Malice

I know, technically I should only be reviewing book 1, Malice. But who wants to start a 4 book series only to find it gets a bit rubbish towards the end? Particularly if you're like me and rarely stop a story once you've started.Book 1 - 10/10Book 2 - 9/10Book 3 - 7/10Book 4 - 6/10He falls in to a few tropes of his own creating with his writing style, there's an increasing amount of deus ex machina as things go on and terrifying and dangerous enemies become run of the mill and not particularly dangerous later on. It's a shame as book 1 was really fantastic, but by the end I got the impression he just wanted to finish it all but didn't know how. Characters were killed off with no apparent thought other than 'I've got too many, best thin the herd and make it feel like anyone might die'. Such a shame after a really promising start.

For thoses like myself who enjoy this type of book its great, you start to follow the "players" and are interested in what will happen to them and the many strands to the story. I have not quite finished but will order the second book! So I guess that that says it all.

O livro chegou sem plástico, veio em saco bolha envelope. Parece livro usado sem cuidado, todo sujo, por manuseio de mãos sujas, está amassado, por fora e por dentro, e parece ser erro de gráfica. Paguei muito caro para ter um livro novo neste estado.

Start of a new series of fantasy novels. This is book one of 'The Faithful and the Fallen.'It runs for six hundred and twenty eight pages. It has a prologue and eighty eight chapters. Being the start of a series it naturally ends with lots up in the air and nothing resolved.There's a map of the setting at the front.Which is the Banished Lands. A collection of kingdoms where men and giants once fought. Where prophecy says war will return. And be decided by two champions.This is a typical fantasy style land with Kings and Queens and Princesses and warriors and farmers. It's a harsh place, the majority of the action taking place in remote wooded areas.There are several viewpoint characters. Each chapter will focus on a different one, jumping back and forth between the various choices. Main one is Corban, a boy who will soon have to become a warrior. Corban is in some ways a typical hero for this kind of thing. He has a best friend. He is subjected to the whims of a nasty bully. But helped out by wise individuals with lots of life experience.So all that could be routine. But right from the off, Corban's chapters do click. The setting is good and all the characters avoid cliché by being three dimensional and believable creations. Even though it's not entirely incident packed, things move along at a decent pace and his story develops nicely.Cywen, his sometime hot tempered and good with a throwing knife sister, is also a viewpoint character. She is an appealing creation as well.Other viewpoint character come from elsewhere in the Banished lands. Initially, they don't grab quite as much. Possibly because of this being the first in a series, it means there's a lot of information and setting to take in. I did find myself far more hooked on Corban's chapters than theirs.Everything does click perfectly though about two thirds of the way through with some excellent action - this is another of those gritty fantasy novels that doesn't skimp on the realities of conflict, but it's never too gory and there's no strong language or adult moments - and then although it does start to feel as if you may have read this kind of thing before plot wise, that really doesn't matter, because there are some excellent set pieces to follow. At this point also one of the other viewpoint characters does finally click and become Just as interesting as Corban.It doesn't perhaps break much new ground, and maybe it's a bit slow to start. But do stick with it. Because it's a really good start to a new series and you'll want to find what happens next. Looking forward to book two.

what an absolutely tremendous debut novel. its always a leap of faith spending a lot of money on a 500+ page debut novel from an unknown writer but this was a gamble that paid off. i read it in 3 days and only put it down when i had to work or sleep!!! fantastic story lines and complex but believable characters transport you into a very believable fantasy land. the story takes off from page one and with a glorious host of characters entering or leaving the story its a tale you can totally immerse yourself in. i cant wait for the next one and what a talent mr gwynne could turn out to be. as good as anything i've read in this field including the great david gemmell novels. thanks very much john