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When the Elves are Gone
When an extraordinary power is discovered deep within the bowels of the elven kingdom of Solinthilus, the fragile peace among the races of Solinth is threatened. As war looms once again, the dwarves of the kingdom of Stone Deep must now deliberate working with the human's they've spent a lifetime waging war against to claim that power.
The enslaved elves of Solinthilus must face unimaginable odds to survive the army at their doorstep--or risk the annihilation of their race.
>Agonni Grimweller, second son to the deputy clan chief of Clan Grimweller, was once revered in the kingdom of Stone Deep as a devoted husband and fierce soldier with an unsatiated taste for human blood. But one horrible event twenty years earlier had changed everything. Now, the tortured dwarf finds himself unexpectedly cast from his home and set on an impossible journey with unlikely companions to confront this new threat on Solinthilus.
The race to seize this great power has begun. Will diplomacy triumph? Or will war be the only option?
Warning: This is not a children's book. It contains graphic violence and adult themes of war and politics.
The enslaved elves of Solinthilus must face unimaginable odds to survive the army at their doorstep--or risk the annihilation of their race.
>Agonni Grimweller, second son to the deputy clan chief of Clan Grimweller, was once revered in the kingdom of Stone Deep as a devoted husband and fierce soldier with an unsatiated taste for human blood. But one horrible event twenty years earlier had changed everything. Now, the tortured dwarf finds himself unexpectedly cast from his home and set on an impossible journey with unlikely companions to confront this new threat on Solinthilus.
The race to seize this great power has begun. Will diplomacy triumph? Or will war be the only option?
Warning: This is not a children's book. It contains graphic violence and adult themes of war and politics.
- GenresFantasyDark Fantasy
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2019
47 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 16, 2019
6/10
Long ago the races warred violently to a virtual stalemate until a treaty was established between the lands of elves, dwarves and humans. The remaining elves who were among the most decimated by the bloody war, were enslaved and treated with a significant amount of brutality. Emerging from this tenuous peace, Stone Deep has become the center of power for the dwarven kingdom and the home of Agonni Grimweller. Agonni has paid a severe price in those violent conflicts of the past and finds himself a beaten shell of what he once was, losing his beloved wife in the process.
The horns of war have started to blow once again and the elven settlement of Solinthilus is threatened by an army camp that is truly an ominous portent for those who live there. Is this the final insult to the already battered elves that will complete their annihilation once and for all? And when a secret power is discovered buried deep within the elven settlement, the powder keg is even closer to erupting as outside forces gather in an eager attempt to capture it and utilize its power for conquest.
Agonni soon finds himself journeying to the edge of his homeland to gauge the strength of the amassing threat and also to determine the demands and purpose of those whose campfires grow more numerous with every nightfall. Will the humans move against the two races in an act of blatant defiance of the established treaty, or will the dwarves beat them to it? Most-importantly, who will ultimately sieze control of the power and the upper hand in this fantasy retelling of a modern-day world war?
WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE is an incredibly dark read. If you decide to check this book out, please know that going in. The cover almost suggests a sort of fun DnD type of book, but this is not the case at all. As the story unfolds, the reader is exposed to unbelievable sadness, brutality, hateful bigotry, and heartbreaking loss. And it doesn't really get "happier" from there as these characters are put through some of the worst circumstances and treatment imaginable.
The interesting thing about this WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE is it takes the customary roles of dwarves, elves, and humans, and flips them on their head to test our preconceived notions of how these races have always been portrayed in traditional fantasy books. The dwarves in this story are highly intelligent and calculating, often holding councils to deliberate on the current conditions of the day.
The elves, who are normally portrayed as a majestic and dignified race, are depicted as a tortured population who have been enslaved and live mostly in fear of humans who so savagely eradicated the majority of their population. The humans in this story are uncaring conquerors and evil to the core, who very often cannot be trusted to be honest brokers.
All of this is set against a desolate backdrop of impending war that just compounds the absolute grimdark feel to this tale. There are moments where the book had me hooked and I was definitely into the story for the first half of it. The mystery of the hidden power was an intriguing storyline that lent an air of suspense to what might happen once the dominoes began to fall. I also enjoyed the political intrigue among the dwarves and humans a great deal, with the elves struggling to survive caught between the graudually squeezing vice of the two.
Where the book went from being potentially great to simply good for me was the time it took for everything to eventually happen. I was all in with this story when I first started reading it but as I got deeper and deeper, the action just stalled and I kept waiting for something big to occur. I understand building up the tension but in my opinion the story just lagged for way too long from the middle-point onward. And when things finally did crank up, I found myself slightly disinterested and disappointed with how it all shook out in the end.
There are numerous things to like about WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE, don't get me wrong. And I go back to the creative way that the traditional races are dealt with. Allen definitely has some serious writing chops as well, which is on full display during the scenes where the characters are engaged in serious dialogue. Unfortunately for me, it all felt a bit long and meandering for large portions and I had a hard time staying focused.
If you are looking for a different type of grimdark book, you should most-certainly give WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE a shot. Even though it wasn't one of my favorite reads, it may appeal to others who enjoy this type of read. It has more depth and introspection than most stories of its kind, which could make it an enjoyable read for those looking for that particular style and tone.
Long ago the races warred violently to a virtual stalemate until a treaty was established between the lands of elves, dwarves and humans. The remaining elves who were among the most decimated by the bloody war, were enslaved and treated with a significant amount of brutality. Emerging from this tenuous peace, Stone Deep has become the center of power for the dwarven kingdom and the home of Agonni Grimweller. Agonni has paid a severe price in those violent conflicts of the past and finds himself a beaten shell of what he once was, losing his beloved wife in the process.
The horns of war have started to blow once again and the elven settlement of Solinthilus is threatened by an army camp that is truly an ominous portent for those who live there. Is this the final insult to the already battered elves that will complete their annihilation once and for all? And when a secret power is discovered buried deep within the elven settlement, the powder keg is even closer to erupting as outside forces gather in an eager attempt to capture it and utilize its power for conquest.
Agonni soon finds himself journeying to the edge of his homeland to gauge the strength of the amassing threat and also to determine the demands and purpose of those whose campfires grow more numerous with every nightfall. Will the humans move against the two races in an act of blatant defiance of the established treaty, or will the dwarves beat them to it? Most-importantly, who will ultimately sieze control of the power and the upper hand in this fantasy retelling of a modern-day world war?
WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE is an incredibly dark read. If you decide to check this book out, please know that going in. The cover almost suggests a sort of fun DnD type of book, but this is not the case at all. As the story unfolds, the reader is exposed to unbelievable sadness, brutality, hateful bigotry, and heartbreaking loss. And it doesn't really get "happier" from there as these characters are put through some of the worst circumstances and treatment imaginable.
The interesting thing about this WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE is it takes the customary roles of dwarves, elves, and humans, and flips them on their head to test our preconceived notions of how these races have always been portrayed in traditional fantasy books. The dwarves in this story are highly intelligent and calculating, often holding councils to deliberate on the current conditions of the day.
The elves, who are normally portrayed as a majestic and dignified race, are depicted as a tortured population who have been enslaved and live mostly in fear of humans who so savagely eradicated the majority of their population. The humans in this story are uncaring conquerors and evil to the core, who very often cannot be trusted to be honest brokers.
All of this is set against a desolate backdrop of impending war that just compounds the absolute grimdark feel to this tale. There are moments where the book had me hooked and I was definitely into the story for the first half of it. The mystery of the hidden power was an intriguing storyline that lent an air of suspense to what might happen once the dominoes began to fall. I also enjoyed the political intrigue among the dwarves and humans a great deal, with the elves struggling to survive caught between the graudually squeezing vice of the two.
Where the book went from being potentially great to simply good for me was the time it took for everything to eventually happen. I was all in with this story when I first started reading it but as I got deeper and deeper, the action just stalled and I kept waiting for something big to occur. I understand building up the tension but in my opinion the story just lagged for way too long from the middle-point onward. And when things finally did crank up, I found myself slightly disinterested and disappointed with how it all shook out in the end.
There are numerous things to like about WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE, don't get me wrong. And I go back to the creative way that the traditional races are dealt with. Allen definitely has some serious writing chops as well, which is on full display during the scenes where the characters are engaged in serious dialogue. Unfortunately for me, it all felt a bit long and meandering for large portions and I had a hard time staying focused.
If you are looking for a different type of grimdark book, you should most-certainly give WHEN THE ELVES ARE GONE a shot. Even though it wasn't one of my favorite reads, it may appeal to others who enjoy this type of read. It has more depth and introspection than most stories of its kind, which could make it an enjoyable read for those looking for that particular style and tone.
Read
January 26, 2020DNF- SPFBO
This was an interesting, albeit dark book. It takes one of my favorite fantasy tropes- Elves being the superior beings and basically grinds the race into the ground, virtually decimating the population and leaving the survivors barely eking out an existence.
I am no stranger to grim and dark books; I’ve read a lot of it over the years but for some reason this one just felt bleak as hell. A lot of the time with this sort of a story we have either a glimmer of hope, gallows humor, or a snarky character in the group to take the edge off that sharpness of the darker material.
There was none of that here.
One of the main characters we follow is the dwarf Agonni. The son of a clan chief, he lost his beloved wife in childbirth years ago and now spends his time drinking and wallowing in his grief and anger. Most of that hatred and anger is directed towards Jarr, the half Orc son born to his wife, who has the intellect of a child.
Agonni’s headspace is a dark and bitter place to be, and his mistreatment of Jarr made it hard to sympathise even when I understood where his resentment and rage was coming from. I didn’t like him much at all.
I read to around the 40% mark. I had been hoping for a little light in that darkness to appear but by this point it was still pretty bleak and there wasn’t a huge amount of progress in the plot either. Lack of progress, pov problems, and a bit of repetitiveness, all were big contributors to my choice to drop this one- even though I found the premise quite intriguing.
score for spfbo purposes 4/10
This was an interesting, albeit dark book. It takes one of my favorite fantasy tropes- Elves being the superior beings and basically grinds the race into the ground, virtually decimating the population and leaving the survivors barely eking out an existence.
I am no stranger to grim and dark books; I’ve read a lot of it over the years but for some reason this one just felt bleak as hell. A lot of the time with this sort of a story we have either a glimmer of hope, gallows humor, or a snarky character in the group to take the edge off that sharpness of the darker material.
There was none of that here.
One of the main characters we follow is the dwarf Agonni. The son of a clan chief, he lost his beloved wife in childbirth years ago and now spends his time drinking and wallowing in his grief and anger. Most of that hatred and anger is directed towards Jarr, the half Orc son born to his wife, who has the intellect of a child.
Agonni’s headspace is a dark and bitter place to be, and his mistreatment of Jarr made it hard to sympathise even when I understood where his resentment and rage was coming from. I didn’t like him much at all.
I read to around the 40% mark. I had been hoping for a little light in that darkness to appear but by this point it was still pretty bleak and there wasn’t a huge amount of progress in the plot either. Lack of progress, pov problems, and a bit of repetitiveness, all were big contributors to my choice to drop this one- even though I found the premise quite intriguing.
score for spfbo purposes 4/10
Read
November 25, 2019This was an interesting, albeit dark book. It takes one of my favorite fantasy tropes- Elves being the superior beings and basically grinds the race into the ground, virtually decimating the population and leaving the survivors barely eking out an existence.
I am no stranger to grim and dark books; I’ve read a lot of it over the years but for some reason this one just felt bleak as hell. A lot of the time with this sort of a story we have either a glimmer of hope, gallows humor, or a snarky character in the group to take the edge off that sharpness of the darker material.
There was none of that here.
One of the main characters we follow is the dwarf Agonni. The son of a clan chief, he lost his beloved wife in childbirth years ago and now spends his time drinking and wallowing in his grief and anger. Most of that hatred and anger is directed towards Jarr, the half Orc son born to his wife, who has the intellect of a child.
Agonni’s headspace is a dark and bitter place to be, and his mistreatment of Jarr made it hard to sympathise even when I understood where his resentment and rage was coming from. I didn’t like him much at all.
I read to around the 40% mark. I had been hoping for a little light in that darkness to appear but by this point it was still pretty bleak and there wasn’t a huge amount of progress in the plot either. Lack of progress, pov problems, and a bit of repetitiveness, all were big contributors to my choice to drop this one- even though I found the premise quite intriguing.
4/10
I am no stranger to grim and dark books; I’ve read a lot of it over the years but for some reason this one just felt bleak as hell. A lot of the time with this sort of a story we have either a glimmer of hope, gallows humor, or a snarky character in the group to take the edge off that sharpness of the darker material.
There was none of that here.
One of the main characters we follow is the dwarf Agonni. The son of a clan chief, he lost his beloved wife in childbirth years ago and now spends his time drinking and wallowing in his grief and anger. Most of that hatred and anger is directed towards Jarr, the half Orc son born to his wife, who has the intellect of a child.
Agonni’s headspace is a dark and bitter place to be, and his mistreatment of Jarr made it hard to sympathise even when I understood where his resentment and rage was coming from. I didn’t like him much at all.
I read to around the 40% mark. I had been hoping for a little light in that darkness to appear but by this point it was still pretty bleak and there wasn’t a huge amount of progress in the plot either. Lack of progress, pov problems, and a bit of repetitiveness, all were big contributors to my choice to drop this one- even though I found the premise quite intriguing.
4/10
June 7, 2019
3.5/5
[Warning: Review contains spoilers]
First off I'm a huge fan of dwarves (my favorite fantasy race), so when I learned the protagonist of this debut novel from J.B. Allen was a dwarf I jumped right in...and holy shit am I glad I did.
When the Elves are Gone is a brutal and depressing story. I was totally okay with the brutality, and took joy in the fact it was detail-oriented and not just blood splattering everywhere just for the sake of bloodshed. There's a constant and ever-growing cloud of dread and oppression that rains down on Agonni and his companions, which at times transcended the page and put me in a funk, but I see that as some damn fine story-telling and nothing to look down on. In other words, if you're a grimdark fan this should have everything you need.
---
Characters:
Agonni, the protagonist, is full of anger, sadness, and a ton of grit. His disposition isn't unwarranted though -- he's had a tough go of it, losing his wife and left to care for an unwanted child born from grizzly acts on his own in an unwelcoming atmosphere. You could say nothing has gone Agonni's way for quite some time...and it just gets worse as time goes by.
Jarr, a mentally challenged half-ogre, was a surprising character to follow. He's definitely not what you'd expect from someone with ogre blood coursing through his veins, quite the opposite in fact. Jarr was born from rape, never knew his mother, and is under the care of a father who doesn't want him (and he's constantly reminded of that fact). Jarr's mind is about the equivalent of a child, and as a child does, he wants the affection of his father...damn, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it. Jarr's story is truly a sad one. But I believe he shows the most growth throughout the story, personally and his relationship with his father, ableit slowly.
There's an animal companion I won't talk much about, other than to say he's pretty awesome and makes for a great addition to the team. He's fun to read about too -- I often thought about my own animal friend when reading about some of his oddities.
There's other characters but that's your primary people...plus a lot of people die so kinda pointless to bring them up here.
---
Creativity/Originality:
J.B. Allen takes an iconic race and dumps them into a harsh and unforgiving world. These dwarves aren't the fantastical, boisterous, mead-filled ones you're used to, but a more realistic approach to a race that have been through some terrible shit and come through the other side scarred and battered. And I fuckin' love it.
---
Magic System:
There is magic here, but it's not explored, which isn't too surprising since the story revolves around magic-fearing dwarves. There's only a handful of moments where magic is abound, but it's just mentioned through shifts in the air.
There is a magical, blood-thirsty weapon that is prominent though. It's a bit confusing at first on its origins...actually, I don't think it's ever revealed, it just kinda happens. But if you can look past that it's a great addition to the story and can possibly be seen as a secondary character (especially if it's expanded on future books).
---
The only reason I can't rate this a 5 is because it feels like it needs a stronger editor. There are moments when Allen gets a bit poetic in places that don't really call for it, and other times where he'll explain something only to explain it again in a different way right after, or walls of italic text where you're not really sure why, stuff like that.
A lot of the story is in huge paragraphs, which could maybe be cut down to allow for a smoother reading experience.
There's also some POV narrative issues where third-person and first-person overlap within the same paragraph -- it doesn't make it impossible to read, but it can be jarring at times.
---
Cover Art:
I can't review the cover design because I did it, so I'll just be reviewing the cover art.
Felix Ortiz has done another terrific job capturing that old-school fantasy feel, and that snowy terrain reflects the coldness of both the environment and attitudes within the book. This piece gives you a good look at the two main protagonists, fighting side-by-side, which speaks volumes once you realize their how their relationship is.
The only issue I have is it doesn't portray any scene in the book, and after realizing how gritty and dark the story is I think a little bit of that shown in the art would have gone a long way in preparing readers.
Excellent piece of art though, and one of the best in Felix's portfolio to date.
[Warning: Review contains spoilers]
First off I'm a huge fan of dwarves (my favorite fantasy race), so when I learned the protagonist of this debut novel from J.B. Allen was a dwarf I jumped right in...and holy shit am I glad I did.
When the Elves are Gone is a brutal and depressing story. I was totally okay with the brutality, and took joy in the fact it was detail-oriented and not just blood splattering everywhere just for the sake of bloodshed. There's a constant and ever-growing cloud of dread and oppression that rains down on Agonni and his companions, which at times transcended the page and put me in a funk, but I see that as some damn fine story-telling and nothing to look down on. In other words, if you're a grimdark fan this should have everything you need.
---
Characters:
Agonni, the protagonist, is full of anger, sadness, and a ton of grit. His disposition isn't unwarranted though -- he's had a tough go of it, losing his wife and left to care for an unwanted child born from grizzly acts on his own in an unwelcoming atmosphere. You could say nothing has gone Agonni's way for quite some time...and it just gets worse as time goes by.
Jarr, a mentally challenged half-ogre, was a surprising character to follow. He's definitely not what you'd expect from someone with ogre blood coursing through his veins, quite the opposite in fact. Jarr was born from rape, never knew his mother, and is under the care of a father who doesn't want him (and he's constantly reminded of that fact). Jarr's mind is about the equivalent of a child, and as a child does, he wants the affection of his father...damn, I'm getting emotional just thinking about it. Jarr's story is truly a sad one. But I believe he shows the most growth throughout the story, personally and his relationship with his father, ableit slowly.
There's an animal companion I won't talk much about, other than to say he's pretty awesome and makes for a great addition to the team. He's fun to read about too -- I often thought about my own animal friend when reading about some of his oddities.
There's other characters but that's your primary people...plus a lot of people die so kinda pointless to bring them up here.
---
Creativity/Originality:
J.B. Allen takes an iconic race and dumps them into a harsh and unforgiving world. These dwarves aren't the fantastical, boisterous, mead-filled ones you're used to, but a more realistic approach to a race that have been through some terrible shit and come through the other side scarred and battered. And I fuckin' love it.
---
Magic System:
There is magic here, but it's not explored, which isn't too surprising since the story revolves around magic-fearing dwarves. There's only a handful of moments where magic is abound, but it's just mentioned through shifts in the air.
There is a magical, blood-thirsty weapon that is prominent though. It's a bit confusing at first on its origins...actually, I don't think it's ever revealed, it just kinda happens. But if you can look past that it's a great addition to the story and can possibly be seen as a secondary character (especially if it's expanded on future books).
---
The only reason I can't rate this a 5 is because it feels like it needs a stronger editor. There are moments when Allen gets a bit poetic in places that don't really call for it, and other times where he'll explain something only to explain it again in a different way right after, or walls of italic text where you're not really sure why, stuff like that.
A lot of the story is in huge paragraphs, which could maybe be cut down to allow for a smoother reading experience.
There's also some POV narrative issues where third-person and first-person overlap within the same paragraph -- it doesn't make it impossible to read, but it can be jarring at times.
---
Cover Art:
I can't review the cover design because I did it, so I'll just be reviewing the cover art.
Felix Ortiz has done another terrific job capturing that old-school fantasy feel, and that snowy terrain reflects the coldness of both the environment and attitudes within the book. This piece gives you a good look at the two main protagonists, fighting side-by-side, which speaks volumes once you realize their how their relationship is.
The only issue I have is it doesn't portray any scene in the book, and after realizing how gritty and dark the story is I think a little bit of that shown in the art would have gone a long way in preparing readers.
Excellent piece of art though, and one of the best in Felix's portfolio to date.
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