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The Long War #3
The Red Prince
Between the desert plains of Karesia and the icy wastes of Ranen, there once lay the kingdom of Ro. Its lands were fertile. Its men and women were prosperous. Their god – the One – was satisfied.
But then the men of Ro grew unwatchful, and the armies of the south took their chance. Now the Seven Sisters rule the Kingdom, enslaving their people with sorcery of pleasure and blood. Soon, they will appoint a new god. The Long War rumbles on... but the Red Prince has yet to enter the field of battle.
ALL THAT WAS DEAD WILL RISE.
ALL THAT NOW LIVES WILL FALL...
But then the men of Ro grew unwatchful, and the armies of the south took their chance. Now the Seven Sisters rule the Kingdom, enslaving their people with sorcery of pleasure and blood. Soon, they will appoint a new god. The Long War rumbles on... but the Red Prince has yet to enter the field of battle.
ALL THAT WAS DEAD WILL RISE.
ALL THAT NOW LIVES WILL FALL...
533 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2015
23 people are currently reading
691 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Smith
8 books311 followersWriting is the only thing I do that doesn't make me feel like I should be doing something else.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 21, 2017
A brilliant 3rd entry into this series. Events have been honed for the final book in the series and I have no idea how they will pan out.
If you love dark fantasy and haven't checked out this series, then do yourself a favour and get into it.
I can't wait to get into the final book of the series but am a little apprehensive as then the wait begins for the next series :(
If you love dark fantasy and haven't checked out this series, then do yourself a favour and get into it.
I can't wait to get into the final book of the series but am a little apprehensive as then the wait begins for the next series :(
April 12, 2019
Read the full review at Fantasy Faction
The Long War series is an epic fantasy/dark fantasy quadrilogy which deals with courtroom intrigue, politics, magic and gods in a world similar to ours but set during the medieval period. It consists of the following books: The Black Guard, The Dark Blood, The Red Prince and The World Raven. These four books have a complexity and style that is a mix of George R.R. Martin and Steven Eriksson with a dash of H. P. Lovecraft.
Read the full review at Fantasy Faction
The Long War series is an epic fantasy/dark fantasy quadrilogy which deals with courtroom intrigue, politics, magic and gods in a world similar to ours but set during the medieval period. It consists of the following books: The Black Guard, The Dark Blood, The Red Prince and The World Raven. These four books have a complexity and style that is a mix of George R.R. Martin and Steven Eriksson with a dash of H. P. Lovecraft.
Read the full review at Fantasy Faction
December 27, 2024
The resistance against the enthralled & its masters is bolstered. Creatures of old become present. New leaders emerge. Sacrifice freely given….and much will made.
Penultimate perfection. Some real shocking turns of events. Epic in every sense. Amazing.
Penultimate perfection. Some real shocking turns of events. Epic in every sense. Amazing.
June 1, 2019
😳 Wow! What an amazing series this has turned out to be. Loving the prose and the historical fiction elements of the plot. Side note: Any author who liberally uses the C word in his writing is more than ok in my books!
October 23, 2023
This is a criminally underrated series. I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy having so many points of view characters with only a few chapters per book, but A.J. Smith does it fantastically.
I’m very curious how the series is going to wrap up in the next book. I’ve loved this series, but I find myself saying I just need to sit back and let the story work itself out. The Long War isn’t written like many fantasy series I’ve read, but that isn’t a bad thing. I simply find myself eagerly awaiting the next chapter of certain characters.
I’m very curious how the series is going to wrap up in the next book. I’ve loved this series, but I find myself saying I just need to sit back and let the story work itself out. The Long War isn’t written like many fantasy series I’ve read, but that isn’t a bad thing. I simply find myself eagerly awaiting the next chapter of certain characters.
January 4, 2017
After finishing this book, I have to wonder why this author is not spoke of alongside George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss. Smith has the same fantasy style as Rothfuss, or at least close and the exact war theme as Martin except maybe more grizzly and graphic. Smith has one thing that Rothfuss and Martin do not, a finished series! I am about to start the final book of this series and then I am going to hope Smith has more stuff out
February 10, 2016
Highly satisfying continuation of the Long War saga. The characters are starting to feel like old friends. The drama just keeps coming and there is always enough mystery and intrigue to keep the pages turning. This is a fantasy series with real depth
January 12, 2024
Okay, this may come out a little weird, but I am SO f***ing disappointed! If or when we meet, Mr Smith, you and I are going to have a mighty long talk!
Rant aside,- no, actually I can't put it aside, I have to rant! First of all, HOW DARE YOU, Mr Smith? Are you aware of the sheer amount of people that I care about in here that you have killed?? Not to mention in this book alone?!!?? This is the most emotional I have gotten about fictional characters in a long, long while. So much so that it's affecting my daily life! (Now, if any of you are wondering, this paragraph alone would be a testament to how well-written and fleshed out each character is. There may be a shitload of them, but I remember each and every one of them vividly, and the attachment I feel to some of them is as real as the earth beneath your feet, so don't blame me if I shed tears of pain or wallow in misery and despair while they suffer and die. Yes, die! Blame the man behind the book, he is a murderer!)
All the deaths aside, I really enjoyed my journey through this third book (honestly though, counting the deaths, this is the worst book thus far! I still can't believe you killed R & B! If you kill H in the next book, I'm going to hide it in a closet forever!) No, but let's put the deaths aside. (God, I'm petty and I don't want to, but we must move on!) So, with how much is going on, the book is very sufficiently paced, by which I mean the pacing is perfect. It's not fast and it's not slow; it just feels extremely natural. In fact, the whole series has been progressing in this natural manner so far, and I hope that the final book does not disappoint. What would be most irksome is if the final book is rushed because the author is trying to tie everything up and not finding enough pages for it.
This is important because one of the things that immediately captures me in a book, besides the characters, is the pacing. Too slow and it bores me, too fast and it overwhelms me.
But I believe in Mr Smith's decade of plotting and I just can't wait to delve into the last book. Let's hope he breaks my heart no more. As Fallon of Leith said, "You and I agreed, enough has died." Please let's agree on this, Mr Smith.
XOXO
Rant aside,- no, actually I can't put it aside, I have to rant! First of all, HOW DARE YOU, Mr Smith? Are you aware of the sheer amount of people that I care about in here that you have killed?? Not to mention in this book alone?!!?? This is the most emotional I have gotten about fictional characters in a long, long while. So much so that it's affecting my daily life! (Now, if any of you are wondering, this paragraph alone would be a testament to how well-written and fleshed out each character is. There may be a shitload of them, but I remember each and every one of them vividly, and the attachment I feel to some of them is as real as the earth beneath your feet, so don't blame me if I shed tears of pain or wallow in misery and despair while they suffer and die. Yes, die! Blame the man behind the book, he is a murderer!)
All the deaths aside, I really enjoyed my journey through this third book (honestly though, counting the deaths, this is the worst book thus far! I still can't believe you killed R & B! If you kill H in the next book, I'm going to hide it in a closet forever!) No, but let's put the deaths aside. (God, I'm petty and I don't want to, but we must move on!) So, with how much is going on, the book is very sufficiently paced, by which I mean the pacing is perfect. It's not fast and it's not slow; it just feels extremely natural. In fact, the whole series has been progressing in this natural manner so far, and I hope that the final book does not disappoint. What would be most irksome is if the final book is rushed because the author is trying to tie everything up and not finding enough pages for it.
This is important because one of the things that immediately captures me in a book, besides the characters, is the pacing. Too slow and it bores me, too fast and it overwhelms me.
But I believe in Mr Smith's decade of plotting and I just can't wait to delve into the last book. Let's hope he breaks my heart no more. As Fallon of Leith said, "You and I agreed, enough has died." Please let's agree on this, Mr Smith.
XOXO
March 5, 2025
This is turning out to be one of my favorite series I love it and the magic the characters everything mad about a certain character but need to read the last book this series is very underrated!!
August 31, 2020
Book 3 out of 4 in the Long War series, this is definitely middle of the story territory. All of the major characters are scattered and this book feels like an attempt to reel in quite a few of them. I am a big fan of this series - the world building is epic, with a very nice religious element built over the top. The multiple POV characters all have their distinct feel and motives.
We pick up very much where we left off with some characters dealing with the aftermath of the Ro invasion of Ranen, a few questing to find a temple to link an Old Blood to the gods and another group slowly working their way trying to kill off the main villains, the so called Seven Sisters. These three groups remain more or less distinct through the story, but the characters within each of the groups coalesce more. You can feel that there is definitely a build towards a climactic finale.
If I have one complaint about this series, it is that the pacing can sometimes feel a little bit off. There is a rush to complete things - Ras Jas Rhami's effortless hunting of the Seven Sisters can feel a bit too godlike at times and the sense of peril is lost. Fortunately this book corrects this and adds some significant challenges for our heroes, although it does still feel abrupt at times.
Overall, an enjoyable read. The darkness that permeates the story is nice, and it is well balanced with the humour and easy going dialogue of the main characters. Definitely curious to see how this series ends as it seems to be going from strength to strength.
We pick up very much where we left off with some characters dealing with the aftermath of the Ro invasion of Ranen, a few questing to find a temple to link an Old Blood to the gods and another group slowly working their way trying to kill off the main villains, the so called Seven Sisters. These three groups remain more or less distinct through the story, but the characters within each of the groups coalesce more. You can feel that there is definitely a build towards a climactic finale.
If I have one complaint about this series, it is that the pacing can sometimes feel a little bit off. There is a rush to complete things - Ras Jas Rhami's effortless hunting of the Seven Sisters can feel a bit too godlike at times and the sense of peril is lost. Fortunately this book corrects this and adds some significant challenges for our heroes, although it does still feel abrupt at times.
Overall, an enjoyable read. The darkness that permeates the story is nice, and it is well balanced with the humour and easy going dialogue of the main characters. Definitely curious to see how this series ends as it seems to be going from strength to strength.
August 7, 2019
I have to change my review to Five Stars.
Why?
Because 2 weeks after I finished it, it still haunts my dreams. Well not really, but there have been numerous times where I am just going about my business, and all of a sudden....BAM!....some memory of the book finds its way into my mind, firmly implanting itself at the front of my head, and making it impossible to function as a human being.
Original Review:
In book 1 I realised that main characters do die, often in brutal and violent ways. So it should not come as a surprise when the same thing happens here in Book 3. Yet it stills leaves me utterly shocked and reeling. Bravo.
Can't wait for book 4.
Why?
Because 2 weeks after I finished it, it still haunts my dreams. Well not really, but there have been numerous times where I am just going about my business, and all of a sudden....BAM!....some memory of the book finds its way into my mind, firmly implanting itself at the front of my head, and making it impossible to function as a human being.
Original Review:
In book 1 I realised that main characters do die, often in brutal and violent ways. So it should not come as a surprise when the same thing happens here in Book 3. Yet it stills leaves me utterly shocked and reeling. Bravo.
Can't wait for book 4.
October 2, 2015
I find that this reminds me more of steven eriksons malazan series than game of thrones myself. Where can I even begin reviewing this? Smith kept me guessing where the plot would go till the end and shocked me quite a bit with his twists and turns in the story. I would have liked a little synopsis just to remind me where all the characters were up to but I did get it soon enough. Definitely looking forward to book four and maybe beyond?
June 13, 2017
Great third book! Look forward to book four!
April 5, 2016
There is nothing that I don't like about this book, just too short.
September 27, 2018
This book is amazing! Great third installment to the Long War. For every novels I’ve read, there were always a group of characters I favored more than others and The Red Prince are no different. With so many great characters there are a few I followed closely, and boy oh boy! A.J. Smith, you kept me on the edge of my comfortable seat! Not knowing where the plots will take me I bravely followed the mystery, intrigue and unexpected series of events. Excellent!
December 18, 2017
Excellent! Great Characters (even when they die, you have the feeling that you haven't seen the last of them)! Most amusing minor character: Lord Mud (Vladimir Corkorson). Pull the "cork" from the bottle. The tension mounts - and, poor Randall is left hanging.
March 28, 2020
For f@%s sake, now I know what happened to Bromvy! Lmao!!
Great installment to the series.
Side wars beginning and ending, people dying that you wouldn't think would die but have to because it keeps it realistic.
Realistic.
Even though there are trolls, giant spiders, shapeshifters, enchantress'..etc..etc., they are dying. The characters get drunk, make mistakes, get hurt, go mad. Realistic
I love that.
But my gosh, who else are you going to kill off?!
Great installment to the series.
Side wars beginning and ending, people dying that you wouldn't think would die but have to because it keeps it realistic.
Realistic.
Even though there are trolls, giant spiders, shapeshifters, enchantress'..etc..etc., they are dying. The characters get drunk, make mistakes, get hurt, go mad. Realistic
I love that.
But my gosh, who else are you going to kill off?!
September 14, 2018
An absolutely brilliant follow up to the second book (which was building up to several events in this one). I simply couldn't put it down most of the time. At others, I did, only to digest and savor the unexpected plot twists. There were more fascinating novel fantasy elements - something of a surprise considering it's the third book in the series and by now the reader knows fairly well what to expect. The battle and fight sequences were impeccably described, leading to an appreciation of military tactics. I only wish that some of it had been distributed into the second book, to make it a bit more eventful. New characters and old come together beautifully to weave a fascinating tale from different points of view. Can't wait to read the next book.
February 10, 2016
A solid third entry and very well done. This keeps getting better and better. But wait, we have to wait for book four! Oh for the love of man, please get the fourth book published.
After being able to read all three books, it is a little disappointing that we have to wait for the fourth book. No one's fault really. I enjoyed all three books and I am just frustrated that there is another book in my list to wait for!!!
Great set of three books, read them, you will enjoy them.
After being able to read all three books, it is a little disappointing that we have to wait for the fourth book. No one's fault really. I enjoyed all three books and I am just frustrated that there is another book in my list to wait for!!!
Great set of three books, read them, you will enjoy them.
May 21, 2016
A fantasy that grows on you
After a slow start this novel grows on you to the point where you cannot wait to find out what happens. So much so that my first task upon completing the novel was to buy the next volume in the series. A great recommendation.
After a slow start this novel grows on you to the point where you cannot wait to find out what happens. So much so that my first task upon completing the novel was to buy the next volume in the series. A great recommendation.
November 11, 2019
i swear the epilogue and the death of so many of my favourite characters are ruining me.
September 25, 2019
It's been a while since I finished the second book in this series. I remember my review of it being pretty positive, and I remember finishing it looking forward to what happened next. Which turned out to be... well, we'll get to that in a bit.
I'll start with what I liked. The world has potential. There's a lot of interesting things here. Giant gods, a race of talking, shape-shifting giant spiders, that sort of thing. The parts of the story revolving around Rham Jas' quest to kill the seven sisters were generally the most engaging parts of the story, and those I enjoyed the most. Ruth was an interesting character, being one of the aforementioned shape-shifting giant spiders, although she didn't really do all that much for most of the story. And the character of Fynius became my favourite as soon as he showed up. He's great.
As for what I didn't like, well, for a start, there's loads of characters, and it's hard to keep track of them all. A story with loads of characters can work if they are all kept distinct enough, but it's a challenge even for a master storyteller. Aside from Ruth and Fynius, everyone seems to have the same, very abrasive personality. Half the plot is just two groups of people meeting, swearing and threatening each other and maybe getting into a brawl. The rest is lots of battles. Usually I love a good fight scene, and a few here are solidly written, but as in previous books, the characters are usually very overpowered and there's no stakes as they tend to win with ease. They also have the same issue as the later 'Traitor Son' books. Battles are constantly happening all over the place involving lots and lots of characters I've forgotten and it all gets quite numbing after a while.
The one exception to that is
There is the skeleton of a good book here, and had a few of the characters and plotlines been cut, I would probably have liked it a lot more. I will be reading the last book in the series, because if I've already read three I might as well finish it, and also I've already bought it, and it would be a shame to just leave it gathering dust on the shelf.
I'll start with what I liked. The world has potential. There's a lot of interesting things here. Giant gods, a race of talking, shape-shifting giant spiders, that sort of thing. The parts of the story revolving around Rham Jas' quest to kill the seven sisters were generally the most engaging parts of the story, and those I enjoyed the most. Ruth was an interesting character, being one of the aforementioned shape-shifting giant spiders, although she didn't really do all that much for most of the story. And the character of Fynius became my favourite as soon as he showed up. He's great.
As for what I didn't like, well, for a start, there's loads of characters, and it's hard to keep track of them all. A story with loads of characters can work if they are all kept distinct enough, but it's a challenge even for a master storyteller. Aside from Ruth and Fynius, everyone seems to have the same, very abrasive personality. Half the plot is just two groups of people meeting, swearing and threatening each other and maybe getting into a brawl. The rest is lots of battles. Usually I love a good fight scene, and a few here are solidly written, but as in previous books, the characters are usually very overpowered and there's no stakes as they tend to win with ease. They also have the same issue as the later 'Traitor Son' books. Battles are constantly happening all over the place involving lots and lots of characters I've forgotten and it all gets quite numbing after a while.
The one exception to that is
There is the skeleton of a good book here, and had a few of the characters and plotlines been cut, I would probably have liked it a lot more. I will be reading the last book in the series, because if I've already read three I might as well finish it, and also I've already bought it, and it would be a shame to just leave it gathering dust on the shelf.
December 8, 2019
The Long War waged by the followers of the mighty Giants continues. The dogmatic Knights of Ro continue to be be deceived by the powerful Enchantresses, but resistance continues; while up in the northern wastes of Fjorlan, the followers of the Ice Giant, Rowanoco, are rallying against the betrayal they've endured. In the midst of it all, a group on unlikely heroes- an albino cleric, a dokkalfar shape-shifting elder, a rebellious wind-claw and a Kirin dark-blood continue to defy the odds as they aim to undermine the Enchantresses before they succeed in bringing back the Forest Giant of blood and pleasure.
"The Red Prince" reads a lot like "The Empire strikes back". It's a book where things tend to go awry, as Smith isn't afraid to set up characters for failure. There are some amazing reversals, as well, where heroes triumph against adversity; and, once again, Smith is really good at invoking the feeling of epic clashes with only a few pages of description. There's an elegant economy to his descriptive writing that I appreciate more than the descriptive bloat some other authors can be prone to.
The story continues jumping around the 3 continents as it follows the disparate heroes involved in the struggle against the Karessian Enchantresses and their dark god. There's a certain degree of drama as plans go awry (as foreshadowed in earlier books), and there's a degree of predictability here that was a bit annoying. Also, one of the character deaths felt like it came a bit out of nowhere, and I'm not sure if that was the best way to handle that. Overall, though, the story continues to be entertaining, and there's a few hooks hinting at a pretty spectacular potential conclusion, so I'm eager to check out the last book.
"The Red Prince" reads a lot like "The Empire strikes back". It's a book where things tend to go awry, as Smith isn't afraid to set up characters for failure. There are some amazing reversals, as well, where heroes triumph against adversity; and, once again, Smith is really good at invoking the feeling of epic clashes with only a few pages of description. There's an elegant economy to his descriptive writing that I appreciate more than the descriptive bloat some other authors can be prone to.
The story continues jumping around the 3 continents as it follows the disparate heroes involved in the struggle against the Karessian Enchantresses and their dark god. There's a certain degree of drama as plans go awry (as foreshadowed in earlier books), and there's a degree of predictability here that was a bit annoying. Also, one of the character deaths felt like it came a bit out of nowhere, and I'm not sure if that was the best way to handle that. Overall, though, the story continues to be entertaining, and there's a few hooks hinting at a pretty spectacular potential conclusion, so I'm eager to check out the last book.
October 12, 2018
This series really has been getting better and better with each book, this is certainly the best of them so far. All the world building early on has paid off and led to this entry in the series which has done a fantastic job of setting us up for the final book!
Smith has done a good job of pacing this book in particular, it is fairly rapid but never rushed, there are battles, betrayals and beats galore to keep you entertained along with a number cliffhangers!
Looking forward to the final showdown!
Smith has done a good job of pacing this book in particular, it is fairly rapid but never rushed, there are battles, betrayals and beats galore to keep you entertained along with a number cliffhangers!
Looking forward to the final showdown!
January 9, 2024
It's rather disappointing, They keep comparing this series to GRRM meets Lovecraft and it's nothing like that.
The characters have little depth except 1
So many unbelievable scenarios of rescue
The magic is wishy-washy
The politics are not even there
The horror is absent.
The only redeeming quality is that it hasn't bored me enou6not to finish it and I have nothing good to read these days
The characters have little depth except 1
So many unbelievable scenarios of rescue
The magic is wishy-washy
The politics are not even there
The horror is absent.
The only redeeming quality is that it hasn't bored me enou6not to finish it and I have nothing good to read these days
August 10, 2017
it took me about 3 months to get through this book. I wanted to like it more but all the main characters get killed off, new brought in and I just wasn't very interested in them. it seems like a transitional book for the story.
January 4, 2021
It's hard to put into words how I enjoyed this book. It was so hard to put down and I found myself constantly looking for an excuse to go read to find out what happens next. So much has happened and I love the introduction of The red prince and Gwen, both are great characters!
May 5, 2017
Enchanting progression, you'll be glued to the characters and plot closely. It is immersion at its best.
August 28, 2017
Up there with the best
One not to put down and no padding some books have.
I would rate this series as up there with the best of them
One not to put down and no padding some books have.
I would rate this series as up there with the best of them
January 27, 2020
Brilliant 3rd book in the series, introducng some interesting new characters, developing the key story arc further and leaving you wanting more. Already started book 4!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews