Ghosts in the Yew

Vesteal #1

by Blake Hausladen

A tale of violent magic, intrigue, and statecraft, the Vesteal Series is the story of four who are banished beyond the edge of the map to a land of gnarled forests, ancient magic,and the site of a terrible murder. Their struggles to survive will put them at odds with their families, their nation, and the very powers that shaped the world.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

540 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2011

About the author

​Armed with an English degree from Ripon College and an MBA from Chicago’s Stuart School of Business, Blake has thrived for over two decades in the shadowed back-office realms of the financial industry.

After gradate school and a seven year run as Chief Compliance Officer for a Chicago-based hedge fund, Blake was a founding member of two high-tech startup firms that specialized in the surveillance of communication and trade order records.

He can most easily be found at literary conventions, hosting writing workshops, and award-winning Beer and Books parties.

He currently solves financial crimes in Chicago during the day and gives life to wild fantasies during the blackest hours of night.

Reviews

[Cheri Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read epic fantasy before, I was worried that I would find this book to be cliche. That is far from the case. Mr. Hausladen approaches the book from an economics/resource angle. Some authors seem to stumble over why countries are waring or sacrifice the background structure. Mr. Hausladen creates a world where the characters are more at the mercy of their circumstances than other authors I've read, which seems to ring truer to the human condition.

It didn't take me long to identify with the characters. Even though it's hard to read, I'm always impressed by writers who can kill main characters (ie Joss Whedon, Guy Gavriel Kay).

The other angle that I enjoyed about this novel was the approach to religion. I had no problem reading this as an Atheist.

I am very much looking forward to the next book!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://draumrkopablog.wordpress.com/2...

“Ghosts in the Yew” tells the story of Prince Barok, one of the many Yentif princes, his washerwoman fresh from the Dagoda school, Dia, a hardend Hemari soldier addicted to alcohol, Leger, and Prince Barok’s nightguard, Geart, who are banished from the palace and the capital for crimes they didn’t commit. We get to follow their struggle to survive and their rise to power.

If you like your books fast-paced and action-packed all the way through, you might struggle to get through the second 25% of the book which covers a lot of the build up for the second halve of the book. I didn’t mind, because I like getting to know the characters and the environment. It’s the rise of the city that makes the first halve of this book so great in my opinion. For example, watching Barok come to terms with his heritage and his past and how it changes him. Reading the struggle between his Yentif and Vesteal heritage was really interesting. Seeing how everything unfolds, how everyday life disputes are solved and how a place that’s been lost for so long can rise again all give this book its charm.

Once you're past the first halve of the book, though, you’ll be glued to the pages, as the second halve is much more action-packed. You’ll be wondering what will happen to the various characters and Enhedu, who will have wormed their way into your heart.
This is not a light story, when you sit down with this book be prepared for a detailed description of this new and imaginative world, its inhabitants and their struggle for justice and survival.

There is a huge focus on the political side of this empire and the economic growth of Enhedu, which seems well researched and give a credible representation of the struggle to stay alive in a medieval-esque setting.
I will draw a comparison here, because “Ghosts in the Yew” gave me the same feeling as another book I read last year en thoroughly enjoyed: “The Pillars of the Earth”.
The time passing by, having a dream to return a desolate place to its former glory, building a city and having to cope with constant opposition… I really enjoyed reading a book that gave me the same sentiment as Pillars, which is one of my favorite books so far.

It always amazes me how such an extensive story can sprout from a single human's mind. Every person with such a detailed and huge imagination that wants to share this talent with the world should be applauded. I love a huge story, with lots of characters and extensive scenery, so this book was right up my alley.

I would recommend “Ghosts in the Yew” to everyone who likes an elaborate Fantasy story full of political intrigue with a splash of magic. Especially if you read “The Pillars of the Earth” and enjoyed it, this will be a great read for you!

4,5 dragons!

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not think for a second that the length of time if took for me to finish this book reflects how good a read it is, how well written it is, how compelling the characters are or how engaging the narrative is. It is in fact, a reflection of how good a book this is that it took me so long to finish. Like spanish moss or ivy, Ghosts in the Yew grows slowly at first but before you know it you are enveloped into a world with so much beauty and terror that it deserves to be read with an attention to the detail that the author has so carefully written. This, combined with personal circumstances that severely limited my time to read, led finishing Ghosts in the Yew to take much longer than would be the norm for me but every chapter, every page, made returning to the book to see what would happen next an essential and extremely enjoyable task.

I'm not inclined toward summaries of a plot and the events of a novel in these extemporaneously written reviews. That information is easily available elsewhere and likely written better than I could do so. Suffice it to say that Ghosts in the Yew is an epic tale of magic, drama, politics, and conflict at the most basic levels of existence. It is not a novel that falls within my usual "comfort zone" in reading and were it not for a chance meeting with the author in the registration line at Worldcon it is unlikely I would have ever picked it up. And my reading life would have been poorer for that! What one can take from my experience is that a lifelong aficionado of technologically oriented, "hard" science fiction, a reader who worships at the altar of Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Niven, Steele, and, most recently, Sawyer, found this book as compelling a read as any by the of the aforementioned masters of the craft.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read. I love that the heroes are engaged in building community, in contrast to so many fantasy novels that focus on the hero learning to stand alone, despite the cast of thousands supporting him. Hausladen has a definite knack for weaving together all of the many character motivations and plotlines of his epic. The suspense and pacing never lagged, plot twists were surprising but logical, and new information appeared in a nicely arranged trail of breadcrumbs. The books wraps up in a satisfying way, although it's clear that this is only the beginning of a much larger tale.

I do hope that the copyediting is better in the second book and beyond, though. Far more often than I wanted, I was thrown out of the story while I tried to puzzle out the intended meaning of a phrase or sentence that was too vaguely worded, or backtrack so I could better visualize what was happening. Dialogue formatting was also problematic. The story itself is awesome, but I think the lack of a really tight line-editing pass is keeping it from achieving that final sheen of professionalism.

I enjoyed reading about this quartet of characters, and I look forward to following more of their adventures.

[Rickm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say I am extremely impressed by Mr Hausladen's writing. It is hard to believe this is his first book; the richness and complexity of the story and characters is like a fine Cabernet on the palate. The characters are compelling and very human; they are people you want to love, hate, and pity.

This is not your typical fantasy novel where the author concentrates and relies too heavily on action and magical outcomes. While Ghosts in the Yew is action filled and magical, Mr Hausladen has obviously done his research and brings his high-finance background to bear in developing a detailed and complex background that includes socio-economic underpinnings and drivers in a world that seems all to realistic.

I could not put the book down and am impatiently waiting for the next one!

[Matthew Luepke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully developed world and backstory. Rich and wonderful characters drive this epic tale. Uniquely told from the first person perspective of all four of the main characters, Ghosts gives the reader access to the intermost thoughts of all of the main characters.
A must read for any lover of high fantasy.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid world building, interesting plot, and a gorgeous book (seriously...you want to own a copy you can hold, not an ecopy). If you liked Jordan's "Wheel of Time" books I think you will like this one as well. Looking forward to the next one!

[Ophelia Julien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do not make the mistake that I did by starting to read Blake Hausladen’s Ghosts in the Yew without enough time to finish the book in one large satisfying bite, or at least in consistent tasty nibbles on a daily basis. Though the set-up takes a little time, and rightfully so since this is a complex tale told from the points of view of four main characters, once the story begins to unreel there is no option of putting the book down.

The story is set in the unhappy and decaying kingdom of Zoviya. The ruling family has been in power for two generations and their government cares little for the kingdom’s citizenry beyond the labor and taxes that can be squeezed from them. Nearly equally powerful is the Church of the god Bayen, whose priests have the power to heal with a warm blue light but who are also rigid, autocratic, and unforgiving.

Prince Barok, one of the Lord Vall’s numerous sons, has been banished to the farthest reach of the kingdom as punishment for a bit of family intrigue that has gone wrong. While trying to prove that his brother, Prince Yarik, has defied their father by marrying without permission, Barok is betrayed by one of his cohorts and the endeavor ends with the murder of a nobleman’s daughter as well as the wounding of Barok’s faithful guard, Geart. Barok himself escapes before immediate discovery of his involvement, and his one last normal morning includes being bathed by Dia, a beautiful young woman who has been pledged to him for her father’s debt. That, however, is the end of life as he has known it when his participation in the events of the night before is discovered and he is banished to faraway Enhedu, with the alcoholic Leger his newly appointed alsman.

Dia, naively confusing her morning romp with Barok as an expression of his love for her, hides away in one of the prince’s trunks so that she may go with him on his journey. She is discovered early on by Leger, who gives her the means to follow her prince to Enhedu independently.

And this is really the start of the adventure. In Enhedu, Barok is maneuvered into a grove of yew trees as part of a test, and what he finds within that grove, and what finds him, provides the backbone of this story as the immature and unpleasant young prince grows from a royal prat into a powerful and just ruler. Along the way, as they become more and more indispensable to Barok, Leger finds his own salvation outside of the bottle, and Dia realizes what it means to be a worthy match for the young prince.
In the meantime, Geart, who was wounded but did not die, is charting his own parallel and magical course of self-discovery that will bring him back to his former master in a manner that is both inevitable and spectacular.

A young, spoiled, self-centered prince with a temper, a woman trained to be a palace courtesan, and two soldiers, one alcoholic and one left for dead at the scene of a royal crime, are the unlikely start of a new day in the decaying political mess that is Zoviya, but Hausladen weaves a story that is as believable as it is complicated, and as compelling as it is entertaining. This is not only due to the fact that he is a wonderful story-teller, but also because he has created characters that are so real they could easily step free of the pages and onto terra firma to shake your hand.

Ghosts in the Yew is one of those gems that is a satisfying tale from start to finish, and deep enough to withstand multiple readings. If you yearn for adventure, swordplay, justice, and romance in one story, do not even hesitate before plucking this one up and diving in feet first.

[Skjam! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book directly from the author, who markets it by going around to conventions in person. He’s hoping that by the time he reaches the third or fourth book in the series, he’ll thus have an inbuilt audience. I will say that it seems to have done well at getting readers to actually review the book on Goodreads. Since it’s a first novel, I’m going to be a bit more nitpicky than I otherwise might.

When political scheming by Prince Barok of the Zoviyan Empire against his possibly more evil half-brother Prince Yarik backfires horribly, the young royal finds himself going into exile. Accompanied only by Leger, an alcoholic war hero who’s been appointed his alsman (head servant) as a slap in the face, Barok finds himself ruling the remote and dilapidated province of Enhedu, whose people (and the ghosts of the title) are less than happy to have him.

Soon, Prince Barok is joined by his one faithful servant, Dia, a concubine who has her reasons for being grateful to the otherwise less than admirable prince. It’s about this time that Barok learns a few things about his heritage he wasn’t aware of, and that his exile might be less coincidence than fate…or someone’s plan. Now Barok must somehow restore Enhedu’s prosperity and prevent its people from being forced into slavery.

There are four first-person narrators, Barok, Leger, Dia and Geart (Prince Barok’s former bodyguard, who spends much of this volume in prison or slavery.) This can get confusing, as most of them have very similar narration styles–Barok’s more distinct at first, until his personality changes. With the switching back and forth, it takes a fair amount of time before it’s clear where the plot is going.

Quite a bit of time is spent on the community building part of the plotline; the author’s researched well, but this does require some patience on the readers’ part. The volume is illustrated, some maps, some scene-setting photographs and diagrams, and a couple of handwritten notes that are a bit hard to read (especially the one that is supposed to be hard to read.)

I do see a lot of potential here, but this was perhaps a little ambitious for a first book. I noticed a tendency to overdo the negative qualities of some of the villains, for example. A neighboring lord isn’t just greedy, he’s fat, ugly, balding, rude and illiterate. A meddlesome woman isn’t just self-righteous and judgmental she’s also fat, lazy, nagging, frigid and either doesn’t understand how pregnancy works or tells easily spotted lies about it.

This is also a book that could use a glossary. There’s three different military units that all have names that start with “H”, for example, and that took some leafing back and forth to figure out which one was which.

This is a relatively low-magic setting, at least until near the end, when one of the characters really gets to cut loose. In the final chapters, we also get a few details that make the religious struggle not quite as simplistic as “sky father religion bad, earth mother religion good,” but it’s a very small caveat that is likely to be more important in later books.

While it’s an okay read, I would need to see some strong improvement in the next volume before recommending the series.

[Jevon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure Fantasy is a genre I like. That said this book kept me involved and by the 1st third I had to know how it ended. It builds brilliantly. I'm looking for book 2 now

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I met Blake at a con and purchased this book from him in person. He is a FB friend. I haven't bothered to review the other books I've rated so far on Goodreads, but because Blake is a new author who is establishing an audience, I thought I should give my honest assessment of his work.

Ghosts in the Yew is a strong first novel. Blake excels at world-building, and his book is so detailed in so many areas that he either conducted an astounding amount of research for this book, or he knows lots more than the average person.

The novel is told in first person from the point of view of four different characters. This is an ambitious undertaking, and it was somewhat successful. At times, I felt that the four main characters had distinct voices, and at other times, they sounded too much like each other. Geart seemed to have the most consistently distinctive voice throughout the novel, but sometimes even he sounded like the other characters.

The weakest part of the novel, in my opinion, was that my credibility was sometimes stretched, particularly in the last half of the book. In a world where there seem to be no magical creatures (just magic wielded by certain people), a character is bitten by butterflies. Thousands of refugees, with their families and all their worldly goods, are quickly screened for suitability and convinced to travel elsewhere, and then they make it to their destination two days ahead of schedule.

These were minor flaws. Overall, the book is entertaining and can sustain a reader's attention for 600 pages. There are surprise twists, including one toward that the end that makes me eager for the next book. Blake's novel was worth my time and money, and I will be reading the second book in this series.

[Michael S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out fairly interesting, then got less interesting---then got really good for a couple of chapters...then got less and less interesting and more boring. (I gave it about 500 pages!)
Too much attention to uninteresting details and not enough background/world-building for me. Plus some things were not very believable. May give this one another try some day but it's not likely.

[Br1cht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another hidden gem that deals with War, politics and the resources needed for a conflict. It´s a long book and the Worldbuilding is superb and I would categorize this as the lovechild of Kratman, Weber, Dandridge and Ringo.

Not many people seem to have found this author and that´s a shame because he is now on my "Must-buy" list.

[Douglas · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I only got 2% of the way through this book before I quit. Basically none of the surviving characters seemed that interesting and the sex, while situationally appropriate, seemed aimed at enticing 14 year old boys to keep reading rather than being necessary to the story. I want to be clear that I am aware I'm not giving this book much of a chance and so I'm happy for others who have been able to enjoy it. For me, well there are many other books out there so why should I spend more time on a book that failed to catch my interest in the first 50 pages? (I have an author friend who uses the 50 page approach and given his competency in this area far exceeds my own it seems like a reasonable metric to me.)

Honestly, based on my own response to this book, I would have given it 1 star but am giving it two in recognition that others have found it enjoyable and my unwillingness to keep reading to find out if a better rating is deserved.

[Dangiras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and original story. Loved the characters, their progression and the way they were written - actions and decisions never felt like they were forced or contrived to suite the plot.

But what I loved the most was the economical view of building up the village basically from nothing - all the political and economical challenges this entails were rather fascinating.

It is a shame there's only one audiobook for the first book and no releases for the remaining two yet. And while the quality of the narrators weren't top notch, I got used to it pretty quick and was better than nothing in any case.

I'd love to continue with this series if/once the remaining books are narrated as well.

4.5/5

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book and a good debut.
It's an epic fantasy, full of twists and turns, fast paced and well written.
The world building if good, the cast of characters interesting and the plot was engaging and fascinating.
I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.
Highly recommended
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

[Magentarain VI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book 1 as any. But the only thing I didn't quite like was the mind control

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll come back to this after I finish Release that Witch. They’re too similar to read together.

[Shane Jardine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have decided that when everyone you meet at a convention is telling you to meet this author and to read his book that you should definitely listen to them. I was worried that they had set the bar just a little too high with everything they had said about it, but I'm glad I was not disappointed in the least. I think Blake Hausladen is going to be an author to keep an eye on, his first book Ghosts in the Yew was everything people told me it would be and more. It has been weeks since I finished it and I still catch myself drifting off into daydreams about it as I walk to or from work. Ghosts in the Yew is what I wish every self-published book I've read could be.

I don't know if it's what the author intended, but at its heart I found this book to be the coming-of-age story of Barok, one of the many selfish and self-centered princes of Zoviya. When one of Barok's political schemes to ruin his brother Yarik goes awry Barok finds himself exiled to the the long abandoned and ill kept boundaries of the kingdom. He's joined by his new drunken Alsman Leger and the beautiful but naive Dia as they struggle to survive without the support of the rest of the kingdom and they soon find themselves preparing to fight a secret war at the same time.

One of the most interesting aspects of this book for me was the fact that is told in the first person, but from the perspective of four separate point of view characters, something I don't think I've seen done outside of a few YA books. I was a bit worried that the view points would just blend together and I would find myself struggling to keep track of who's view point I was reading at the time, but Blake does a great job of giving each of the characters their own unique voice that stands out from each of the others.

I found it just a little too easy to get lost in the story that Ghosts in the Yew was telling, which to me, is one of the greatest signs of a good story and author. I remember sitting down to read a little bit of the story and get an early feel for what I would think of it and got hooked. Fast forward five or six hours and you would see the panic set in when I realized I had to be to work in just a couple more hours. It was not the panic for the lack of sleep though, it was the panic that sets in when I realize I would have to stop reading a good book and go join the real world once again. I really did not want to be left wondering just how the story ended all day at work.

.I ended up taking the book with me to read on my lunch break-- something I haven't done with a physical book in a very long time. I would strongly suggest this book to just about anyone who enjoys fantasy, it is both money and time well spent in my opinion. I've been eying the sequel sitting on my book shelf since I finished it, but I feel the need to ration out the story over the weeks to come, or I may regret reading it so fast.

Originally posted at www.archeddoorway.com

[Ron Monge · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was be disingenuous of me to give you a review of this book that talks about world building or pacing or characterization because I honestly don't know what is entailed in the successful implementation of those things. I'm not a reader. Well, that's not entirely accurate. I used to read a lot of sci-fi. Ender's Game is still my favorite book.

So if you're like me, you probably looked at Ghosts in the Yew and said, "Oh, hell no!" It's intimidating at first glance. And second glance. And the time when you crack the spine open and you're wondering if there's another person opening a door in your living space. I dread Tolkien and I was worried that this would be another torture exercise for my attention span.

I was wrong.

Admittedly, I'm not certain how necessary it is to actually relate to characters to read a book, but I latched on to Prince Barok instantly. I don't actually know how to explain why I was so excited about the book without giving it away. I'll say this: The Prince is given a blank canvas with which to fulfill his potential. I feel the book mirrors the Prince's journey in that escapade. And it succeeds.

I'm not a critic. I'm not a writer. I'm barely a reader. Maybe I'm not qualified to tell you how good this book is.

But I can tell you this: I found it deeply satisfying. It made me happy to read it. I look forward to reading the next. I can't think of greater praise.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of book one of the Vesteal Series: Ghosts in the Yew for free through Goodreads First Reads.

The beginning of this book, about a quarter of it, moves slowly and may be difficult for some readers to make it past. It is that part of the book where the characters are introduced and we get to know them. After getting past that section of the book the story line picks up and it is hard to put down. The main characters are Yentif prince, Prince Barok, washer woman, Dia, a Hemari soldier, Leger, and the prince’s night guard, Geart. Prince Barok starts out in the book coming to terms with his past and the Vesteal heritage. He a political plan against Prince Yarik and it fails with severe consequences. This is a very in-depth fantasy novel and you have to allow yourself to be immersed into it and the world Hausladen builds to fully enjoy it. The characters have to deal with their personal struggles as well as dealing with survival.

I really enjoyed it and I was excited to read the second book in the series. It exceeded my expectations.

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[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was duly impressed by this author's fine craftsmanship, which surprised me because I generally do not read (or like) historical fiction or fantasy, or ghost stories, but this is not your typical ghost story, fantasy or historical fiction. His book is none of these - it defies genre, so I think it will reach a wider audience. I got into the characters and lost myself in this world, despite thinking otherwise when the book arrived at my house, and it was a 600-page behemoth. (I could not discern its heft from my ebook teaser . . .)

I enjoyed the vocabulary, the state building, and the action, which kept me going. I intend to read the second book because I like the characters enough (even the female characters - most were complex) to want to read more about them, to enter their world another time and go on more adventures with them - next time I believe it will be on the ocean in big ships!

The only reason I give this book four stars instead of five is because I didn't love how well tied-up the end was. It felt contrived, and too convenient to me. I am a book editor (not his - his did a fine job!), and I noticed only one other mistake - which is forgivable in 600 pages, and again, I am glad this is a series because I want to read more. Thankfully, book two, Native Silver, will come out Feb. 2014.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author does a great job with world building in this novel. I was impressed with the attention to detail and the thought the author put into creating the religions, traditions and history of the place.

Each chapter is written from the perspective of a different protaganist, and he does a great job in individualizing each character so that it moves smoothly from one perspective to the next. I think the character Geart was the weakest of the bunch though, because his character goes through such a tremendous transformation throughout the book, and it ends up feeling a little disjointed.

The story itself is book-ended by action sequences, but the bulk is about building a city. I thought this would get tedious, but it didn't, because when is the last time you ever thought about building a nation from scratch? It made for an interesting read, much due to transferring the story from one narrator to another.

The end felt a little rushed, but that is the downfall of most books in a series. Overall, the book developed solid, well-written characters, and told a unique and riveting story that had me finishing the 600+ page book in three short days.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read! It's well written and has a great plot.

Even though I felt it was a little difficult to get into at the beginning, overall, I absolutely loved it. It has a big beautiful world, that has so many places I would love to explore. The characters were all interesting, and I suspect the author might have multiple-personality-disorder by the way he managed to capture all their voices. The mythology behind the book was beautifully done. The plot was exciting. I liked the idea of a despotism/capitalistic society vs a somewhat democratic/socialist one. And the biggest deal for me was that it had strong female characters that were not pegged into themselves just because they were women. The idea of the female character Dia annoyed the heck out of me for the first half of the book, but then she grew on me. She was a hero with a big picture and bigger purpose than to just serve a man. I was pleasantly surprised by that, as it is usually a huge reason fantasy turns me off so much.

So anyways, well done and worth the read!

[Natasha Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters and world created in "Ghosts in the Yew" are complex and multifaceted. If you want to be drawn into a story where you care about the characters, where you cannot tell what is going to happen next, then you need to buy this book.

Being a fan of fantasy series, I was very impressed by this first offering from Mr. Hausladen. Each chapter draws you further and further into the world of Zoviya, a world being bled dry by the ruling elite. The soldier, the drunk, the spoiled prince, and the woman he sent to be trained to service him, each of these main characters narrates the story, adding their own point of view and coloring the events of the tale in a way that is engaging and unique.

As the four main characters grow and develop, you cannot help but want to know what is going to happen to them next. When I finished reading the last page, the first thing I did was get on Amazon to buy the next book. My only complaint is that the next book is not out yet!

[Sam Wertime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ghosts in the Yew, the initial effort from author Blake Hausladen, is a satisfying tale of the rebirth of a lost and forgotten nation. It clearly belongs in the fantasy genre, but has elements that appeal to all readers including romance, mystery, and redemption. The author has clearly done his research in writing this book, and I was very impressed with his description of the rebuilding of the nation of Enhedu. Mostly though, he has created characters who go through harrowing ordeals that you latch onto and care deeply about. Oh, and the battles he describes are epic and will leave you on the edge of your seat. My only minor quibble is that there was no warning that the book is written in the first person, which led to some initial confusion on my part. Overall, Ghosts in the Yew is a triumph that I would recommend to all readers. I cannot wait for the author to finish the next book in the series!

[Ruby Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent read, with an intriguing plot and an interesting way of unfolding the story. Each chapter is written from the perspective one of the four main characters so the reader can view the events unfolding from different angles, which is very exciting.

It is quite obvious a lot of research went into this story, and the writer draws you into the events as the main characters deal with their banishment. Even the plot twists and turns that you don't want to like end up being a clever part of paving the way for additional stories. The story is complex and well laid out, the characters are interesting and well written, and the whole thing leaves you wanting - no, needing - the sequel.

[Kate Justic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lifelike new world written from the point of view of many of the major characters. At a time when the balance of power is shifting, corruption dominates major cities, a prince learns that earning his peoples trust is more important than being handed everything, a warrior learns that he can overcome the horrors and hardships of military life, a village comes together to make a new life of prosperity and fights to keep what they have created.

Blake has developed a diverse world full of well developed characters with a touch of magic. Each chapter is written from the point of view of one of the main characters and important events are viewed from multiple points of view, giving a greater depth to the story.

Looking forward to Native Silver!

[David Beatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be present throughout the creative process of this novel. I've read a great amount of fantasy fiction, some good, some not good, some great. Blakes work here verges on greatness. The character development is strong, and like most great fantasy worlds, their individual developments continue to drive your interest even as they mesh and carry on the entire story, which is nothing less than a story of nation building, told in a very personal and human touch.
Read this book, it is very well done, and look forward to the next installment, Native Silver, with impatience!

[Truthmonkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won't give a long synopsis of the book, as other reviewers have covered it well.

This is a long book, and the set-up took a while for me to get into, but once I knew where the story was headed, I was hooked. I enjoyed the characters, and the changing perspective between four characters made for a richer and more detailed story. The plot was intricate, and I found myself smiling at how cleverly things were done several times. Now I'm looking forward to the second book.

I know the author, but I didn't know what to expect. This is a book he can be proud of.