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Aeons' Gate #1-3
An Affinity for Steel: The Aeons' Gate Trilogy
There are only a few productive things a man can do once he picks up a sword.
And the very lowest of these is to become an adventurer, like Lenk and his companions.
For the right price, no deed is too dirty, no task is too dangerous, no foe too ferocious. Not even a demon.
From wars ancient and terrible, wounds are bleeding. From seas deep and fathomless, demons are rising. From the mouth of hell, the Kraken Queen is calling. And all that stands between the damned and the mortal world are a pack of degenerates and the steel they carry.
Seas will rise. Heaven will fall.
Now, for the first time, the breakout trilogy by Sam Sykes is collected in one volume.
And the very lowest of these is to become an adventurer, like Lenk and his companions.
For the right price, no deed is too dirty, no task is too dangerous, no foe too ferocious. Not even a demon.
From wars ancient and terrible, wounds are bleeding. From seas deep and fathomless, demons are rising. From the mouth of hell, the Kraken Queen is calling. And all that stands between the damned and the mortal world are a pack of degenerates and the steel they carry.
Seas will rise. Heaven will fall.
Now, for the first time, the breakout trilogy by Sam Sykes is collected in one volume.
2072 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2016
145 people are currently reading
390 people want to read
About the author
Sam Sykes
90 books1,212 followersSam Sykes is the author of Tome Of The Undergates, a vast and sprawling story of adventure, demons, madness and carnage. Suspected by many to be at least tangentially related to most causes of human suffering, Sam Sykes is also a force to be reckoned with beyond literature.
At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome Of The Undergates is his first book, published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, and Canada. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.
At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome Of The Undergates is his first book, published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, and Canada. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 6, 2022
Some years ago, I had picked up The City Stained Red, not knowing there was a trilogy of books that preceded it. I remember really quite enjoying it, but being disappointed by its sequel, The Mortal Tally. Haven't read the book that comes after that yet, partly because I wanted to see how the series started. Now that I've tracked down the entire Aeon's Gate trilogy in this omnibus, I'm glad I waited before pressing on, because seeing where these characters came from helps illuminate them. Okay, enough backstory about my reading journey; how's this book?
Overall, pretty dang good. I'm not going to try and summarize three entire books in this review, but I'll touch on the broad strokes.
This series follows a group of adventurers, in a world where "adventurer" is a four-letter word. If you've failed to find employment in any respectable trade, you might end up as an adventurer: someone who'll do the things nobody else has the stomach for, in exchange for little pay, less respect, and a whole lot of danger. This particular band of adventurers feels like a dysfunctional D&D party: The four humans are Lenk, a swordsman who seems to be possessed; Asper, a priestess whose faith in her god is wavering; Denaos, the prerequisite snarky rogue with a dark past; and Dreadaeleon, a young wizard who never gets any respect or attention from the fairer sex, and is constantly surly about both of those things. The party is rounded out with Kataria, a shict (think: elf), who's great with tracking, fighting, and a bow, but not so great with people; and Gariath, an unstoppable juggernaut of a dragon-man who may or may not be the last of his kind. These folks are often at odds for reasons of philosophy, morality, or practicality, but in the end, their connections to one another are really all they have.
The quest they've undertaken in this trilogy is to recover a powerful, evil book for a holy man, ostensibly to keep the world from ending. Again, broad strokes, and it's more complicated than that. Though, despite spanning 1450 pages, the scope of the action here is surprisingly tight: several ships and a few islands, with brief detours to other places when we're seeing through the eyes of certain characters. The story does a lot with its limited locale though, introducing a variety of colorful (in every sense of the word) allies and antagonists, great action sequences, banter that's witty more often than not, and some surprisingly effective moments of humanity in amidst all the bloodshed.
The story does drag on occasion, however; there are only so many pages you can devote to recovering from a shipwreck, or Lenk struggling with his, er...issues, before they start to bog things down. And there are some motifs (so many reflections in people's eyes!), and turns of phrase that get overused. Despite its shortcomings, however, this omnibus is a fun read, overall. If you're in the mood for fantasy that jumps right into the thick of things, without dwelling so much on centuries of lore and worldbuilding (though there is some of that, too), then I'd say give it a shot.
Overall, pretty dang good. I'm not going to try and summarize three entire books in this review, but I'll touch on the broad strokes.
This series follows a group of adventurers, in a world where "adventurer" is a four-letter word. If you've failed to find employment in any respectable trade, you might end up as an adventurer: someone who'll do the things nobody else has the stomach for, in exchange for little pay, less respect, and a whole lot of danger. This particular band of adventurers feels like a dysfunctional D&D party: The four humans are Lenk, a swordsman who seems to be possessed; Asper, a priestess whose faith in her god is wavering; Denaos, the prerequisite snarky rogue with a dark past; and Dreadaeleon, a young wizard who never gets any respect or attention from the fairer sex, and is constantly surly about both of those things. The party is rounded out with Kataria, a shict (think: elf), who's great with tracking, fighting, and a bow, but not so great with people; and Gariath, an unstoppable juggernaut of a dragon-man who may or may not be the last of his kind. These folks are often at odds for reasons of philosophy, morality, or practicality, but in the end, their connections to one another are really all they have.
The quest they've undertaken in this trilogy is to recover a powerful, evil book for a holy man, ostensibly to keep the world from ending. Again, broad strokes, and it's more complicated than that. Though, despite spanning 1450 pages, the scope of the action here is surprisingly tight: several ships and a few islands, with brief detours to other places when we're seeing through the eyes of certain characters. The story does a lot with its limited locale though, introducing a variety of colorful (in every sense of the word) allies and antagonists, great action sequences, banter that's witty more often than not, and some surprisingly effective moments of humanity in amidst all the bloodshed.
The story does drag on occasion, however; there are only so many pages you can devote to recovering from a shipwreck, or Lenk struggling with his, er...issues, before they start to bog things down. And there are some motifs (so many reflections in people's eyes!), and turns of phrase that get overused. Despite its shortcomings, however, this omnibus is a fun read, overall. If you're in the mood for fantasy that jumps right into the thick of things, without dwelling so much on centuries of lore and worldbuilding (though there is some of that, too), then I'd say give it a shot.
January 12, 2018
This is a great trilogy for anyone open to a little extra blood and crud on their fantasy.
The first thing I noticed was the beautifully over-the-top dialog. The next was the author's voice-- lightheartedly pessimistic. Gross. Fun.
One of the things that makes this trilogy stand out from generic epic fantasy is the idea that adventurers are lowlifes instead of heroes. And unlike the companions of some other stories this cast wasn't a bunch of good friends ready to risk themselves for the others. The characters often treated each other like siblings who don't get along. At other times they literally couldn't decide if they wanted to kill or sleep with each other. It worked.
The world was fun, full of cool monsters (I've renamed my 2yo the Deepshriek thanks to these books) and interesting peoples. I liked the flipped sexual dimorphism of the netherlings. The females were the brutish warriors, bigger and more muscular. I also liked the system of magic where overextending led to bodily burn out/magical illness and wizards had to be atheist. The island where the ocean and the sky merged was a neat setting.
The protagonists were all endearing assholes. My favorite was Denaos. He's a tortured killer, drunk, and pervert-- everything I look for in a good guy.
The villains were three-dimensional, they managed to be both creepy as hell and sympathetic.
My only criticism is that the books were long and there were scenes in Lenk's head when they felt that way. Some seemed a little redundant, and for me he was the least interesting character (I did like him though).
This trilogy had a lot of feeling for a story where people got stomped to death. One scene with Gariath had me sobbing.
I definitely recommend these books. I've bought the next in the series and hope to catch up soon.
The first thing I noticed was the beautifully over-the-top dialog. The next was the author's voice-- lightheartedly pessimistic. Gross. Fun.
One of the things that makes this trilogy stand out from generic epic fantasy is the idea that adventurers are lowlifes instead of heroes. And unlike the companions of some other stories this cast wasn't a bunch of good friends ready to risk themselves for the others. The characters often treated each other like siblings who don't get along. At other times they literally couldn't decide if they wanted to kill or sleep with each other. It worked.
The world was fun, full of cool monsters (I've renamed my 2yo the Deepshriek thanks to these books) and interesting peoples. I liked the flipped sexual dimorphism of the netherlings. The females were the brutish warriors, bigger and more muscular. I also liked the system of magic where overextending led to bodily burn out/magical illness and wizards had to be atheist. The island where the ocean and the sky merged was a neat setting.
The protagonists were all endearing assholes. My favorite was Denaos. He's a tortured killer, drunk, and pervert-- everything I look for in a good guy.
The villains were three-dimensional, they managed to be both creepy as hell and sympathetic.
My only criticism is that the books were long and there were scenes in Lenk's head when they felt that way. Some seemed a little redundant, and for me he was the least interesting character (I did like him though).
This trilogy had a lot of feeling for a story where people got stomped to death. One scene with Gariath had me sobbing.
I definitely recommend these books. I've bought the next in the series and hope to catch up soon.
September 27, 2016
My second DNF, i was expecting something a bit better, maybe well formed characters who aren't wankers. Being a bad guy obvisiouly has it's perks, and yet these people are so bad, they end up with no benefits along with no brain cells. The story is all about a group of adventurers (which holds a negative connotation. You would apparently rather be a mercenary, they have morals.) and set in a fantastical stinking pile of crap, heck westros sounds fecking homely compared to this place. The characters are a mix of humans, a annoying elf who apparently thinks she is justified in everything she does and a dragon man; who has serious anger problems and can't seem to understand that he is the liability in the team. The leader, whose name i cannot recall, has no leadership qualities, has no morals and is ....a wanker. We spend what seems like an enternity on a ship which is being attacked by pirates, which did nothing for me except make me dislike the characters even more. I always find that good people you can take in medium to high dosages, but bad guys you got to give them in small doses, otherwise they become to toxic and unrelatable. There are characters who are fascinating and i actually wish the book focused on them; like the assassin with a bit of a backstory, the wizard and the priestess. However, this book is about violence and stupidity.
March 28, 2018
This book/books are going to be a hit or miss. The humor is either going to be good or bad, and the characters are either going to be likable and horrid, or just plain horrid. I found the experience to be really enjoyable overall, only truly falling flat in Black Halo, where Sykes just seemed to ignore the humor that made the first book so great for me, but by the last book he seemed to have found his stride and concluded the series in a way that set up the squeal trilogy fairly well.
May 8, 2025
The Aeons' Gate trilogy, Sam Sykes' 2010 debut, is very obviously his start in comparison to the ten-years-later Grave of Empires, which I'm working back from. And, given this starting point, it's very easy to understand why he had to apologize for misogynistic, vulgar, and sexually inappropriate conduct in between those two times. Props to him if any of that attention and controversy managed to make him shape up to write Sal the Cacophony, largely known as the coolest dyke alive, after this series that has the flaws of something forty years older than its publication date.
There's a lot of the same bones that made Grave of Empires great in here, but there's more than a little chaff that I found generally gross, objectifying, and uncomfortable. The actual plot, when it dares to show up in between arguments and setbacks, is interesting! The demons and unknowable monsters in this are visceral and terrifying (the demonic fish-monsters speaking like priests, offering mercy and absolution with a demonic choir echoing their words? perfection). The banter is natural, sharp-edged, and unafraid to have teeth; the main semiromantic relationship between Lenk and Kataria is complex, emotional, and repressed.
On the other hand. The toilet humor in this, especially in book two, regresses past 'gross' and straight into middle school locker room. There is an unholy amount of attention paid to piss, shit, and other bodily functions, down to frequent descriptions of the wizard's bladder problems and the party rogue listing off everyone's Toilet Type of how they pee in the woods. Extreme attention is paid to how foul-smelling the not-an-elf shict Kataria is and how gross she is; the main character is a bona fide freak, seven days a week, who's obsessed with her sweat and stink. This, at least, adds a fun character trait to the 'human fighter' main character of Lenk (before he starts being increasingly haunted and psychotic). I also want the sweaty homicidal elf woman in ways concerning to feminism.
There's an uncomfortable background of rape and sexual violence in this series that seems mostly gratuitous, with the pirates' repeated threats of raping Kataria treated for laughs in the beginning of the first book. The evil warlord antagonist specifically is shown enjoying raping human women, and rapes one of the main party - which is when she unlocks her hidden powers - and at one point says "are vaginae so rare on this world that you need to fight me over these two women", which. Ew. What the hell, Sykes. Most of this is also happening in the second book. What the fuck happened when you were planning book two?
Book three loses nearly all the toilet humor and rape to focus instead on how every single member of this misfit adventurer party is a fucking idiot (somewhat affectionate) who's haunted and traumatized and dealing with a massive demon problem. Much improved.
Book one, four stars; book two, two stars; book three, five stars. Overall, 3.5 or 4 stars out of five.
There's a lot of the same bones that made Grave of Empires great in here, but there's more than a little chaff that I found generally gross, objectifying, and uncomfortable. The actual plot, when it dares to show up in between arguments and setbacks, is interesting! The demons and unknowable monsters in this are visceral and terrifying (the demonic fish-monsters speaking like priests, offering mercy and absolution with a demonic choir echoing their words? perfection). The banter is natural, sharp-edged, and unafraid to have teeth; the main semiromantic relationship between Lenk and Kataria is complex, emotional, and repressed.
On the other hand. The toilet humor in this, especially in book two, regresses past 'gross' and straight into middle school locker room. There is an unholy amount of attention paid to piss, shit, and other bodily functions, down to frequent descriptions of the wizard's bladder problems and the party rogue listing off everyone's Toilet Type of how they pee in the woods. Extreme attention is paid to how foul-smelling the not-an-elf shict Kataria is and how gross she is; the main character is a bona fide freak, seven days a week, who's obsessed with her sweat and stink. This, at least, adds a fun character trait to the 'human fighter' main character of Lenk (before he starts being increasingly haunted and psychotic). I also want the sweaty homicidal elf woman in ways concerning to feminism.
There's an uncomfortable background of rape and sexual violence in this series that seems mostly gratuitous, with the pirates' repeated threats of raping Kataria treated for laughs in the beginning of the first book. The evil warlord antagonist specifically is shown enjoying raping human women, and rapes one of the main party - which is when she unlocks her hidden powers - and at one point says "are vaginae so rare on this world that you need to fight me over these two women", which. Ew. What the hell, Sykes. Most of this is also happening in the second book. What the fuck happened when you were planning book two?
Book three loses nearly all the toilet humor and rape to focus instead on how every single member of this misfit adventurer party is a fucking idiot (somewhat affectionate) who's haunted and traumatized and dealing with a massive demon problem. Much improved.
Book one, four stars; book two, two stars; book three, five stars. Overall, 3.5 or 4 stars out of five.
August 9, 2022
I had high hopes and maybe my expectations got the better of me. The cover art grabbed me, the descriptions on the back grabbed me. Flipping through the book casually grabbed me. That said - I almost didn't finish it.
I really enjoyed the first book, interesting take, reminded me of d&d (always a bonus, but certainly not a requirement), and played out a dysfunctional group of adventurers quite well. It was funny, irreverent and exciting. Overall a very good job. I would have rated book one 4 stars.
The second book felt like real work to get through. It slowed down, the humor was less frequent, the battles scenes got convoluted and confusing (yes, battle is convoluted and confusing, but I feel it's the writer's responsibility to show how that characters are caught up in that crap without doing the same to the reader - see Steven Erikson or Glenn Cook on how to do this with flair). While important to the continuation of the trilogy - book two almost lost me completely (one, maybe two stars individually).
I waited a year before I dove into book three. And it was really just me wanting to finish the damned thing and be done with it. That said, I was pleasantly surprised. The third book felt like it went back to what was good about book one, but the crazy, convoluted battle scenes remained - I swear there were several scenes that I had to read 3 or 4 times just to get a mental picture of what Sykes was trying to describe. I dunno...maybe it's just me). All in all, glad I finished it. Was satisfied with the end. But I'll think real hard before digging into another long-form Sykes trilogy.
I really enjoyed the first book, interesting take, reminded me of d&d (always a bonus, but certainly not a requirement), and played out a dysfunctional group of adventurers quite well. It was funny, irreverent and exciting. Overall a very good job. I would have rated book one 4 stars.
The second book felt like real work to get through. It slowed down, the humor was less frequent, the battles scenes got convoluted and confusing (yes, battle is convoluted and confusing, but I feel it's the writer's responsibility to show how that characters are caught up in that crap without doing the same to the reader - see Steven Erikson or Glenn Cook on how to do this with flair). While important to the continuation of the trilogy - book two almost lost me completely (one, maybe two stars individually).
I waited a year before I dove into book three. And it was really just me wanting to finish the damned thing and be done with it. That said, I was pleasantly surprised. The third book felt like it went back to what was good about book one, but the crazy, convoluted battle scenes remained - I swear there were several scenes that I had to read 3 or 4 times just to get a mental picture of what Sykes was trying to describe. I dunno...maybe it's just me). All in all, glad I finished it. Was satisfied with the end. But I'll think real hard before digging into another long-form Sykes trilogy.
July 17, 2018
An affinity for steel is the omnibus edition Sam Sykes Aeons Gate Trilogy so this review is of the entire trilogy.
I personally loved this trilogy and feel I could recommend it to almost any fantasy reader. You get to follow the adventurer Lenk and his companions on the quest to find the Aeons Gate. An ancient tome rumored to have the power to open a gate and make contact with the gods.. or demons.
This epic tale really hits the ground running. The action is brutal and the dialogue witty. Still, at the centre are the characters themselves. I've heard others describe them as a dysfunctional D&D party but that doesn't do them justice ( even if true! )
Sam Sykes really makes his characters come alive. All of them have their own ideas, goals, fears and desires. You will cheer for them, you will be angry with them and you will laugh with them. And in the end you find that you really care what happens to them as they struggle to survive this grand adventure hounded by everything from demons and pirates and an interdimensional warrior race. To conclude; This trilogy is epic in scale, very well written and with a ton of heart and humour ( and romance ) in between the frantic action.
I wholeheartedly recommend giving the Aeons Gate trilogy a try!
I personally loved this trilogy and feel I could recommend it to almost any fantasy reader. You get to follow the adventurer Lenk and his companions on the quest to find the Aeons Gate. An ancient tome rumored to have the power to open a gate and make contact with the gods.. or demons.
This epic tale really hits the ground running. The action is brutal and the dialogue witty. Still, at the centre are the characters themselves. I've heard others describe them as a dysfunctional D&D party but that doesn't do them justice ( even if true! )
Sam Sykes really makes his characters come alive. All of them have their own ideas, goals, fears and desires. You will cheer for them, you will be angry with them and you will laugh with them. And in the end you find that you really care what happens to them as they struggle to survive this grand adventure hounded by everything from demons and pirates and an interdimensional warrior race. To conclude; This trilogy is epic in scale, very well written and with a ton of heart and humour ( and romance ) in between the frantic action.
I wholeheartedly recommend giving the Aeons Gate trilogy a try!
May 18, 2019
This contains 3 books, which I read in one go and it took a while. Thank you long haul flights.
I actually read a sequel to these years ago, The City Stained Red. At the time I gave that one 2 stars. With context from Affinity for Steel, maybe I would've given more. But it's been long enough that I don't remember and can't say for sure.
This rates higher. As a first take on a cast of characters, it takes a number of fantasy tropes and spins them around enough that new things come out. They are in fact the same characters as in the later book, but we take the time to meet them, build expectations and see them challenged throughout the course of the story. It is not always all that subtle but it usually isn't dumb, and the humor lacing it all is quite often effective - if you don't mind snarky. As a background, the titular Aeon's Gate and all that comes with it is a decent enough story. The depiction of the various "demons" in particular I found to be inventive.
All that leaves us with an above-average fantasy story carried by compelling characters and a writing which at its best is clever and funny. It does not always hit the mark, and some mannerisms tend to show.
Hard.
(yeah that one in particular is a bit overused)
And so I'm thinking this is a solid 3 stars verging on 3.5.
I actually read a sequel to these years ago, The City Stained Red. At the time I gave that one 2 stars. With context from Affinity for Steel, maybe I would've given more. But it's been long enough that I don't remember and can't say for sure.
This rates higher. As a first take on a cast of characters, it takes a number of fantasy tropes and spins them around enough that new things come out. They are in fact the same characters as in the later book, but we take the time to meet them, build expectations and see them challenged throughout the course of the story. It is not always all that subtle but it usually isn't dumb, and the humor lacing it all is quite often effective - if you don't mind snarky. As a background, the titular Aeon's Gate and all that comes with it is a decent enough story. The depiction of the various "demons" in particular I found to be inventive.
All that leaves us with an above-average fantasy story carried by compelling characters and a writing which at its best is clever and funny. It does not always hit the mark, and some mannerisms tend to show.
Hard.
(yeah that one in particular is a bit overused)
And so I'm thinking this is a solid 3 stars verging on 3.5.
January 5, 2020
I read and rated each book individually, though read them in this omnibus. In short, the initial book was solid for its initial third, the second book was solid in the middle, and the final book was solid in the closing third. All else was not my appetite. I was close to DNF several times, but would get caught back into some solid writing and characters...only to be disappointed again as it swerved back into internalizing and (to me) boring scenes and repetitive situations. The writer has talent, and I wish him well, but I'm done with this character set.
August 7, 2020
This book is actually 3 novels in one, each one over 450 pages long. A basic story of good (?) vs. evil, with so many twists one could get lost. The characters are complicated from the first chapter on and continue to be complicated all the way through. I have to admit this was a tough read, but mostly because it's 3 books combined into one big, heavy book! The plot takes so many twists and turns that I often thought it could never reach a resolution, but it did. The ending was good, too. Raw and violent, very little time for love and romance in these stories. Good read.
August 27, 2017
I have finished The Tome of the Undergates! Now I know how the character, Dreadaleon, feels carrying a heavy book wherever he goes. I loved this action fantasy trilogy. These characters are so lovable in their flawed ways. It really helped to read this to give me more insight about the Bring Down Heaven books.
May 20, 2019
Fast paced action in an intriguing world
I found a lot of the prose enjoyable, the action was toothy without being overly descriptive. If I had any criticism it would be the lack of payoff in regard to some plot points.
I found a lot of the prose enjoyable, the action was toothy without being overly descriptive. If I had any criticism it would be the lack of payoff in regard to some plot points.
August 7, 2017
In between too little witty dialogue too much angst.
September 11, 2017
too violent for me
September 22, 2021
I read The City Stained Red, and decided to go back and read this before I continued the trilogy. Glad I did.
April 30, 2023
Big read, a long trilogy
July 7, 2023
DNF
I gave up halfway through the second book. It might be good but not for me. Too much I could not understand or appreciate.
I gave up halfway through the second book. It might be good but not for me. Too much I could not understand or appreciate.
May 7, 2024
Characters of adventures were entertaining but lots of dialogue of useless thoughts.
April 6, 2025
Definitely counts as dark fantasy. Definitely has ups, downs and laughs.
May 20, 2025
Classic teen-boy fantasy :/
October 22, 2018
The book was engaging enough to finish. But it had two main problems. One is that the plot sometimes felt incoherent. Things would happen because the author thought they would be cool if they happened. There was very little build up or rationale for many of the most critical events in the book. The second was that the characters would generally go through the same range of emotions and trials again and again. Sometimes the dark humor would be funny and engaging, but there was not enough variation on this theme to carry the entire trilogy. If the trilogy had been a single book and there had been more focus on plotting, it would have been much better. It is OK to spend some time doing real world building (and not just do some character background development) as opposed to constantly pushing the characters from one crisis to the next.
April 26, 2016
Good
Enjoyable, I just didn't get sucked in like I love. Kinda like the Iron Wolves by Remic after an extended Prozac experiment. My only real annoyance was it just seemed like a bit of filler was used, with quite a few situations involving character's introspection, personal thoughts that maybe were supposed to add to the plot, they just didn't for me personally. But still a solid four stars, maybe would have gone for 5 if author still followed me on Twitter!lol. But worth the read, I love omnibus format
Enjoyable, I just didn't get sucked in like I love. Kinda like the Iron Wolves by Remic after an extended Prozac experiment. My only real annoyance was it just seemed like a bit of filler was used, with quite a few situations involving character's introspection, personal thoughts that maybe were supposed to add to the plot, they just didn't for me personally. But still a solid four stars, maybe would have gone for 5 if author still followed me on Twitter!lol. But worth the read, I love omnibus format
August 2, 2016
Not bad
A little long on the character discourse and yet kinda slow in developing; most of the character twists are easily spotted by the end of the first book. Plot took forever and just kept plodding along. But the writing is good, the characters themselves are at least a little interesting, and the world has some cool details.
I just wish it didn't feel like this was somebody's attempt to run a RPG session and transcribe it to a book.
A little long on the character discourse and yet kinda slow in developing; most of the character twists are easily spotted by the end of the first book. Plot took forever and just kept plodding along. But the writing is good, the characters themselves are at least a little interesting, and the world has some cool details.
I just wish it didn't feel like this was somebody's attempt to run a RPG session and transcribe it to a book.
May 23, 2020
Good but a little rough on the edges.
It was good, but rough on the edges. Sam Sykes later works are much better to me, but it's still good though.
It was good, but rough on the edges. Sam Sykes later works are much better to me, but it's still good though.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews