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spellboundbybooks's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a very solid opening installment in the Edan trilogy. The author's love of history and mythology shines through as he builds up the lore of different cultures using stories, songs and language. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story. It was beautifully done and really helped immerse me in this world.
I also found our characters likeable, though I would have preferred to go more in depth with them. I'm sure we will go deeper with them in the sequels now that the world is firmly established. As I'm usually a character first reader, this is the reason for my lower than anticipated rating.
Dayraven, the central character did give me Garion vibes (from David Eddings Belgariad series). He had that same naivete and sense of honour. And like Garion his impulsiveness and honour get him into alot of trouble. As much as I liked him, I also wanted to smack the back of his head at times. It actually made me nostalgic for the Belgariad series at times lol.
Then there is the plot itself. It centers around a holy war, and we see it both from the point of view of the believers and those who are unwilling to bow down to it. The author builds up the tension wonderfully as the story progresses and brings it to a tense climax.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this epic fantasy takes me next. Philip Chase has already surprised me with how dark he could take this story and I know he will build and grow the world even more. If I could get more of an emotional connection to the characters then this series will undoubtedly become a favourite.
I also found our characters likeable, though I would have preferred to go more in depth with them. I'm sure we will go deeper with them in the sequels now that the world is firmly established. As I'm usually a character first reader, this is the reason for my lower than anticipated rating.
Dayraven, the central character did give me Garion vibes (from David Eddings Belgariad series). He had that same naivete and sense of honour. And like Garion his impulsiveness and honour get him into alot of trouble. As much as I liked him, I also wanted to smack the back of his head at times. It actually made me nostalgic for the Belgariad series at times lol.
Then there is the plot itself. It centers around a holy war, and we see it both from the point of view of the believers and those who are unwilling to bow down to it. The author builds up the tension wonderfully as the story progresses and brings it to a tense climax.
I'm looking forward to seeing where this epic fantasy takes me next. Philip Chase has already surprised me with how dark he could take this story and I know he will build and grow the world even more. If I could get more of an emotional connection to the characters then this series will undoubtedly become a favourite.
penguin_emperor_of_the_north's review
3.0
I liked it, there's nothing wrong per se. But it didn't really engage me.
I did like the world building, you can tell a lot went into the setting and I enjoyed how that was uncovered. Including references to the world's own Migration Period like past and historic rivalries preventing countries from cooperating or the history of the Dweorgs.
I also found the elves interesting, what little we saw of them seemed to lean into the fair folk style but there was enough to be intriguing.
And the book uses a corrupt religion as a plot point which annoyed me but it may have been done well. The religion has a hierarchy of clergy, is monotheistic, has a ritual involving drinking the blood of their god and their founder is foretold to return. . . Subtle.
But, that's a plot device that annoys me, it may have been done well as there's definitely variety in the members of the Way. Supreme priest Bredla seems to be a true believer who views his actions as dirty business with a worthy goal, Joruman is more openly hypocritical with an eye towards reforming the religion to be more secular and humanist, another high priest appears to be more devout but is troubled by organization politics. And at least one of the lower level priests seemed genuinely charitable but most of the unnamed ones were hostile to the protagonists. So they weren't all marching in lock step.
I guess I can't say that trope was done poorly. It's just a trope that annoys me.
Then the main antagonist was borderline cartoonish. The king of Torrlond is bluntly hypocritical and manipulative about the religion and his desire for conquest, he beats his wife. I kept expecting to hear he crosses the street to kick puppies too.
And, I know there's been leaders who launched conquest wars in history. But I'd imagine they at least had a veneer for themselves that this is for security, or for the glory of the state or 'do unto others before they do unto us'. But I guess I don't know, maybe that is how some people think. Maybe that's how sociopaths think? But in here, the king just felt cartoonishly evil.
Though, I am intrigued by the magic system. It's a soft system and I don't know what it can do but the philosophical implications for how the world works made me perk my ears up. It seemed very gnostic or Buddhist influenced with comments about how magic users become detached from everything and everyone, reality being an illusion, a certain amount of oneness of all things. I'm interested how that all shakes out.
Merged review:
I liked it, there's nothing wrong per se. But it didn't really engage me.
I did like the world building, you can tell a lot went into the setting and I enjoyed how that was uncovered. Including references to the world's own Migration Period like past and historic rivalries preventing countries from cooperating or the history of the Dweorgs.
I also found the elves interesting, what little we saw of them seemed to lean into the fair folk style but there was enough to be intriguing.
And the book uses a corrupt religion as a plot point which annoyed me but it may have been done well. The religion has a hierarchy of clergy, is monotheistic, has a ritual involving drinking the blood of their god and their founder is foretold to return. . . Subtle.
But, that's a plot device that annoys me, it may have been done well as there's definitely variety in the members of the Way. Supreme priest Bredla seems to be a true believer who views his actions as dirty business with a worthy goal, Joruman is more openly hypocritical with an eye towards reforming the religion to be more secular and humanist, another high priest appears to be more devout but is troubled by organization politics. And at least one of the lower level priests seemed genuinely charitable but most of the unnamed ones were hostile to the protagonists. So they weren't all marching in lock step.
I guess I can't say that trope was done poorly. It's just a trope that annoys me.
Then the main antagonist was borderline cartoonish. The king of Torrlond is bluntly hypocritical and manipulative about the religion and his desire for conquest, he beats his wife. I kept expecting to hear he crosses the street to kick puppies too.
And, I know there's been leaders who launched conquest wars in history. But I'd imagine they at least had a veneer for themselves that this is for security, or for the glory of the state or 'do unto others before they do unto us'. But I guess I don't know, maybe that is how some people think. Maybe that's how sociopaths think? But in here, the king just felt cartoonishly evil.
Though, I am intrigued by the magic system. It's a soft system and I don't know what it can do but the philosophical implications for how the world works made me perk my ears up. It seemed very gnostic or Buddhist influenced with comments about how magic users become detached from everything and everyone, reality being an illusion, a certain amount of oneness of all things. I'm interested how that all shakes out.
I did like the world building, you can tell a lot went into the setting and I enjoyed how that was uncovered. Including references to the world's own Migration Period like past and historic rivalries preventing countries from cooperating or the history of the Dweorgs.
I also found the elves interesting, what little we saw of them seemed to lean into the fair folk style but there was enough to be intriguing.
And the book uses a corrupt religion as a plot point which annoyed me but it may have been done well. The religion has a hierarchy of clergy, is monotheistic, has a ritual involving drinking the blood of their god and their founder is foretold to return. . . Subtle.
But, that's a plot device that annoys me, it may have been done well as there's definitely variety in the members of the Way. Supreme priest Bredla seems to be a true believer who views his actions as dirty business with a worthy goal, Joruman is more openly hypocritical with an eye towards reforming the religion to be more secular and humanist, another high priest appears to be more devout but is troubled by organization politics. And at least one of the lower level priests seemed genuinely charitable but most of the unnamed ones were hostile to the protagonists. So they weren't all marching in lock step.
I guess I can't say that trope was done poorly. It's just a trope that annoys me.
Then the main antagonist was borderline cartoonish. The king of Torrlond is bluntly hypocritical and manipulative about the religion and his desire for conquest, he beats his wife. I kept expecting to hear he crosses the street to kick puppies too.
And, I know there's been leaders who launched conquest wars in history. But I'd imagine they at least had a veneer for themselves that this is for security, or for the glory of the state or 'do unto others before they do unto us'. But I guess I don't know, maybe that is how some people think. Maybe that's how sociopaths think? But in here, the king just felt cartoonishly evil.
Though, I am intrigued by the magic system. It's a soft system and I don't know what it can do but the philosophical implications for how the world works made me perk my ears up. It seemed very gnostic or Buddhist influenced with comments about how magic users become detached from everything and everyone, reality being an illusion, a certain amount of oneness of all things. I'm interested how that all shakes out.
Merged review:
I liked it, there's nothing wrong per se. But it didn't really engage me.
I did like the world building, you can tell a lot went into the setting and I enjoyed how that was uncovered. Including references to the world's own Migration Period like past and historic rivalries preventing countries from cooperating or the history of the Dweorgs.
I also found the elves interesting, what little we saw of them seemed to lean into the fair folk style but there was enough to be intriguing.
And the book uses a corrupt religion as a plot point which annoyed me but it may have been done well. The religion has a hierarchy of clergy, is monotheistic, has a ritual involving drinking the blood of their god and their founder is foretold to return. . . Subtle.
But, that's a plot device that annoys me, it may have been done well as there's definitely variety in the members of the Way. Supreme priest Bredla seems to be a true believer who views his actions as dirty business with a worthy goal, Joruman is more openly hypocritical with an eye towards reforming the religion to be more secular and humanist, another high priest appears to be more devout but is troubled by organization politics. And at least one of the lower level priests seemed genuinely charitable but most of the unnamed ones were hostile to the protagonists. So they weren't all marching in lock step.
I guess I can't say that trope was done poorly. It's just a trope that annoys me.
Then the main antagonist was borderline cartoonish. The king of Torrlond is bluntly hypocritical and manipulative about the religion and his desire for conquest, he beats his wife. I kept expecting to hear he crosses the street to kick puppies too.
And, I know there's been leaders who launched conquest wars in history. But I'd imagine they at least had a veneer for themselves that this is for security, or for the glory of the state or 'do unto others before they do unto us'. But I guess I don't know, maybe that is how some people think. Maybe that's how sociopaths think? But in here, the king just felt cartoonishly evil.
Though, I am intrigued by the magic system. It's a soft system and I don't know what it can do but the philosophical implications for how the world works made me perk my ears up. It seemed very gnostic or Buddhist influenced with comments about how magic users become detached from everything and everyone, reality being an illusion, a certain amount of oneness of all things. I'm interested how that all shakes out.
amy_harboredinpages's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
To say I took my time reading this would be an understatement. I'm glad I did. By the end I was ready to continue with book 2. I have to know how Dayraven will react to what has happened, who will survive the next battle... or not...
vinnydee'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
3.75
reader89's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
wouterk's review against another edition
3.0
It is impossible to dislike Philip Chase and by proxy it is very hard to be critical towards a book that was created by his dedication, love and effort for this story. This is also the reason I did not DNF this book, when I had the urge several times in the earlier parts of the book. In the end, it paid off though and would recommend pushing through the start of the book to see the author find more flow as the story progresses. I will explain what I liked about the book and what I found irksome below.
What I liked
I think The Way of Edan has a very engaging plot and characters. Chase uses different perspectives to really help us get an overview of the world, the stakes and the cast of characters. The supreme priest Bledla is an amazing zealot of a villain. And I really enjoyed how the key bad guys (King Earcornwald and the high priests) each seem to have a slightly distinct agenda from the rest. Allegiances are born from necessity and not much from love, it seems.
I loved the individual stories of Dayraven and Sequara and how they intertwined. I really appreciate how many characters other than the main characters have distinct voices but also their own stories and story lines.
I also really appreciated the world that the story takes place in (not to be confused with the world building, which I found somewhat irksome in the beginning). I found the magic system super interesting as drawing on the gift creates emphatic links with people and creatures. As a consquence it requires a lot of mental fortitude for users. The magic system sits somewhere between hard an soft magic. Not everything is explained but you get a really good feel for it's potential and applications.
Lastly, it is no secret that Chase loves Tolkien so I cannot help but infer that some of the naming in there is a shout out to Lord of the Rings. With Dayraven and Imharr Travelling towards Ellond the land of Kings (Elrond), one of the treacherous high priests being called Joruman (Saruman) and some legendary King Froda (Frodo) in one of the myths.
What I found irksome
Now with all the compliments above, please let me explain (and rant) why I only gave this book three stars. I almost DNF'd this book, I think 4 times because of some aspects that really irked me, mostly in the beginning of the book (though some thing continue).
I use the word irksome because it reminds me of the word kirtle, and if I have to read that word one more time between this book and the second book I think I will stop reading altogether. Before this book I never heard of the word and although I can appreciate expanding my vocabulary I now know that near every man in this world wears a kirtle on pretty much every occasion. (side note: I did appreciate the three times I saw 'undulating', undoubtedly to tease Merphy Napier).
This flood of kirtles brings me to the fact that I found the beginning of the book too descriptive to my taste. I understand this world is carefully crafted but I feel Chase is quite self-indulgent on showcasing his world and I think many of the problems I had with getting through the first half of the book. To speak in terms of Brandon Sanderson's iceberg. Generally, authors have to balance how much of the world building ice berg they show to immerse the reader and how much they keep hidden to not overwhelm them. Way to much iceberg in this case, at least to my taste.
Now to be fair, this book was self-published for a reason and I'd say it is because Chase would not want to compromise on this, but there are just some things that really held me back from getting into a reading flow.
Some examples:
- it is important to get a sense of what people are wearing and what type of room someone it is, but it does not require a still frame describing whatever is there.
- two or three times a whole pantheon in some depiction is described; what all these gods do in the depiction and their names (never to return again much or play any important role) We don't need to know the name of all these old gods to understand that the Way of Edan is a monotheistic faith as opposed to an older pantheon.
- Chase apparently created all kinds of languages, but these languages and cultures to a non-linguist like me are not distinct or engaging enough to read. As a consquence they're just incomprehensible sentences that add nothing. You may as well say 'The soldier shouted something incomprehensible in Adanese" than writing out the gurgitations.
- the same goes for spell casting. Spells in this books are songs of origin so I understand that they have an auditive aspect. Still three lines of incomprehensible words does not help me immerse myself.
- The horses! why do the horses have names, especially since they do nothing special and quite early in the book they disappear? And for Edan's sake, why is one of the horses called Hraedflyht. Surely, not even a Scandinavian person is able to find the correct way to pronounce this.
Hehe, well that's enough rant from me. I did read the story to the end for a reason and that is that I found these flaws to be quite easy to forgive after a certain point, where the story picked up and stakes were rising.
Something I'm still out on is the 'male gaze' that I found quite present at the beginning of the book. Imharr is a character that consistently judges young ladies by their looks. We get to meet one of the high priests in a scene where he seduces a young female apprentice. Our main character Sequara that is pretty is consistently harassed by men in the first parts of the book. I do not think this is necessarily bad but none of the male characters are in any way sexualized or described as attractive, which I do think is somewhat unmodern, if you will. Nothing big, but I personally did notice this and hope this diminishes further as the series continues.
For now I am generally satisfied with this book, it has a nice ending and a good cliff hanger for each story line. I am looking forward to read the next book and can only hope that it will mend some of the irks while maintaining its great qualities.
Merged review:
It is impossible to dislike Philip Chase and by proxy it is very hard to be critical towards a book that was created by his dedication, love and effort for this story. This is also the reason I did not DNF this book, when I had the urge several times in the earlier parts of the book. In the end, it paid off though and would recommend pushing through the start of the book to see the author find more flow as the story progresses. I will explain what I liked about the book and what I found irksome below.
What I liked
I think The Way of Edan has a very engaging plot and characters. Chase uses different perspectives to really help us get an overview of the world, the stakes and the cast of characters. The supreme priest Bledla is an amazing zealot of a villain. And I really enjoyed how the key bad guys (King Earcornwald and the high priests) each seem to have a slightly distinct agenda from the rest. Allegiances are born from necessity and not much from love, it seems.
I loved the individual stories of Dayraven and Sequara and how they intertwined. I really appreciate how many characters other than the main characters have distinct voices but also their own stories and story lines.
I also really appreciated the world that the story takes place in (not to be confused with the world building, which I found somewhat irksome in the beginning). I found the magic system super interesting as drawing on the gift creates emphatic links with people and creatures. As a consquence it requires a lot of mental fortitude for users. The magic system sits somewhere between hard an soft magic. Not everything is explained but you get a really good feel for it's potential and applications.
Lastly, it is no secret that Chase loves Tolkien so I cannot help but infer that some of the naming in there is a shout out to Lord of the Rings. With Dayraven and Imharr Travelling towards Ellond the land of Kings (Elrond), one of the treacherous high priests being called Joruman (Saruman) and some legendary King Froda (Frodo) in one of the myths.
What I found irksome
Now with all the compliments above, please let me explain (and rant) why I only gave this book three stars. I almost DNF'd this book, I think 4 times because of some aspects that really irked me, mostly in the beginning of the book (though some thing continue).
I use the word irksome because it reminds me of the word kirtle, and if I have to read that word one more time between this book and the second book I think I will stop reading altogether. Before this book I never heard of the word and although I can appreciate expanding my vocabulary I now know that near every man in this world wears a kirtle on pretty much every occasion. (side note: I did appreciate the three times I saw 'undulating', undoubtedly to tease Merphy Napier).
This flood of kirtles brings me to the fact that I found the beginning of the book too descriptive to my taste. I understand this world is carefully crafted but I feel Chase is quite self-indulgent on showcasing his world and I think many of the problems I had with getting through the first half of the book. To speak in terms of Brandon Sanderson's iceberg. Generally, authors have to balance how much of the world building ice berg they show to immerse the reader and how much they keep hidden to not overwhelm them. Way to much iceberg in this case, at least to my taste.
Now to be fair, this book was self-published for a reason and I'd say it is because Chase would not want to compromise on this, but there are just some things that really held me back from getting into a reading flow.
Some examples:
- it is important to get a sense of what people are wearing and what type of room someone it is, but it does not require a still frame describing whatever is there.
- two or three times a whole pantheon in some depiction is described; what all these gods do in the depiction and their names (never to return again much or play any important role) We don't need to know the name of all these old gods to understand that the Way of Edan is a monotheistic faith as opposed to an older pantheon.
- Chase apparently created all kinds of languages, but these languages and cultures to a non-linguist like me are not distinct or engaging enough to read. As a consquence they're just incomprehensible sentences that add nothing. You may as well say 'The soldier shouted something incomprehensible in Adanese" than writing out the gurgitations.
- the same goes for spell casting. Spells in this books are songs of origin so I understand that they have an auditive aspect. Still three lines of incomprehensible words does not help me immerse myself.
- The horses! why do the horses have names, especially since they do nothing special and quite early in the book they disappear? And for Edan's sake, why is one of the horses called Hraedflyht. Surely, not even a Scandinavian person is able to find the correct way to pronounce this.
Hehe, well that's enough rant from me. I did read the story to the end for a reason and that is that I found these flaws to be quite easy to forgive after a certain point, where the story picked up and stakes were rising.
Something I'm still out on is the 'male gaze' that I found quite present at the beginning of the book. Imharr is a character that consistently judges young ladies by their looks. We get to meet one of the high priests in a scene where he seduces a young female apprentice. Our main character Sequara that is pretty is consistently harassed by men in the first parts of the book. I do not think this is necessarily bad but none of the male characters are in any way sexualized or described as attractive, which I do think is somewhat unmodern, if you will. Nothing big, but I personally did notice this and hope this diminishes further as the series continues.
For now I am generally satisfied with this book, it has a nice ending and a good cliff hanger for each story line. I am looking forward to read the next book and can only hope that it will mend some of the irks while maintaining its great qualities.
What I liked
I think The Way of Edan has a very engaging plot and characters. Chase uses different perspectives to really help us get an overview of the world, the stakes and the cast of characters. The supreme priest Bledla is an amazing zealot of a villain. And I really enjoyed how the key bad guys (King Earcornwald and the high priests) each seem to have a slightly distinct agenda from the rest. Allegiances are born from necessity and not much from love, it seems.
I loved the individual stories of Dayraven and Sequara and how they intertwined. I really appreciate how many characters other than the main characters have distinct voices but also their own stories and story lines.
I also really appreciated the world that the story takes place in (not to be confused with the world building, which I found somewhat irksome in the beginning). I found the magic system super interesting as drawing on the gift creates emphatic links with people and creatures. As a consquence it requires a lot of mental fortitude for users. The magic system sits somewhere between hard an soft magic. Not everything is explained but you get a really good feel for it's potential and applications.
Lastly, it is no secret that Chase loves Tolkien so I cannot help but infer that some of the naming in there is a shout out to Lord of the Rings. With Dayraven and Imharr Travelling towards Ellond the land of Kings (Elrond), one of the treacherous high priests being called Joruman (Saruman) and some legendary King Froda (Frodo) in one of the myths.
What I found irksome
Now with all the compliments above, please let me explain (and rant) why I only gave this book three stars. I almost DNF'd this book, I think 4 times because of some aspects that really irked me, mostly in the beginning of the book (though some thing continue).
I use the word irksome because it reminds me of the word kirtle, and if I have to read that word one more time between this book and the second book I think I will stop reading altogether. Before this book I never heard of the word and although I can appreciate expanding my vocabulary I now know that near every man in this world wears a kirtle on pretty much every occasion. (side note: I did appreciate the three times I saw 'undulating', undoubtedly to tease Merphy Napier).
This flood of kirtles brings me to the fact that I found the beginning of the book too descriptive to my taste. I understand this world is carefully crafted but I feel Chase is quite self-indulgent on showcasing his world and I think many of the problems I had with getting through the first half of the book. To speak in terms of Brandon Sanderson's iceberg. Generally, authors have to balance how much of the world building ice berg they show to immerse the reader and how much they keep hidden to not overwhelm them. Way to much iceberg in this case, at least to my taste.
Now to be fair, this book was self-published for a reason and I'd say it is because Chase would not want to compromise on this, but there are just some things that really held me back from getting into a reading flow.
Some examples:
- it is important to get a sense of what people are wearing and what type of room someone it is, but it does not require a still frame describing whatever is there.
- two or three times a whole pantheon in some depiction is described; what all these gods do in the depiction and their names (never to return again much or play any important role) We don't need to know the name of all these old gods to understand that the Way of Edan is a monotheistic faith as opposed to an older pantheon.
- Chase apparently created all kinds of languages, but these languages and cultures to a non-linguist like me are not distinct or engaging enough to read. As a consquence they're just incomprehensible sentences that add nothing. You may as well say 'The soldier shouted something incomprehensible in Adanese" than writing out the gurgitations.
- the same goes for spell casting. Spells in this books are songs of origin so I understand that they have an auditive aspect. Still three lines of incomprehensible words does not help me immerse myself.
- The horses! why do the horses have names, especially since they do nothing special and quite early in the book they disappear? And for Edan's sake, why is one of the horses called Hraedflyht. Surely, not even a Scandinavian person is able to find the correct way to pronounce this.
Hehe, well that's enough rant from me. I did read the story to the end for a reason and that is that I found these flaws to be quite easy to forgive after a certain point, where the story picked up and stakes were rising.
Something I'm still out on is the 'male gaze' that I found quite present at the beginning of the book. Imharr is a character that consistently judges young ladies by their looks. We get to meet one of the high priests in a scene where he seduces a young female apprentice. Our main character Sequara that is pretty is consistently harassed by men in the first parts of the book. I do not think this is necessarily bad but none of the male characters are in any way sexualized or described as attractive, which I do think is somewhat unmodern, if you will. Nothing big, but I personally did notice this and hope this diminishes further as the series continues.
For now I am generally satisfied with this book, it has a nice ending and a good cliff hanger for each story line. I am looking forward to read the next book and can only hope that it will mend some of the irks while maintaining its great qualities.
Merged review:
It is impossible to dislike Philip Chase and by proxy it is very hard to be critical towards a book that was created by his dedication, love and effort for this story. This is also the reason I did not DNF this book, when I had the urge several times in the earlier parts of the book. In the end, it paid off though and would recommend pushing through the start of the book to see the author find more flow as the story progresses. I will explain what I liked about the book and what I found irksome below.
What I liked
I think The Way of Edan has a very engaging plot and characters. Chase uses different perspectives to really help us get an overview of the world, the stakes and the cast of characters. The supreme priest Bledla is an amazing zealot of a villain. And I really enjoyed how the key bad guys (King Earcornwald and the high priests) each seem to have a slightly distinct agenda from the rest. Allegiances are born from necessity and not much from love, it seems.
I loved the individual stories of Dayraven and Sequara and how they intertwined. I really appreciate how many characters other than the main characters have distinct voices but also their own stories and story lines.
I also really appreciated the world that the story takes place in (not to be confused with the world building, which I found somewhat irksome in the beginning). I found the magic system super interesting as drawing on the gift creates emphatic links with people and creatures. As a consquence it requires a lot of mental fortitude for users. The magic system sits somewhere between hard an soft magic. Not everything is explained but you get a really good feel for it's potential and applications.
Lastly, it is no secret that Chase loves Tolkien so I cannot help but infer that some of the naming in there is a shout out to Lord of the Rings. With Dayraven and Imharr Travelling towards Ellond the land of Kings (Elrond), one of the treacherous high priests being called Joruman (Saruman) and some legendary King Froda (Frodo) in one of the myths.
What I found irksome
Now with all the compliments above, please let me explain (and rant) why I only gave this book three stars. I almost DNF'd this book, I think 4 times because of some aspects that really irked me, mostly in the beginning of the book (though some thing continue).
I use the word irksome because it reminds me of the word kirtle, and if I have to read that word one more time between this book and the second book I think I will stop reading altogether. Before this book I never heard of the word and although I can appreciate expanding my vocabulary I now know that near every man in this world wears a kirtle on pretty much every occasion. (side note: I did appreciate the three times I saw 'undulating', undoubtedly to tease Merphy Napier).
This flood of kirtles brings me to the fact that I found the beginning of the book too descriptive to my taste. I understand this world is carefully crafted but I feel Chase is quite self-indulgent on showcasing his world and I think many of the problems I had with getting through the first half of the book. To speak in terms of Brandon Sanderson's iceberg. Generally, authors have to balance how much of the world building ice berg they show to immerse the reader and how much they keep hidden to not overwhelm them. Way to much iceberg in this case, at least to my taste.
Now to be fair, this book was self-published for a reason and I'd say it is because Chase would not want to compromise on this, but there are just some things that really held me back from getting into a reading flow.
Some examples:
- it is important to get a sense of what people are wearing and what type of room someone it is, but it does not require a still frame describing whatever is there.
- two or three times a whole pantheon in some depiction is described; what all these gods do in the depiction and their names (never to return again much or play any important role) We don't need to know the name of all these old gods to understand that the Way of Edan is a monotheistic faith as opposed to an older pantheon.
- Chase apparently created all kinds of languages, but these languages and cultures to a non-linguist like me are not distinct or engaging enough to read. As a consquence they're just incomprehensible sentences that add nothing. You may as well say 'The soldier shouted something incomprehensible in Adanese" than writing out the gurgitations.
- the same goes for spell casting. Spells in this books are songs of origin so I understand that they have an auditive aspect. Still three lines of incomprehensible words does not help me immerse myself.
- The horses! why do the horses have names, especially since they do nothing special and quite early in the book they disappear? And for Edan's sake, why is one of the horses called Hraedflyht. Surely, not even a Scandinavian person is able to find the correct way to pronounce this.
Hehe, well that's enough rant from me. I did read the story to the end for a reason and that is that I found these flaws to be quite easy to forgive after a certain point, where the story picked up and stakes were rising.
Something I'm still out on is the 'male gaze' that I found quite present at the beginning of the book. Imharr is a character that consistently judges young ladies by their looks. We get to meet one of the high priests in a scene where he seduces a young female apprentice. Our main character Sequara that is pretty is consistently harassed by men in the first parts of the book. I do not think this is necessarily bad but none of the male characters are in any way sexualized or described as attractive, which I do think is somewhat unmodern, if you will. Nothing big, but I personally did notice this and hope this diminishes further as the series continues.
For now I am generally satisfied with this book, it has a nice ending and a good cliff hanger for each story line. I am looking forward to read the next book and can only hope that it will mend some of the irks while maintaining its great qualities.
qjbrown96's review against another edition
2.0
I will admit that this series has potential and I loved the first 25% of the book but I eventually dnf’d at 60%. There’s just too many books to read boring books. The constant history lessons that aren’t memorable in the slightest and the language the author created is very annoying. I get putting a language in for a sentence or two but these are multiple paragraphs of a language that means nothing. That doesn’t make it more authentic. Just annoying. I’m assuming the ending of this book is outstanding due to all the high praise or people are just giving him good ratings out of personal support. I may never know