Published: August 2011
Pages: 373
Summary
Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother’s tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that’s true enough, but there’s something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse.
My thoughts
I picked this up after devouring his Library series (The Book That Wouldn’t Burn). I’m not sure how I feel about this book.
This book is a brutal journey into the mind of a young, morally ambiguous protagonist. Jorg Ancrath is a complex character, driven by a thirst for revenge and power. The story is well-paced, with plenty of action and intrigue, and when I say plenty, it is also very VERY graphic.
I can understand the graphic nature, it completely fits with the plot and the characters, Jorg is deranged. He doesn’t act in a logical, conscious way. He is completely driven by the need for revenge and he will do anything to get there, he has his blinders on. He’s also very young and the life he’s known has not been a kind one, he’s adapted to survive.
Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you’ll find an edge to cut you
But as much as it fits with the story, I don’t necessarily want to read a story that is filled with horrific, graphic acts, not to the volume that is in this book.
I also didn’t find that the story is as immersive and developed as his most recent work. I do give some leeway as this book was written 10ish year ago so of course, the writing has improved over the years. But there is a huge lacking of any substantial plot. This is definitely character driven but lacking any character development or growth. This is part one of a trilogy so perhaps that is to come but I wasn’t invested enough within this first book to push me to keep reading.
Anything that you cannot sacrifice pins you. Makes you predictable, makes you weak
I just didn’t get wrapped up in this world, luck plays too big a part in this story to keep things moving, conveniently, in favour of Jorg. Some of the ‘luck’ makes sense but it began to feel like it was used as a plot device to fill the plot because he couldn’t think of anything else. There was a particular moment beneath a mountain where I facepalmed, it frustrated me and took me out of the story.
Would I recommend?
I wouldn’t, no. Graphic violence aside, I didn’t enjoy the writing and it felt repititive to me. If you’re a fan of grimdark fantasy, you are more of the target market for this story and may enjoy it better than I did. It’s dark and gritty, and is more character driven than any substantial plot.