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A review by btaylorg
Malice by John Gwynne
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