Battlemage (Age of Darkness #1)
by Stephen Aryan
fantasy
copyright 2015
read in July 2018
rated 7/10: well worth reading
Well worth reading. Sympathetic characters. Incredible levels of blood and gore.
Fantasy seems -- at least in the books that I read -- to be shifting to more graphic descriptions of death by mediaeval weapons. Realistic ? probably. Necessary ? not for my enjoyment. This is a comment rather than a criticism. The violence is ridiculously extreme -- yet an essential part of the plot. Just very graphic.
There are several interesting ideas in this book. The gods, for example, are believable, with motives which are easily understood in human terms -- yet they are clearly gods.
Aside: If I understand correctly, the powers of this book's gods are based on number of worshippers. The same idea as in Pratchett's books. And it seems, to me, to be a valid idea.
As the end of the book approached I was wondering, What will be left for books two and three ?! Until I realised that this book is far more standalone than I expected. An absolute conclusion to this story -- yet I am left wanting to read more... and can see the possibility of more. Excellent !
Don't get too attached to any one character, they may not survive. Don't read this book if you are squeamish. Nevertheless, the overall feeling of the book is positive.
I enjoyed this book. Including the occasional points where standard fantasy tropes are ignored... or improved upon.
Good enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"I've found that there's a reason for everything… I constantly make the wrong decisions." … Pardon my Planet
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