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Blood Brothers
Ostracized by society because of the birthmark that mars his face, Grillis Bloodborn has lived all of his short life in a cottage in the forest, cutting wood and tending pigs. Upon the death of his grandmother, the only family he has ever known, he sets out on a quest to find favor with the Gods for her soul. Grillis’s travels bring him to a city where a young trash-picker named Athemon has just begun to discover the power to punish the men who have made his life a hell. As fate draws the two youths together, they learn that payback comes with a price of its own. Meanwhile, in the depths of the unconquered wilderness a young mystic named Verlvik begins to experience a series of miracles and visions… and the visions lead toward Athemon.
- GenresFantasy
366 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 3, 2015
4.5, but I'll round it up to a 5
This book was a pleasure to read. Soriano's writing has a beautifully lyrical aspect to it. It occasionally borders on 'purple prose', but far more often simply engenders powerful and evocative imagery in the reader (or at least this reader). There are passages in this book that I would have loved even if completely disassociated from the strong story they were encompassed in.
As wonderful as the writing is, it was the characters that really drew me in. Grillis, Athemon and Verlvik are each marvellous in their own way. Each possesses an immense personal strength, while also displaying notable weaknesses. They balance each other in a truly meaningful way, even as they themselves are largely unaware of it. They each also managed to retain a certain childlike innocence even as they were forced to make decisions and act as adults.
Though the characters were human, pictsee and caprine there was a definite 'we're all the same, really' theme to the book that could easily be read as an anti-rascism allegory. This is always nice to see when not so heavy-handed as to overshadow the story. It wasn't here. It was just pleasant background noise.
Though it worked here, I always have a hard time engaging the flow of a story told from multiple POVs, even when consistently contained within their own chapters. I find it stutters a bit in my mind. (I'm not sure how else to describe it.) I also thought that the enemy to be overcome was a little flat. Sure, it was evil incarnate and all, but there was no sense of grey to give it any depth. While I had no trouble understanding why they needed to be defeated, I was given no real understanding of why they did what they did or how they'd become as evil as they were. They were a fairly cliché opponent. Lastly, the book is really quite violent and fairly gory. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is worth noting, especially since I think it will work well as an upper YA book.
Be that as it may, I still really quite enjoyed the book and will happily pick up more of Soriano's work in the future.
This book was a pleasure to read. Soriano's writing has a beautifully lyrical aspect to it. It occasionally borders on 'purple prose', but far more often simply engenders powerful and evocative imagery in the reader (or at least this reader). There are passages in this book that I would have loved even if completely disassociated from the strong story they were encompassed in.
As wonderful as the writing is, it was the characters that really drew me in. Grillis, Athemon and Verlvik are each marvellous in their own way. Each possesses an immense personal strength, while also displaying notable weaknesses. They balance each other in a truly meaningful way, even as they themselves are largely unaware of it. They each also managed to retain a certain childlike innocence even as they were forced to make decisions and act as adults.
Though the characters were human, pictsee and caprine there was a definite 'we're all the same, really' theme to the book that could easily be read as an anti-rascism allegory. This is always nice to see when not so heavy-handed as to overshadow the story. It wasn't here. It was just pleasant background noise.
Though it worked here, I always have a hard time engaging the flow of a story told from multiple POVs, even when consistently contained within their own chapters. I find it stutters a bit in my mind. (I'm not sure how else to describe it.) I also thought that the enemy to be overcome was a little flat. Sure, it was evil incarnate and all, but there was no sense of grey to give it any depth. While I had no trouble understanding why they needed to be defeated, I was given no real understanding of why they did what they did or how they'd become as evil as they were. They were a fairly cliché opponent. Lastly, the book is really quite violent and fairly gory. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but is worth noting, especially since I think it will work well as an upper YA book.
Be that as it may, I still really quite enjoyed the book and will happily pick up more of Soriano's work in the future.
August 19, 2014
I won a copy of Blood Brothers via - Goodreads First Reads - . It's been awhile since I've actually read off a real book (paperback) and not through my phone or tablet (Kindle e-book). Therefore it took me a bit longer to finally turn the last page. Especially since I do most of my reading at night. Yet on in a few occasions I found myself leaving the lights on in order to continue reading Blood Brothers by M.F. Soriano.
Page after page I found myself enjoying this great story of 3 very different characters.
I found myself rooting for Grillis. The big young woodcutter with a soft heart.
Athemom seems to be your typical nerd who got push too the limit.
Now Verlvik is a character I did not really enjoy and therefore found myself "speed reading" through the 1st few pages dedicated to him. Only with time did I finally find myself enjoying this little man and rooting for him as well!
Overall I enjoyed the book and would highly recommend this book to anyone out there that loves Fantasy books. Yet would like to try reading a book where Elves don't exist! Well at least not yet! lol
Page after page I found myself enjoying this great story of 3 very different characters.
I found myself rooting for Grillis. The big young woodcutter with a soft heart.
Athemom seems to be your typical nerd who got push too the limit.
Now Verlvik is a character I did not really enjoy and therefore found myself "speed reading" through the 1st few pages dedicated to him. Only with time did I finally find myself enjoying this little man and rooting for him as well!
Overall I enjoyed the book and would highly recommend this book to anyone out there that loves Fantasy books. Yet would like to try reading a book where Elves don't exist! Well at least not yet! lol
August 12, 2013
This is Soriano's first novel and it's pretty awesome if you're into action adventure fantasy/alternate world type stuff. The action begins right at the beginning and doesn't ever really let up. Battle scenes, conflagrations of fire, Carlos Castaneda type drug trips (haha not exactly but you'll have to read it to find out what I mean), jumping off waterfalls - that kind of action. Some people might not like that, but personally, I'm happy to skip overt preaching/philosophizing speeches that can invade some fantasy novels (Terry Goodkind, are you listening?).. and just stick with good old storytelling. Yes, there are some semi-political "messages" embedded in the storyline, but I find them benign and unobtrusive to my reading experience. Kudos to you, Marcos!
August 12, 2014
Firstly, I won Blood Brothers via a Goodreads Giveaway. And I received this book in record time! It included a personal note from the author which was much appreciated.
I'll be honest, I was hesitant about this book as I've had not-so-great experiences with self published books in the past. Boy, was I wrong! This was a story of 3 individuals, outcast from their societies for various reasons, who through chance and visions are brought together to face the world's dangers. Well written and well edited. Definitely well worth the read.
I look forward to book 2 of this series.
I'll be honest, I was hesitant about this book as I've had not-so-great experiences with self published books in the past. Boy, was I wrong! This was a story of 3 individuals, outcast from their societies for various reasons, who through chance and visions are brought together to face the world's dangers. Well written and well edited. Definitely well worth the read.
I look forward to book 2 of this series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews