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The Wings of War #1
Child of the Daystar
**Book 1 in the Top 10 Bestselling Epic Fantasy series on Amazon**
Among the scattered fringe cities bordering the Cienbal desert, the true name of the Monster of Karth is spoken only in whispers...
RAZ I'SYUL ARRO.
A sellsword of the utmost caliber, Raz is a killer of paramount skill and highest regard. Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills. Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night.
But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival. Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life.
And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name.
And some debts can't be paid in gold...
Among the scattered fringe cities bordering the Cienbal desert, the true name of the Monster of Karth is spoken only in whispers...
RAZ I'SYUL ARRO.
A sellsword of the utmost caliber, Raz is a killer of paramount skill and highest regard. Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills. Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night.
But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival. Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life.
And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name.
And some debts can't be paid in gold...
280 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2015
2560 people are currently reading
3887 people want to read
About the author
Bryce O'Connor
24 books1,993 followers
PURCHASE BOOKS:
Bryce writes high fantasy stories with special twists on character and plot. Child of the Daystar, the first installment in his series, The Wings of War, released in December, 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 343 reviews
April 1, 2018
First off, the cover of this book is amaze balls!
I loved Raz! I call him my dragonoid. Yeah, he's a lizard like creature (dragon) that are called Atherian's.
These ole jerks had him and some of his kind as slaves, taking them to the slave market. Supposedly the wings of a male Atherian goes for a pretty penny and they also put them in the rings to fight.
Raz is just a little boy. But he's fierce and takes out some jerks along the way.
Later on, some humans that live in their own clan, finds everyone dead, accept Raz. Something happened and he didn't die so they take him in as one of their own. They raise him in their human world. I loved Grandma, she wouldn't see it any other way.
It does jump ahead to when Raz is older because we can't go on with him as a child forever!
I'm very happy with this book! It's also on kindle unlimited for those of you that have it and it's not much on kindle or audible as well. I hope the rest of the series is just as good!
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
AMAZON: REVIEW
"By the Sun's grace, I grow. By the Moon's, I sleep. It is in their light that the world is, and it is by their light that I shall live."
-"The Twin's Prayer," FROM THE LIBRARIES OF CYURGI' DI
I loved Raz! I call him my dragonoid. Yeah, he's a lizard like creature (dragon) that are called Atherian's.
These ole jerks had him and some of his kind as slaves, taking them to the slave market. Supposedly the wings of a male Atherian goes for a pretty penny and they also put them in the rings to fight.
Raz is just a little boy. But he's fierce and takes out some jerks along the way.
Later on, some humans that live in their own clan, finds everyone dead, accept Raz. Something happened and he didn't die so they take him in as one of their own. They raise him in their human world. I loved Grandma, she wouldn't see it any other way.
It does jump ahead to when Raz is older because we can't go on with him as a child forever!
I'm very happy with this book! It's also on kindle unlimited for those of you that have it and it's not much on kindle or audible as well. I hope the rest of the series is just as good!
"They are beasts who, upon first encounter, have some semblances of the compassion we pride ourselves in as men and women. Do not be led astray. They are savages, barbarians, and if it is easier to kill than barter, they will pounce.
-STEVAN ASHANI, HEAD OF THE ASHANI CLAN, CONCERNING THE ATHERIAN
Happy Reading!
Mel ♥
MY BLOG: Melissa Martin's Reading List
AMAZON: REVIEW
May 30, 2017
Child of the Daystar (The Wings of War #1) by Bryce O'Connor is such an awesome epic fantasy novel that stole my brain can kept it locked in this book until I finished reading it, and I loved my prison! This had me right away and had to immediately buy book 2 when I finished this book. Raz, is a lizard-like species that is captured by slavers when he is a baby, just about 2 yrs old. As he is chained up, he attacks and kills some of those who captured him as they are taking him across the desert. They think they kill him too. Another traveling group see the dead group and they don't want sand cats to come so they start to bury the bodies and find out the lizard boy is not dead just very wounded. He almost kills the men. They end up knocking him out and sedate him, healing him, and slowing he becomes part of the troupe. He grows up as part of one of the main family. There is lots of action, adventure, pain, loss, bits of humor, and epic fantasy. So wonderful! This is what I have been looking for! Loved it so much!!! I can't tell you too much. These are just basics. Too much with this story...Just read it!
July 8, 2016
4.5
Bryce O'Connor, is a new and NEEDED voice in the fantasy genre. This book is utterly unique, with no ties and similarities to any other works of fiction I have read.
It has set up the story really well, looking forward to the follow up.
Bryce is also a massive fan of Harry Potter and prolific author when it comes to connecting with his readers, I can see the appeal in his work and him as an author!
Bryce O'Connor, is a new and NEEDED voice in the fantasy genre. This book is utterly unique, with no ties and similarities to any other works of fiction I have read.
It has set up the story really well, looking forward to the follow up.
Bryce is also a massive fan of Harry Potter and prolific author when it comes to connecting with his readers, I can see the appeal in his work and him as an author!
October 18, 2018
3 Stars
Child of the Daystar was a solid, entertaining fantasy novel that started out strong but faded toward the end.
The book follows Raz, an atherian who is one of the few of his kind to live among humans. Atherians are basically humanoid lizard/dragon like creatures and yes, they are as cool as they sound. The story has several different POV perspectives, but the story focuses on Raz, and his journey from outcast to accepted member of society to mercenary.
There was a lot I liked about this book. It started out very strongly, with several quick POV shifts, exciting action right from the start, and some tantalizing hints about a broader world and overarching plot. The first few chapters seemed straight from the epic fantasy playbook, and I was loving it.
The worldbuilding was interesting as well. The world seems split between a massive desert in the south and a few cities around the outskirts and the north, a mostly frozen territory that doesn’t feature as heavily in this book. Then there are the atherians themselves, who seem to have a rich backstory that was only hinted at. There was also a holy order that instead of relying on the usual fantasy trope of showing any kind of religion as evil, corrupt, and oppressive portrayed the priests as genuine servants working to improve the lives of others. The book was self-published, but the writing itself is polished, managing a good balance between action and description.
About a third of the way through the book, I thought this was trending toward an easy 4 star review and that I’d jump straight to the second book. Unfortunately, the strong start didn’t last. The biggest frustration was that the plot seemed to peter out, and the bulk of the story unfolded without ever tying back to any of the hints and references from the earlier chapters. The story seemed a little unfocused, boiling down to basically following our protagonist around.
The other issue that I had was that by the end of the book Raz has become an incredible fighter, the Monster of Karth, feared by everyone. Which would usually be cool, but it got to the point that he seemed SO much better/stronger/faster than everyone else that action scenes lost their tension because he came across as a bit overpowered.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. There was a lot to like, but some of the things I mentioned above dampened my enthusiasm a bit. I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the second book. Still, if you like epic fantasy the blurb sounds interesting it’s worth giving it a try. Oh, and the cover art is phenomenal.
Child of the Daystar was a solid, entertaining fantasy novel that started out strong but faded toward the end.
The book follows Raz, an atherian who is one of the few of his kind to live among humans. Atherians are basically humanoid lizard/dragon like creatures and yes, they are as cool as they sound. The story has several different POV perspectives, but the story focuses on Raz, and his journey from outcast to accepted member of society to mercenary.
There was a lot I liked about this book. It started out very strongly, with several quick POV shifts, exciting action right from the start, and some tantalizing hints about a broader world and overarching plot. The first few chapters seemed straight from the epic fantasy playbook, and I was loving it.
The worldbuilding was interesting as well. The world seems split between a massive desert in the south and a few cities around the outskirts and the north, a mostly frozen territory that doesn’t feature as heavily in this book. Then there are the atherians themselves, who seem to have a rich backstory that was only hinted at. There was also a holy order that instead of relying on the usual fantasy trope of showing any kind of religion as evil, corrupt, and oppressive portrayed the priests as genuine servants working to improve the lives of others. The book was self-published, but the writing itself is polished, managing a good balance between action and description.
About a third of the way through the book, I thought this was trending toward an easy 4 star review and that I’d jump straight to the second book. Unfortunately, the strong start didn’t last. The biggest frustration was that the plot seemed to peter out, and the bulk of the story unfolded without ever tying back to any of the hints and references from the earlier chapters. The story seemed a little unfocused, boiling down to basically following our protagonist around.
The other issue that I had was that by the end of the book Raz has become an incredible fighter, the Monster of Karth, feared by everyone. Which would usually be cool, but it got to the point that he seemed SO much better/stronger/faster than everyone else that action scenes lost their tension because he came across as a bit overpowered.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about this book. There was a lot to like, but some of the things I mentioned above dampened my enthusiasm a bit. I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the second book. Still, if you like epic fantasy the blurb sounds interesting it’s worth giving it a try. Oh, and the cover art is phenomenal.
April 7, 2017
4.5 stars (Just some points to make.. not a real review)
Thank you Shari Kay for your great review which prompted me to read this! You are right, I totally love RAZ.
I got sucked right into the story and couldn't put it down. I am surprised this is the authors debut!
The writing is absolutely astounding!!! Excellent world building.. 3 dimensional characters that pop off the page..perfect fight scenes (not overdone, or drawn out), I really felt like I was there in the story!
It wasn't overly political or religious.. again a nice balance, just enough for the reader to get the gist of the times.
I agree with another reviewer who described the book as "not too simple and not over complex. A perfect balance."
What made it for me is that this was not a typical good vs evil troupe. There is so much more. It's about being different, dealing with prejudice, morality...humanity. and REVENGE!
There is a little bit of magic but not too much yet. But I suspect the next book will elaborate on that.
I highly recommend and have already listed this author as a fave.
Got it on KU but I bought it to own.
Content: Blood and gore, cursing. No sex. Attempted rape(thwarted). No romance but
Thank you Shari Kay for your great review which prompted me to read this! You are right, I totally love RAZ.
I got sucked right into the story and couldn't put it down. I am surprised this is the authors debut!
The writing is absolutely astounding!!! Excellent world building.. 3 dimensional characters that pop off the page..perfect fight scenes (not overdone, or drawn out), I really felt like I was there in the story!
It wasn't overly political or religious.. again a nice balance, just enough for the reader to get the gist of the times.
I agree with another reviewer who described the book as "not too simple and not over complex. A perfect balance."
What made it for me is that this was not a typical good vs evil troupe. There is so much more. It's about being different, dealing with prejudice, morality...humanity. and REVENGE!
There is a little bit of magic but not too much yet. But I suspect the next book will elaborate on that.
I highly recommend and have already listed this author as a fave.
Got it on KU but I bought it to own.
Content: Blood and gore, cursing. No sex. Attempted rape(thwarted). No romance but
August 31, 2018
Dragons are cool. All right-thinking people will agree with me on this. A human-dragon hybrid warrior must be cool by definition. Child of the Daystar is Bryce O’Connor’s debut fantasy novel, successfully funded through Kickstarter campaign in 2015.
While it's not always wise to judge the book by the cover, I couldn't resist this one. Just look at it. It's dope.
The story starts with our hero Raz I’Syul (meaning Child of the Daystar) Arro when he’s just a child slave. Raz belongs to Atherians – humanoid lizard-like species. Slavers hope to sell him for good money as he has wings, a rarity in his species. After a fight with slavers, Raz is left dying but becomes rescued by a tribe of nomads. The first half of the book focuses on him growing up and building strong bonds with his new tribe. The second part of the book gets much darker, becoming a tale of vengeance.
I liked the first part of the book a lot because it illustrated nicely goodness in people - Raz's foster family were good people, affectionate toward each other, caring and willing to help. It felt refreshing given how brutal and dark modern fantasy can get. Big yes for some goodness and love and familial bonding in the book.
Raz's life feels good for a while. A major shift in his life comes about halfway through the book; nothing prepares a reader for this cold and cruel twist. Things get dark.
Let’s talk world-building. Who doesn’t love the idea of a human-dragon hybrid? From a character perspective, Raz is intriguing and decently developed. He's part lizard trying to find his place in the world of humans. Not an easy task. Other Atherians are present in the background and their conversations lead us to believe Raz may be a chosen one figure.
The description of events, surroundings and people is to the point and rarely sidetracks. Characters are interesting and diverse (apart from Raz we have, among others, a gay priest couple, a kick-ass female assassin, an albino cleric). There’s no single antagonist in the book – it’s probably the entire criminal underground.
I enjoyed the book, but it's not perfect. In the second half, the pacing becomes uneven, and the heavy (but skilful) use of tropes is evident. Some passages feel overloaded with unnecessary details that don’t further the plot in any significant way. Instead, they kill momentum.
In the end, though, it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the story. Raz is a cool protagonist I want to know better.
While it's not always wise to judge the book by the cover, I couldn't resist this one. Just look at it. It's dope.
The story starts with our hero Raz I’Syul (meaning Child of the Daystar) Arro when he’s just a child slave. Raz belongs to Atherians – humanoid lizard-like species. Slavers hope to sell him for good money as he has wings, a rarity in his species. After a fight with slavers, Raz is left dying but becomes rescued by a tribe of nomads. The first half of the book focuses on him growing up and building strong bonds with his new tribe. The second part of the book gets much darker, becoming a tale of vengeance.
I liked the first part of the book a lot because it illustrated nicely goodness in people - Raz's foster family were good people, affectionate toward each other, caring and willing to help. It felt refreshing given how brutal and dark modern fantasy can get. Big yes for some goodness and love and familial bonding in the book.
Raz's life feels good for a while. A major shift in his life comes about halfway through the book; nothing prepares a reader for this cold and cruel twist. Things get dark.
Let’s talk world-building. Who doesn’t love the idea of a human-dragon hybrid? From a character perspective, Raz is intriguing and decently developed. He's part lizard trying to find his place in the world of humans. Not an easy task. Other Atherians are present in the background and their conversations lead us to believe Raz may be a chosen one figure.
The description of events, surroundings and people is to the point and rarely sidetracks. Characters are interesting and diverse (apart from Raz we have, among others, a gay priest couple, a kick-ass female assassin, an albino cleric). There’s no single antagonist in the book – it’s probably the entire criminal underground.
I enjoyed the book, but it's not perfect. In the second half, the pacing becomes uneven, and the heavy (but skilful) use of tropes is evident. Some passages feel overloaded with unnecessary details that don’t further the plot in any significant way. Instead, they kill momentum.
In the end, though, it didn't hurt my enjoyment of the story. Raz is a cool protagonist I want to know better.
December 5, 2015
Child of the Daystar is the beginning of a new and exciting series called The Wings of War. The development of the characters and settings is neither rushed nor superficial. O’Connor presents an original world full of intrigue and promise.
The two main plots that follow Raz i’Syul and Syrah switch back and forth seamlessly, and their crossing paths provide the catalyst for the story's explosive movement forward and outward. Even though Raz and Syrah are completely opposite in every sense of the word, their similarities are astounding. Keep that thought in mind as you read, and you will see they are two sides of the same coin. Brilliant!
Raz is fiercely adorable, especially in the beginning when he is so young, and his hero status is quickly and heart wrenchingly established early on. As the protagonist, Raz is loyal to a fault, often blind with vengeance, flawed, vulnerable, cunning, compelling, and oh so unique. The story has two scenes involving Raz (one toward the beginning and one toward the end) that left me breathless and wanting more of this fabulous hero and his adventures. Both Raz and Syrah are still young at the end of Child of the Daystar, and as the series develops, we can look forward to watching them grow and mature in this wondrous bildungsroman that is like no other.
The two main plots that follow Raz i’Syul and Syrah switch back and forth seamlessly, and their crossing paths provide the catalyst for the story's explosive movement forward and outward. Even though Raz and Syrah are completely opposite in every sense of the word, their similarities are astounding. Keep that thought in mind as you read, and you will see they are two sides of the same coin. Brilliant!
Raz is fiercely adorable, especially in the beginning when he is so young, and his hero status is quickly and heart wrenchingly established early on. As the protagonist, Raz is loyal to a fault, often blind with vengeance, flawed, vulnerable, cunning, compelling, and oh so unique. The story has two scenes involving Raz (one toward the beginning and one toward the end) that left me breathless and wanting more of this fabulous hero and his adventures. Both Raz and Syrah are still young at the end of Child of the Daystar, and as the series develops, we can look forward to watching them grow and mature in this wondrous bildungsroman that is like no other.
August 11, 2018
A different kind of fantasy novel 4.5 stars
Raz is one of the atherian—a reptilian desert people. The only one who lives in human society. By profession he is a mercenary, a sellsword who will kill for money as long as you offer enough of it. This story tels his origins, his work and the actions that made him both butcher and savior of an entire city.
This was different, and honestly quit interesting. Raz isn't human and he knows it, we know it and all around him know it. He is dangerous and deadly, but there is an interlect and integrity that is deeply hidden within him. With hints through the novel that his fate will be far more important than that of a simple killer. In all this makes for a inserting new voice in fantasy fiction. As it turns out a voice I'm quite welcome to.
Recommended for readers who like high fantasy with non-human protagonist, and don't mind the concept of bloody vengeance too much.
Raz is one of the atherian—a reptilian desert people. The only one who lives in human society. By profession he is a mercenary, a sellsword who will kill for money as long as you offer enough of it. This story tels his origins, his work and the actions that made him both butcher and savior of an entire city.
This was different, and honestly quit interesting. Raz isn't human and he knows it, we know it and all around him know it. He is dangerous and deadly, but there is an interlect and integrity that is deeply hidden within him. With hints through the novel that his fate will be far more important than that of a simple killer. In all this makes for a inserting new voice in fantasy fiction. As it turns out a voice I'm quite welcome to.
Recommended for readers who like high fantasy with non-human protagonist, and don't mind the concept of bloody vengeance too much.
September 22, 2022
I added this to my Kindle TBR list some months ago when randomly poking around for some self-published fantasy that could potentially start convincing me that it really could be as good as my favorite traditionally published fare. Yes, that old bile-inducing debate. I'm happy to report that I have thoroughly enjoyed some indie titles recently, but I'm still not gaga over anything in particular. As a person of reason (ha!) I concede that there is no reason why self-published fantasy can't be as good as those other books I call my favorites, but there are plenty of reasons why most of the time it isn't, going strictly by numbers in the zero barrier, barn doors thrown wide open world of the current self-publishing landscape.
This book is not about this debate and is in no way expected to represent publishing on a broad scale, but I'm using this space to muse on this topic anyway. The book's been out a few years now, it can take it. Plus, there's a review in here somewhere. Maybe. Oh look here it is:
Child of the Daystar was very good . . . until it wasn't.
It opens well—desert slavers struggling with the ultra-rare draconic child they've managed to capture—and continues well with an interesting setting, sympathetic characters, intriguing world lore, all that good stuff. Raz, the central character, a dragon-like humanoid faithfully depicted on the excellent cover art, is the star of the show from beginning to end. He's certainly memorable, at least as a character design if not fully for his personality and story arc. The book has a strong foundation and plenty of promise, which is what inspired me to include it in my "please be good" to-read list in the first place. (Its closest companion there was Troupe of Shadows to which I gave a five-star review.)
It started going downhill in chapter three. At least I think it was three; it was an early chapter in any case. This chapter jumped from the human perspective to that of the draconic race from which Raz hailed, and in this it was interesting, giving us a direct taste of a non-mammalian society which the human world had very limited knowledge of. Sadly, the chapter added nothing to the developing story; it revealed a prophecy which was exactly the same prophecy we already got in the preceding human chapters, and otherwise added so little worldbuilding that it mightn't have bothered, particularly so because its unique perspective did not appear again in the book. It's the kind of material that could have been made into an interesting prologue or epilogue, but as it was placed it was useless and, ultimately, irritating for its presence.
The main part of said prophecy (not a spoiler) is that a dragon boy and a white girl will join forces and . . . do something in the world. A short time later we meet the white girl. There's no reveal involved, it's just like, "Oh, it's her. They're going to meet, then." Then they meet. THE END. For real that's the full extent of their combined story. The book and series are set up as these dual pathways that will converge and lead to change in the world, but they don't converge at all. The white girl meets the dragon boy, then goes off and does her own thing, and her storyline is just the worst. We get randomly-placed chapters set in the geographic north in and around her mystic hidden abbey, but most of them add nothing to the story. She's not even in some of them; those chapters are focused more on an older monk, her mentor, the butt of jokes along the lines of "you'll bang any ass that moves in this place" as one commonly treats the wizened leader of a hidden sect of monks. Like the early draconic POV chapter, these ones accomplish so little most of the time that they made the book worse by their presence.
Raz's story in the end was fine; predictable in certain beats, but reasonably interesting, and his arc would be the only reason I could see for continuing the series.
To recap, we have at least one interesting character, some other at least acceptable characters, decent worldbuilding, and good writing, at least on a page-level scale. The problems with the book are all structural, and these were bad enough to ruin the whole thing for me.
In short: the book needed an editor.
But the book had an editor. It says so right there on the copyright page among other credits: "Edited by M— T—." I looked up M— T—; he dead now [frowny face emoji]. But before that, by all accounts he was a phenomenal copy editor. He certainly did a terrific job with this book; there were no copy editing issues that I could point to. That's not what this book needed; it needed a structural or developmental or story editor, whatever best applies here. Do readers know about different types and stages of editing? I educated myself in the interest of greater appreciation of the books I read through better understanding of the processes that went into their creation. Now I read Robin Hobb and I think, wow, she is an amazing author, but she had to also have an outstanding editor at her side to make it all shine so phenomenally. (And even so, the finer distinctions between high-level editing processes escape me.) Anyway, this is not the first time that I have seen "editor" credited in a self-published book's front matter and felt the need to call bullshit. Probably the first time it happened, it was the other way around: the author got high-level developmental support from the credited editor, but on a sentence level the writing was a mess.
Should a book credit an editor? There is a common place for such: in the book's acknowledgements. Otherwise, every time I see a self-published book (and this only happens in self-published books) include "Edited by so-and-so" I cringe. For one thing, what kind of editing? If you're crediting that one type of editor, does the absence of other credits mean the other types of editing were skipped? (probably yes). For another, I wonder if the editor wanted to be thus credited; if they don't have any sway over the book's final quality, can they trust that their name appearing on it will do them any good? But mostly I have to think, in what way is this not saying, "yeah self-published books are mostly bad and unedited, but my book had an editor so it's okay"? What does this say about the state of the industry?
This points to an enduring, global problem that continues self-publishing's lingering bad reputation. Self-published books can be as good as the best traditionally published books. They can undergo multiple rounds of substantive, high-level editing to craft the story and characters into their best shapes. They can receive thorough line editing to perfect the prose. They can then go through professional copy editing, internal layout and design, cover layout and design and unique artwork and marketing copy. They should go through all of this, but most of them won't. If they do, how are they supposed to make that fact known? If I pick up a big-name trad book, I expect this to all have happened, and if it failed in any of those regards it should rightfully be lambasted for it. If I pick up a selfie, I sadly expect much less, until it convinces me otherwise. There's still the problem where a self-published book's editor is paid for a specific service, whereas a trad-published book's editor champions it for its quality and their belief in its value, and their professional reputation rides on its success; which should I trust more to produce outstanding books? This is a larger argument for another time.
I'll jump ahead to the part where without SPFBO I don't know how the minority of self-published fantasy that truly shines would ever stand a chance of becoming well-known, and even there there are no guarantees. Of the two SPFBO winners I have read so far, both flubbed for me.
(Thank you, Child of the Daystar, for giving me a space to work out my thoughts on things that go well beyond you as a single book.)
This book is not about this debate and is in no way expected to represent publishing on a broad scale, but I'm using this space to muse on this topic anyway. The book's been out a few years now, it can take it. Plus, there's a review in here somewhere. Maybe. Oh look here it is:
Child of the Daystar was very good . . . until it wasn't.
It opens well—desert slavers struggling with the ultra-rare draconic child they've managed to capture—and continues well with an interesting setting, sympathetic characters, intriguing world lore, all that good stuff. Raz, the central character, a dragon-like humanoid faithfully depicted on the excellent cover art, is the star of the show from beginning to end. He's certainly memorable, at least as a character design if not fully for his personality and story arc. The book has a strong foundation and plenty of promise, which is what inspired me to include it in my "please be good" to-read list in the first place. (Its closest companion there was Troupe of Shadows to which I gave a five-star review.)
It started going downhill in chapter three. At least I think it was three; it was an early chapter in any case. This chapter jumped from the human perspective to that of the draconic race from which Raz hailed, and in this it was interesting, giving us a direct taste of a non-mammalian society which the human world had very limited knowledge of. Sadly, the chapter added nothing to the developing story; it revealed a prophecy which was exactly the same prophecy we already got in the preceding human chapters, and otherwise added so little worldbuilding that it mightn't have bothered, particularly so because its unique perspective did not appear again in the book. It's the kind of material that could have been made into an interesting prologue or epilogue, but as it was placed it was useless and, ultimately, irritating for its presence.
The main part of said prophecy (not a spoiler) is that a dragon boy and a white girl will join forces and . . . do something in the world. A short time later we meet the white girl. There's no reveal involved, it's just like, "Oh, it's her. They're going to meet, then." Then they meet. THE END. For real that's the full extent of their combined story. The book and series are set up as these dual pathways that will converge and lead to change in the world, but they don't converge at all. The white girl meets the dragon boy, then goes off and does her own thing, and her storyline is just the worst. We get randomly-placed chapters set in the geographic north in and around her mystic hidden abbey, but most of them add nothing to the story. She's not even in some of them; those chapters are focused more on an older monk, her mentor, the butt of jokes along the lines of "you'll bang any ass that moves in this place" as one commonly treats the wizened leader of a hidden sect of monks. Like the early draconic POV chapter, these ones accomplish so little most of the time that they made the book worse by their presence.
Raz's story in the end was fine; predictable in certain beats, but reasonably interesting, and his arc would be the only reason I could see for continuing the series.
To recap, we have at least one interesting character, some other at least acceptable characters, decent worldbuilding, and good writing, at least on a page-level scale. The problems with the book are all structural, and these were bad enough to ruin the whole thing for me.
In short: the book needed an editor.
But the book had an editor. It says so right there on the copyright page among other credits: "Edited by M— T—." I looked up M— T—; he dead now [frowny face emoji]. But before that, by all accounts he was a phenomenal copy editor. He certainly did a terrific job with this book; there were no copy editing issues that I could point to. That's not what this book needed; it needed a structural or developmental or story editor, whatever best applies here. Do readers know about different types and stages of editing? I educated myself in the interest of greater appreciation of the books I read through better understanding of the processes that went into their creation. Now I read Robin Hobb and I think, wow, she is an amazing author, but she had to also have an outstanding editor at her side to make it all shine so phenomenally. (And even so, the finer distinctions between high-level editing processes escape me.) Anyway, this is not the first time that I have seen "editor" credited in a self-published book's front matter and felt the need to call bullshit. Probably the first time it happened, it was the other way around: the author got high-level developmental support from the credited editor, but on a sentence level the writing was a mess.
Should a book credit an editor? There is a common place for such: in the book's acknowledgements. Otherwise, every time I see a self-published book (and this only happens in self-published books) include "Edited by so-and-so" I cringe. For one thing, what kind of editing? If you're crediting that one type of editor, does the absence of other credits mean the other types of editing were skipped? (probably yes). For another, I wonder if the editor wanted to be thus credited; if they don't have any sway over the book's final quality, can they trust that their name appearing on it will do them any good? But mostly I have to think, in what way is this not saying, "yeah self-published books are mostly bad and unedited, but my book had an editor so it's okay"? What does this say about the state of the industry?
This points to an enduring, global problem that continues self-publishing's lingering bad reputation. Self-published books can be as good as the best traditionally published books. They can undergo multiple rounds of substantive, high-level editing to craft the story and characters into their best shapes. They can receive thorough line editing to perfect the prose. They can then go through professional copy editing, internal layout and design, cover layout and design and unique artwork and marketing copy. They should go through all of this, but most of them won't. If they do, how are they supposed to make that fact known? If I pick up a big-name trad book, I expect this to all have happened, and if it failed in any of those regards it should rightfully be lambasted for it. If I pick up a selfie, I sadly expect much less, until it convinces me otherwise. There's still the problem where a self-published book's editor is paid for a specific service, whereas a trad-published book's editor champions it for its quality and their belief in its value, and their professional reputation rides on its success; which should I trust more to produce outstanding books? This is a larger argument for another time.
I'll jump ahead to the part where without SPFBO I don't know how the minority of self-published fantasy that truly shines would ever stand a chance of becoming well-known, and even there there are no guarantees. Of the two SPFBO winners I have read so far, both flubbed for me.
(Thank you, Child of the Daystar, for giving me a space to work out my thoughts on things that go well beyond you as a single book.)
August 28, 2018
A terrific read that started almost immediately in chapter 1. Very well written and filled with action. The reader becomes invested in the characters and you have to keep reading to find out what happens next. Before you know it, you’ve finished the entire book. On to book 2!
July 18, 2025
Child of the Daystar is a beautifully written dark fantasy novel with impressive world-building. It’s easy to get drawn into the universe the author created. The story focuses on the journey and growth of Raz, a unique antihero who stands out not just for his fighting skills, but for his inner struggles too. That’s what makes this book so interesting, there's depth and action.
The story is told through an omniscient narrator who stays fairly neutral, with that old-school fantasy feel I miss in a lot of newer books. And even though we don’t get Raz’s POV directly, you still grow really attached to him.
What I’ve always loved about speculative fiction is how it can explore humanity by contrast, and this book does that so well. Raz may be a fantasy character, but he feels real. In a lot of ways, he could be one of us. His differences become a metaphor for the human condition, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I related this much to a character who looks nothing like us.
Overall, this was an amazing debut. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series. Bryce has definitely gained a fan!
The story is told through an omniscient narrator who stays fairly neutral, with that old-school fantasy feel I miss in a lot of newer books. And even though we don’t get Raz’s POV directly, you still grow really attached to him.
What I’ve always loved about speculative fiction is how it can explore humanity by contrast, and this book does that so well. Raz may be a fantasy character, but he feels real. In a lot of ways, he could be one of us. His differences become a metaphor for the human condition, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I related this much to a character who looks nothing like us.
Overall, this was an amazing debut. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series. Bryce has definitely gained a fan!
January 24, 2020
4.5 stars
“Of one kind, and yet of another, wings and wind bear him forth. From chains comes his second birth and never shall he stand for them. Child of the Daystar, he will speak the language and be the speaker of his people. To leave and then return, bearing a woman of ice and snow on his arm.”
Reading the first instalment of a high fantasy series is always uncertain for me, especially when I haven’t done that in a long time, and it has been a long time. Because foundations must be laid, introductions done and worlds developed, there’s always a chance that all these can be too much, too boring or too dragging or even too complicated to warrant continued reading. At these times I find myself wanting to just give up and move on to that non-complex read where the authors don’t have to go through all this nonsense of introducing a new world and the stories begin from chapter 1. I had a rough start with this book because of these very reasons. But once I forced myself to continue it paid up, because, man, this was a wild ride. I am on a quest to reacquaint myself with the epic/high fantasy genre and I choose to start with this series because the first two books are not too long, so I thought it won’t be as challenging to get the hang of things and acclimatize myself with the genre again. Nope, I was wrong. This book is short compared to some book lengths in this genre, but this does not mean its not up to the same standard.
As with all new introductions, I got confused quite a lot, had to turn back a few times to check who’s who and why they were doing what they were doing. Not to mention the number of characters and their names. This is always one of my biggest challenges, to remember the character names and link them to the story as it unfolds. But I am glad I took it in strides and didn’t give up because this is a good story and I can’t wait to get the next one.
There is a whole lot packed in these 300 pages and I feel intimidated to try and summarise, but I will try.
Raz i’Syul was found by a family of nomad traders, as a youngling and an only survivor at a site of what appeared to be an aftermath of an attack on some slavers. He is of human-like race that looks like a cross between humans and lizards called Atherians. He has wings, which is not very common amongst his kind but known for extreme violence. As he was still a child when he was found, the nomad family took him in and raised him as their son until tragedy stroke and he lost this family and had to go make life on his own and forge his own path. The core of his story is mainly the not-so-easy task of trying to do right by the memories his adopted family while balancing the rights and wrongs of the path that he found himself on.
“Whereas he’d been smart, they’d been smarter, playing on his desires and twisted concepts of justice to forge him into the first blade of their headlong charge. He’d become more than just a sword-for-hire to them. The name Raz i’Syul Arro, the Monster of Karth, had become a face of the system he hated so much.”
Then there is Syrah, raised by the magic-inclined priests and priestesses of Laor and trained in their religion by some former gladiator priest, Talo Brahnt. She had a brief encounter with Raz while visiting his city, but her story seems to be yet to unfold and it promises to be a good one.
“And what Syrah had always had a talent for was fighting. Maybe it was the fact that she’d practically been raised by a former gladiator. Maybe it was the remnant memories of a thatched mud-brick house, the floor covered in blood and dust and bodies. Regardless, what Syrah lacked in ability for the mending hand she made up twice over with her skills in the field.”
Then we have Lazura, a disgraced former priestess of Laor whose full agenda is also still to be revealed. In the meantime, her path crosses that of Raz, where she is employed as a maid in the household of Raz’s not-so-bright cousin, Mychal, who may be blaming Raz for the tragedy that befell their family. Lazura’s story also holds so much promise.
“You can hardly call it an education,” Lazura retorted. “A bunch of brainwashing old nags too rooted in old ways to see what their abilities could offer themselves and the world? The Laorin Broke me. Because I wasn’t about to let myself turn out like them, they Broke me.”
I have been wondering why this “Broke” is capitalised, does it have significance or it’s just a typo?
We also have Eva, the former surgeon apprentice turned slave. I really liked her character and I am hoping to see where her story goes. Though she made an impression, her character wasn’t that prominent, it might have just been in passing but I really liked her.
“I don’t know how many you could have helped, but I do know how many you put in worse situations than they were already in. None.”
“And when that’s over, you make them pay, Monster.”
While there were many more great characters, these are the ones that really stood out for me for now, and I would really love to see more of them as this tale unfolds.
Two things I didn’t like very much with this book; 1) It was quite predictable at times, it didn’t throw many curve balls which meant no surprises and sort of a let-down. 2) There's a lot of time jumping happening, then something that happened in the jumped time is referred to in the narration as if its an after-thought, it didn't make for a natural flow. But all in all the writing is good and like I said it has a lot of promise and potential.
“Of one kind, and yet of another, wings and wind bear him forth. From chains comes his second birth and never shall he stand for them. Child of the Daystar, he will speak the language and be the speaker of his people. To leave and then return, bearing a woman of ice and snow on his arm.”
Reading the first instalment of a high fantasy series is always uncertain for me, especially when I haven’t done that in a long time, and it has been a long time. Because foundations must be laid, introductions done and worlds developed, there’s always a chance that all these can be too much, too boring or too dragging or even too complicated to warrant continued reading. At these times I find myself wanting to just give up and move on to that non-complex read where the authors don’t have to go through all this nonsense of introducing a new world and the stories begin from chapter 1. I had a rough start with this book because of these very reasons. But once I forced myself to continue it paid up, because, man, this was a wild ride. I am on a quest to reacquaint myself with the epic/high fantasy genre and I choose to start with this series because the first two books are not too long, so I thought it won’t be as challenging to get the hang of things and acclimatize myself with the genre again. Nope, I was wrong. This book is short compared to some book lengths in this genre, but this does not mean its not up to the same standard.
As with all new introductions, I got confused quite a lot, had to turn back a few times to check who’s who and why they were doing what they were doing. Not to mention the number of characters and their names. This is always one of my biggest challenges, to remember the character names and link them to the story as it unfolds. But I am glad I took it in strides and didn’t give up because this is a good story and I can’t wait to get the next one.
There is a whole lot packed in these 300 pages and I feel intimidated to try and summarise, but I will try.
Raz i’Syul was found by a family of nomad traders, as a youngling and an only survivor at a site of what appeared to be an aftermath of an attack on some slavers. He is of human-like race that looks like a cross between humans and lizards called Atherians. He has wings, which is not very common amongst his kind but known for extreme violence. As he was still a child when he was found, the nomad family took him in and raised him as their son until tragedy stroke and he lost this family and had to go make life on his own and forge his own path. The core of his story is mainly the not-so-easy task of trying to do right by the memories his adopted family while balancing the rights and wrongs of the path that he found himself on.
“Whereas he’d been smart, they’d been smarter, playing on his desires and twisted concepts of justice to forge him into the first blade of their headlong charge. He’d become more than just a sword-for-hire to them. The name Raz i’Syul Arro, the Monster of Karth, had become a face of the system he hated so much.”
Then there is Syrah, raised by the magic-inclined priests and priestesses of Laor and trained in their religion by some former gladiator priest, Talo Brahnt. She had a brief encounter with Raz while visiting his city, but her story seems to be yet to unfold and it promises to be a good one.
“And what Syrah had always had a talent for was fighting. Maybe it was the fact that she’d practically been raised by a former gladiator. Maybe it was the remnant memories of a thatched mud-brick house, the floor covered in blood and dust and bodies. Regardless, what Syrah lacked in ability for the mending hand she made up twice over with her skills in the field.”
Then we have Lazura, a disgraced former priestess of Laor whose full agenda is also still to be revealed. In the meantime, her path crosses that of Raz, where she is employed as a maid in the household of Raz’s not-so-bright cousin, Mychal, who may be blaming Raz for the tragedy that befell their family. Lazura’s story also holds so much promise.
“You can hardly call it an education,” Lazura retorted. “A bunch of brainwashing old nags too rooted in old ways to see what their abilities could offer themselves and the world? The Laorin Broke me. Because I wasn’t about to let myself turn out like them, they Broke me.”
I have been wondering why this “Broke” is capitalised, does it have significance or it’s just a typo?
We also have Eva, the former surgeon apprentice turned slave. I really liked her character and I am hoping to see where her story goes. Though she made an impression, her character wasn’t that prominent, it might have just been in passing but I really liked her.
“I don’t know how many you could have helped, but I do know how many you put in worse situations than they were already in. None.”
“And when that’s over, you make them pay, Monster.”
While there were many more great characters, these are the ones that really stood out for me for now, and I would really love to see more of them as this tale unfolds.
Two things I didn’t like very much with this book; 1) It was quite predictable at times, it didn’t throw many curve balls which meant no surprises and sort of a let-down. 2) There's a lot of time jumping happening, then something that happened in the jumped time is referred to in the narration as if its an after-thought, it didn't make for a natural flow. But all in all the writing is good and like I said it has a lot of promise and potential.
December 14, 2020
Starts strong but seems to lose its way toward the middle.
March 12, 2019
This one just barely makes it to a four-star rating. I enjoyed it, but I didn't feel fully invested in the story for a while. The beginning was slower than I would have liked. Then it really picked up about halfway through, and I became a lot more interested. Mostly, it's getting four stars because I did like it enough to seek out the sequels.
The story starts out with the main character as a baby, and the entire section of him growing up didn't quite work for me. I kept reading and waiting for the story to get to the interesting parts hinted at in the summary. Then a major event happened about halfway through that really shocked me and took the story in an entirely new direction.
The second half was much more entertaining, with nearly constant action. It felt a lot like reading something by Brent Weeks, with a lot of violence and fast pacing. If the entire story had been that good, I would have given it a much higher recommendation.
Rating: 7/10
The story starts out with the main character as a baby, and the entire section of him growing up didn't quite work for me. I kept reading and waiting for the story to get to the interesting parts hinted at in the summary. Then a major event happened about halfway through that really shocked me and took the story in an entirely new direction.
The second half was much more entertaining, with nearly constant action. It felt a lot like reading something by Brent Weeks, with a lot of violence and fast pacing. If the entire story had been that good, I would have given it a much higher recommendation.
Rating: 7/10
May 11, 2016
I was pretty sure I was going to like this from the minute I laid eyes on the cover, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. It wasn't exactly what I expected based on the inside flap teaser and some of the book reviews, but that turned out to be a very good thing.
What makes Raz such a fascinating character is the dichotomy of his nature. He is at once a creature of instinct and rage, but also a man of honor and family values instilled in him by his adoptive parents. Some regard him only as the former, while he seeks to be accepted as the latter, and the brilliance of the story is that he can only survive and succeed if he maintains a delicate balance. He's a fascinating character not simply because he's a killing machine, but because it's the human nature that demands the animal nature become an instrument of justice.
I had wondered, based on some of the other reviewers' impressions, if Raz was bound to be an anti-hero. But he's driven by a compassion that he can't seem to correctly qualify, even to himself. The duality of his nature results in a great epiphany, and sets him on a course that explains the series title and sets broad, long-term goals for our protagonist. His seething hatred for the evils he encounters makes him easy to root for, even with his gruff nature.
And I think that's one of my favorite things about this: while Raz shreds his way through a good deal of the evils before him by the end of this book, everything is not neatly tied up with a bow. He makes a dent in the armor, but the "beast" is far from dead. The long-term goals remain prevalent, and some other characters are established, but don't see their true role in the series come to the forefront just yet.
There were a few little nitpicks I had, but they were minor. The swears did seem out of place, but were nowhere near as prolific as some reviewers made them out to be. I felt the prophecies/visions took a little bit of the mystery away, but the story is still powerful, and Raz's character takes center stage over any "mystery" of the plot.
This is a supremely solid first book for any author, and a superb start to a series. I will certainly be looking forward to the next installment.
What makes Raz such a fascinating character is the dichotomy of his nature. He is at once a creature of instinct and rage, but also a man of honor and family values instilled in him by his adoptive parents. Some regard him only as the former, while he seeks to be accepted as the latter, and the brilliance of the story is that he can only survive and succeed if he maintains a delicate balance. He's a fascinating character not simply because he's a killing machine, but because it's the human nature that demands the animal nature become an instrument of justice.
I had wondered, based on some of the other reviewers' impressions, if Raz was bound to be an anti-hero. But he's driven by a compassion that he can't seem to correctly qualify, even to himself. The duality of his nature results in a great epiphany, and sets him on a course that explains the series title and sets broad, long-term goals for our protagonist. His seething hatred for the evils he encounters makes him easy to root for, even with his gruff nature.
And I think that's one of my favorite things about this: while Raz shreds his way through a good deal of the evils before him by the end of this book, everything is not neatly tied up with a bow. He makes a dent in the armor, but the "beast" is far from dead. The long-term goals remain prevalent, and some other characters are established, but don't see their true role in the series come to the forefront just yet.
There were a few little nitpicks I had, but they were minor. The swears did seem out of place, but were nowhere near as prolific as some reviewers made them out to be. I felt the prophecies/visions took a little bit of the mystery away, but the story is still powerful, and Raz's character takes center stage over any "mystery" of the plot.
This is a supremely solid first book for any author, and a superb start to a series. I will certainly be looking forward to the next installment.
January 3, 2019
This started of a bit slow, and at times felt pretty generic to me, even though the main character is from a race I haven't read about before.
It definitely hooked me more in the second half when the story seemed to speed up and the plot became apparent.
I liked the main character even if at times he felt a bit wooden to me, as in not fully like a "real" person. He did grow on me over the course of the course of the story and I liked how he seemed a bit too perfect at first, but did show some flaws later on.
I would have liked to explore a bit more of the world, and especially to see more difference between the main character and the humans he lives with! Yes, obviously he would adapt to them, growing up the way he does, but he seems to be like a human with wings at times.
I also would have loved to learn a bit more about what happens in the prophecy. That mystery seems to be shifted to the next book in the series though.
The editing could have been a bit better - and it was weird to have the acknowledgements between the opener and the actual book. With a bit tighter prose it might have been a full 4* book for me as I did enjoy it enough to keep reading to the end (and I have long since stopped reading things I don't enjoy!). Definitely a promising author who I will happily give a second chance!
It definitely hooked me more in the second half when the story seemed to speed up and the plot became apparent.
I liked the main character even if at times he felt a bit wooden to me, as in not fully like a "real" person. He did grow on me over the course of the course of the story and I liked how he seemed a bit too perfect at first, but did show some flaws later on.
I would have liked to explore a bit more of the world, and especially to see more difference between the main character and the humans he lives with! Yes, obviously he would adapt to them, growing up the way he does, but he seems to be like a human with wings at times.
I also would have loved to learn a bit more about what happens in the prophecy. That mystery seems to be shifted to the next book in the series though.
The editing could have been a bit better - and it was weird to have the acknowledgements between the opener and the actual book. With a bit tighter prose it might have been a full 4* book for me as I did enjoy it enough to keep reading to the end (and I have long since stopped reading things I don't enjoy!). Definitely a promising author who I will happily give a second chance!
February 26, 2017
A humanoid dragon assassin main character? It sounded goofy and immature the first time I received a recommendation for this book. I couldn't have been more wrong.
CHILD OF THE DAYSTAR is a mesmerizing fantasy romp. From page one through the Epilogue this book got it's hooks into me and hasn't released me yet.
Despite this the book could've benefit from a couple hundred more pages. Coming in under 400 pages, CHILD OF THE DAYSTAR introduced a number of interesting characters and a unique world that I feel that I truly didn't get to appreciate fully due to it's short length. It made it more of a light read for me though the content hinted at something deeper. Hopefully the next installment will hit the spot.
On to book two.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
CHILD OF THE DAYSTAR is a mesmerizing fantasy romp. From page one through the Epilogue this book got it's hooks into me and hasn't released me yet.
Despite this the book could've benefit from a couple hundred more pages. Coming in under 400 pages, CHILD OF THE DAYSTAR introduced a number of interesting characters and a unique world that I feel that I truly didn't get to appreciate fully due to it's short length. It made it more of a light read for me though the content hinted at something deeper. Hopefully the next installment will hit the spot.
On to book two.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
March 15, 2020
Good story, great characters an interesting character development for Raz indeed. I have to say it is a well writen book, with an really interesting development. A lot of future development hints were shown here, but not developed in depth, I am guessing those are for future books in the series. It has quite the sad moments but worth the pain.
March 7, 2016
Absolutely loved this book!! This is definitely a series that’s going to eat my life up as soon as I started this from the first page it had me and I couldn’t put it down. Bryce has an excellent way of connecting you with the characters and even the side characters. I felt I was a part of the family unit that existed and I was even worried when characters that weren’t mentioned that often encountered problems. Over all of the characters though the main character Raz stole the show for me his presence on the pages from start to finish filled me with awe. Raz is from a lizard style race called the Atherians but he’s a very rare member of that race because he was born with wings and more to the point he’s just completely badass and completely steal the show for me. I can’t wait for the next in the series to come out I will be pre-ordering as soon as im able too. Excellent Debut definitely an upcoming author to watch out for.
May 29, 2019
What a fun read! Raz is an unconventional protagonist, and he's fun. He's a bit OP, but he's the Monster of Karth, what do you expect?
Overall it's a good story arc. The writing at some points is down right poetic which is great, but sometimes it's a tad bit too much. Syrah's story arc is unfinished so it seems out of place, but it's clearly being setup for book 2. Overall, looking forward to reading the next one.
Overall it's a good story arc. The writing at some points is down right poetic which is great, but sometimes it's a tad bit too much. Syrah's story arc is unfinished so it seems out of place, but it's clearly being setup for book 2. Overall, looking forward to reading the next one.
January 10, 2017
Part 1 of the book started out well, wasn't great but good and seemed to have potential. Fell apart as it transitioned to part 2 and I was finished with it a little after part 3. Poorly explained and hard to believe transition points and a lack of character building made for a bad book.
September 18, 2021
Highly Good
Damn that was fantastic and a beautifully written Dark Fantasy novel, awesome worldbuilding, the characters are brilliant, and the author shows us a horrible side of humanity, that are easily led to hate and be very prejudice against being's who are different to them, I love when authors use a protagonist who is not human, you will love the world the author has created for us readers to to get lost in for awhile, the book is focused on the journey and personal growth of a very unique Dragon humanoid character called Raz, a sort of antihero, he earns a living being a mercenary, hunting all sinister characters, rapists, slavers and murderers, there are also internal and external conflicts involved that add depth to this cracking story, and this is why this book is so good, It’s just not about Raz’s ferocious fighting skills, it’s about his inner struggles too, absolutle great read, can't wait to check out the rest of the books in the series, the narration by Mikael Naramore is excellent, I highly recommend..😁🐲⚔
Damn that was fantastic and a beautifully written Dark Fantasy novel, awesome worldbuilding, the characters are brilliant, and the author shows us a horrible side of humanity, that are easily led to hate and be very prejudice against being's who are different to them, I love when authors use a protagonist who is not human, you will love the world the author has created for us readers to to get lost in for awhile, the book is focused on the journey and personal growth of a very unique Dragon humanoid character called Raz, a sort of antihero, he earns a living being a mercenary, hunting all sinister characters, rapists, slavers and murderers, there are also internal and external conflicts involved that add depth to this cracking story, and this is why this book is so good, It’s just not about Raz’s ferocious fighting skills, it’s about his inner struggles too, absolutle great read, can't wait to check out the rest of the books in the series, the narration by Mikael Naramore is excellent, I highly recommend..😁🐲⚔
February 6, 2022
Notes:
Bought the audio via KU + Audible Discount
The setup for Raz is one of the better ones I've read by the author. However, the story progression and the way it is told to the reader strips away complex layers and makes the reasons or details seem trite. I always like the core concepts for these books, but end up not that satisfied with the results.
Bought the audio via KU + Audible Discount
The setup for Raz is one of the better ones I've read by the author. However, the story progression and the way it is told to the reader strips away complex layers and makes the reasons or details seem trite. I always like the core concepts for these books, but end up not that satisfied with the results.
April 28, 2025
I love a good book about doing the right thing in the midst of hopelessness. I less like the repetitious use of sexual assault to encourage detesting bad guys (-1 star for that). Overall the plot was interesting and I liked the tough good guy versus waves of baddies approach. It felt very comic book. The writing style is solid and flows easily enough to binge this one. Overall good, but be warned on the graphic violence (no issue here for me) and sexual assault content.
December 7, 2020
What was a promising read was ruined with a half a dozen sentences halfway through... Depicting a child being molested.
As an avid fantasy reader I have read many things that disturb me because the authors are trying to write disturbing content. Poverty, war, betrayal, murder, and slavery all show up throughout fantasy. The real world is not a pretty place and horrible things happen. I came to this book from reading the iron Prince which I would recommend highly and this author was one of the authors of that book. I have seen this book a few times but never got past the blurb no matter the cool cover art. I was surprised to see that his debut novel O'Connor was a bit more gritty to say the least. Still it wasn't nothing I would say would prevent younger young adults from reading the series until halfway through.
A girl that was described as 12 to 13 years old was one of two prostitutes laying naked with a man who kicked her so that she could come up beside him and he proceeded to fondle her then as the character was leaving the room after the discussion he pulled her on top of him as the door closed. Child molestation is something that occurs it is disgusting and when in book form should only ever be hinted at because just the hint is enough to flavor a character or situation. I do not want to even imagine it. I've read plenty of works in which characters see situations like this that disturb them in terms of possible underage prostitutes and very bad slums. However the way it is portrayed in almost a casual slap in the face surprised me as it was a background feature during a conversation.
The work itself is not bad and is even above average for a debut author though the pre chapter quotes that I seen in iron Prince I also seen here ruins a bit of the experience. Having quotes from the future referring back to the main character is a great way to ruin suspense and take a person out of the book. Jim Butcher does this in codex alera but it is quotes from past fictional characters and works pretty good for world building and creating an atmosphere of history. This is a loose third person limited with head hopping. Not a big fan of this style particularly when in the modern sense the narrator suddenly appears to point out something that characters didn't notice.
I read this book specifically to check out this author style of writing and review it. Sadly I made it only 50% of the way through before tripping up on this. I tried to start the next chapter but I had not been pulled in deep enough to make it worth it. I cannot recommend this book for young adults blow the age of 16. In fact I can't really recommend this book at all. for the first time in a long while I'm not going to finish a book nor am I really thinking about coming back to it no matter how promising a series it is.
Off the top of my head I can give examples of authors, particularly one such as Sarah j Maas in her throne of Glass series, who have depicted slum like areas as well as situations that might occur. She never got explicit with it and I think the foreboding that it happens without actually seeing it is impactful enough to get the point across. While the latter half of her series did get more erotic it never went to a disturbing situation such as child molestation. I am not questioning O'Connor as a person. I do think that what is portrayed hit me the wrong way and with me already disliking some of these stylistic choices he made as an writer it knocked me out. Which I think is unfortunate because Raz seem to be like a cool character or what was progressing into one.
I do think the story also felt like a long introduction and with the blurb ruining it in the way of telling you who Razz is fear to be and the reader not seeing him as such even halfway through. In a way the blurb and the little quotes give you the image of who the character is in the future while we see how he becomes that. This is very much seen also in Iron Prince and I didn't like it there it was the one take away from the story.
As an avid fantasy reader I have read many things that disturb me because the authors are trying to write disturbing content. Poverty, war, betrayal, murder, and slavery all show up throughout fantasy. The real world is not a pretty place and horrible things happen. I came to this book from reading the iron Prince which I would recommend highly and this author was one of the authors of that book. I have seen this book a few times but never got past the blurb no matter the cool cover art. I was surprised to see that his debut novel O'Connor was a bit more gritty to say the least. Still it wasn't nothing I would say would prevent younger young adults from reading the series until halfway through.
A girl that was described as 12 to 13 years old was one of two prostitutes laying naked with a man who kicked her so that she could come up beside him and he proceeded to fondle her then as the character was leaving the room after the discussion he pulled her on top of him as the door closed. Child molestation is something that occurs it is disgusting and when in book form should only ever be hinted at because just the hint is enough to flavor a character or situation. I do not want to even imagine it. I've read plenty of works in which characters see situations like this that disturb them in terms of possible underage prostitutes and very bad slums. However the way it is portrayed in almost a casual slap in the face surprised me as it was a background feature during a conversation.
The work itself is not bad and is even above average for a debut author though the pre chapter quotes that I seen in iron Prince I also seen here ruins a bit of the experience. Having quotes from the future referring back to the main character is a great way to ruin suspense and take a person out of the book. Jim Butcher does this in codex alera but it is quotes from past fictional characters and works pretty good for world building and creating an atmosphere of history. This is a loose third person limited with head hopping. Not a big fan of this style particularly when in the modern sense the narrator suddenly appears to point out something that characters didn't notice.
I read this book specifically to check out this author style of writing and review it. Sadly I made it only 50% of the way through before tripping up on this. I tried to start the next chapter but I had not been pulled in deep enough to make it worth it. I cannot recommend this book for young adults blow the age of 16. In fact I can't really recommend this book at all. for the first time in a long while I'm not going to finish a book nor am I really thinking about coming back to it no matter how promising a series it is.
Off the top of my head I can give examples of authors, particularly one such as Sarah j Maas in her throne of Glass series, who have depicted slum like areas as well as situations that might occur. She never got explicit with it and I think the foreboding that it happens without actually seeing it is impactful enough to get the point across. While the latter half of her series did get more erotic it never went to a disturbing situation such as child molestation. I am not questioning O'Connor as a person. I do think that what is portrayed hit me the wrong way and with me already disliking some of these stylistic choices he made as an writer it knocked me out. Which I think is unfortunate because Raz seem to be like a cool character or what was progressing into one.
I do think the story also felt like a long introduction and with the blurb ruining it in the way of telling you who Razz is fear to be and the reader not seeing him as such even halfway through. In a way the blurb and the little quotes give you the image of who the character is in the future while we see how he becomes that. This is very much seen also in Iron Prince and I didn't like it there it was the one take away from the story.
August 22, 2018
I was recommended this book by a colleague, since they knew I am an avid reader with a special bent towards fantasy (and sci-fi). I was a bit skeptical, but quickly found myself enraptured by this unique, complex character as he began his epic quest in O'Connor's elaborate but thoroughly painted world. I brought this book on vacation thinking I'd pick it up now and then but couldn't help devouring it within the first 3 days, immediately ordering the next in the series. Well worth the read!
October 10, 2018
Amazing
One of the very few books that had me absolutley hooked from the beginning all the way to the end.
One of the very few books that had me absolutley hooked from the beginning all the way to the end.
June 3, 2016
(
I received this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest review
)
It's been a long time since I read a high fantasy book, I'm not sure why I strayed away from them but Child of the Daystar have rekindled my love for it.
This is a must read book, the writing is smooth, solid and the tone draws you into a masterful rich world. I could picture everything clearly like I was watching a movie instead of reading a book. I was pulled so deep into this world that before I knew it the story was over and I was left wanting more.
This story is not only unique it is original. I don't believe I have ever read anything like it. Not even on the manga side of the house were their high fantasy is always left field. The world building, the story telling, the characters, all are masterfully done. If this book is not on then best seller list, then humanity is lost to me.
There's no shortage of blood splattering action, right out of the gate we are trusted into this eat or be eaten world. I was a little shocked at first, but that didn't last long, I like it when the author doesn't spear on the gory details.
There is also the emotional side of the house, my heart was connected and at times I was holding my breath, at one point I think my heart stopped. It is a wonder how a fictional story can do that, how an author can cause such a reaction with words. There are times when I get annoyed while reading, either with the why it is written or the why a particular stance is written. I felt non of that while reading this marvel, and it was refreshing. There are no many books that are so much alike that it's a chore to find something not only original but good.
I highly recommend this book, as I have my been raving, it is nothing like you have ever read. You will be trapped from the first words, and you will not be able to put this book down.
I would like to thank the Author Bryce O'Connor for choosing me to be on his review team. It was a outstanding experience and one I would glade repeat.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
It's been a long time since I read a high fantasy book, I'm not sure why I strayed away from them but Child of the Daystar have rekindled my love for it.
This is a must read book, the writing is smooth, solid and the tone draws you into a masterful rich world. I could picture everything clearly like I was watching a movie instead of reading a book. I was pulled so deep into this world that before I knew it the story was over and I was left wanting more.
This story is not only unique it is original. I don't believe I have ever read anything like it. Not even on the manga side of the house were their high fantasy is always left field. The world building, the story telling, the characters, all are masterfully done. If this book is not on then best seller list, then humanity is lost to me.
There's no shortage of blood splattering action, right out of the gate we are trusted into this eat or be eaten world. I was a little shocked at first, but that didn't last long, I like it when the author doesn't spear on the gory details.
There is also the emotional side of the house, my heart was connected and at times I was holding my breath, at one point I think my heart stopped. It is a wonder how a fictional story can do that, how an author can cause such a reaction with words. There are times when I get annoyed while reading, either with the why it is written or the why a particular stance is written. I felt non of that while reading this marvel, and it was refreshing. There are no many books that are so much alike that it's a chore to find something not only original but good.
I highly recommend this book, as I have my been raving, it is nothing like you have ever read. You will be trapped from the first words, and you will not be able to put this book down.
I would like to thank the Author Bryce O'Connor for choosing me to be on his review team. It was a outstanding experience and one I would glade repeat.
Happy Reading
-E.A. Walsh
August 20, 2018
I swear Grimdark will be the death of me...
This book is good. Next books not so much. Too much Pacifist Monks of St Promiscuous dragging the chain with their pointless pondering for pages upon pages. No value added.
The female lead Syrah/Shiraz is albino, which is the only thing remotely interesting about her. Also every chapter is padded out with aimless "HISTORICAL ARTIFACT" letters and journal entries. No value added.
MC Raz is generally well concieved and executed, an exotic beast showing enough heart and honour to be likeable. Book needed much more of his childhood but suddenly slumped into ugly grimdark instead. Why?
Good book 101: More attention to training and weapons; less location descriptions and little or no romance
Instantly MC turns into a super assassin - been done before, a lot - but why doesn't he Robin Hood it?
Steal money give to the poor he pities so much. Typical grimdark scenario not only ugly but stupid to boot. Everything is so hopeless... Woe is me.... They'll just replace all the Mafia I done eradicated. Buck up sook, you're kicking ass. Enjoy the moment, don't over analyse it....
Steal their money dumbass! Ambush their slave caravans... Make an army! Use your reptile brain!
Overall, frustrating that again a great start and central core gets ruined by lazy filler and boring secondary characters. A better story would be Raz and survivors rebuilding their caravan clan and fighting a guerilla war with the slavers across the desert. But no... Albino Alice in Tundraland instead. Uh!
This book is good. Next books not so much. Too much Pacifist Monks of St Promiscuous dragging the chain with their pointless pondering for pages upon pages. No value added.
The female lead Syrah/Shiraz is albino, which is the only thing remotely interesting about her. Also every chapter is padded out with aimless "HISTORICAL ARTIFACT" letters and journal entries. No value added.
MC Raz is generally well concieved and executed, an exotic beast showing enough heart and honour to be likeable. Book needed much more of his childhood but suddenly slumped into ugly grimdark instead. Why?
Good book 101: More attention to training and weapons; less location descriptions and little or no romance
Instantly MC turns into a super assassin - been done before, a lot - but why doesn't he Robin Hood it?
Steal money give to the poor he pities so much. Typical grimdark scenario not only ugly but stupid to boot. Everything is so hopeless... Woe is me.... They'll just replace all the Mafia I done eradicated. Buck up sook, you're kicking ass. Enjoy the moment, don't over analyse it....
Steal their money dumbass! Ambush their slave caravans... Make an army! Use your reptile brain!
Overall, frustrating that again a great start and central core gets ruined by lazy filler and boring secondary characters. A better story would be Raz and survivors rebuilding their caravan clan and fighting a guerilla war with the slavers across the desert. But no... Albino Alice in Tundraland instead. Uh!
December 3, 2017
Interesting debut novel, December 2, 2017
This review is from: Child of the Daystar (The Wings of War Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
I first downloaded a sample and was not enthralled. However, the book is available through Kindle Unlimited and I liked some parts of the sample so I downloaded and read the book. It did improve as the story progressed. The story is quite good when it deals with the desert nomads and the cities of the south. Less so, in my opinion, when it turns to the monks/priests in the north. I do plan to read the second volume.
The story is good but the writing is uneven. There are some peculiar word choices. For instance Raz is referred to variously as a boy, an Antherian, a lizard and a beast. And not just by his enemies. The boy description seems particularly inapt at the beginning as there is no indication that any of the characters, including his future adoptive parents, think of him as a boy in that part of the story. I also think the author should get a penalty flag for overuse and inappropriate use of "smirk." I also wondered why Raz's birth mother seems to have no more interest in him after he is picked up by the nomads. All of that said, this is still a pretty good, but uneven, fantasy novel.
This review is from: Child of the Daystar (The Wings of War Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
I first downloaded a sample and was not enthralled. However, the book is available through Kindle Unlimited and I liked some parts of the sample so I downloaded and read the book. It did improve as the story progressed. The story is quite good when it deals with the desert nomads and the cities of the south. Less so, in my opinion, when it turns to the monks/priests in the north. I do plan to read the second volume.
The story is good but the writing is uneven. There are some peculiar word choices. For instance Raz is referred to variously as a boy, an Antherian, a lizard and a beast. And not just by his enemies. The boy description seems particularly inapt at the beginning as there is no indication that any of the characters, including his future adoptive parents, think of him as a boy in that part of the story. I also think the author should get a penalty flag for overuse and inappropriate use of "smirk." I also wondered why Raz's birth mother seems to have no more interest in him after he is picked up by the nomads. All of that said, this is still a pretty good, but uneven, fantasy novel.
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