The Broken World

Ballad of Sir Benfro #4

by James Oswald

The Broken World is the fourth instalment in the epic fantasy series by J. D. Oswald, The Ballad of Sir Benfro, preceded by Dreamwalker, The Rose Cord and The Golden Cage. *** The book, sir. The Llyfr Draconius. You'll find what you need in there, if you know how to look. The war across the Twin Kingdoms rages on. Queen Beulah has killed one sister and ordered the assassination of another. The Inquisitor Melyn journeys though the north-lands of Llanwennog in a merciless bid to overthrow King Ballah. Now in possession of Brynceri's ring, his power seems indestructible. Nothing can stop the invasion. Captured by the travelling circus, Sir Benfro cannot shake their control, more powerful than Magog's malign influence. Errol Ramsbottom, left for dead, follows the trail of his friend's captors - only Benfro holds the key to Errol's beloved Martha's whereabouts. But both sides are set on a path of destruction - dragon against dragon, king against queen, man against man. As the ancient spell that split Gwlad begins to unravel, it may be easier for Benfro and Errol to travel to Gog's world now. But what will happen when the barriers between the two worlds fail entirely? As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? *Parts of the previous eBook edition of The Golden Cage have been used in this work, The Broken World*

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Magic, Fiction, Adult, Novels, Audiobook

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2015

Reviews

[Christine Shilling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still good fun to read but I become increasingly concerned about the survival instinct of our heroes. They do seem to be caught out in the same ways every time but never learn.

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

This part picked up a bit again for me.. though it seems to be moving far away from the first installments, also in style. I guess some time has passed between the writing of the first book and this one. It is really noticeable when you read them so soon after each other. Less fancy wording, less flowery writing, but the repetition in storyline is back.

The inquisitor still seems to be in love with Frecknock? I guess that's the only thing I really want to know, because that would be very weird indeed. 😂

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, these books seem to take me longer to read than normal, but I am enjoying them, and am invested in the characters.

[Harj D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having only recently started the Sir Benfro series, I feel like I rapidly fell in love with this world and its characters, and 'The Broken World' is no exception to that. The fourth installment continues from where the third book, 'The Golden Cage' left off, following Sir Benfro and Errol as they desperately try to reunite, but as per usual, there are many hindrances and many difficulties along the way. In this book, I felt very emotionally overwhelmed by everything Sir Benfro went through and very much hope that the fifth and final book will not torment him so much!

The build up of the characters, the progression of their stories and the unfolding of their secrets, little by little kept me engaged throughout. There was curiosity to know the true nature of Beulah's birth, what Melyn's past contained and there is still the question of how Clun came to suddenly know how to wield such powerful magic. Hopefully more closure will be given in the final book, but some of the secrets which were brought to light did satisfy me greatly.

I do love how the legend of Magog and Gog has turned into truth and how it has driven the story and how both worlds came to be as they are. Everything has been masterfully integrated and I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Broken World'. Looking forward to the final installment!

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished it! Took me a while but it was a good book nonetheless. Not as good as I hoped though. I also found out that there is one more book coming! And now I don't want to wait, haha.

There were so many adventures in this one. I felt like I was following a lot more storylines. Which I liked because this way I knew what was going on everywhere. Benfro his storyline is still my favorite. Errol had a bit too much bad luck for my liking. At one point I just wanted them to stop hitting him in the head, it just happend once too often. So I wouldn't mind if that would have been a little less. I really want to find out where Errol is now, seeing that that is still very much unknown. Melyn is getting a bit over the top, so someone should kill him or something because he's annoying. (Although I would like to find out about his history) (I'm so mean I'm sorry).

I read 4 books about this world now and I find that the history is so interesting, I keep want to learn more and more about it. So I hope there will be even more information in the last book.

It was hard chosing between 3 or 4 stars but I decided on 3, because it wasn't as good as the second one.

(I'm sorry this review sucks but I'll promise I'll write a better one after I read the last book!)

[BookishBenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... that ended on another cliffhanger!

James has created such an interesting world, bringing in unique ideas surrounding magic, world building and of course DRAGONS!

The story continues exactly where it left off and you can see that each characters story is slowly coming back together for one penultimate ending in the final book.

I really liked what happened with Melyn. I think his thirst for power and Magog tricking him into believing he was his God all those years was incredible. Waiting for the coin to drop on the page only moments after it dropped for me was satisfying.

I don’t fully understand what has happened to poor Errol and I would like to know how Clun has become some dragon killing, monster horse taming stud.

Ultimately this is an excellent book in the Sir Benfro series and I will be reading book 5 immediately so I finish this series satisfied.

[Malene Clementsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many twists and turns! Goddamn cliffhanger ending and I can’t wait to start the next (and last) book asap!! 😱

[Justin Sarginson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a tough decision to give so low a score as I am an admirer of the author and love the earlier books in the series.
But the first third of this book is the final third of the third book in the series (still with me?), which is annoying and the whole book doesn't read as well as it's associates. There are too many unnatural cliffhangers and way way too many fights where the fighters live on to fight another day and escape just in the nick of time. As a brilliant series, this book should have been of a better quality.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the fourth book in the series and I'm immensely glad that I accidentally found a copy in the local bookshop. It hasn't happened to me in a long-long time that I find a long-awaited book unexpectedly. On the one hand, it was a great feeling but on the other hand, I would actually like more information about the upcoming books. I guess I have to be stealthier with book #5.

My nonspoilerish thoughts on the book can be found HERE.

[Vicii · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh wow that was amazing, only I thought that this book was the last in the series and as I was rapidly running out of pages to read, I wondered how it was all going to end. so it wasn't the last book, there is another one still to go and unfortunately it hasn't been written yet so I'm just going to have to wait to see how it all plays out.

I'm both pleased and disappointed at this. pleased because I love the story and the characters. disappointed as I an eager to know what happens.

[Anne Kokotis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series, but this one took a long time for me to finish. I think the reason is that there are up to 5 different storylines at once and each one is given maybe ~4 pages of detail before you switch to a different one. The constant context switching, storyline cliffhangers, and not being able to get very deep and focused in any one storyline was very tiring for me to read through. I'm on the last book in the series, and it's the same way.

[Deanna_morley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope the last book in the series gives closure to the story and answers because I have soooooooooo many questions.

[December Sunshine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took quite a long break between the third and fourth book and initially regretted it - but then as soon as I started reading, the memory of the story started flooding back in, and it felt like no break at all, which I would mainly credit to the excellent characterisation in the series, which continues in this book.

On other fronts, it was more mixed than the others. The pacing varied a lot, with some slow, nearly tedious bits and then a massive chunk that would probably best be described as frantic. The story following the various courts had Games of Throne vibes in the way the plot moved forward in leaps and bounds with very little lead-up. Given the length of the book, I felt like evening out the pacing a bit more before publishing it would have paid of.

In terms of the plot itself, this instalment is where the "big reveal" comes together - and again, the execution is mixed. The main "twist" had been a long time coming, with the reader being let in on the secret in the third book (ok, it was heavily implied rather than actually stated). There is nothing wrong with the reader knowing more than the characters, but for it to be used effectively, there should have either been events that from which we can derive a new level of meaning, adding to the twist, or there should have been more clues to the mysteries not yet revealed, so that the reader could "work on" those instead. Some of the latte happened, but the characters at the end of book four are still "behind" on learning the twist, which is a little frustrating.

Still, with the writing and characterisation excellent throughout, I definitely enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next one!

[Ayxan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oof, my hatred for Melyn rises even higher in this book. Okay, to be honest, before I didn’t really hated him. Well, I did, but I couldn’t care much about him, he was rather just annoying. Now, I begin to rather hate him. He’s still annoying and so selfish, argh, it makes reading his passages sometimes hard. I really hope he gets what he deserves at the end.

Other than that, I’m glad Beulah got her magic back. Even though I’m on Benfro’s, Errol’s and Iolwen’s side, I could relate to Beulah being annoyed that a simple pregnancy took away her magic. I’ve never even been pregnant myself, but I guess I can imagine how annoying that must be. And, no, i don’t want her to regain the throne, but I’m simply glad she got her magic back. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also... does anyone else find Clun more and more annoying, the more powerful he becomes?
Sure, Errol and Benfro are both very powerful too, way more powerful than they should be, given their age and lack of training. Except these two at least have some sort of explanation as to why they are that powerful.
What exactly happened to Clun, except that the shepherd once took hold of his body?
I hope some of the mysteries will be answered in the next book, especially on why some characters seem to be so powerful, and some, especially those who have trained, not.

Now I mostly hope we get to have more Errol and Benfro scenes, because they’ve been barely together in this book.
I’m happy that Malkin made some appearances though, he’s such a lovely character.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of the star-crossed friends (?) continues. Benfro en Errol continue on their separate adventures, occasionally bump into each other and continue their general development set up in the previous books. I feel a bit torn about this book and the serious in general. Whilst reading the book I am often easily distracted, mostly due to the pacing which is a bit slow. But then at the end of the book some interesting things occur which keep me from completely swearing off the books. So I might read the next one, I might not. I still enjoy the world the story is set in and the magic system it has but the story is just...so...slow. It might work briliantly for others (looking at you Marz) but it doesn't seem to work for me all that well. And I just don't like how Martha is used in the book(s).

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thumbs up from me.

Was meant to be starting the next con fairchild book but i have been enthralled by this series Errol, Benfro, Beulah, meyln ….. and all characters have been enjoyable to follow all be it benfro and errol seem to get beaten quite badly through this series but it’s well written and I’m looking forward to last instalment. Just glad i brought the series in one go.

What i say is if you read reviews don’t be put off by bad or good try for yourself every books worth a chance. If you don’t like it can always close the book and find another read it’s how you find new stories in the end and you never know it will open up new genres too.

But i think it’s worth s read and money if you have read James oswald mclean and con fairchild first then you will probably like this too.

Ps sorry about bad grammar a reader not a writer lol. 😀

[Floor Visser · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,75 stars

This was epic. It is nearly 5 stars for me, except that I dont really enjoy Beulahs or Dafydds POV. I think they are necessary because of what is happening to Clun (he's obviously stronger because of the ring she gave him) and how the nations are at war and how other factions are responding to the dragons pouring in from Gogs world etc but with everything that happens around Melyn, Benfro, Errol and (Ma)Gog those two POVs feel a little slow.
I felt the story building up to Melyn becoming Magog but when it happened I still had to calm myself down and not inhale the next part of the book. So good.

I cant believe not more people know about this series, its so good. I'm hyped for the next and last book. How will they end Magog now that Gog is dead (and he seemed so nice too, I hadnt expected him to die just after we finally met him!)

[Tony DeHaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the story, the characters, the ideas, but this book is simply a few hundred pages too long! It drags, and I found myself skipping pages and not missing a thing… I will, however, read the fifth (and last) instalment soon.

[Esther Deden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it took me a while to feel really engulfed in the story, when I did quite liked the story telling. Especially further into the series I felt like the pace of the story picked up a bit and I felt more attracted towards reading the next chapter.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good read

This is a fun book with lots of twists and turns that make wonder where it is going. The characters are well thought out and jump off the page. Looking forward to the next one.
Martin in Taunton

[James Shrimpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, as the carefully laid mythos starts to grow and the revelations arrive. That said, I did see the twist a long time coming.

[Melvin Boom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 100 I read on Goodreads🎉
This series is just a good time, and the multiple points of view complete the story J.D. Oswald is trying to tell

[Chloe Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Errol sure does get knocked out and abducted an awful lot 😄

[Tizian Heinrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mythology comes together, wonderfull!

[DAVID READMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb

Another fantastic instalment in the story of Sir Benfro and Errol. Fast paced and full of adventure. Brilliant. Shame the next one is the last!

[Buchdrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benfros und Errols Abenteuer neigen sich ihrem Ende entgegen. In „The Broken World“, dem vierten und vorletzten Teil der Ballad of Sir Benfro von James D. Oswald, spitzen sich die Ereignisse immer mehr zu. Benfro ist in einem Zirkus gefangen, Drachen einer anderen Welt greifen das Zwillingskönigreich an und Inquisitor Melyn führt mit grausamer Zielstrebigkeit den Willen seines Gottes aus, nicht merkend, dass er betrogen wird. Die Hoffnung für Benfro liegt erneut bei Errol. Sie beide wollen in die neue Welt entkommen, denn nicht alle Drachen, welche dort leben, scheinen wilde und grausame Bestien zu sein.

Erneut liefert der Autor wieder viele interessante Informationen über die Welten, die er geschaffen hat. Nicht nur zu Beginn eines jeden Kapitels gibt es Auszüge aus der Literatur der fiktiven Kulturen, auch im Text selbst ist viel gegeben. Errol und Benfro gelingt es, in die neue Welt zu fliehen, und lernen dort die Kulturen der dort lebenden Menschen und Drachen kennen. Damit bekommt Oswalds Welt mehr Tiefe und Komplexität.

Leider flacht die Handlung vor allem gegen Ende ab. Es wirkt zunächst, als ginge die Reihe ihrem Ende entgegen, was besonders dann etwas verwunderlich wirkt, wenn man bedenkt, dass noch ein Teil folgen soll. Wortwörtlich auf den letzten Seiten reißt der Autor jedoch das Ruder noch einmal herum und baut die Brücke zum abschließenden Teil der Reihe.

Leider ist das Ende vor allem in Hinblick auf Inquisitor Melyn sehr vorhersehbar und nicht so packend und überraschend wie in Band 1 oder 3.

Alles in allem fehlt ein wenig die Klimax des Spannungsbogens, sodass sich das Buch eher verläuft, als ein tatsächlich klar definiertes Ende zu haben. Das ist bedauernswert, da die Handlung an sich eigentlich durchaus spannende Elemente hat besonders in Hinblick auf den religiösen Fanatiker Melyn und seinen „Gott“. Dieses Mal hat Oswald leider das Potenzial seiner Geschichte nicht völlig ausgereizt.




Mehr von mir auf meinem Blog: http://buchdrache.blogspot.de/

[Marjolein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again... Amazed. Can't wait till the next book!

[Karen Rós · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm knocking off a star as there are an embarrassing amount of typos, editing errors and continuity errors in this book. It is truly astounding. It's worse than the shoddy writing and editing of the first ~150 pages of the first book in the series; those were at least copy edited to perfection. what the hell.

That aside, the series continues to be good. I'm slightly irritated that this isn't the last book in the series after all, because it ends on a goddamn cliffhanger (as did the other books, but that doesn't matter when you already have the next book on hand...). Damn it all.

Anyway: I'd recommend this series to anyone who loves dragon and magic! It's truly a spectacular world and I'm a big fan of the dragons in particular, and how they've been given a culture and civilisation in a way I've not seen before. In this regard it blows the Temeraire series out of the water.

And now to wait for the final book in the series....

[JA Condie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4 in the Ballad of Sir Benfro.

Ooft! The sufferings both Errol and Benfro go through, Benfro particularly, are almost too much to bear in this one. And so many revelations! Everything is coming together... or is it breaking apart?

It ended on such a cliffhanger (almost literally) that it's going to be another tough wait for the fifth and final book next year.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I was better at writing reviews, so I could write something witty and clever about this wonderful, very well written book, and in doing so persuade people to buy and read it, from the very first book ofc.
However, this is all I can manage. I wish time would leap forward three months so I could get started on the last part, the Obsidian Throne.
Where's the Doctor when you need him? :O