A review by ironworthstriking
Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
5.0
I picked this book after reading the venerable Petrik Leo's praise of this book, and I have to say he was correct in everything he said. A truly astounding debut fantasy novel with a unique world, story, and characters.
I assumed I was going to get a fairly straightforward military fantasy story of warriors and politics. It has both at the forefront to be sure, but that's not the core of this story. At its heart, this story is about someone struggling with their own identity and destiny. Vaelin is very skilled in combat and military leadership, but is that WHO he is? Sprinkled in are questions of forgiveness, guilt, and religious dogma. Are right and wrong contingent upon the tenants of your chosen religion. or are they absolute?
That's all not even to mention the characters, which were fantastic. Taking place at a sacred order's warrior training academy, we get a beautiful "found-family" band of brothers, each with distinct personality traits that we see from boyhood to adulthood. We truly feel for these characters, and root for them as they grow from scrappy kids to accomplished warriors and leaders.
I loved this book, and though I hear the others in the series fall short of this masterwork, I plan on reading Ryan's other works for sure.
I assumed I was going to get a fairly straightforward military fantasy story of warriors and politics. It has both at the forefront to be sure, but that's not the core of this story. At its heart, this story is about someone struggling with their own identity and destiny. Vaelin is very skilled in combat and military leadership, but is that WHO he is? Sprinkled in are questions of forgiveness, guilt, and religious dogma. Are right and wrong contingent upon the tenants of your chosen religion. or are they absolute?
That's all not even to mention the characters, which were fantastic. Taking place at a sacred order's warrior training academy, we get a beautiful "found-family" band of brothers, each with distinct personality traits that we see from boyhood to adulthood. We truly feel for these characters, and root for them as they grow from scrappy kids to accomplished warriors and leaders.
I loved this book, and though I hear the others in the series fall short of this masterwork, I plan on reading Ryan's other works for sure.