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Priest
For centuries the people of Ollghum Keep relied on the knights of the Green Order to protect them from the horrors of the haunted wood. Now, as before, a monstrous army marches on their small town. But this time, the Green Order is nowhere to be found.
The Bishop sends the priest Heden into the wood, to find out why. Arriving at their secret priory, Heden discovers their commander is dead, the remaining knights paralyzed with despair. They will not act, they will not tell him what happened, and with each hour the monstrous army gets closer to Ollghum Keep. Thousands will die if the priest fails.
When the knights start dying one by one, Heden must race to unravel the conspiracy of silence and save the knights from themselves so they can save the people they were sworn to guard.
The Bishop sends the priest Heden into the wood, to find out why. Arriving at their secret priory, Heden discovers their commander is dead, the remaining knights paralyzed with despair. They will not act, they will not tell him what happened, and with each hour the monstrous army gets closer to Ollghum Keep. Thousands will die if the priest fails.
When the knights start dying one by one, Heden must race to unravel the conspiracy of silence and save the knights from themselves so they can save the people they were sworn to guard.
522 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 289 reviews
July 22, 2016
4.5/5.
I read Priest. I hated Priest. Never have I wanted to throw something so hard.
Here's my problem (other than the book being on my phone and therefore not being able to throw it):
Every single drop of happiness and joy that is potentially offered by this plot is sucked out and spat into a deep pit of hopelessness and despair. And it's good. I mean, it is so good: the characters are well developed, the plot is driven with plenty of twists and turns, and the settings are fantastic. I would love to explore this world.
(Spoilers ahead, kinda maybe?)
If I had to categorize it, give it a specific niche, I'd say fantasy tragedy. It plays itself as dark, brooding and angsty. Worse, every single death actually made me mad. Which is strange, usually I can spot that sort of thing coming a mile away and not be particularly bothered but the deaths here *angered* me. The ending... Mmgh. I finished this a week ago and I'm still upset.
I don't honestly know if I can read the next book. I expect it will be brilliant, yet I don't know if my poor heart can handle another emotional rollercoaster like this one.
I read Priest. I hated Priest. Never have I wanted to throw something so hard.
Here's my problem (other than the book being on my phone and therefore not being able to throw it):
Every single drop of happiness and joy that is potentially offered by this plot is sucked out and spat into a deep pit of hopelessness and despair. And it's good. I mean, it is so good: the characters are well developed, the plot is driven with plenty of twists and turns, and the settings are fantastic. I would love to explore this world.
(Spoilers ahead, kinda maybe?)
If I had to categorize it, give it a specific niche, I'd say fantasy tragedy. It plays itself as dark, brooding and angsty. Worse, every single death actually made me mad. Which is strange, usually I can spot that sort of thing coming a mile away and not be particularly bothered but the deaths here *angered* me. The ending... Mmgh. I finished this a week ago and I'm still upset.
I don't honestly know if I can read the next book. I expect it will be brilliant, yet I don't know if my poor heart can handle another emotional rollercoaster like this one.
August 29, 2016
I like Matthew Colville, so it pains me to give this book such a poor rating. Even if I didn't know that he is an avid D&D player, I would have been able to guess based on this book.
Matt is an independent fantasy author, which I'm guessing means he had no editor. No outside insight to tell him "the back and forth of these conversations isn't advancing the plot and will be boring/annoying to your audience" or "the dialogue exchange isn't believable enough" or "you are using too many terms that haven't been previously explained and your readers (at least the ones that don't play D&D) will get confused".
To much telling and not enough showing (ex: too many times in the story we are told "Heden likes____" and blatantly spelled out things rather than having the reader piece stuff together.)
This is his first book, and he will hopefully learn and get better. He seems so smart, charismatic and confident on his Youtube channel, and I hope that never stops. He has some really great creative ideas (as evident from his campaign diaries) but he could really use an editor to help polish his work so it can shine.
Matt is an independent fantasy author, which I'm guessing means he had no editor. No outside insight to tell him "the back and forth of these conversations isn't advancing the plot and will be boring/annoying to your audience" or "the dialogue exchange isn't believable enough" or "you are using too many terms that haven't been previously explained and your readers (at least the ones that don't play D&D) will get confused".
To much telling and not enough showing (ex: too many times in the story we are told "Heden likes____" and blatantly spelled out things rather than having the reader piece stuff together.)
This is his first book, and he will hopefully learn and get better. He seems so smart, charismatic and confident on his Youtube channel, and I hope that never stops. He has some really great creative ideas (as evident from his campaign diaries) but he could really use an editor to help polish his work so it can shine.
March 26, 2018
I'm a huge fan of Matt Colville's YouTube channel, and of Matt himself, so this review especially pains me. Given how eloquently Matt talks about story crafting and how well read he seems to be in the genre, I went into this book with high hopes. Alas.
This book is an overwritten mess. The plot is convoluted and meanders all over the place. Characters do things for reasons that aren't clearly understood. The writing is passive, awkwardly so in some places. And, most damning of all, it's just boring.
Some of Matt's strengths do shine through. The world building is top shelf. I liked the idea of the priest protagonist in a D&D-esque world (moreso than the actual implementation). There's enough good here to lift this above a 1 star rating.
I've heard the second book is far superior. Such is my esteem for Mr. Colville that I'm still seriously considering reading it.
This book is an overwritten mess. The plot is convoluted and meanders all over the place. Characters do things for reasons that aren't clearly understood. The writing is passive, awkwardly so in some places. And, most damning of all, it's just boring.
Some of Matt's strengths do shine through. The world building is top shelf. I liked the idea of the priest protagonist in a D&D-esque world (moreso than the actual implementation). There's enough good here to lift this above a 1 star rating.
I've heard the second book is far superior. Such is my esteem for Mr. Colville that I'm still seriously considering reading it.
December 15, 2014
I devoured this book in a week solid, starting with caution and then purposefully making time for it. That in itself is the sign of a good story well told.
Priest isn't a coming of age tale, instead its protagonist is the priestly Heden, an older man that has lived his life and has now slumped into quiet seclusion. He owns an inn that he never opens but keeps stocked, a strange combination that has you questioning his thought processes immediately.
Heden himself is a complicated man, and the tale is told entirely through his actions save for a brief flashback. He is a priest in a polytheistic society, and the goddess he is empowered by only has one worshipper: him.
The story is further complicated by the young whore he gives safe haven to, which you immediately believe sets up for the youth/experience duo fighting for their lives against the world.
Only, it doesn't at all. Heden is given orders to head off into a forest and leaves the girl in the inn for the next three days. We hear little from her for the bulk of the book.
There are brief tales on Heden's way to the forest, but they're largely for the benefit of establishing this single character
Instead we are introduced to The Green Order, a small group of solitary knights that are protectors of the forest. Something has gone horribly wrong within said order and it is up to Heden to determine what has happened.
Priest throws a proverbial curveball with this forest, evoking an almost twisted Arthurian feel to the proceedings. It's like a façade of medieval fantasy under which lies a more contemporary tale.
There are monsters in this tale, but they largely serve as a plot point. There is little development of the world, most of it mentioned in passing rather than regurgitated history being spread out over multiple paragraphs. This lends the tale an aura of intrigue as you're venturing into a land unknown with Heden in tow.
The knights are chivalrous to a fault and their deeply held convictions coupled with their hermetic existence outside of the order make their initial interactions with our hero seem almost alien. An undercurrent of animosity is soon given voice and things start falling apart soon after.
The underlying mystery of the problems with the order and the relationships that Heden develops with the order are what propels the bulk of this book, with a particularly poignant scene involving one of the squires that had me silently applauding.
For all its excellence, the introduction of the young girl and subsequent banishing of her from the text seemed needless, whilst the book also had a tendency to cut away from certain action scenes and immediately jumping to the aftermath. The tale felt bookended in an unnecessary fashion and the powers on display did border on Deus Ex Machina at times.
The mystery was unfolded at an infuriating pace, which is both laudable as it left the reader mirroring the hero's own frustrations and a point of contention as it often felt under-exposed. I felt like I was clutching at straws too many times before it was finally spelt out for me.
The characterisation was strong for the most part, with all the knights and the principle characters getting the time needed. It was non-existant for some other critical characters which left me confused as they only appeared sporadically and at completely opposite ends of the tale. In all honesty I had forgotten about them by that point and would have needed a primer to keep all the names right.
There were also no paragraph indentations in my copy, but I assume the author will rectify this. The number of typos in the text were minimal, a sign of good proof-reading and editing.
Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a protagonist with baggage and introspection. People who are tired of the coming of age stories but who also want something a little different from the clones masquerading as adult fantasy clogging up the shelves in the book stores.
Matt Colville considers his work a hard-boiled throwback to books that he read in the 1980s. I'm not sure what books he was reading back then but if Priest is the result then perhaps I need to contact him for a reading list.
Note: upon completion of this review I immediately bought the sequel, Thief. I look forward to reading it and can safely say that Colville has gained a new fan. Here's hoping this is the beginning of a successful career and his writing continues to improve book by book.
Priest isn't a coming of age tale, instead its protagonist is the priestly Heden, an older man that has lived his life and has now slumped into quiet seclusion. He owns an inn that he never opens but keeps stocked, a strange combination that has you questioning his thought processes immediately.
Heden himself is a complicated man, and the tale is told entirely through his actions save for a brief flashback. He is a priest in a polytheistic society, and the goddess he is empowered by only has one worshipper: him.
The story is further complicated by the young whore he gives safe haven to, which you immediately believe sets up for the youth/experience duo fighting for their lives against the world.
Only, it doesn't at all. Heden is given orders to head off into a forest and leaves the girl in the inn for the next three days. We hear little from her for the bulk of the book.
There are brief tales on Heden's way to the forest, but they're largely for the benefit of establishing this single character
Instead we are introduced to The Green Order, a small group of solitary knights that are protectors of the forest. Something has gone horribly wrong within said order and it is up to Heden to determine what has happened.
Priest throws a proverbial curveball with this forest, evoking an almost twisted Arthurian feel to the proceedings. It's like a façade of medieval fantasy under which lies a more contemporary tale.
There are monsters in this tale, but they largely serve as a plot point. There is little development of the world, most of it mentioned in passing rather than regurgitated history being spread out over multiple paragraphs. This lends the tale an aura of intrigue as you're venturing into a land unknown with Heden in tow.
The knights are chivalrous to a fault and their deeply held convictions coupled with their hermetic existence outside of the order make their initial interactions with our hero seem almost alien. An undercurrent of animosity is soon given voice and things start falling apart soon after.
The underlying mystery of the problems with the order and the relationships that Heden develops with the order are what propels the bulk of this book, with a particularly poignant scene involving one of the squires that had me silently applauding.
For all its excellence, the introduction of the young girl and subsequent banishing of her from the text seemed needless, whilst the book also had a tendency to cut away from certain action scenes and immediately jumping to the aftermath. The tale felt bookended in an unnecessary fashion and the powers on display did border on Deus Ex Machina at times.
The mystery was unfolded at an infuriating pace, which is both laudable as it left the reader mirroring the hero's own frustrations and a point of contention as it often felt under-exposed. I felt like I was clutching at straws too many times before it was finally spelt out for me.
The characterisation was strong for the most part, with all the knights and the principle characters getting the time needed. It was non-existant for some other critical characters which left me confused as they only appeared sporadically and at completely opposite ends of the tale. In all honesty I had forgotten about them by that point and would have needed a primer to keep all the names right.
There were also no paragraph indentations in my copy, but I assume the author will rectify this. The number of typos in the text were minimal, a sign of good proof-reading and editing.
Overall I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a protagonist with baggage and introspection. People who are tired of the coming of age stories but who also want something a little different from the clones masquerading as adult fantasy clogging up the shelves in the book stores.
Matt Colville considers his work a hard-boiled throwback to books that he read in the 1980s. I'm not sure what books he was reading back then but if Priest is the result then perhaps I need to contact him for a reading list.
Note: upon completion of this review I immediately bought the sequel, Thief. I look forward to reading it and can safely say that Colville has gained a new fan. Here's hoping this is the beginning of a successful career and his writing continues to improve book by book.
November 15, 2015
Finalist of #SPFBO. Read the full list of finalists here: http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
Summary: Our reluctant hero type, Heden, is sent to investigate a murder among a reclusive order of knights.
Thoughts: First I'd like to say this is solid writing and generally compelling. This is one of those books that is both cleverly written and easy to read.
I'm lead to believe the author was deliberately channeling books that he read in the 1980s when he wrote this, to which I say he did that well. But one persons classic is another's dated, and I'm sorry to say in this case I fall in the second category. I'm afraid I have no nostalgia (and have read too many Tolkien derivatives) to be able to enjoy the sometimes cheesy tropes and scenes at play here. If however, you suspect you'll fall into the first category, I think you'll like this book much more than I did.
I also didn't care for the somewhat episodic nature of Heden's quest. I would have rather the book just got on with it, and it left me with the impression that the book was much longer than it could have been (as did the inclusion of certain characters that had little/no bearing on the plot). Again, your mileage may vary, I'm aware other reviews have praised this facet of the book.
As for worldbuilding you have the inclusion of the standard giants, orcs (by another name), dragons, etc. etc. The author changes things up a little, and manages to give the book a unique feel.
I'm afraid that outside of Heden, characterization was limited. And Heden himself was... over powered to say the least. It really gutted the tension for me when he demonstrates just how powerful he is near the middle of the book. His characterization was also somewhat inconsistent to the point where I never knew what he was going to do next, and not in a good way.
Not bad, not great. All that said, I enjoyed it more than some of the other SPFBO finalists, and while I wouldn't put it in my top three, it's definitely close to them.
Verdict: 6/10
Summary: Our reluctant hero type, Heden, is sent to investigate a murder among a reclusive order of knights.
Thoughts: First I'd like to say this is solid writing and generally compelling. This is one of those books that is both cleverly written and easy to read.
I'm lead to believe the author was deliberately channeling books that he read in the 1980s when he wrote this, to which I say he did that well. But one persons classic is another's dated, and I'm sorry to say in this case I fall in the second category. I'm afraid I have no nostalgia (and have read too many Tolkien derivatives) to be able to enjoy the sometimes cheesy tropes and scenes at play here. If however, you suspect you'll fall into the first category, I think you'll like this book much more than I did.
I also didn't care for the somewhat episodic nature of Heden's quest. I would have rather the book just got on with it, and it left me with the impression that the book was much longer than it could have been (as did the inclusion of certain characters that had little/no bearing on the plot). Again, your mileage may vary, I'm aware other reviews have praised this facet of the book.
As for worldbuilding you have the inclusion of the standard giants, orcs (by another name), dragons, etc. etc. The author changes things up a little, and manages to give the book a unique feel.
I'm afraid that outside of Heden, characterization was limited. And Heden himself was... over powered to say the least. It really gutted the tension for me when he demonstrates just how powerful he is near the middle of the book. His characterization was also somewhat inconsistent to the point where I never knew what he was going to do next, and not in a good way.
Not bad, not great. All that said, I enjoyed it more than some of the other SPFBO finalists, and while I wouldn't put it in my top three, it's definitely close to them.
Verdict: 6/10
December 28, 2015
You have a book here that takes an old fashioned, classical form of fantasy and updates it for a more modern taste.
The author uses some of the legends of King Arthur, aspects of LOTR, a pinch of Feist and sprinkle of many other influences. All of these he mixes into a story that carries you through the events with a pace that ensures your interest doesn't wander.
Occasionally, the author's cleverness takes over and there is one chapter, near the end, which I thought could have been said fewer words, but then you're back into the action. Also, the main character has a great deal of compassion for individuals, but when the is a larger loss of life he seems to shrug it off.
However, what you do get, when you read this book, is a clear story, a compelling set of characters, some great interaction, and a story that leads to a sound finale.
It is well worth your time.
The author uses some of the legends of King Arthur, aspects of LOTR, a pinch of Feist and sprinkle of many other influences. All of these he mixes into a story that carries you through the events with a pace that ensures your interest doesn't wander.
Occasionally, the author's cleverness takes over and there is one chapter, near the end, which I thought could have been said fewer words, but then you're back into the action. Also, the main character has a great deal of compassion for individuals, but when the is a larger loss of life he seems to shrug it off.
However, what you do get, when you read this book, is a clear story, a compelling set of characters, some great interaction, and a story that leads to a sound finale.
It is well worth your time.
Read
September 1, 2015I haven't read this book (yet), but it is one of the 10 finalists in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. That's 10 out of 270+ hopefuls!
Read about the competition here
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
See the list of finalists so far here:
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
Read about the competition here
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
See the list of finalists so far here:
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.co.uk...
November 20, 2016
After following Matt's youtube videos, I got excited on the prospect of reading one of his books. I didn't read any reviews beforehand, but I took his word for it and tried it out. Ultimately I was a bit disappointed. Now, I gave it 2/5, since Goodreads rating system is on a scale of 5, when I'd actually want a 5/10, or a 2.5/5, but that's just me being weirdly nitpicking about ratings.
The book was actually quite easy to read and if I had the time, I could have gone through it, probably, in something less than a week. Its language isn't anything challenging which is a good thing, but it's also not really interesting in any way. I found it sort of lacks the somewhat poetic or artistic feeling I'm used to in some other works of fantasy, I've come to love.
Another thing that I didn't really enjoy was the characters. I got the feeling that Matt wanted to do a more realistic and/or gritty approach on his characters, but I felt like they were really trying to be edgy, than actually being cool and/or hardcore. Heden, the protagonist seems to suffer from some PTSD, but he's so seriously overpowered and angst-y all the time that it only shows up once in the book and it's not even such a strong scene, so I couldn't bring myself to care. By the end of the book, I actually came to disliking Heden quite a lot, though the author did manage to get me to like a few of his other characters enough to feel sad about them.
On to the good things of the book though: the plot was quite interesting. A dead knight means a mystery to be solved and that was actually quite fun. There were some strong scenes and quite a lot of interesting ideas about the setting which isn't your typical high fantasy setting. As I said before, it was very easy to read and the way it closes, really left me wanting to see what happens next. So, I will go on to read the next one, though probably not right away.
The book was actually quite easy to read and if I had the time, I could have gone through it, probably, in something less than a week. Its language isn't anything challenging which is a good thing, but it's also not really interesting in any way. I found it sort of lacks the somewhat poetic or artistic feeling I'm used to in some other works of fantasy, I've come to love.
Another thing that I didn't really enjoy was the characters. I got the feeling that Matt wanted to do a more realistic and/or gritty approach on his characters, but I felt like they were really trying to be edgy, than actually being cool and/or hardcore. Heden, the protagonist seems to suffer from some PTSD, but he's so seriously overpowered and angst-y all the time that it only shows up once in the book and it's not even such a strong scene, so I couldn't bring myself to care. By the end of the book, I actually came to disliking Heden quite a lot, though the author did manage to get me to like a few of his other characters enough to feel sad about them.
On to the good things of the book though: the plot was quite interesting. A dead knight means a mystery to be solved and that was actually quite fun. There were some strong scenes and quite a lot of interesting ideas about the setting which isn't your typical high fantasy setting. As I said before, it was very easy to read and the way it closes, really left me wanting to see what happens next. So, I will go on to read the next one, though probably not right away.
August 29, 2024
I honestly don't even know where to start. The world building is deep and interesting in itself, and presented in a very non-expositiony way, which lends itself to being profoundly immersed in the fiction. The story seems a bit convoluted and grandiose at first, but it too takes hold of you and doesn't let go. I've been scratching my head along with Heden and trying to unravel the mystery set before him, and the solution left me with my mouth wide open. What an amazing read!
February 16, 2020
It pains me to say this as someone who is a huge fan of rpgs, but this book reads like an rpg.
The story and the characters are great, but there is something in the storytelling that doesn't flow as a book should and the way classes are being pointed out and commented on is incredibly obvious and distracting.
I did enjoy the read, I just struggled with the way it was presented.
The story and the characters are great, but there is something in the storytelling that doesn't flow as a book should and the way classes are being pointed out and commented on is incredibly obvious and distracting.
I did enjoy the read, I just struggled with the way it was presented.
January 23, 2022
I wanted very much to like this book, as I'm a huge fan of Matt's you-tube DM series. I tried hard to not let all the minor issues that others have noted stop me from finishing it. I even bought the second book before reading the first, just in case, to be sure to support the author.
Strong points:
- The worldbuilding is exquisite and I'd really love to run a DnD campaign in the setting.
- Small chapters, small paragraphs, cliffhangers almost everywhere; a page-turner!
- Almost non-existent typos. (this changed in Thief)
Weak points:
- Text was not 'justified' on the page! With lots of indentation and small amount of text per page, most of the time it felt like reading a poem. Quite distracting. (this changed in Thief)
- There's not enough explanation of stuff to the reader, to understand the psychology and psychological tension of the characters, not even at the end. Most of the time, they come out as simply dumb for doing what they do. I wanted to mourn for the Knights but I found I hadn't cared enough...
- I found no sense of closure at the book's finale. A great cliffhanger, but it didn't feel like completeness at all. More like reading the first part of a book with many parts...
Strong points:
- The worldbuilding is exquisite and I'd really love to run a DnD campaign in the setting.
- Small chapters, small paragraphs, cliffhangers almost everywhere; a page-turner!
- Almost non-existent typos. (this changed in Thief)
Weak points:
- Text was not 'justified' on the page! With lots of indentation and small amount of text per page, most of the time it felt like reading a poem. Quite distracting. (this changed in Thief)
- There's not enough explanation of stuff to the reader, to understand the psychology and psychological tension of the characters, not even at the end. Most of the time, they come out as simply dumb for doing what they do. I wanted to mourn for the Knights but I found I hadn't cared enough...
- I found no sense of closure at the book's finale. A great cliffhanger, but it didn't feel like completeness at all. More like reading the first part of a book with many parts...
December 5, 2016
We picked up Priest in order to support the author whom we'd been watching on Twitch. I was a bit skeptical as to the book mainly because it's another fantasy book, but I wanted to give it a shot as I love his streams, his other videos, and just his outlook on many things. That being said, I read it in a day! It's also one of the few books that my husband has read in a long time. It's rough at times and lacks extra descriptions, yet it felt spot on with the emotions and character development, and I'm still able to visualize the characters and their motivations. I'm struggling to put into words how I feel about the ending, so I know I recommend it! Now that it's been a couple of days since I finished the book, I can say that I'm still digesting the book and the ending which is rare for me. I love the discussion I'm having with myself.
September 16, 2016
I bought the book out of support of Matt's youtube channel. I decided to give it a read and it wasn't my jam. :( Sorry, Matt.
It felt like the characters struggled to remain consistent throughout the book, especially Headen, the main character. Nor do I understand the point of the story in general and the big reveal in the end. There were editing issues sporadically throughout the book.
It felt like someone retelling a D&D adventure. The teller of the story loved living the adventure, while the other person is happy the teller is excited but doesn't share their love of their story.
It felt like the characters struggled to remain consistent throughout the book, especially Headen, the main character. Nor do I understand the point of the story in general and the big reveal in the end. There were editing issues sporadically throughout the book.
It felt like someone retelling a D&D adventure. The teller of the story loved living the adventure, while the other person is happy the teller is excited but doesn't share their love of their story.
June 14, 2021
For someone who loves Dungeons and Dragons and fantasy settings in general, I tend to bounce off a lot of fantasy book series. However, I wanted to give Matt Colville's self-published series a shot, because I have the advantage of being familiar with his other work as a D&D YouTuber, streamer, and game designer. From that work, I know him to be an intelligent, creative person, full of fantastic world-building ideas and awesome character concepts (and what seems like a genuinely nice, chill dude). That's more buy-in than I usually have with any author before I read their book, so I admit my familiarity with Colville's other work colors how I engaged with this one. As such, I have to weigh this book on a variety of levels that differ from how I usually interact with fiction.
First, to address what might be an elephant in the room: this book is deeply steeped in the tradition of Dungeons and Dragons. I suspect high fantasy fiction and D&D have overlapped for a long time (as, unsurprisingly, D&D itself was born of Tolkien). I have an inkling that most fantasy authors must have at least a passing experience playing D&D. Given the game's explosion into the mainstream in the last decade or so, I think this must be becoming more and more of an open secret – and perhaps not even a secret at all. Which is great! I love D&D, I think people shouldn't be ashamed of their "nerdy" hobbies, and when I say this book is super recognizable as incorporating familiar tropes and items well-known to D&D, that isn't really a critique. It's just something to be aware of.
That said, for the uninitiated, some things in this book might seem opaque and confusing – why does Heden have a flying carpet? Why can scrolls teleport you places? Why does he have a backpack that seems bottomless? etc etc. Seasoned players will smile and nod at the well-known idiosyncrasies that make up the staples of every D&D campaign, tweaked slightly to avoid copyright issues. However, if you happened to stumble upon this book having never played, you might find it perfectly bewildering. But then again, at this point, are there many people reading this book without having been introduced to Matt Colville through his online D&D content? I doubt it, so it might be a moot point. All that said, it's just something you have to take in stride when reading.
So I have zero issues taking this book more or less as a fictionalized D&D adventure, regardless of whether it originated as one or not. (I don't think it did, I just think Matt Colville has the mind of a game designer and DM and that's why it feels so strongly like one.) As both a writer and a D&D player, I myself have wondered – could I render one of my campaigns into a fantasy series one day? If so, how would I go about it? As the campaigns I think would be good candidates are still ongoing, I haven't yet tried, but it is interesting food for thought. The question, then, becomes: can you render a narrative game, designed to entertain only its participants, into a satisfying work for a wide audience of observers? As wildly popular D&D streams like Critical Role, The Adventure Zone, and Colville's own The Chain of Acheron set in the same world as Priest can attest, the answer seems to be "yes." But that's live play. How about a novel?
That's where things get tricky. Because a good D&D game might translate well to what amounts to an entertaining improv show (I, personally, find streamed games less entertaining and more instructive, since I run a game myself), but what makes up a good novel is different, and perhaps more complicated. Novels are deliberate and methodical, giving nothing to chance. They are built upon information slowly and painstakingly released to the reader through its characters, which gradually build the narrative tension to a climax.
With that in mind, I turn back to Priest. Our main character is a member of the local clergy named Heden. He is in his mid-forties, and he has seen some horrors in his life. He's in turns cynical, traumatized, and grasping for a moral center that has been lost to him. We see tiny glimpses of the life he lived before he bought an inn and holed up there, but we never really see or understand what that life was. I liked Heden and found him to be a compelling character, but it was frustrating to constantly be in the dark about his past, especially since the POV is usually third person limited inside his head. That said, I liked that he was a clergyman and that he answered to a church. That felt different and fresh from other fantasy titles I've perused recently.
Heden lives in medieval fantasy land. I found this to be a chief disappointment of the book, as there is very little information given about the world, its sociopolitical forces, who was in charge and why, and where locations were in a geographical sense. This is a letdown because I know Matt Colville knows all of this stuff. I've sat in on countless world-building streams where he has explained at length the forces in this world, its nations and cultures, and what has happened in its history. That is almost entirely absent from this book, and I was sad. Since this book was published in 2010, I can't tell if the level of detail has accumulated since, or he simply didn't want to bog down the novel with detailed explanations, but I craved those detailed explanations. I don't even know the name of the king, nor what Heden thinks of him. A lot of the wider world didn't feel fleshed out. I once heard Matt Colville say on stream that he didn't want to write a novel so convoluted that you needed a map in the front of the book, but I wanted a map in the front of the book so that the world felt more real.
Heden's main task in the novel is to track down a mysterious order of knights in the nearby forest and investigate for the church why one of them has recently been killed. This is a damn cool plot hook and I was settling in for a twisty, turny fantasy-thriller hybrid where Heden assembles a team, penetrates the Heart of Darkness-esque wilds, and solves the mystery.
Except... he doesn't.
The rest of the book tends to follow this formula: Heden shows up to a place alone. Heden has opaque and circular conversations with characters we only see once or twice, and the plot doesn't advance at all. Perhaps this is a failing of giving a reader the expectation of a D&D-like ensemble cast, but the solitary nature of Heden's journey hampers the plot significantly. He meets so many potentially interesting characters I would have liked to see join him in his quest: Vanora, Renaldo, the female hunter from outside Ollghum Keep I don't think even gets a name, Aderyn, Aimsley, Taethan... I kept hoping all of them would join him, but none of them last, even when the area seems to be in immediate peril. Heden is a very insular personality who plays things close to the chest, and keeping him isolated through all this turns the plot into a real slog. For some reason, he seems incapable of accepting help, when these side characters could have offered their own insight and skills to the quest, in the process drawing out the tantalizingly hinted-at bits of Heden's dark past. You know... kind of like a D&D adventure.
Instead, because of the isolation, Heden is forced into a series of logic leaps based on nothing but speculation, which I became super frustrated by. Despite being told repeatedly he's the best man for the job, I found myself finding that incredibly difficult to believe. Frequently it felt like the author was afraid of giving any hints that would give away the game, but I really wish there had been more for Heden to find than a dozen stone-walling conversations. In detective stories, there's usually some physical evidence for the protagonist to find, but because of the magical setting, everything seems to be conveniently hidden away from sight, forcing Heden (and the reader) to take a bunch of untrustworthy characters at their word. It may have maintained the mystery as the plot demanded, but it doesn't make for terribly exciting storytelling.
All that said, I thought the beginning and the ending were fairly solid, and there are a few really killer scenes in this book, particularly between Heden and Vanora and Heden and Gwiddon, and some great lines as well. Looking ahead to the next book's synopsis, I noticed it seems to focus more on Vanora. This is something I wanted from the beginning, since I found her to be the most compelling character out of everyone.
So will I read more? Maybe. This book is sloppy and accounts for my mixed review. There's some typo and sentence-level errors that a judicious editor could have taken care of, if this hadn't been a self-published work. It's also clear this is a first novel, and an unfinished draft at that. I often found myself wishing this manuscript had been vigorously workshopped – a writer's circle could have helped hammer out some of the messier plot elements. That said, I rarely read books that I wish I could have workshopped, which make me excited to think of how to make it better, and Priest is that. It's clear Matt Colville is a talented writer and has a lot of good ideas worth sharing. Perhaps Thief improves upon Priest. And perhaps, now that Matt Colville has his own company publishing D&D content, he can use MCDM's resources to give the third installment in the series the polish it deserves.
First, to address what might be an elephant in the room: this book is deeply steeped in the tradition of Dungeons and Dragons. I suspect high fantasy fiction and D&D have overlapped for a long time (as, unsurprisingly, D&D itself was born of Tolkien). I have an inkling that most fantasy authors must have at least a passing experience playing D&D. Given the game's explosion into the mainstream in the last decade or so, I think this must be becoming more and more of an open secret – and perhaps not even a secret at all. Which is great! I love D&D, I think people shouldn't be ashamed of their "nerdy" hobbies, and when I say this book is super recognizable as incorporating familiar tropes and items well-known to D&D, that isn't really a critique. It's just something to be aware of.
That said, for the uninitiated, some things in this book might seem opaque and confusing – why does Heden have a flying carpet? Why can scrolls teleport you places? Why does he have a backpack that seems bottomless? etc etc. Seasoned players will smile and nod at the well-known idiosyncrasies that make up the staples of every D&D campaign, tweaked slightly to avoid copyright issues. However, if you happened to stumble upon this book having never played, you might find it perfectly bewildering. But then again, at this point, are there many people reading this book without having been introduced to Matt Colville through his online D&D content? I doubt it, so it might be a moot point. All that said, it's just something you have to take in stride when reading.
So I have zero issues taking this book more or less as a fictionalized D&D adventure, regardless of whether it originated as one or not. (I don't think it did, I just think Matt Colville has the mind of a game designer and DM and that's why it feels so strongly like one.) As both a writer and a D&D player, I myself have wondered – could I render one of my campaigns into a fantasy series one day? If so, how would I go about it? As the campaigns I think would be good candidates are still ongoing, I haven't yet tried, but it is interesting food for thought. The question, then, becomes: can you render a narrative game, designed to entertain only its participants, into a satisfying work for a wide audience of observers? As wildly popular D&D streams like Critical Role, The Adventure Zone, and Colville's own The Chain of Acheron set in the same world as Priest can attest, the answer seems to be "yes." But that's live play. How about a novel?
That's where things get tricky. Because a good D&D game might translate well to what amounts to an entertaining improv show (I, personally, find streamed games less entertaining and more instructive, since I run a game myself), but what makes up a good novel is different, and perhaps more complicated. Novels are deliberate and methodical, giving nothing to chance. They are built upon information slowly and painstakingly released to the reader through its characters, which gradually build the narrative tension to a climax.
With that in mind, I turn back to Priest. Our main character is a member of the local clergy named Heden. He is in his mid-forties, and he has seen some horrors in his life. He's in turns cynical, traumatized, and grasping for a moral center that has been lost to him. We see tiny glimpses of the life he lived before he bought an inn and holed up there, but we never really see or understand what that life was. I liked Heden and found him to be a compelling character, but it was frustrating to constantly be in the dark about his past, especially since the POV is usually third person limited inside his head. That said, I liked that he was a clergyman and that he answered to a church. That felt different and fresh from other fantasy titles I've perused recently.
Heden lives in medieval fantasy land. I found this to be a chief disappointment of the book, as there is very little information given about the world, its sociopolitical forces, who was in charge and why, and where locations were in a geographical sense. This is a letdown because I know Matt Colville knows all of this stuff. I've sat in on countless world-building streams where he has explained at length the forces in this world, its nations and cultures, and what has happened in its history. That is almost entirely absent from this book, and I was sad. Since this book was published in 2010, I can't tell if the level of detail has accumulated since, or he simply didn't want to bog down the novel with detailed explanations, but I craved those detailed explanations. I don't even know the name of the king, nor what Heden thinks of him. A lot of the wider world didn't feel fleshed out. I once heard Matt Colville say on stream that he didn't want to write a novel so convoluted that you needed a map in the front of the book, but I wanted a map in the front of the book so that the world felt more real.
Heden's main task in the novel is to track down a mysterious order of knights in the nearby forest and investigate for the church why one of them has recently been killed. This is a damn cool plot hook and I was settling in for a twisty, turny fantasy-thriller hybrid where Heden assembles a team, penetrates the Heart of Darkness-esque wilds, and solves the mystery.
Except... he doesn't.
The rest of the book tends to follow this formula: Heden shows up to a place alone. Heden has opaque and circular conversations with characters we only see once or twice, and the plot doesn't advance at all. Perhaps this is a failing of giving a reader the expectation of a D&D-like ensemble cast, but the solitary nature of Heden's journey hampers the plot significantly. He meets so many potentially interesting characters I would have liked to see join him in his quest: Vanora, Renaldo, the female hunter from outside Ollghum Keep I don't think even gets a name, Aderyn, Aimsley, Taethan... I kept hoping all of them would join him, but none of them last, even when the area seems to be in immediate peril. Heden is a very insular personality who plays things close to the chest, and keeping him isolated through all this turns the plot into a real slog. For some reason, he seems incapable of accepting help, when these side characters could have offered their own insight and skills to the quest, in the process drawing out the tantalizingly hinted-at bits of Heden's dark past. You know... kind of like a D&D adventure.
Instead, because of the isolation, Heden is forced into a series of logic leaps based on nothing but speculation, which I became super frustrated by. Despite being told repeatedly he's the best man for the job, I found myself finding that incredibly difficult to believe. Frequently it felt like the author was afraid of giving any hints that would give away the game, but I really wish there had been more for Heden to find than a dozen stone-walling conversations. In detective stories, there's usually some physical evidence for the protagonist to find, but because of the magical setting, everything seems to be conveniently hidden away from sight, forcing Heden (and the reader) to take a bunch of untrustworthy characters at their word. It may have maintained the mystery as the plot demanded, but it doesn't make for terribly exciting storytelling.
All that said, I thought the beginning and the ending were fairly solid, and there are a few really killer scenes in this book, particularly between Heden and Vanora and Heden and Gwiddon, and some great lines as well. Looking ahead to the next book's synopsis, I noticed it seems to focus more on Vanora. This is something I wanted from the beginning, since I found her to be the most compelling character out of everyone.
So will I read more? Maybe. This book is sloppy and accounts for my mixed review. There's some typo and sentence-level errors that a judicious editor could have taken care of, if this hadn't been a self-published work. It's also clear this is a first novel, and an unfinished draft at that. I often found myself wishing this manuscript had been vigorously workshopped – a writer's circle could have helped hammer out some of the messier plot elements. That said, I rarely read books that I wish I could have workshopped, which make me excited to think of how to make it better, and Priest is that. It's clear Matt Colville is a talented writer and has a lot of good ideas worth sharing. Perhaps Thief improves upon Priest. And perhaps, now that Matt Colville has his own company publishing D&D content, he can use MCDM's resources to give the third installment in the series the polish it deserves.
March 9, 2018
Thourgholy enjoyed it
Found this through the authors YouTube DM series. So interesting to “know” the author in this way before reading his book. Action, emotion, Drama, surprise. It was a blast to read.
Found this through the authors YouTube DM series. So interesting to “know” the author in this way before reading his book. Action, emotion, Drama, surprise. It was a blast to read.
May 5, 2022
I've been following Matt Colville's videos/general online presence for the last couple of years, so I am familiar with his works and overall style. I learned early on after finding his videos that he had written a couple of books, with one still pending. But I put it off for awhile, for a couple of reasons. Matt himself warns that his books are not for everyone - mainly due to how there is pretty much zero happiness of any kind in the story (which is quite true). He's recounted how he has a number of fans who message him saying they love his content, but absolutely hated his book(s). That gave me some trepidation about diving into it, which is why I put it off until now.
It's... ok. I think I'm actually a bit more critical about it due to "knowing" Matt (parasocially) beforehand. If I had stumbled upon this book blindly, I think I'd consider it fine and move on.
The story's structure reminded me a bit of a play. There are only a handful of settings, and the main thrust of the novel is carried out via dialogue between characters and the drama and tension it creates. Action scenes do occur, but they generally end fairly quickly. That's one potential negative about the novel - the characters seem fairly overpowered. Heden, and the knights, are able to call upon a deity's power in the form of these vague prayers that basically can do whatever they want it to. It's never explained, nor does there seem to be much drawback to doing so. There's not a lot of danger to the action, except for when the plot interferes to cause something bad to happen. It makes the stakes feel a bit off.
A lot of the abilities, and overall feel of the world, are obviously drawn heavily from Dungeons & Dragons. The book itself more or less reads as a D&D campaign - or at least one section/quest of a campaign. That can be a positive or a negative, depending on your opinion. I play D&D myself so I was fine with it, but even I can see it doesn't always make for the best narrative structure.
There's at least one narrative technique employed that got on my nerves after awhile. About a month or so ago, Matt spoke on a stream about a technique he likes and wishes was used more. I can't remember if it has a name or he gave it a name, but a famous example he used was the Kessel Run in Star Wars A New Hope. Han brags about the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, as a way to showcase his piloting abilities and his ship's capabilities. But zero context is provided for what that actually means - it's left up to the audience to decide. The old canon books would go on to explain what that meant, and in the new canon the Solo movie had a terrible rendition of it. But now I'm going on a tangent.
The point I'm trying to make is that by reading this novel, it is quite evident that Matt likes that technique. Even 10 years ago, when he wrote this. Because he uses it almost nonstop. There are way too many things that are mentioned, and clearly have some level of importance, but are then brushed off and moved past. I get that backstory and worldbuilding for backstory and worldbuilding's sake isn't great, but there are just too many things that are given no context.
There are some characters that leave something to be desired. Namely, a couple of the females. There is a teenage girl introduced in the beginning, and returns near the end, who serves only as a way to first help characterize Heden, and then later to enable him to solve the mystery. She has no agency of her own, and even has to be rescued by Heden twice. Then there's Aderyn, the beautiful, skilled, and faithful squire, who Because of course. That whole scene made me roll my eyes.
The way the story wraps up is a bit unfulfilling as well. It very clearly sets up the second novel, instead of having a nice conclusion of its own. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but the manner in which it happens kind of makes the entirety of this novel... pointless? I'll chalk that one up mostly to personal preference, though.
I guess I'm a little disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more, due to liking Matt's other content. But my expectations were tempered going in, so I'm not surprised. Although maybe that affected my overall opinion negatively... who can say?
I will be jumping into the second novel, mainly because I have limited time access to it. But also because I want to see where the story goes. I suppose that is a positive - this novel did at least get me hooked for more, for better or worse.
It's... ok. I think I'm actually a bit more critical about it due to "knowing" Matt (parasocially) beforehand. If I had stumbled upon this book blindly, I think I'd consider it fine and move on.
The story's structure reminded me a bit of a play. There are only a handful of settings, and the main thrust of the novel is carried out via dialogue between characters and the drama and tension it creates. Action scenes do occur, but they generally end fairly quickly. That's one potential negative about the novel - the characters seem fairly overpowered. Heden, and the knights, are able to call upon a deity's power in the form of these vague prayers that basically can do whatever they want it to. It's never explained, nor does there seem to be much drawback to doing so. There's not a lot of danger to the action, except for when the plot interferes to cause something bad to happen. It makes the stakes feel a bit off.
A lot of the abilities, and overall feel of the world, are obviously drawn heavily from Dungeons & Dragons. The book itself more or less reads as a D&D campaign - or at least one section/quest of a campaign. That can be a positive or a negative, depending on your opinion. I play D&D myself so I was fine with it, but even I can see it doesn't always make for the best narrative structure.
There's at least one narrative technique employed that got on my nerves after awhile. About a month or so ago, Matt spoke on a stream about a technique he likes and wishes was used more. I can't remember if it has a name or he gave it a name, but a famous example he used was the Kessel Run in Star Wars A New Hope. Han brags about the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, as a way to showcase his piloting abilities and his ship's capabilities. But zero context is provided for what that actually means - it's left up to the audience to decide. The old canon books would go on to explain what that meant, and in the new canon the Solo movie had a terrible rendition of it. But now I'm going on a tangent.
The point I'm trying to make is that by reading this novel, it is quite evident that Matt likes that technique. Even 10 years ago, when he wrote this. Because he uses it almost nonstop. There are way too many things that are mentioned, and clearly have some level of importance, but are then brushed off and moved past. I get that backstory and worldbuilding for backstory and worldbuilding's sake isn't great, but there are just too many things that are given no context.
There are some characters that leave something to be desired. Namely, a couple of the females. There is a teenage girl introduced in the beginning, and returns near the end, who serves only as a way to first help characterize Heden, and then later to enable him to solve the mystery. She has no agency of her own, and even has to be rescued by Heden twice. Then there's Aderyn, the beautiful, skilled, and faithful squire, who Because of course. That whole scene made me roll my eyes.
The way the story wraps up is a bit unfulfilling as well. It very clearly sets up the second novel, instead of having a nice conclusion of its own. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, but the manner in which it happens kind of makes the entirety of this novel... pointless? I'll chalk that one up mostly to personal preference, though.
I guess I'm a little disappointed that I didn't enjoy it more, due to liking Matt's other content. But my expectations were tempered going in, so I'm not surprised. Although maybe that affected my overall opinion negatively... who can say?
I will be jumping into the second novel, mainly because I have limited time access to it. But also because I want to see where the story goes. I suppose that is a positive - this novel did at least get me hooked for more, for better or worse.
September 23, 2017
I am a Matt Colville fan. I don't think he has been a pen and paper roleplayer as long as I have but its gotta be close. His YouTube videos should be required watching for old and new hobbyists. He has an imaginative brain and a way of looking at gaming, even in its most basic form, that GMs and players alike should subscribe to. I'm not sure if this is his first book, because I know he works on videogames as a profession, I believe.
If this is his first book its great.
Heden is a cleric who no longer is in favor from his church. He serves a female form goddess who is ridiculed and made light of, though she seems to have been at one point a mover and shaker. The church uses Heden now to perform rituals and deal with things such as curses, possessions and other magical and threatening maladies that the 'regular' clergy doesn't want to deal with.
He gets asked to proceed to a dangerous wood some days distant and the nearby walled town. There is problems with the Green Order, a group of almost Green Knight kind of circle of warriors. Their leader has been killed and Heden has been asked to go and relieve them of their grief so they can return to their previous unity and power. What he runs into here begins weirdly and turns to a deep plot of intrigue, betrayal and heart rending sadness very quickly. The back and forth Heden has with the Knights is thick with questions and I simply couldn't put the book down to find out the truth crux of what was going on. Add to this a massive army of sub-man, almost Orcs bearing down on the forest and planning on destroying the walled town nearby, and you have a powerful story here.
Heden is powerful and magic in this book is directed and has some muscle. He sings and sometimes whispers his prayers to devastating results. Add to this that he has basically borrowed a Dwarven relic blade that can draw down starlight and sometimes a meteor to destroy foes, and the power level of Heden and the Knights of the Green Order becomes quickly evident.
What this book is becomes apparent halfway through it. This is a fantasy murder-mystery, and it is well done. Heden is a flawed and yet heroic character. He is foul mouthed and yet pious and so warm of heart in other circumstances. The panic attack he suffers after first entering the wood is strange and yet shows his traumatic past and frailty from where he has been and what he has had to do.
Overall this book was refreshing and solid, deep and gratifying to read. I truly enjoyed it and have the second book, Thief to start very soon. Also, if you wonder why these books are call the Ratcatchers books, there is a reason. Regular people refer to adventurers as Ratcatchers. They fear and despise them because they know when they appear that trouble is going to be stirred or they are bringing it with them. I kind of like this approach and it has a good feel to it, a real feel. I can't wait to dig into Thief!
Fine Job, Matt!
If this is his first book its great.
Heden is a cleric who no longer is in favor from his church. He serves a female form goddess who is ridiculed and made light of, though she seems to have been at one point a mover and shaker. The church uses Heden now to perform rituals and deal with things such as curses, possessions and other magical and threatening maladies that the 'regular' clergy doesn't want to deal with.
He gets asked to proceed to a dangerous wood some days distant and the nearby walled town. There is problems with the Green Order, a group of almost Green Knight kind of circle of warriors. Their leader has been killed and Heden has been asked to go and relieve them of their grief so they can return to their previous unity and power. What he runs into here begins weirdly and turns to a deep plot of intrigue, betrayal and heart rending sadness very quickly. The back and forth Heden has with the Knights is thick with questions and I simply couldn't put the book down to find out the truth crux of what was going on. Add to this a massive army of sub-man, almost Orcs bearing down on the forest and planning on destroying the walled town nearby, and you have a powerful story here.
Heden is powerful and magic in this book is directed and has some muscle. He sings and sometimes whispers his prayers to devastating results. Add to this that he has basically borrowed a Dwarven relic blade that can draw down starlight and sometimes a meteor to destroy foes, and the power level of Heden and the Knights of the Green Order becomes quickly evident.
What this book is becomes apparent halfway through it. This is a fantasy murder-mystery, and it is well done. Heden is a flawed and yet heroic character. He is foul mouthed and yet pious and so warm of heart in other circumstances. The panic attack he suffers after first entering the wood is strange and yet shows his traumatic past and frailty from where he has been and what he has had to do.
Overall this book was refreshing and solid, deep and gratifying to read. I truly enjoyed it and have the second book, Thief to start very soon. Also, if you wonder why these books are call the Ratcatchers books, there is a reason. Regular people refer to adventurers as Ratcatchers. They fear and despise them because they know when they appear that trouble is going to be stirred or they are bringing it with them. I kind of like this approach and it has a good feel to it, a real feel. I can't wait to dig into Thief!
Fine Job, Matt!
July 25, 2016
Very enthralling read. Even though at times it feels like I was inserted into the world in the middle of a story, it never failed to keep my interest and never dived down a rabbit hole too far to lose me. The emotion behind the characters are so relatable and real that I couldn't help but be drawn along in the roller coaster ride. The characterization is great as well. I'm usually not a fan of orcs, dwarves, and elves stories but this one keeps things far enough away from high fantasy to be palatable. It reminds me a lot of the Acts of Caine books by Matthew Stover, minus the sci-fi aspect. I think I picked up the book a total of 5 times before I finished it. Great read and cannot wait to start the next one.
January 24, 2018
When I first attempted to read Priest I bounced off it. I got partially into the first chapter and put it on the digital pile of other kindle books from fellow redditors. Sometime later, Matt Colville began his YouTube channel and I became a fan of his work there. I decided to give Priest another chance. Conveniently, Matt had recently updated the book with a professional edit and man it showed. I was immediately drawn into Heden's tale and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It's taken me a bit to give the book a review, and I've increased my rating from 4 to 5 stars. Why? Simple. It has stayed with me. I think about Heden. I want to find out where his tale goes from here. Now that I realize this is also a "getting the team together", well, I'm on board.
December 17, 2025
This book surprised me in a myriad of ways. The prose was easy to read, the dialogue was funny!, the topics were so heavy hitting... (read depressing at times - but like in a way that was thought provoking), the characters were complex, there was somehow so much conveyed with very little conventional exposition. It felt like I was witnessing a D&D campaign occurring before me while reading this book which was so incredible and fun. And just when i was getting tired of all the cool things happening and working out for the characters... failure!! The ongoing mystery of the plot was cool, and I was also surprised by the ending. I did get a little tired of literally everything happening through dialogue, but i think it is incredibly representative of how D&D actually works - characters (players) have to talk to each other and to NPCs to make the plot move along, so it is really well done in that regard. Excited to continue reading the series and see where the story and adventure leads!
July 2, 2021
It took me a little while to get into this one, but once the main plot got underway I was hooked and ended up devouring it. I enjoyed the D&D feeling of this one, but what really sold me on Priest was the Green Order. I loved everything about the events surrounding the Knights of the Green Order, and the imagery was fantastic. Hedan was a little overpowered, but I found that balanced out by his personal weaknesses, and I liked the fact that he wasn't really a 'hero' and that this wasn't a coming of age story, but the tale of an experienced, scarred character, and I will be picking up the next book in the near future.
August 4, 2025
Get ready for the most amateur and innocent review you’ve ever read in your life.
This is the second book in my adult life that I have finished front to back, the first being a dense but interesting book on the human body. So, finally getting into fantasy and mystery novels is really exciting to me and this was such a good one to start with. Infused with DnD world-building and arcana, but at its core it is a hardboiled fantasy. No idea if it is good compared to others in the genre but to me this was a great gateway into reading more fiction. Thanks Dad for the recommendation :)
This is the second book in my adult life that I have finished front to back, the first being a dense but interesting book on the human body. So, finally getting into fantasy and mystery novels is really exciting to me and this was such a good one to start with. Infused with DnD world-building and arcana, but at its core it is a hardboiled fantasy. No idea if it is good compared to others in the genre but to me this was a great gateway into reading more fiction. Thanks Dad for the recommendation :)
December 5, 2024
Maybe five stars is a bit much, but I guess it was just exactly what I was looking for in a fantasy novel. And I find Colville’s dialogues masterful. Always intriguing and full of character. All characters have a real Voice.
QUESTION: I have a bunch of books still to read if I want to try to reach my reading challenge. Do any of you have good recommendations for short books?
QUESTION: I have a bunch of books still to read if I want to try to reach my reading challenge. Do any of you have good recommendations for short books?
October 12, 2020
So, I really enjoyed this. My expectations were relatively low going in. Early on, the world building absolutely spellbound me. I like this world a great deal, and liked teasing together every small detail presented to assemble the larger picture. I would have liked it if it was simply an adventure tale. But this was much more than that. Instead of some D&D-inspired save-the-world epic, this is a much more personal tale, really making me think about big ideas and how we each process our failures and what we do to keep going. I read through this quickly,and already look forward to diving in again. Recommended.
May 12, 2018
A great read. Not your standard fare of fantasy swords and sorcery. Deep and fully developed characters. Look forward to next in series!
February 27, 2019
A puntito de convertirse en mi saga favorita de fantasía, dependiendo de como se deselvuenvan las cosas. Lo que lloré con el final y lo enfadado que acabé no es normal.
August 18, 2020
A very well-crafted story.
Despite the shallow first few pages, Priest develops into a thought-provoking page-turner.
Despite the shallow first few pages, Priest develops into a thought-provoking page-turner.
October 16, 2021
I am sad now.
September 24, 2022
This book didnt take the direction I expected or the direction I wanted but it was exactly right. A bit of a slow burn; the pay off is worth it.
March 15, 2024
Gut wrenching & evocative. The characters in this are so complex and I finished the book craving to learn more about each and every one of them.
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