Reviews

Dark Forge by Miles Cameron

aatiii's review

4.0

Well executed, solid fantasy. Military details are excellent. I’d like to see more character development and a bit more of the magical system.

Still, in a world of badly written genre novels, this stands out. I look forward not so much to the next book but to the next series.

dawn_marie's review

2.0

Miles Cameron continued his rich world building and development of complex characters, but something felt "off" in this novel. I do not think it was the pacing or writing style, which continue to be excellent, and I like that the reader stays with Aranthur for the entirety of the novel. I think, for me, the sheer number of battle sequences and detailed aftermath (as well written as they were) meant a loss of the intimacy and emotional impact of the first book - perhaps it was by design - but still the tone was just off enough that I found this novel disappointing.

zephharben's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

keightmaclean's review against another edition

5.0

After the rich character development and world building of the first book, I was a little nervous for Dark Forge to leave the big city and head off into unknown territory. Luckily, I didn't have much time to worry, because this book was a page turner start to finish, and as much as I loved Cold Iron, set a much faster pace. While touring across the culturally rich world, Cameron puts his skill at writing engaging battle scenes to work, somehow always keeping them personal and riveting while never losing the larger picture, and mixing in just the right amount of secrets and intrigue. Dark Forge introduces maybe my favourite character that I've ever read in fantasy (Inoques) and further progresses the magic system, as you learn along with the main characters magic long lost or misunderstood by their cultures. In this book Cameron really does a wonderful job of making the world feel OLD as they explore new (ancient) parts of the world while fighting an uphill battle on several fronts to try and save the word from political and straight up apocalyptic evils! Excellent book... I feel myself wanting to read this and Cold Iron again in anticipation of the next book in the series.

lundos's review against another edition

3.0

We continue onwards in the struggle against 'the Master' and his compulsion magic, servants, and the Pure. It's not as good as the first book, though, the pacing is better.

Aranthur makes some weird decisions, and I have no clue about what point sex/love is supposed to make - or is that the point? Of course, the MC is a hero. That's rare(ish) these days. Especially in grimdark adjacent books like this.

We see a lot more of the world, which is good. The use of French/Italian/Spanish words continue but it adds nothing positive and muddles the reading flow.

The big twist just showed a severe lack of strategic thinking and naitivity from the Cold Iron crew and that won't change if/when it's continued in the next book.

samuelson_obi's review against another edition

3.0

The 2nd instalment in the masters and mages trilogy picks up the pace even more. Blistering action filled battle scenes, magic, journeys and characters you can’t help but root for, even as they struggle with the moral grey of war.
This was a 3 stars for me, I liked it.

chromatick's review against another edition

4.0

4.25 stars

This was an excellent follow up to the first book in the Masters & Mages trilogy.

This book does move in a bit of a different direction, focused much more on action and the many battles. Describing fights and battles is something that Cameron excels at, so this was not a problem.

Much like the Traitor Son series, this one has a really unique and complex magic system which I enjoy a lot.

I'm looking forward to see how he wraps it all up in book three.

jefffrane's review against another edition

5.0

I could have used a seat belt because the story was moving so fast. Most of what I needed to know to follow along was set up in the first novel in the trilogy so Cameron just blasted off and left me turning pages as quickly as possible.

srlemons42's review

4.0

This is a good continuation of the first book in the series. I like this book a lot, it had a lot of good action and a lot of interesting mysteries. The characters are all pretty interesting and I am definitely interested in seeing how it goes in the third book in the series.

retrogirl20's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

An action packed sequel that was absolutely well done! I love how Cameron writes his characters to be so simple and life-like yet that is what makes them the most interesting! This was a great refresh from other fantasy series where main characters are overpowered and immediately thrown into the front. I loved seeing Aranthur really have to go through some “more basic” tasks as a main character soldier. This was such a great development not only for him as a character but for the world building of the book! I can’t wait to start reading book three!