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A review by hostral
Warrior's Ascension by Jason Varrone
4.0
I could tell immediately from the sword on the cover exactly what sort of book this was going to be.
Warrior's Ascension makes no apologies for its roots and targets fans of military fantasy that like their warriors brave and their conflicts bloody.
This is yet another example of an increasingly generous trend: authors writing novellas that lead into their main series. It cost me nothing to load up onto my kindle and it certainly didn't stick around for long!
Varrone puts a twist on the traditional tale, with a first person recounting of the various exploits of a dying warrior. The pace is deliberately fast, given the dire condition of the narrator, and as a result you're told a lot of information rather than experiencing it.
The author's voice is strong and the quality of the writing matches the professionalism of the cover. You won't find much world-building or characterisation here beyond the lead, but that's a conscious choice made by the author rather than any perceived lack.
The ending of the tale was superb and sets up the next book in the series perfectly. The author gives credit to a certain someone inspiring them in that regard. My advice: keep listening to that person!
Overall the length of the tale and enforced briskness of the narration means it misses out on the 5 star rating, but it's an excellent tale and a great advertisement for future work.
Warrior's Ascension makes no apologies for its roots and targets fans of military fantasy that like their warriors brave and their conflicts bloody.
This is yet another example of an increasingly generous trend: authors writing novellas that lead into their main series. It cost me nothing to load up onto my kindle and it certainly didn't stick around for long!
Varrone puts a twist on the traditional tale, with a first person recounting of the various exploits of a dying warrior. The pace is deliberately fast, given the dire condition of the narrator, and as a result you're told a lot of information rather than experiencing it.
The author's voice is strong and the quality of the writing matches the professionalism of the cover. You won't find much world-building or characterisation here beyond the lead, but that's a conscious choice made by the author rather than any perceived lack.
The ending of the tale was superb and sets up the next book in the series perfectly. The author gives credit to a certain someone inspiring them in that regard. My advice: keep listening to that person!
Overall the length of the tale and enforced briskness of the narration means it misses out on the 5 star rating, but it's an excellent tale and a great advertisement for future work.