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The Book of Deacon #0.5
The Rise of the Red Shadow
Every story must begin somewhere. For the warrior who would come to be known as the fearsome Red Shadow, the story began in a forgotten glade deep in the land of Tressor. It was there that a pair of trackers, eager to retrieve a lost slave, instead found an orphaned malthrope. Had it been a human, it might have been treated with compassion, but in the eyes of human society a malthrope was a monster, a mix of fox and man believed to be a murderer and thief by its very nature. The beast was to be sold for a handful of silver, but fate intervened in the form of an old blind slave named Ben. Under the learned hand of the one human who believed in his potential, the young malthrope would instead be given the wisdom to take his first steps on the long journey to his destiny.
The Rise of the Red Shadow chronicles the early life of one of the most mysterious figures of the Book of Deacon trilogy, the creature called Lain. It tells of his years working and learning on a Tresson plantation until a dark day of vengeance and bloodshed finally set him free. From there you will follow as he finds his place in the world, learning what it is to be a malthrope, and turning to the purpose that will guide him for the rest of his days. It is a story of love, hate, and lessons hard-learned, revealing the painful choices one must make to become the hero the world needs.
The Rise of the Red Shadow chronicles the early life of one of the most mysterious figures of the Book of Deacon trilogy, the creature called Lain. It tells of his years working and learning on a Tresson plantation until a dark day of vengeance and bloodshed finally set him free. From there you will follow as he finds his place in the world, learning what it is to be a malthrope, and turning to the purpose that will guide him for the rest of his days. It is a story of love, hate, and lessons hard-learned, revealing the painful choices one must make to become the hero the world needs.
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First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
September 29, 2013
For someone that read and really enjoyed "The Deacon Trilogy" it was like stumbling upon a treasure when I found this book. Leo, Lain, Red Shadow or what ever you want to call him was my favorite character in these books. I'll start with this, you don't have to read "The Deacon Trilogy" first to enjoy this book. But than again I'm pretty sure that is how prequel work anyway.
I have to admit that though I loved the trilogy, the main reason I keep reading was because of Lain. Something about him just caught my attention and just never let go. I will also say that I might be just a tad bias in this review. I just really love Lain, you don't come across a character like him very often.
I liked the way we were able to follow him literally from the very beginning of his life. How we are there from every single thing that happens. You see why he is the way he turned out to be in the Trilogy, how if maybe under different circumstances he would have been something completely different. If I had to pick one word to describe his life it would be sad, and than I would cheat and add very, very sad. I'll agree with another reviewer that said she would have liked to see Myranda through his eyes and to hear his thoughts about her.
The story itself was really amazing, being able to see how the legend was formed was great. I like how it would fold in on itself at times and bring back certain things. Since I had no clue of the depth of his history I wouldn't even begin to guess at what would have happened. On top of that I was still really surprised by the ending.
Now what I would like even more was more books with him being the main character, but that is just me being greedy cause I know its not something that could easily happen or really happen at all.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, read The Deacon Trilogy first or this one it doesn't matter, but this is one you really don't want to pass up.
http://zephyrbookreviews.blogspot.com/
I have to admit that though I loved the trilogy, the main reason I keep reading was because of Lain. Something about him just caught my attention and just never let go. I will also say that I might be just a tad bias in this review. I just really love Lain, you don't come across a character like him very often.
I liked the way we were able to follow him literally from the very beginning of his life. How we are there from every single thing that happens. You see why he is the way he turned out to be in the Trilogy, how if maybe under different circumstances he would have been something completely different. If I had to pick one word to describe his life it would be sad, and than I would cheat and add very, very sad. I'll agree with another reviewer that said she would have liked to see Myranda through his eyes and to hear his thoughts about her.
The story itself was really amazing, being able to see how the legend was formed was great. I like how it would fold in on itself at times and bring back certain things. Since I had no clue of the depth of his history I wouldn't even begin to guess at what would have happened. On top of that I was still really surprised by the ending.
Now what I would like even more was more books with him being the main character, but that is just me being greedy cause I know its not something that could easily happen or really happen at all.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, read The Deacon Trilogy first or this one it doesn't matter, but this is one you really don't want to pass up.
http://zephyrbookreviews.blogspot.com/
March 13, 2022
Spoiler-Free Review:
The Rise of the Red Shadow is an epic fantasy. The world and character creation is thorough, deep and vivid. I felt like I was living there. I felt sympathy and curiosity as I read along and was taken on this coming of life journey.
I really connected with Ben and the Red Shadow. Ben is very wise and every decision he makes was done for the betterment of others, especially for the malthrope. This type of selflessness is so powerful that it is this lesson that leads Lain in his second half of his life.
I have not read The Book of Deacon trilogy that this is the prequel for, but was not a single bit lost in this story. If you haven’t read the trilogy yet (links below) I would say reading this first is not going to ruin anything but is a good place to start even though it was not released in that manner.
I am a fan of this genre and enjoy the way a good epic fantasy is written...
Full review here: http://bookcrush.in/reviews/blog-tour...
I was given an eARC to read and review for the author's blog tour. All my opinions are my own and were not purchased or give in exchange for anything.
The Rise of the Red Shadow is an epic fantasy. The world and character creation is thorough, deep and vivid. I felt like I was living there. I felt sympathy and curiosity as I read along and was taken on this coming of life journey.
I really connected with Ben and the Red Shadow. Ben is very wise and every decision he makes was done for the betterment of others, especially for the malthrope. This type of selflessness is so powerful that it is this lesson that leads Lain in his second half of his life.
I have not read The Book of Deacon trilogy that this is the prequel for, but was not a single bit lost in this story. If you haven’t read the trilogy yet (links below) I would say reading this first is not going to ruin anything but is a good place to start even though it was not released in that manner.
I am a fan of this genre and enjoy the way a good epic fantasy is written...
Full review here: http://bookcrush.in/reviews/blog-tour...
I was given an eARC to read and review for the author's blog tour. All my opinions are my own and were not purchased or give in exchange for anything.
January 30, 2019
The Rise of the Red Shadow is all about Lain, the mysterious malthrope from The Book of Deacon. What a treat! Lain is one of my favorite characters. Now, we can finally delve into his secret past that made him an assassin and led him to become a reluctant hero.
Lallo did a wonderful job of character development. This book begins with Lain as a mere toddler and tells how he became a slave, how he got his freedom, then how he became an assassin. Lain went through many changes in his life between living amongst those who despised him for what he was, to finding someone who taught him to be what he was, to living and training with those who didn't care about what he was, to discovering who he truly is.
Lain faced many trials and there was a lot of heartache. Even though I knew who he would eventually become, from The Book of Deacon, I had trouble setting this book down. I wanted to find out what he would do next!
Even though The Rise of the Red Shadow is about a character from The Book of Deacon, it can be read first or alone.
I highly recommend this to those who enjoy epic fantasy, assassins, and characters who are morally gray.
Lallo did a wonderful job of character development. This book begins with Lain as a mere toddler and tells how he became a slave, how he got his freedom, then how he became an assassin. Lain went through many changes in his life between living amongst those who despised him for what he was, to finding someone who taught him to be what he was, to living and training with those who didn't care about what he was, to discovering who he truly is.
Lain faced many trials and there was a lot of heartache. Even though I knew who he would eventually become, from The Book of Deacon, I had trouble setting this book down. I wanted to find out what he would do next!
Even though The Rise of the Red Shadow is about a character from The Book of Deacon, it can be read first or alone.
I highly recommend this to those who enjoy epic fantasy, assassins, and characters who are morally gray.
September 18, 2015
This has by far one of the best character developments I have ever had the pleasure to read. We are all different people during our lives and those that we were are what makes who we are today. The dramatic shifts from Mally (insult) to Red Shadow (insult) to Teyn to Shadow through Leo to Lain to Red Shadow (by choice) to Teyn to Red Shadow is so well done that the telling is enhanced seamlessly until you suddenly realize what just happened several pages ago. Joseph Lallo has become a favorite author to me recently; and this rendering is one of the best I have ever read.
February 1, 2018
Picked this one up on a whim based on the cover, incredibly glad that I did. Rarely does any book manage to make me feel such heartbreak like this one did, not once or twice, but three whole times. The details of the world and characters are great, the characters believable and easy to either route for or boo against. The last 20 pages had me pacing in anxiety regarding how it would turn out.
Highly recommend, and I can't wait to continue on with the Deacon series proper!
Highly recommend, and I can't wait to continue on with the Deacon series proper!
February 11, 2019
At the time of writing this is the very first book in the 'Book of Deacon' series, and what a book.
Essentially, it's just an introduction to one of the series' main characters, Lain, aka, The Red Shadow.
Lain is a kind of human/fox hybrid creature known as a Malthrope: which is where all his problems begin. Malthropes are feared, hated, despised, distrusted and hunted to near extinction by almost everyone, and it's only by pure chance that Lain is not killed when he is captured as a kit after his mother is killed. But it's a chance with a slight problem: he's being kept alive as a slave until he's big enough for his tail to reach to the required length for his owner to claim the bounty on it. And if that's not enough, as a slave he is forced to work with the other slaves who all hate, distrust and despise him and are more than eager to let him know -- apart from one old blind slave who seems to have different ideas about him.
Although this is only an introduction to Lain, it's over 400 pages long and is a complete story in its own right; so if all you want is a taster for the rest of the series, it's a great book to taste.
Action packed, lots of other great characters coming in and out of the story, twists and turns, engrossing, enjoyable. Lain is a character you really want to root for.
This book can also be found in 'The Book of Deacon Anthology'.
Essentially, it's just an introduction to one of the series' main characters, Lain, aka, The Red Shadow.
Lain is a kind of human/fox hybrid creature known as a Malthrope: which is where all his problems begin. Malthropes are feared, hated, despised, distrusted and hunted to near extinction by almost everyone, and it's only by pure chance that Lain is not killed when he is captured as a kit after his mother is killed. But it's a chance with a slight problem: he's being kept alive as a slave until he's big enough for his tail to reach to the required length for his owner to claim the bounty on it. And if that's not enough, as a slave he is forced to work with the other slaves who all hate, distrust and despise him and are more than eager to let him know -- apart from one old blind slave who seems to have different ideas about him.
Although this is only an introduction to Lain, it's over 400 pages long and is a complete story in its own right; so if all you want is a taster for the rest of the series, it's a great book to taste.
Action packed, lots of other great characters coming in and out of the story, twists and turns, engrossing, enjoyable. Lain is a character you really want to root for.
This book can also be found in 'The Book of Deacon Anthology'.
June 26, 2017
This book gives great insight to the mysterious Lain (or Leo) (or the Red Shadow) from the Book of Deacon Anthology (series). This is a dark but page-turning read. The main character, Lain, was one of the most mysterious and also pivotal characters in the Book of Deacon series and I greatly enjoyed reading more about him. It was especially interesting since his character is from a species I personally have never read about before (and could be one of Lallo's own creations). I actually prefer reading this spinoff series over the main series. Hands down. In my opinion, it must be difficult to fill in the gaps in a prequel story since essentially you know where the character ends up and the end result of his character development; however Lallo achieves it easily. The story is captivating in a dark and foreboding way since you know Lain has had great suffering in his past, which causes you to end up reading anxiously, waiting for the catalyst to spring that will drive Lain to commit the atrocities he gets his nickname (the Red Shadow) from. Along the journey, however, you do pleasantly get a glimpse into where he learns his compassion and loyalty. Overall, I was pleasantly pleased with reading this book, and look forward to more about this complex and mysterious character in Lallo's world.
February 20, 2017
Out of all the Deacon novels, this sits as a firm favourite. The red shadow was always one of the more interesting characters in the main quest line of the trilogy and so to have an entire novel dedicated to exploring his background is a joy to behold.
The character development is wonderful, taking you from a lost and bewildered pub to a hated slave to a monster, an assassin, a friend and a master. It's cleverly done and builds through to the character that is such a masterpiece in the epic fantasy.
Throughout characters are introduced and drawn upon, some already familiar from the main trilogy, others new and players solely in the red shadows tale. All are depicted well with none of the two dimensional characterisation that was prevalent in the first trilogy book.
Truly, even if you have no interest in reading the main series, this is more than worth reading.
The character development is wonderful, taking you from a lost and bewildered pub to a hated slave to a monster, an assassin, a friend and a master. It's cleverly done and builds through to the character that is such a masterpiece in the epic fantasy.
Throughout characters are introduced and drawn upon, some already familiar from the main trilogy, others new and players solely in the red shadows tale. All are depicted well with none of the two dimensional characterisation that was prevalent in the first trilogy book.
Truly, even if you have no interest in reading the main series, this is more than worth reading.
March 24, 2017
Explains so much
I thoroughly enjoyed this side novel to the Book of Deacon series, which explains how Leo/Lain became who he is. However, unlike the first book in the series, which was almost without typographical errors, I was driven almost to distraction by the frequent missing words. A simple reading of the manuscript before publication would have caught most of these errors. When I come upon a missing word in text it brings me to a complete stop. I have to pause and figure out what the author meant to say before I can continue. So frustrating! Otherwise, five stars for story content. One star for quality control, but at least there were no typos.
I thoroughly enjoyed this side novel to the Book of Deacon series, which explains how Leo/Lain became who he is. However, unlike the first book in the series, which was almost without typographical errors, I was driven almost to distraction by the frequent missing words. A simple reading of the manuscript before publication would have caught most of these errors. When I come upon a missing word in text it brings me to a complete stop. I have to pause and figure out what the author meant to say before I can continue. So frustrating! Otherwise, five stars for story content. One star for quality control, but at least there were no typos.
October 3, 2025
I read this book some years ago as a teen(? Early twenties?), and remember reaching out to the author over email. Wouldn’t you know it - he wrote back and was so incredibly kind.
He told me that he had been afraid of revisiting Lain for fear of ruining him for fans (impossible). This book did nothing but make my heart break for him even more.
One of my favorite series that I need to revisit ASAP.
He told me that he had been afraid of revisiting Lain for fear of ruining him for fans (impossible). This book did nothing but make my heart break for him even more.
One of my favorite series that I need to revisit ASAP.
October 26, 2018
Great addition
The book of Devon had me hooked on The series from day one. This book answers many of the unanswered questions about lain. It also had a surprise ending i never expected given the series. Great writing with an engaging story line
The book of Devon had me hooked on The series from day one. This book answers many of the unanswered questions about lain. It also had a surprise ending i never expected given the series. Great writing with an engaging story line
January 21, 2023
I read this as part of the single download of the Book of Deacon Anthology. It was a great story, especially to understand Lain's background.
Unfortunately, proofreading (or lack of) let it down, so only 3 stars
Unfortunately, proofreading (or lack of) let it down, so only 3 stars
November 10, 2017
Lain’s life is sad. He becomes a hero in another book, but this one draws out the struggle in developing that character. 4/5
March 29, 2018
Great book!
It was nice to finally find the background to lain. I loved the book of deacon trilogy and it was great to get a history of sorts. 5 stars!
It was nice to finally find the background to lain. I loved the book of deacon trilogy and it was great to get a history of sorts. 5 stars!
October 21, 2018
Enjoyed all the books of the Book of Deacon series. Well written, fast paced and just intriguing.
September 3, 2019
Fantastic Read!!
This was as fascinating background story! Joseph Lallo is a master story teller. I highly recommend this book as well as the Book of Deacon and Big Sigma series.
This was as fascinating background story! Joseph Lallo is a master story teller. I highly recommend this book as well as the Book of Deacon and Big Sigma series.
December 23, 2025
Review to follow
March 7, 2017
Awesome bro
Malthropes are so awesome especially since Teyn is the Red Shadow assassin this is one of my favorite books series.
:)
Malthropes are so awesome especially since Teyn is the Red Shadow assassin this is one of my favorite books series.
:)
April 12, 2018
This story should have been the first in a set of four books rather than a prequel. I loved the Deacon series, some of the best literature I've read, and the Rise of Red was equally thrilling. Read it first, then the other three!
July 10, 2015
I really, really liked this book.
I already was quite fascinated by the ''The Book of Deacon'' trilogy, and I found the character of Lain far too interesting to restrain him to that. Luckily, Mr Lallo seems to share that opinion.
For everyone who already read the trilogy: whether you like Lain or not, read this book. If you like him, do it because it gives you an idea what was going on behind that furry forehead all the time, and if you don't, do it because this book will give you an entirely different perspective on the Red Shadow and how he became what he was.
And for everyone who hasn't read the trilogy yet: still read this book. Joseph Lallo creates a realistic, yet fantastical world of his own. Two countries, torn by war, racism, slavery and the bitter fight for survival mainly setting the tone, it still lacks the exhausting feeling of ''two more pages and I'll hang myself'' caused by the need of some other authors to infinitely prolong the suffering of their protagonists. Fantastical creatures and locations in a medieval, racist and hypocrite society, love, friendship, challenges and a more than compelling character development make this book worth its time - which shouldn't be too much, as this is a story you can't just push aside. You have to read on, just one more paragraph, the next page, to the next chapter... exactly what defines a good book for me.
Mr Lallo, it should be clear by now that I absolutely fell in love with ''The Rise of the Red Shadow'', and I indefinitely thank you for casting some light on my favourite character's history and character - although I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that it didn't introduce Desmeres, as I would have loved to know how they met. I don't know if you plan on writing more books set in this universe, but if you will, my top two topic suggestions would be Desmeres and Entwell, as I think both add a very special charme to the stories which I'd like to experience some more
I already was quite fascinated by the ''The Book of Deacon'' trilogy, and I found the character of Lain far too interesting to restrain him to that. Luckily, Mr Lallo seems to share that opinion.
For everyone who already read the trilogy: whether you like Lain or not, read this book. If you like him, do it because it gives you an idea what was going on behind that furry forehead all the time, and if you don't, do it because this book will give you an entirely different perspective on the Red Shadow and how he became what he was.
And for everyone who hasn't read the trilogy yet: still read this book. Joseph Lallo creates a realistic, yet fantastical world of his own. Two countries, torn by war, racism, slavery and the bitter fight for survival mainly setting the tone, it still lacks the exhausting feeling of ''two more pages and I'll hang myself'' caused by the need of some other authors to infinitely prolong the suffering of their protagonists. Fantastical creatures and locations in a medieval, racist and hypocrite society, love, friendship, challenges and a more than compelling character development make this book worth its time - which shouldn't be too much, as this is a story you can't just push aside. You have to read on, just one more paragraph, the next page, to the next chapter... exactly what defines a good book for me.
Mr Lallo, it should be clear by now that I absolutely fell in love with ''The Rise of the Red Shadow'', and I indefinitely thank you for casting some light on my favourite character's history and character - although I have to admit I was a bit disappointed that it didn't introduce Desmeres, as I would have loved to know how they met. I don't know if you plan on writing more books set in this universe, but if you will, my top two topic suggestions would be Desmeres and Entwell, as I think both add a very special charme to the stories which I'd like to experience some more
February 22, 2014
This review is for the Kindle edition ebook.
The prequel to “The Book Of Deacon” series, this explains how the character known as Lain evolved.
The Red Shadow becomes one of the heroes of the trilogy. This is the story of how a hero evolved from a young infant to full-grown warrior. As mysterious as Lain is in the Book Of Deacon, his life is filled with disappointment and longing.
I was taken up by the emotion shown throughout this story. The author does an excellent job of showing how suffering and sorrow could be used for good instead of evil. Although the Red Shadow could have remained a vicious beast and killer, he evolves through the story told by Joseph Lallo into a hero.
As one of the heroes in the trilogy, Lain remained one of the most elusive and mysterious characters. This book nicely explains how and why he is so mysterious. It also gives the reader a glimpse into how much sorrow and pain this hero overcame throughout his lifetime.
Any of us that read the trilogy should grab this one. If you have not read the Book Of Deacon trilogy, you can decide whether to read this first or start right into the trilogy. This book does stand on its own. I have read several of Joseph Lallo's books, and enjoyed every one of them. I look forward to more great works from this author.
The prequel to “The Book Of Deacon” series, this explains how the character known as Lain evolved.
The Red Shadow becomes one of the heroes of the trilogy. This is the story of how a hero evolved from a young infant to full-grown warrior. As mysterious as Lain is in the Book Of Deacon, his life is filled with disappointment and longing.
I was taken up by the emotion shown throughout this story. The author does an excellent job of showing how suffering and sorrow could be used for good instead of evil. Although the Red Shadow could have remained a vicious beast and killer, he evolves through the story told by Joseph Lallo into a hero.
As one of the heroes in the trilogy, Lain remained one of the most elusive and mysterious characters. This book nicely explains how and why he is so mysterious. It also gives the reader a glimpse into how much sorrow and pain this hero overcame throughout his lifetime.
Any of us that read the trilogy should grab this one. If you have not read the Book Of Deacon trilogy, you can decide whether to read this first or start right into the trilogy. This book does stand on its own. I have read several of Joseph Lallo's books, and enjoyed every one of them. I look forward to more great works from this author.
April 10, 2015
I decided to read this prequel after the first book in the series (Book of Deacon) and before moving on to the rest (a tactic I highly recommend). The creature called a malthrope in this series really interested me, and Shadow/Lain's character the most of the Book of Deacon, so I couldn't wait for this.
While the Book of Deacon really was interesting and got you invested in the world, this is the book that got you invested in the characters. I cried at the beginning, the image of the baby Shadow really tore at me. You might see some things coming in this book, but you are so emotionally invested you don't mind at all. This book was much subtler than the first book, a lot better dialogue and leading the reader to what they need to know, some things which I wished I knew for certain (having to do with a lady malthrope) are left to the imagination, with enough hints that you know what probably happened, and can guess, though you won't (at least for now) know for sure.
Warning, a lot of slicing and dicing in this one, and pretty much a string of bad characters, it's hardly as nice as the first book, but gives a real and decently gritty look at things like how humans treat one another and those they think are less than human. Read this book even if you don't read any of the others in the series.
While the Book of Deacon really was interesting and got you invested in the world, this is the book that got you invested in the characters. I cried at the beginning, the image of the baby Shadow really tore at me. You might see some things coming in this book, but you are so emotionally invested you don't mind at all. This book was much subtler than the first book, a lot better dialogue and leading the reader to what they need to know, some things which I wished I knew for certain (having to do with a lady malthrope) are left to the imagination, with enough hints that you know what probably happened, and can guess, though you won't (at least for now) know for sure.
Warning, a lot of slicing and dicing in this one, and pretty much a string of bad characters, it's hardly as nice as the first book, but gives a real and decently gritty look at things like how humans treat one another and those they think are less than human. Read this book even if you don't read any of the others in the series.
August 5, 2013
So. I won an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) from Jo Lallo, and read the book eagerly because I couldn't wait any longer. After reading all the series twice, I was excited to read more about one of my favorite characters, LAIN.
I found TROTRS really, really exciting, entertaining to read, simply amazing. I loved the lack of monotony: There is always something new, a twist that avoids the book becoming predictable.
Jo's writing style is very rich and it flows, I appreciate that. You can never get bored with this book, in fact, you can not even PUT IT DOWN.
Even though there are some sad parts, the style allows you to feel what the characters feel, suffer and enjoy with them. Not many authors can make you feel that, Congrats to Joseph Lallo on that.
I reccommend this book to anyone. I actually recommend all books by this author very highly. He has made my top authors list very quickly.
I found TROTRS really, really exciting, entertaining to read, simply amazing. I loved the lack of monotony: There is always something new, a twist that avoids the book becoming predictable.
Jo's writing style is very rich and it flows, I appreciate that. You can never get bored with this book, in fact, you can not even PUT IT DOWN.
Even though there are some sad parts, the style allows you to feel what the characters feel, suffer and enjoy with them. Not many authors can make you feel that, Congrats to Joseph Lallo on that.
I reccommend this book to anyone. I actually recommend all books by this author very highly. He has made my top authors list very quickly.
May 4, 2015
Last time I read this series I read The Rise of the Red Shadow after the trilogy, this time I’ve done it properly! I have to tell you, it was wonderful reading about the Red Shadow again, it’s like a tale that never grows old.
The Rise of the Red Shadow has a great balance between description and action. The pace is always moving forward and there’s always something new happening. Every event seems like a natural continuation rather than some other books were it’s quite unbelievable but you let it slip because it’s a fantasy novel. I really like that about the book because it makes it seem all the more realistic!
The character description is great, we actually know what everyone looks like (rather than a one off description we have to remember). Again, I like the way the author does this because he gives little descriptions of a specific point on the character every now and then when it’s relevant to the scene. I just hate it when you’re reading a book and you can’t even remember what colour hair the main character has! No such problem here
The Rise of the Red Shadow has a great balance between description and action. The pace is always moving forward and there’s always something new happening. Every event seems like a natural continuation rather than some other books were it’s quite unbelievable but you let it slip because it’s a fantasy novel. I really like that about the book because it makes it seem all the more realistic!
The character description is great, we actually know what everyone looks like (rather than a one off description we have to remember). Again, I like the way the author does this because he gives little descriptions of a specific point on the character every now and then when it’s relevant to the scene. I just hate it when you’re reading a book and you can’t even remember what colour hair the main character has! No such problem here
October 4, 2015
This was my favourite out of the other three Book of Deacon books, partly because it was about the most intriguing character, and that this character in this story felt more believable than the others in the other books, even Lain himself became more believable in this than the other books. The other characters of the main trilogy just felt a little too fake to me, and one was utterly annoying (Ether). This book was very satisfying, perhaps because he kind of reminds me of Aragorn from LoTR, and I wish there was a book like this about Aragorn's early life.
It also reminds me of a book that I read as a teen or preteen, while RV'ing in the Rockies with my parents and brother, it was called Hunter's Moon by Garry Kilworth. It was about foxes, though not Malthropes like Lain, but foxes that could talk, or maybe you could read their thoughts. I still have that book, I think I may re-read it after this series.
It also reminds me of a book that I read as a teen or preteen, while RV'ing in the Rockies with my parents and brother, it was called Hunter's Moon by Garry Kilworth. It was about foxes, though not Malthropes like Lain, but foxes that could talk, or maybe you could read their thoughts. I still have that book, I think I may re-read it after this series.
June 7, 2015
The best book in the series! That said I still recommend reading the Book of Deacon trilogy before you read this one, as you will already have a small connection to the main character of this book when you start. If you read this one first you might be sad this character is not the main character of that series.
The pace of this book is wonderful; providing plenty of character development and interactions while still having a good amount of action. The book provides some insight into the thoughts and motivations of the characters without dwelling on them.
Initially, upon finishing the book I thought, "but what about this and that from the Book of Deacon series which was not explained?" Five minutes later and I am glad that the author did not try to cram the full, extensive history of this character into one book. It leaves me with my imagination to fill in the rest.
The pace of this book is wonderful; providing plenty of character development and interactions while still having a good amount of action. The book provides some insight into the thoughts and motivations of the characters without dwelling on them.
Initially, upon finishing the book I thought, "but what about this and that from the Book of Deacon series which was not explained?" Five minutes later and I am glad that the author did not try to cram the full, extensive history of this character into one book. It leaves me with my imagination to fill in the rest.
September 18, 2015
Book #0.5 in the Book of Deacon
Now THIS is a story that i can sink my fangs into! If you ever wondered about the Red Shadow from the Book of Deacon trilogy, this is the book to read. I found it absolutely fascinating how well fleshed out of a background that Mr. Lallo made this character. His life is absolutely delightful, in that I suddenly understand more about him than I ever did in the books. I read this after the first three and even after the "fourth" book. I only wish there were more books about the "minor" characters in this story. If they are as strong as this one, I'd be all over reading them. The interesting thing about this book, is that to is incredible long for me to read, but it kept we enraptured right until the end. Awesome!
Four stars.
Now THIS is a story that i can sink my fangs into! If you ever wondered about the Red Shadow from the Book of Deacon trilogy, this is the book to read. I found it absolutely fascinating how well fleshed out of a background that Mr. Lallo made this character. His life is absolutely delightful, in that I suddenly understand more about him than I ever did in the books. I read this after the first three and even after the "fourth" book. I only wish there were more books about the "minor" characters in this story. If they are as strong as this one, I'd be all over reading them. The interesting thing about this book, is that to is incredible long for me to read, but it kept we enraptured right until the end. Awesome!
Four stars.
January 2, 2014
Wow, what a great prequel to the book of Deacon Trilogy. And even though it's a prequel, it can easily be read on its own. The book is a fantastic addition to the series and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. There's quite a few surprises in the book, which were interesting to find out about the Red Shadow. The only minor criticism I would have is about the battle with Duule, where Lain briefly gets captured - with him being a master assassin I wouldn't have expected him to be captured, but as I said, that's just a minor thing. Having read all the books, I do think the trilogy could easily be made into a movie version, it'd be amazing to watch.
August 13, 2013
Loved it!! Well written and was able to give prior insight for a character that is in the Book of Deacon series. What amazes me is the ability of the author to weave a story that continues to grow, expand, and still makes me want to read more! I thought after reading the original 3 books in the series that the story was complete. Yet, here is another offshoot, or prequel, that makes me want all characters fully explored and put into book form. If you are a Book of Deacon fan, you will not be disappointed!!
October 20, 2013
Easily my favorite book set in this world.
While i find that prequels are often difficult to read as you know certain things have to end up in a certain way this book was truly enjoyable and gave some great background information on one of the main characters in the trilogy. The book can easily stand on its own and was one of my favorite recent reads. I am hoping to see more works done in this setting.
While i find that prequels are often difficult to read as you know certain things have to end up in a certain way this book was truly enjoyable and gave some great background information on one of the main characters in the trilogy. The book can easily stand on its own and was one of my favorite recent reads. I am hoping to see more works done in this setting.
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