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A Requiem for Heroes #1
What Remains of Heroes
Lannick deVeers used to be somebody. A hero, even. Then, he ran afoul of the kingdom’s most powerful general and the cost he paid was nearly too much to bear. In the years that followed, his grief turned him into a shadow of his former self, and he spent his days drowning his regrets in tankards of ale.
But now an unexpected encounter casts Lannick upon an unlikely path to revenge. If he can just find the strength to overcome the many mistakes of his past, he can seize the chance to become a hero once more.
And with an ancient enemy lurking at the kingdom’s doorstep, he’d better…
But now an unexpected encounter casts Lannick upon an unlikely path to revenge. If he can just find the strength to overcome the many mistakes of his past, he can seize the chance to become a hero once more.
And with an ancient enemy lurking at the kingdom’s doorstep, he’d better…
486 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2015
153 people are currently reading
994 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
May 2, 2016
This self-published fantasy story had an intriguing blurb that made it sound like it would be my sort of book. I love nothing more than an a good anti-hero story!
The basic story was quite intriguing. The followers of a long banished evil God are trying to release their master. It was the job of seven immortal sentinels and the god blessed Royal line to prevent such a happening. Unfortunately for the people of Rhune a glory hungry king in the distant past banished those 7 immortal sentinels after growing jealous of their status. In the modern day they are just legends. The Necrists, the disciples of the evil god, have grown powerful enough to finally make their move. They have powerful allies within the Rhune court as well as a new champion in the form of a foreign king. All of this comes at a bad time for Rhune as the last of the God blessed royal line has been ill for a while and has slipped into madness. Greedy factions within the kingdom see this as the perfect chance to put an end to the old traditions and see this as a chance to establish their own rights to rule. All of this leaves the fate of humanity in the hands of a handful of flawed characters.
Lannick deVeers - Once a war hero and member of a secret magical order, but now just a broken down drunk after being devastated by the brutal murder of his family a decade before.
Karnag - A killer for hire with little conscience and even less morals.
Fencress - A long time friend of Karnag's and part of his gang. She actually proved a more complex and interesting character than he did. She had a witty tongue, but was also quite ruthless!
Zandrachus Bale - A scholarly acolyte of the Sanctum of Illienne. He was a man plagued by fear, but tried to battle through it to complete his tasks.
There were a few other POV characters, but those were the most notable. Sadly, I never really connected with any of them. I felt like I should have as they all had their moments, but for some reason I just always felt like they remained a bit distant.
It was the same with both the writing and the story. They were not bad, but for some reason I always felt like they were lacking. It was quite frustrating as I felt like the building blocks for a good and engaging story were all present, but that there was just something lacking in the execution and that left me failing to connect or engage with the writing, characters, and story.
In the end this was a bit of a flop for me.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: I thought Andrew Tell did a decent job with the audiobook.
The basic story was quite intriguing. The followers of a long banished evil God are trying to release their master. It was the job of seven immortal sentinels and the god blessed Royal line to prevent such a happening. Unfortunately for the people of Rhune a glory hungry king in the distant past banished those 7 immortal sentinels after growing jealous of their status. In the modern day they are just legends. The Necrists, the disciples of the evil god, have grown powerful enough to finally make their move. They have powerful allies within the Rhune court as well as a new champion in the form of a foreign king. All of this comes at a bad time for Rhune as the last of the God blessed royal line has been ill for a while and has slipped into madness. Greedy factions within the kingdom see this as the perfect chance to put an end to the old traditions and see this as a chance to establish their own rights to rule. All of this leaves the fate of humanity in the hands of a handful of flawed characters.
Lannick deVeers - Once a war hero and member of a secret magical order, but now just a broken down drunk after being devastated by the brutal murder of his family a decade before.
Karnag - A killer for hire with little conscience and even less morals.
Fencress - A long time friend of Karnag's and part of his gang. She actually proved a more complex and interesting character than he did. She had a witty tongue, but was also quite ruthless!
Zandrachus Bale - A scholarly acolyte of the Sanctum of Illienne. He was a man plagued by fear, but tried to battle through it to complete his tasks.
There were a few other POV characters, but those were the most notable. Sadly, I never really connected with any of them. I felt like I should have as they all had their moments, but for some reason I just always felt like they remained a bit distant.
It was the same with both the writing and the story. They were not bad, but for some reason I always felt like they were lacking. It was quite frustrating as I felt like the building blocks for a good and engaging story were all present, but that there was just something lacking in the execution and that left me failing to connect or engage with the writing, characters, and story.
In the end this was a bit of a flop for me.
Rating: 2.5 stars.
Audio Note: I thought Andrew Tell did a decent job with the audiobook.
August 20, 2018
A Requiem for Heroes is one of the best takes on "heroic" fantasy I have read and I think it will upend this genre.
Why do I think so? - It is a combination of a good storyline with excellent characters and riveting action in a world which is deceptively simple.
Now, since I read What Remains of Heroes & The Wrath of Heroes back to back, I will be combining the reviews for both these books.
The main characters are comprised of people who are 'broken' in one way or another and yet, strive to be better. These characters range from the wicked to the virtuous (but mostly some kind of realistic moral compass - what we like to call 'shades of gray' ) and their betterment is not simply fighting against all odds and winning by the strength of their hand. Rather, each of them has a different set of weaknesses - moral, spiritual, physical. They find a point in their lives where they are forced to introspect and start their difficult journey for redemption of some sorts - be it the nominal hero or the villain. And this is why I think this series is such a unique take on what heroic fantasy.
David Benem's construction of these characters is so good that I actually started feeling antipathy towards the main character Lannick in the beginning. Later on, it changed a bit since we understand where Lannick is coming from. Other characters who stand out are Bale & Fenchress. But, do not take this to mean that the side characters are any less fleshed out. Even they have their own battles to fight. This is the clear USP of this series as far as I am concerned.
The world building seemed okay when I read the first book but by I time I finished the second one, I realised that what I had initially assumed 'to be' was not so. It was deceptively simple in the first and the complexity behind it comes out as you get further into the series.
The storyline is the same. When I started the first book, I thought it would be a run of the mill fantasy setting with some religion thrown in ala The Wheel of Time. But by the time I finished the second one, I was blown away by how things had changed. I do not want to bring in spoilers but let me just say that you will be rewarded if you have the patience to read the second book too.
As far as pacing is concerned, I found The Wrath of Heroes to be much better than What Remains of Heroes. WROH lost me in between, and it was touch and go whether I would continue. But the good thing is that somewhere towards the middle I started getting interested. I suppose I put down WROH maybe 3-4 times in between because it could not hold my attention during this time. But I did not put down TWOH even once due to boredom.
I am eagerly awaiting the third book in the series, whenever it may be.
Why do I think so? - It is a combination of a good storyline with excellent characters and riveting action in a world which is deceptively simple.
Now, since I read What Remains of Heroes & The Wrath of Heroes back to back, I will be combining the reviews for both these books.
The main characters are comprised of people who are 'broken' in one way or another and yet, strive to be better. These characters range from the wicked to the virtuous (but mostly some kind of realistic moral compass - what we like to call 'shades of gray' ) and their betterment is not simply fighting against all odds and winning by the strength of their hand. Rather, each of them has a different set of weaknesses - moral, spiritual, physical. They find a point in their lives where they are forced to introspect and start their difficult journey for redemption of some sorts - be it the nominal hero or the villain. And this is why I think this series is such a unique take on what heroic fantasy.
David Benem's construction of these characters is so good that I actually started feeling antipathy towards the main character Lannick in the beginning. Later on, it changed a bit since we understand where Lannick is coming from. Other characters who stand out are Bale & Fenchress. But, do not take this to mean that the side characters are any less fleshed out. Even they have their own battles to fight. This is the clear USP of this series as far as I am concerned.
The world building seemed okay when I read the first book but by I time I finished the second one, I realised that what I had initially assumed 'to be' was not so. It was deceptively simple in the first and the complexity behind it comes out as you get further into the series.
The storyline is the same. When I started the first book, I thought it would be a run of the mill fantasy setting with some religion thrown in ala The Wheel of Time. But by the time I finished the second one, I was blown away by how things had changed. I do not want to bring in spoilers but let me just say that you will be rewarded if you have the patience to read the second book too.
As far as pacing is concerned, I found The Wrath of Heroes to be much better than What Remains of Heroes. WROH lost me in between, and it was touch and go whether I would continue. But the good thing is that somewhere towards the middle I started getting interested. I suppose I put down WROH maybe 3-4 times in between because it could not hold my attention during this time. But I did not put down TWOH even once due to boredom.
I am eagerly awaiting the third book in the series, whenever it may be.
Read
November 1, 2015I haven't read this book (yet), but it is one of the 10 finalists in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. That's 10 out of 270+ hopefuls!
Read about the competition here
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
See ratings and reviews of all the finalists here:
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
Read about the competition here
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
See ratings and reviews of all the finalists here:
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
August 5, 2017
Brilliant epic fantasy!
I’m gonna also call it Grimdark, while the sub-genre has different definitions, for me it incorporates a grim or grimmer tone and flawed/imperfect characters.
Backed-up by a smooth and clean writing, the world building, character development and story are excellent. The flow and cadence of the book is just flawless and it evolves with a clock’s precision. I was trying to remember when was the last time I’ve read something that builds up without missing a heart beat, and I couldn’t. I had difficulties finding a break to put the book down to deal with that annoying habit called, sleep.
The World:
The Goddess Illienne blessed the first High King of Rune and the Kingdom’s seven greatest heroes, known now as the Sentinels, with measures of her divinity. It was through this blessing the dark God Yrghul, Lord of Nightmares, was deceived and drawn into oblivion with Illienne.
The immortal Sentinels were made to swear an oath to watch over and protect the line of High King’s and the people of Rune.
Many hundreds of years have passed, the Sentinels have become a stuff of legends and regarded as traitors, but some few know differently. Disciples of some of the Sentinels work in secret to honour the oath taken so many centuries ago.
The servants of the Dark God Yrghul known as Necrist work from the shadows and they have now found allies among people in high places, they are becoming bolder and acting openly.
The King is getting old and is considered weak by many for failing to produce an heir to the throne. Sensing oportunity, people once loyal to the King now form factions in their lust for power.
With the Arranan’s, led by their mysterious Spider King attacking Rune, the Kingdom is found besieged from both the inside and outside.
The book follows mainly 3 characters.
Lannick - Once, highly regarded, called a hero and named protector of Ironmoor by the King himself has fallen low, forgotten, less than a shadow of his former-self spending his every waking moment drinking himself to oblivion. He is now fighting to find the courage and resolve to seize a chance to right the wrongs of his past and exact revenge.
Karnag - A bit harder to define without giving away too much. A thief and deadly assassin, cast out by his clan a long time ago. His character is at one point “set aside” and the view shifts to his long time female partner and friend, Fencress and we view him through her eyes.
Bale - A full on introvert ! and a coward. An acolyte of the Sanctum of Illienne the Light Eternal and who doesn’t like the outside world and people for that matter. He is sent far from the safety of the Sanctum where he spent the last 20 years, to find answers about the death of one their members.
There are a few more PoVs throughout the book that help to enlarge your view of the world, characters and story.
I found all the characters equally interesting and intriguing.
There is also magic, though much of the old knowledge about it has been lost or destroyed.
The only flaw I could found in the book is that the second book is not out yet. So mister David, do your magic !
I’m gonna also call it Grimdark, while the sub-genre has different definitions, for me it incorporates a grim or grimmer tone and flawed/imperfect characters.
Backed-up by a smooth and clean writing, the world building, character development and story are excellent. The flow and cadence of the book is just flawless and it evolves with a clock’s precision. I was trying to remember when was the last time I’ve read something that builds up without missing a heart beat, and I couldn’t. I had difficulties finding a break to put the book down to deal with that annoying habit called, sleep.
The World:
The Goddess Illienne blessed the first High King of Rune and the Kingdom’s seven greatest heroes, known now as the Sentinels, with measures of her divinity. It was through this blessing the dark God Yrghul, Lord of Nightmares, was deceived and drawn into oblivion with Illienne.
The immortal Sentinels were made to swear an oath to watch over and protect the line of High King’s and the people of Rune.
Many hundreds of years have passed, the Sentinels have become a stuff of legends and regarded as traitors, but some few know differently. Disciples of some of the Sentinels work in secret to honour the oath taken so many centuries ago.
The servants of the Dark God Yrghul known as Necrist work from the shadows and they have now found allies among people in high places, they are becoming bolder and acting openly.
The King is getting old and is considered weak by many for failing to produce an heir to the throne. Sensing oportunity, people once loyal to the King now form factions in their lust for power.
With the Arranan’s, led by their mysterious Spider King attacking Rune, the Kingdom is found besieged from both the inside and outside.
The book follows mainly 3 characters.
Lannick - Once, highly regarded, called a hero and named protector of Ironmoor by the King himself has fallen low, forgotten, less than a shadow of his former-self spending his every waking moment drinking himself to oblivion. He is now fighting to find the courage and resolve to seize a chance to right the wrongs of his past and exact revenge.
Karnag - A bit harder to define without giving away too much. A thief and deadly assassin, cast out by his clan a long time ago. His character is at one point “set aside” and the view shifts to his long time female partner and friend, Fencress and we view him through her eyes.
Bale - A full on introvert ! and a coward. An acolyte of the Sanctum of Illienne the Light Eternal and who doesn’t like the outside world and people for that matter. He is sent far from the safety of the Sanctum where he spent the last 20 years, to find answers about the death of one their members.
There are a few more PoVs throughout the book that help to enlarge your view of the world, characters and story.
I found all the characters equally interesting and intriguing.
There is also magic, though much of the old knowledge about it has been lost or destroyed.
The only flaw I could found in the book is that the second book is not out yet. So mister David, do your magic !
April 21, 2015
Wow. Where’d this guy come from? Keep reading and see why I’m so excited about this book. It’s nice to find a rare nugget of great writing among all the drivel…
This book has this old-timer excited about fantasy after a LONG spell of growing weary of the genre, almost to a point where I’d given up on it. However, this book brings me back to the days of truly epic fantasy that is at once enjoyable, erudite, and mature. I’m not sure the fate of this book or this author, but I hope he’s around long enough to finish the story of what I consider to be the best epic fantasy novel I’ve read in decades.
To continue my praise, the copy of this book just FLOWS…I mean, it’s written in a straightforward and plain language (like Hemingway’s style in some ways), and the cadence just seems to have you reading along like you don’t even know you’re reading. You get taken in by the story in an effortless way that really engages you with the story and the characters. That’s not to say, however, that it’s simple writing…definitely not. This book, unlike so many other fantasy novels, doesn’t leave you hating yourself for loving a story but disliking the writing so much that you’re ashamed of yourself after you’re done. The author exercises controlled and precise use of English that really colors the world and its characters in an intelligent way.
And speaking of characters, they’re all interesting, unique, and all seem relatable to me. And they’re not painted in a strict black and white, good and evil binary paradigm. Some you’ll love then hate then love again, and some you’ll hate then love then hate again. Their motivations all have a touch of humanity in them, and the fantasy setting seems to give the author the flexibility to express these human characteristics in novel ways. The cast includes some familiar yet very interesting archetypes: a hero suffering from guilt and shame; a coward who finds unknown reserves of courage (although unwillingly); and an amoral killer who transforms into something that seems to embody his true self. I’m guessing you’ll love them all as much as I do.
The plot, set in a dark and somewhat medieval world, develops smoothly over the course of the book. The author manages to effortlessly weave the story lines of each of the characters into a single thread without confusion or paradox. As the story unfolds, I was constantly surprised when I’d find out the role each character plays in what is leading up to be an epic showdown between several conflicting forces. The end of the book leaves you desperately wanting to read the next book to see how it all comes together.
I loved the magic as well. It’s done in a palatable way that doesn’t always beg the question “why doesn’t he just use his powers?” The shadow walker magic is well thought out, and it’s specific enough to lend to the story without causing the reader incredulity every time it’s used. It’s also creative and really triggered my imagination about how, when, and where these powers were used. The magic system was unique to me and this was the first time I’ve ever read anything like it.
The last thing I’ll say is that this book touches on various aspects of psychology, philosophy, and religion, but not in a haughty way. The characters all act for their own reasons and their motivations are not at all simple. Some are driven by mere greed, others by power, others by religion, and others by fear. But there’s usually something else, not entirely on the surface, that drives them, and these things are often akin to some of the struggles we all have in our own lives.
Well, that’s all I have to say for now. I never write reviews, but I was so excited about this book that I thought everyone should at least give it a go. And whether or not you’re an old fantasy dork like me, you’ll love the colorful characters, the setting, and the writing so much, I’ll bet you’ll want to write a review, too.
This book has this old-timer excited about fantasy after a LONG spell of growing weary of the genre, almost to a point where I’d given up on it. However, this book brings me back to the days of truly epic fantasy that is at once enjoyable, erudite, and mature. I’m not sure the fate of this book or this author, but I hope he’s around long enough to finish the story of what I consider to be the best epic fantasy novel I’ve read in decades.
To continue my praise, the copy of this book just FLOWS…I mean, it’s written in a straightforward and plain language (like Hemingway’s style in some ways), and the cadence just seems to have you reading along like you don’t even know you’re reading. You get taken in by the story in an effortless way that really engages you with the story and the characters. That’s not to say, however, that it’s simple writing…definitely not. This book, unlike so many other fantasy novels, doesn’t leave you hating yourself for loving a story but disliking the writing so much that you’re ashamed of yourself after you’re done. The author exercises controlled and precise use of English that really colors the world and its characters in an intelligent way.
And speaking of characters, they’re all interesting, unique, and all seem relatable to me. And they’re not painted in a strict black and white, good and evil binary paradigm. Some you’ll love then hate then love again, and some you’ll hate then love then hate again. Their motivations all have a touch of humanity in them, and the fantasy setting seems to give the author the flexibility to express these human characteristics in novel ways. The cast includes some familiar yet very interesting archetypes: a hero suffering from guilt and shame; a coward who finds unknown reserves of courage (although unwillingly); and an amoral killer who transforms into something that seems to embody his true self. I’m guessing you’ll love them all as much as I do.
The plot, set in a dark and somewhat medieval world, develops smoothly over the course of the book. The author manages to effortlessly weave the story lines of each of the characters into a single thread without confusion or paradox. As the story unfolds, I was constantly surprised when I’d find out the role each character plays in what is leading up to be an epic showdown between several conflicting forces. The end of the book leaves you desperately wanting to read the next book to see how it all comes together.
I loved the magic as well. It’s done in a palatable way that doesn’t always beg the question “why doesn’t he just use his powers?” The shadow walker magic is well thought out, and it’s specific enough to lend to the story without causing the reader incredulity every time it’s used. It’s also creative and really triggered my imagination about how, when, and where these powers were used. The magic system was unique to me and this was the first time I’ve ever read anything like it.
The last thing I’ll say is that this book touches on various aspects of psychology, philosophy, and religion, but not in a haughty way. The characters all act for their own reasons and their motivations are not at all simple. Some are driven by mere greed, others by power, others by religion, and others by fear. But there’s usually something else, not entirely on the surface, that drives them, and these things are often akin to some of the struggles we all have in our own lives.
Well, that’s all I have to say for now. I never write reviews, but I was so excited about this book that I thought everyone should at least give it a go. And whether or not you’re an old fantasy dork like me, you’ll love the colorful characters, the setting, and the writing so much, I’ll bet you’ll want to write a review, too.
January 5, 2018
Plot:
The opening scene was with one of the main POV’s, Lannick, drunk in a bar and chasing after women he shouldn’t be. One of his friends tries to talk him out of it, but Lannick isn’t having it and ends up going home with the women anyway. As it turns out, one of them is the daughter of a general, a general who happens to already despise him. They of course get caught and Lannick has to hide out before he’s caught and arrested and likely killed.
He does get caught but manages to escape, and the rest of his story is sort of a redemption story. He used to be a captain in the army, well respected and had his shit together. He was accused of treason and had his wife and children killed and it’s been haunting him ever since. He drinks too much, gained a lot of weight and was generally pretty bad off. Through the course of the book he learns to stand on his feet again and plans on taking his revenge on the general who’s made his life a living hell. The general isn’t just shitty towards Lannick either – there’s more going on with the general being involved in really dark stuff. General Fane wasn’t upset that his daughter was sleeping with someone, he was upset she was no longer a virgin because she wouldn’t make a good sacrifice anymore. He’s trying to help bring back dark gods and he needs to be stopped.
Fencress and Kranag are both assassins for hire, and they’ve been solicited to kill the Lector, who’s the highest level of a priest that there is. When they succeed, the Lectors dead body utters some words in a language no one’s heard – there was more to him than there appeared to be and it really messed up Kranag. Ever since the murder he’s been going crazier and crazier – the people in his group are beginning to think he’s not worth the trouble and they should ditch him before he gets them in too much trouble. Kranag can’t seem to wrangle in the need to kill people and is doing it so haphazardly they’re bound to get caught. Fencress and Kranag go way back, and herstorylinee is trying to help her friend back to sanity.
Bale is a priest in the order that the Lector belonged to, and his journey has a lot to do with lost lore and secrets about Sentinals – old heroes that have since been cast out and banned from the realm.
Gamghast is another older priest who’s trying to help the Queen conceive, she’s been through 8 miscarriages and is pregnant for the 9th time. Her husband is known as the Mad King – but the lore suggests that only people from this heritage can be the High King, and without an heir things could get really messy.
Outside of the POVs main arcs there’s the Spider King who’s amassing an army of Necrists and is planning on marching on the kingdom soon.
Final Score: 7/10
Characters
Lannick is a sad sack at the beginning of the book, and he goes through some pretty terrible things that mess him up even more. Necrists come to him with the skins of his children and wife stitched onto their own faces and try to abduct him. He’s a “Veridan” and he has a lot of secrets the Necrists desperately want, and they tend to flay the skins off their victims while they still live. By the end of everything he’s getting up the resolve to be a leader again.
Bale is an anti social recluse who finds even the briefest social encounter to be uncomfortable. He sort of learns to get over that through the course of the book but he never becomes a confident character. He always thinks of himself as a ‘weak vessel’ and prays constantly for strength to help him through. He’s found a lot of deep secrets and has to get the knowledge into the right hands.
Fencress – she’s known for her wit, and knows how to kill a man quickly. She’s good at her job and doesn’t seem to hold any sort of remorese – but she’s oddly relateable. I think that’s due to her deep loyalty to her friend Kranag, she puts herself in a lot of danger and risks a lot to try and help him through his madness
Final Score: 7/10
World Building
Necrists can use shadows to transport themselves through the living world, they can smell peoples shadows and remember who they are making running from them difficult. They are twisted and terrible looking and torture people they’ve captured.
Sentinals were one of the Seven Greatest Heroes in the realm and thought to be long gone. In another era they were in service to the High Kings, but they were fabled to have conspired against the throne, seeking to depose the kings and take over the realm for themselves – so they were cast out and banished. But, not all the characters believe that story.
High Kings are blessed by Iliene and are bound to serve as the royal lines – a break in the royal line could be disastrous
Veridans have protective ‘codas’ that can allow them to hide themselves and protect themselves from necrists.
There are lots of demons and monsters and ‘garghul’ like things that the characters encounter from time to time
Final Score: 8/10
Pacing/Prose/Tone:
The tone was kind of adventurous and kind of dark – the backstories to many of the characters are messed up and what happens to them later isn’t any lighter. But, there was enough lighter moments in the book to keep it from getting that dark.
Pacing was pretty decent, there was a different sort of focus for each character so it kept things moving pretty quickly.
Pacing Final Score: 8/10
Writing Final Score: 8/10
Originality:
I’ve seen a lot of these elements used before, but they were combined in a way that it didn’t feel like I had already read a book very similar to this.
Final Score: 7/10
Audience:
For people who like multi pov epic fantasy
For people who like grey characters
For people who like ancient lore/lost knowledge
For people who like troubled characters
For people who like older characters
For people who like lots of demons and magic
Final Score: 45/60 or 7.5/10
The opening scene was with one of the main POV’s, Lannick, drunk in a bar and chasing after women he shouldn’t be. One of his friends tries to talk him out of it, but Lannick isn’t having it and ends up going home with the women anyway. As it turns out, one of them is the daughter of a general, a general who happens to already despise him. They of course get caught and Lannick has to hide out before he’s caught and arrested and likely killed.
He does get caught but manages to escape, and the rest of his story is sort of a redemption story. He used to be a captain in the army, well respected and had his shit together. He was accused of treason and had his wife and children killed and it’s been haunting him ever since. He drinks too much, gained a lot of weight and was generally pretty bad off. Through the course of the book he learns to stand on his feet again and plans on taking his revenge on the general who’s made his life a living hell. The general isn’t just shitty towards Lannick either – there’s more going on with the general being involved in really dark stuff. General Fane wasn’t upset that his daughter was sleeping with someone, he was upset she was no longer a virgin because she wouldn’t make a good sacrifice anymore. He’s trying to help bring back dark gods and he needs to be stopped.
Fencress and Kranag are both assassins for hire, and they’ve been solicited to kill the Lector, who’s the highest level of a priest that there is. When they succeed, the Lectors dead body utters some words in a language no one’s heard – there was more to him than there appeared to be and it really messed up Kranag. Ever since the murder he’s been going crazier and crazier – the people in his group are beginning to think he’s not worth the trouble and they should ditch him before he gets them in too much trouble. Kranag can’t seem to wrangle in the need to kill people and is doing it so haphazardly they’re bound to get caught. Fencress and Kranag go way back, and herstorylinee is trying to help her friend back to sanity.
Bale is a priest in the order that the Lector belonged to, and his journey has a lot to do with lost lore and secrets about Sentinals – old heroes that have since been cast out and banned from the realm.
Gamghast is another older priest who’s trying to help the Queen conceive, she’s been through 8 miscarriages and is pregnant for the 9th time. Her husband is known as the Mad King – but the lore suggests that only people from this heritage can be the High King, and without an heir things could get really messy.
Outside of the POVs main arcs there’s the Spider King who’s amassing an army of Necrists and is planning on marching on the kingdom soon.
Final Score: 7/10
Characters
Lannick is a sad sack at the beginning of the book, and he goes through some pretty terrible things that mess him up even more. Necrists come to him with the skins of his children and wife stitched onto their own faces and try to abduct him. He’s a “Veridan” and he has a lot of secrets the Necrists desperately want, and they tend to flay the skins off their victims while they still live. By the end of everything he’s getting up the resolve to be a leader again.
Bale is an anti social recluse who finds even the briefest social encounter to be uncomfortable. He sort of learns to get over that through the course of the book but he never becomes a confident character. He always thinks of himself as a ‘weak vessel’ and prays constantly for strength to help him through. He’s found a lot of deep secrets and has to get the knowledge into the right hands.
Fencress – she’s known for her wit, and knows how to kill a man quickly. She’s good at her job and doesn’t seem to hold any sort of remorese – but she’s oddly relateable. I think that’s due to her deep loyalty to her friend Kranag, she puts herself in a lot of danger and risks a lot to try and help him through his madness
Final Score: 7/10
World Building
Necrists can use shadows to transport themselves through the living world, they can smell peoples shadows and remember who they are making running from them difficult. They are twisted and terrible looking and torture people they’ve captured.
Sentinals were one of the Seven Greatest Heroes in the realm and thought to be long gone. In another era they were in service to the High Kings, but they were fabled to have conspired against the throne, seeking to depose the kings and take over the realm for themselves – so they were cast out and banished. But, not all the characters believe that story.
High Kings are blessed by Iliene and are bound to serve as the royal lines – a break in the royal line could be disastrous
Veridans have protective ‘codas’ that can allow them to hide themselves and protect themselves from necrists.
There are lots of demons and monsters and ‘garghul’ like things that the characters encounter from time to time
Final Score: 8/10
Pacing/Prose/Tone:
The tone was kind of adventurous and kind of dark – the backstories to many of the characters are messed up and what happens to them later isn’t any lighter. But, there was enough lighter moments in the book to keep it from getting that dark.
Pacing was pretty decent, there was a different sort of focus for each character so it kept things moving pretty quickly.
Pacing Final Score: 8/10
Writing Final Score: 8/10
Originality:
I’ve seen a lot of these elements used before, but they were combined in a way that it didn’t feel like I had already read a book very similar to this.
Final Score: 7/10
Audience:
For people who like multi pov epic fantasy
For people who like grey characters
For people who like ancient lore/lost knowledge
For people who like troubled characters
For people who like older characters
For people who like lots of demons and magic
Final Score: 45/60 or 7.5/10
May 6, 2015
Superbly written, highly creative, great world-building, engaging characters (I think Fencress is my favorite) and overall an entertaining read. While some of the action takes place off-stage, there is still plenty to enjoy. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
February 6, 2017
(a bigger, prettier version of this review can be found here, on my blog.)
For the most part, this novel follows the exploits of three primary characters: Lannick is an old soldier, once a hero and a captain in the royal army, and a former member of a sort of secret society of protectors. Now he’s more of an old drunkard who spends most of his time in the pub drowning the sorrows of losing his entire family to a gruesome murder. Karnag is a thief and an assassin who is going completely bonkers insane because of the last job he did. (B-O-N-K-E-R-S. Like… right off the deep end). Last but not least, Bale is a socially anxious scholar who, despite it being the last thing he wants to do, is sent to investigate the same murder that’s driving Karnag mad.
We also get some pretty awesome secondary characters: Fencress, a mercenary and member of Karnag’s company; Gamghast, a prefect of the same religious order as Bale; Brugan, an old friend of Lannick (and purveyor of drinks), and Lorra, a woman who agreed to guide Bale to his destination. Interestingly, sometimes we see the story from the POV of some of the secondary characters, in fact, Fencress’ POV takes over Karnag’s as the story progresses and he’s not… really in his right mind. I think my favorite character is Bale. We have a lot in common, Bale and I. Except the religion. >.>;
This book is very well written, not at all boring, and dark as fuck sometimes (Lannick’s first encounter with the Necrists, I’m looking in your direction). You would think that the main antagonists of the book, who are basically a group of necromancers trying to revive their nightmare god, would make the whole thing kind of cheesy, but that’s not at all the case. They were legit creepy as fuck, wearing people’s faces as masks and shit. Other reviewers have pointed out that this book does have a few commonly used fantasy tropes, but it doesn’t feel at all like a common fantasy novel. Benem does a great job using tropes like the retired soldier, and the evil necromancers and making them seem new and fresh.
Andrew Tell, the narrator did a very good job at telling the story. I liked the voices that he gave Bale and Fane (who is easy to hate to begin with, but I might have hated him more because of the voice. Fuck that guy), but I loved the voice he gave Karnag most of all. Very menacing and appropriate (though, there were a few times that I desperately wanted him to say ‘I’M BATMAN’ with all that menacing gruffness). He made each character quite unique and helped immerse me in the story. Well done!
For the most part, this novel follows the exploits of three primary characters: Lannick is an old soldier, once a hero and a captain in the royal army, and a former member of a sort of secret society of protectors. Now he’s more of an old drunkard who spends most of his time in the pub drowning the sorrows of losing his entire family to a gruesome murder. Karnag is a thief and an assassin who is going completely bonkers insane because of the last job he did. (B-O-N-K-E-R-S. Like… right off the deep end). Last but not least, Bale is a socially anxious scholar who, despite it being the last thing he wants to do, is sent to investigate the same murder that’s driving Karnag mad.
We also get some pretty awesome secondary characters: Fencress, a mercenary and member of Karnag’s company; Gamghast, a prefect of the same religious order as Bale; Brugan, an old friend of Lannick (and purveyor of drinks), and Lorra, a woman who agreed to guide Bale to his destination. Interestingly, sometimes we see the story from the POV of some of the secondary characters, in fact, Fencress’ POV takes over Karnag’s as the story progresses and he’s not… really in his right mind. I think my favorite character is Bale. We have a lot in common, Bale and I. Except the religion. >.>;
This book is very well written, not at all boring, and dark as fuck sometimes (Lannick’s first encounter with the Necrists, I’m looking in your direction). You would think that the main antagonists of the book, who are basically a group of necromancers trying to revive their nightmare god, would make the whole thing kind of cheesy, but that’s not at all the case. They were legit creepy as fuck, wearing people’s faces as masks and shit. Other reviewers have pointed out that this book does have a few commonly used fantasy tropes, but it doesn’t feel at all like a common fantasy novel. Benem does a great job using tropes like the retired soldier, and the evil necromancers and making them seem new and fresh.
Andrew Tell, the narrator did a very good job at telling the story. I liked the voices that he gave Bale and Fane (who is easy to hate to begin with, but I might have hated him more because of the voice. Fuck that guy), but I loved the voice he gave Karnag most of all. Very menacing and appropriate (though, there were a few times that I desperately wanted him to say ‘I’M BATMAN’ with all that menacing gruffness). He made each character quite unique and helped immerse me in the story. Well done!
June 25, 2015
FAST, INTENSE, and FUN...LOVED IT!
What a great book. Benem has constructed something truly unique with this story. It has everything you look for in an Epic Fantasy novel. A diverse cast of characters, amazing world building, and an elegant writing style that really is levels above the rest.
This is not a young adult fiction. It's mature and sophisticated. The characters had great depth and were fun to follow. I especially enjoyed Lannick with all his flaws. He is a rich character who--while still just in book one--has already changed and developed through a satisfying character arc.
I would probably best compare the story to something Joe Abercrombie has written, with the multiple character perspectives and gritty writing style. Changing perspective can be a tricky thing to pull of successfully, but fear not, Benem pulled it off beautifully. I was engaged at all times and never tired of any of the characters.
I promise, this book will not disappoint. I'm eager to get my hands on book two. I can't wait to see where the story goes and how the characters continue to develop.
In summery... READ THE F.CKING BOOK! To quote my favorite line: If you don't, Karnag will rip you "from cock to crown".
Cheers!
What a great book. Benem has constructed something truly unique with this story. It has everything you look for in an Epic Fantasy novel. A diverse cast of characters, amazing world building, and an elegant writing style that really is levels above the rest.
This is not a young adult fiction. It's mature and sophisticated. The characters had great depth and were fun to follow. I especially enjoyed Lannick with all his flaws. He is a rich character who--while still just in book one--has already changed and developed through a satisfying character arc.
I would probably best compare the story to something Joe Abercrombie has written, with the multiple character perspectives and gritty writing style. Changing perspective can be a tricky thing to pull of successfully, but fear not, Benem pulled it off beautifully. I was engaged at all times and never tired of any of the characters.
I promise, this book will not disappoint. I'm eager to get my hands on book two. I can't wait to see where the story goes and how the characters continue to develop.
In summery... READ THE F.CKING BOOK! To quote my favorite line: If you don't, Karnag will rip you "from cock to crown".
Cheers!
February 4, 2016
4.5 stars.....a really solid debut novel from this author.....the ending slightly meandered in my opinion but nevertheless will still be looking into reading Book 2 upon release.
July 1, 2015
One of the great pleasures of reviewing self-published fantasy is that every so often, a book comes from absolutely nowhere and surpasses your expectations.
I had never heard of David Benem before, and as of writing this review there are only two things I can tell you about him: he entered Mark Lawrence's self-published fantasy blog-off and he sure can write.
What Remains of Heroes treads what is beginning to become familiar ground, dark fantasy with morally conflicted or ambiguous characters that defy the standard trappings of their genre.
It immediately caught my eye with its fetching cover and (for the most part) both well edited and well formatted text. You can tell that the author went to some lengths to provide a professional-looking product and the result is appreciated.
Lannick is the former hero who has fallen on hard times. His family murdered, his liver also being murdered by whiskey and inhabiting the shell of a broken man. He plays the part well, with a mixture of piteous and heart-wrenching behaviour as his background is slowly pieced together through the opening chapters of the book.
Then we have Karnag, who is essentially the typical barbarian mercenary. What's intriguing about this character is that while he plays a brutal counterpoint to the other main characters, his is slowly dropped in favour of his friend and fellow mercenary. A woman who is a much more intriguing choice of focus.
Lastly we have the coward with the heart of gold, one Bale. A musty library-bound sorcerer of sorts who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. Unfortunately for him, he's thrust into the spotlight of one of our antagonists, and forcibly placed in grave danger.
This cast would have usually been enough to form a solid dark fantasy around. Four viewpoints from four very different individuals works well with a book of this size. Instead of settling for that, Benem turns up the heat on the reader by slowly building a reputable cast of ancillary characters before giving them their own individual chapters.
What could have been a straightforward work is now imbued with political discourse and an increasing amount of world-building as a backdrop for the multitudinous characters inhabiting it. It makes for a much deeper read, and the author is to be applauded for attempting this.
Plot-wise the work is solid. There's plain old vengeance to be had, god-like beings involved in swaying the course of the world and the aforementioned political subplot involving royalty. Thanks to careful pacing, each of the items are given a sensible amount of fleshing out.
While What Remains of Heroes threatens several times to ignite into something truly special, I can only say that it was very enjoyable rather than being exceptional. It's a well crafted piece of dark fantasy that would sit happily alongside almost everything released from traditional publishers in the genre lately, but it's nothing world-altering. That this is one of the only criticisms I can level at the work shows just how impressed I am with it.
The second critique of the work would be that it suffers from first book syndrome. It doesn't grind to an immediate halt, but you could tell in the final third that things were going to have to be rushed in order to craft the perfect standalone resolution. The result is exactly what the author intended, and I will be picking up the next in the series.
David Benem is a strong new voice in the world of dark fantasy, and I sincerely hope that he improves with each work. Based on the quality of this début, he's in the enviable position where it wouldn't matter if he stayed the course. More of the same, please!
I had never heard of David Benem before, and as of writing this review there are only two things I can tell you about him: he entered Mark Lawrence's self-published fantasy blog-off and he sure can write.
What Remains of Heroes treads what is beginning to become familiar ground, dark fantasy with morally conflicted or ambiguous characters that defy the standard trappings of their genre.
It immediately caught my eye with its fetching cover and (for the most part) both well edited and well formatted text. You can tell that the author went to some lengths to provide a professional-looking product and the result is appreciated.
Lannick is the former hero who has fallen on hard times. His family murdered, his liver also being murdered by whiskey and inhabiting the shell of a broken man. He plays the part well, with a mixture of piteous and heart-wrenching behaviour as his background is slowly pieced together through the opening chapters of the book.
Then we have Karnag, who is essentially the typical barbarian mercenary. What's intriguing about this character is that while he plays a brutal counterpoint to the other main characters, his is slowly dropped in favour of his friend and fellow mercenary. A woman who is a much more intriguing choice of focus.
Lastly we have the coward with the heart of gold, one Bale. A musty library-bound sorcerer of sorts who couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. Unfortunately for him, he's thrust into the spotlight of one of our antagonists, and forcibly placed in grave danger.
This cast would have usually been enough to form a solid dark fantasy around. Four viewpoints from four very different individuals works well with a book of this size. Instead of settling for that, Benem turns up the heat on the reader by slowly building a reputable cast of ancillary characters before giving them their own individual chapters.
What could have been a straightforward work is now imbued with political discourse and an increasing amount of world-building as a backdrop for the multitudinous characters inhabiting it. It makes for a much deeper read, and the author is to be applauded for attempting this.
Plot-wise the work is solid. There's plain old vengeance to be had, god-like beings involved in swaying the course of the world and the aforementioned political subplot involving royalty. Thanks to careful pacing, each of the items are given a sensible amount of fleshing out.
While What Remains of Heroes threatens several times to ignite into something truly special, I can only say that it was very enjoyable rather than being exceptional. It's a well crafted piece of dark fantasy that would sit happily alongside almost everything released from traditional publishers in the genre lately, but it's nothing world-altering. That this is one of the only criticisms I can level at the work shows just how impressed I am with it.
The second critique of the work would be that it suffers from first book syndrome. It doesn't grind to an immediate halt, but you could tell in the final third that things were going to have to be rushed in order to craft the perfect standalone resolution. The result is exactly what the author intended, and I will be picking up the next in the series.
David Benem is a strong new voice in the world of dark fantasy, and I sincerely hope that he improves with each work. Based on the quality of this début, he's in the enviable position where it wouldn't matter if he stayed the course. More of the same, please!
July 9, 2017
I can see why this made it to the final of SPFBO 2015
I listened to it on Audible and have to admit I struggled with the narration only as much as the accent wasn't what I was used to listening to. As for the voices, they made the characters stand out immediately and oh what characters they are.
Grey area. That's where many of the characters live. The lines between good and bad are blurred, in a good way. Brutal action and bloody encounters meet heartfelt beliefs and unlikely heroism. I look forward to where this series is going.
I listened to it on Audible and have to admit I struggled with the narration only as much as the accent wasn't what I was used to listening to. As for the voices, they made the characters stand out immediately and oh what characters they are.
Grey area. That's where many of the characters live. The lines between good and bad are blurred, in a good way. Brutal action and bloody encounters meet heartfelt beliefs and unlikely heroism. I look forward to where this series is going.
September 27, 2015
I thought this book was amazing personally. Best indie debut I've read since blood song. This is not a young adult book. It is a maturely written and more grim novel that is full of meaningful reflections, as well as moral and emotional dilemmas. The characters are far from your average heroes, hence the title, but they are all relatable and not colored with overused tropes.
While this book left many things unanswered and hanging in the balance plot wise, it did manage to set up a interesting and well thought out environment and culture. I am excited to read the rest of this series.
While this book left many things unanswered and hanging in the balance plot wise, it did manage to set up a interesting and well thought out environment and culture. I am excited to read the rest of this series.
January 3, 2020
Every so often, when reading self-published novels, you run across one that makes you wonder why the author chose to buck tradition and go with self-publishing as their main option. Was it because self-publishing was quicker than sending manuscripts to agents and/or publishers and hoping for the best? Was it because they saw an opportunity to make a greater financial return on their efforts? Was it because they did apply with agents and publishers and their novel was turned down?
I sincerely hope it wasn’t the last one. David Benem’s What Remains of Heroes is exactly the kind of novel that breaks down the stereotypes about the quality and content of self-publishing, and makes me think that if a traditional publisher did pass on this one, it was to their detriment.
Lannick is a man who used to be someone. Loving family, prestige, captain of an army. Until he made a mistake and paid the price, and now spends his days drunk and in debt. Until he makes another, more costly mistake, and finds himself thrust into a plot of old gods and new heroes. Bale is a priest, channeling magic in the name of the goddess of light, studying forbidden histories and legends that turn out to have more than a grain of truth to them. Through good luck or ill, he is sent to investigate the murder of the head of his religion, to uncover the truth about strange dealings and religious secrecy. Karnag is a mercenary, the man who killed the head of Bale’s order, whose companions now watch in confusion and fear as he turns aside from his old life and heads toward a new frontier of blood and carnage as war approaches, following the new voices and urges in his head that tell him his hands will never be stained with enough blood.
Within the space of half a chapter, I found myself wanting to keep reading with no interruptions. What Remains of Heroes dips into the darker side of fantasy without being overly depressing or brutal. There’s plenty of violence, don’t get me wrong, but it’s in appropriate levels for the various situations, and none of it feels like the author was trying to be dark and edgy for the sake of being dark and edgy. Each of the primary characters feels, to a degree, out of place in the world at large, even if they have their place within their particular microcosm, and especially with Lannick and Bale there seems almost a desperate attempt to make sense of where they fit in, what their role in. Karnag’s struggle is of a similar but different sort, trying to adjust to how he has changed and why, and Fencress’s challenge is, in part, figuring out what happened to Karnag.
It’s worth taking a moment to express here that while there’s a serious minority of female characters in this book, and Fencress’s story is very much entwined with Karnag’s, Fencress herself is not some cardboard cutout character, intended only to show what’s happening with Karnag. Her role starts small and grows much larger as the story continues, and she is very much a solid well-defined character in her own right. I loved reading her chapters, because she’s a great character, and also the type of female character that doesn’t get showcased very often in male-dominated fantasy. Most female characters in such books are either prizes or backdrops for the hero, or else they’re good fighters or mages and can hold their own in a fight, absolutely, but are also held up as an ideal, a paragon of light and good. Fencress is a mercenary, at home with intimidating and putting knives in people if they stand between her and her goal, and she knows it. She’s nobody’s ideal and she has no interest in pretending to be so, and for that, I love her.
There’s some good worldbuilding in here, too. It, like many other books I’ve encountered in this challenge, is built on a foundation of medieval European fantasy, but that’s no a bad thing, and there’s still plenty of scope for originality within those bounds. And Benem works to create a dark fantasy world that’s manages to be familiar without feeling overly stereotyped, complex without being bogged down in complications from attempts to add too many never-before-seen things. It may not be the most original setting, but it is well crafted, and it feels as complete as any other good fantasy world I have encountered. It doesn’t break any boundaries, but it’s very good at being what it is.
Benem’s writing shines amid a sea of lackluster novels, and it’s no surprise to see that What Remains of Heroes passed to the second round of the SPFBO challenge. It’s a strong first novel, impressive and well done, and it’s got wonderful appeal to fans of dark traditional fantasy who are looking for some new voices. This was a fantastic find, and I’m already looking forward to the second book in the series! I expect that What Remains of Heroes will be a strong contender for the crown in the SPFBO, when the final scores are tallied.
(Received for review as part of the SPFBO.)
I sincerely hope it wasn’t the last one. David Benem’s What Remains of Heroes is exactly the kind of novel that breaks down the stereotypes about the quality and content of self-publishing, and makes me think that if a traditional publisher did pass on this one, it was to their detriment.
Lannick is a man who used to be someone. Loving family, prestige, captain of an army. Until he made a mistake and paid the price, and now spends his days drunk and in debt. Until he makes another, more costly mistake, and finds himself thrust into a plot of old gods and new heroes. Bale is a priest, channeling magic in the name of the goddess of light, studying forbidden histories and legends that turn out to have more than a grain of truth to them. Through good luck or ill, he is sent to investigate the murder of the head of his religion, to uncover the truth about strange dealings and religious secrecy. Karnag is a mercenary, the man who killed the head of Bale’s order, whose companions now watch in confusion and fear as he turns aside from his old life and heads toward a new frontier of blood and carnage as war approaches, following the new voices and urges in his head that tell him his hands will never be stained with enough blood.
Within the space of half a chapter, I found myself wanting to keep reading with no interruptions. What Remains of Heroes dips into the darker side of fantasy without being overly depressing or brutal. There’s plenty of violence, don’t get me wrong, but it’s in appropriate levels for the various situations, and none of it feels like the author was trying to be dark and edgy for the sake of being dark and edgy. Each of the primary characters feels, to a degree, out of place in the world at large, even if they have their place within their particular microcosm, and especially with Lannick and Bale there seems almost a desperate attempt to make sense of where they fit in, what their role in. Karnag’s struggle is of a similar but different sort, trying to adjust to how he has changed and why, and Fencress’s challenge is, in part, figuring out what happened to Karnag.
It’s worth taking a moment to express here that while there’s a serious minority of female characters in this book, and Fencress’s story is very much entwined with Karnag’s, Fencress herself is not some cardboard cutout character, intended only to show what’s happening with Karnag. Her role starts small and grows much larger as the story continues, and she is very much a solid well-defined character in her own right. I loved reading her chapters, because she’s a great character, and also the type of female character that doesn’t get showcased very often in male-dominated fantasy. Most female characters in such books are either prizes or backdrops for the hero, or else they’re good fighters or mages and can hold their own in a fight, absolutely, but are also held up as an ideal, a paragon of light and good. Fencress is a mercenary, at home with intimidating and putting knives in people if they stand between her and her goal, and she knows it. She’s nobody’s ideal and she has no interest in pretending to be so, and for that, I love her.
There’s some good worldbuilding in here, too. It, like many other books I’ve encountered in this challenge, is built on a foundation of medieval European fantasy, but that’s no a bad thing, and there’s still plenty of scope for originality within those bounds. And Benem works to create a dark fantasy world that’s manages to be familiar without feeling overly stereotyped, complex without being bogged down in complications from attempts to add too many never-before-seen things. It may not be the most original setting, but it is well crafted, and it feels as complete as any other good fantasy world I have encountered. It doesn’t break any boundaries, but it’s very good at being what it is.
Benem’s writing shines amid a sea of lackluster novels, and it’s no surprise to see that What Remains of Heroes passed to the second round of the SPFBO challenge. It’s a strong first novel, impressive and well done, and it’s got wonderful appeal to fans of dark traditional fantasy who are looking for some new voices. This was a fantastic find, and I’m already looking forward to the second book in the series! I expect that What Remains of Heroes will be a strong contender for the crown in the SPFBO, when the final scores are tallied.
(Received for review as part of the SPFBO.)
February 22, 2022
This bored me to tears. I didn’t like ANY of the characters and that kills the whole story for me.
October 15, 2016
I don't draft many reviews but this book deserved the time. I found it dark, violent, yet thoughtful--a rare concoction on the fantasy shelves. The characters, at first blush common archetypes, were complex and well drawn; the same sorts of compliments can be given to the plot and themes. This was an easy 5 out of 5 and I'm frustrated I can't dive into the sequel already. Hurry, author!
August 7, 2018
I knew nothing about this book going in. All I knew was that I really enjoyed Mr. Benem's story in the Lost Lore anthology. It turned out to be a very good read for quite a few reasons.
The characters were very much to my liking.
We had Lannick a down on his luck war hero who has spent quite some time trying to drink away the pain of his life. While well written Lannick is probably my least favorite of the POVs.
Karnag and Fencress as both assassins/for hire criminals but mostly murder it seems. These were my two favorite characters throughout the entire book.
Next up we have Bale who is an acolyte that has his understanding of his own beliefs flipped upside down before being sent on quite an adventure. I really enjoyed his chapters.
Gamghast is also a priest but he is older and higher ranking than Bale. We see how he interacts with other characters but we don't get to hear as much about him as the others. His chapters also give us an introduction to the queen who I am expecting to play a bigger role in the next book.
The world was pretty standard as far as fantasy goes. It has the usual components that you expect to see. The sentinels seemed pretty standard as far as the immortal guardians they are but what was really cool about them was how their immortality works. Their enemies the necrists were very interesting. The way they can travel undetected through the shadow world and how they can smell peoples shadows makes them seem like a pain in the ass if they are hunting you.
The story itself was really good, it was well paced and the multi POV always helps speed things along because I want to read more and get back to my favorite character. There is a lot going on in the world and a lot of events in motion making it likely that the following entries in the series will be even more enjoyable.
I would recommend this to pretty much any fan of fantasy.
The characters were very much to my liking.
We had Lannick a down on his luck war hero who has spent quite some time trying to drink away the pain of his life. While well written Lannick is probably my least favorite of the POVs.
Karnag and Fencress as both assassins/for hire criminals but mostly murder it seems. These were my two favorite characters throughout the entire book.
Next up we have Bale who is an acolyte that has his understanding of his own beliefs flipped upside down before being sent on quite an adventure. I really enjoyed his chapters.
Gamghast is also a priest but he is older and higher ranking than Bale. We see how he interacts with other characters but we don't get to hear as much about him as the others. His chapters also give us an introduction to the queen who I am expecting to play a bigger role in the next book.
The world was pretty standard as far as fantasy goes. It has the usual components that you expect to see. The sentinels seemed pretty standard as far as the immortal guardians they are but what was really cool about them was how their immortality works. Their enemies the necrists were very interesting. The way they can travel undetected through the shadow world and how they can smell peoples shadows makes them seem like a pain in the ass if they are hunting you.
The story itself was really good, it was well paced and the multi POV always helps speed things along because I want to read more and get back to my favorite character. There is a lot going on in the world and a lot of events in motion making it likely that the following entries in the series will be even more enjoyable.
I would recommend this to pretty much any fan of fantasy.
September 20, 2016
2.5 stars.
Please note that this book--series--has found an audience and my view is of the minority. That this did not resonate with me or excite me as much as most other readers should not dissuade anyone from checking it out. I did find it an entertaining tale, though ultimately nothing novel. Good writing but not a standout. Seems headed towards a hero's redemption feel-good tale. I wanted to love this, I really did, but it just fell short of my hopes.
This strikes me as a long set-up for things to come as not much really occurs, just a lot of hinting of future conflicts. Much of the book is an introduction to the characters but I confess I do not always get a good sense of them or they largely fill familiar roles. There's a fallen hero, a damsel in distress, a bumbling, cloistered cleric given a vital task--not an unusual group. In the same manner, nothing sets the world apart--kingdom, war, pretenders to the throne. I'd be hard-pressed to describe the world which is rather unremarkable. It's a realm and tale fungible with a number of other realms and tales. The designated adversaries are evil enough in deed but not quite three-dimensional, nothing ambiguous in their backgrounds and motivation--simple power-grabbing--to make their deeds more rational and thus more formidable and thought-provoking. It is simply villains being villainy, nothing more.
The women in the story are all vaguely tragic (allusions to some physical assault or other) or a broken/injured female archetype, none really fully fleshed out or compelling. Writing a broken or injured female character requires fearlessness. Mere allusion to some misfortune or other is a shortcut unlikely to aid the development of the character and will certainly fall short of making her endearing or even interesting. Mere statement of the fact of suffering does little to spur sympathy and bridge the gap between intellectual knowledge and emotional understanding and relatability.
There's also a curious pattern of a lead-sidekick dynamic where the sidekick seemingly exists to prop up the lead whenever necessary. Each main character is provided a sidekick that generally serves as counterpoint and savior in the mold of Sam Gamgee--Lannick has Brugan, Karnag has Fencress, Gamghast has Bale who has Lorra. This is neither a plus nor minus, just an observation.
This book probably suffers from my having read many like it before, a circumstance that might not be entirely fair but this is the point in time when I read this book. It just feels like I've read the story before and nothing was added to revitalize the familiar framework of the tale or spur new interest in it. It's a good enough tale with interesting enough characters but it doesn't go much beyond that for me. Indeed, there is not much to dislike, but there is also not much to rally behind and to compel me to proceed with the next book posthaste. I may or may not continue with the series, but for now I shall move on to another.
Please note that this book--series--has found an audience and my view is of the minority. That this did not resonate with me or excite me as much as most other readers should not dissuade anyone from checking it out. I did find it an entertaining tale, though ultimately nothing novel. Good writing but not a standout. Seems headed towards a hero's redemption feel-good tale. I wanted to love this, I really did, but it just fell short of my hopes.
This strikes me as a long set-up for things to come as not much really occurs, just a lot of hinting of future conflicts. Much of the book is an introduction to the characters but I confess I do not always get a good sense of them or they largely fill familiar roles. There's a fallen hero, a damsel in distress, a bumbling, cloistered cleric given a vital task--not an unusual group. In the same manner, nothing sets the world apart--kingdom, war, pretenders to the throne. I'd be hard-pressed to describe the world which is rather unremarkable. It's a realm and tale fungible with a number of other realms and tales. The designated adversaries are evil enough in deed but not quite three-dimensional, nothing ambiguous in their backgrounds and motivation--simple power-grabbing--to make their deeds more rational and thus more formidable and thought-provoking. It is simply villains being villainy, nothing more.
The women in the story are all vaguely tragic (allusions to some physical assault or other) or a broken/injured female archetype, none really fully fleshed out or compelling. Writing a broken or injured female character requires fearlessness. Mere allusion to some misfortune or other is a shortcut unlikely to aid the development of the character and will certainly fall short of making her endearing or even interesting. Mere statement of the fact of suffering does little to spur sympathy and bridge the gap between intellectual knowledge and emotional understanding and relatability.
There's also a curious pattern of a lead-sidekick dynamic where the sidekick seemingly exists to prop up the lead whenever necessary. Each main character is provided a sidekick that generally serves as counterpoint and savior in the mold of Sam Gamgee--Lannick has Brugan, Karnag has Fencress, Gamghast has Bale who has Lorra. This is neither a plus nor minus, just an observation.
This book probably suffers from my having read many like it before, a circumstance that might not be entirely fair but this is the point in time when I read this book. It just feels like I've read the story before and nothing was added to revitalize the familiar framework of the tale or spur new interest in it. It's a good enough tale with interesting enough characters but it doesn't go much beyond that for me. Indeed, there is not much to dislike, but there is also not much to rally behind and to compel me to proceed with the next book posthaste. I may or may not continue with the series, but for now I shall move on to another.
September 23, 2015
Though I wasn’t chosen as one of the blogs for Mark Lawrence’s Self Published Fantasy Blog Off, I committed on my own to at least give all 10 finalists a chance, hoping that one of them would blow me away.
My plan is to read the samples available on Amazon for each book. If by the end of that sample, the book has grabbed me, I’ll buy it and keep reading. If not, I’ll pass on it.
Since it was one of the highest rated so far, I opted to start with David Benem’s “What Remains of Heroes,” and it was an excellent choice to begin the journey. Not only did the sample grab me, but I bought the book and mowed through the first third in the same sitting.
In all honesty, I thought that some portions of the book could have used a little more polish, but by and large it’s quite well written, and I soon found myself immersed in Benem’s world. It reminded me somewhat of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, both in tone and structure, but it grabbed me and pulled me in much quicker than Abercrombie’s story did.
I often groan when I’m approached with self-published books. Like most reviewers, I’ve been bombarded for years with poorly written and edited pieces, but every now and then there’s a gem. I’ll go one step further and say that “What Remains of Heroes” is a true diamond. It’s a book that I think could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much any major publisher fantasy out there.
One book into my read of the SPFBO finalists, and I've already found a winner.
On the down side, I’ve gotten myself into another unfinished series, but Benem promises that the second volume, “Wrath of Heroes,” is on pace for early 2016. I can’t wait to continue the story.
Full review: http://spychocyco.blogspot.com/2015/0...
My plan is to read the samples available on Amazon for each book. If by the end of that sample, the book has grabbed me, I’ll buy it and keep reading. If not, I’ll pass on it.
Since it was one of the highest rated so far, I opted to start with David Benem’s “What Remains of Heroes,” and it was an excellent choice to begin the journey. Not only did the sample grab me, but I bought the book and mowed through the first third in the same sitting.
In all honesty, I thought that some portions of the book could have used a little more polish, but by and large it’s quite well written, and I soon found myself immersed in Benem’s world. It reminded me somewhat of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, both in tone and structure, but it grabbed me and pulled me in much quicker than Abercrombie’s story did.
I often groan when I’m approached with self-published books. Like most reviewers, I’ve been bombarded for years with poorly written and edited pieces, but every now and then there’s a gem. I’ll go one step further and say that “What Remains of Heroes” is a true diamond. It’s a book that I think could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much any major publisher fantasy out there.
One book into my read of the SPFBO finalists, and I've already found a winner.
On the down side, I’ve gotten myself into another unfinished series, but Benem promises that the second volume, “Wrath of Heroes,” is on pace for early 2016. I can’t wait to continue the story.
Full review: http://spychocyco.blogspot.com/2015/0...
July 10, 2016
What Remains of Heroes is a story of a formerly war hero, Lannick deVeers, a priest, Bale, and a thief and murderer, Karnag, and two other characters. Lannick has fallen hard after his family has been murdered. He has been drowning his sorrow at the Wanton Vicar when he made a mistake of sleeping with the General's daughter. In order for him to gain the revenge that he desperately wanted and to save the kingdom of Rune, that he protected, he would need to become the man he was before.
Bale is sent to investigate one of the Rune's seven protectors that have been banished from Rune for treason. As an ancient enemy is returning, one of the seven protectors is residing in a human vessel and is heading to Rune. Before the vessel could make it there, he is killed by Karnag.
Karnag is now possessed by the Rune protector and he is driven mad. His companion is now following him to find a way to break through his madness.
What Remains of Heroes has so many characters taking active roles in saving the Kingdom of Rune. A former hero searching for himself, a priest, a thief/assassin, and a killer, each playing a unknown role of a hero. They may not have the same plan to go about it but they are intent on saving their home. The story will have readers/listeners to come back to see what will happen next as the armies of their ancient foe marched forward to Rune.
The narrator, Andrew Tell does a great job in narrating so many characters. The story is quite long to narrate but listeners will be able to distinguish which voices go with what characters.
I was given this book by the narrator via Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated or influenced in any way for writing this review.
Bale is sent to investigate one of the Rune's seven protectors that have been banished from Rune for treason. As an ancient enemy is returning, one of the seven protectors is residing in a human vessel and is heading to Rune. Before the vessel could make it there, he is killed by Karnag.
Karnag is now possessed by the Rune protector and he is driven mad. His companion is now following him to find a way to break through his madness.
What Remains of Heroes has so many characters taking active roles in saving the Kingdom of Rune. A former hero searching for himself, a priest, a thief/assassin, and a killer, each playing a unknown role of a hero. They may not have the same plan to go about it but they are intent on saving their home. The story will have readers/listeners to come back to see what will happen next as the armies of their ancient foe marched forward to Rune.
The narrator, Andrew Tell does a great job in narrating so many characters. The story is quite long to narrate but listeners will be able to distinguish which voices go with what characters.
I was given this book by the narrator via Audiobook Blast in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated or influenced in any way for writing this review.
October 28, 2015
What Indie Fantasy Should Be!
I've been digging through the offering of Indie Fantasy on Kindle Unlimited trying to find something that could keep my interest to the end without having to groan through it. What Remains of Heroes is truly a diamond in the rough. Interesting characters, good world building, solid editing, a classic good vs. evil plotline. If I had picked this up in a bookstore, I don't think I would have been disappointed.
The writing can be a little rough around the edges. Characters all repeat the same one-or-two mannerisms during conversation, and he has a habit of repeating crucial lore over and over, like a school teacher trying to drill it into your head for a quiz. But overall, these are minor complaints for an otherwise excellent debut fantasy.
4.5/5
I've been digging through the offering of Indie Fantasy on Kindle Unlimited trying to find something that could keep my interest to the end without having to groan through it. What Remains of Heroes is truly a diamond in the rough. Interesting characters, good world building, solid editing, a classic good vs. evil plotline. If I had picked this up in a bookstore, I don't think I would have been disappointed.
The writing can be a little rough around the edges. Characters all repeat the same one-or-two mannerisms during conversation, and he has a habit of repeating crucial lore over and over, like a school teacher trying to drill it into your head for a quiz. But overall, these are minor complaints for an otherwise excellent debut fantasy.
4.5/5
July 23, 2015
Dear author, where have you been on my life? This book was fantastic. I'm glad I stumbled upon it. Now do us all a huge favor, and harry up and release the next book!! On the double LOL I was so engrossed in the story, that I have lost all track of time. Fantastic character development, very emotional, and I love the fact that even the protagonist has flaws of their own. Amazing absolutely amazing.
July 8, 2015
Good book with a well-planned plot and appropriately-flawed heroes. I rarely like novels that shift from character to character, but this one kept me intrigued and interested.
Can't wait to read the sequel!
Can't wait to read the sequel!
December 30, 2017
Great book
Found this book through Mark Lawrence's website. Love it just reread it since it had been a while and am now onto the second installment
Found this book through Mark Lawrence's website. Love it just reread it since it had been a while and am now onto the second installment
February 24, 2017
What can I say, this book clearly stands out like a shining star in the universe of books. I stumbled over it last year (before I discovered r/fantasy) on the SPxx-something list Mark Lawrence does for indie authors. I liked the cover and tone, so I put on the radar.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I finally started reading it. And I immediately loved it!
It’s a dark world. The fragile balance of it is about to be overthrown by dark powers, led by evil sorceres, the Necrists that serve the ultimate evil sucker.
In the mists of all this there are three main characters. The first one is a former war hero captain turned full time drunk, drowning his sorrows of deceit and mistreatments in gallons of booze. Circumstances reluctantly forces him back to his former glory days. His newfound driver spells REVENGE.
The second character is a scholar monk that likes his own company and just wants to read books and learn everything there is to know about divinity. He finds himself in the middle of a plot against the king and is set on an adventure to find out what happened to a murdered lector. Perfect anti-hero with creaking knees travelling, against his own will, through blood, gore and death.
The third one is an evil M****R F****R! He’s an assassin by trade and he just likes to kill for the gold. His evils takes on new proportions as he stumbles, by pure luck, over powers that changes him utterly.
There are many things I really like in this book. The characters are well portraited, and I was quickly intrigued by them and their stories. The darkness and mood of the world was really well described and set a tone of mysticism, darkness and shadows, with a hint of goodness. Yeah, that leads me to another thing I really liked. The language and the flow of the text. The pages whizzed by and the adjectives used to describe the world and characters is really appealing. David Benem is very skilled with words and it shows. Sure, the first chapters are a bit sprawling, but then it just takes off.
The side characters! Quite often side characters are just side characters that doesn’t add to the story and are there to just fill the space in between. In this book, the side characters lifts the book to new hights and adds depth to the story and complements the main characters. So much, that I care almost more for some of the side characters than the main protagonists. I do hope the next book will have more on them. Many times I find myself extremely annoyed when one character is in the middle of some exciting fight or adventure, just to turn the page and there’s a new chapter on some strange character I couldn’t care less about. In What Remains of Heroes, every such turn leads you to another character which is exciting. Not a dull moment throughout the book! All the characters builds up to a magnificent whole.
I can’t believe this book is self published without the help from the big fantasy publishers. It deserves more attention than it gets. Just frickin’ read it!
So, a couple of weeks ago, I finally started reading it. And I immediately loved it!
It’s a dark world. The fragile balance of it is about to be overthrown by dark powers, led by evil sorceres, the Necrists that serve the ultimate evil sucker.
In the mists of all this there are three main characters. The first one is a former war hero captain turned full time drunk, drowning his sorrows of deceit and mistreatments in gallons of booze. Circumstances reluctantly forces him back to his former glory days. His newfound driver spells REVENGE.
The second character is a scholar monk that likes his own company and just wants to read books and learn everything there is to know about divinity. He finds himself in the middle of a plot against the king and is set on an adventure to find out what happened to a murdered lector. Perfect anti-hero with creaking knees travelling, against his own will, through blood, gore and death.
The third one is an evil M****R F****R! He’s an assassin by trade and he just likes to kill for the gold. His evils takes on new proportions as he stumbles, by pure luck, over powers that changes him utterly.
There are many things I really like in this book. The characters are well portraited, and I was quickly intrigued by them and their stories. The darkness and mood of the world was really well described and set a tone of mysticism, darkness and shadows, with a hint of goodness. Yeah, that leads me to another thing I really liked. The language and the flow of the text. The pages whizzed by and the adjectives used to describe the world and characters is really appealing. David Benem is very skilled with words and it shows. Sure, the first chapters are a bit sprawling, but then it just takes off.
The side characters! Quite often side characters are just side characters that doesn’t add to the story and are there to just fill the space in between. In this book, the side characters lifts the book to new hights and adds depth to the story and complements the main characters. So much, that I care almost more for some of the side characters than the main protagonists. I do hope the next book will have more on them. Many times I find myself extremely annoyed when one character is in the middle of some exciting fight or adventure, just to turn the page and there’s a new chapter on some strange character I couldn’t care less about. In What Remains of Heroes, every such turn leads you to another character which is exciting. Not a dull moment throughout the book! All the characters builds up to a magnificent whole.
I can’t believe this book is self published without the help from the big fantasy publishers. It deserves more attention than it gets. Just frickin’ read it!
Read
July 25, 2018Dnf at 50%. I couldn’t get into the characters. A bit too choppy for me.
January 17, 2016
This was a story I really enjoyed. The world is dangerous and each character is doing their best under the terrible circumstances to survive and take care of things on their list. Blood, gods, magic, and turmoil. The writing style is easy to follow and know who is who and where they are. You got me! I look forward to continuing this series!
****FULL REVIEW****
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.
The kingdom is on the brink of war with the Arranese, affecting the plans of everyone, even hired swords. The Lector of the order that protects the High King has been murdered. Everyone scurries to find what happened to his last confession. The confession that passes on the powers of Lector and more. The High King's line is at danger of ending with him, which will leave the Gods Well unprotected. The evils that have lurked in the shadows fighting small battles are now ready to come to the surface and free the power of their god. There are many lives that could stop them. But they have to get through their obstacles in life and the war marching their way before they can accomplish the deeds of saving all.
This is my second book with Andrew as the narrator and he has done an amazing job with this book. I'm impressed! He starts this story with a strong feel, like the world is strong and harsh and we need to feel that along with the words. Instantly we get different voice tones and personalities as the story opens in a tavern, and troubles brew. Andrew even *spits* as he acts out the action of a character. I really enjoyed Andrew's acting and voice variation to each character.
We get a view of different sides of life that are affected by the death of the Lector. The hired assassins that did the job, and now the one who slit his throat is living with the power of what the Lector held. The Sanctum is in a rush to find what happened to their Lector and who heard his confession. The High King is in danger of not producing an heir, and the Sanctum, who is to protect him, can't get to see him now. It's all connected and I got that feel early on but was thrilled to see all the pieces floating around and coming so close together. There is an evil that's waited through the ages and now sees their chance to come for what they want. They have contacts in the right places with want of power that will drive them to do as they want for the power.
We have many great things found in fantasy in one place. Assassins, successful assassins. A journey adventure with dangers in the path. Gods of powers. Greedy men who think nothing other than having power and control. A bloodline in danger of becoming extinct, and the dangers that come from that. All are weaved together in events happening. All are surfacing and influenced to do as the evil long hidden in shadows wants done.
There are many characters here and I felt I got a lot of feel and story for each one. Lannick has me curious early on. It seems he's someone, or was someone, special for things in the past. But there is also great sorrow there too. General Fane reminds me a touch of Glokta from The First Law series. He's one we love to hate. Acolyte Bale is a member of the Sanctum and gives us a view with more descriptions regarding the magic of things and the history of the Sentinels and the High Kings. Karnag gives us the assassin view and something new as well. Fencress is also an assassin, but a true friend willing to help another. These views are all different sides and gives us the full view of the troubles and evils of the world as it starts to crumble around them.
This was a story I really enjoyed. The world is dangerous and each character is doing their best under the terrible circumstances to survive and take care of things on their list. Blood, gods, magic, and turmoil. The writing style is easy to follow and know who is who and where they are. You got me! I look forward to continuing this series!
****FULL REVIEW****
*This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com, at my request.
The kingdom is on the brink of war with the Arranese, affecting the plans of everyone, even hired swords. The Lector of the order that protects the High King has been murdered. Everyone scurries to find what happened to his last confession. The confession that passes on the powers of Lector and more. The High King's line is at danger of ending with him, which will leave the Gods Well unprotected. The evils that have lurked in the shadows fighting small battles are now ready to come to the surface and free the power of their god. There are many lives that could stop them. But they have to get through their obstacles in life and the war marching their way before they can accomplish the deeds of saving all.
This is my second book with Andrew as the narrator and he has done an amazing job with this book. I'm impressed! He starts this story with a strong feel, like the world is strong and harsh and we need to feel that along with the words. Instantly we get different voice tones and personalities as the story opens in a tavern, and troubles brew. Andrew even *spits* as he acts out the action of a character. I really enjoyed Andrew's acting and voice variation to each character.
We get a view of different sides of life that are affected by the death of the Lector. The hired assassins that did the job, and now the one who slit his throat is living with the power of what the Lector held. The Sanctum is in a rush to find what happened to their Lector and who heard his confession. The High King is in danger of not producing an heir, and the Sanctum, who is to protect him, can't get to see him now. It's all connected and I got that feel early on but was thrilled to see all the pieces floating around and coming so close together. There is an evil that's waited through the ages and now sees their chance to come for what they want. They have contacts in the right places with want of power that will drive them to do as they want for the power.
We have many great things found in fantasy in one place. Assassins, successful assassins. A journey adventure with dangers in the path. Gods of powers. Greedy men who think nothing other than having power and control. A bloodline in danger of becoming extinct, and the dangers that come from that. All are weaved together in events happening. All are surfacing and influenced to do as the evil long hidden in shadows wants done.
There are many characters here and I felt I got a lot of feel and story for each one. Lannick has me curious early on. It seems he's someone, or was someone, special for things in the past. But there is also great sorrow there too. General Fane reminds me a touch of Glokta from The First Law series. He's one we love to hate. Acolyte Bale is a member of the Sanctum and gives us a view with more descriptions regarding the magic of things and the history of the Sentinels and the High Kings. Karnag gives us the assassin view and something new as well. Fencress is also an assassin, but a true friend willing to help another. These views are all different sides and gives us the full view of the troubles and evils of the world as it starts to crumble around them.
This was a story I really enjoyed. The world is dangerous and each character is doing their best under the terrible circumstances to survive and take care of things on their list. Blood, gods, magic, and turmoil. The writing style is easy to follow and know who is who and where they are. You got me! I look forward to continuing this series!
January 3, 2019
Many of the best books I read in the last years come from independent authors, so I decided to have a look at the finalists of Mark Lawrence's self-published fantasy blog-off.
According to the blurb and the reviews I found here on Goodreads, What remains of Heroes was the closest to my taste.
I like epic fantasy with a touch of grim-dark and of course I love heroes, especially if they are not shiny paladins too perfect to be real.
I am happy to say that I found everything I like in this book.
We have the heroes, very flawed, but still heroes, which reluctantly fight against the rising evil.
Not sure actually about Karnak and Fencress being heroes, but I guess we will see more of their development in the next book.
Then we have gods and their immortals disciples which have been fighting for centuries in world with a history thousand of years old, but forgotten or considered a fairy tale by most of people.
So, together with the fighting, and we have a lot of gory fighting, we also have the slow revealing of the ancient mysteries of the past and real history behind the current war.
What else could I ask from epic fantasy, especially when it is written in a simple and direct style and with a fast-paced rhythm, so that you must force yourself to stop reading if you want to get some sleep at night.
As pointed out by other reviewers there are still some details to be refined, but it can be expected from a self-published debut, and they are not really big issues, so in my opinion this book would be good 4 stars.
However I gave 3 because I really missed a map of the world.
It is a personal opinion, but with the action taking place in several locations, many of the main characters travelling a lot and with countries at war, I would have enjoyed my reading much more if I could have a map to place the events I was reading.
Anyway, congratulations to Mr. Benem for a great debut.
I will definitely read the next books in the series, hoping in the future to see a map in them.
According to the blurb and the reviews I found here on Goodreads, What remains of Heroes was the closest to my taste.
I like epic fantasy with a touch of grim-dark and of course I love heroes, especially if they are not shiny paladins too perfect to be real.
I am happy to say that I found everything I like in this book.
We have the heroes, very flawed, but still heroes, which reluctantly fight against the rising evil.
Not sure actually about Karnak and Fencress being heroes, but I guess we will see more of their development in the next book.
Then we have gods and their immortals disciples which have been fighting for centuries in world with a history thousand of years old, but forgotten or considered a fairy tale by most of people.
So, together with the fighting, and we have a lot of gory fighting, we also have the slow revealing of the ancient mysteries of the past and real history behind the current war.
What else could I ask from epic fantasy, especially when it is written in a simple and direct style and with a fast-paced rhythm, so that you must force yourself to stop reading if you want to get some sleep at night.
As pointed out by other reviewers there are still some details to be refined, but it can be expected from a self-published debut, and they are not really big issues, so in my opinion this book would be good 4 stars.
However I gave 3 because I really missed a map of the world.
It is a personal opinion, but with the action taking place in several locations, many of the main characters travelling a lot and with countries at war, I would have enjoyed my reading much more if I could have a map to place the events I was reading.
Anyway, congratulations to Mr. Benem for a great debut.
I will definitely read the next books in the series, hoping in the future to see a map in them.
December 13, 2016
This book did a great job of defying my expectations. Events I've been pre-conditioned to look out for - the revelation that turns a drunk into a hero, the comeuppance for a particularly grisly murderer, and the triumph of a hero over his/her demons - had plenty of page-turning twists.
In fact, all the twists caused me to root against some of the main POV characters at points. At first, I found this development off-putting: "Why am I reading about this jerk?" But then I realized this book is a comment on heroes themselves. The author very effectively shows the characters' faults. More over, he does a great job of leaving the characters in precarious moral, emotional, and physical circumstances. As a result, I powered through the pages and will gladly buy the next installment when it comes out.
The first issue - and this may be due to reading it on a Kindle as opposed to a paper copy - was the development of this fantastical world came up a bit short. The maps at the beginning of the hard copies of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series, for example, immensely aided my reading enjoyment of those books.
In Heroes, however, I didn't see any maps. I got and enjoyed a healthy dose of the world's history, but I had a much harder time visualizing its geography, people, and topography. Distance held little meaning. The weather seemed to be consistent no matter where the action took place.
The 2nd issue is a bit more important. The types of people in this fantastical world - Khaldesians, Highlanders, Arranese, etc. - lacked unique characteristics. I couldn't visualize the characters by their fantastical designations, and that made them lose some power.
In the end, however, these are minor quibbles that can be easily rectified in the next installment(s). I look forward to more!
In fact, all the twists caused me to root against some of the main POV characters at points. At first, I found this development off-putting: "Why am I reading about this jerk?" But then I realized this book is a comment on heroes themselves. The author very effectively shows the characters' faults. More over, he does a great job of leaving the characters in precarious moral, emotional, and physical circumstances. As a result, I powered through the pages and will gladly buy the next installment when it comes out.
The first issue - and this may be due to reading it on a Kindle as opposed to a paper copy - was the development of this fantastical world came up a bit short. The maps at the beginning of the hard copies of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series, for example, immensely aided my reading enjoyment of those books.
In Heroes, however, I didn't see any maps. I got and enjoyed a healthy dose of the world's history, but I had a much harder time visualizing its geography, people, and topography. Distance held little meaning. The weather seemed to be consistent no matter where the action took place.
The 2nd issue is a bit more important. The types of people in this fantastical world - Khaldesians, Highlanders, Arranese, etc. - lacked unique characteristics. I couldn't visualize the characters by their fantastical designations, and that made them lose some power.
In the end, however, these are minor quibbles that can be easily rectified in the next installment(s). I look forward to more!
January 8, 2016
In What Remains of Heroes, David Benem weaves a classic fantasy tale of reluctant heroes caught up in events almost beyond their understanding. Benem's characters are well-developed and memorable, and the author's vibrant descriptions of his setting gives life to the world he has created, which keeps things interesting for the reader.
This book is well-written with nice pacing. The storyline is interesting from the beginning until the end. I enjoyed the story so much that I finished it in 3 days. But more importantly, I was disappointed when the book was finished. I really wanted more, which is always another sign of great storytelling. As a longtime fan of the fantasy genre, I agree with what many of the other reviews have said.This book (along with a few others I have read this year) has rekindled my interest in reading more fantasy fiction.
The opening scenes of this novel with Lannick really resonated with me because we've all known someone who has become disillusioned with their life and longs for their glory days.
If you're a fantasy fan, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this book and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I'll definitely be buying it when it comes out.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book is well-written with nice pacing. The storyline is interesting from the beginning until the end. I enjoyed the story so much that I finished it in 3 days. But more importantly, I was disappointed when the book was finished. I really wanted more, which is always another sign of great storytelling. As a longtime fan of the fantasy genre, I agree with what many of the other reviews have said.This book (along with a few others I have read this year) has rekindled my interest in reading more fantasy fiction.
The opening scenes of this novel with Lannick really resonated with me because we've all known someone who has become disillusioned with their life and longs for their glory days.
If you're a fantasy fan, I think you will thoroughly enjoy this book and I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the next book in the series. I'll definitely be buying it when it comes out.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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