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nailahreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
500 pages of action
ruth_bookdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is an epic fantasy book set in a world at war, telling the story of Tau on his path of revenge against those who took everything from him. And when I say revenge, I mean REVENGE! And just how much is he willing to sacrifice to achieve it?
Oh my goodness! I think this has been the ultimate revenge book where I truly felt the rage and strength of vengeance, along with its consequences. Revenge stories are my favorites, and this one has skyrocketed to the top of my list.
It's common in revenge stories for the MC to gradually lose their drive. But in Tau's case, every action he took was fueled by vengeance, and he never let that rage extinguish; instead, he used it to fuel his motivation even more!
What I love about the book:
- The author's storytelling is incredible. The range of emotions, the sadness, the moments of laughter, the celebrations of triumphs, the cultural backdrop, the social disparities, the shouts of frustration at injustices, and most importantly, the sheer rage; everything is palpable.
- The pace is relentless. It literally starts with a battle and continues progressively; I couldn't tear myself away from the book until I finished it, and then I immediately started the second one.
- The world-building is also remarkable. There are 'gifted' individuals with powers ranging from trapping people in alternate dimensions to summoning dragons, and then there are the 'nobles,' physically superior individuals who are bigger, stronger, and so on. And then there are the 'lessers,' among whom our protagonist belongs, people destined to fight and die in the endless war.
- I loved the character development; the MC doesn't become the best overnight. Tau had to work hard, train for months, face adversity, and improve gradually.
- Another aspect I adored was how, at specific moments, we saw some battles from the perspective of other characters, not just Tau. It was wonderful to see how others perceived him.
In case you haven't already noticed, I highly recommend it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you enjoy action-packed revenge stories, this one's for you!
Oh my goodness! I think this has been the ultimate revenge book where I truly felt the rage and strength of vengeance, along with its consequences. Revenge stories are my favorites, and this one has skyrocketed to the top of my list.
It's common in revenge stories for the MC to gradually lose their drive. But in Tau's case, every action he took was fueled by vengeance, and he never let that rage extinguish; instead, he used it to fuel his motivation even more!
What I love about the book:
- The author's storytelling is incredible. The range of emotions, the sadness, the moments of laughter, the celebrations of triumphs, the cultural backdrop, the social disparities, the shouts of frustration at injustices, and most importantly, the sheer rage; everything is palpable.
- The pace is relentless. It literally starts with a battle and continues progressively; I couldn't tear myself away from the book until I finished it, and then I immediately started the second one.
- The world-building is also remarkable. There are 'gifted' individuals with powers ranging from trapping people in alternate dimensions to summoning dragons, and then there are the 'nobles,' physically superior individuals who are bigger, stronger, and so on. And then there are the 'lessers,' among whom our protagonist belongs, people destined to fight and die in the endless war.
- I loved the character development; the MC doesn't become the best overnight. Tau had to work hard, train for months, face adversity, and improve gradually.
- Another aspect I adored was how, at specific moments, we saw some battles from the perspective of other characters, not just Tau. It was wonderful to see how others perceived him.
In case you haven't already noticed, I highly recommend it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you enjoy action-packed revenge stories, this one's for you!
creeves1818's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
blivonius1219's review against another edition
The training battles dragged on and seemed to be the only storyline almost 300 pages in. Too much rage, not enough dragons.
chimamas's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If I could rate this book higher than a 5, I would.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual assault
bje's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
badbadwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, War, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Child abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Rape, and Religious bigotry
alediaz16's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
steph_sosa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There are books that hit, and then there are books that HITTTT. This book in particular smacked me in my face when I wasn’t looking, and I totally wasn’t prepared for it.
I just finished it and I’m honestly having a hard time organizing my thoughts, so forgive me for the mess this is about to be.
Most important thing to note: if you aren’t into a lot, and I mean a lot, of fight scenes, then you might struggle to read this book. It is very action heavy, and though some might love it, others might not.
Tau, a commoner, experiences massive trials and tribulations from start to finish as both a political battle and a war rage on. This story is about violence and revenge, and it easily perfects those two ideas within the plot. I feel like I’m ready to go to war after listening to the audiobook. I feel like I could battle a whole army and win (I would die within the first ten seconds let’s be for real).
The magic system, which I won’t go into detail over, was very well done. Evan Winter did not want to skip anything, and though I had questions about what the hell was going on, he came in with the answers at one point or another. The most important thing was that it felt original, which is always a sight for sore eyes when reading new books nowadays.
Tau’s character felt real, and through my listening to the audiobook I felt as if his emotions were mine own. Writing wise I found the book never sounded over-convulsed, yet kept that higher fantasy style of setting and story. There were a lot of topics brought up in conversation that leaned into oppression and high arch’s, etc etc, but revenge was the main plot of the story. I found this fine personally because the story was focused on Tau and his life, and though these topics were important and had effect on Tau, he was overall focused on revenge for his father. Hopefully in the second book these topics are discussed more in detail, and I would love to see other characters delve into these as well, but for now I thought it was okay.
Tau’s approach to his training and his wild efforts to overcome every trial and tribulation in his path adds to the story, building Tau up from a commoner to a blood thirsty wacko in a satisfying way. The revenge story line was done more than well, and I enjoyed going through Tau’s rise to his end of book peak-self.
I will say that at times Zuri, the female love interest, felt more like a insert as an excuse to further Tau’s story and provide information about the magic system more then be a love interest and actual person. BUT, I still enjoyed her character and thought she was more then well written, and had depth to her own story when given the chance to show it.
The abundance of side characters also added a sense of realism to the world-building, and it kept the events from feeling too centered on Tau and his own story. Though we never get background info into the other characters besides tidbits here and there, their personalities felt splayed out in a nice way that kept them feeling real.
I am interested to see where the second book leads!!
I just finished it and I’m honestly having a hard time organizing my thoughts, so forgive me for the mess this is about to be.
Most important thing to note: if you aren’t into a lot, and I mean a lot, of fight scenes, then you might struggle to read this book. It is very action heavy, and though some might love it, others might not.
Tau, a commoner, experiences massive trials and tribulations from start to finish as both a political battle and a war rage on. This story is about violence and revenge, and it easily perfects those two ideas within the plot. I feel like I’m ready to go to war after listening to the audiobook. I feel like I could battle a whole army and win (I would die within the first ten seconds let’s be for real).
The magic system, which I won’t go into detail over, was very well done. Evan Winter did not want to skip anything, and though I had questions about what the hell was going on, he came in with the answers at one point or another. The most important thing was that it felt original, which is always a sight for sore eyes when reading new books nowadays.
Tau’s character felt real, and through my listening to the audiobook I felt as if his emotions were mine own. Writing wise I found the book never sounded over-convulsed, yet kept that higher fantasy style of setting and story. There were a lot of topics brought up in conversation that leaned into oppression and high arch’s, etc etc, but revenge was the main plot of the story. I found this fine personally because the story was focused on Tau and his life, and though these topics were important and had effect on Tau, he was overall focused on revenge for his father. Hopefully in the second book these topics are discussed more in detail, and I would love to see other characters delve into these as well, but for now I thought it was okay.
Tau’s approach to his training and his wild efforts to overcome every trial and tribulation in his path adds to the story, building Tau up from a commoner to a blood thirsty wacko in a satisfying way. The revenge story line was done more than well, and I enjoyed going through Tau’s rise to his end of book peak-self.
I will say that at times Zuri, the female love interest, felt more like a insert as an excuse to further Tau’s story and provide information about the magic system more then be a love interest and actual person. BUT, I still enjoyed her character and thought she was more then well written, and had depth to her own story when given the chance to show it.
The abundance of side characters also added a sense of realism to the world-building, and it kept the events from feeling too centered on Tau and his own story. Though we never get background info into the other characters besides tidbits here and there, their personalities felt splayed out in a nice way that kept them feeling real.
I am interested to see where the second book leads!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and War
missmali's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content