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rhianneyanne's review against another edition
Think it wasa the way I read the book. 20 min bursts at work so couldnt connect with the large volume of characters thrown at you during the beginning. I might come back to it later.
tuftymctavish's review against another edition
I struggled to integrate with the book and started skimming.
palindromereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
keandrews95's review against another edition
4.0
This book has been on my list to read for a long time, and I was excited to read it. As Lemony Snicket would say, "The book you are holding in your hands doesn't have a happy ending." If you picked up this book expecting some happiness, this is not that book. It's not a knock on this book but I would describe it as reading something from the Dark Souls universe. Doble excels at writing grim, uncomfortable, grisly imagery and settings. The amount of violence in this book puts GRRM to shame. There was a lot of cool lore and many great lines and imagery that I really enjoyed. Don't get attached to anyone because they probably will die. The author does a good job of making the antagonists very unlikeable.
What knocked my rating down was I had trouble following the plot and characters. I didn't fully understand the war and thought calling the opposing nation savages so often without any of that being shown was overdone. I wanted to know more about the conflict leading up to the war and about the different countries in general. It was hard to determine what kind of world setting I was being dropped into. The City of the Sun was by far the coolest, but I wanted more about it's setting and culture. Doble has some very terrifying monsters which would fit in any Dark Souls game but I wanted more about the Mothers, the creatures, and how humans in this world react and related to them. What I struggled with the most were most of the opening chapters where characters weren't established immediately and I would read for a page or so before I knew who's chapter POV I was in. The amount of ellipse and random italics made it difficult to read at times, but that is more of a formatting issue. I wanted a bit more out of most of the characters, especially Cavara, Markus, and Savaka, who kind of got lost in the mix in the middle. I didn't fully understand their motivations (Markus' made more sense in the end) to really connect with them.
Overall this book is very atmospheric and the epitome of grimdark, no doubt about that.
I give this 3.5/4 out of 5
What knocked my rating down was I had trouble following the plot and characters. I didn't fully understand the war and thought calling the opposing nation savages so often without any of that being shown was overdone. I wanted to know more about the conflict leading up to the war and about the different countries in general. It was hard to determine what kind of world setting I was being dropped into. The City of the Sun was by far the coolest, but I wanted more about it's setting and culture. Doble has some very terrifying monsters which would fit in any Dark Souls game but I wanted more about the Mothers, the creatures, and how humans in this world react and related to them. What I struggled with the most were most of the opening chapters where characters weren't established immediately and I would read for a page or so before I knew who's chapter POV I was in. The amount of ellipse and random italics made it difficult to read at times, but that is more of a formatting issue. I wanted a bit more out of most of the characters, especially Cavara, Markus, and Savaka, who kind of got lost in the mix in the middle. I didn't fully understand their motivations (Markus' made more sense in the end) to really connect with them.
Overall this book is very atmospheric and the epitome of grimdark, no doubt about that.
I give this 3.5/4 out of 5
dustjacket_fullofmonsters's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
thebookishdesigner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Fangs of War is a grimdark fantasy debut from E.J. Doble, and what a debut this is. At the time of writing this review the release of book two is imminent and I could not be more excited to get my hands on it.
The biggest positive I had reading this was the world building but it was also my biggest issue. The world building here is absolutely phenomenal, the prose almost poetic and I feel like it shouldn’t work yet it does. It works incredibly well! When reading this I felt fully immersed into the world, the pictures that Doble paints are truly stunning.
However this does lead onto my one of my two issues I found, it does cause the writing to be a bit denser than I would have preferred. It put me in mind of Wheel of Time, I was having a great time with the book but it was a struggle at points to read large chunks of the book in one sitting particularly in the early stages where the plot was still developing.
My only other issue with the book came in the form of the characters, I wouldn’t say these characters are poorly written, far from it. I just wish that there was more from them and some of them had a little more depth. There were a few characters that I really connected with because we got a better insight into them or events happened in the book that forged that connection, but others I think I’d have just liked a little depth to understand why they are the way they are.
But back into the positives once we get past the introductory stages towards the end of part two, the plot comes into its own here and you get a real idea of where Doble is planing to take this series. In the stages we have a lot that needs to be set up, the aforementioned world need to be built, a cast of characters and political systems all need to be introduced. Once we get past this and everyone is in there places the plot shines with some unexpected twists, great fight scenes and a big revel that has me craving book 2 already.
It’s clear from The Fangs of War and The Crescent Moon, that Doble has a very bright future ahead of him and I’m so excited to follow his career and see where he takes both of these series. An extremely talented author who’s world building is some of the best I’ve read, especially from self-published authors, his writing is only going get better which is evident in both The Crescent Moon and the re-writes he did for Fangs of War.
The biggest positive I had reading this was the world building but it was also my biggest issue. The world building here is absolutely phenomenal, the prose almost poetic and I feel like it shouldn’t work yet it does. It works incredibly well! When reading this I felt fully immersed into the world, the pictures that Doble paints are truly stunning.
However this does lead onto my one of my two issues I found, it does cause the writing to be a bit denser than I would have preferred. It put me in mind of Wheel of Time, I was having a great time with the book but it was a struggle at points to read large chunks of the book in one sitting particularly in the early stages where the plot was still developing.
My only other issue with the book came in the form of the characters, I wouldn’t say these characters are poorly written, far from it. I just wish that there was more from them and some of them had a little more depth. There were a few characters that I really connected with because we got a better insight into them or events happened in the book that forged that connection, but others I think I’d have just liked a little depth to understand why they are the way they are.
But back into the positives once we get past the introductory stages towards the end of part two, the plot comes into its own here and you get a real idea of where Doble is planing to take this series. In the stages we have a lot that needs to be set up, the aforementioned world need to be built, a cast of characters and political systems all need to be introduced. Once we get past this and everyone is in there places the plot shines with some unexpected twists, great fight scenes and a big revel that has me craving book 2 already.
It’s clear from The Fangs of War and The Crescent Moon, that Doble has a very bright future ahead of him and I’m so excited to follow his career and see where he takes both of these series. An extremely talented author who’s world building is some of the best I’ve read, especially from self-published authors, his writing is only going get better which is evident in both The Crescent Moon and the re-writes he did for Fangs of War.
allyens's review against another edition
too stiff, might come back to it later though
roguish_reads's review against another edition
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
For a debut book, it sure doesn’t feel like it! This was a fantasy read. Dark and gritty. It is the perfect grimdark fantasy. The author has no favorites and everyone is at stake. The writing was fantastic. Not a moment dragged.
afittingdistraction's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“[...]the biggest lie of it all, had been that some thought war was not inevitable. It was always inevitable, Revek thought, smiling.
Because we designed it that way.”
The Fangs Of War is a grimdark military style fantasy with properly morally grey characters, ancient gods, eldritch looking monsters and plenty of blood & gore.
Military fantasy isn't usually a subgenre I reach for but after loving The Sword Of Kaigen (another excellent indie) back in June I decided to give this one a go and I'm so glad I did because WOW!
If you like a book with a pov that let's you get into the heads of the villain/bad guys then this is the one for you. Most of these characters are terrible people yet E.J. Doble still manages to make you want to read more about them and dare I say it root for them at times?!
Something to be aware of the prose is very wordy, which I know won't be for everyone. It was definitely one I needed full concentration for otherwise I ended up having to read the same sentence a couple of times for my brain to grasp what was being said. But when I did 😘🤌 BEAUTIFUL!
In fact it was so hard to choose a quote to feature because I had highlighted so many. Also it has what might be one of my favourite opening lines I've read in a long time!
I still can't quite get over the fact that this is a debut, and by an author so young as well. Highly recommend checking it out, especially if you're a fan of authors like Joe Abercrombie.
I'm really looking forward picking up the second book when it comes out in February.
Because we designed it that way.”
The Fangs Of War is a grimdark military style fantasy with properly morally grey characters, ancient gods, eldritch looking monsters and plenty of blood & gore.
Military fantasy isn't usually a subgenre I reach for but after loving The Sword Of Kaigen (another excellent indie) back in June I decided to give this one a go and I'm so glad I did because WOW!
If you like a book with a pov that let's you get into the heads of the villain/bad guys then this is the one for you. Most of these characters are terrible people yet E.J. Doble still manages to make you want to read more about them and dare I say it root for them at times?!
Something to be aware of the prose is very wordy, which I know won't be for everyone. It was definitely one I needed full concentration for otherwise I ended up having to read the same sentence a couple of times for my brain to grasp what was being said. But when I did 😘🤌 BEAUTIFUL!
In fact it was so hard to choose a quote to feature because I had highlighted so many. Also it has what might be one of my favourite opening lines I've read in a long time!
I still can't quite get over the fact that this is a debut, and by an author so young as well. Highly recommend checking it out, especially if you're a fan of authors like Joe Abercrombie.
I'm really looking forward picking up the second book when it comes out in February.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Confinement