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Deathsworn Arc #5
The Temple of the Mad God
There is a dark power stirring in Torea.
Buried deep underground for eons, the tendrils of its sinister influence have reached the surface and are ready to act.
Saul and his companions are oblivious to the looming horror that awaits them; luring them in, beckoning them closer.
While the companions struggle to reach the Temple of the Mad God, their friends on the surface fare little better.
Dragons, plague-stricken villages, sinister plots, corrupt lords, cruel slavery and executions.
All in ‘Deathsworn Arc 5: The Temple of the Mad God’.
The Deathsworn Arc Series of Dark, Epic Fantasy Adventure Novels:-
Deathsworn Arc : The Last Dragon Slayer
Deathsworn Arc 2 : The Verkreath Horror
Deathsworn Arc 3 : The Blood Queen
Deathsworn Arc 4 : Rise of the Archmage
Deathsworn Arc 5: The Temple of the Mad God
The Deathsworn Arc contains graphic violence and mature themes.
Recommended for readers 14+ only.
Enjoyed this book? Look for 'The Lambton Worm' and its exciting sequel 'Return of the Worm Slayer', also by Martyn Stanley
Buried deep underground for eons, the tendrils of its sinister influence have reached the surface and are ready to act.
Saul and his companions are oblivious to the looming horror that awaits them; luring them in, beckoning them closer.
While the companions struggle to reach the Temple of the Mad God, their friends on the surface fare little better.
Dragons, plague-stricken villages, sinister plots, corrupt lords, cruel slavery and executions.
All in ‘Deathsworn Arc 5: The Temple of the Mad God’.
The Deathsworn Arc Series of Dark, Epic Fantasy Adventure Novels:-
Deathsworn Arc : The Last Dragon Slayer
Deathsworn Arc 2 : The Verkreath Horror
Deathsworn Arc 3 : The Blood Queen
Deathsworn Arc 4 : Rise of the Archmage
Deathsworn Arc 5: The Temple of the Mad God
The Deathsworn Arc contains graphic violence and mature themes.
Recommended for readers 14+ only.
Enjoyed this book? Look for 'The Lambton Worm' and its exciting sequel 'Return of the Worm Slayer', also by Martyn Stanley
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2017
1 person is currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Martyn Stanley
14 books202 followersAward winning writer, Martyn Stanley is married to his wife, Rachael, and has two young children. He lives in a small village on the Staffordshire, Cheshire border and is a director at a small manufacturing unit. He has always been interested in writing, and over the years has spent many hours writing for pleasure on forums, as well as writing some short stories. "The Last Dragon Slayer" is his first novel, and his second and third books, “The Verkreath Horror” and "The Blood Queen" (along with other planned books), form part of the “Deathsworn Arc” series.
He has also authored the 'Lambton Worm' and 'Return of the Worm Slayer' a re-telling of an old English folktale and a sequel.
He has long been an avid reader of Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld,” and it was partly due to his love of this fantasy series, that he sought to write his own “epic fantasy” books. Unlike Terry Pratchett’s work, his books have a darker tone and address some adult themes, including questions of faith and moral philosophy.
Martyn has many other varied interests. He completed his Open University General Science degree and graduated with First Class Honours in 2019, the course material provided inspiration and ideas for his books. The course has also led him to read a number of other science-based books for pleasure, which has further strengthened his atheist leanings. As part of his degree he studied Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing - being awarded a distinction in the latter.
Martyn is interested in video games and gaming culture, particularly fantasy adventure and role-playing games. He enjoys playing the guitar, and spent a few years in a rock band during his miss-spent youth! Besides this, he has an interest in martial arts, and although no longer practising, due to family commitments, he holds a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo. This is something he would like to resume doing, time permitting!
His latest novel is the subversive YA Vampire novel, 'Ofelia'. which won the Literary Titan Silver Book Award for 2021.
Martyn won first prize for the DriveTribe 2017 Award for Best Article.
https://drivetribe.com/p/K8pjfBF2QISZ...
Martyn's 1st prize winning article:-
https://drivetribe.com/p/the-clarkson...
He has also authored the 'Lambton Worm' and 'Return of the Worm Slayer' a re-telling of an old English folktale and a sequel.
He has long been an avid reader of Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld,” and it was partly due to his love of this fantasy series, that he sought to write his own “epic fantasy” books. Unlike Terry Pratchett’s work, his books have a darker tone and address some adult themes, including questions of faith and moral philosophy.
Martyn has many other varied interests. He completed his Open University General Science degree and graduated with First Class Honours in 2019, the course material provided inspiration and ideas for his books. The course has also led him to read a number of other science-based books for pleasure, which has further strengthened his atheist leanings. As part of his degree he studied Creative Writing and Advanced Creative Writing - being awarded a distinction in the latter.
Martyn is interested in video games and gaming culture, particularly fantasy adventure and role-playing games. He enjoys playing the guitar, and spent a few years in a rock band during his miss-spent youth! Besides this, he has an interest in martial arts, and although no longer practising, due to family commitments, he holds a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo. This is something he would like to resume doing, time permitting!
His latest novel is the subversive YA Vampire novel, 'Ofelia'. which won the Literary Titan Silver Book Award for 2021.
Martyn won first prize for the DriveTribe 2017 Award for Best Article.
https://drivetribe.com/p/K8pjfBF2QISZ...
Martyn's 1st prize winning article:-
https://drivetribe.com/p/the-clarkson...
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 27, 2026
I am listening to FMA: Brotherhoods's Next Chapter track and, lemme tell ya, I am so pumped for this review, you have no idea :D
May contain spoilers! Read at your risk!
Not gonna lie, I have become really invested in the characters of this series. Not only because I was asked to read it, or they have grown on me as the series progressed, but because I feel like, through my feedback, I have contributed to their development. Say for instance, me pointing out that Korhan loses more duels than he wins and the companions shouldn't trust him with anything of the sort that also puts their lives/safety in danger. THIS was addressed in DSA 5 with the rest of the companions outwardly expressing their disdain at the thought of letting YET another duel be "handled" by him. And lemme tell ya I was grinning for the entire scene.
Speaking of duels, I have noticed a certain pattern in these books, that start to glare at you jarringly after a whole 5 books. There are at least 2 duels in every books and 2 rescue scenes or plots underway. Maybe it's a gimmick of the world, maybe it's what the author likes, but I find that resolving every tight situation with a duel and resorting to characters rescuing other characters is a bit cheap and kind of feels Deux ex Machina-ish.
Particularly in this book, wherein we have yet another rescue for characters Lindie and Kaya. Since they were introduced in book 3 I have failed to see their relevance to the plot. And despite the author's assurance that Lindie and Kaya, do have a bigger role to play in the following books, I don't understand why their storyline needs to be present and greatly expanded upon in books 4 and 5?
I almost correctly predicted that 50% of this book is focused on subplots that don't revolve around Vashni and the companions and that serve almost nothing to forward the plot.
- Fox's abuse? Just a way to have the reader know that the plague is spreading.
- Elden and Vexis leaving the companions? Just a way for the reader to know that Fox has found the two of them
- Lindie and Kaya's rescue and aftermath? So that we know that the Servants of the Flame are expanding and are planing to march to Cormaroth.
It is my firm belief that the use of 3rd person omniscient is very clunky in this book and this series as a whole and that instead what would have worked better would have been 3rd person limited and having the MCs find out about all these events I have enumerated above and getting to see their reaction to what has happened in their absence. The author however resorts to show us what happens in the world with some characters that do almost NOTHING to forward the plot. And it's not TELL mind you, it's SHOW!
We are shown in painstaking details what these characters, that just so happen to be the only ones witnessing events that are occurring outside of the companions' general knowledge, go through. And the details are not even impressive. Compared with the companions' POVs, the POVs of Fox, Lindie and Kaya are mundane. Nothing interesting happens except for the occasional information gathering about the antagonist's plot thread and that's it! The rest is just the three of them angsting about how hard their life is.
The fact of the matter is that focusing too much of this book on these needless characters has made the companions' plot advance at a snail's pace. This is a serious detriment to the series. Why should the reader care about these needless characters that they know almost nothing about? The author has introduced the reader to main characters, who, depending on your view of them, may or may not be compelling characters, but at least FORWARD the plot. Focusing so much on characters that don't forward the plot, makes me think this is a tactic to stretch the series in as many books as possible.
This is a 410 page book and by all means the plot should progress further than the companions reach the Holt and enter it and find out what's inside or Vashni is captured by this Suszak Lord and has only JUST begun fighting back against her controllers. This is all that happens in this book and by all means it doesn't even add up to half of it. The other half is following Fox, Lindie, Kaya, Elden and Vexis because we REALLY needed to know every aspect of Fox's domestic abuse and Lindie and Kaya's lesbian love life.
I promised to be a bit more diplomatic in how I presented my opinions in this review in particular so I am not going to go all out and bash this book for its insistent forwarding of the three pointless characters I mentioned above, but it's a major factor in why I rated it close to 3 stars.
Ok a few more things that I wanna discuss:
- Ok here's the complaint I have always had about Saul. Saul should be more skilled than what is presented. He's had like... 50 years of training methinks it SHOULD NOT be difficult for him to use magic if he'd been using it for so long! The fact that Brael has to teach him magic again makes me think that he was never good at magic to begin with and he only had the title of emissary just because he was her (Emperess Jade's) bedding partner. That's the most likely explanation
- Being prepared to cast a spell suggests that the wizards of this world don't have this magic generating energy readily available to them like say stormlight or metal burning. Despite being limited to the quantity stored/ingested these previously mentioned were resources that made magic available immediately to the wielder. Magic I believe may be infinite in this world and THATS why it isnt readily available to the magic wielders. Meaning it takes time to harness the energies. Are some races more prone to this than others? Are humans at a disadvantage to other races because there aren''t many wizards? Is this why Saul is incompetent, because he didn't have training from someone who knew how to harness this magic?
- This concept of magic and anti-magic has never been introduced before and is really confusing. What is it? A spell that breaks another spell?
- Why'd Korhan dent Harbinger like that? If he figured out early on that he didn't do anything to the rock monster then why continue using the sword to distract it?
- Why is this idea with meat being deprived so forwarded. What does being a good warrior have anything to with what the hell you eat? Saying that meat is prohibited if you wanna be a great warrior is like saying you can't eat bread because your skin is not white enough to absorb it. Quite frankly it's absurd. It also deprives Korhan of the much needed protein that helps the mind work! - No wonder he is so dumb.
- No person owes someone their existance. Not even if that person happened to give them something to save their life. Creepy wench this Vexis. Going from one stuck up woman to another stuck up woman just because does not do well for the ego. And heavens know Korhan has a lot, just look how many duels he lost because of it :D
- I knew it! Korhan was the one who slew Thrax so he can have that cool Dragon Slayer title. Because Barbarians are idiots and don't have family names and saying "Son of Brian" means next to nothing as to who Brian or whatever-his-Dad-is-called IS? Also... Brian... that is surely a barbarian name to be feared! -.-
- Despite the fact that I soooo wanna punch Brael in the face from time to time, his scholarly curiosity is endearing :)
- Are people double-flavored in this world, white and black? No mix of these two whatsoever? Good guys that do morally questionable things and bad guys that can be decent people?
- How they handled the guard Randall is the most contrived way to get a guard out of the way. Knock him out ffs!
- Isn't Elden's curse a convenient way for the companions to get info before they get to their goal?
- Vexis, I understand that Fox is now your adoptive daughter, but you DID just mutilate her! She's a child!
- Also Fox is wise beyond her years at the age of 10 (approx.). Ummm I have a 10 year old niece. She doesn't think like that.
- Korzad doesn't sound like an elvish name to me.
- Ileandra is awful at her job of keeping Vashni complacent. Not only is she blurting out their entire plans, but she is also giving Vashni reasons to strive to break free of her hold. Good luck fixing it, villain!
- Wait wait wait! Hold up! Elves age?! Elves AGE?!!! Elves are ageless...
- There may be nothing beyond this bitter reality we live in, but that doesn't feel right to me. We love, we hate, we fight, we strive... People's lives seem too complex and important to be simply extinguished like a candle. - This is actually a really nice quote :)
Ttell the truth the climax.... of the companions' plot thread mind you, was pretty awesome and was presented in vivid imagery. That said Saul's death took me off guard. :/ I thought he'd survive longer than Votrex :( Now who is Brael gonna teach his magic to?
Let's Rate This - 7.2 / 10
Setting and Atmosphere - 8
Plot - 7
Main Characters - 8
Secondary Characters - 5
Antagonists - 7
Writing - 8
Enjoyability - 8
Despite my overall dislike for the useless side-characters in this book, I rather liked this installment of the DSA :) It was surely better than Rise of the Archmage. This book felt less random and had the characters actually achieve something. Well... In the same vein as one would say Vin achieved something in The Well of Ascension, but you get my point.
Reviews for the Deathsworn Arc series:
The Last Dragon Slayer
The Verkreath Horror
The Blood Queen
Rise of the Archmage
The Temple of the Mad God
Hooo....ok! Now I need to finish Prince of Fools to, I'm at 80% there as well :P
May contain spoilers! Read at your risk!
Not gonna lie, I have become really invested in the characters of this series. Not only because I was asked to read it, or they have grown on me as the series progressed, but because I feel like, through my feedback, I have contributed to their development. Say for instance, me pointing out that Korhan loses more duels than he wins and the companions shouldn't trust him with anything of the sort that also puts their lives/safety in danger. THIS was addressed in DSA 5 with the rest of the companions outwardly expressing their disdain at the thought of letting YET another duel be "handled" by him. And lemme tell ya I was grinning for the entire scene.
Speaking of duels, I have noticed a certain pattern in these books, that start to glare at you jarringly after a whole 5 books. There are at least 2 duels in every books and 2 rescue scenes or plots underway. Maybe it's a gimmick of the world, maybe it's what the author likes, but I find that resolving every tight situation with a duel and resorting to characters rescuing other characters is a bit cheap and kind of feels Deux ex Machina-ish.
Particularly in this book, wherein we have yet another rescue for characters Lindie and Kaya. Since they were introduced in book 3 I have failed to see their relevance to the plot. And despite the author's assurance that Lindie and Kaya, do have a bigger role to play in the following books, I don't understand why their storyline needs to be present and greatly expanded upon in books 4 and 5?
I almost correctly predicted that 50% of this book is focused on subplots that don't revolve around Vashni and the companions and that serve almost nothing to forward the plot.
- Fox's abuse? Just a way to have the reader know that the plague is spreading.
- Elden and Vexis leaving the companions? Just a way for the reader to know that Fox has found the two of them
- Lindie and Kaya's rescue and aftermath? So that we know that the Servants of the Flame are expanding and are planing to march to Cormaroth.
It is my firm belief that the use of 3rd person omniscient is very clunky in this book and this series as a whole and that instead what would have worked better would have been 3rd person limited and having the MCs find out about all these events I have enumerated above and getting to see their reaction to what has happened in their absence. The author however resorts to show us what happens in the world with some characters that do almost NOTHING to forward the plot. And it's not TELL mind you, it's SHOW!
We are shown in painstaking details what these characters, that just so happen to be the only ones witnessing events that are occurring outside of the companions' general knowledge, go through. And the details are not even impressive. Compared with the companions' POVs, the POVs of Fox, Lindie and Kaya are mundane. Nothing interesting happens except for the occasional information gathering about the antagonist's plot thread and that's it! The rest is just the three of them angsting about how hard their life is.
The fact of the matter is that focusing too much of this book on these needless characters has made the companions' plot advance at a snail's pace. This is a serious detriment to the series. Why should the reader care about these needless characters that they know almost nothing about? The author has introduced the reader to main characters, who, depending on your view of them, may or may not be compelling characters, but at least FORWARD the plot. Focusing so much on characters that don't forward the plot, makes me think this is a tactic to stretch the series in as many books as possible.
This is a 410 page book and by all means the plot should progress further than the companions reach the Holt and enter it and find out what's inside or Vashni is captured by this Suszak Lord and has only JUST begun fighting back against her controllers. This is all that happens in this book and by all means it doesn't even add up to half of it. The other half is following Fox, Lindie, Kaya, Elden and Vexis because we REALLY needed to know every aspect of Fox's domestic abuse and Lindie and Kaya's lesbian love life.
I promised to be a bit more diplomatic in how I presented my opinions in this review in particular so I am not going to go all out and bash this book for its insistent forwarding of the three pointless characters I mentioned above, but it's a major factor in why I rated it close to 3 stars.
Ok a few more things that I wanna discuss:
- Ok here's the complaint I have always had about Saul. Saul should be more skilled than what is presented. He's had like... 50 years of training methinks it SHOULD NOT be difficult for him to use magic if he'd been using it for so long! The fact that Brael has to teach him magic again makes me think that he was never good at magic to begin with and he only had the title of emissary just because he was her (Emperess Jade's) bedding partner. That's the most likely explanation
- Being prepared to cast a spell suggests that the wizards of this world don't have this magic generating energy readily available to them like say stormlight or metal burning. Despite being limited to the quantity stored/ingested these previously mentioned were resources that made magic available immediately to the wielder. Magic I believe may be infinite in this world and THATS why it isnt readily available to the magic wielders. Meaning it takes time to harness the energies. Are some races more prone to this than others? Are humans at a disadvantage to other races because there aren''t many wizards? Is this why Saul is incompetent, because he didn't have training from someone who knew how to harness this magic?
- This concept of magic and anti-magic has never been introduced before and is really confusing. What is it? A spell that breaks another spell?
- Why'd Korhan dent Harbinger like that? If he figured out early on that he didn't do anything to the rock monster then why continue using the sword to distract it?
- Why is this idea with meat being deprived so forwarded. What does being a good warrior have anything to with what the hell you eat? Saying that meat is prohibited if you wanna be a great warrior is like saying you can't eat bread because your skin is not white enough to absorb it. Quite frankly it's absurd. It also deprives Korhan of the much needed protein that helps the mind work! - No wonder he is so dumb.
- No person owes someone their existance. Not even if that person happened to give them something to save their life. Creepy wench this Vexis. Going from one stuck up woman to another stuck up woman just because does not do well for the ego. And heavens know Korhan has a lot, just look how many duels he lost because of it :D
- I knew it! Korhan was the one who slew Thrax so he can have that cool Dragon Slayer title. Because Barbarians are idiots and don't have family names and saying "Son of Brian" means next to nothing as to who Brian or whatever-his-Dad-is-called IS? Also... Brian... that is surely a barbarian name to be feared! -.-
- Despite the fact that I soooo wanna punch Brael in the face from time to time, his scholarly curiosity is endearing :)
- Are people double-flavored in this world, white and black? No mix of these two whatsoever? Good guys that do morally questionable things and bad guys that can be decent people?
- How they handled the guard Randall is the most contrived way to get a guard out of the way. Knock him out ffs!
- Isn't Elden's curse a convenient way for the companions to get info before they get to their goal?
- Vexis, I understand that Fox is now your adoptive daughter, but you DID just mutilate her! She's a child!
- Also Fox is wise beyond her years at the age of 10 (approx.). Ummm I have a 10 year old niece. She doesn't think like that.
- Korzad doesn't sound like an elvish name to me.
- Ileandra is awful at her job of keeping Vashni complacent. Not only is she blurting out their entire plans, but she is also giving Vashni reasons to strive to break free of her hold. Good luck fixing it, villain!
- Wait wait wait! Hold up! Elves age?! Elves AGE?!!! Elves are ageless...
- There may be nothing beyond this bitter reality we live in, but that doesn't feel right to me. We love, we hate, we fight, we strive... People's lives seem too complex and important to be simply extinguished like a candle. - This is actually a really nice quote :)
Ttell the truth the climax.... of the companions' plot thread mind you, was pretty awesome and was presented in vivid imagery. That said Saul's death took me off guard. :/ I thought he'd survive longer than Votrex :( Now who is Brael gonna teach his magic to?
Let's Rate This - 7.2 / 10
Setting and Atmosphere - 8
Plot - 7
Main Characters - 8
Secondary Characters - 5
Antagonists - 7
Writing - 8
Enjoyability - 8
Despite my overall dislike for the useless side-characters in this book, I rather liked this installment of the DSA :) It was surely better than Rise of the Archmage. This book felt less random and had the characters actually achieve something. Well... In the same vein as one would say Vin achieved something in The Well of Ascension, but you get my point.
Reviews for the Deathsworn Arc series:
The Last Dragon Slayer
The Verkreath Horror
The Blood Queen
Rise of the Archmage
The Temple of the Mad God
Hooo....ok! Now I need to finish Prince of Fools to, I'm at 80% there as well :P
June 24, 2022
*Editorial Review.
Wow... What a journey. When I started writing the sequel to 'Deathsworn Arc: The Last Dragon Slayer' it was going to be called 'The Temple of the Mad God'. That was five books ago now. How did this happen? Well, I got to a point in 'The Verkreath Horror' and realised I'd written a story. The structure of a climax and resolution had come. It was also about the same length as the first book. I was still miles away from getting the companions to the Temple of the Mad God, so I needed a new title.
And so the plan was to make book 3 'The Temple of the Mad God', then book 4...
Finally I've got there. I've ended up introducing lots of characters I'd never planned in my original outline. Characters like Vexis Zaelwarsh, Fox Fletcher, Crispin Sarbour, Lindie and Kaya. Villains like Ileandra, Pendreth and Angela. I even grew to like these characters and become interested in them. To this end I wanted to explore them and work out who they truly are and how they tick.
If I'd stuck to the original plan. The companions would never have met Elden Roth, or Burgess and the Blood Trials would never have happened. Vexis would have been in the story for two pages - just long enough to remove Brael's curse and Lindie and Kaya would have been forgotten after book 3 if they'd made it into the story at all.
Has the story suffered for diverging so much? Maybe, but I think it's gained more than it's lost. Stories are boring. Characters are interesting. The more vivid and real they are, the more interesting they are. There's a saying amongst writers - 'Make the big story small and the small story big'. And it's true, you could write a science fiction book about an alien fleet invading the earth. You could fill it with complex world-building and exciting action sequences, but it would be awful if it didn't have characters you cared about in it.
I wasn't going to follow Vashni to Eldenizar. I was going to pick her up later. However I know people like Vashni. She's a favourite. Lots of people would have been disappointed if she'd vanished to Eldenizar for two books without a mention. That got me thinking about what she'd be doing there. Ileandra came out of that. I love her character, she's clearly a villain, but she's an interesting one I think.
I could have left Fox Fletcher in Berman's Rock and forgotten her. But I thought she was an interesting character. I also thought the exploration of village life in Berman's Rock in 'Rise' was fantastic, but incomplete. Telling Fox's story gave me a chance to flesh out some more of the characters in Berman's Rock and paint a more vivid picture of what the village was like.
Angela was an interesting character to return to. In her case, I really wanted to play on the fact that we all probably made assumptions about the kind of person she was in book 1. It's easy to do that. In some ways, you might think, 'Oh, it's a shame Vashni agreed to save her.' but then, Korhan would have never acquired Harbinger? Life is complex. Sometimes we have to accept bad consequences of our actions in order to enjoy good consequences. We can never really know the consequences of our actions either. When Vashni whispered to Jurgen, the berger of Trest in book 1 she wasn't to know a vile bully like Castigern would take over. Vashni thought she'd be sending Crispin, Lindie and Kaya to relative safety in Briem. However, she should have really thought about the 'Servants of the Flame' in the north. Life is messy. I guess that's more or less what this book is about.
Of course Ileandra, has a different theme. Does the end justify the means? What is more important, freedom or health and happiness? This is a theme covered before, but it's complex. People who don't have freedom yearn for it. But then what is freedom? I think it's control of your own destiny. It's something you have to cherish. The unfortunate truth is few of us truly have control over our own destiny. The lower down the social order you are, the less likely you are to have control over your own destiny.
This is a big book, it's a complex book. It's a messy book with up to five, separate, but interwoven stories going on at once. It took me two years to finish this book. Longer than ANY of the previous books by a country mile. It's 94,000 words long. Only 12,000 more than 'Rise' and 'Blood Queen' but it's more planned, revised, re-worked and generally 'tweaked'. For no other reason that it had to be. There's a lot more to go wrong in this book, keeping track of where, when and what everyone knows was not easy.
Will this direction continue in book 6?
No. The stories has probably diverged enough now. It's time for it to converge. There'll always be up to three separate stories going on I think. But I hope there won't be five again!
It's been seriously hard work, but I've really enjoyed writing this book. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!
Martyn Stanley
***
January - February 2019 re-read.
Well, I read it again with pair of fresh eyes. I love this book, I think it's probably the best so far, but I can understand the criticisms of it. The characters have split up, they're all off doing their own thing, telling their own story. It almost feels like reading several novels at once. Obviously the stories are all connected, by the Voice, Mahghodde, Ramon Hern and the Servants of the Flame - but they are also kind of separate?
I spent a lot of time on Fox Fletcher. Her story is perhaps the most distantly related to the main plot. However I like her and I wanted her backstory as she knows it to do her justice. I have plans for Fox, she's not all she seems and will probably get at least one book post-Deathsworn Arc. Lindie and Kaya, they seem a stretch from the main plot - even when you factor in Crispin and Angela. However, the surviving characters from Briem will make it back into a more direct plot. I have some tough decisions to make about them. I have an ending to the Briem plot in mind, but it's pretty dark. Not sure if I can find a sensible alternative though.
Vashni's plot, I wasn't going to do originally. I was going to leave Vashni until she met back up with the companions later. However, I'm really glad I did it. Ileandra is a fascinating character, as is Maris and Suvi. The whole section surrounding the Voice and his interactions with the elves helps to make the book make sense I think. By the end of the book I think you really have a good picture of what the endgame looks like for Mahghodde and the Voice.
Book 6 is going to be epic, it's going to take the characters in new directions. We might even get to finally meet Venetha and Hal. Certainly, there'll be a visit to the Deathsworn Shrine and probably some epic battles too. Life under a strict, oppressive theocracy will be explored in Cormaroth. Lots of decisions to make, lots of scenes to write. Best get on with it!
Martyn
***
June 2022 - re-read.
I am now reading Deathsworn Arc 6: Emergence. Jealous eh? How was 5: The Temple of the Mad God, how is 6? Well, 5 was great. I love this book. Nearly as much as 4:Rise of the Archmage, but there are a few bits in that I think were absolutely amazing - yes, yes I know - I'm biased. In this book the story does get a bit more fragmented. The characters become separated, but this kind of allowed me to explore different parts of Torea and different Torean cultures more in depth. I think it also gave some of the characters space to grow and allows the reader to get to know them a little more intimately. I have to say, I really like 5, I maybe slightly, slightly prefer 4, but I actually think 6 is my favourite of the three latest books in the trilogy. I'm re-reading it for the umpteenth time because it's complicated and I need to know it works, but I am loving it! I can't wait to share Deathsworn Arc 6 with you guys and see what you all think of it! If you want a minor teaser spoiler, then check out the amazing cover art on my Facebook page:- https://www.facebook.com/DeathswornArc
Martyn Stanley
Wow... What a journey. When I started writing the sequel to 'Deathsworn Arc: The Last Dragon Slayer' it was going to be called 'The Temple of the Mad God'. That was five books ago now. How did this happen? Well, I got to a point in 'The Verkreath Horror' and realised I'd written a story. The structure of a climax and resolution had come. It was also about the same length as the first book. I was still miles away from getting the companions to the Temple of the Mad God, so I needed a new title.
And so the plan was to make book 3 'The Temple of the Mad God', then book 4...
Finally I've got there. I've ended up introducing lots of characters I'd never planned in my original outline. Characters like Vexis Zaelwarsh, Fox Fletcher, Crispin Sarbour, Lindie and Kaya. Villains like Ileandra, Pendreth and Angela. I even grew to like these characters and become interested in them. To this end I wanted to explore them and work out who they truly are and how they tick.
If I'd stuck to the original plan. The companions would never have met Elden Roth, or Burgess and the Blood Trials would never have happened. Vexis would have been in the story for two pages - just long enough to remove Brael's curse and Lindie and Kaya would have been forgotten after book 3 if they'd made it into the story at all.
Has the story suffered for diverging so much? Maybe, but I think it's gained more than it's lost. Stories are boring. Characters are interesting. The more vivid and real they are, the more interesting they are. There's a saying amongst writers - 'Make the big story small and the small story big'. And it's true, you could write a science fiction book about an alien fleet invading the earth. You could fill it with complex world-building and exciting action sequences, but it would be awful if it didn't have characters you cared about in it.
I wasn't going to follow Vashni to Eldenizar. I was going to pick her up later. However I know people like Vashni. She's a favourite. Lots of people would have been disappointed if she'd vanished to Eldenizar for two books without a mention. That got me thinking about what she'd be doing there. Ileandra came out of that. I love her character, she's clearly a villain, but she's an interesting one I think.
I could have left Fox Fletcher in Berman's Rock and forgotten her. But I thought she was an interesting character. I also thought the exploration of village life in Berman's Rock in 'Rise' was fantastic, but incomplete. Telling Fox's story gave me a chance to flesh out some more of the characters in Berman's Rock and paint a more vivid picture of what the village was like.
Angela was an interesting character to return to. In her case, I really wanted to play on the fact that we all probably made assumptions about the kind of person she was in book 1. It's easy to do that. In some ways, you might think, 'Oh, it's a shame Vashni agreed to save her.' but then, Korhan would have never acquired Harbinger? Life is complex. Sometimes we have to accept bad consequences of our actions in order to enjoy good consequences. We can never really know the consequences of our actions either. When Vashni whispered to Jurgen, the berger of Trest in book 1 she wasn't to know a vile bully like Castigern would take over. Vashni thought she'd be sending Crispin, Lindie and Kaya to relative safety in Briem. However, she should have really thought about the 'Servants of the Flame' in the north. Life is messy. I guess that's more or less what this book is about.
Of course Ileandra, has a different theme. Does the end justify the means? What is more important, freedom or health and happiness? This is a theme covered before, but it's complex. People who don't have freedom yearn for it. But then what is freedom? I think it's control of your own destiny. It's something you have to cherish. The unfortunate truth is few of us truly have control over our own destiny. The lower down the social order you are, the less likely you are to have control over your own destiny.
This is a big book, it's a complex book. It's a messy book with up to five, separate, but interwoven stories going on at once. It took me two years to finish this book. Longer than ANY of the previous books by a country mile. It's 94,000 words long. Only 12,000 more than 'Rise' and 'Blood Queen' but it's more planned, revised, re-worked and generally 'tweaked'. For no other reason that it had to be. There's a lot more to go wrong in this book, keeping track of where, when and what everyone knows was not easy.
Will this direction continue in book 6?
No. The stories has probably diverged enough now. It's time for it to converge. There'll always be up to three separate stories going on I think. But I hope there won't be five again!
It's been seriously hard work, but I've really enjoyed writing this book. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much!
Martyn Stanley
***
January - February 2019 re-read.
Well, I read it again with pair of fresh eyes. I love this book, I think it's probably the best so far, but I can understand the criticisms of it. The characters have split up, they're all off doing their own thing, telling their own story. It almost feels like reading several novels at once. Obviously the stories are all connected, by the Voice, Mahghodde, Ramon Hern and the Servants of the Flame - but they are also kind of separate?
I spent a lot of time on Fox Fletcher. Her story is perhaps the most distantly related to the main plot. However I like her and I wanted her backstory as she knows it to do her justice. I have plans for Fox, she's not all she seems and will probably get at least one book post-Deathsworn Arc. Lindie and Kaya, they seem a stretch from the main plot - even when you factor in Crispin and Angela. However, the surviving characters from Briem will make it back into a more direct plot. I have some tough decisions to make about them. I have an ending to the Briem plot in mind, but it's pretty dark. Not sure if I can find a sensible alternative though.
Vashni's plot, I wasn't going to do originally. I was going to leave Vashni until she met back up with the companions later. However, I'm really glad I did it. Ileandra is a fascinating character, as is Maris and Suvi. The whole section surrounding the Voice and his interactions with the elves helps to make the book make sense I think. By the end of the book I think you really have a good picture of what the endgame looks like for Mahghodde and the Voice.
Book 6 is going to be epic, it's going to take the characters in new directions. We might even get to finally meet Venetha and Hal. Certainly, there'll be a visit to the Deathsworn Shrine and probably some epic battles too. Life under a strict, oppressive theocracy will be explored in Cormaroth. Lots of decisions to make, lots of scenes to write. Best get on with it!
Martyn
***
June 2022 - re-read.
I am now reading Deathsworn Arc 6: Emergence. Jealous eh? How was 5: The Temple of the Mad God, how is 6? Well, 5 was great. I love this book. Nearly as much as 4:Rise of the Archmage, but there are a few bits in that I think were absolutely amazing - yes, yes I know - I'm biased. In this book the story does get a bit more fragmented. The characters become separated, but this kind of allowed me to explore different parts of Torea and different Torean cultures more in depth. I think it also gave some of the characters space to grow and allows the reader to get to know them a little more intimately. I have to say, I really like 5, I maybe slightly, slightly prefer 4, but I actually think 6 is my favourite of the three latest books in the trilogy. I'm re-reading it for the umpteenth time because it's complicated and I need to know it works, but I am loving it! I can't wait to share Deathsworn Arc 6 with you guys and see what you all think of it! If you want a minor teaser spoiler, then check out the amazing cover art on my Facebook page:- https://www.facebook.com/DeathswornArc
Martyn Stanley
November 26, 2018
A brilliant multi-themed book! The first of the series and it is fascinating! The story line is incredibly detailed and immensely readable,. It is written by talented author Martyn Stanley. The varied and complex characters are from different races and are richly drawn and I was gripped from the very beginning. There is no way you can skip pages once you start reading. I found this book magical!
December 27, 2019
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
"The Temple of the Mad God" is the fifth book in the "Deathsworn Arc" series.
It's been a while since I read the 4th book in this series, so it was interesting to see how much of the previous 4 books had stayed with me. The answer? Quite a lot!
If you've read the first 4 books, go and grab this one right now. Haven't read any of them? Go and get the set right now!
I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.
"The Temple of the Mad God" is the fifth book in the "Deathsworn Arc" series.
It's been a while since I read the 4th book in this series, so it was interesting to see how much of the previous 4 books had stayed with me. The answer? Quite a lot!
If you've read the first 4 books, go and grab this one right now. Haven't read any of them? Go and get the set right now!
I'm eagerly awaiting the next book.
February 18, 2018
After the previous book in this series, which showed greater polish than its predecessors and had some good character moments, I had high hopes for this latest book, but was sadly a bit let down. There seemed to be more problems with grammar (mostly comma misuse) and over-exposition. These are relatively minor, but much more seriously, the series seems to be in danger of developing Robert Jordan Syndrome, where the narrative is split between too many characters and plotlines and the original main cast are sidelined by subplots involving secondary or tertiary characters introduced along the way.
Another problem, present in earlier books but exacerbated in this one by the larger number of plotlines, was the tendency for all the villains to be moustache-twirling puppy-kicking depraved cliches. This produced a lot of "mwahaha, now I shall explain my evil plan" moments and a rather excessive amount of torture and abuse.
However, the series still has its plus points. When it's original rather than following genre conventions, it goes to interesting and inventive places, such as the majority of the "A plot" with the time-frozen dwarven holt. It was also a good character move to have Vashni, who has tended to be superior and untouchable for most of the series, be placed in a disadvantaged position and have to use her wits to get out.
Another problem, present in earlier books but exacerbated in this one by the larger number of plotlines, was the tendency for all the villains to be moustache-twirling puppy-kicking depraved cliches. This produced a lot of "mwahaha, now I shall explain my evil plan" moments and a rather excessive amount of torture and abuse.
However, the series still has its plus points. When it's original rather than following genre conventions, it goes to interesting and inventive places, such as the majority of the "A plot" with the time-frozen dwarven holt. It was also a good character move to have Vashni, who has tended to be superior and untouchable for most of the series, be placed in a disadvantaged position and have to use her wits to get out.
November 26, 2018
If you like fantasy I highly recommend you read this book by talented author Martyn Stanley and all the others in the series. They are for me among the best books I have read in this genre. I do strongly suggest starting with the first one though and then following thru as these books are fascinating. They are incredibly detailed with complex characters; so it is important to read them in sequence. Totally fascinating, absorbing and highly readable. Don't miss this series.
December 30, 2017
Good but I want more.
May 21, 2021
I was given this book for review and though it had been a while since I'd read the last book, it was good to be back within the familiar realm of humans, elves, orcs and more.
It's split between multiple characters but, to me, that made for a deeper understanding of the story as a whole. There's a great sense of place and, of course, various kinds of magic…love that!
Some disturbing scenes made me wince and I can only hope the 'villains' are eventually defeated; I do like scenes of justice.
Overall, a great, fast-paced story with an adventurous plot and intriguing characters.
Recommended.
It's split between multiple characters but, to me, that made for a deeper understanding of the story as a whole. There's a great sense of place and, of course, various kinds of magic…love that!
Some disturbing scenes made me wince and I can only hope the 'villains' are eventually defeated; I do like scenes of justice.
Overall, a great, fast-paced story with an adventurous plot and intriguing characters.
Recommended.
November 14, 2020
Whew! Another thrilling adventure in the Deathsworn Arc. The remainder of companions continue on towards the Temple of The Mad God, unaware of the horrifying thing that awaits them there, Vashni is in Eldenziar waiting to be married to Korzad (and things aren't looking good there), Lindie and Kaya escape to Briem (and...yeah, its not going to be good there either). The cult of Ramon Hern is advancing on the empire and things are looking grim and grimmer. I mostly enjoyed Temple of The Mad God. The only complaint I have is that my favorite character among the companions, Vashni, didn't get as much page time in this book as in the previous ones. Still, it was another fantastic addition to the Deathsworn series, and I cant wait to read the next book!
September 11, 2018
Brilliant!
I’ve enjoyed the whole series and personally can not wait until the next epic instalment! What a read, what a series
I’ve enjoyed the whole series and personally can not wait until the next epic instalment! What a read, what a series
January 9, 2018
Wow, that has to be some kind of record for me.....no, don't do the maths; they're depressing! I can't remember the last time it took me this long to finish a book. Granted, we have been crazy-busy with work and all the related stuff (Martyn knows some of the details) and a lot of nights I felt like Vashni: head hits the pillow and - well, lights out! I seemed to take forever to finish the last hour! I'd try to read a few pages on my bed or couch only to shake myself awake drooling on my pillow [yes, folks, that's exactly what I said] about 3~4 hours later. Have to go back a few pages to pick up the thread. When it's shivery outside that's not a fun feeling.
Anyway; the book.....on the whole I liked it. Lots of story arcs and the addition of some new characters. Also, some new plot twists. I do agree with my stepdad that the story line is a little complex: hence only 4 stars. It's like the Madison Square Garden thing though: practice, practice, etc. Right?
Anyway; the book.....on the whole I liked it. Lots of story arcs and the addition of some new characters. Also, some new plot twists. I do agree with my stepdad that the story line is a little complex: hence only 4 stars. It's like the Madison Square Garden thing though: practice, practice, etc. Right?
August 14, 2021
I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have been loving this series since the author first reached out to me to read book one. I have to admit is have been awhile since I have made my way back in to this world. That made me really have to think hard back to the previous book to remember where everyone was when the book left off last. This book is about them going on off their personal adventure, but still showing their bond and loyalty to each other. I do have to say this was seemed a little slower paced them the previous books. That could just be me not have come to Torea in a bit. It is still wonderfully written fantasy. I enjoy this world of stories and this author just has a way of drawing me in. I am always wondering what is going to happen next.
February 27, 2020
Full disclosure: I’m a fan of this series. I somehow missed this volume when it came out, so some time has passed since I last spent time in this world. This was a problem at the beginning, since I couldn’t remember the details of where all the characters were and what was going on but I soon caught up, since the events are briefly summarized during conversations without the story becoming repetitive. The companions keep working on their quest and some of the new characters introduced after book 3, get a lot of attention. This made it a little harder to follow the story. I enjoyed all the plot points, but I wish we would have spent more time with the original companions. Which takes me to Vashni. After being a big part of all previous novels (let’s face it, she’s awesome and the brains of the operation) she’s relegated to hostage in her home world. She’s not even completely herself, as she’s being whispered into compliance. There are some spectacular locales and battles, but Vashni’s absence is felt. I know this is a series that ends mostly in cliffhangers, so I won’t complain too much about not getting any Vexis (another favorite) in the last part of the novel. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
September 24, 2018
The Temple of the Mad God by Martyn Stanley is the fifth installment of the Deathsworn Arc series. The Temple of the Mad God picks up where the last book, Rise of the Archmage, left off. We follow the champions on their quest to enter Durgheim Holt, home of the dwarves.
Plot 5/5: The plot continues with each book in the series with the author touching upon previous events, which I love.
Characters 4/5: I've become invested in these characters, but there are a couple of characters whom I would like to see more character growth. Hopefully, this will happen in future books.
World building 5/5: I love the world Martyn Stanley has created. There are places that are beautiful, and places that are dangerous.
Pacing 5/5: The pacing is steady, with spurts of action.
Writing 4/5: Martyn's writing is greatly improving. I love to see an author mature in their writing. It's a treat in itself to witness such maturity.
Overall 4.6
I was given a copy of this book for free from the author. I chose to review this book on my own, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Plot 5/5: The plot continues with each book in the series with the author touching upon previous events, which I love.
Characters 4/5: I've become invested in these characters, but there are a couple of characters whom I would like to see more character growth. Hopefully, this will happen in future books.
World building 5/5: I love the world Martyn Stanley has created. There are places that are beautiful, and places that are dangerous.
Pacing 5/5: The pacing is steady, with spurts of action.
Writing 4/5: Martyn's writing is greatly improving. I love to see an author mature in their writing. It's a treat in itself to witness such maturity.
Overall 4.6
I was given a copy of this book for free from the author. I chose to review this book on my own, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
February 27, 2020
Mr. Stanley has done it again. Another very enjoyable book in the series. His gang of adventurers are splitting up and going their different ways, but each face their own dangers. There's no rest for this lot. Even the people whose lives they have touched during their adventures are having a hard time of it too. Despite all that, they are getting closer to the truth about what is and has been, ailing the land for so long. It's deep and twisted. Read and find out. I would recommend this to any sword & sorcery fan.
March 28, 2018
Great adventure
Th character growth growth and loyalty between chacters across long distances is fantastic. The adeventures are engrossing and addictive. I am anxious for their continuing adventures.
Th character growth growth and loyalty between chacters across long distances is fantastic. The adeventures are engrossing and addictive. I am anxious for their continuing adventures.
May 16, 2020
Took me a bit to get back into the story, and remember who everyone was. But once I got going, I enjoyed the story immensely. So many story arc's going on, and all done without losing sight of the original plot line. Eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
Read
May 3, 2018Better than the last book!
But I have a complaint about Goodreads.
No sooner than I finished the book, I received an email from Goodreads 1.) requesting a review, 2.) a list of my highlighted markings and 3.) several reference (while in the middle of the book) from Goodreads about the author awaiting my review. I consider this an intrusion into my time and personal space. I’ll write a review when I’m ready, thank you very much. As a result of this annoying and badgering type of request that appeared as soon as I turned the last page, I’m deleting my Goodreads account. The review (and subsequent ones) will appear shortly on Amazon.com.
Ray Nicholson
But I have a complaint about Goodreads.
No sooner than I finished the book, I received an email from Goodreads 1.) requesting a review, 2.) a list of my highlighted markings and 3.) several reference (while in the middle of the book) from Goodreads about the author awaiting my review. I consider this an intrusion into my time and personal space. I’ll write a review when I’m ready, thank you very much. As a result of this annoying and badgering type of request that appeared as soon as I turned the last page, I’m deleting my Goodreads account. The review (and subsequent ones) will appear shortly on Amazon.com.
Ray Nicholson
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