoyed all of them for some reason or another. While Dark Oak is very high fantasy to me, it has such a dark core to its world and its characters. I knew it had a darker tone before reading it but goodness I didn’t expect what I got! At all.

The Dryads…they are AMAZING! I was so impressed with them as a race, the things they can do, the power they hold and their origins were all so utterly interesting I loved every single moment in which a dryad appeared.

I think for me the strongest point of this book was Jacob’s ability to shock you so profoundly you are left in a state of both confusion and understanding. There are several sequences within this story that you do not see coming, even in the slightest, but once they do happen no matter how shook up you are you understand the reasoning behind it. Which is testament to Jacob’s ability to showcase his characters motivations and emotional states. In a world so vivid and creative the realness of his character and very human responses become all the more impactful, it is touching, sickeningly raw and quite intense at times.

There are times within this book that you see some inconsistencies in the characters voices, and it can at times feel a little jumpy from POV to POV. This book isn’t perfect and if you going in looking for little hiccups you will find them, as you would with many books, but if you are going in to experience a brilliant and imaginative world filled with REAL characters with REAL motivations you are in the right place. There is a rawness to this book and an emotional grittiness that you don’t see often in books and it was brilliant to experience it within Dark Oak’s pages.

You know the drill, on to the rating…

THE RANKS: 

BUY THE HARDBACK | BUY THE PAPERBACK | BUY THE EBOOK | LIBRARY RENTAL OR SALE PURCHASE

I would definitely pick this up in its paperback form if I didn’t already have it and would strongly recommend the audiobook if you don’t have an issue with narrations accompanied by sound effects, I get that might be a hard no for some people, but im not one of them and I loved it! I actually want to find more with it in so yanno, its a winner to me!

AGAIN Thank you for reading AND SEE YOU SOON!

BOOK REVIEW | A FOOL’S HOPE BY MIKE SHACKLE

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Good Afternoon Bookish Folk!

It is Monday, and thankfully I am not in work until tomorrow so I can write up my review of Mike Shackle’s second book to The Last War series: A Fool’s Hope!

I am absolutely thrilled to be able To read and review this book, it is a dark and sensational follow up to the first book: We Are The Dead!

A Fool’s Hope is due to release on 3rd December 2020, and you can pre-order from any of the below places…

AMAZON.CO.UK £15.19 | WHSMITH £15.19 | WATERSTONES £18.99 |

**Prices as shown on 30/11/20**

A few facts about A Fool’s Hope:

  • Title: A Fool’s Hope
  • Author: Mike Shackle
  • Series: The Last War (Book Two)
  • Published by Gollancz
  • Pages: 594

Synopsis:

Add It To Your Goodreads!

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 – now must hold strong against their bruised invaders, the Egril.

For the enemy intends to wipe Jia from the map. They may have lost a battle, but they are coming back. And if Tinnstra and her allies hope to survive, Jia’s heroes will need to be ready when they do.

The sequel to the darkly fantastic WE ARE THE DEAD: with more unflinching action, A FOOL’S HOPE sees Jia’s revolutionaries dig in their heels as they learn that wars aren’t won in a day.

Review:

Here are a few things you can expect from :

  • WAR;
  • Epic battles filled with bloody desperation;
  • An excellently written masterpiece that doesn’t pull punches or pussy-foot around;
  • Fascinating, compelling and generally amazing characters; and
  • A great middle instalment to a sure to be exquisite trilogy!

First off I would like to thank the folks at Gollancz & NetGalley who accepted my request to read this book early! I also have to laugh because my instant response to this book was “Holy shit – this book” and that is what is quoted on Gollancz website! So, I see no other way to start my review…

On to the full review…

HOLY SHIT – THIS BOOK!

There, that is my review.

I joke, I joke. While accurate I think I can muster up some more words to do this book its justice.

A Fool’s Hope is an incredible story and it begins right back to where it left you, there is no irritating missing period that you always want to know about, you are straight back to it! Many say the second book is often the worst one, it is the calm before the epic climax of book three and can often be filled with a lot of filler. Well, Shackle shit’s all over that statement! This book just keeps getting better, it stands on equal footing with book one and is damned incredible.

Having read Shackle’s first book in this series, I am somewhat familiar with his writing style and yet A Fool’s Hope still managed to amaze me. Over my last few review’s I have been talking a little bit more about how coherent a book is, its dialogue and other general but crucial writing elements.

While reading A Fool’s Hope I saw nothing but a faultless piece of work! Shackle’s ability to weave a story is brilliant, no sentence is wasted, and no dialogue out of place. Everything just seemed to fit so well, and when a book is a fast paced as these books are it is often easy for it all to become a little jarring and feel all over the place. This was not the case in A Fool’s Hope despite the different locations and characters.

Shackle’s writing isn’t like anything I have read before, it is so tight-knit and compact you feel the punch of every word. His battle scenes are diverse and not repetitive and they all feel so real, because of Shackle’s incredibly world building you have more than brief explosions of imaginative action, you have a damn movie playing before your eyes! I felt the vibrations of every explosion and I felt raw from the sights that war brings, the people you cant help, the desperation. You are quite simply plunged into a world so deeply you are there for it all.

As with book one, We Are The Dead, you will be constantly driven to turn the next page, I read this book in three or four days. It is so addictive.

We Are The Dead introduced us to a good amount of the characters in this series but I was pleasantly surprised to be introduced to some more in A Fool’s Hope. We continue to see these incredible and flawed characters grow, we see their relationships grow deeper and their level of progression is fantastic. No character really remains the same, war changes them irrevocably, and it was such a rush seeing them deal with the events that unfold within this book. Nothing about this book feels rushed and you will, as surely as I did, become wholly invested in the outcome of these characters journey!

A Fool’s Hope is darker in nature, the stakes are higher and it is filled with the grim realness of a country under siege. Shackle holds nothing back and is not afraid to throw everything he can at his characters but this book is also so much more than that.

I can say so much more about this book, and I really do want to, but to do so walks into the realms of the spoilers and that is no place I dare tread. All I can say is that everything you expect to happen in this book will not happen, the direction you think this book will go in…yeah, it is going to rage a battle so vicious in the complete opposite direction and it is all done with such incredible finesse it leaves you wanting!

I would definitely say to those who plan on reading this book to avoid anything even remotely spoiler’ish, avoid any review that goes into detail about the relationships and the characters who feature or well anything really! I don’t think my review falls into those categories but many I imagine will so please be careful. In my opinion, you should go into this blind beyond the first book to really experience this spectacular book!

I read A Fool’s Hope straight after We Are The Dead without sight of a single review and I enjoyed it so much more. Each event I came upon was shockingly brilliant, I had no idea which direction it would turn and what an experience it was.

On to the rating…

THE RANKS: 

BUY THE HARDBACK | BUY THE PAPERBACK | BUY THE EBOOK | LIBRARY RENTAL OR SALE PURCHASE

A Fool’s Hope unfortunately is not being published in hardback I don’t believe, though that does not change this books rating of BUY THE HARDBACK!

Instead I purchased the signed Paperback (Twitter Link Here) from Matt, he is a bookseller at Waterstones so definitely message him to see if he has any left!

AGAIN Thank you for reading AND SEE YOU SOON!

100 FANTASY BOOKS FOR THE BUCKET LIST!

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Hello, book friends!

Once again I took to my Book Twitter to get an idea of what fantasy books you all thought should be listed.

Click on the picture to see the thread.

As you can see I asked the twitter community to give me the books they thought were classic, renowned in the genre or a must read for my Book Bucket List Poster.

A book bucket list poster is a poster that has some form of pictures representing a selection books on it and you scratch off the cover when you have read it, kind of like a scratch card. Now, most of the ones I have seen are books in general and have all the classics on rather than being genre specific. I obviously want a fantasy specific one, so I thought to make my own but still needed to come up with the books and Twitter did not let me down!

I had over 100 suggestions and nearly all fell into the criteria I wanted!

So, while I go through the books a little bit more and select the books I want to use for the poster I’m going to draft up this list of all the suggestions that came from the thread!

Without further ado, please see the fantasy books you all said were classic, renowned or a must read for the fantasy genre…

** In no particular order, well I suppose there is an order, just the order I wrote them down from the Twitter thread 🙂 **

Please note I have only written the first books of the series as this will be a bucket list. If you like the book continue the series, if you don’t like it then don’t continue it 😀

1. THE HOBBIT
by J. R. R. Tolkien

2. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
(Lord of the Rings) by J. R. R. Tolkien		3. PAWN OF PROPHECY (The Belgariad) by David Eddings
4. LEGEND
(The Drenai Saga)
by David Gemmell
5. THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
(The Chronicles of Narnia) by C.S. Lewis
6. THE WAY OF KINGS (Stormlight Archive)
by Brandon Sanderson

7. MAGICIAN: APPRENTICE (The Riftwar Saga) by Raymond E. Feist

8. THE SWORD OF SHANNARA
(Shannara Trilogy) by Terry Brooks
9. WIZARD’S FIRST RULE
(Sword of Truth) by Terry Goodkind
10.Dragonsbane
(Winterlands) by Barbara Hambly
11. THE FIFTH SEASON
(The Broken Earth) by N. K. Jemisin
12. A Wizard of Earthsea
(Earthsea Cycle) by Ursul K. Le Guin
13. The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time) by Robert Jordan
14. Dawnthief
(Chronicles of the Raven) by James Barclay
15. Blood of Elves
(The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski
16. Gardens of the Moon
(Malazan Book of the Fallen) by Steven Erikson
17. GOOD OMENS
by Terry Pratchett
and
Neil Gaiman		18. The Golden Compass
(His Dark Materials) by Philip Pullman		19. Eragon
(The Inheritance Cycle)
by Christopher Paolini
20. Traitor’s Blade
(Greatcoats)
by Sebastien de Castell
21.Dragonflight
(Dragonriders of Pern)
by Anne McCaffrey		22. Blackdog
(Gods of the Caravan Road) by K.V. Johansen 		23. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
by Patricia A. McKillip		24. The Colour of Magic
(Discworld)
by Terry Pratchett
25. Blood Song
(Raven’s Shadow)
by Anthony Ryan 
26. The Name of the Wind
(The Kingkiller Chronicle)
by Patrick Rothfuss 		27. The Rage of Dragons
(The Burning)
by Evan Winter 		28. The Shadow of What Was Lost
(The Licanius Trilogy)
by James Islington 
29. The Magicians’ Guild
(The Black Magician Trilogy) by Trudi Canavan		30. The Crown Conspiracy
(The Riyria Revelations)
by Michael J. Sullivan 		31. American Gods
(American Gods)
by Neil Gaiman 
32. The Way of Shadows
(Night Angel)
by Brent Weeks 
33. Malice
(The Faithful and the Fallen)
by John Gwynne 		34. The Black Prism
(Lightbringer)
by Brent Weeks
35. The City
(The City)
by Stella Gemmell
36. The Lies of Locke Lamora
(Gentleman Bastard)
by Scott Lynch
37. The Thousand Names
(The Shadow Campaigns)
by Django Wexler		38. Promise of Blood
(Powder Mage)
by Brian McClellan 
39. The Book of Three
(The Chronicles of Prydain)
by Lloyd Alexander		40. The Darkness That Comes Before
(The Prince of Nothing)
by R. Scott Bakker
41. Blackwing
(Raven’s Mark)
by Ed McDonald 
42. The Tiger and the Wolf
(Echoes of the Fall)
by Adrian Tchaikovsky		43. Neverwhere
(London Below, The World of Neverwhere)
by Neil Gaiman 		44. Kushiel’s Dart
(Phèdre’s Trilogy)
by Jacqueline Carey 
45. Elantris
(Elantris) by Brandon Sanderson		46. Senlin Ascends
(The Books of Babel)
by Josiah Bancroft		47. Stardust
by Neil Gaiman 
48. The Last Unicorn
(The Last Unicorn)
by Peter S. Beagle 
49. The Curse of the Mistwraith
(Wars of Light and Shadow) by Janny Wurts 		50. A Game of Thrones
(A Song of Ice and Fire)
by George R.R. Martin
51. The Dragonbone Chair
(Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn) by Tad Williams		52. Black Sun Rising
(The Coldfire Trilogy)
by C.S. Friedman
53. The Warded Man
(Demon Cycle)
by Peter V. Brett 

54. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) by Lewis Carroll		55. The Blade Itself
(The First Law)
by Joe Abercrombie

56. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
(Inheritance Trilogy)
by N.K. Jemisin
57. Tigana
by Guy Gavriel Kay
58. The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by Neil Gaiman		59. Sabriel
(The Old Kingdom)
by Garth Nix 		60. The Sword of Kaigen
(Theonite) by M.L. Wang
61. Red Sister
(Book of the Ancestor)
by Mark Lawrence
62. The Mists of Avalon
(Avalon) by Marion Zimmer Bradley		63. Elfsorrow
(Legends of the Raven)
by James Barclay 
64. Mage’s Blood
(The Moontide Quartet) by David Hair
65. Empire in Black and Gold
(Shadows of the Apt) by Adrian Tchaikovsky 		66. The Sword in the Stone
(The Once and Future King) by T.H. White		67. The Crystal Cave
(Arthurian Saga)
by Mary Stewart
68. The Final Empire
(Mistborn)
by Brandon Sanderson
69. Prosper’s Demon
by K.J. Parker

70. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
71. Weaveworld
by Clive Barker

72. Over Sea, Under Stone
(The Dark Is Rising) by Susan Cooper 
73. Taliesin
(The Pendragon Cycle)
by Stephen R. Lawhead
74. Byzantium
by Stephen R. Lawhead

75. Green Rider
(Green Rider) by Kristen Britain
76. Seventh Son
(Tales of Alvin Maker)
by Orson Scott Card
77. Alanna: The First Adventure
(Song of the Lioness) by Tamora Pierce 		78. The Priory of the Orange Tree
by Samantha Shannon
79. The Goblin Emperor
(The Goblin Emperor)
by Katherine Addison		80. Elric of Melniboné
(The Elric Saga)
by Michael Moorcock
81. The Diamond Throne
(The Elenium) by David Eddings		82. Spellsinger
(Spellsinger)
by Alan Dean Foster
83. Assassin’s Apprentice
(The Farseer Trilogy) by Robin Hobb 		84. The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales
by Jacob Grimm & Wilhelm Grimm
85. Dragon Wing
(The Death Gate Cycle)
by Margaret Weis
86. The Magic of Recluce
(The Saga of Recluce) by L.E. Modesitt Jr		87. The Neverending Story
by Michael Ende
88. Redwall
(Redwall)
by Brian Jacques
89. A Time of Dread
(Of Blood and Bone)
by John Gwynne
90. Beyond Redemption
(Manifest Delusions)
by Michael R. Fletcher
91. Guardians of the West
(The Malloreon)by David Eddings		92. Dragons of a Fallen Sun
(Dragonlance: The War of Souls) by Margaret Weis 
93. Hounded
(The Iron Druid Chronicles) by Kevin Hearne		94. The Court of Broken Knives
(Empires of Dust) by Anna Smith Spark 		95. Age of Assassins
(The Wounded Kingdom)
by R.J. Barker 
96. Prince of Fools
(The Red Queen’s War)
by Mark Lawrence
97. The Red Knight
(The Traitor Son Cycle)
by Miles Cameron 

98. The Shadow of the Wind
(El cementerio de los libros olvidados) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón		99. Killer of Men
(Long War)
by Christian Cameron

100. Talion: Revenant
by Michael A. Stackpole


There we have it 100 books that I will slowly draw up icons for and put on my book bucket list poster!

What’s New To My Kindle?

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This month I went a little mental with Kindle Deals, I got so many and a few others that were still a steal but not necessarily one of the deals.

Here we go…

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

Add Them To Your Goodreads!

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Add This To Your Goodreads!

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

Add This To Your Goodreads!

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Add This To Your Goodreads!

A Time of Blood by John Gwynne

Add This To Your Goodreads!

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

Add This To Your Goodreads!

Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell

Add This To Your Goodreads!

Vultures by Luke Tarzian

Add This To Your Goodreads!

Spit and Song by Travis M. Riddle

Add This To Your Goodreads!

The Blood-Tainted Winter by T L Greylock

Add This To Your Goodreads!

The Heart of Stone by Ben Galley

Add This To Your Goodreads!

The Wildfire Cycle by D. P Woolliscroft

Add These To Your Goodreads!

Well, that is my list of Kindle purchases! So many of these are currently £0.99, I think for another two days or so!

So you should definitely head on over to Amazon and get them while you can!

Thank you for checking out my new purchase. What have you bought this month on Kindle?

Review: The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

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My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

A few facts about The Sword of Kaigen:

  • Title: The Sword of Kaigen
  • Author: M.L. Wang
  • Series: Theonite
  • Publisher: Self published by M.L. Wang
  • Pages: 651

I read The Sword of Kaigen on my Kindle first but I enjoyed it so much I bought the paperback for my shelves.

Synopsis:

*Winner of the Self Published Fantasy Blog-Off, Hosted by Mark Lawrence*

A mother struggling to repress her violent past,
A son struggling to grasp his violent future,
A father blind to the danger that threatens them all.

When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?

High on a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire’s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name ‘The Sword of Kaigen.’

Born into Kusanagi’s legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family’s fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen’s alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.

Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.

Review:

This book is just, wow. I would say I have no words but that’s a lie! I could praise this book all year round. This is easily one of the best books I have read this year, I think it is maybe second 🤷‍♀️ quickly thinking what I have read so far this year. 

I found this book from stalking the judges of Mark Lawrences self-published SFF contest on Goodreads because lets be honest they find some diamonds!

I was bound to love this from the start, I have always loved Eastern Asian cultures, and the concept of warrior families holding such high regard for honour, something about it has always gripped me. So, this being a Japanese inspired military/warrior world with magic it ticked all my boxes. 

Mamoru, what a character! This boy, way beyond his years, is so incredible. He has such depth and so well written. By the first chapter I loved this boy, his energy and drive was infectious. He is so complex and so strong. He grew so much throughout the book, facing the realities of his world and understanding his place in his world. I think he is one of my favourite characters ever written. 

Misaki, again, wow. This woman made me feel strong yet beaten. I was pulled so far from myself and thrust into her sorrow and dislike of her life, it was truly remarkable. I longed for her to return to what she was and to take her sons, and understand the were hers too and not just her husbands. I was demanding she know she is more. This character was such an emotional roller coaster. Again, as with every character in this book, she was so well written. She was strong and flawed. Her growth was also incredible. It was truly something magic to experience her grow and accept the realities of her life. Her relationship with her husband was such a profound journey and one I love.

“A life of dangerous adventures might seem worth it now, when you are young and seemingly invincible, but one day, you will have children, and you will not want that life for them.”

Every character in this book was rich and well written. Her sister in law with her infectious personality. Hyori with her vulnerability. Gods, I could give an example of a character and identify something that was uniquely them for each character written.  

At one point, a secondary character is telling the tale of the Matsuda history and I swear I was so sucked in, I was sat in the house after a harrowing journey and was listening to a history I knew already but seeing it in a completely new light, and I felt the significance of it all. The way in which this book is written is phenomenal. It is so real, for lack if a better word, and is so rich in detail and history. This book is truly a worthy winner of the SPFBO. No doubt.

I loved the world that was created, it was so unique to have this village that was so set in the old ways, and traditional yet the rest of the empire was in such a technical age. The trials they faced because of it. This world held nothing back. 

I loved the plot, it was so well paced. Every single word gripped me and held me tight. It was such an intense book, and the magic system is one of my favourite. I really like elemental magic, and this gave the The Last Airbender vibes at times. I almost imagined the fights scenes as a dance sequence, much like a kata.

Overall, this is exceptional and a must read! It is exceptional read, rich in the smaller details such as clothing and decoration. Im not familiar with the honourifics but each one I checked was spot on.

PLEASE EVERYONE READ THIS BOOK!!