barb4ry1's review
3.0
Cleansed chronicles the life of Dirge, from childhood to adolescence. Orphaned at a young age, he’s taken in by Talic, the leader of the Order of the Brotherhood, assassins for the God of Death, Aza’zel. Dirge grows into a dangerous young man skilled in combat. When The Prophet of the forgotten God of Order, Ukase, approaches him, Dirge finally finds his way. He breaks with the Brotherhood to serve his new master.
His military adventures are bloody and epic. Cleansed goes into dark, scary places. It pictures lots of violent and gory fight scenes, debauchery, and casual cruelty. As the plot grows more and more complex, Dirge has to decide if he wants to lead the armies of Ukase.
I found Cleansed intriguing. It doesn't shy away from violence, but most of it served to show the grim reality of the world being torn apart by warring deities. With a strong ending and plenty of narrative hooks, it'll appeal to fans of dark fantasy.
That being said, the beginning of the book, with numerous time skips was hard to follow and tiring. As important as those events were in shaping Dirge's personality, they didn't engage me and I had to force myself through the first 25% of the book. Some scenes felt unclear (like Jacob appearing suddenly in the room with Dirge).
Overall, though, Cleansed is an interesting book, one worth trying.
His military adventures are bloody and epic. Cleansed goes into dark, scary places. It pictures lots of violent and gory fight scenes, debauchery, and casual cruelty. As the plot grows more and more complex, Dirge has to decide if he wants to lead the armies of Ukase.
I found Cleansed intriguing. It doesn't shy away from violence, but most of it served to show the grim reality of the world being torn apart by warring deities. With a strong ending and plenty of narrative hooks, it'll appeal to fans of dark fantasy.
That being said, the beginning of the book, with numerous time skips was hard to follow and tiring. As important as those events were in shaping Dirge's personality, they didn't engage me and I had to force myself through the first 25% of the book. Some scenes felt unclear (like Jacob appearing suddenly in the room with Dirge).
Overall, though, Cleansed is an interesting book, one worth trying.
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