Ruin (The Faithful and the Fallen Book 3)

I read the first two books in this series earlier this year and, while they were fairly conventional hero's journey-type books with a lot of fantasy tropes, I liked them enough to keep going. And I think this book redeemed the series in a way I was not expecting. I will try to be vague to avoid spoilers, as best I can. Note: there may be some spoilers for previous books in the series in this review. You would want to read those first, before starting with this one. There are a LOT of characters in this series and it is best to encounter them as they are introduced in the previous books. You will have a much easier time keeping them straight.One thing that has puzzled me about this series is why Corban was the Bright Star (a prophesied hero who will lead the forces of good...). Corban was just an average boy from a small village. Not the best fighter in the early books (in fact, in book one, his sister had to help him out of a few scrapes). Not of royal parentage. Etc. Well, that question is answered here and it is not at all what I expected (but is not pulled out of nowhere, either, and it does explain some actions another character has taken at various points). I actually love that revelation and its aftermath.Another thing I like about this book are the parallels between Corban's and Nathair's (the human leader of one of the main forces antagonizing Corban's group) situations. Nathair, as we've come to realize, isn't the Bright Star he thought he was. He is royalty and was born to lead. He has an otherworldly adviser (as does Corban). He also gathers allies. In some sense, we always knew he was a bad egg, though. His animal companion is nasty and uncontrollable compared to Corban's. He uses unethical tactics to get what he wants. So he is obviously a bad guy. But...for the longest time, he *thought* he was a good guy. So he doesn't lose all sympathy (just a lot of it). And I legitimately don't know if he will redeem himself or not. I look forward to finding out.As I said earlier, this book contains a lot of characters. For the most part, I don't have trouble telling them apart. (Uthas and Ulfilas being exceptions, simply because of the similarities between the names. I am not 100% sure I got the names right even now, but I don't have my Kindle nearby to check.) Gwynne actually does a pretty good job with this, considering the size of the cast.Our heroes find themselves in a lot of trouble in this book. At first I was bemoaning the similarities of Maquin's (a former shieldman, giant-hunter, oarsman, and pit fighter, among other things) and Camlin's (a former forest bandit turned shieldman to a queen) situations. But they get out of their situations in different ways, and their enemies end up having different competencies or lack thereof. It wasn't the same thing twice. And both were set up well, with varying degrees of preparation in the story.A lot of rivalries and conflicts from past books were brought up again here, with the storylines continuing. A couple of these were brought to a close, while others were allowed to continue. I'm glad to see some loose ends tied up, and not all left until the final volume. The story is still pretty expansive, but it is tightening.We know a lot of the characters by now, but some of them continue to grow and change. Vonn (boy from Corban's village who has broken with his father) is given the opportunity to show conflicting emotions here in a way he didn't before. Cywen (Corban's sister) is still quite competent, but gains some new skills. Gar (a guardian of Corban's, basically) has to take on some new responsibilities. Lorcan (a spoiled prince from previous books) grows up and becomes someone whose fate I'm actually interested in. Corban continues on the expected path, but remains true to himself.Some events were predictable. I have been waiting since book one for Veradis to do something and he has now done it. Some romances developed (or seem to be developing) along a predictable path. Now, romances predicted in past volumes have ended with character deaths, so I don't think everyone's out of the woods yet. We'll see.In terms of writing style, world building, etc., if you liked these aspects of the first two books, you'll see more of the same here. It was kind of comforting and familiar to travel back to this world, actually. The only other complaint I have is that this book was long. Very long. I think the author did what he had to, to get to the endpoint he had in mind. So I'm not sure how it could be shortened.Anyway, I wasn't sure what rating I would give this book until I started writing the review and realized there was a lot I liked about this book, especially compared to past volumes. I'm looking forward to the next one. 4.5 stars.

So far I've managed to get two-thirds of the way through this installment, but instead of being an enjoyable read it's turned into a slog where every other chapter or so I have to stop myself from going to the door and chucking the novel into the snowbank so the voles & squirrels can do something useful with its papery carcass.Namely;- One dimensional minor villains; petty minded vengeance fantasies being a driving force is not only plausible, it's a real occurrence. However, one or two chapters (if even that) per book was plenty enough to establish the motives of such minor characters. Having to read through multiple chapters just for the sake of reestablishing that for every person of that ilk instead of continuing with events of more import got real old, quite fast.- Chance; for instance, a minor character literally & miraculously stumbled upon something foreshadowed just a few chapters previously in this same book, only then there was no reveal for I don't know how many hundreds of pages even though it's clearly coming, to the point of being foreshadowed (aftershadowed?) yet again at least once. Uh huh, absolutely plausible.....- Stagnant civilization; Not sure offhand how many centuries the human "exiles" are supposed to have been in this land after having defeated the giant inhabitants, but despite a knowledge base (and substantial continued threats including survivors of aforesaid giantkind) allowing the construction of river-/sea-going galleys plus small ocean-going ships the only permanent and substantial fortifications are those utilizing the abandoned giant-built castles. Not even to the extent of timber faced earthen cored walls or simple staked moats, we're talking wooden palisades & towers only here even for larger holds.- Stagnant technology; these folks have catapults, war galleys, and whatnot yet fighting in a shield wall a la the Roman maniple/century or Greek phalanx is considered new fangled and dishonorable. While with armor basically everyone, chieftains/war leaders included, had only either leather or chain - one of the most tedious to manufacture yet at the same time almost ineffectual types of protection. Iron helmets are widespread yet absolutely no one - period- in this setting (giants as well) has anything like brigandine, let alone lamellor plate, despite a clear and oft mentioned capability to manufacture sheet metal & iron weapons/tools in quantity.- One dimensional nations or tribes. Basically, with a very few exceptions, all of the humans were Briton/Celt/Highlander clones save the pirate folks, who were just Vikings with gladiatorial slaves.- Plot armor thicker than the combined novels themselves; And here I'm talking villains so unkillable as to push into the realm of "they've gone to plaid". While the heroic heroes of the piece were cutting down storm trooperesque lackeys left and right most all of the baddies kept escaping certain death multiple times per novel. Once or twice ducking, or having some nameless minion block a kill shot, might have been plausible. Beyond that though, absurd and very poor writing. If the author thought he was going to not have any of the main villains alive so they could be killed at the appropriate apocalyptic climax moment then he needed to stop writing himself into a corner so often just for the sake of trying to crank up the drama only to fall short of the effect he was seeking.- We're free, only to be kidnapped, yet again? ; I kid you not, with a few characters this approached romance novel levels of garbage to the point of not only having no tension value whatsoever to ruining immersion while I said to myself "You've got to be kidding me right now."These aren't bad books per se and the setting had some neat ideas behind it, but in execution they needed more editing, a better development of the driving ideas, and tighter writing. They remind me quite a lot of the Prydain Chronicles, with more a young adult level of reading comprehension.Not sure at this point if I'll get the fourth book, maybe just for the sake of completion.

This was an awesome book. Much better than the second, on par with the first.Really enjoyed the twists and turns. Couldn't put it down.

Wow! This series just keeps getting better and better. Easily one of my top five fantasy series ever, with a book left to read (Wrath). The number of well written characters and epic moments is too damn high! John Gwynne’s Faithful and the Fallen series has tropes. Which is not necessarily a bad thing in general, but what Gwynne does with them is masterful. Not for a single moment did I get weary, or find it unoriginal in any way. And in some cases, Gwynne turns the trope on its head and kicks it up the backside. This series so far has had one epic moment after another, and Ruin is no exception. This book in particular has, so far, possibly more loss and despair than the first two books combined. But in the midst of it all, plenty of truth and courage, as always, sometimes from the unlikeliest of sources. This is a series where, once again, good and evil appears to be very clearly defined. Apparently. One thing for sure, it is very easy to fall in love with certain characters, while hating certain others with a passion. And despite the massive cast, I rarely had to double check the dramatis personae, or Who’s Who at the start of the book. I’m usually bad at remembering names. Gwynne does a fantastic job of reminding you, in subtle ways, so you are never in doubt. Another excellent aspect of his writing is that a vast majority of his characters are so well defined, makes it easier to remember. Another reason I love his writing is because the prose is so accessible. Words are hardly if ever wasted, the pacing of the book is perfect. It is easier to get through these books pretty fast, and the fact that they are absolute page turners with short chapters really helps. The action scenes are brilliantly written and easy to follow. This book has the most tantalising of cliff-hangers, and I’m glad I won’t have to wait to read the next one. You can’t wait to find out what happens next. A brutal story, heart-breaking at times (it is called Ruin, after all), what a series this is turning out to be. Don’t get too attached to any of the characters, anyone can die at any moment. It’s easy to kill characters, it’s much harder to get people to care enough. Every single loss you will feel personally. Epic fantasy at its best, highest of recommendations.

On the surface and after a few pages in, you might start thinking you have Johns work pinned down under a classic fantasy trope of “bad fights evil” or “boy from nowhere rises up”. I must admit halfway through the first book that things were following an expected, even if well done, path.But then things change. Before I realised what was happening, I was drawn in, engaged, invested and unable to put this book, or the subsequent 3, down until I had finished them all. What John manages to do so incredibly well is blur the lines. It isn’t classic good v evil. There’s more to it and the nuances of each fleshed out character and the beliefs they hold make sure that each person reading the series will have a different opinion on what is right and wrong.Jaw to floor action scenes are delivered at pace and what some may consider “book finishers” or “end points” crop up in the most unexpected places. Skills of characters, particularly the main protagonist, Corban, feel earned in an incredibly authentic way. The world building is extremely well done with just the right amount of depth without feeling like you are reading the wiki page for one particular tree.I went into this book with no expectations and was left feeling incredibly grateful that I got to experience this work. Fans of Robin Hobb, fantasy in general, epic worlds and true page turners will love this. It deserves its place on the shelf of “great fantasy reads” and watching (or reading) John grow in strength as an author through the series was an absolute joy.Truth and Courage!

The third instalment in the Faithful and the Fallen series continues the story laid out in Malice and Valour. Again, the story is split between numerous PoV characters, which at times is a little annoying (especially as some of them really are bit-part characters barely mentioned in the rest of the story and are only there to witness events). Whereas before the story followed perhaps three different adventures with little overlap, there is now a much wider scope to the overall plot with a number of different battles, sieges, journeys, confrontations all happening at the same time and the story generally chops and changes between these. At times in all three books now I have felt that the same thing is being told numerous times, everyone loses their father and looks for revenge, numerous people are betrayed by their brother, two interchangeable young heirs to different thrones are on the run from those seeking to end their claim to that throne etc. And the number of times groups just happen to cross paths in what is supposed to be a massive, dense, unnavigable forest, often just at the right time, is frankly preposterous. While some of the characters and some plot devices aren't great, the story telling and world building is brilliant. Once you remember who the character is and what they were doing last chapter (sometimes 100 pages ago!) it really is very gripping reading. Now that we (and they) know who the good guys and bad guys are, the balance in strength is constantly shifting as people change sides, massive warbands are wiped out in battle or castles taken/re-taken and groups flee through the forest. There is a lot of ground to cover in the last book of the series, but with all the main groups now zeroing in on the same area I expect this to be done to a satisfactory conclusion with the same pace as shown here.

Third volume in the 'Faithful and the Fallen' series of fantasy novels.This series began with 'Malice'. And this volume isn't a jumping on point, because there is nothing here to bring new readers up to speed. So they start with Malice.Regular readers of the series, read on.And be aware:This is not a trilogy. It was never billed as such on any of the books. Nor did they say how long the series would be. So perhaps we are all guilty of assumption. But don't go into this thinking it will end the story. Because it doesn't. And it will work better if you know that in advance.This volume runs for seven hundred and forty six pages. It is divided into ninety three chapters. There's a map of the setting at the start. Plus a cast of characters. Nice having that at the front because it makes it easier to refer to if needs be.Because there are a lot of characters here. And a lot of those are viewpoint characters. This will change for every chapter. All ninety three of them. Often characters will be in groups or pairs and one will be the viewpoint character for one chapter and then another from same group or pair for the next chapter. Which actually works quite well and is pretty neat.Anyhow, as a tale of war in a fantasy kingdom, this progresses nicely. If you read a lot of fantasy and it's been a while since you read the last one in the series, it can take a while to get back into the next volume when you pick it up. This isn't too much of a problem here, as it did all come back to me quite quickly.A lot of it is very good indeed. But it's a long book and not being the end means there are parts which perhaps could be stronger and shorter. But for the bulk of it, this is a very solid continuation of a very good series. And a pretty good read. Just being not the end of the story does take it down slightly from five stars. It does of course end on a huge cliffhanger. For the next book to resolve.So not entirely perfect, but still a decent read in a very good series.

The first half of this book was a drag, unlike the 2 books before it. If it wasn't for the Maquin chapters I would not have finished it. But halfway we return to the normal fast paced POVs and action.Veradis comes good. The most unbelievably naive character in the history of fantasy comes good. Well, it was about time. Much overdue. The greater good line was running thin.Also running thin is the ol stick your sword in the ground and use it to throw dirt into your opponent's eyes. Three times now this has happened.If you can get through the first half then you'll get to the good stuff.