Thomas Tarasios (Author of Fire and Lightning)

Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was ok The Devils (The Devils #1) by Joe Abercrombie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is the sixth Abercrombie book I’ve read, and they’ve all been astoundingly well-written, compelling and provocative books (my favourites so far are HALF A KING and SHARP ENDS). I decided I couldn’t avoid it anymore because it’s partly playing in ...more
Aug 02, 2026 07:37AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Devils by Joe Abercrombie <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Thomas Tarasios rated a book liked it The Sleeping Dragon (Guardians of the Flame, #1) by Joel Rosenberg	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This was a weird one. I found it by googling for ‘novels that feature a classic dungeons and dragons adventuring party of a fighter, a wizard, a rogue and a cleric’. Turns out this series from the 80s is about a bunch of American college students who ...more
Jul 30, 2026 11:24PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Sleeping Dragon by Joel Rosenberg. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Sleeping Dragon by Joel Rosenberg <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was ok The Devils (The Devils #1) by Joe Abercrombie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is the sixth Abercrombie book I’ve read, and they’ve all been astoundingly well-written, compelling and provocative books (my favourites so far are HALF A KING and SHARP ENDS). I decided I couldn’t avoid it anymore because it’s partly playing in ...more
Jul 18, 2026 12:02AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Devils by Joe Abercrombie <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Thomas Tarasios liked Debra Ramos's review of Fire and Lightning (Saga of the Jewels Book 1): "This was such a fun, aciton packed fantasy adventure! From the first page, the story moves at a fast pace, keeping me on the edge with twists I didn't see coming. The worldbuilding was immersive and made me connect with each of the six companions. Ea" Read more of this review »
Jun 07, 2026 01:21AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fire and Lightning by Thomas Tarasios. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fire and Lightning by Thomas Tarasios <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Thomas Tarasios liked Chapter Chirp (Jessica)'s review of Earth and Water (Saga of the Jewels Book 2): "ARC Review- The ragtag crew of misfits is back again in book two of the Saga of the Jewels Series, still on their mission to collect all or as many of the Primeval Jewels as possible to safeguard them from Emperor Kivvest who plans to use them to take" Read more of this review »
Jun 04, 2026 10:59PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Earth and Water by Thomas Tarasios. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Earth and Water by Thomas Tarasios <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Thomas Tarasios liked Andy Fletcher's review of The Battlepits of Krarth: "The Battlepits of Krarth is the first in the Bloodsword gamebook collection. As with most gamebook series, the first isn't necessary the best. However, whilst it's a little derivative, it does set the scene for the rest of the series and is still ver" Read more of this review »
Jun 04, 2026 09:07AM · see review
Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was amazing Tainted Blood (Blackhearts #3) by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Blackhearts trilogy finishes with a bang. The mission is to retrieve a magical relic from underneath a Chaos-infested city, and at the same time hopefully lift the curse on the Blackhearts’ blood. Along with competing Imperial factions, Chaos cul ...more
Jun 04, 2026 09:03AM · like · see review
Thomas Tarasios rated a book liked it The Broken Lance (Blackhearts #2) by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The least memorable of the Blackhearts trilogy for me for some reason, I think probably because I enjoy adventuring missions out in the wild than the inner workings of military garrisons. Also, having read quite a few Nathan Long novels by now (these ...more
Jun 04, 2026 09:03AM · like · see review
Thomas Tarasios has read The Broken Lance (Blackhearts #2) by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 04, 2026 09:03AM · like
Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was amazing Tainted Blood (Blackhearts #3) by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Blackhearts trilogy finishes with a bang. The mission is to retrieve a magical relic from underneath a Chaos-infested city, and at the same time hopefully lift the curse on the Blackhearts’ blood. Along with competing Imperial factions, Chaos cul ...more
Jun 04, 2026 09:02AM · like · see review

Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was ok

The Devils (The Devils #1)
by Joe Abercrombie

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This is the sixth Abercrombie book I’ve read, and they’ve all been astoundingly well-written, compelling and provocative books (my favourites so far are HALF A KING and SHARP ENDS). I decided I couldn’t avoid it anymore because it’s partly playing in This is the sixth Abercrombie book I’ve read, and they’ve all been astoundingly well-written, compelling and provocative books (my favourites so far are HALF A KING and SHARP ENDS). I decided I couldn’t avoid it anymore because it’s partly playing in theological territory (what with my having studied a bunch of theology and all), since it’s set in an alternate-history Europe which had a female Jesus and has a female pope. I’m also a sucker for multi-point-of-view ragtag misfit adventuring party quests (what with my writing them and all). As such, I was quite surprised when I ended up finding THE DEVILS…pretty boring.

Don’t get me wrong; it started strong. Over a few chapters, we’re introduced to the titular devils, a collection of monsters and down-and-outs consisting of a demoted monk, a cursed immortal knight, a jacqueline-of-all-trades, a magician, a vampire, an invisible elf and a werewolf. Their job, as a kind of black-ops unit for the Catholic Church made up of forcibly-enlisted convicts, is to escort a long-lost-orphan-empress to Troy, where she can take her rightful place on the throne. They are all well-drawn and have developed backstories. And early on I did find some of the trademark jaw-dropping Abercrombie writing where indirect thought blends seamlessly with embodied experience and the different characters’ POVs distinctly shape the voices and styles of their sections.

But. Where he normally writes serious ‘grimdark’ fantasy with dashes of black humour, with this one Abercrombie seemed to be going more for comedy-fantasy with dashes of grimdark. And for me, the tone was just off. There were some laughs (the magician in particular is often funny) but Abercrombie seemed to rely too much on repetition and one-liners for his humour, and may have accidentally bitten off his tongue while keeping it in his cheek. It just wasn’t very funny or entertaining. I also wasn’t convinced by any of the characters to the extent that I cared about them enough to pull me through this massive novel.

Then there’s the theological stuff. Turns out this is mainly just for (attempted) jokes, really. Having a female Christ and a female pope is quite an interesting thought experiment (and lots of conservative theologians would say impossible, hence it’s an interesting idea to explore in fiction) but of course this wasn’t a theological thought experiment; it was a straightforward gender-swap for laughs. Despite all the direct and indirect denigration of faith and the church, there is a really interesting bit in THE DEVILS where the magician performs a ritual to summon a demon to do something for him. Without spoiling too much, the demon ultimately refuses to carry out the magician’s specific wishes because to do so would be in contravention of the ruling of God, which it cannot override. It’s a fascinating ambiguity that on one level God is repeatedly mocked and blasphemed against yet on another the inherited metaphysics of the supernatural world cannot help but acknowledge his supremacy.

I’ve always been interested that Abercrombie styles himself (or used to style himself, anyway) as the ‘witch king of nihilism’. And while I have huge respect for and am in awe of Abercrombie’s skill as a writer (he is, after all, a far more skilled writer than I am), what has stopped me loving those of his novels I have read so far is that they have at their core a kind of miserable, empty cynicism that just clashes with my worldview. I don’t mind gritty, violent stories with injustice and evil in them. Life’s like that. But at the end of them I want some ray of hope, some hint at the possibility of a happy ending. Faith’s like that. I didn’t find that in the other Abercrombie books I’ve read. Weirdly, I felt like he was almost trying to reach for it here with the comedy vibe, but missed it, for whatever reason. Thus THE DEVILS was for me ultimately an unsatisfying and dull read. ...more

Thomas Tarasios rated a book liked it

The Sleeping Dragon (Guardians of the Flame, #1)
by Joel Rosenberg

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

This was a weird one. I found it by googling for ‘novels that feature a classic dungeons and dragons adventuring party of a fighter, a wizard, a rogue and a cleric’. Turns out this series from the 80s is about a bunch of American college students who ...more

Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was ok

The Devils (The Devils #1)
by Joe Abercrombie

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

This is the sixth Abercrombie book I’ve read, and they’ve all been astoundingly well-written, compelling and provocative books (my favourites so far are HALF A KING and SHARP ENDS). I decided I couldn’t avoid it anymore because it’s partly playing in This is the sixth Abercrombie book I’ve read, and they’ve all been astoundingly well-written, compelling and provocative books (my favourites so far are HALF A KING and SHARP ENDS). I decided I couldn’t avoid it anymore because it’s partly playing in theological territory (what with my having studied a bunch of theology and all), since it’s set in an alternate-history Europe which had a female Jesus and has a female pope. I’m also a sucker for multi-point-of-view ragtag misfit adventuring party quests (what with my writing them and all). As such, I was quite surprised when I ended up finding THE DEVILS…pretty boring.

Don’t get me wrong; it started strong. Over a few chapters, we’re introduced to the titular devils, a collection of monsters and down-and-outs consisting of a demoted monk, a cursed immortal knight, a jacqueline-of-all-trades, a magician, a vampire, an invisible elf and a werewolf. Their job, as a kind of black-ops unit for the Catholic Church made up of forcibly-enlisted convicts, is to escort a long-lost-orphan-empress to Troy, where she can take her rightful place on the throne. They are all well-drawn and have developed backstories. And early on I did find some of the trademark jaw-dropping Abercrombie writing where indirect thought blends seamlessly with embodied experience and the different characters’ POVs distinctly shape the voices and styles of their sections.

But. Where he normally writes serious ‘grimdark’ fantasy with dashes of black humour, with this one Abercrombie seemed to be going more for comedy-fantasy with dashes of grimdark. And for me, the tone was just off. There were some laughs (the magician in particular is often funny) but Abercrombie seemed to rely too much on repetition and one-liners for his humour, and may have accidentally bitten off his tongue while keeping it in his cheek. It just wasn’t very funny or entertaining. I also wasn’t convinced by any of the characters to the extent that I cared about them enough to pull me through this massive novel.

Then there’s the theological stuff. Turns out this is mainly just for (attempted) jokes, really. Having a female Christ and a female pope is quite an interesting thought experiment (and lots of conservative theologians would say impossible, hence it’s an interesting idea to explore in fiction) but of course this wasn’t a theological thought experiment; it was a straightforward gender-swap for laughs. Despite all the direct and indirect denigration of faith and the church, there is a really interesting bit in THE DEVILS where the magician performs a ritual to summon a demon to do something for him. Without spoiling too much, the demon ultimately refuses to carry out the magician’s specific wishes because to do so would be in contravention of the ruling of God, which it cannot override. It’s a fascinating ambiguity that on one level God is repeatedly mocked and blasphemed against yet on another the inherited metaphysics of the supernatural world cannot help but acknowledge his supremacy.

I’ve always been interested that Abercrombie styles himself (or used to style himself, anyway) as the ‘witch king of nihilism’. And while I have huge respect for and am in awe of Abercrombie’s skill as a writer (he is, after all, a far more skilled writer than I am), what has stopped me loving those of his novels I have read so far is that they have at their core a kind of miserable, empty cynicism that just clashes with my worldview. I don’t mind gritty, violent stories with injustice and evil in them. Life’s like that. But at the end of them I want some ray of hope, some hint at the possibility of a happy ending. Faith’s like that. I didn’t find that in the other Abercrombie books I’ve read. Weirdly, I felt like he was almost trying to reach for it here with the comedy vibe, but missed it, for whatever reason. Thus THE DEVILS was for me ultimately an unsatisfying and dull read. ...more

Thomas Tarasios liked Debra Ramos's review of Fire and Lightning (Saga of the Jewels Book 1):

"This was such a fun, aciton packed fantasy adventure! From the first page, the story moves at a fast pace, keeping me on the edge with twists I didn't see coming. The worldbuilding was immersive and made me connect with each of the six companions. Ea" Read more of this review »

Thomas Tarasios liked Chapter Chirp (Jessica)'s review of Earth and Water (Saga of the Jewels Book 2):

"ARC Review-
The ragtag crew of misfits is back again in book two of the Saga of the Jewels Series, still on their mission to collect all or as many of the Primeval Jewels as possible to safeguard them from Emperor Kivvest who plans to use them to take" Read more of this review »

Thomas Tarasios liked Andy Fletcher's review of The Battlepits of Krarth:

"The Battlepits of Krarth is the first in the Bloodsword gamebook collection. As with most gamebook series, the first isn't necessary the best. However, whilst it's a little derivative, it does set the scene for the rest of the series and is still ver" Read more of this review »

Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was amazing

Tainted Blood (Blackhearts #3)
by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Blackhearts trilogy finishes with a bang. The mission is to retrieve a magical relic from underneath a Chaos-infested city, and at the same time hopefully lift the curse on the Blackhearts’ blood. Along with competing Imperial factions, Chaos cul ...more

Thomas Tarasios rated a book liked it

The Broken Lance (Blackhearts #2)
by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The least memorable of the Blackhearts trilogy for me for some reason, I think probably because I enjoy adventuring missions out in the wild than the inner workings of military garrisons. Also, having read quite a few Nathan Long novels by now (these ...more

Thomas Tarasios has read

The Broken Lance (Blackhearts #2)
by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)

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Thomas Tarasios rated a book it was amazing

Tainted Blood (Blackhearts #3)
by Nathan Long (Goodreads Author)

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Blackhearts trilogy finishes with a bang. The mission is to retrieve a magical relic from underneath a Chaos-infested city, and at the same time hopefully lift the curse on the Blackhearts’ blood. Along with competing Imperial factions, Chaos cul ...more

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	Fire and Lightning (Saga of the Jewels Book 1) 4.58 avg rating — 67 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Earth and Water (Saga of the Jewels Book 2) 4.42 avg rating — 19 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Prelude: The Final Battle (Saga of the Jewels) 3.50 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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