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corlif's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse
arian_dragonelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This took a long while for me to get into. That’s really the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars. This was intense. I could handle all the fighting scenes, but it was hard for me to get through the animal deaths. Poor Buddai! I teared up imagining the faithful hound lying on his master’s chest as he died. That was rough. I did see some things coming, but that wasn’t a bad thing. I was kind of irritated that we didn’t get any information about Corban. John Gwynne had been teasing it for I don’t know how many chapters, and then the book just ends. Thankfully I do have Valor, but I don’t know if I want to go straight in. I think I need to sit in this for a little bit. I need to go read a cozy mystery or reread a favorite romance. There is only so much head chopping a person can take!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
thoughtsontomes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There is a lot of setup in this book for the greater conflict of the overall series, and as such it is pretty heavy. There’s a tension building throughout and a lot of characters involved. It can be confusing at first, especially since some storylines are similar, but they start to differentiate as the book goes on. This is a series with a lot of character death though, so be warned.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism and War
multiple dog deathsbtaylorg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I dislike giving ratings now because depending on my mood and who you are it could go lower or higher. But a friend was curious my thoughts on this book so here they are.
It was a fine book. It trode well known and worn literary roads. People complain about tropes, but they are tropes for a reason. When done well, tropes work. I did not find myself hating the obvious tropes in fact I found them to be moderately to well written.
Where this novel shines is in the action scenes. There is a certain visceral nature to the scenes, As the author describes the sword, shield, and spear combat, there is a balance in very specific combat descriptions and the frenzied nature of a battle.
Now to the negatives.
I felt there were too many point of view characters. I found myself annoyed that I was intrested in one story and then forced to jump to another that I just did not care about. I understand why that was the case given what needed to be shown in order for the book to make sense. But still that was a bit rough for me.
Also consider yourself warned. This novel has a very slow start. It does pick up. But be prepared to go though a large part of the novel before it gets more engaging.
Overall it was a enjoyable read. From what I understood this was the author's first novel so I'm giving him a little leeway. Many great authors make less then stellar, if not tired, first entries to thier series but then follow up with something truly engaging and special (I'm looking at you Pierce Brown and your Red Rising series) but this novel did what it needed. It got me engaged and had me enter a warlike fantasy world inside its pages. It may not be for everyone but I will continue the series. Excited to see Swords and spears clash with giants and gods.
It was a fine book. It trode well known and worn literary roads. People complain about tropes, but they are tropes for a reason. When done well, tropes work. I did not find myself hating the obvious tropes in fact I found them to be moderately to well written.
Where this novel shines is in the action scenes. There is a certain visceral nature to the scenes, As the author describes the sword, shield, and spear combat, there is a balance in very specific combat descriptions and the frenzied nature of a battle.
Now to the negatives.
I felt there were too many point of view characters. I found myself annoyed that I was intrested in one story and then forced to jump to another that I just did not care about. I understand why that was the case given what needed to be shown in order for the book to make sense. But still that was a bit rough for me.
Also consider yourself warned. This novel has a very slow start. It does pick up. But be prepared to go though a large part of the novel before it gets more engaging.
Overall it was a enjoyable read. From what I understood this was the author's first novel so I'm giving him a little leeway. Many great authors make less then stellar, if not tired, first entries to thier series but then follow up with something truly engaging and special (I'm looking at you Pierce Brown and your Red Rising series) but this novel did what it needed. It got me engaged and had me enter a warlike fantasy world inside its pages. It may not be for everyone but I will continue the series. Excited to see Swords and spears clash with giants and gods.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and War
iceberglives's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book seems like it is setting up for a great epic fantasy series. My only complaint is that the combat is not written as well as some other books/ series. The characters are compelling and after a slow start the book starts picking up steam before a strong finish.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism and Gore
happyknitter2020's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved it. My first John Gwynne book, become attached to the characters, developed an ecomap of each group, so could keep up with the POVs as they developed & listened to the audio book to reflect on what I had read. Thiscreally helped me get through the first half, after this I felt I was in their world.
So many people that I cared for died so quickly without preparing.
So many people that I cared for died so quickly without preparing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
grunks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
josiah17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The primary reason this isn't a 5 star read is because of the rough beginning. There's an overload of characters and POVs introduced and it just felt a little overwhelming and chaotic.
Otherwise, this was an absolutely phenomenal book. And it's a debut novel? Ridiculous. I think Gwynne's writing is slightly more polished in his Bloodsworn books, but his work here is still nothing short of excellent. The world of the Banished Lands that has been crafted is epic in scope, mysterious, mystical, and has an astounding amount of depth with various kingdoms, wildlife, and history.
The characters are tremendous too. It took me a minute to warm up to Corban as he's thirteen at the start of the book, but by the end he's aged a few more years and he's clearly incredibly mature and well beyond his years. He's on his way to being an all-time favorite protagonist. And I loved the deliberate choice to view the descent of Nathair through the eyes of Veradis. I'm very intrigued by their dynamic going forward. And there are several other very likeable characters with standout moments and plenty of depth.
And the action. My goodness John Gwynne is definitely the king of writing action sequences. I feel like I can picture every single movement; he writes them so vividly and immerses you right within the moment.
I'm so excited to continue the series. I'm so excited to keep reading the rest of Gwynne's works. The Faithful and The Fallen will undoubtedly become a top 5 favorite series for me.
Otherwise, this was an absolutely phenomenal book. And it's a debut novel? Ridiculous. I think Gwynne's writing is slightly more polished in his Bloodsworn books, but his work here is still nothing short of excellent. The world of the Banished Lands that has been crafted is epic in scope, mysterious, mystical, and has an astounding amount of depth with various kingdoms, wildlife, and history.
The characters are tremendous too. It took me a minute to warm up to Corban as he's thirteen at the start of the book, but by the end he's aged a few more years and he's clearly incredibly mature and well beyond his years. He's on his way to being an all-time favorite protagonist. And I loved the deliberate choice to view the descent of Nathair through the eyes of Veradis. I'm very intrigued by their dynamic going forward. And there are several other very likeable characters with standout moments and plenty of depth.
And the action. My goodness John Gwynne is definitely the king of writing action sequences. I feel like I can picture every single movement; he writes them so vividly and immerses you right within the moment.
I'm so excited to continue the series. I'm so excited to keep reading the rest of Gwynne's works. The Faithful and The Fallen will undoubtedly become a top 5 favorite series for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Torture
ripxreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Torture, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcoholism
dani_reis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
So much better the second time! An amazing read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
Animal death