I’d been looking for a good, epic fantasy to sink my teeth into again lately, and happened to notice The Sworn by Gail Z. Martin in a prominent place in the bookstore.  I liked the premise, but realised it was the start of a second series.  Since I like to start from the beginning, I went looking and found book one of the Chronicles of the Necromancer – The Summoner.

I had no expectations, I’d never read Gail Z. Martin’s work before, but I have to say I found it compelling right from the very first page.  The characters are really well rounded and expertly written, and I grew to like and then love them very quickly.  Of course when the author is not afraid to write about the darker side of life, this can create a slight pang to the heart!

The story was excellent and I must admit, I do love quests and being on the journey with the characters, joining them to do whatever they must, to see their world safe.  There is of course a danger of many tropes and cliches with this type of fantasy and some of them are unavoidable.  Where Martin excels, is when she takes some of them and uses them to further the story, turning them into a positive thing instead of letting it become ‘yet another epic quest fantasy’.  Instead she created an engaging and intriguing tale that kept me gripped right to the last page.

The pace of the story is good, the writing very smooth, easy to read and I couldn’t put it down.  By the end I was so absorbed and wanting more, I immediately ordered the rest of the series.

An astonishingly good read that does much to revitalise the genre.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Back in the Crown Jewel planets, the Lords and Ladies of the Parliamentary government enjoyed the fruits of the Deep Zone labours, requiring tributes from their already taxed economies, forcing them to give up valuable assets that would help their own colonists.  Determined not to let another rebellion take hold, the Diadem keeps her government on their toes, encouraging them to plot against each other if it suited her interest or simply have her spies and military personnel step in if it didn’t.  Diadem Michella Duchanet was the ruler of the Constellation and she would not have anyone get in her way.

For someone who read a lot of science-fiction when I was younger,  I don’t seem to be able to get into it much these days.  It has been a while since I found anything that held my interest, that wasn’t also linked to the romance genre.

Hellhole has completely changed that for me and I am very happy it did so.  It’s an engaging story of hazardous frontier worlds and brave pioneers yet also of intrigue, plotting and maneuvering among the nobles of  the vast Constellation Empire.   The despot ruler, Diadem Michella Duchanet, is a real piece of work, as are some of the myriad nobles that rule the individual worlds of the Crown Jewels planets.

When the book starts, General Tiber Adolphus is at the final battle of his victorious five year rebellion against the Diadem and her armies, and right from that first chapter I was drawn in.  And it didn’t really let up from there.

It’s a book that has so many different facets and layers; it isn’t just a book about a rebellion against an unfit ruler, nor just about the people who were imprisoned or volunteered as colonists on the Deep Zone worlds.  It’s not even just about the possibility of alien life.  It’s about everything that makes up a wondrous vision into a possible distant future.

The protagonists were really well written and I came to care about some of them very quickly.  I also didn’t just dislike the antagonists, I hated them.

Hellhole itself was described with vivid imagery and I could see it in my mind’s eye.  The other Deep Zone worlds too, but to a lesser extent.

The pace was excellent, going from almost a normal pace of life after the first few chapters to an almost frenzied state as different threads were coming together.  I even growled as I turned the last page and realised I would have to wait to find out what happens until the next book.  It caught me out, even though I should have realised that with everything that still needed to happen, it wouldn’t fit into the number of pages left.

The plot was so intricate and layered, I have no idea how the authors kept it straight, but it wasn’t confusing.  I knew where I was and what was happening, it just ramped up the tension as each layer was added.

There are a few shocks and surprises but I won’t spoil them here.  Suffice to say some of them were very sad but there is also joy to balance it out.

If you like great science fiction on an epic scale, you have to read Hellhole.. really!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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Shadow Harold, master thief and appropriator of coveted items is happy to let the world go on around him.  The world however has different ideas.  The Nameless One is stirring after centuries of peace, calling an immense army of dreadful creatures to his side.  His goal is to strike at the heart of Siala, the great city of Avendoom. Harold’s unique talents are needed to gain access to the one thing that can save Siala and while it’s a mission of great urgency and danger, once commissioned, Harold is oath bound to see it through.  Even at the cost of his own life.

Having just finished Shadow Prowler, I am quite astonished.  It reminded me of the old favourites that I still have and re-read, of a few authors I love that are a cut above the rest and most importantly, why I fell in love with fantasy in the first place.

Right from the first few pages, I liked the main character Harold.  He’s an intelligent and witty reluctant hero, with a knack for getting out of a tight spot. Getting used to a new author’s ‘voice’ can be tough and Harold is what made it a smooth transition and kept me reading until I was caught up in the story.

The world Pehov has built for this series is rich in detail and character and I love the way he has turned around what I would say are usually standard facets of a fantasy book and used them to his own end.

As the story progressed and new characters were introduced, I found them just as well rounded and interesting as Harold, even those that that were only present for a brief time.  A few even tugged at my heart though their time in the book was short.

The pace was really good, no sudden stop/starts or breakneck rush but a smooth movement through the excellent storyline firing up with some great action scenes and then returning to that flow when it was time.

Magic is present, used in daily life and there are different forms of it, used by different races.  I found that interesting and thought it also showed just how much enthusiasm and work Alexey Pehov put into the world he created.

I have to touch on the translation from Russian by Andrew Bromfield.  I think it has been so skillfully done that I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it wasn’t first written in English.  I would love to know how the two versions compare and have to wonder if it was even more enjoyable in its native tongue.

I enjoyed this book a huge amount and can’t wait to read the second in the series to find out how Harold and his companions are faring!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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I’ve been a big fan of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files for a long time and was really interested to hear he was writing a fantasy based series.  Fantasy was my first love but for a while now, I hadn’t found anything new that had caught my attention and imagination.

First off, I absolutely love the unique magic system Butcher created for his world.  Elemental beings that bond with the Alerans, almost like pets and are used in everyday life.  Fire furies that keep lights and torches burning, water furies that allow water to travel along pipes or be used to heal wounds, earth furies that can raise walls, track prey or imbue their people with greater strength and so on.  The furies take on a personality of their own and become supplementary characters that enhance the story as you meet them, however briefly.

The characters are superbly written, the main cast all have depth and detail that lead you to care about them right from the start, even the ‘bad’ guys who have their own stories and reasons for choosing the path they have taken.  You also have the Marat, a tribal people who the Alerans consider savages with ways incomprehensible to them. Their characters are intriguing, vastly different to the Alerans and their society rich with tradition and beliefs.  When the two begin to mix, it produces often amusing exchanges as they try to learn how to interact with each other.

The story itself is wonderful, flows easily throughout the book and the pace is just right.  Exciting action alongside somber, tender moments, sharing a character’s dread at something that just happened and at times I was moved to tears.  It has all the elements of a story I love – heroic endeavours in the face of overwhelming odds, clinging to something you believe in no matter how futile it might seem and finding love at the bleakest of times.  These are all things that capture my heart and imagination.

By the end, I was in love with the world and it’s characters and left with a feeling of having read something truly remarkable.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

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