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War of the Twelve #1
The Broken Heart of Arelium
Some Things Must Never Be Forgotten.
Over 400 years ago, twelve great warriors united the beleaguered armies of men and scoured the war-torn lands of evil, pushing the enemy back into the underground pits and caverns from whence they came. To ensure their legacy, each of the Twelve founded fortress monasteries to impart their unique knowledge of war and politics to a select few, the Knights of the Twelve.
But now the last of the Twelve have long since passed from history to legend and the Knights, their numbers dwindling, are harbouring a dark and terrible secret that must be protected at all costs.
Merad Reed has spent half his life guarding a great crater known as the Pit, yearning for some escape from the bleak monotony. Then the arrival of Aldarin, one of the few remaining Knights of the Twelve, sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that will change Reed forever.
To the north, Jelaïa del Arelium, heiress to the richest of the nine Baronies, must learn to navigate the swirling political currents of her father’s court if she hopes one day to take his place. But the flickering flames of ambition hide the shadow of an even greater threat.
And deep within the earth, something is stirring.
Over 400 years ago, twelve great warriors united the beleaguered armies of men and scoured the war-torn lands of evil, pushing the enemy back into the underground pits and caverns from whence they came. To ensure their legacy, each of the Twelve founded fortress monasteries to impart their unique knowledge of war and politics to a select few, the Knights of the Twelve.
But now the last of the Twelve have long since passed from history to legend and the Knights, their numbers dwindling, are harbouring a dark and terrible secret that must be protected at all costs.
Merad Reed has spent half his life guarding a great crater known as the Pit, yearning for some escape from the bleak monotony. Then the arrival of Aldarin, one of the few remaining Knights of the Twelve, sets off a chain of cataclysmic events that will change Reed forever.
To the north, Jelaïa del Arelium, heiress to the richest of the nine Baronies, must learn to navigate the swirling political currents of her father’s court if she hopes one day to take his place. But the flickering flames of ambition hide the shadow of an even greater threat.
And deep within the earth, something is stirring.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 16, 2021
557 people are currently reading
2245 people want to read
About the author
Alex Robins
13 books95 followersAlex Robins was born in Norwich, England back when it was still trendy to wear lycra tracksuits and bright pink headbands. Norwich School Library was where he first discovered his love of reading, an old converted undercroft packed to the rafters with books. The first fantasy series he read was The Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis & Tracey Hickman, quickly followed by The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and David Eddings' The Belgariad.
At the age of twelve Alex moved across the channel to Nantes in France. Speaking very little French, the first few years were difficult and sometimes lonely as he scrambled to get a grip on the intricate grammar and vocabulary of the French language. His taste in books branched out from epic fantasy to science-fiction, mysteries, thrillers, and historical fiction, but he always came back to his favourite fantasy authors when looking to escape the outside world.
After degrees in agronomy, project management, and computer sciences, Alex founded his own company dedicated to online voting. He met his wife during a game of badminton and they spent several years getting trounced in various regional tournaments before getting married. Alex now lives in the sunny Loire Valley in western France, surrounded by imposing castles, sprawling vineyards, and two children. After reading fantasy books for the last thirty years he decided to write one. The Broken Heart of Arelium is his first novel, and the first in the War of the Twelve series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
June 15, 2025
3.5 stars.
This story started a bit grim for me but I think it has potential to turn into something that I might like in the following books.
Certainly worth giving this series a chance.
This story started a bit grim for me but I think it has potential to turn into something that I might like in the following books.
Certainly worth giving this series a chance.
October 19, 2024
The plot sounded very interesting and the book has actually the elements I like in a fantasy book.
Ancient mysterious evil raising again after centuries, even more mysterious ancient beings, which defeated it in the past, and their knights with their own hidden agenda.
In the middle simple men fighting against all odds for the survival of their people.
However the story should have been better developed and the classical tropes could have been better refreshed.
Still I'm intrigued by the mysteries so I would probably read the second book.
Ancient mysterious evil raising again after centuries, even more mysterious ancient beings, which defeated it in the past, and their knights with their own hidden agenda.
In the middle simple men fighting against all odds for the survival of their people.
However the story should have been better developed and the classical tropes could have been better refreshed.
Still I'm intrigued by the mysteries so I would probably read the second book.
April 12, 2021
** I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I had quite a few issues with this book, but because I was so interested in the concept and overall plot I was willing to overlook them and rate this higher. It was the last few chapters that made me bump down my rating to 3 stars.
Overall, it is a pretty straightforward fantasy story with a side of political intrigue and horror. I think it could have been the kind of book I absolutely love, and I can definitely see how others would really enjoy this novel, but it had a few too many tropes and jarring turns to make the cut for me. One of my more minor issues is that the writing can get a bit too flowery and descriptive for my tastes. When it comes to the action scenes the writing does move along much faster and doesn’t take away from the moment.
The main betrayal, which I think is meant to be very shocking, is very predictable because the character is a walking trope. From the moment the author described them I thought “this one is going to stab someone in the back, I just know it”. I think I’ve read thirty characters just like this one who betray everyone else in the exact same way. A good plot twist, in my opinion, means that when you reread the book, the lead-up is evident, or at least present. The way it is presented in this book is so sudden that it doesn’t make any sense, even when I went back and reread parts of the book. The character’s actions throughout the novel are so at odds with their final motivations. It almost comes off as if the author decided the character was going to betray everyone in the last bit of the book. And, of course, once their betrayal is revealed, we get the obligatory villain monologue. This is unnecessarily long and mirrors one of the other main issues I had with this novel, that being the info dumps.
The flow of the narration is completely interrupted on so many occasions by info dumps. These go on for pages and pages and bog the reader down with so much world-building and lore. I’m a sucker for deep world-building, and as soon as I saw that this book came with a map AND a timeline I was incredibly excited to explore the world the author had created. However, when the information is presented with never-ending monologues, it becomes hard to keep track of and boring to read. I truly did not enjoy a lot of the world-building that I would usually love because it was just so poorly presented. At its core, it is genuinely interesting, and I wish the author had inserted it more seamlessly with the plot so that I could have fully enjoyed it.
The last 10% of this book goes off the rails. Up until this point, it is a pretty straightforward but interesting fantasy story with political intrigue and a quickly approaching evil army. Without revealing any spoilers, the last couple chapters have the aforementioned predictable yet poorly set up betrayal, but they also introduce a completely new concept that truly shocked me. I had to stop reading for a minute because I was floored by how “…where did that come from?” this was. . Another one of the characters is revealed to be a traitor, and a bunch of different alliances and villains appear that have heretofore not been given any time in the book. It is so jarring to dump all of this on the reader, and I feel that it the info dumps had been removed and the author had spent more time developing the characters and the political landscape more naturally, the ending would have been much more thrilling and grounded in the narrative of the book. As it is now, it almost feels like the author really wanted to end the book and wrote in all of the plot points they wanted to wrap up without giving them the necessary set up.
Finally, I was quite disappointed in how the main female protagonists does absolutely nothing for the entirety of the book (until the last couple chapters). She develops feelings for someone, watches people almost die, and dons a nurse's role à la Sybil from Downton Abbey. All she really does is walk around and interact with other characters and allow the reader to witness scenes (where OTHERS do something important or fight for their lives), where she is a spectator alongside us. She also functions to present some of the world-building and introduce different characters and concepts. I am hopeful that Robins will improve how he writes her in the next novel, but as of now it just felt like another decorative woman in a male-dominated fantasy story.
I can definitely see why others would enjoy this book, and I am definitely interested in continuing the series, but I found this book to be quite disappointing.
I had quite a few issues with this book, but because I was so interested in the concept and overall plot I was willing to overlook them and rate this higher. It was the last few chapters that made me bump down my rating to 3 stars.
Overall, it is a pretty straightforward fantasy story with a side of political intrigue and horror. I think it could have been the kind of book I absolutely love, and I can definitely see how others would really enjoy this novel, but it had a few too many tropes and jarring turns to make the cut for me. One of my more minor issues is that the writing can get a bit too flowery and descriptive for my tastes. When it comes to the action scenes the writing does move along much faster and doesn’t take away from the moment.
The main betrayal, which I think is meant to be very shocking, is very predictable because the character is a walking trope. From the moment the author described them I thought “this one is going to stab someone in the back, I just know it”. I think I’ve read thirty characters just like this one who betray everyone else in the exact same way. A good plot twist, in my opinion, means that when you reread the book, the lead-up is evident, or at least present. The way it is presented in this book is so sudden that it doesn’t make any sense, even when I went back and reread parts of the book. The character’s actions throughout the novel are so at odds with their final motivations. It almost comes off as if the author decided the character was going to betray everyone in the last bit of the book. And, of course, once their betrayal is revealed, we get the obligatory villain monologue. This is unnecessarily long and mirrors one of the other main issues I had with this novel, that being the info dumps.
The flow of the narration is completely interrupted on so many occasions by info dumps. These go on for pages and pages and bog the reader down with so much world-building and lore. I’m a sucker for deep world-building, and as soon as I saw that this book came with a map AND a timeline I was incredibly excited to explore the world the author had created. However, when the information is presented with never-ending monologues, it becomes hard to keep track of and boring to read. I truly did not enjoy a lot of the world-building that I would usually love because it was just so poorly presented. At its core, it is genuinely interesting, and I wish the author had inserted it more seamlessly with the plot so that I could have fully enjoyed it.
The last 10% of this book goes off the rails. Up until this point, it is a pretty straightforward but interesting fantasy story with political intrigue and a quickly approaching evil army. Without revealing any spoilers, the last couple chapters have the aforementioned predictable yet poorly set up betrayal, but they also introduce a completely new concept that truly shocked me. I had to stop reading for a minute because I was floored by how “…where did that come from?” this was. . Another one of the characters is revealed to be a traitor, and a bunch of different alliances and villains appear that have heretofore not been given any time in the book. It is so jarring to dump all of this on the reader, and I feel that it the info dumps had been removed and the author had spent more time developing the characters and the political landscape more naturally, the ending would have been much more thrilling and grounded in the narrative of the book. As it is now, it almost feels like the author really wanted to end the book and wrote in all of the plot points they wanted to wrap up without giving them the necessary set up.
Finally, I was quite disappointed in how the main female protagonists does absolutely nothing for the entirety of the book (until the last couple chapters). She develops feelings for someone, watches people almost die, and dons a nurse's role à la Sybil from Downton Abbey. All she really does is walk around and interact with other characters and allow the reader to witness scenes (where OTHERS do something important or fight for their lives), where she is a spectator alongside us. She also functions to present some of the world-building and introduce different characters and concepts. I am hopeful that Robins will improve how he writes her in the next novel, but as of now it just felt like another decorative woman in a male-dominated fantasy story.
I can definitely see why others would enjoy this book, and I am definitely interested in continuing the series, but I found this book to be quite disappointing.
April 28, 2021
I'm always in the market for a new epic fantasy, and this series opener certainly looked promising.
Knights, nobles, warfare, political intrigue, and an ancient evil rising again to threaten the land - Robins assembles a list of familiar but never boring ingredients for his action-packed debut novel.
The pace is fast but not too much so to get to know the characters at least enough to be invested in their fates. While they could all use some more depth, I have no doubt we'll see further development there as the series progresses. The plot comes with some predictable, some very intriguing twists.
Robins's writing is at its best when he takes us into the thick of battle, the battle scenes are both plentiful and excellent. Some of the dialogue is a little heavy on infodumping, but for the most part it flows well. The POV shifts back and forth between various characters are handled well in most instances, with one exception: I really wish we had gotten to see the fight in which Lord del Conte was injured first hand instead of having the grievously injured man recount the whole thing in detail when he should have been immediately receiving desperately needed medical attention - this was to me the scene that felt most "off" in the entire book.
And there's one other thing that bugged me: Between the whole "watchers, protectors, guardians of the wall; light against the darkness; shield against the unknown" thing and Jelaïa's father closely paraphrasing Ned Stark on the matter of justice and executions, the GoT vibes came on a little too strong.
That aside, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this series opener and will be looking forward to the sequel.
*** I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ***
Knights, nobles, warfare, political intrigue, and an ancient evil rising again to threaten the land - Robins assembles a list of familiar but never boring ingredients for his action-packed debut novel.
The pace is fast but not too much so to get to know the characters at least enough to be invested in their fates. While they could all use some more depth, I have no doubt we'll see further development there as the series progresses. The plot comes with some predictable, some very intriguing twists.
Robins's writing is at its best when he takes us into the thick of battle, the battle scenes are both plentiful and excellent. Some of the dialogue is a little heavy on infodumping, but for the most part it flows well. The POV shifts back and forth between various characters are handled well in most instances, with one exception: I really wish we had gotten to see the fight in which Lord del Conte was injured first hand instead of having the grievously injured man recount the whole thing in detail when he should have been immediately receiving desperately needed medical attention - this was to me the scene that felt most "off" in the entire book.
And there's one other thing that bugged me: Between the whole "watchers, protectors, guardians of the wall; light against the darkness; shield against the unknown" thing and Jelaïa's father closely paraphrasing Ned Stark on the matter of justice and executions, the GoT vibes came on a little too strong.
That aside, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this series opener and will be looking forward to the sequel.
*** I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ***
April 3, 2021
** I received a free ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review **
The premise of this book is interesting and parts of it reminded me of some of my favourite book series. The Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Poppy War. A war against the forces of good and evil long since forgotten, ancient knowledge fading from memory, crumbling secret societies holding the fate of the world in their unknowing hands, an unlikely hero holding back the flood, arcane darkness slowly coming back into the land of the living. Whenever an author puts a new and creative spin on this, it’s often the recipe for success. The Broken Heart of Arelium is one of these interesting takes. The premises had promise, the premise is interesting, the premise is well thought out.
This is why reading the book was ever so slightly frustrating. It has all the markings of a hidden gem but ends up being closer to a diamond in the rough. Part of me can’t help but feel it would have been drastically better if it had gone through one more round of editing. Another set of eyes to call out details that were overlooked.
It would have picked up on issues of characters being misnamed. Like when we follow Aldarin and Reed across the plains, Greylings hot on their trail. When they finally find a moment to rest, we find ourselves listening to Aldarin explain the origin of his order, the history of this arcane dispute. Only to have him misnamed as Arelium, the name of the region they are travelling through, moments later. While not a glaring issue on its own, it does pull the reader out of the story.
Another such issue is where consecutive paragraphs contain contradicting statements. Like when we read: ‘Cracks formed along riverbeds, draining lakes of water, their fish suffocation on dry land’, followed mere sentences later by ‘The seas and lakes churned with white foam, ten-foot-high tidal waves obliterating those foolish enough to have settled too close…’ It’s an easy mistake, and the fix is easier still, which makes it all the more frustrating to see.
The characters do somewhat make up for these plot holes, but not enough to overlook them entirely. In theory, they are all perfectly fine, they have a backstory we can believe, and emotions we’ll accept. The issue lies in the superficiality of it all, they are not memorable. An angry outburst is followed seconds later by a heartfelt apology. A romance seemingly blossoms out of proximity. Their development coming out of thin air. In reality, it feels like the characters sole reason for existing is to further the plot. As opposed to being fully fleshed out individuals, with relationships, memories and personalities that exist beyond what we are seeing.
Finally, the pacing feels unnatural. For a book that markets itself as a fast-paced epic fantasy, it is a stop-start in parts. That’s not to say a novel should be high-intensity action from start to finish. I’d rather not have adrenaline coursing through my system for however long it takes me to finish the book, thank you very much. It’s just that the lulls in the story, often filled with exposition dumps, felt like they were simply there to bridge the gaps between one tense moment and the next. There was no natural ebb and flow.
All in all, it’s not a bad book. It’s just that it could have been so much more, so much better. The story is interesting and parts of me want to know what will happen beyond the battle of Arelium. This is why it left me frustrated, as I am not sure I will be able to overlook the issues with writing and editing.
The premise of this book is interesting and parts of it reminded me of some of my favourite book series. The Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, The Poppy War. A war against the forces of good and evil long since forgotten, ancient knowledge fading from memory, crumbling secret societies holding the fate of the world in their unknowing hands, an unlikely hero holding back the flood, arcane darkness slowly coming back into the land of the living. Whenever an author puts a new and creative spin on this, it’s often the recipe for success. The Broken Heart of Arelium is one of these interesting takes. The premises had promise, the premise is interesting, the premise is well thought out.
This is why reading the book was ever so slightly frustrating. It has all the markings of a hidden gem but ends up being closer to a diamond in the rough. Part of me can’t help but feel it would have been drastically better if it had gone through one more round of editing. Another set of eyes to call out details that were overlooked.
It would have picked up on issues of characters being misnamed. Like when we follow Aldarin and Reed across the plains, Greylings hot on their trail. When they finally find a moment to rest, we find ourselves listening to Aldarin explain the origin of his order, the history of this arcane dispute. Only to have him misnamed as Arelium, the name of the region they are travelling through, moments later. While not a glaring issue on its own, it does pull the reader out of the story.
Another such issue is where consecutive paragraphs contain contradicting statements. Like when we read: ‘Cracks formed along riverbeds, draining lakes of water, their fish suffocation on dry land’, followed mere sentences later by ‘The seas and lakes churned with white foam, ten-foot-high tidal waves obliterating those foolish enough to have settled too close…’ It’s an easy mistake, and the fix is easier still, which makes it all the more frustrating to see.
The characters do somewhat make up for these plot holes, but not enough to overlook them entirely. In theory, they are all perfectly fine, they have a backstory we can believe, and emotions we’ll accept. The issue lies in the superficiality of it all, they are not memorable. An angry outburst is followed seconds later by a heartfelt apology. A romance seemingly blossoms out of proximity. Their development coming out of thin air. In reality, it feels like the characters sole reason for existing is to further the plot. As opposed to being fully fleshed out individuals, with relationships, memories and personalities that exist beyond what we are seeing.
Finally, the pacing feels unnatural. For a book that markets itself as a fast-paced epic fantasy, it is a stop-start in parts. That’s not to say a novel should be high-intensity action from start to finish. I’d rather not have adrenaline coursing through my system for however long it takes me to finish the book, thank you very much. It’s just that the lulls in the story, often filled with exposition dumps, felt like they were simply there to bridge the gaps between one tense moment and the next. There was no natural ebb and flow.
All in all, it’s not a bad book. It’s just that it could have been so much more, so much better. The story is interesting and parts of me want to know what will happen beyond the battle of Arelium. This is why it left me frustrated, as I am not sure I will be able to overlook the issues with writing and editing.
August 4, 2022
Solid story, I'm interested in where this is going so far.
So, this book starts with a swarm of greylings rising from a deep pit and wiping out the Old Guard that defend it, thousands of grey, 5 foot tall monsters with claws for hands, after that they spread out and are hellbent on wiping on humanity.
Our MCs are the last of the Old Guard Merad Reed AKA Sunny, and Jelaïa del Arelium, the daughter of the Baron of Arelium. Pretty decent characters so far, but it's only book 1, I'm determined to be obsessed with these two by the end.
Then there's the orders of the Twelve, orders founded by Twelve super powered beings that saved humanity 400 years ago then vanished. No one has seen the knights of these orders recently, and it's revealed that they've been at war the whole time. Some of them want to protect humanity and the 9 Baronies, and others want to tear it all down. So that's where we are.
So, this book starts with a swarm of greylings rising from a deep pit and wiping out the Old Guard that defend it, thousands of grey, 5 foot tall monsters with claws for hands, after that they spread out and are hellbent on wiping on humanity.
Our MCs are the last of the Old Guard Merad Reed AKA Sunny, and Jelaïa del Arelium, the daughter of the Baron of Arelium. Pretty decent characters so far, but it's only book 1, I'm determined to be obsessed with these two by the end.
Then there's the orders of the Twelve, orders founded by Twelve super powered beings that saved humanity 400 years ago then vanished. No one has seen the knights of these orders recently, and it's revealed that they've been at war the whole time. Some of them want to protect humanity and the 9 Baronies, and others want to tear it all down. So that's where we are.
January 27, 2023
This book sucked me right into its world and lore. Robins has a meticulous writing style that paints a vibrant and sometimes violent picture of the horrible war raging between the realm and the Greylings, barbaric monsters who turn out to be very formidable foes, tearing men limb from limb with ease. Though, as the story moves on, we begin to understand that humans are the most vicious monsters as the politics of Arelium come into play, and no one is as they seem.
I think we're meant to really connect with Reed, but I found myself drawn more and more toward Jelaïa, Praxis, and Aldarin as the story progressed. I won't say I was completely caught off guard by some of the betrayals, but that last one really hurt as I was starting to think maybe this character would go against the grain and stay loyal.
One scene I really liked was Reed's idea on how to train the guard and the use of the song to stay in rhythm! I would have never thought of that in a million years, but it makes a lot of sense and provides some much-needed levity in an otherwise very dark situation.
I enjoyed Jelaïa's feisty personality, and I'm hoping with the sudden reveal at the end of the book, we'll be seeing more of her as a driving force in the sequel instead of the more muted role she had in this one.
There were definitely parts of this story that could have used more development to more naturally disperse information about the world and the histories of Arelium. A few times, the narrative seemed to stop to get this info out all at once. There was also one passage that was a tad too derivative, but overall, I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second installment.
I think we're meant to really connect with Reed, but I found myself drawn more and more toward Jelaïa, Praxis, and Aldarin as the story progressed. I won't say I was completely caught off guard by some of the betrayals, but that last one really hurt as I was starting to think maybe this character would go against the grain and stay loyal.
One scene I really liked was Reed's idea on how to train the guard and the use of the song to stay in rhythm! I would have never thought of that in a million years, but it makes a lot of sense and provides some much-needed levity in an otherwise very dark situation.
I enjoyed Jelaïa's feisty personality, and I'm hoping with the sudden reveal at the end of the book, we'll be seeing more of her as a driving force in the sequel instead of the more muted role she had in this one.
There were definitely parts of this story that could have used more development to more naturally disperse information about the world and the histories of Arelium. A few times, the narrative seemed to stop to get this info out all at once. There was also one passage that was a tad too derivative, but overall, I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second installment.
June 1, 2021
After nearly a year of writing, polishing, editing, more polishing, formatting, and stress-crying the first book in the War of the Twelve series has finally been let out of it's cage, free to rampage across online sites and bookstores in search of unsuspecting lovers of epic fantasy!
If it had been any other year I'm sure getting this book out would have been a much easier process, but just like everyone else 2020 was a never-ending quagmire of destruction that slowed everything to a crawl. Without the help, patience, and support of friends and family this project would have never seen the light of day.
As fellow published authors know, holding a finished product in your hands ignites a warm spark of happiness; one that reappears every time someone leaves a nice review or comment so please don't be shy and get in touch via the contact form on my site, or through goodreads, amazon, bookbub or anywhere else I have an author profile.
Now onwards! To the final edits of Book 2 : The Ashen Hand of Kessrin.
Happy Reading!
If it had been any other year I'm sure getting this book out would have been a much easier process, but just like everyone else 2020 was a never-ending quagmire of destruction that slowed everything to a crawl. Without the help, patience, and support of friends and family this project would have never seen the light of day.
As fellow published authors know, holding a finished product in your hands ignites a warm spark of happiness; one that reappears every time someone leaves a nice review or comment so please don't be shy and get in touch via the contact form on my site, or through goodreads, amazon, bookbub or anywhere else I have an author profile.
Now onwards! To the final edits of Book 2 : The Ashen Hand of Kessrin.
Happy Reading!
March 6, 2022
Over 400 years ago emerged beasts from the depths. An order of knights led armies of men to drive them back. The creatures have returned. Arelium turns to their protectors of the past…but much has changed in the order…and not for the better. Great battles!
June 27, 2021
If you’re looking for epic fantasy, this book has it all.
First and foremost, at its core, lies a fully-imagined world, one that informs every aspect of the story, while never becoming obtrusive or obvious. Next up it’s a lively cast of characters, some minor, some mythic, each one delineated in fine detail, where even a towering Knight of the Twelve can fall prey to regret and self-doubt. And last up, of course, is the plot itself, a multi-faceted jewel of a tale, filled with clever twists and turns and a final unexpected denouement.
Given all this, to expect well-wrought prose might seem like asking too much. But even here Robins delivers, supplying an assured narrative voice that’s not afraid to slip into humor, or surrender to pathos when needed. Yes, the world of Swords and Spells is already well-populated. But it looks like its current inhabitants will be forced make room for another talented contender.
First and foremost, at its core, lies a fully-imagined world, one that informs every aspect of the story, while never becoming obtrusive or obvious. Next up it’s a lively cast of characters, some minor, some mythic, each one delineated in fine detail, where even a towering Knight of the Twelve can fall prey to regret and self-doubt. And last up, of course, is the plot itself, a multi-faceted jewel of a tale, filled with clever twists and turns and a final unexpected denouement.
Given all this, to expect well-wrought prose might seem like asking too much. But even here Robins delivers, supplying an assured narrative voice that’s not afraid to slip into humor, or surrender to pathos when needed. Yes, the world of Swords and Spells is already well-populated. But it looks like its current inhabitants will be forced make room for another talented contender.
July 9, 2021
Merad Reed has spent his entire adult life patrolling the Pit as a member of the Old Guard.
The Old Guard dedicate themselves to protecting the world against whatever creatures of darkness might crawl up from its depths. They were the first line of defense against unspeakable horrors that had devastated their world in the past.
The problem is it was all so long ago. These days morale in the Guard is low—no one has ever seen anything come out of the Pit. Merad wonders if his life has been wasted on a pointless pursuit.
Until the day when he learns exactly what the Old Guard has been protecting humanity from all this time…
This tale had excellent descriptions, vivid characterization, particularly of the main character, and above all a read that didn’t keep tossing me out due to sloppy line editing. It’s a rare book that allows me to turn off my inner editor. I actually got to immerse myself in the author’s world, transported to another place and time.
The voice is good overall, especially the lovely archaic voice, used by Aldarin, a knight of The Order of the Twelve.
It includes excellent battle scenes, rich with sensory detail.
And to help eliminate those who may not enjoy this book, a few more points.
It includes some info-dumpy dialogue in places. It didn’t cross my personal line—it never deteriorated into “As you know, Bob…”—but if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, you may dislike those parts.
Well over half the book is taken up with a battle. If you’re the sort of reader who would prefer less violence in your fantasy, this is probably not the read for you.
It uses some common tropes. The author employs them well in my opinion, but they’re there. If unusual story elements are a must have for your reading pleasure, this tale is unlikely to satisfy. That’s not to say that the author didn’t make effective use of world building or that he didn’t have unique elements in his world.
So overall, if you’re looking for an epic tale of courage and character, well-written and immersive, with detailed battle scenes, The Broken Heart of Aurelium should be an entertaining read.
The Old Guard dedicate themselves to protecting the world against whatever creatures of darkness might crawl up from its depths. They were the first line of defense against unspeakable horrors that had devastated their world in the past.
The problem is it was all so long ago. These days morale in the Guard is low—no one has ever seen anything come out of the Pit. Merad wonders if his life has been wasted on a pointless pursuit.
Until the day when he learns exactly what the Old Guard has been protecting humanity from all this time…
This tale had excellent descriptions, vivid characterization, particularly of the main character, and above all a read that didn’t keep tossing me out due to sloppy line editing. It’s a rare book that allows me to turn off my inner editor. I actually got to immerse myself in the author’s world, transported to another place and time.
The voice is good overall, especially the lovely archaic voice, used by Aldarin, a knight of The Order of the Twelve.
It includes excellent battle scenes, rich with sensory detail.
And to help eliminate those who may not enjoy this book, a few more points.
It includes some info-dumpy dialogue in places. It didn’t cross my personal line—it never deteriorated into “As you know, Bob…”—but if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, you may dislike those parts.
Well over half the book is taken up with a battle. If you’re the sort of reader who would prefer less violence in your fantasy, this is probably not the read for you.
It uses some common tropes. The author employs them well in my opinion, but they’re there. If unusual story elements are a must have for your reading pleasure, this tale is unlikely to satisfy. That’s not to say that the author didn’t make effective use of world building or that he didn’t have unique elements in his world.
So overall, if you’re looking for an epic tale of courage and character, well-written and immersive, with detailed battle scenes, The Broken Heart of Aurelium should be an entertaining read.
May 26, 2022
a solid, good debut
We are placed into action immediately. Guards are attacked by grey-skinned creatures and so it begins. There are three main characters. Merad Reed, a captain of the Guard, Jelaïa, future baroness of Aurelius, and Aldarin, a legendary Knight of the Twelve. There’s so much action and the story is very plot-driven, which is okay, but we don’t get much backstory or character development. If you’re looking for magical elements, there’s hardly any to be found here, but that could change in forthcoming books. The last fifty pages or so give us more depth into the backstories and lots of battle scenes. The author’s strength lies in his description of these fighting sequences. They are very good.
The book ends with the characters’ fates forever changed. It will be fun to follow what happens next.
We are placed into action immediately. Guards are attacked by grey-skinned creatures and so it begins. There are three main characters. Merad Reed, a captain of the Guard, Jelaïa, future baroness of Aurelius, and Aldarin, a legendary Knight of the Twelve. There’s so much action and the story is very plot-driven, which is okay, but we don’t get much backstory or character development. If you’re looking for magical elements, there’s hardly any to be found here, but that could change in forthcoming books. The last fifty pages or so give us more depth into the backstories and lots of battle scenes. The author’s strength lies in his description of these fighting sequences. They are very good.
The book ends with the characters’ fates forever changed. It will be fun to follow what happens next.
July 19, 2022
Fast paced and fun!!!
Read
August 4, 2023That ending was soo good.!!🤩
April 12, 2021
I received a free copy of The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins and Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Broken Heart of Arelium is something akin to high fantasy featuring knights, nobles, monsters, and only one instance of magic being used in the story.
This review will be spoiler free.
The strength of this story is the world building. Mr. Robins creates a picture with his words of describing the Pit and the surrounding area where most of the story takes place. The Pit is one of six barriers that are meant to prevent the monsters from coming up through the ground and wreak havoc. The surrounding area are baronies that rule and protect the land with majority of the story set in the barony closest to the Pit. The barony is the typical feudal/medieval setting.
The story has two main characters: a grizzled old veteran who has been posted at the Pit for many years and a mysterious knight who travels with the veteran from the Pit to the barony. The main characters are the most established, three dimensional, fully developed of all the characters featured in this story. The baron is the most interesting and engaging of the minor characters because it appears he has something to do, and his arc adds some depth to the story. I think the rest of the characters, particularly the baron’s daughter and daughter of a merchant, had potential of being more interesting if they were further developed and each of them had something do to add to the story.
The Broken Heart of Arelium has contains several passages of info-dumps that go on for several paragraphs to a few pages and usually in the form of dialogue. The info-dumps really slowed down the flow of the story and detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
In addition to the info-dumps, this story has several battle scenes. I found the first couple of scenes to be interesting, but I found them overall to be too long and took me out of the book on more than one occasion.
I would have preferred if there were less of the info-dumps and battle scenes and use the same page space for character development and focus a bit more on the court intrigue in the barony. I think the info-dumps and battle scenes were not propelling the story forward.
The betrayals featured in this story appear to come out of nowhere because there is not really any set-up or foreshadowing. I think if the court intrigue had a larger part in the story, the betrayals would have been more emotional, and I would have become more invested in the story and its characters.
I rate The Broken Heart of Arelium 2.75 stars.
I would like to thank Alex Robins and Book Sirens for the free e-book version of The Broken Heart of Arelium.
The Broken Heart of Arelium is something akin to high fantasy featuring knights, nobles, monsters, and only one instance of magic being used in the story.
This review will be spoiler free.
The strength of this story is the world building. Mr. Robins creates a picture with his words of describing the Pit and the surrounding area where most of the story takes place. The Pit is one of six barriers that are meant to prevent the monsters from coming up through the ground and wreak havoc. The surrounding area are baronies that rule and protect the land with majority of the story set in the barony closest to the Pit. The barony is the typical feudal/medieval setting.
The story has two main characters: a grizzled old veteran who has been posted at the Pit for many years and a mysterious knight who travels with the veteran from the Pit to the barony. The main characters are the most established, three dimensional, fully developed of all the characters featured in this story. The baron is the most interesting and engaging of the minor characters because it appears he has something to do, and his arc adds some depth to the story. I think the rest of the characters, particularly the baron’s daughter and daughter of a merchant, had potential of being more interesting if they were further developed and each of them had something do to add to the story.
The Broken Heart of Arelium has contains several passages of info-dumps that go on for several paragraphs to a few pages and usually in the form of dialogue. The info-dumps really slowed down the flow of the story and detracted from my enjoyment of the story.
In addition to the info-dumps, this story has several battle scenes. I found the first couple of scenes to be interesting, but I found them overall to be too long and took me out of the book on more than one occasion.
I would have preferred if there were less of the info-dumps and battle scenes and use the same page space for character development and focus a bit more on the court intrigue in the barony. I think the info-dumps and battle scenes were not propelling the story forward.
The betrayals featured in this story appear to come out of nowhere because there is not really any set-up or foreshadowing. I think if the court intrigue had a larger part in the story, the betrayals would have been more emotional, and I would have become more invested in the story and its characters.
I rate The Broken Heart of Arelium 2.75 stars.
I would like to thank Alex Robins and Book Sirens for the free e-book version of The Broken Heart of Arelium.
June 25, 2021
Disclaimer: received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book opened with Merad Reed, a man who was greatly characterized only if he didn't speak.
In fact, this book deserves 5 stars in my personal enjoyment. Why am I giving it 3 stars? Because every character spoke as if they were teenagers. Everyone was shouting or roaring or raging like hormonally charged lads or lasses. The dialogue always came across as jilted, stilted, and jarring. I would stop myself from flicking the page to escape the dreaded dialogue.
And exposition... Expository dialogue is a favourite of new or amateur writers. They're always told not to infodump. To show not tell. So they think they can get away with it by using dialogues.
No. Doesn't work that way. If I am not wrong, one character's dialogue scene was almost two pages. At least more than one page. (On my Kindle app.)
This book was in a desperate need of an editor. Not the typos nor the grammatical errors. I don't mind them. No. Structural. Developmentally, this book needed a strict, no mercy given kind of editor. I firmly believe this.
Other than that I was really in love with the world building. It really reminded me of the Warded man without the wards or the countless rapes. The Knights of Twelve, and the Twelve founders were really done well. I disliked Aldarin though. In fact I disliked all characters when they spoke.
Merad Reed, and Praxis were the only on-screen character to have a presence that would blue me. Praxis wasn't surprising. I figured that out. But I felt rewarded nonetheless. So kudos for that.
Jelaia... Where do I start? Why must fantasy writers do this? Why? In my most humble, subjective opinion, Jelaia, the only woman POV, wasn't a character but a cardboard. Even wood has more character to it. More excitement to it. She had no agency as a character. She had no plot nor story of her. How could the author even get her pass the editor, if not the beta or alpha readers?
SPOILERS FROM NOW ON!
And on top of that, she's now a magic woman. Seriously. Ridiculous. The character deserved more.
NO SPOILERS FROM NOW ON!
Overall, this book could be so much better if only a harsh editor went through this. I didn't hate it. I actually enjoyed many scenes. I also had scenes where I experienced goosebumps. The author has talent. They write really great fight scenes. Every fight scene I would be glued to the page. The siege was done masterfully, the descriptions spectacular.
Good book. (With complications.)
The book opened with Merad Reed, a man who was greatly characterized only if he didn't speak.
In fact, this book deserves 5 stars in my personal enjoyment. Why am I giving it 3 stars? Because every character spoke as if they were teenagers. Everyone was shouting or roaring or raging like hormonally charged lads or lasses. The dialogue always came across as jilted, stilted, and jarring. I would stop myself from flicking the page to escape the dreaded dialogue.
And exposition... Expository dialogue is a favourite of new or amateur writers. They're always told not to infodump. To show not tell. So they think they can get away with it by using dialogues.
No. Doesn't work that way. If I am not wrong, one character's dialogue scene was almost two pages. At least more than one page. (On my Kindle app.)
This book was in a desperate need of an editor. Not the typos nor the grammatical errors. I don't mind them. No. Structural. Developmentally, this book needed a strict, no mercy given kind of editor. I firmly believe this.
Other than that I was really in love with the world building. It really reminded me of the Warded man without the wards or the countless rapes. The Knights of Twelve, and the Twelve founders were really done well. I disliked Aldarin though. In fact I disliked all characters when they spoke.
Merad Reed, and Praxis were the only on-screen character to have a presence that would blue me. Praxis wasn't surprising. I figured that out. But I felt rewarded nonetheless. So kudos for that.
Jelaia... Where do I start? Why must fantasy writers do this? Why? In my most humble, subjective opinion, Jelaia, the only woman POV, wasn't a character but a cardboard. Even wood has more character to it. More excitement to it. She had no agency as a character. She had no plot nor story of her. How could the author even get her pass the editor, if not the beta or alpha readers?
SPOILERS FROM NOW ON!
And on top of that, she's now a magic woman. Seriously. Ridiculous. The character deserved more.
NO SPOILERS FROM NOW ON!
Overall, this book could be so much better if only a harsh editor went through this. I didn't hate it. I actually enjoyed many scenes. I also had scenes where I experienced goosebumps. The author has talent. They write really great fight scenes. Every fight scene I would be glued to the page. The siege was done masterfully, the descriptions spectacular.
Good book. (With complications.)
December 10, 2024
I quite enjoyed this one. I have some friends who have read it and who said that once the location changed, it became less enjoyable, but fortunately, I didn’t experience that. I continued my enjoyment of it pretty much right the way through to the end.
There was some good action in here, and some good characters who I quite liked and became quite invested in. The writing style was good and really free-flowing, and I liked the narration of the audiobook as well, with some good character voices, and that helped to drive the story along nicely as well.
Without spoiling myself with the synopsis of book two and onwards, I genuinely have no idea where this one is headed next, based on what I read here, but I’m interested enough to pick up the second book at some point and find out.
There was some good action in here, and some good characters who I quite liked and became quite invested in. The writing style was good and really free-flowing, and I liked the narration of the audiobook as well, with some good character voices, and that helped to drive the story along nicely as well.
Without spoiling myself with the synopsis of book two and onwards, I genuinely have no idea where this one is headed next, based on what I read here, but I’m interested enough to pick up the second book at some point and find out.
December 29, 2021
The Twelve had once been the saviours of the land. Their combined might had saved the world from darkness. They had sent the evil underground, to live in the darkness below. However, the darkness was not destroyed and the war scarred the land, leaving six pits that need to be watched over. Thus was born The old Guard. A group of soldiers sworn to protect the lands from the dark and stand guard the pit.
Merad Reed’s life is filled with monotony and routine. He secretly wishes that something will happen so that he can be released from his life of boredom. However, he soon wishes that he had kept those thoughts to himself. When one night seems much the same as the other. An evil belived disappeared emerges from the pit and a screaming horde of Greylings kills all that he holds dear.
As he fights to save himself and those around him from the monstrous beasts that live in the caverns below the lands, aid will come from an unlikely source. From a knight of The Twelve.
With the aid of Aldarin, they defeat the foul host.
But this is just the beginning. More of the creatures have amassed and are making their way to Arelium.
Meanwhile in Arelium, the Baron & his family are unaware of the threat that looms at the edge of their lands. Can they fight off the Greylings. Can they defeat the monsters that drive the Greylings. Can they defeat legends made flesh and save the people of Arelium.
I have to say right from the start that this book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were some elements that I really liked, and there were others that I just did not get along with.
Now the book has some really good ideas in it. In places, it is quite dark. There is plenty of political intrigue, and there were parts of the plot that kept me intrigued enough to continue reading it. On the whole, I quite liked the main characters. The friendship between Reed and the knight of the Twelve, Aldarin hit that chord that kept me wanting to find out more and see how the relationship developed (although, at times Alderin really annoyed the snot out of me!). There were other parts too. I always like a good training montage and the one with with Reed and Ferris attempting to teach a group of raw recruits how to maintain a spear wall with the use of a traditional (in the book traditional) folk song so that it gives the recruits some semblance of professional soldiership.
In addition to this, Alex Robins writes some really good action scenes. They flow really well and he gives you just enough description without the reader becoming confused at the action on the page.
I also wanted to know more about the Knights of the Twelve. They were a really good aspect of the story.
Like I said there are some really good ideas in here, but unfortunately, for me they were marred by the things that I didn’t like.
At times, I had a bit of a hard time with the dialogue. There were many times that I felt that it just did not flow, and on top of that there were instances where it was just too flowery for me, resulting in it getting in the way of the actual story. On top of this, characters went into what I felt was quite unnecessarily eloquent and verbose speeches, which for me, resulted in it detracting from the narrative itself.
Another aspect that I felt didn't work was when characters engaged in large sections of dialogue exposition, which again, took me away from the story itself. One instance of this that really jumped out at me was when a badly injured character gave a long and wordy explanation of events.
In terms of characterisation, I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with quite a lot of the characters. Reed, without a doubt is the one that stood out, the others, I just didn’t get that attachment to them. Which was a shame, because I wanted to get that emotional attachment to the characters, but it just wasn’t happening.
I mean, I don’t mind not liking characters, but I need them to have substance, and I feel that this was what I had problems with. I just could not find the depth in them which resulted in me feeling like an observer rather than becoming immersed with the story.
And whilst I have pointed out some of the things that I did not gel with, there was lots in the book to like. The Greylings themselves were quite good antagonists, especially when they are being pushed by the Threshers, who are giant beasts that carry large whips to push their troops into battle.
The intrigue aspect of the story was enough to keep me guessing and provided a conduit for that investment of concentration and time.
And then there is the end!
Now I know that some reviewers felt that it was a bit too leftfield for them and that it seems to come out of nowhere, with little transmission of plot points that leads to quite a surprising ending.
However, I have to say that I quite liked the ending. It gave the book some necessary focus and also provided a good opportunity to expand the world and political standpoints that govern it. I felt it gives the second of the books a different direction to go in and adds some depth to the story as a whole.
On the whole, The Broken Heart of Arelium was a good book. However, for me there were a number of things that put up barriers to getting wholly immersed in it and elevate it to reach the potential that is obviously there.
Merad Reed’s life is filled with monotony and routine. He secretly wishes that something will happen so that he can be released from his life of boredom. However, he soon wishes that he had kept those thoughts to himself. When one night seems much the same as the other. An evil belived disappeared emerges from the pit and a screaming horde of Greylings kills all that he holds dear.
As he fights to save himself and those around him from the monstrous beasts that live in the caverns below the lands, aid will come from an unlikely source. From a knight of The Twelve.
With the aid of Aldarin, they defeat the foul host.
But this is just the beginning. More of the creatures have amassed and are making their way to Arelium.
Meanwhile in Arelium, the Baron & his family are unaware of the threat that looms at the edge of their lands. Can they fight off the Greylings. Can they defeat the monsters that drive the Greylings. Can they defeat legends made flesh and save the people of Arelium.
I have to say right from the start that this book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were some elements that I really liked, and there were others that I just did not get along with.
Now the book has some really good ideas in it. In places, it is quite dark. There is plenty of political intrigue, and there were parts of the plot that kept me intrigued enough to continue reading it. On the whole, I quite liked the main characters. The friendship between Reed and the knight of the Twelve, Aldarin hit that chord that kept me wanting to find out more and see how the relationship developed (although, at times Alderin really annoyed the snot out of me!). There were other parts too. I always like a good training montage and the one with with Reed and Ferris attempting to teach a group of raw recruits how to maintain a spear wall with the use of a traditional (in the book traditional) folk song so that it gives the recruits some semblance of professional soldiership.
In addition to this, Alex Robins writes some really good action scenes. They flow really well and he gives you just enough description without the reader becoming confused at the action on the page.
I also wanted to know more about the Knights of the Twelve. They were a really good aspect of the story.
Like I said there are some really good ideas in here, but unfortunately, for me they were marred by the things that I didn’t like.
At times, I had a bit of a hard time with the dialogue. There were many times that I felt that it just did not flow, and on top of that there were instances where it was just too flowery for me, resulting in it getting in the way of the actual story. On top of this, characters went into what I felt was quite unnecessarily eloquent and verbose speeches, which for me, resulted in it detracting from the narrative itself.
Another aspect that I felt didn't work was when characters engaged in large sections of dialogue exposition, which again, took me away from the story itself. One instance of this that really jumped out at me was when a badly injured character gave a long and wordy explanation of events.
In terms of characterisation, I had a little bit of a hard time connecting with quite a lot of the characters. Reed, without a doubt is the one that stood out, the others, I just didn’t get that attachment to them. Which was a shame, because I wanted to get that emotional attachment to the characters, but it just wasn’t happening.
I mean, I don’t mind not liking characters, but I need them to have substance, and I feel that this was what I had problems with. I just could not find the depth in them which resulted in me feeling like an observer rather than becoming immersed with the story.
And whilst I have pointed out some of the things that I did not gel with, there was lots in the book to like. The Greylings themselves were quite good antagonists, especially when they are being pushed by the Threshers, who are giant beasts that carry large whips to push their troops into battle.
The intrigue aspect of the story was enough to keep me guessing and provided a conduit for that investment of concentration and time.
And then there is the end!
Now I know that some reviewers felt that it was a bit too leftfield for them and that it seems to come out of nowhere, with little transmission of plot points that leads to quite a surprising ending.
However, I have to say that I quite liked the ending. It gave the book some necessary focus and also provided a good opportunity to expand the world and political standpoints that govern it. I felt it gives the second of the books a different direction to go in and adds some depth to the story as a whole.
On the whole, The Broken Heart of Arelium was a good book. However, for me there were a number of things that put up barriers to getting wholly immersed in it and elevate it to reach the potential that is obviously there.
September 8, 2021
*I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
3.5/5 stars
"We are the watchers, the protectors, the guardians of the wall. We are the light against the darkness, the burning sun against the cold of night, the mighty shield against the unknown. We pledge our lives to the defence of the wall. And we entrust our lives to the will of the Twelve.”
Before jumping into a more detailed review, let's quickly summarise my reactions while reading this book:
1) well, that was a pretty intriguing beginning
2) some battles, yay! But I hope they won't be the only thing that happens in the whole book
3) WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!
4) WAIT TWO DAMN MINUTES! (this one happened about 3 or four pages after the previous one)
5) eh?
Talking about emotional rollercoaster, huh?
Great, now let's move on to the review.
LAYOUT OF THE BOOK
Not gonna lie, the first thing that caught my eye was the cover. I know that "we sould never judge a book from its cover", but that's just how it is. It screams epic fantasy, and that was exactly what I needed.
I also appreciated the map at the beginning (who doesn't love maps, after all), and I was pleasantly surprised by the timeline of the events in the appendix.
The short quotes at the beginning of each chapter were also a nice detail.
THE PLOT
As anticipated earlier, my emotions changed a lot while I was reading.
The first chapter is extremely catching, as we found ourself in an apparently calm and monotonous situation that gets completely overturn by the sudden appearance of vicious creatures who were taught to have disappeared for good decades and decades before.
After that, my reader-self got almost deceived. I was sure I was reading an even too "classical" epic fantasy, with long and detailed battles and nothing more to offer. Don't misunderstand me, the battle scenes were well narrated, but I wasn't that thrilled by the idea of reading of people and monsters dying during the majority of the book.
And that's when it happened. The plot twist. Well, the plot twistS. I seriously had to pause for a moment to elaborate what I had just read. Like, for real? I can't say much for obvious reason, but the final events of the book finally transformed a linear, basic plot into something capable of catching the reader's attention much more.
THE WRITING STYLE
Having multiple narrators is always a risky choice, but in this case I can't absolutely complain. The omniscient narrator in 3rd person follows the acts of two of the main characters: a middle-aged soldier on one hand (Reed) and a young lady and heiress to a barony (Jelaïa). Having such different characters for the POVs is an interesting choice, but in my opinion the impact would have been greater with a 1st person narrator.
One of the main issues I've dealt with while reading this book is that I couldn't start caring deeply for any of the characters. Using a 1st person narrator would have (maybe) helped me to empathise more with them. Let's hope the second volume gives a bit more space to the psychological side of the characters. Too many streams of consciousness are a no-go, of course, but having such a high percentage of action scenes without properly talking care of the descriptions of the characters' inner-self flattens the plot a bit.
CONCLUSIONS
Considering everything I read in the last chapters, this looks like a promising saga.
If you like epic fantasy, it'll definitely be an enjoyable read to be accompanied by some Medieval music (and maybe a rainy evening) to complete the atmosphere.
3.5/5 stars
"We are the watchers, the protectors, the guardians of the wall. We are the light against the darkness, the burning sun against the cold of night, the mighty shield against the unknown. We pledge our lives to the defence of the wall. And we entrust our lives to the will of the Twelve.”
Before jumping into a more detailed review, let's quickly summarise my reactions while reading this book:
1) well, that was a pretty intriguing beginning
2) some battles, yay! But I hope they won't be the only thing that happens in the whole book
3) WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!
4) WAIT TWO DAMN MINUTES! (this one happened about 3 or four pages after the previous one)
5) eh?
Talking about emotional rollercoaster, huh?
Great, now let's move on to the review.
LAYOUT OF THE BOOK
Not gonna lie, the first thing that caught my eye was the cover. I know that "we sould never judge a book from its cover", but that's just how it is. It screams epic fantasy, and that was exactly what I needed.
I also appreciated the map at the beginning (who doesn't love maps, after all), and I was pleasantly surprised by the timeline of the events in the appendix.
The short quotes at the beginning of each chapter were also a nice detail.
THE PLOT
As anticipated earlier, my emotions changed a lot while I was reading.
The first chapter is extremely catching, as we found ourself in an apparently calm and monotonous situation that gets completely overturn by the sudden appearance of vicious creatures who were taught to have disappeared for good decades and decades before.
After that, my reader-self got almost deceived. I was sure I was reading an even too "classical" epic fantasy, with long and detailed battles and nothing more to offer. Don't misunderstand me, the battle scenes were well narrated, but I wasn't that thrilled by the idea of reading of people and monsters dying during the majority of the book.
And that's when it happened. The plot twist. Well, the plot twistS. I seriously had to pause for a moment to elaborate what I had just read. Like, for real? I can't say much for obvious reason, but the final events of the book finally transformed a linear, basic plot into something capable of catching the reader's attention much more.
THE WRITING STYLE
Having multiple narrators is always a risky choice, but in this case I can't absolutely complain. The omniscient narrator in 3rd person follows the acts of two of the main characters: a middle-aged soldier on one hand (Reed) and a young lady and heiress to a barony (Jelaïa). Having such different characters for the POVs is an interesting choice, but in my opinion the impact would have been greater with a 1st person narrator.
One of the main issues I've dealt with while reading this book is that I couldn't start caring deeply for any of the characters. Using a 1st person narrator would have (maybe) helped me to empathise more with them. Let's hope the second volume gives a bit more space to the psychological side of the characters. Too many streams of consciousness are a no-go, of course, but having such a high percentage of action scenes without properly talking care of the descriptions of the characters' inner-self flattens the plot a bit.
CONCLUSIONS
Considering everything I read in the last chapters, this looks like a promising saga.
If you like epic fantasy, it'll definitely be an enjoyable read to be accompanied by some Medieval music (and maybe a rainy evening) to complete the atmosphere.
April 26, 2021
I totally enjoyed this book and it reminded me books like Game of Thrones (though overall less violent than GOT (thank goodness)) and Lord of the Rings. I found the fantasy world that the author created fascinating and I actually felt a bit of fear when it came to the creatures that came up from the ground to fight humanity. I felt the author did a good job of transporting me to a world where human's collaborated as one in an effort to exist, and also a world that was incredibly scary. I really liked the characters, especially Reed, and the ending left me wanting more, which is fantastic. I felt like I was watching a movie while I read this book as the descriptions were appropriately detailed and the dialogue seemed natural to me. I recommend this book for anyone who likes fantasy, epic battles, and hero stories.
I received an advance copy for free and am leaving my honest and voluntary review.
I received an advance copy for free and am leaving my honest and voluntary review.
August 12, 2021
The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins, an epic fantasy that felt like the Wall of Westeros merging with the battle of Helms Deep. The story has strong, detailed world building, good descriptive passages, creatures of nightmare in overwhelming numbers, and detailed battle scenes mixed with courtly intrigue.
The characters took some time to grow on me and had a habit of hovering on the precipice of death only to recover miraculously. I also found it hard to relate to the narrational style, with everything spelled out on the page and spelled out before it happened- rather than trusting the reader to read between the lines and leaving room for suspense and surprise. That is, until about two-thirds in, when Arelium is fighting for its survival, characters begin to cast shadows, and sudden revelations take the story into new intriguing territory, leaving me ready to find out what happens next.
The characters took some time to grow on me and had a habit of hovering on the precipice of death only to recover miraculously. I also found it hard to relate to the narrational style, with everything spelled out on the page and spelled out before it happened- rather than trusting the reader to read between the lines and leaving room for suspense and surprise. That is, until about two-thirds in, when Arelium is fighting for its survival, characters begin to cast shadows, and sudden revelations take the story into new intriguing territory, leaving me ready to find out what happens next.
June 14, 2021
Fast paced action adventure abounds in this epic fantasy debut novel. I really liked this authors world building. He is highly imaginative. Good vs Evil with a few twists. Who will win out?
I really enjoyed this first of the series. I would have liked a bit more character building as at times it was hard to relate to the main character. Overall though, the storyline itself led to a very interesting read. A page turner that I felt hard to put down.
I look forward to the next in the series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I really enjoyed this first of the series. I would have liked a bit more character building as at times it was hard to relate to the main character. Overall though, the storyline itself led to a very interesting read. A page turner that I felt hard to put down.
I look forward to the next in the series.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
October 27, 2021
I requested the audio for this title as I am a big of fantasy and this sounded right up my street.
I enjoyed it for the most part. The world-building and character development are excellent, and I will carry on with any subsequent books to this series for that alone. The action scenes are fantastic and move along at an incredible pace, however, the flow of the reading/audio is interrupted by mass info-dumps, which really slow down the narrative.
Overall, a really fun and action-packed fantasy with excellent world-building, but a bit too much sporadic interruption to the narrative to make this a higher rating. The potential is definitely there though!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request via Audioboom and have voluntarily left this review.
I enjoyed it for the most part. The world-building and character development are excellent, and I will carry on with any subsequent books to this series for that alone. The action scenes are fantastic and move along at an incredible pace, however, the flow of the reading/audio is interrupted by mass info-dumps, which really slow down the narrative.
Overall, a really fun and action-packed fantasy with excellent world-building, but a bit too much sporadic interruption to the narrative to make this a higher rating. The potential is definitely there though!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request via Audioboom and have voluntarily left this review.
December 14, 2025
This book wasn't bad, the story was interesting and the plot twists in the last chapters were unexpected enough. I do think it could have been a little bit longer, mostly to let the reader care more about the characters, and also to develop the relationships in a smoother way. Definitely fast paced.
January 30, 2022
Brilliant! I have really enjoyed this fast paced and refreshing fantasy story, ticking all the right boxes for me as well. There will be a full review on the blog as part of the Write Reads Tour soon.
April 2, 2022
This was so good!! Excuse me while I go order the second book.
July 14, 2021
"The Old Guard are the light against the darkness," he had intoned. "The burning sun against the cold of night, the mighty shield against the unknown."
Brief plot summary:
🛡️The mighty Twelve had, once before, saved the world. But the darkness left traces and scars across the land, deep holes of doom, forever watched upon by the vigilent eyes of The Old Guard. But the darkness has been silent for decades and The Old Guard has been rendered almost useless. But when from the Pit, one of the biggest hell-holes, evil is at work once more, the guardians have to do their duty.
🛡️Merad Reed is a member of The Old Guard and stands witness to his companions being butchered by merciless Greylings, underground creatures, in spite of the miraculous intervention of a knight of the Twelve, Aldarin. Aldarin and Reed must travel to Arelium and announce baron Listus del Arelium of the threat. In order to get there in time, they need horses. Reed suggests obtaining them from his home village. Once there, they meet Nidore del Conte, who joins them to Arelium.
🛡️They are not blessed with an uneventful trip, as they meet the Greylings once more, when the creatures lead an attack on the silk trader daughter's caravan. Our heroes, luckily, manage to push them back.
After reaching their destination, it's only a matter of time before the Greylings surround Arelium and everything comes crashing down.
🛡️On the other hand, the book follows the path of Jelaia del Arelium, the Baron's daughter and heiress, while she is trying to understand the politics and intrigues of the court, while slowly falling in love with Praxis, Steward of Arelium, her father's right hand.
🛡️Who will win and who will lose the most? How will Aldarin and Reed protect the city? What is more important: friendship or duty? Whom to trust when the people you think you know best stab you in the back? And what kind of powers hide deep in Jelaia's blood? Read and see!! Really interesting stuff, and the ending... Oh wow. It is a cliffhanger!! I bet the second book is going to be epic.
Highlights:
A myriad of emotions flickered like stars in those deep blue irises: melancholy, sadness, anger, determination, and a shrewd intellect. When Aldarin looked at Reed, he felt his mind laid bare, his thoughts unhidden. It was both calming and unnerving, and not always easy to look away.
🏹Aladarin and Reed's friendship. I mean... How great must be to meet your legendary hero? Your role model? To see him appearing when all hope is lost, swiping the land clean of the enemy with the flow of his axe? I don't know if Reed afforded to give himself a moment of feeling impressed, as his friend's deaths had taken their toll on him, but he was, fortunately, gifted with plenty of time with the Knight. Their conversation were quite pleasant (even if Aldarin talks a bit... I don't even know how to put it, but he always speaks like he is not anchored in this world. And when he expresses feelings, he goes a teeny tiny bit over the top. I've asked myself about 3 or 4 times while reading who talks like that. He is uhm... unique. A very kind soul, though. And his strenght is incredible, his knowledge amazingly vast. Nothing to argue about that.) They don't have a lot of things in common, but you know what they say: the base for any sturdy friendship is a deep hatred for the same enemy (Is it really so?? What do you think?). For them, that's how it starts. And it is also the glue that keeps them together.
"The easiest way is rarely the best way, Son. It is through times of hardship and strife that we learn who we really are. And you stood firm when others have faltered. You brought people together when others would have driven them apart."
Another common trait is their loyalty. Both men of honor, they would do almost anything to keep each other safe. And they would fight until the very last breath.
🏹The battle scenes. Masterfully written. The gore, the fear, the strategies, the terrain, every slash of the blade, every crush of the bone, every death, each and every single thing about the war was on point.
🏹Treshers.I truly believe they brought depth to the darkness. To have an army of mindless short Greylings after you is one thing, but to know they have big, bad and tough bosses who keep them in formation and shape their hatred is a whole other thing. It makes them become deadlier and even more frightening. And I might be wrong, but I think that the hierarchy doesn't stop to Treshers. The worst is yet to be seen.
🏹Jeffson.Almost every Jeffson scene cracked me up. Hilarious.
"I see you are pushing the men hard, my Lord. I would perhaps suggest not exhausting them completely or all the enemy will need to do is step lightly over their slumbering bodies."
🏹THE SONG!! Ferris was such a great addiction to the plotline! His simplicity, his bravery and his spirit of sacrifice conquered my heart completely. And THE SONG!! HIS VOICE!! Jeffson's plan not only worked like a miracle, but it made the training seem easy and fun. In the darkest of times, people must hold onto every smile, every hope, every song. And that's exactly what they did.
Something I have learnt from my meagre few hours in command is to surround yourself with people you trust. I'm pretty much useless by myself, but give me Orkam, Ferris and Aldarin, and I can get things done.
🏹Jelaia's feelings for Praxis.
"I said no, my Lord."
"Now listen, steward," said the Baron, his voice low and dangerous. "Do not overstep yourself. It is not for you to decide what I can and cannot do. I am your liege lord. I am the lord of all men and women here! And I'll be damned to the Pit if I can't do what I want!"
🏹Praxis. Up until the final chapters, Praxis was my favorite character. From the first moment he was introduced, I was attracted to his aura of mistery and I rooted for him and Jelaia. Every single thing he spoke felt truly well-pondered and meaningful. He felt sincere. His wits and sarcasm made me admire him while giggling like a little girl. But I've always imagined him unsuited for the rage of war. So when he fought to protect the Baron's life, my jaw dropped. Could he get any perfect? Yeah, I should have known...
🏹The final hit. C'mon, don't tell me you saw that coming!! I am overly enthusiatic about that amazing turn of events!! I just love. love. LOVE. smart plot twists.
🏹Language. I am not a native english speaker but I've perfected my knowledge of this language in the last 15 years. So I find most books fairly easy to read. But this one... It was not hard, don't get me wrong, but I had to use the dictionary way more than usual. Which is a good thing! I've learned plenty of new words. The author is very skilled in worldbuilding and describing the background story.
Dislikes:
⚔️Aldarin's speech. Dialogue. As I was saying before, Aldarin speaks a bit unnatural. When it comes to feelings, a bit excesive, when it comes to regular talks, a bit... far away. And while the overall dialogue from the book had a very good pace and flow, at some points I felt bombarded with information. I think I would have prefered a lighter flow of information and a prolonged state of mystery. But that's allright, since there are so many things that we still don't know and that are just beginning to happen. I bet the second book will offer a ton of mystery to feed my need.
⚔️Do I know you?The characterizations were a bit limited. I understood every bit of the story and followed the characters through hell and gore, BUT now, as I find myself trying to remember them clearly, I realize that I can't do that. Why? Because I didn't get to really know them, to care for them, to suffer with them. They didn't grow in my eyes, they don't have dimensions. The only ones I truly empathised with are Reed and Aladarin. Maybe Lore and Nidore del Conte. Maybe Jelaia's mother, when she decided to help the wounded. Maybe Praxis. And Ferris. Actually, I think I might like Ferris the most. Small actions take the biggest place in my heart. Anyway, the point is I was not as invested in the story as I could be, because the character's pain doesn't feel very real or close to me. Maybe the depth will come throughout the series. Hope so.
"When I arrived at the keep, I thought I would find my father alone. But that was not the case. Verona was sitting here, holding his hand and telling him of our battle with the greylings in the forest, telling him she was proud of what I had done. She has done more for me and my family this night than the lords of Arelium have done in twenty years."
⚔️Nidore. This is not a real dislike, I guess. I don't dislike the way the writer portraied him, I just despise him. From the bottom of my heart. He is the absolute opposite of his father, that traitorous and foolish snake! Such a naive and manipulable young man, I can't believe how he fell for such pitiful lies. For almost half of the book he was miserable and full of burning anger. He doesn't deserve to enherit his father's title. And because of his blindness, he won't get it. Also, he won't get the true love he left everything for. He doomed himself to a life of suffering and I'm not very sad about it. (maybe he will have a great redemption story and I will be sorry for badmouthing him).
All in all, I think this book has all the required ingredients for the beginning of a great series. In spite of the small perks I found here and there, I got really invested in the story and felt sorry when it ended. And I think, at the end of the day, that's what really matters.
History is such a strange and malleable thing. What is believed by all to be an indisputable fact can be changed in an instant with the stroke of a pen.
Disclaimer: this is an ARC I've received in order to give my honest opinion on.
Brief plot summary:
🛡️The mighty Twelve had, once before, saved the world. But the darkness left traces and scars across the land, deep holes of doom, forever watched upon by the vigilent eyes of The Old Guard. But the darkness has been silent for decades and The Old Guard has been rendered almost useless. But when from the Pit, one of the biggest hell-holes, evil is at work once more, the guardians have to do their duty.
🛡️Merad Reed is a member of The Old Guard and stands witness to his companions being butchered by merciless Greylings, underground creatures, in spite of the miraculous intervention of a knight of the Twelve, Aldarin. Aldarin and Reed must travel to Arelium and announce baron Listus del Arelium of the threat. In order to get there in time, they need horses. Reed suggests obtaining them from his home village. Once there, they meet Nidore del Conte, who joins them to Arelium.
🛡️They are not blessed with an uneventful trip, as they meet the Greylings once more, when the creatures lead an attack on the silk trader daughter's caravan. Our heroes, luckily, manage to push them back.
After reaching their destination, it's only a matter of time before the Greylings surround Arelium and everything comes crashing down.
🛡️On the other hand, the book follows the path of Jelaia del Arelium, the Baron's daughter and heiress, while she is trying to understand the politics and intrigues of the court, while slowly falling in love with Praxis, Steward of Arelium, her father's right hand.
🛡️Who will win and who will lose the most? How will Aldarin and Reed protect the city? What is more important: friendship or duty? Whom to trust when the people you think you know best stab you in the back? And what kind of powers hide deep in Jelaia's blood? Read and see!! Really interesting stuff, and the ending... Oh wow. It is a cliffhanger!! I bet the second book is going to be epic.
Highlights:
A myriad of emotions flickered like stars in those deep blue irises: melancholy, sadness, anger, determination, and a shrewd intellect. When Aldarin looked at Reed, he felt his mind laid bare, his thoughts unhidden. It was both calming and unnerving, and not always easy to look away.
🏹Aladarin and Reed's friendship. I mean... How great must be to meet your legendary hero? Your role model? To see him appearing when all hope is lost, swiping the land clean of the enemy with the flow of his axe? I don't know if Reed afforded to give himself a moment of feeling impressed, as his friend's deaths had taken their toll on him, but he was, fortunately, gifted with plenty of time with the Knight. Their conversation were quite pleasant (even if Aldarin talks a bit... I don't even know how to put it, but he always speaks like he is not anchored in this world. And when he expresses feelings, he goes a teeny tiny bit over the top. I've asked myself about 3 or 4 times while reading who talks like that. He is uhm... unique. A very kind soul, though. And his strenght is incredible, his knowledge amazingly vast. Nothing to argue about that.) They don't have a lot of things in common, but you know what they say: the base for any sturdy friendship is a deep hatred for the same enemy (Is it really so?? What do you think?). For them, that's how it starts. And it is also the glue that keeps them together.
"The easiest way is rarely the best way, Son. It is through times of hardship and strife that we learn who we really are. And you stood firm when others have faltered. You brought people together when others would have driven them apart."
Another common trait is their loyalty. Both men of honor, they would do almost anything to keep each other safe. And they would fight until the very last breath.
🏹The battle scenes. Masterfully written. The gore, the fear, the strategies, the terrain, every slash of the blade, every crush of the bone, every death, each and every single thing about the war was on point.
🏹Treshers.I truly believe they brought depth to the darkness. To have an army of mindless short Greylings after you is one thing, but to know they have big, bad and tough bosses who keep them in formation and shape their hatred is a whole other thing. It makes them become deadlier and even more frightening. And I might be wrong, but I think that the hierarchy doesn't stop to Treshers. The worst is yet to be seen.
🏹Jeffson.Almost every Jeffson scene cracked me up. Hilarious.
"I see you are pushing the men hard, my Lord. I would perhaps suggest not exhausting them completely or all the enemy will need to do is step lightly over their slumbering bodies."
🏹THE SONG!! Ferris was such a great addiction to the plotline! His simplicity, his bravery and his spirit of sacrifice conquered my heart completely. And THE SONG!! HIS VOICE!! Jeffson's plan not only worked like a miracle, but it made the training seem easy and fun. In the darkest of times, people must hold onto every smile, every hope, every song. And that's exactly what they did.
Something I have learnt from my meagre few hours in command is to surround yourself with people you trust. I'm pretty much useless by myself, but give me Orkam, Ferris and Aldarin, and I can get things done.
🏹Jelaia's feelings for Praxis.
"I said no, my Lord."
"Now listen, steward," said the Baron, his voice low and dangerous. "Do not overstep yourself. It is not for you to decide what I can and cannot do. I am your liege lord. I am the lord of all men and women here! And I'll be damned to the Pit if I can't do what I want!"
🏹Praxis. Up until the final chapters, Praxis was my favorite character. From the first moment he was introduced, I was attracted to his aura of mistery and I rooted for him and Jelaia. Every single thing he spoke felt truly well-pondered and meaningful. He felt sincere. His wits and sarcasm made me admire him while giggling like a little girl. But I've always imagined him unsuited for the rage of war. So when he fought to protect the Baron's life, my jaw dropped. Could he get any perfect? Yeah, I should have known...
🏹The final hit. C'mon, don't tell me you saw that coming!! I am overly enthusiatic about that amazing turn of events!! I just love. love. LOVE. smart plot twists.
🏹Language. I am not a native english speaker but I've perfected my knowledge of this language in the last 15 years. So I find most books fairly easy to read. But this one... It was not hard, don't get me wrong, but I had to use the dictionary way more than usual. Which is a good thing! I've learned plenty of new words. The author is very skilled in worldbuilding and describing the background story.
Dislikes:
⚔️Aldarin's speech. Dialogue. As I was saying before, Aldarin speaks a bit unnatural. When it comes to feelings, a bit excesive, when it comes to regular talks, a bit... far away. And while the overall dialogue from the book had a very good pace and flow, at some points I felt bombarded with information. I think I would have prefered a lighter flow of information and a prolonged state of mystery. But that's allright, since there are so many things that we still don't know and that are just beginning to happen. I bet the second book will offer a ton of mystery to feed my need.
⚔️Do I know you?The characterizations were a bit limited. I understood every bit of the story and followed the characters through hell and gore, BUT now, as I find myself trying to remember them clearly, I realize that I can't do that. Why? Because I didn't get to really know them, to care for them, to suffer with them. They didn't grow in my eyes, they don't have dimensions. The only ones I truly empathised with are Reed and Aladarin. Maybe Lore and Nidore del Conte. Maybe Jelaia's mother, when she decided to help the wounded. Maybe Praxis. And Ferris. Actually, I think I might like Ferris the most. Small actions take the biggest place in my heart. Anyway, the point is I was not as invested in the story as I could be, because the character's pain doesn't feel very real or close to me. Maybe the depth will come throughout the series. Hope so.
"When I arrived at the keep, I thought I would find my father alone. But that was not the case. Verona was sitting here, holding his hand and telling him of our battle with the greylings in the forest, telling him she was proud of what I had done. She has done more for me and my family this night than the lords of Arelium have done in twenty years."
⚔️Nidore. This is not a real dislike, I guess. I don't dislike the way the writer portraied him, I just despise him. From the bottom of my heart. He is the absolute opposite of his father, that traitorous and foolish snake! Such a naive and manipulable young man, I can't believe how he fell for such pitiful lies. For almost half of the book he was miserable and full of burning anger. He doesn't deserve to enherit his father's title. And because of his blindness, he won't get it. Also, he won't get the true love he left everything for. He doomed himself to a life of suffering and I'm not very sad about it. (maybe he will have a great redemption story and I will be sorry for badmouthing him).
All in all, I think this book has all the required ingredients for the beginning of a great series. In spite of the small perks I found here and there, I got really invested in the story and felt sorry when it ended. And I think, at the end of the day, that's what really matters.
History is such a strange and malleable thing. What is believed by all to be an indisputable fact can be changed in an instant with the stroke of a pen.
Disclaimer: this is an ARC I've received in order to give my honest opinion on.
December 15, 2022
A good debut novel from Alex Robins. A fun story although it leans a bit too heavy on fantasy tropes. The characters are unfortunately very generic; you have the spoiled princess stepping up when the need arises, you have the likable soldier who climbs up the ranks, you have the honorable knight who is a straight arrow. I love these tropes but we have all seen these before, and it makes the story feel stale.
The world-building is okay but again it brings nothing really new to the table.
Romances arise through proximity and feel forced.
The characters are the stand-out of the book. Although stereotypical, their dialogue feels genuine.
Several 'plottwists' at the end come out of nowhere and don't feel quite earned.
For example, one character betrays another character, but this character saved this other character's life a few chapters before, so it doesn't quite make sense.
If you have read all of the above you must think I hated the book but despite its flaws I quite enjoyed this. I read the book in three days so it's a fast read. It packs a lot in just 300 pages.
It has a nice pace, great action, few dull moments and the writing improves greatly as the story progresses. I am interested in which way Alex takes this story next, so I am interersted to read book 2.
The world-building is okay but again it brings nothing really new to the table.
Romances arise through proximity and feel forced.
The characters are the stand-out of the book. Although stereotypical, their dialogue feels genuine.
Several 'plottwists' at the end come out of nowhere and don't feel quite earned.
For example, one character betrays another character, but this character saved this other character's life a few chapters before, so it doesn't quite make sense.
If you have read all of the above you must think I hated the book but despite its flaws I quite enjoyed this. I read the book in three days so it's a fast read. It packs a lot in just 300 pages.
It has a nice pace, great action, few dull moments and the writing improves greatly as the story progresses. I am interested in which way Alex takes this story next, so I am interersted to read book 2.
January 31, 2022
The Broken Heart of Arelium, Alex gave me a free copy in exchange for an honest review so here it goes.
I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting a paced really well. I also liked the unique antagonists and there were even a few twists that I did not see coming at all. The prose was also extremely good, I could imagine every scene vividly in my head as I went along.
The downside was that the prose sometimes got in the way of the story, I’ve seen other reviews that mentioned the injured noble describing a battle in extreme detail when supposed to be gravely injured and I agree that it got in the way a bit.
Overall though a very cool story and I’m really interested to see where we go from here.
Also a shout out to the narrator, as I listened to the book, his performance was very solid as well.
I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting a paced really well. I also liked the unique antagonists and there were even a few twists that I did not see coming at all. The prose was also extremely good, I could imagine every scene vividly in my head as I went along.
The downside was that the prose sometimes got in the way of the story, I’ve seen other reviews that mentioned the injured noble describing a battle in extreme detail when supposed to be gravely injured and I agree that it got in the way a bit.
Overall though a very cool story and I’m really interested to see where we go from here.
Also a shout out to the narrator, as I listened to the book, his performance was very solid as well.
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