We Break Immortals

The Advent Lumina Cycle #1

by Thomas Howard Riley

A drug addict who hunts sorcerers down by tracking their magick, the most renowned swordsman no one has ever heard of, and a thieving magick-wielding woman hellbent on revenge collide during a last ditch effort to stop an insane superhuman serial killer from making himself a god.
The wise run from them. Swords are useless against them. Only the fearless dare pursue them. Rogue Magick users are the most dangerous people in the world. When one of them finds a way to become luminous and break into the source of all magick, even their own kind will join the pursuit.
In a world where most people use swords for protection, Aren uses tools that let him see what no one else can see in order to hunt the deadliest people in the world. He is a Render Tracer, using loopholes that can undo magick to stop rogue sorcerers. But his next hunt will throw him into a world where he can't trust anything, not even his own eyes.
When Keluwen finally escaped her fourthparents' home and set out on her own to become a thief, she never thought she would one day be killing her own kind. She honed her magick on the streets, haunted by her past, hunted by Render Tracers, and feared by a society that hates what she is. Now she joins a crew of outcast magicians on a path of vengeance as they race to stop an insane sorcerer who is trying to make himself a god.
Corrin is a sword fighter first, a drinker second, and a...well, there must be something else he is good at. He'll think of it if you give him enough time. He is a rogue for hire, he is terrible at staying out of trouble, and someone always seems to be chasing him. When he gets caught up in a multi-kingdom manhunt, he finds himself having to care about other people for a change, and he's not happy about it.
They are about to collide on the trail of a man who is impossible to catch, who is on the verge of plunging the world into ruin, and who can turn loyal people into traitors in a single conversation. They must struggle against their own obsessions, their fears, ancient prophecies, and each other.
All they have to do is stop the unstoppable. Simple.

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Epic Fantasy, Magic

751 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2021

About the author

Thomas Howard Riley currently resides in the wasteland metropolis, where he reads ancient books, plays ancient games, watches ancient movies, jams on ancient guitars, and writes furiously day and night. He sometimes appears on clear nights when the moon is gibbous, and he has often been seen in the presence of cats.

He always wanted to make up his own worlds, tell his own stories, write his own history, create his own people, honor the truths of life, and explore both the light and the darkness of human nature. With a few swords thrown in for good measure.

And some magick. Awesome magick.

He can be found digitally at THOMASHOWARDRILEY.COM
On Twitter he is @ornithopteryx, where he is sometimes funny, always clever, and never mean.

Reviews

[P.L. Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We Break Immortals” is a book with a lot of buzz in the writing circles I travel in. It’s reputation? A masterpiece of worldbuilding, and a true tome, at nominally double the size of most epic fantasy books which already lean towards the voluminous. I had also heard that it read fast, despite its girth. I just had to see for myself what the hype was about, so onto the TBR it went. I was not disappointed at all by this first installment into author Thomas Howard Riley’s “Advent Lumina Cycle.” It was a fabulous book!

The story’s protagonists are a fascinating trio.

Drug-addicted Aren is a minor nobleman, and also what is known as a “glasseye”. Glasseyes are a combination of magic detectives and hunters, who use a monocle (hence the glasseye nickname) to assist them in tracking down rogue magic users. Aren is guilty about his dependency, mourning the death of a beloved mentor, and drowning his sorrows in women and the Malagayne he is addicted to. But he is intelligent - in fact he is more scholar than fighter – and has a streak of decency that shines through an otherwise complicated character.

Devil-may-care mercenary Coren is an expert swordsman, who is a killing machine, but only if the price is high enough. Coren has few loyalties, and is all about his next job, his next profit, his next courtesan, and his next drink. Fortunately for Aren, one of those few loyalties includes Coren’s friendship with the glasseye. Because Coren’s swagger and stab-first, ask-questions-later attitude is going to come in handy, as his friend faces overwhelming odds in his mission to track down the lunatic sorcerer.

Finally Kelumen is perhaps the most damaged of all three main characters. She is clever, passionate, and brave, but also obstinate, cantankerous, and frequently turns off and pushes away even those who care about her most. But she’s also quite skilled and powerful in the magic arts, and also determined to track down the same mad sorcerer who Aren has in his sights. She is just as obsessive as Aren to succeed, with the added incentive of protecting her dear friends and husband who will be part of the sorcerer hunt.

When the three storylines become confluent, things get explosive! What unites the three is their determination to hunt down the greatest threat to humankind the world has ever seen. But due to confusion, animosity and mistrust, will they kill each other first before they can unite to battle their common foe? And with the seemingly unbeatable powers of that foe, who will end up hunting who?

The three main characters were a complete hot mess and you will love them! Aren’s addiction, his obsessive desire to get the bad guy, his arrogance, being haunted by his past, combined with his prodigious mastery of the studies of magic, and its use, make him extremely interesting. He’s got a huge fear of failure, because he’s never failed in his previous assignments. Now he’s literally got the fate of the world on his shoulders, and despite his innate goodness and fortitude, he’s cracking at the seams just a bit.

Kelumen is perhaps the most damaged of the group. She too is a rogue magic user, but has joined a group hunting down other rogue magic users. She comes from a hard knocks background, is very acerbic, hot-headed, vengeful, and not always reasonable. She is only accepted initially by the group because she’s married to the group’s leader.

Roughish Coren is more of a caricature of your favourite rake who is great at fighting and clever enough to keep himself alive, with plenty of humour, charm, and panache. But he’s friendship and devotion to Aren brings out his best qualities, and he is not short on courage. The surrounding cast are also well-drawn, and the big baddie is appropriately terrifying. Overall, kudos to Riley on the vivid characters he has created.

When an author can combine exemplary character work with compelling themes, a book is already at a four star grade. But Riley exceeds this. The themes in this book were fantastic. Love, loss, grieving, torture, trauma, addiction, greed, suspicion, government sanctioned assassination, and more, there was plenty that was compelling about what Riley touches upon in the book.

This book is a lot darker than I initially realized, and as I continued to turn the pages, I was trying to classify it. Was it “grimdark”, or merely “dark”? Regardless, there are action scenes aplenty, some very disturbing ones included, and there are times things are quite frenetic, and there is plenty of blood spilled in gruesome ways. The results of the visceral battles, which include lots of magic being wielded, especially in the second half of the book, can be very heart-rending. Don’t get attached to any particular character, is my counsel, because Riley has no misgivings whatsoever to kill off darlings. If you want to have a great death scene as a character, ask Riley to write you in!

As noted in the latter stages of the book the action is virtually unabated. Riley can write great fight scenes, with huge stakes. Truly exhilarating!

I loved the lust, sex, and romance in the book, which was very intense, and extremely well done. The heat factor definitely added to the book for me in a good way!

Finally, break out the REAL superlatives! As I must give some very, very high praise here regarding the magic system. “We Break Immortals” simply has the most detailed, thorough, and most complete hard magic system I have EVER read thus far in a fantasy novel. The achievement here is gargantuan!

There is a comprehensive appendix specifically to explain the magic system, and it is needed! While my personal preference is definitely soft magic, I must bow to the imagination, intricacy and skill on display by the author in this regard. Wow!

In addition, the various realms, histories, and cultures, and oh boy those gorgeous maps of Riley’s world, and a great cover, make this the kind of epic fantasy that looks incredible on your shelf. I know this is an aesthetic thing that has nothing to do with the writing, but I can’t help gush about it.

Don’t be intimidated by the 1000 plus page-count! This book has plenty of moments where it reads like a sleek 300-pager as opposed to the absolute chonker that it is. Overall, it is very fast paced.

My only quibble is that at times the prose was a bit off for me at certain junctures of the book (mixing the more classic/formal style with slangs), but once more, personal preference seemingly is the issue, not the author’s writing. Overall the book is very well written, with some great humour, philosophical lines that will stay with you, and plenty of heart and poignancy.

“We Break Immortals” is a prodigious achievement, full of action, incredible magic, passion, and bloodshed! I am eager to see more of where Riley takes his “Advent Lumina Cycle”. Five bright stars!

[Jord MiddleofNowhere · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

We Break Immortals came to be on my TBR after hearing about the premise. It is a book with an absolute stellar history, which becomes very evident early on in the book. The world is spectacular, with more to discover with every page turn. The true strength to this huge book, is the magic. It is spectacular! It is explained in a detail that makes your mouth water and makes you want to try to use it.

This book is big, 1000 pages big. This in itself is not a bad thing, but I did find there were a few times that I had to force myself to get through a couple of parts. I personally did not connect with one of the viewpoint characters, leading to his story arch feeling unnecessary.

The book is a solid entry and I believe that this world is worth it. It is a big one to get through but the ending really made it worth the push to get to it. It will pull on emotions, thoughts, and everything in between.

Thanks for reading my review and I wish you nothing but the best!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/12...

Thomas and I connected via Twitter. I believe we both discovered we listen to the same kind of music when we write. We started sharing songs with each other and it went from there. When I realized he was starting to prepare a book for publication, I became interested in him not just as a fellow music listener, but as an author as well. I was really excited to read this book. He offered me an ARC and I nabbed it.

So, here we are.

Riley throws readers into the deep end and trusts them to find their way through to the other side. I was a bit overwhelmed at first by all the names and characters thrown at me, but soon all the dust settled and I started knowing who was who. I could identify them and put them in place within the story he’s created. There was a certain “ah ha” moment regarding his characters. They all started to slot in place and knowing who they were in turn made the world and the story itself feel a bit more intimate somehow, probably because everyone had a name and everyone mattered and was given time.

One of the things I admire most about We Break Immortals is the worldbuilding. I was constantly in awe of just how much thought Riley put into his world, with every detail put carefully in place. The author has a knack for explaining the strange and wonderful, and it left me with a sense of wonder and awe in a few places. I could feel Riley’s excitement for his world, for the story he’s set into it. The book itself is layered with darkness and depth, but the world balances that out with all its rich details, its color and vibrancy, and the enthusiasm that bled into each page.

The care and attention Riley has put into his world also infuses his characters. Characters tend to be my big bugaboo. I really like a book that lets me sink deep into the psyches of the people I’m reading about, and this is one where I was pleasantly surprised. One of the biggest reasons I didn’t mind the (potentially) confusing amount of characters at the start of the book was because I was pretty enchanted by how quickly I learned that Riley’s attention for detail and enthusiasm for the story he’s telling infused his characters as well, even is side characters. Everyone is given time and space. They are not two-dimensional, but rather real and unique. They matter, and that, in turn, makes the story matter.

Aren, Keluwen, and Corrin are the three primary characters in this novel. On first glance, they are a misfit group. Aren is a drug addict with a host of mysterious skills. Keluwen is a mage hellbent on revenge. Corrin is a sword fighter who has a really powerful sense of loyalty and morality towards those he considers his own. He felt like the moral core of the group, keeping Keluwen and Aren fairly balanced (though that’s not always easy, nor is it always a given he’ll be successful in that particular venture.) Their differences ended up being both their strength and their weakness. Riley played them off each other quite well, using some moments to strengthen bonds, and others to show the tug-of-war that can often come with relationships in any form. I was quite impressed with how easy it was for me to tell each of them apart. They all had truly unique voices and temperaments, and very different ways of seeing and interacting with the world.

Ultimately, that sort of nuance is found throughout the book, and it was an extremely effective way for the author to use his unique characters, his attention to detail, to make not only his world shine, but his plot as well. I felt very invested in this book, and I cared deeply for the characters I was reading about. I will admit, Aren was probably my favorite, but I have always loved those characters that are at war with themselves just as much as they are at war with the world around them. He’s a flawed, emotional power punch that hit me right where it counts. That being said, Riley was smart with the characters he chose as the vehicle through which the story is told. They all balance each other out so well, and while its not always smooth sailing, nor is it easy, they kept the book from ever feeling slow, or like there were any huge lulls in the forward momentum. Their steady stream of banter also lifted the book, keeping it from ever feeling too overwhelmingly serious.

The magic (magick) system is really interesting, though it took me a little while to really understand what was happening. Like the names and characters at the start of the book, this might take some time to really grasp and sink into, but once you do, the payoff is huge. Magick essentially leaves behind tracers, which can be seen by certain people, using certain tools. Each trace holds certain elements of its users, kind of like a signature, which allows rogue magick users to be tracked. Aren fits that role in this book. I think there were some infodumps surrounding the magic system, but I also think the payoff for this unique system was large enough to overlook most of that.

The plot itself really moves along at a quick pace. There’s an insane serial killer hellbent on making himself a god, and these people have to stop that from happening. That’s pretty interesting, right? Riley has a knack for pacing, for knowing when to lean into moments, up the tension, powerplay emotions, and layer in clues like breadcrumbs all while keeping the book moving forward, ever forward. It’s a good-sized book, too, and I breezed through it really quickly. It didn’t feel long, and that says a lot right there. There are a lot of moments where Riley doesn’t have to use physical battles to make the reader feel like there’s a battle going on. Some of the quietest moments in the book, were the most tension filled.

So, where does this leave us?

You may or may not struggle a bit with the beginning, but the payoff is well worth it. We Break Immortals was a stunning debut. Riley manages to strike the balance between darkness and light perfectly. Stunning worldbuilding, wry humor, characters that play off each other well, and an unapologetic plot that refuses to quit, this book was an absolute delight from cover to cover.

[Maja]

DNF at page 535 (51%)

It was just too many stuff not working for me.

The plot, while at times interesting, dragged alot. The book should have been way shorter than it was. Tons of world-building and exposition was done in dialogue between characters, making it very clunky. The dialogue also didn't flow very smoothly. A lot of events that happens feel very hard to believe like Eriana randomly showing up. The POV characers weren't likeable. Corrin felt like a comic-relief character, Keluwen was angry all the time, and Aren's only usefulness was being a walking encyclopedia.

[Blaise · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://undertheradarsffbooks.com/202...

I recieved an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. I am honored to be taking part in the Escapist book tours as they recommending newer authors to the wider viewership. We Break Immortals is a monumental endeavor on the part of Thomas Howard Riley and many months (probably years) in the making. The story starts out with a murder to obtain power but quickly evolves to be the very epic we have grown to expect in the genre today. This being the authors debut novel has me still shacking in my boots as for what is to come!

Through out the book we follow three primary characters with a little twist at the end of several chapters but more on that later. Aren is hunter a of magic users with the pension for indulging in drugs to numb his pain. As a Render Tracker, Aren is able to use his abilities to render the sorcerers from using their source of magik in order to apprehend them but even that is not a small task. After his endeavors, Aren is tasked by the Lord Protector to hunt down a powerful magick user but this will drive Aren to the edge in more ways than one. Keluwen is in fact one such magick user who grew up on the streets and had to learn her skills without any help. When she discovers that the murder victim is someone she knows, Keluwen joins a group of outcast magicians on the hunt for a mad sorcerer trying to make himself immortal. Corrin is a sword master and a rogue for hire. There is never enough weapons for Corrin to add to his collection as he cares for for them then the people around him. Corrin will embark on a manhunt across multiple kingdoms and it will test everything Corrin holds dear making him choose between the person he is and the person he is destined to become. All three of these story lines will converge and all I can say to that effect is get your popcorn ready and it will be entertaining encounters to say the least.

The worldbuilding in We Break Immortals is grand and very ambitious but the real shining star are the characters. Thomas will get you into these characters heads very early and you will feel their troubles, fears, motivations, and worst secrets. Aren was my favorite character to read and some of the choices he makes will stick with you for a while. The opening few chapters you will get a lot of information thrown at you but it will set up the rest of the story and I picked it up in no time. With this being a 700 page doorstop, there will be plenty of juicy plot and story for every kind of reader to enjoy. Be warned that this story has plenty of blood, gore, and disturbing scenes and you can put it right on the edge of a grimdark novel but it never crosses that barrier. The writing isn’t the smoothest I have ever read because of the details the reader needs at the beginning, but Thomas finds his stride by the half way point and it is smooth sailing towards the end (writing style wise).

To sum it all up, this is a triumph for debut author Thomas Howard Riley! The care for his characters, magic system, worldbuilding, and attention to detail is like he wrote a manuscript for other authors to follow. If this is what he was able to produce for book 1, I can’t imagine how this can be topped but I have been wrong before. Fingers crossed I am once again!

Cheers!

[S. Bavey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a digital arc given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Thomas!

We Break Immortals is a dark epic fantasy with a very large cast of characters, which made things confusing in the beginning. Once I got oriented, however, it was a highly enjoyable read with a very detailed and carefully explained magic (or magick) system.

Magick use results in traces or threads being left behind. They can be seen by a particular type of detective or Render Tracer, known as a ‘glasseye’ using a piece of equipment called a ‘Jecker Monocle’. It took a few instances of this happening for me to really understand what was going on but once I did I thought it was a fantastically imaginative system. Having these methods of tracing a rogue magick user explained in scientific detail by one of the main characters, Aren, who is a glasseye, really helped make it clear. Each trace holds elements of its user which allows him to be identified and his location pinpointed. It is a fantasy technique which is similar to modern day forensics and fingerprinting techniques:

““Residuals,” he finally managed. “The leftover traces of altered reality. Afterglow.”
“The bending of light?”
“That’s only a part of it,” he said. “When you first step into a fresh scene, that is only what you look for at the start, to confirm the presence of recent magick. Visible cues—steam, light-bending, tunnel vision, vapor trails, and sometimes even aural afterglow that can be seen by the naked eye.””

In addition to his Jecker monocle, Aren has another specialized tool of the trade – an Oscillatrix. This is a piece of equipment which spins in the presence of afterglow, alerting the glasseye to the fact that magick has been recently used.

Aren is a complex character. In addition to being a glasseye, he is a drug addict; a user of Malagayne which dulls his senses. At the beginning of the story he misses his recently dead mentor Sarker, but there is no time for him to really mourn if he is to catch the powerful sorcerer he is tracking. He is relentless and determined in following his traces. Aren was written very cleverly with his attempts to hide his sly use of the Malagayne and his associated guilty conscience. He is also a knowledgeable historian which comes in very useful in the second half of the book, when he joins forces with Redevir as a treasure hunter searching for the mythical artifacts known as the Sephors. This scavenger hunt with its riddle-like clues was highly entertaining.

Another of the main characters is Keluwen. She was my favourite – a feisty magick user set on revenge. She has a brutal, sarcastic wit that doesn’t pull any punches. She is married to her crew’s leader, Orrinas, but will not stand for him calling her wife or for being treated any less importantly than any of the other crew members. It so happens that Keluwen and her crew are chasing the same bad guy as Aren. At one point she takes part in a honey trap situation to attempt to capture him and has to act as a young girl, which is his preference. There follows an amazing sequence where nine bad guys have their shoes stuck to the floor using friction magick. They are then contained in a cube of darkness with pressure compressing their bodies – but the powerful black-eyed man still manages to escape. Keluwen is understandably terrified and very brave in what could have easily turned into a nightmare scenario.

The third main character is the “sword fighter of ineffable talent”, Corrin the Magnificent. He is a roguish hero, but has a moral compass when it comes to saving his people, or children, and is full of bravery and derring-do. He is also incredibly hard to kill and has an almost sixth sense which tells him when danger is on the cards. Although he loves the pleasures of life, he is able to prioritize whenever there is a need to fight or flee.

There are some really imaginative worldbuilding ideas in this book. One of my favourites was a scene where Keluwen, Orrinas and the rest of their team travel by bubble over a mountain pass to avoid the hostile troops on the ground. What a fantastic idea:

“Orrinas rendered his sphere around his group. It had been half a lifetime since she had been inside a totally sealed blank sphere. The sound of the outside world vanished. She could hear her own heartbeat, in her ears. She felt dizzy in the silence. It made it worse that she could not see the sphere at all. There was no shine or reflection as if it was glass. It was a purely invisible barrier.”

The author also has a well-honed talent for describing the weird and wonderful side characters peppered throughout his story, always with a dose of wry humour:

“A wiry old man appeared in the hallway opposite them. His face was drooped and shrunken with age, the skin of his forehead tightly wrinkled like a desiccated fruit. A wispy white beard brushed against his chest. He wore an ancient aba robe, faded by decades of wearing, pale blue, as thin as a single hair.”

Building tension is another of Riley’s skills. There are many scenes where the tension increases masterfully as the crew are being chased, or driven into battle, or simply know they will be in the vicinity of magick users who could kill them with a thought. Many of these scenes had me on the edge of my seat. There is also a wealth of sexual tension building up between Aren and the princess Eriana throughout their journey to find the Sephors. Will they? Won’t they? I’m not going to tell…

All in all, We Break Immortals is a fabulous, fast-paced debut novel with a lot to love. Endearing characters you can become invested in, exciting fight scenes, well-described scenery you can easily visualise, magick users, detective work, riddles, a touch of romance, an evil villain – what more could you ask for? A sequel, that’s what!

I recommend this book to all readers of dark epic fantasy who are not squeamish or faint-hearted! Be warned if you are not a fan of bloodshed, crudeness or lewdness as there is a fair amount of killing and lusty behaviour. I can’t wait to see where Thomas Howard Riley takes us next!

[Douglas Lumsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action-Adventure on an Epic Scale!

Quite simply, We Break Immortals is one of the most awesome action-adventure stories I've ever read. Let's start with a quick rundown of the premise:

Aren is a render tracer, which means that he hunts down unlicensed rogue magic users, sedates them, and turns them over to the authorities for sentencing (usually execution). He's a young prodigy who has never failed, largely because he HATES rogue magic users WITH A PASSION! He's confident to the point of arrogance, emotionally stunted by childhood tragedies, a pretty nice guy once you get to know him, and, just for good measure, he's a drug addict. He's received his biggest assignment to date: tracking down and stopping an extremely powerful and dangerous magic user called Kinraigan, who is on the verge of becoming a god (and we're not talking about the merciful kind).

Keluwen is a rogue magic user. She is young, headstrong, and, if we're being honest, pretty much a brat (but you'll like her by the end). She HATES render tracers WITH A PASSION! She's after Kinraigan, too, because maniacal users like him are the reason render tracers have it in for harmless (more or less) rogue users like her. She is prone to jumping into the action without thinking, and she is equally prone to jumping to a lot of erroneous conclusions. She believes, wrongly, that Aren is Kinraigan's tool. Aren, for his part, will come to the equally wrong conclusion that Keluwen is Kinraigan's tool.

You can see where this is headed, but there are plenty of surprises along the way, and it's not going to go quite the way you think it will. It's better than that.

In addition to Aren and Keluwen, readers of We Break Immortals are faced with a cast of what seems like thousands, and they all have names and backstories. Many of them die during the course of the story. (Given what they all go through, it's a wonder that any of them make it out alive.) We also get continual history lessons of the intriguing world of WBI, mainly because Aren is the world's most dedicated history student (as a former history teacher, let me just say that I admired his encyclopedic knowledge of the world he lived in). Fans of magic systems will love this book for its incredible and elaborate magic system. The amount of detail in this book can be overwhelming; after reading the first four chapters, I had to go back and reread them from the beginning in order to get myself properly oriented. It was worth the trouble, though, and once I got my bearings I sailed through the rest of the book with no further difficulties.

Halfway through this story, the pace picks up and the action becomes relentless. We're talking chases, brawls, battles, and chaotic mayhem that grabs you by the... err... throat--and NEVER LET'S GO! There's a blades-and-magic battle scene near the end of the book that might be the most action-packed battle scene I've ever read (and I've read Lord of the Rings more than 20 times). And it's only after that scene that we get the big climactic conflict, which is at least equally awesome. After these two passages, all you can do is close your eyes and breathe until your heartbeat returns to something approaching normal. It's an exhilarating ride, to be sure!

There lots of other stuff here, too: romance, comedy, a mysterious kid, swashbuckling... which reminds me that I haven't even mentioned my FAVORITE CHARACTER in the story, the irrepressible Corrin the Magnificent, an admittedly tropish swordsman who is always armed to point of absurdity (how he manages not to clank when he walks is a mystery). He might be the least believable character in the story, but he nonetheless fits right in, and he's an absolute delight.

It's a good thing I'm retired, because We Break Immortals is the kind of immersive story that will prevent you from going to work until you've finished it. Given the book's length, it might keep you home long enough to get you fired. It was an absolute joy to read, and I'm all over the follow-up as soon as it comes out.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book which if I could give it more stars then I would! What a fantastic read this has been, an epic story awaits you with some brilliant characters and an interesting magic system as well. A full review will be on my blog but one of the stand out points has to be the world building - you get an incredible sense of the history of the world, different cultures and languages it was amazing! Easily one of the standout books of the year for me!

[E.G. Radcliff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up late to finish this cat-squasher of a book, having been sucked into the plot more and more as the story unfolded.

This book is an impressive achievement of world building and character development and includes well-researched and gripping battle scenes, described with intensive ferocity and detail—parry by parry, lunge for lunge, render by render—featuring a range of weapons and tactics. There is much blood and destruction to be had. Among the weapons deployed are magick streams rendered by ‘users’ (characters possessing magick abilities). The familiar theme of magick users being hunted and destroyed by the governing regime is key in this story, and provides the backdrop for intense chase and hunt scenes (think Jason Bourne combined with DaVinci Code), in which the hunter himself is hunted.

Riley has developed a unique and complex magick system and takes pains to make sure the reader understands its power and range. His characters exist in and travel through a detailed world of interesting place names with important histories. One could feel overwhelmed by the complexity of this world, but take a moment to consult the gorgeous map that accompanies the book to get a lay of the land, or the glossary at the end of the book which explains the components of the magick system.

Favorite characters?
Our young hero Aren is an easy pick. Ambitious, driven, confident yet self-doubting, idealistic—perhaps a touch naïve but easily forgiven and well-loved by his devoted friends. Undeniably good enough at what he does (hunting users) to be despised by his enemies. Another favorite of mine was Corrin (the ‘magnificent’!), whom I took to calling InCorrigible. He reminded me a little of Bronn in Game of Thrones, a snarky yet talented fighter with 9 lives, whose only scruples are his loyalty to friends Aren and Reidos, and a soft spot for protecting a lost boy. It took time for me to love the hot-headed and damaged Keluwen, who hides her vulnerabilities under mountains of anger—but I grew to love her loyalty and insane courage, fighting as she did to complete depletion for what she believed in and who she loved.

This is a most worthy read for lovers of classic epic fantasy.

[TonyAntSonWil · Rating 3 out of 5]

We Break Immortals has been on my TBR for quite some time and when my suggestion of the May 2022 buddy read on the SFF Oasis was approved, I was excited to finally start this absolute mammoth book. It really is a chunky monkey of a debut.


Being brutally honest with you, We Break Immortals started off for me quite poorly. That's not to say it's poorly written because Mr Riley can write and clearly write well no doubt about that, it's just for me there were far too many characters (with very unique names), Name, name, name and more names too soon, it just seemed to overshadow the beginnings of a book. I like to draw myself into a book from the start and struggled with this one to do that. I just felt a little overwhelmed which put me off fully investing. Plus coupled with the fact that there is so much history ( like a hell of a lot) in this book, that It is quite unbearable at times and in fairness is not needed for the overall story and seems to just be there to bulk out the book.

However all being said, once I managed to get through 200 plus pages (yes, sorry that's how long it takes to get into) it started to pick up for me massively and I started to fully enjoy the book. The action scenes are brutal and highly detailed, the emotions of the characters are deep and resonate with the whole feel of the book. There are crude sentences and beautifully written sentences throughout which I enjoyed on equal parts. One thing I found absolutely spectacular with this book and the author, is the world building is phenomenal, epic and rich, hats of here. 

Overall this was a slow burner and a battle to get through at the start for me and almost had me DNFing (would have given 2 stars) However, through chatting with fellow bookworms on the discord and Twitter, I persevered and very happy that I did so because I got to enjoy a rich world and characters who in the end I was invested in. 

Would definitely read the next one but not at the behest of others on my TBR.

[ShannaBanana✨]

Dnf. I just couldn’t get into the characters or the story.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas Howard Riley knocked it out of the park with this novel. We Break Immortals is such a complex, brutal, and mysterious story. Thank you Thomas for putting a magic system appendix in the back of this book otherwise I would be entirely lost. I mean I am still a little lost when it comes to the magic system, but that did not deter my experience with this book.

We Break Immortals is a story that follows many POVs but primarily Aren, Corrin, and Keluwen. They are the drivers of their story and I enjoyed each of them for different reasons. Aren is your level headed, closed off detective, Keluwen is the criminal thief who doesn't really listen to those around her, especially when she is angry. Then there is Corrin, the mercenary for hire who at his point in life is concerned about booze, woman, and vice versa, definitely the comedic relief. All of their stories revolve around trying to stop the Luminous One, a savage killer trying to become a Sanadi or God. This was a well balanced mystery, action adventure story and Thomas' writing style was so easy to fall into. I would say, without a doubt, my favorite part of this book was how Thomas executed Act Three or maybe even Four of this book. The climax was high stakes, brutal, rewarding, satisfying, all in one.

The indie authors are really bringing the heat. I have only read a couple duds, but the rest of them have either blown me away or satisfied me enough to want to come back for more. We Break Immortals can read as a stand alone. However, Thomas does enough to setup book two in the Advent Lumina Cycle. If you loved this as much as I did then you want more books in this world and I cannot wait to see what Thomas does in this series next.

[FantasyBookNerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Break Immortals is one of those books that I have had on my radar many months prior to it being released, and when a tour was being organised to showcase this book, I was compelled to join to discuss this book’s awesomeness.
Let’s get this out of the way in the first instance. This book is a chonker! Not only in page size, but the amount of material that is in there. Thomas H. Riley simply does not hold anything back and at first the book is an assault on your senses as you are plunged into the narrative.
In all honesty, I don’t think I was quite prepared for how much stuff is there! How intricately detailed every part of the book is!
The only way to approach this book, is to regard it as a plunge pool because as an author, Thomas Riley does not take the gentle and soft approach of leading you up to the water, dipping your toe in to test the temperature, have a little paddle and then immerse yourself in the relaxing waters of the story. No, he prefers the much more direct approach of sneaking up behind you whilst you are carefully contemplating if this is going to sting, placing a foot on your arse and shoving you in!
The story is set around three primary protagonists Aren, Keluwen and Corrin as they try to stop a deranged wizard in his quest to become a god. However, the main characters are quite a flawed bunch that have their own problems. Aren, a magical sniffer dog called a Glasseye, is addicted to a substance called Malagayne (which I likened to some kind of opioid). Keluwen, a magick user who is only concerned with her own vengeance and has very few personal limitations (such as instigating a ruse in which she appeals to the less than savoury predilections of the person they are trying to catch at one point) in how she gets that vengeance. And finally, Corrin, whose way of coping with the world is to soak it thoroughly in a steady stream of alcohol (I mean his theme song would be Streams of Whiskey by the Pogues).
Riley does a masterful job of letting each of his characters shine in their own ways. In all honesty, I found that I did not ally myself with a particular character, which normally tends to happen in multi POV stories, but was equally fascinated to see each of the protagonists and how they interplayed with the story.
The book itself is layered with intricate and complex detail, which I have to be quite honest, can be a little overwhelming at times. Especially at the beginning. I did spend a bit of time contemplating what the heck was going on and how this impacted the story. And in addition to that, it took me a little while to attach myself to the characters. There is an almost anthropological amount of detail in the first portion of the book in which Thomas Riley gives to the world building, and I think that those used to such tomes as Malazan would find this on a level. However, for me what Thomas Riley excels at is his ability to write tension fuelled plot, which becomes more apparent when you have trod on the sands of initial world building and character introduction.
Like I said earlier, it did take a while to get orientated to the story and this challenged my investment initially. Not that I wanted to pack it in or anything like that, it’s just when you are a little bit challenged, it seems a little like hard work at first (and me and hard work like to nod at each other in recognition but stay the hell away from each other if I can help it!). However, on this occasion I decided to at least shake hands and was thoroughly rewarded, especially later in the book where I surprisingly found myself galloping through the book with the wind ruffling my prized hair follicle.
One of the things that I forgot to mention is that there is a sense of wry wit throughout the story, and it is peppered with sly bits of humour that had me smirking throughout.
I think one of the things that shines through the story is how much Thomas Riley loves the fantasy genre as a whole, you can see the influence that various authors have had on him and how he has translated this love of the genre to his own interpretation to create something quite unique.
Now before you go! And I am sure that you have far more urgent things to do than listen to me rabbiting on about stuff, there is one final point I want to make – That Cover!
Do I need to say anymore?
Good! I think we are on the same page then 😊

[Tabitha Tomala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: We Break Immortals

Thank you to Thomas Howard Riley and Escapist Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book! I voluntarily leave this review!

Aren hunts down rogue magick users to send to the fires and chases away his disturbing thoughts with a pinch of malagayne. Corrin is a skilled swordsman who could care less what he’s hired for as long as there's money in it for him. Keluwen is a user with a grudge and the means to murder. Somehow, along with their companions, the three will find their stories intertwine in order to hunt down a luminous user. A user unafraid to turn friend against friend and slaughter innocents to gain more power.

We Break Immortals brings readers into a highly detailed fantasy world. Bits and pieces are revealed through storytelling and Aren’s fascination with history. Mixed in along the way are discussions on myths and poetry. And let’s not forget the variety of cities and cultures readers will experience. I loved viewing the world through multiple characters’ eyes because they held such a wide variety of opinions. Their cultural backgrounds and experiences brought to light how differently the world can be viewed based on what a person has endured in life.

Sometimes the amount of worldbuilding delivered through dialogue was a bit much and I had to take a moment to absorb the information. Secondary characters and settings drifted out of scenes as dialogue commenced and the balance of characters and setting tipped. However, with the amount of worldbuilding taking place within We Break Immortals, I can understand the necessity for so much information.

Thomas Howard Riley is one of those authors that will lead you down one plotline and suddenly turn it inside out. The main goals of the characters will shift and change, ensuring you will always be kept on your toes. There will be revelations and betrayals, quick escapes, and devastating moments. And all the while the characters will be just as stricken as the readers, struggling to realign themselves with their new situations. With each new obstacle thrown into the characters’ paths, readers will find themselves all the more captivated.

I was also amused by the clever writing style. Two of the main characters forge forward with misconceptions about each other’s intentions. This provided wonderful conflict and when the two finally met, the ensuing dialogue was brilliant. While the reader knows the true intentions and alliances, the characters have them completely backward. I have never read a book before that executed such a feat between two characters. I needed to know how the situation would resolve it, if at all.

And I cannot end this review without mentioning the magick system. We Break Immortals has a complex system, and it does take a little while to comprehend. I’m one of those readers who may not fully grasp a concept until I see it in action multiple times. And not only do readers have the chance to see a variety of ways magick is used, but they will also discover that there are ways in which magick users can be tracked. Aren is a Render Tracer and specializes in finding the leftover threads of magick and hunting down rogue users.

Stepping into the world of We Break Immortals ensures readers will be engaged in a gripping story. The characters are delightfully flawed, struggling against not only their inner demons but the external forces working against them. The world-building is in-depth and the magick system is complex. Fans of high fantasy and epic fantasy novels will enjoy this book.

[Isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of the idea of this book but the execution didn’t quite work for me. There were several characters that I either didn’t like very much or didn’t enjoy the way they were written. The character that seems to be the most important throughout much of the book I would say I just didn’t find very believable. There also were a couple of events that seemed… very convenient? Not sure convenient is the word. Though there is some of that too. Unexplainable maybe. Or unexplained at least and not in a way that works for me. The creativity though I think is great. The magic system is cool and I like the different cultures and stuff. The author shows that he can think up some complicated concepts and keep track of them all, though here and there it did get a little bit tedious for me personally.

[Major Havoc · Rating 4 out of 5]

WE BREAK IMMORTALS is a very solid and compelling fantasy adventure in a fully fleshed out, living, breathing world, with a magic system that borders on science fiction, and a variety of interesting and engaging characters. It is a bit of a challenge at first as the world is thrown at you in every conceivable way, but as things start to make sense, the story gets rolling and never slows down. There are quite a few info dumps and system explanations, but they are cleverly incorporated into the tale and seldom slow down the action. It does seem as though some of the characters just sort of pop in from out of nowhere and become central to the plot, but that’s a small gripe in an otherwise well written tale. I look forward to Advent Lumina 2!

[Seanchalant · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[James Harwood-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a ride!

A insane sorcerer sets his path on becoming a god. Fortunately there are those ready to stop this from happening. A drug addict, a drinker & thief who carry a variety of other skills begin their hunt! Full of incredible action, wonderful characters & sly humour!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted as my tour stop for the book tour organized by Escapist Book Tours

I first learned about We Break Immortals online, as I crossed paths with and befriended the author on Twitter. Then, I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to do a map reveal and then participate in the cover reveal over the summer. All this to say that I have been waiting to read this book for quite a while now! As you can imagine, I was so excited to have the opportunity to tour We Break Immortals because it gave me even more of an excuse to move it directly to the top of my TBR.

Aren spoke the words that had been so ingrained in him. “There are only three precepts we go by here. You are not a god. No one is immortal. And no one ever gets away.”

We Break Immortals drops you right in the thick of things, proving once more that prologues are great, and it does so without holding your hand. Riley is great at leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow, never spelling things out entirely, but instead expecting you to make your own conclusions about the story that is being told. In my opinion, this is a feature not a bug! However, I know that it is a style of writing that won’t be for every reader. The book is dense at times, with loads of fantastic worldbuilding scattered throughout the text. Every revelation is an opportunity to learn something new about the world and how it works and, for me, this is the perfect type of storytelling. In real life, no one sits and learns everything at once before walking through the rest of their life simply knowing things — you learn as you go and when you find something that piques your interest, you hope to learn more about it later on. We Break Immortals is exactly like that. It’s the classic carrot on a string. Speaking of worldbuilding, Riley has created one of the most impressive magic(k) systems that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading about. It’s complex, mysterious, and sometimes downright terrifying in its potential. It’s a power that is used to devastating effect, with magick users being capable of wholesale slaughter.

In order to keep the users in check, the governments of the world employ Render Tracers, an elite group of investigators who, through expensive tools and complicated equations, are able to study and catalogue traces of magick from a crime scene to put to use in hunting down rogue users and bringing them to justice. The first of our main characters, Aren, is one such “fantasy CSI”, a young man who has made a speedy rise to the top of the Render Tracer Corps. He’s studious, committed to his cause, obsessed with history (we get a whole lot of great worldbuilding directly from his mouth), and a drug addict. Keluwen, being a rogue magick user herself, is everything Aren hates. Yet, despite being diametrically opposed, they’re ultimately working toward the same goal, to hunt and kill the bad guys. Our third MC, Corrin, is a foul-mouthed sword fighter full of braggadocio with a heart of gold. He’s the swaggering, hired muscle in the corner with one too many swords strapped to his back. He thinks he the coolest in the room and, well, he usually is. All three of the main characters we follow feel like real people with pasts, flaws, and goals. Really, that even extends to the rest of the cast, which is expansive, with tons of named characters. Even a character that only appeared in the prologue was so well realized that he ended up being one of my favorites (of many). There are so many amazing characters who all have their time in the spotlight, Hayles and Fainen, Eriana, Reidos, and Orrinas to name a small few are wonderful side characters (if you can justify calling such well developed characters that).

“There is no such thing as a chosen one. You are living in a fantasy, where you use a prophecy to try to make sense of your life. I have traced madmen before. You are no different.”

One of my favorite things in big, epic fantasies are convergences, that moment when all of the separate storylines meet and join into one big tapestry, and We Break Immortals has one of the most satisfying that I’ve read in recent memory. Riley weaved the individual threads of the story so cleverly that I only realize in hindsight that we were heading toward the conclusion all along. It’s truly masterful writing on display, with things that are only vaguely mentioned becoming vastly more important later in the story. The stakes are immense, with the whole of creation being threatened, yet the story stays grounded by focusing on the actions of and the resulting emotional journeys that the characters are taken on.The only other writer that comes to mind with this sort of breadth of skill with plotting, worldbuilding, and characterization is Steven Erickson. I know it’s gauche to mention Malazan these days, but it would be difficult to make any type of argument against Erickson’s skill with a pen. The only real issue I can raise is the density, which is, perhaps, the greatest barrier to entry with both of these works. With a magic system as complex and a world as vast as this one is, there is a fair amount of info dumping, but it’s handled brilliantly and never seems out of place. As with Malazan, some of We Break Immortals‘ greatest strengths are also reasons why it may not work for you.

As a side note, We Break Immortals also contains some of the most beautiful language I’ve ever read. I can’t tell you how many times I stopped my wife in the middle of what she was doing to read her passages from the book. Truly another testament to Riley’s skill with a pen. Or a keyboard, depending on his medium of choice.

We Break Immortals is the first book I have reviewed for 2022 and it has set the bar extremely high! Riley displays some of the most impressive worldbuilding and character work that I have ever seen. The amount of worldbuilding that is just casually littered throughout the book is staggering, yet it feels like there’s so much more to learn. It’s truly a testament to Riley’s skill and it serves to make the world really feel lived in. It’s not just a backdrop for the story to take place, but an active participant in the telling. The characters, in turn, come across as even more authentic because of it. They’ve lived and it shows. It may be a little challenging for some readers to wade through the relative density of the first bit while they’re getting used to the world and its characters, but there will come a point where it gets its hooks in you and simply refuses to let go. My only advice is to sit back and enjoy the ride as you head toward an explosive conclusion at what can only be described as a breakneck speed.

“He thinks he is immortal,” Aren said. “Fine. Let him think he is immortal. We break immortals. He wants to be a god? You and I, we break gods. Do you understand?”

She smiled. “We break immortals.”

You can read this review and many more on FanFiAddict!

[Miggins (Hobbit Hole Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

TLDR: An absolutely stunning debut, chock full of magic, world building and history, lost treasure, cults, betrayals, brutal deaths, action, heart, oh and magic bubbles! This may end up being my favourite book of 2022 and by FAR the best debut I have ever read. Be warned, it can be utterly brutal and graphic, occasionally verging on horror, however this is balanced with humour and lighter fantasy elements so it will appeal to fans of both classic epic fantasy and the more modern grimdark style. Whilst at times the complexity and ambition of the magic system and plot overshadowed the stellar writing, it never detracted from what is a stunning piece of work sure to become a seminal series when it gets the exposure it so clearly deserves. Traditional publishing has been robbed!

4.85/5

********
A drug addict who hunts sorcerers down by tracking their magick, the most renowned swordsman no one has ever heard of, and a thieving magick-wielding woman hellbent on revenge collide during a last ditch effort to stop an insane superhuman serial killer from making himself a god.

The Render Tracers always say magick users deserve to burn. Aren couldn’t agree more, Keluwen would beg to differ, and Corrin couldn’t care less either way.

In a world where most people use swords for protection, Aren uses tools that let him see what no one else can see, and he takes advantage of loopholes that can undo magick in order to stop the deadliest people in the world. He is a Render Tracer, relentlessly pursuing rogue sorcerers who bend the laws of physics to steal, assault, and kill. But his next hunt will lead him to question his entire life, plunging him into a world where he can’t trust anyone, not even his own eyes.

When Keluwen finally escaped her fourthparents’ home and set out on her own to become a thief, she never thought she would one day be killing her own kind. She honed her magick on the streets, haunted by her past, hunted by Render Tracers, and feared by a society that hates what she is. Now she joins a crew of outcast magicians on a path of vengeance as they race to stop an insane sorcerer who has unlocked the source of all magick and is trying to use it to make himself a god.

Corrin is a sword fighter first, a drinker second, and a...well, there must be something else he is good at. He'll think of it if you give him enough time. He is a rogue for hire, and he has no special powers of any kind. The most magick he has ever done is piss into the wind without getting any on himself. He is terrible at staying out of trouble, and someone always seems to be chasing him. When he gets caught up in a multi-kingdom manhunt, he finds himself having to care about other people for a change, and he’s not happy about it.

They are about to collide on the trail of a man who is impossible to catch, who is on the verge of plunging the world into ruin, and who can turn loyal people into traitors in a single conversation. They must struggle against their own obsessions, their fears, ancient prophecies, and each other. They will each have to balance the people they love against their missions, and struggle to avoid becoming the very thing they are trying to stop.

********
The grand tale Mr Riley has so wonderfully crafted follows an eclectic variety of characters that all shine in various ways throughout this vast epic. It is indeed a miracle that this book works so well when the best way to describe it is a CSI style detective serial killer thriller meets Indiana Jones with a dash of Princess Bride set in a vast world of epic proportions. This is testament to the skill with which Mr Riley brings to the page.

The main viewpoint through which the audience peeks into this fantastical world is that of Aren. Aren is what is known as a render tracer. Essentially he hunts people who use magic. In this world, known as Luminaworld, magic users have to be licensed by the state, and Aren's job is to hunt down and apprehend rogue users whom wish to use their magic for ill, Aren having a sheer hatred for any users. Aren is also a drug addict, which could've so easily fallen into the trope of addict detective, however one of Riley's strengths is the sheer depth of his character work, and so it never one feels like an overused trope, but perfectly fits with the haunted character Aren is. Aren's mission is to track down the serial killer Kinraigan who is positively insane, and determined to become an immortal with the powers of a god, with which he could destroy the entire world.

The secondary viewpoint is that of Keluwen. Now Keluwen is another well developed character who could've easily descended into trope. Honestly, I could see her character being a little controversial as she can come across a little on the entitled side. However the reader is introduced to several sides of her character which leads to an understanding of why she is so single minded, and the cast of characters in the gang of misfits she is part of balance things out. Keluwen is also hunting Kinraigan, however she is a rogue user, the kind of thing Aren simply hates! It is fun to see this dynamic play out across the novel, as the different threads start to converge. Keluwen has one of the most emotionally raw arcs I have ever read in a novel and had me in tears by the end. Riley certainly is a master of the emotions! Her relationship with her husband Orrinas, along with the rest of the gang is one of the many highlights of the book, and even though some characters get less development then others, Riley knows how to make his readers truly care within a few sentences of meeting his creations, so nobody ever feels short changed which is impressive in a novel of this scope.

Our third and my personal favourite viewpoint is that of Corrin. Where do I even start! I am a total Stan for Corrin, who brings a semi Princess Bride feel to the novel as a dashing swordsman with a witty humour. Corrin inserts much of the comedic relief in this novel, something so desperately needed when parts of the book can be incredibly dark, however this is never his sole purpose. Corrin despite his roguish nature has a true heart of gold, always going the extra mile to save his friends from almost certain death.

These are simply the three main viewpoints however there are many supporting characters of great importance and depth, Orrinas, Redevir, Eriana, Hayles, Fainen, and Donnovar to name but a few, however if I went through them all this review would be nearly half as long as Mr Riley's book! Beyond even the secondary cast there are named characters in the hundreds to flesh out the world and truly make it feel lived in, this is not a book with which one can read paying half attention! It demands your attention with its gripping narrative, vibrant characters, and a heck of a lot of world building.

Suffice it to say that Mr Riley has done a fantastic job at creating a band of characters that make you truly care, you laugh and cry and take the journey alongside them, and then Mr Riley will brutally rip your heart out. Or he'll just introduce a character, make you care in 3 sentences and rip it out there and then so don't get too attached as anyone could be next! I mean seriously, somebody should probably send the police to check on Mr Riley cos he seems to have fun tearing reader's hearts to shreds! All jokes aside, Thomas has done a magnificent job creating lived out characters who you can connect to on many levels.

Kinraigan himself is one of the most menacing villains I have ever come across, casting his shadow across the story as our characters all race to track him down before he gains the power of immortality and destroys the world. Just check out the prologue to see how Riley masters world-building, emotions, and suspense, and I dare you to not be quaking in your cosy pyjamas whilst weeping by the end.

One of my main 'gripes' with fantasy is that the emotional moments can sometimes pass by too quickly in favour of action and a fast paced plot, stunting my connection to the characters. Even the mighty John Gwynne has fallen into this a few times! I want the time to mellow in their depths of despair so I can feel their pain and empathise fully . Too many times I have been left with a " gahhh if you just kept going another page it would've been perfect" feeling. Not with Mr Riley! Seriously, this book may be a chonker, but not a single page of it is bloated. Mr Riley knows exactly when to slow the book down in service of character, some of the best moments being in the quieter but emotionally resonant scenes. I am seriously blown away by the level of skill Mr Riley has shown as a debut author, avoiding many of the traps more experienced authors regularly fall into. Throughout the book Mr Riley had me in tears as the emotional toll of the journey hit the characters, and we said farewell to some beloved friends. The sheer beauty of the prose in many of these moments really drove thins home.

And I haven't even talked about the world-building yet! My goodness, the level of detail put into this work blew my socks off. I mean just look at the map and you'll see the love and care that has gone into creating this world. Aren as well as being a render tracer is something of an amateur historian, with himself and later Redevir providing much of the necessary historical exposition. If, like me, you love to hear epic tales of world history from fantastical lands, then this will surely resonate with you. I mean Mr Riley must have thousands of years of history plotted out, with so many different references scattered throughout the book, I'm sure that he'd be able to fill another book of this length simply telling the tales of historical adventure! It's fascinating stuff and really helps to expand the world into a realistic vision for the reader. If you find lots of historical world building daunting then perhaps parts of this book will fall short for you, however there is plenty still to be found within its pages to enjoy. The prose has moments of pure magnificence and is deftly crafted throughout the book to really reflect the scale of this world in its descriptions, bringing vivid imagery to life.

Similarly the magic system is very complex, and definitely on the far end of the hard magic scale. Now it didn't bother me so much, because I'm happy to go with the flow, even if I don't understand everything, however it is probably the most difficult to understand magic system I have come across. Nonetheless Mr Riley does a fantastic job at explaining the system and Aren as our guide is consistently reiterating the ways in which it works so the reader can settle in without worrying about confusion. It DOES require investment at the start as there will be a lot of unfamiliar names and concepts thrown at you, however it is DEFINITELY worth the investment. The magic itself is incredibly unique and has several different facets to it. Also, who doesn't love magic bubbles! I'm not a massive fan of very science heavy hard magic systems, however Mr Riley's writing was

There are several different creatures in the world, and not just your typical fantasy creatures either, although I would've liked to have seen a little more of the different creatures perhaps. The same goes for the many different peoples and nations of the world, our story situating us in the Northern kingdoms, which is a vast area to travel in itself! There is a lot of travel done in this story and so we do get to see a wide variety of landscapes and peoples which was awesome! However, there are a lot of throwaway references in the world building, and I would've liked to learn more about the different cultures of the world. There is such a wide breadth and depth to this world, I know that we will see and learn a lot more over the ensuing books (11 in total if I recall correct!) and so this was never a big concern as I know there is plenty more to come!

The plot arc was incredibly engaging from start to finish, with nary a dull moment to be had. It did take me 2.5 months to finish, however that was mainly due to life events, with close to 50% read in about 3 weeks ( which is very fast for me with a book of this length!). It shouldn't have worked with such a wide variety of genre elements being within the novel, however Mr Riley really pulled it off well! You have the CSI detective thriller element with the chase of Kinraigan, a conspiracy thriller with different cults and special interest groups involved, mixed with Indiana Jones through a race to collect different artefacts, grimdark scenes tinged with horror, and an epic fantasy in the world ending stakes of the quest. Somehow, through Riley's skill, it all fits together into one epic adventure you have always dreamt of.

Despite being such a fantastic work, there were a few minor quibbles that I personally found. Kinraigan was such an incredibly menacing force throughout the book, however towards the end as our heroes encountered him more, it began to feel slightly anticlimactic. I'd been so afraid of such a menacing figure throughout the book, and there are some truly spine chilling encounters, however the ones just before the climax felt like his power was a little diminished compared to the mythology that had been built up around him. The ways he was was attacked felt like it shouldn't concern him as he could easily overcome them as seen in earlier escapades. It was still entertaining and brutally crushing in equal fashion, as is Mr Riley's hallmark, however, I just felt that he had lost some of his menace and became all too human, rather than the insanely powerful serial killer we first encountered him to be.

Similarly, perhaps due to a break in my reading of the book, the ending felt a little confusing with all the quirks of the magic system, and again Kinraigan had lost some of his menace for me. I think my confusion on the specifics of the magic system took some of the sting away from characters when they were becoming horrified in their realisation of his plan, and I couldn't quite share in the suspense as I wasn't entirely sure the specifics of what was occurring. I think a lot of this will be smoothed out when things are further explained in the subsequent books, as there are a lot of questions left dangling by the end, I was just unclear on some of the specifics.

Although there were many questions left unanswered, which leave me tantalised for the next book, the epilogue itself didn't adress what I considered were the most fascinating questions, and it did feel fairly self contained with only a few remaining loose ends of the quest, which left me wanting a little more of of the overarching narrative of the series to whet my appetite with. I am extremely curious what the rest of the 10 books might cover as the quest seems very near to completion and I am unsure what lies beyond that.

The final thing to add would be that at times it felt like the plot was a little overly mechanical, so that characters would suddenly make connections to further their quest, and it sometimes felt they were going from one plot point to the next. These were mainly things that emerged during the second half of the book because the first half did not have a single flaw in my humble opinion, so perhaps a little more revision could've been done there, although it never took away from the sheer enjoyment, and most of it is probably due to a lack of understanding of the finer points on my behalf.

There were several minor spelling errors in my kindle edition throughout the book however this kind of thing is to be expected, especially in a debut novel. Honestly, it was difficult to come up with things to balance the praise out with, because most of my concerns are probably due to misunderstandings, and the way I had to take a break from the book. It's seriously fantastic guys!

In conclusion, a world on the scale of Malazan, a plot with the scope of Stormlight, characters on their own level entirely, magic bubbles, swords, cults, serial killers, lost treasure, what's not to like! This is a gripping narrative which will emotionally tear into your soul, and drag you along on the adventure. However, like Mr Baggins in that so famous tale, when you return to the comforts of your home, you will soon be longing to return to the world Mr Riley has created. I for one will miss the company of these characters I am proud to consider friends until their next outing returns.

4.85/5

[sazzabookasaurus]

DNF@ page 350/ 35%.
I can see this novels’ potential, and the premise was quite enticing, but I feel Riley was a little too ambitious here. My biggest disappointment was the world building. Riley wants to welcome us into a world brimming with lore and histories, and I’m all in for that kind of thing, but unfortunately the execution of presenting us with this information was beyond tedious. We just get a lot of names and places thrown around constantly that have minimal to no impact on the current timeline and we just don’t care, it becomes a wasted paragraph. On top of that, even though we all like a unique magic system, in this book we get pages worth of detail pulling apart how the magic works and it feels frustratingly repetitive, more talking than action I’m sad to say. At the 350 page mark, I feel 150 of those pages could have been edited out and I would have enjoyed the story far more.
Also, what’s up with Keluwen being super annoying? Definitely needs a punch in the face to stop being such a self serving attention seeker.

[Yann · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 but rounding up!

A huge thank you to Thomas Howard Riley for sending me a digital ARC of We Break Immortals. As usual this review is completely my own opinion and not at all influenced by this.

We Break Immortals is the first book in a dark fantasy series with a huge cast of characters and a unique magic system – think CSI Miami, mixed with some Sanderson and lots of gritty grimdark violence all converging on a memorable set of characters.

The world-building in We Break Immortals is absolutely mind blowing, which is already made obvious by the hugely detailed map at the beginning; a map so beautiful and well detailed that I found myself referring to it way to often, just so I could track the characters progress. Riley introduces us to a vast world filled with danger, strive and magick alongside a rich culture, history and political tensions. Riley definitely doesn’t hold our hand with the world building, so that we as the reader are thrown into the deep end, which at times was a bit daunting, but nevertheless fully immersive. At times it did feel like a slow burn, but once I felt comfortable and was able to focus more on the plot the book really picked up the pace for me.

Riley had a fantastic way of creating suspense, partially through events and partially because I ended up rooting for so many of the characters. Alas, he was also not shy in killing them off! This suspense eventually culminated in multiple brutally satisfying and visceral battles, pitying some of my favourite characters against magick users, monsters and even each other; I almost felt like I’d entered some grimdark fantasy bar brawl and barely survived by the end.

A special mention really needs to be made to the unique magic or magick system, which at first had me scratching my head, but eventually had me re-reading entire passages to take in every part. Magick is used by near god individuals who are help bent on creating as much destruction as possible and achieving full godhood. Unfortunately not everyone is able to see this magick, so “Glasseyes or Render Tracers” are employed to track down and capture these individuals using a crack team of hunters, their guile and experience in hunting down the deadliest or societies creations. In this case these kind of people are more important than usual in hunting down a particularly bad individual with a knack for the most twisted kind of violence.

This is where Aren, who is one of these Glasseyes, arrives on the scene through his employment by The Lord Protector a a notorious magick user threatening the existence of the world. Aren had a flawed depth and complexity to him that I have rarely seen in fiction. He isn’t your usual good guy, which was obvious through his over reliance on drugs, weakness for women and need to prove himself as being the best Glasseye, which in a way he does through his relentless hunting and deep knowledge of magick users. Aren to me felt like that anti-hero that is most needed for cleaning up the kind of mess that an “honest” person wouldn’t want to clean up themselves. Aren may have been feeling a bit used at times, but I loved his breakout scene when he eventually and quite naturally takes complete charge and becoming somewhat of gravity well in bringing loyal friends to his side.

The second character that really stood out for me was Corrin, a rascal of swordsman, who might be the type of character one would miss in a book filled with magick, effectively contrasted so many aspects of We Break Immortals. In a world of magick, Corrin is a deadly swordsman with a witty sense of humour and a natural ability to lead. The overall tone of the book was of a dark and grim dark nature, so that the odd break from Corrin’s wittiness really made an impression on me. Corrin was, in my eyes, the loyal yet realistic rogue of a hero every good fantasy story needs.

Lastly we have Keluwen, a magick user who hates Glasseyes, hellbent on revenge and on the hunt for the same rogue magick user as Aren. She was unfortunately my least favourite character as at times I found her a bit on the whiney side. Nevertheless, her motivations and no-bullshit approach to things really made an impression. I did really enjoy her relationship with her her crew and her husband, who she refused to let him call her his wife. It’s was also clear that she commanded a loyal, yet deadly crew on the hunt for even deadlier people.

It does need to also be mentioned that there are of course many more unique characters in We Break Immortals, such as Eriana whose addition created some lovely sexual tension between her and Aren. I won’t say more of course. Alongside this are both Aren and Keluwan’s misfit crew’s that felt like that family we both love and hate at times. I will however warn readers to try to not get too close to some of these characters…

The writing, while at times a bit long-winded was excellent. It felt like the kind of descriptive writing that pulls you in and fully immerses you into the world. What particularly stood out for me was the descriptions of some of the cities, especially Medion, with its huge towers and spires, contrasting the forests pulled down to build the city. As mentioned above, Riley has an uncanny ability to create tension and suspense, which is also partly because of his writing.

If you’re thinking of starting a new fantasy series that has fantastic world-building, a unique magic system, grimdark action and violence, sex, drugs and a huge array of fantastic characters then this is your place to start!

[Rowena Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know that you’re in for a great book and one hell of a ride when the prologue guts you. Riley manages to make you care about these characters in the space of a few pages, especially Seb – and then he goes for the heart without mercy, and I loved it. I also loved the play on the chosen one trope, this is precisely what I love about fantasy and Riley shows right from the start that you can’t be certain of anything in this story that he is creating.

Now, I can’t go farther without talking about that cover – which is as epic as this series promises to be, and of course, I have to mention the maps. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t talk about them, especially as we get not one, not two, but three stunning maps – so extra bonus points right from the off. But, I would also say that the maps as well as being beautiful, are very much needed because Riley has held nothing back with this world that he has created, and it is clear that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in this book, and the scope of what he is building here is breathtaking and I honestly can’t wait to see what else he has in store for us. And I was immediately in love with the fact that there were not only maps for us the reader to enjoy, but they were also part of the story.

‘The map room was square, lit by dim golden light-bowls in the corners, shelves lining the walls. They were packed well with aged manuscripts and wide scrolls. A rectangular table of solid basalt stood alone at the center, covered with maps of Laman and Palantar—detailed sketchings of landscapes, interconnected roads, and wildernesses.’

I feel that I need to continue with the worldbuilding because Riley has crafted this world of his so that it is a character within its own right. There are layers within layers right from the very beginning, and I love how it was continually unfolding and expanding as the book progressed. The sheer level of detail that has gone into this world with its magick (and the counters to it) which I will talk about in a bit, and the history and mythology, as well as everyday life, and conflicts and relationships, is absolutely fantastic and Riley guides it all with a deft hand, never allowing it to become an unmoving backdrop, but also not allowing it to overwhelm everything else and draw too much attention away from the plot and characters. It’s a delicate balancing act, especially with how much love and care he has clearly put into it, and the fact that it is a living, breathing world that demands to be experienced.

The magic or rather magick system is just as detailed s the rest of the worldbuilding. I’d seen Riley talking about it in various places, and I was excited to see it in action, and oh boy I have to say it was probably one of my favourite aspects of the book. Now, it must be said that the magick system in We Break Immortals is beautifully developed, but it is also incredibly complex, and it did take a little while for me to get my head around it. However, yet again this is a brilliant example of the care Riley has taken with his crafting of this world and story because he is able to explain this complicated system in a way that not only makes sense but which avoids the trap of info-dumping. It helps that quite a lot of the explanation is tied in with one of the main characters Aren, a Render Tracer whose job is to track down rogue magick users and who can track the use of magick, so we get practical, on the ground explanations that demonstrate it more clearly than many approaches could – and also for someone who watches far too many crime shows, you can draw parallels with forensic techniques in how it is tracked (including the use of some truly ingenious devices), which further helped anchor it. There is also a wonderful appendix at the back of the book if you need further explanation.

“That’s only a part of it,” he said. “When you first step into a fresh scene, that is only what you look for at the start, to confirm the presence of recent magick. Visible cues—steam, light-bending, tunnel vision, vapor trails, and sometimes even aural afterglow that can be seen by the naked eye.”

However, as much as I adored the worldbuilding and the magick, it was the characters that stole the show for me and kept me reading far too late into the night. Firstly, I love the contrast between the overarching battle against a sorcerer trying to become a god, and the smaller scale conflicts both between characters, and the personal, internal conflicts that many of the characters face. Riley has created a rich cast of characters, and there are a lot of them to keep track of, but as with everything about this book they are clearly and vividly realised so that once you get them fixed in your mind, they all stand out strongly and again add so many layers to the words.

We have our three main characters – Aren who I’ve already mentioned, Keluwen and Corrin – and honestly, I have to say Riley has outdone himself with these characters, and I have to say that I am hard-pressed to choose a favourite between them because they are all fantastic in their own ways. I think maybe…maybe… if I was forced to choose, Corrin would just inch into the lead, just because I have a soft spot for a roguish character who has a moral compass. In these three, Riley shows his mastery of characterisation, because they are real, flawed and oh so human, and compelling for it. These are the characters that really show us the depths of those internal, personal conflicts, and the struggle to overcome them while dealing with the challenges and dangers of the world and unfolding situations.

‘I feel like you should have said more than that, Orrinas, Keluwen thought.’

Keluwen is a fascinating character, both because she is a magick user which is a complication when crossing paths with Aren, but also because of her dynamic with her crew and especially the leader – I loved how she handled her position with them, especially with her snark and wit. She was also the one that felt the most likely to set something catastrophic in motion, as though she was a walking timebomb, perhaps because she is set on revenge and with an attitude of not pulling any punches. And as much as I love Corrin, there was something so very compelling about Keluwen.

He was painfully aware of one thing. He had never performed a capture on his own. Sarker had always been there with him.

Aren was perhaps the most complex of the three. His role as a Render Tracer is fascinating, but it barely begins to scratch the surface of his character, and what I loved is that Riley really creates a dichotomy with his character. On the one hand, he is very skilled at what he does – he’s our main gateway to understanding magick in this world, and he’s knowledgeable about the history of the world, and incredibly key to what is happening particularly later in the book. He’s also struggling with the loss of his mentor at the start of the book, unable to grieve because of pressing events and needing to prove himself and keep moving, and he’s a drug addict – and you can see his cleverness here too in his attempts to hide his use of the drug, but also his guilt over it. It made for compelling reading, and again demonstrates Riley’s ability to write complex, nuanced characters that aren’t all that they seem, and so very human in their flaws.

When you were as popular with killers as Corrin was, those standing near were still within the rings of a bullseye.

Last, but certainly not least, because I honestly did love him is Corrin. In this world of magick users and Render Tracers, he could almost be overshadowed, but he isn’t. Some of it is certainly down to his roguish nature – I want to say charm, but honestly, with his knack for attracting both trouble and luck, I’m not sure charm is quite the right word for it. As mentioned before, he also has a moral compass – which in a world like this which is full of darkness and chaos and violence, is something to be celebrated, and he is very much a character who is trying to do the best he can in a world that likes to point knives at you. I also love that he is far from pure and innocent, and honestly half the trouble he gets himself into feels like it is his fault – and I just love him.

Riley is a fantastic writer, not just with the worldbuilding and characterisation, but with the emotion and the action that had me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. He manages to build tension and a sense of threat throughout, and capture the adrenaline and chaos of battle on various scales and with the added complexity of magic in the mix. Everything about We Break Immortals was so easy to visualise, and even though this is a chonk of a book it is so compelling and fast-paced it was a challenge to put down, and I consumed it in the space of a couple of days because I simply had to know what was happening and spend more time with these characters and I want more.

We Break Immortals is the beginning of a series that promises to become a favourite. It’s epic dark fantasy at its finest, there’s violence and chaos and a healthy dose of adult thoughts and behaviour, so it might not be for everyone, but Riley has created a gem here and if this sounds like it is up your street then strap in because you’re in for one hell of a read. Absolutely fantastic, and well worth the anticipation and certainly a top read of 2021 for me.

[Gregg Buford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I didn't know what to expect but was glad to find this to be an awesome read. There were some spots that were sort of boring but most of this book kept me reading page after page. The magic system is what some would call a hard system I think. For some they will probably trying to understand how it works. I liked it as well but there is so much to understand about it for me that I don't I will fully understand how it works with one read. It does use an understanding of science that should have people interested in it as well. The characters I liked for the most part. Aren is an addict but still manages to get things done. I spent most of the book disliking Keluwen just a bit until almost the end. Corrin should have been included more as he is probably the most likable of all the characters in this book. The fight scenes and combat overall were good and could sort of see it happening visually for me. The world building and learning about the magic system was done all through the book and not just one large info dump that would confuse you. There is still so much left to discover from this world though I think. When I started this book I knew that I would have to do a reread someday. I think this is solid three stars for me but maybe should be averaged up to four with more time to think about it in the future.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 49%. I just didn't get on with this. Some of the things that struck me are as follows. The magic system was clearly well thought out but whenever it came up it seemed more like attending a science lecture. There are three main POV characters but the one we spend the most time with is the least likeable. There's a chapter where three different antagonists monologue one after the other. The party gets ambushed like chumps despite supposedly having some of the best scouts in the world with them. One of the POV characters is subject to a prophecy which fairly obviously results in his love interest getting fridged. So I skipped to the end and saw that the only female of the three main POV characters also dies.

I put it down when I realised that I was only reading it to find more things to criticise.

[Karim Soliman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What. A. Ride.

I don’t know how long Thomas Riley has been working on his 750-page debut, but it’s pretty obvious his effort to get it done was unbelievably HUGE. Everything is extremely detailed; the characters’ psyche, the action scenes, and of course, the magic system, which makes We Break Immortals stands out of the crowd in my opinion.

I understand that this level of detail could also be the reason why this mammoth of a book might not work for everyone. There are A LOT of characters—which is not an issue for me anyway—but most of the story is told through three main POVs. Aren is Thomas’ version of a witch-hunter, except this one tracks sorcerers (Users in Thomas’ world) CSI style. Keluwen is what Aren exactly hunts; a User, and that creates an interesting dynamic between these two. Corrin is a sword fighter, and though he might not be as vital to the main plot as the previous two, his POV was the one I enjoyed the most. That said, Thomas digs really deep into all his characters’ hearts and souls, especially with Aren and Keluwen. Keluwen might not be my favorite, but I could totally understand why she was doing what she was doing.

The magic system is really cool. So detailed there is an index for all its related terminology.
There is plenty of chasing and fighting. The showdown at the end of the book in particular is very well-executed, makes all the storylines we have been following, all that buildup worth it. Of all the books I read this year, We Break Immortals has one of the most satisfying endings. That said, Thomas uses the epilogue to leave some doors open for a sequel. I’m curious to see what more twists Thomas has been saving for us!

[Bernhard]

Made it to page 166.
This isn't my cup of tea. It features two things I dislike, a hard magic system and obfuscation. The combination of those is especially weird.
There are info dumps on which character has which magic(k) skills to which degree. I guess the obfuscation in other areas is meant to create some mystery or to make for a more compelling read. I know some people love that kind of story telling but I'm not one of them. Having to read a dialogue several times to figure out who is talking to whom about whom is no fun in my book.
It must be hard for an author to put so much effort and heart blood into writing a book and then some villain like me comes around daring not to like it. Yet here I am, though I hope many others will love it.

[Belinda Richee · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! Just........wow!

This is a great novel full of action, suspense, magic, prophesy,betrayal, wars, murder, ascension to godhood, swords, Kings, irreverence, snark, humor, and just a pinch of love and sex. It is about a few groups of friends and/or enemies on a manhunt for a serial killing, raping, and kidnapping rogue magic user in an attempt to stop him from becoming a God. It is a very good read.

[Anya Josephs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great, dark, epic fantasy read. This is a big huge book, filled with big ideas and big characters. I loved the moral greyness of the MCs, the expansiveness of the magic system, and the ambition of the story. I will admit I got a little bogged down in the details about 3/4 of the way through, but for the most part this was an impressively engaging read. I'll look forward to more in this series, but this also stands alone as a truly epic story.

[Pierson Brownell · Rating 5 out of 5]

More people need to read this book

I'm not sure what compelled me to pick this up on Kindle Unlimited other than my desire to support indie authors but I'm glad that I did. This was an awesome epic fantasy journey with a great cast of characters. I literally could not put it down. It says Book 1 but it functions well as a stand alone so I wouldn't let that put you off of reading it!