Reviews

The Pagan Night by Tim Akers

mad_matx's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Interesting. Parts were good, some parts were very good - the cosmology became more fascinating as the book went on, some scenes were very vivid and even cinematographic (?). I am really a fan of how Akers builds his magical and religious systems, and he just gets better each book he writes.
Overall, though...well, I set this book down for two or three days in a row, repeatedly. I would always pick it back up, and will continue with the series, but. And why? I'm not sure. It is hard to identify, let alone explain. Perhaps the characters are too...formulaic? The majors (two, or maybe three, major characters; that might be part of the problem) had all the sorts of things that good characters need, but still didn't engage me. I'm frankly more interested in the two main supporting characters (priest and paladin) than the two protagonists- what makes them tick, and where the series will lead them - perhaps because they aren't as fully fleshed out as the protags seem to be.

ilasandra's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

cariboukai's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I'm honestly not sure what to make of this book. I enjoyed the read; I certainly wouldn't have read a 600+ page book I wasn't enjoying. However, I can't quite understand how I'm supposed to feel here.

If you've ever watched a religious debate between two religions, that's something like what's going on here. Only in this case very real evidence of both sides' gods are clear as day, but each side is still screaming that they are the right religion and those others are heretics and must die. Lots of zealotry and "fun" things like that.

I enjoyed the world building and explaination of religions, even if their followers could be nutcases (though I suppose that's true to life). There were a lot of well thought out characters, though it was getting close to a Game of Thrones level of confusion of names to remember. Both male and female knights were called "Sir," which didn't help matters any.

I liked Malcolm until
Spoilerhe chose his religion over his son
.

Ian I found to be a petulent brat. He got mildly better toward the end. Gwen was slightly less so.

I think my favorite characters were Friar Lucas and Sir Elsa LaFey. Lucas was the most level-headed out of the lot. Elsa I instantly got the image of Gwendoline Christie's Brienne of Tarth in my brain and it never went away. Not that that's a bad thing.

tannik03's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark informative inspiring mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

diesmali's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

I say thank you and goodbye to this series. It's not awful, but I just never got a chance to warm to the characters before there was war and all hell broke loose. I thought it was a pretty cool idea otherwise... pagan worshippers protecting actual deities, fallen priests of the accepted faith... Ah well.

wally's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

A enjoyable if deeply flawed book kept my interests for the most part the magic system does not live up to the heights of a Sanderson or McClellan novel , and at times feels very clunky and confusing at times . Still I enjoyed it enough to read the rest of the series

literaryleisha's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Review originally posted on my blog: https://literaryleisha.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/review-the-pagan-night-by-tim-akers/

It’s a mix of politics, religion, magic and war.
I found the plot to be quite slow and unmemorable. It wasn’t a bad story, there’s nothing that stood out as bad, it just wasn’t super exciting.

The story is so average and unmemorable for the majority of it that I kept putting it down, it wasn’t gripping or keeping me on edge. It was just so bland, it’s just a generic fantasy story with nothing overly original.
There was good world-building, a lot of it too, it’s a pretty big book. The world isn’t anything special, it’s basically another medieval-fantasy kind of deal. The magic was interesting but again, not super unique or different.

The fighting scenes were pretty well written though, they were more engaging than the overall story. However, I feel, since it was a pretty big book, it could’ve benefited from being edited down, some parts dragged too much. I’d put this book down for ages with not a lot of desire to pick it back up, I even started reading another book.

The story is kind of like Game of Throne, there’s friction between the North and the South and an impending war. There are old gods and new ones, in this world Paganism is the ruled out religion. The North was Pagan but have taken on the new religion of the South. (Which if the name was actually mentioned, I don’t remember it.)

Characters: I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, none of stood out or were overly likeable. A few did grow on me towards the end and I am interested in seeing where their stories go so I will continue to book two.

beorn_101's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

This was an interesting book. It started a little slow, but as you gain more knowledge of the world and the gheist it became harder and harder to put down. While it is part of a series I think it works as a stand alone as well, if you don't want to commit to a full series.

Well worth a read for fantasy fans looking for something with some fighting, cool magic, and a bit of different approach to demons :).

alwroteabook's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Before we start - there is nothing particularly new about this book. If you are the type of person who requires a book to shatter every possible trope, then this is not for you!

Now, for the rest of you.

The land is divided. The Northern people have mostly come to terms with the Southern invasion, adopting their ways and their new faith. There are still dissenters, but they are few in number and reside in the shadows. Yet some still hold to the pagan ways, and try to return others to that faith. But is the hand of man behind this pagan revival, or is there something deeper - and darker - at play?

I liked this book. It was gritty and dark, with a twisting plot (I do like twisting plots) and strife aplenty. The battle scenes were good, the characters were not so much likable as believable, which in a way makes them more likable. If that makes sense. I've lost myself now.

The bad guys (the real bad guys, not the rebels) are the highlight, monsters that would not look out of place in the Cthulu mythos, difficult to defeat, but not indestructible. The battle between the different beliefs is interesting, with both sides (surprise!) finding the other to be offensive, but need to team up to save the day.

I listened to the audiobook version, and the narrator was good, applying the appropriate pacing for the story and showing enough diversity of voices to leave little question to which of the (relatively sizable) cast was speaking.

So this is Book 1 in The Hallowed War series, and a sure sign of enjoying a book is whether one will continue on and read Book 2. And one will.

ctgt's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Very interesting mix of magic, politics and religion.

The Teren north, most recently converted to the new religion, sits on the edge of the pagan territory. Suhdra to the south, was the earliest area conquered by the followers of Strife and Cinder, the newest gods.

But the old religion won't go quietly,

The gheists were the gods of the old religion, the spirits of stream and forest that the Tenerrans had worshiped for generations before the crusades. Now deprived of their sacrifices and abandoned to the quiet places of the forest, many of those spirits had gone mad. They manifested in strange and unexpected places, sometimes demanding tribute, other times taking their sacrifice in blood and fire.

Various kingdoms of the North are always suspect in the eyes of their counterparts to the South. Political intrigue, vow knights, priests of the Inquisition and the gods of old;

It was a hound, as big as a horse, bigger. Its tangled fur was twined through with twigs and leaves, its dirty coat cluttered with vines that seemed to grow through its body. It was black, black as night, and its bearded jaw hung open exposing scores of star-white teeth, each as big and as sharp as a gardener’s hook.

The hound passed close to him, nearly brushing his trembling arm with its hulking shoulder. It smelled like freshly tilled earth and old, damp leaves left under the forest canopy for seasons without end.
And then it was gone. The night came back, the insects filling the world with their song, the creek returning to life. The forest peeled away from the gheist’s path, leaving a road through the trees. Ian stumbled forward, up a hill, the ground nothing but smooth grass. As he crested the summit, the trail closed behind him, the trees creaking as they returned to their natural place, the earth groaning and shifting beneath his feet.


all make for an intriguing world with plenty of action and political/religious machinations.

7/10