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andypeloquinauthor's review against another edition
4.0
Let's start off with the good:
When I read this, I kept thinking back to the Drizzt Do'Urden stories set in the Underdark. It had that same tones of political intrigue, backstabbing, and darkness that I enjoyed about the tales of Menzoberranzan. I half-expected to hear someone cursing "Lolth!"
The magic system of the world was well-developed, and the characters were pretty well-written. They were perhaps a bit "grimmer" than I was expecting, and sometimes it felt like they went dark just to see how far the author could push it. But all in all, it sold the tone of the darkness very well.
I had to dock a star for two reasons:
1. The story didn't hook me. It's the way things are with stories—they can be hit or miss. I found myself sort of "slogging" through the book. It had plenty of action scenes, but it didn't really draw me in or make me care for the characters.
2. There were a number of grammatical and punctuation errors, and A LOT of misused words.
All in all, a solid effort, one that I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys very dark fantasy.
When I read this, I kept thinking back to the Drizzt Do'Urden stories set in the Underdark. It had that same tones of political intrigue, backstabbing, and darkness that I enjoyed about the tales of Menzoberranzan. I half-expected to hear someone cursing "Lolth!"
The magic system of the world was well-developed, and the characters were pretty well-written. They were perhaps a bit "grimmer" than I was expecting, and sometimes it felt like they went dark just to see how far the author could push it. But all in all, it sold the tone of the darkness very well.
I had to dock a star for two reasons:
1. The story didn't hook me. It's the way things are with stories—they can be hit or miss. I found myself sort of "slogging" through the book. It had plenty of action scenes, but it didn't really draw me in or make me care for the characters.
2. There were a number of grammatical and punctuation errors, and A LOT of misused words.
All in all, a solid effort, one that I'd recommend for anyone who enjoys very dark fantasy.
barb4ry1's review against another edition
2.0
There are books that make me strongly root for antiheroes despite all their vices. You know, characters like Jorg Ancrath, Drake Morrass or Inquisitor Glokta. I love them.
Anaerfell is all about antiheroes – reckless, devoid of goodness or any redeeming qualities. As dark as dark can be. It could have been interesting. But wasn't. The thing is I don’t care about them. At all. I’ve read this book as part of my r/fantasy Bingo Challenge and getting through the book to the end was a real challenge, an excellent training of strong will and perseverance.
Frankly, I fail to see why it received mainly four and five star ratings on goodreads so far. But hey, it's just me. If you liked the book, that's great:)
The story follows two brothers Kaligula – cunning and restless Drast and calculating but tactless Tyran. They were turned monsters by their father Serder Dagmar Kaligula. In order to make him immortal they’re supposed to kill a God. Before they do so they kill a lot of other people though, mostly innocent ones and have some fun doing it.
The description sounds promising but the story, world-building and characters are strongly lacking. There are more things that I disliked about the book, then the things I liked. All in all I think it was an average book I won’t remember reading in two months.
The things I liked:
- Fights are very visual and well described (especially the fight between Arkhon Kluk and Dagmar Kaligula – it was very imaginative and well paced).
- The premise is interesting.
- I think that magic system – koldovstvo- is done well as magic comes with a price. The more you use it, the more life energy you spent. Threats like walking on water or flying are possible but at the cost of ageing decades and turning into a husk of a man in an instant.
And that's all. Things I disliked:
While magic system is quite interesting, it’s introduced and explained in clumsy way, for example through unnatural dialogue (imagine you meet with a friend and see a falling leaves. How natural would it sound to start conversation in a way like – Ah, in our world the leaves fall because of gravity. – Yes, you’re right and gravity works this way because blah, blah, blah. - Yes, yes, you're right but there are exceptions. Have in mind that blah, blah, blah).
Generally there’s a problem with dialogues, especially between Tyran and Isolde – they sound like pasted from venezulean telenovela. Unimaginative, cheesy and cheap.
Then we have characters – they’re bad guys. They lack redeeming qualities. That would be ok if only they would be complex. Sadly they aren’t. Sure, the authors try to add some complexity, especially to Tyran character, but it doesn’t work for me. Their father is described as bad, terrifying person who turned brothers into what they are. The things is when he appears he doesn’t give this vibe. He feels flat, where bad papas like Tywin Lannister or Olidan Ancrath were complex or terrifying, Dagmar feels like a caricature.
The writing wasn’t bad, some editing would help with lacking words and some typos, but it was consistent and quite precise. On the other hand my feeling is it didn’t manage to build tension and drama that would further the plot. The pacing was fast but, truth be told, I didn’t care. The story didn’t manage to grab my attention. There were few passages that I found interesting, last 5 % of the book are well written but 5% isn’t enough to make up for 95 % of mostly boring tale.
I think that what put me off was mostly flatness of characters, their lack of palpable complexity and lack of humor. Also a lot of cruelty. Abercrombie, Lawrence, Rob J Hayes write antiheroes well, making them complex and adding some layers of humor to the world that allows me to enjoy their books a lot. Here however the things were dark just for the sake of it. Dark, dreary and deadly serious. Making it deadly boring wasn't, probably, an intention of the authors but for me getting through the book was a chore. Not because I loathed charatcers or had physical reaction to the graphic scenes of violence. It was because I didn't care.
Anaerfell is all about antiheroes – reckless, devoid of goodness or any redeeming qualities. As dark as dark can be. It could have been interesting. But wasn't. The thing is I don’t care about them. At all. I’ve read this book as part of my r/fantasy Bingo Challenge and getting through the book to the end was a real challenge, an excellent training of strong will and perseverance.
Frankly, I fail to see why it received mainly four and five star ratings on goodreads so far. But hey, it's just me. If you liked the book, that's great:)
The story follows two brothers Kaligula – cunning and restless Drast and calculating but tactless Tyran. They were turned monsters by their father Serder Dagmar Kaligula. In order to make him immortal they’re supposed to kill a God. Before they do so they kill a lot of other people though, mostly innocent ones and have some fun doing it.
The description sounds promising but the story, world-building and characters are strongly lacking. There are more things that I disliked about the book, then the things I liked. All in all I think it was an average book I won’t remember reading in two months.
The things I liked:
- Fights are very visual and well described (especially the fight between Arkhon Kluk and Dagmar Kaligula – it was very imaginative and well paced).
- The premise is interesting.
- I think that magic system – koldovstvo- is done well as magic comes with a price. The more you use it, the more life energy you spent. Threats like walking on water or flying are possible but at the cost of ageing decades and turning into a husk of a man in an instant.
And that's all. Things I disliked:
While magic system is quite interesting, it’s introduced and explained in clumsy way, for example through unnatural dialogue (imagine you meet with a friend and see a falling leaves. How natural would it sound to start conversation in a way like – Ah, in our world the leaves fall because of gravity. – Yes, you’re right and gravity works this way because blah, blah, blah. - Yes, yes, you're right but there are exceptions. Have in mind that blah, blah, blah).
Generally there’s a problem with dialogues, especially between Tyran and Isolde – they sound like pasted from venezulean telenovela. Unimaginative, cheesy and cheap.
Then we have characters – they’re bad guys. They lack redeeming qualities. That would be ok if only they would be complex. Sadly they aren’t. Sure, the authors try to add some complexity, especially to Tyran character, but it doesn’t work for me. Their father is described as bad, terrifying person who turned brothers into what they are. The things is when he appears he doesn’t give this vibe. He feels flat, where bad papas like Tywin Lannister or Olidan Ancrath were complex or terrifying, Dagmar feels like a caricature.
The writing wasn’t bad, some editing would help with lacking words and some typos, but it was consistent and quite precise. On the other hand my feeling is it didn’t manage to build tension and drama that would further the plot. The pacing was fast but, truth be told, I didn’t care. The story didn’t manage to grab my attention. There were few passages that I found interesting, last 5 % of the book are well written but 5% isn’t enough to make up for 95 % of mostly boring tale.
I think that what put me off was mostly flatness of characters, their lack of palpable complexity and lack of humor. Also a lot of cruelty. Abercrombie, Lawrence, Rob J Hayes write antiheroes well, making them complex and adding some layers of humor to the world that allows me to enjoy their books a lot. Here however the things were dark just for the sake of it. Dark, dreary and deadly serious. Making it deadly boring wasn't, probably, an intention of the authors but for me getting through the book was a chore. Not because I loathed charatcers or had physical reaction to the graphic scenes of violence. It was because I didn't care.
david_wiley's review
4.0
This was an interesting foray into a gritty Dark Fantasy novel, and this was a book that was deserving of placement into that subgenre. The actions of the characters throughout the book, while psychologically understandable at times, make it a struggle to cheer them on, much less care whether they succeed at their task to defeat Wolos, the God of the Dead. There is a lot of evidence throughout that Drast and Tyran have been molded into who they are by their father, who is abusive and power-hungry, which leaves the reader questioning whether the actions of the two brothers are their own fault or if the blame should fall squarely on the shoulders of their father. This is a question that really forms the core of this novel, particularly being explored in the second half of the book.
There was a point, about halfway through, that I had considered setting this book aside and not finishing it. The brothers had both crossed a line that I felt put them into nonredeemable territory. It was tough to pick it back up, but the second half of the book redeemed the rough middle. While neither brother really ever got back to the point where I could cheer for them as protagonists in the tale, it really explored what drove these two brothers to the point they had reached. There were times when I was mad at them for not taking the way out when it presented itself. They could have redeemed themselves completely by taking those choices. But their choices at that point are understandable enough.
The writing by Joshua Robertson and J.C. Boyd is quite masterful. It carried me through some of the rougher patches in the book, allowing me to press on even when I found myself loathing the characters and their choices. The magic system is inventive and has a good balance to it, forcing the user to lose years of their lives through its use. This is not quite as unique like Allomancy in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, but it provides a very real consequence for using, or overusing, the magic in their possession. It is a system that certainly fits the story and the world that they crafted.
As a whole, I am excited to read more stories that take place in the Thrice Nine Legends setting. J.C. Boyd’s Strong Armed was a great entry point, having been short though dark in itself and the questions it forces the reader to grapple with. Ultimately, if you like a fantasy tale that forces you to reflect on some tough questions about human nature, this book will certainly fill that niche for you. If you like grand worlds and interesting settings, or unique magic systems, this book will not disappoint. If you love to read good, quality prose this book will be a nice fit. There are many positives to be seen. When it comes to the violence and actions it can best be compared to Game of Thrones so if you have been able to handle reading, or watching, that you should be just fine getting through the darkest parts of this book. And you will agree, at the end, that it was worth reading.
There was a point, about halfway through, that I had considered setting this book aside and not finishing it. The brothers had both crossed a line that I felt put them into nonredeemable territory. It was tough to pick it back up, but the second half of the book redeemed the rough middle. While neither brother really ever got back to the point where I could cheer for them as protagonists in the tale, it really explored what drove these two brothers to the point they had reached. There were times when I was mad at them for not taking the way out when it presented itself. They could have redeemed themselves completely by taking those choices. But their choices at that point are understandable enough.
The writing by Joshua Robertson and J.C. Boyd is quite masterful. It carried me through some of the rougher patches in the book, allowing me to press on even when I found myself loathing the characters and their choices. The magic system is inventive and has a good balance to it, forcing the user to lose years of their lives through its use. This is not quite as unique like Allomancy in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series, but it provides a very real consequence for using, or overusing, the magic in their possession. It is a system that certainly fits the story and the world that they crafted.
As a whole, I am excited to read more stories that take place in the Thrice Nine Legends setting. J.C. Boyd’s Strong Armed was a great entry point, having been short though dark in itself and the questions it forces the reader to grapple with. Ultimately, if you like a fantasy tale that forces you to reflect on some tough questions about human nature, this book will certainly fill that niche for you. If you like grand worlds and interesting settings, or unique magic systems, this book will not disappoint. If you love to read good, quality prose this book will be a nice fit. There are many positives to be seen. When it comes to the violence and actions it can best be compared to Game of Thrones so if you have been able to handle reading, or watching, that you should be just fine getting through the darkest parts of this book. And you will agree, at the end, that it was worth reading.
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