“In every person there is a bit of barbarian waiting to be unleashed. A moment when one must decide what one is willing to accept. Death, defeat, or allow one’s carnal rage to take control and consequences be damned.”
Skharr DeathEater
A lone DeathEater has forsaken his clan.
Leaving behind his previous life, Skharr starts building a future next to a dangerous forest in an unknown land.
He tells himself it is better than taking gold for questionable reasons.
A lone old man travelling with a donkey offers him a choice: Continue this farm life, or trade him Skharr’s just finished home and tilled land for a map.
A map that Skharr can use to live large for years… If he survives.
The old peddler watches him.
Realizing the intelligence, the polished actions of the huge man is but an act. A carefully orchestrated semblance of civility, and shudders.
Of all the Barbarian hordes, the rumor was to never, ever upset a DeathEater.
And he had come here to unleash this particular DeathEater back into the world.
This book is strange. It seems to have been written either by a committee or by an algorithm. That might explain this author’s jaw-dropping productivity with several hundred novels to his name.
It’s a bland assemblage of tired tropes which is not unusual in the barbarian sub-genre, but it’s the awkward word choices, the linear progress of trite descriptions and bland actions, the lack of cause and consequence in the most basic things, that makes this novel utterly soulless. There’s nothing obviously wrong in the writing at first sight, but there are enough moments of discomfort to elicit a feeling of “uncanny valley”, in exactly the same way as watching a computer recreation of an actor in a film: it looks alright at first, and then just appears wrong somehow. This novel has the same feel. Disconcerting.
It takes a lot for me to abandon a book. I usually finish what I start. The fact that it has taken over a year for me to grind through this extremely simple and shallow book indicates how little it held my attention. This is the McDonalds of fantasy. Empty calories.
On that basis, I’ll avoid the rest of this series, and possibly the rest of the production by this “studio”.
What can I say? This is another winner from Michael Anderle. Skharr is a barbarian warrior from the western clans. In fact he is from The Clan, as they refer to themselves, but others call them the DeathEaters. Skharr has a warhorse called Horse who he talks to. Horse doesn’t talk back in words but he certainly knows how to make his opinions known. This is a most enjoyable story that takes you into a dark dungeon and a beautiful noblewoman’s presence. Skharr certainly knows how to make an impression.
A fun, fast-paced read that follows the adventures of a very Conan-esque adventurer named Skharr. Michael Anderle admits that Dungeons & Dragons was a huge influence on his writing and, yeah, it shows. The story often reads like an RPG novelization, but it's told with a good sense of humor and Anderle doesn't burden us with weighty morals or metaphor. Just action, magic, monsters, and justice being served. I had a good time reading it.
Written in the older style of Sword Fantasy. You don't get the character spelled out for you but have to follow the adventures to get to know them. If you like the Conan stories or others written in golden age of the 40's through 60's of magazine serials then you will like this series
Very Conan-esque , I enjoyed the intelligent barbarian hiding behind grunts. The trope of directed strength taking out multiple enemies never gets old. Thank goodness for healing potions.
1.75 I thought that the introduction was actually really strong and Anderle's writing has nothing fundamentally wrong with it but 'I'm a badass' fantasy can get boring extremely quickly.
Also not a fan of how women are depicted in this book.
Nothing about the ending really caught my interest and I doubt I will be continuing.
4 Do You Think You Owe Your Taxes Now, Or Do I Have To Sell You More Hotcakes? Stars
The Unforgiven is the first novel in the Skharr DeathEater series by Michael Anderle.
I think perhaps my favorite aspect of this entire book is the one group of pilgrims/deserters/thieves that Skharr repeatedly beats the ever-loving-shit out of throughout the book. The hilarity escalates with each repetition.
The story seems to have ever ascended to a crescendo without ever truly reaching and passing through a notable climax. While Skharr reached his goal, met many battles, and experienced much excitement, the story still yet feels unfinished. Imo.
Perhaps Sera will become a permanent fixture along Skharr’s path. It’s always a toss-up whether Anderle incorporates any romance. Most with tend to coauthored.
I wish desperately that Horse could talk. But the brotherhood/relationship he and Skharr share adds ample entertain throughout this tale. Especially with all of the people confused by his companionable conversations with his Apple-loving buddy.
No cliffhanger, or any true insight into where Skharr’s path will lead in the next book. Now that he’s completed his initial dungeon crawl, and been overburdened by enough riches to last comfortably for a few years, I can’t begin to fathom where he’ll go next.
In world of sword and magic, magic being in on a decline, Conan the barbarian, I mean, Skharr the barbarian (barbarians having reputation akin to Varangian Guard, imagine stereotypical viking, strong and deadly in a fight) is on a journey to earn coin to pay his way back to the territory of western clans whence he originates. Having traded his freshly hand built farming stead in a dangerous location for a mercenary guild's dungeon exploring quest, his adventure begins.
Story progress on a very healthy pace and slowly builds the world of Skharr with natural exposition. Magic is on decay, elfs have returned from beyond the ocean, dwarves are potentially extinct, conflict is ever present, etc. Skharr is a male role model that many modern fiction works miss. He is a man of action, realizing his potential and dealing with mistakes and trauma of the past, his best friend is a horse. Stoic, silent, goal-oriented etc. This man is mellow and lovable, also, kind of financially illiterate.
This is not a standalone literary work but a part of a larger series - 9 books published over 2 years, as of April, 2024. Personally, prefer books to be conclusive standalone works with the option of an overarching plot for dedicated readers, leaving the option of continuing the series fully in the reader's hands. Love the books that can be picked up in the middle of the series as a standalone (e.g. Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold). The author who churns out books as a machine. According to Goodreads search he has 2308 books written. Leaves the impression focused more on quantity than quality and while quantity is a quality in and of itself, literary masterpieces usually take time.
Conclusion: 3/5. Listened on Audible included in plus catalogue. Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer. Frowned upon by contemporary layman's media stereotypical fantasy barbarian living life of action, intimacy and adventure. Terrible value for the length of the book - 2.07 $/hour ( 17.19 $ / 08 hrs 18 mins ).
From the Goodreads page and the description, you may guess this is a novel of a wish-fulfillment protagonist trekking through a copy paste fantasy landscape. You’d be correct. All the tropes you’d expect are here: monster fights, protagonist making jerks feel like fools, magic incorporated into everyday interactions, girls falling for him left and right, lots of fights where protagonist is alone against a group.
Anderle is able to weave some uniqueness into Skharr though: -When he gets mad at a potion merchant, and he has a talk with him, and he actually apologizes. I expected Skharr to never be wrong, and I hope this trend of “mistakes by the Gary Stu” continues -When he is confronted may times on how he is “acting dumb, but is not really dumb,” he makes a joking retort -Both Skharr and another self-insert character seem to have a thing with talking to their companion animals more than they talk to people -Skharr shows his emotional side now and then, helping people with non-violent issues, even giving them therapeutic advice
Until he is not. First 60% or so of the book is fun if slow: compelling characterization, decent action, fun dialogue, and some good storytelling all wrapped in plodding writing. But Skharr carried the day. Then. Skharr changed when he reached his story goal. He seems written by another author in this section. The stalwart warrior with quick mind and reflexes and intelligent conversationalist suddenly becomes a vulgar, timid, unlikable yet super extremely lucky irritating idiot. He whimpers and limps through a literal D&D dungeon crawl filled with so much luck even our now moronic whimp of a protagonist can win through. Which he does. And then proceeds to wrap up the book with a lesson on true love. Yep. Skharr of the first half of the book garners 3 stars.
This is DEFINITELY not for everyone. Heavily influenced by RPG(role play games) which I found myself enjoying. There isn't much world building nor very detailed explanations of the guilds or people(but again, if you are familiar with any RPG games, you would be familiar with these concepts). This is probably the best book I've read with this concept. I very much enjoyed the barbarian main character. He is hilarious! I was crying laughing at so many points. Unfortunately there was one or two moments I could have lived without, but other than that I found myself really enjoying this book. Not sure if I could recommend this to anyone I know. At least I have a new palette cleanser.
This was a lot more fun than I initially thought it would be. The book kept me pretty much glued to it during the day I plowed through it. Just the right amount of sex for me; it provided a little color but didn't in any way dominate the plot. Reminded me a bit of some of the early Conan books. I love bugs bunny plots, particularly during these difficult times when you can't tell what's up or down. For those that like action, a decent hero that isn't overcome with angst or questionable morals, this is your book. Enjoyed the hell out of it!
I'm writing this review after reading over half of book two. I wasn't sure what to make of this character or story. Skharr seems to be a mix of Conan and Dungeons and Dragons. Skharr is a barbarian, but he seems a bit more seasoned and likes to play dumb despite having some smarts.
Book one seems to be just leading from one event to another until he finally goes on a dungeon delve by himself and returns fabulously wealthy.
Overall not bad, but book two seems much better so far with a longer-range plotline, recurring characters, and a better glimpse of this world.
I have read all the other books this guy has written or co-authored and enjoyed most all of them. This series has started off great and I can't wait for more adventures of Skharr, the (oddly educated at times) barbarian Death Eater! The fights he gets involved in are why Sword and Sorcery stories are so enjoyed, along with the interactions with other beings and humans that live in his world. Great story!
This mild mannered, cautious and delicate, hero ... is thrust into the violence and depravity of the cruel world. Ah, yeah, that’s total BS. Skharr is a mountain of a man(?) with the graceful way of a bull elephant. Long skilled in battle, he has an odd way of speaking with refinement in some situations where a grunt would be expected. And sometimes the noble spirit of a true gentleman sneaks out to amaze us all. A good read.
I actually enjoyed this book. It fell short of the genre only by virtue of the fact that when Conan, Red Sonja, Gor, etc were written the tropes were newer. Now they are a little stale. The dialog is Weak, but no-one ever expected much from a Barbarian fantasy. Some decent character development, modest plot, better than average action, limited romance.
This is a terrible book. The Fowl language was so annoying. Its like the writer could not think of other things to say outside of the F-Bomb mixed with some other stupid insults to a idiotic sounding deity of this story's universe. Felt punished for going through the audio book.
Though the narrator was fantastic...as Eric Summerer always is. One of the best narrators ever.
Ultimately, I feel like I paid a penalty for going through this as all. I won't be continuing this series.
This story of a Barbaric warrior who acts like he’s dumb but is quite intelligent was a very interesting entertaining fast paced action packed read. This is the first time reading this Author after the shoe incident which severely damaged our relationship. Well I did try some of the collaborators, but most weren’t my cup.
A true barbarian fighter , one of his own honour and a fitting tribute to the Conan that has brought so much to this style of writing and heroics. Has some good wit and although a bit tamer with the woman at this stage than I would like a series i shall explore further.
If you grew up reading Lieber or Howard - Fafherd and the Grey Mouser, and especially the exploits of a certain Cimmerian - then you will find much joy in this series. Very well crafted and edited, the plot and characters intertwine between simple and complex, magical and mundane. Great classic Fantasy. Definitely recommended (14+)
From the first page to the last the book was hard to put down. My wife was so nice that she alloWed me to pass on things I normally do every day and continue reading, instead. Except for the brevity of the book ( under three hundred pages) I was so comfortable with the lead character that I overlooked the quantity for the quality
Simplified summary: Basically a DnD adventure following a Barbarian.
Opening lines: The forest, as always, was beautiful at this time of year.
Review: A fun, popcorn read. Wasn't a fan of how most women were presented in this, which is an unfortunate problem in this genre. I am willing to read another book in the series to see how it goes.
A nice twist on the Conan type barbarian. You need to get yourself copies of the Tolkien trilogy and read it If for no other reason than to have read it. I am looking forward to the next chapter in the life of the deatheater barbarian. Keep up the good work.
This was a really fun read, the characters kept my interest, and I wanted to keep reading even when tired and needing sleep. It will be interesting to see how the world expands and the backstory increases in future books. I recommend it.
This is a good book. You shouldy read it. I like the story. The characters are fun. The book is a good read. i enjoyed it alot.. Download or buy it today. why not?
Great story in an age of swords and sorcery. Loved it for its following of stereo type misdirection and a good axe/sword work. The MC is more than he looks with a great companion lol.
I thoroughly enjoyed journeying with our hero on his quest for treasure and adventure, followed by his trusty horse. Robbers thieves Wizards warlocks and a love interest or two made for a rollicking good tail oh, well told, and enjoyable