faithful and the fallen | The Obsessive Bookseller

Title: Malice

Author: John Gwynne

Series: Faithful and the Fallen #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: The world is broken…. Corban wants nothing more than to be a warrior under King Brenin’s rule – to protect and serve. But that day will come all too soon. And the price he pays will be in blood. Evnis has sacrificed – too much it seems. But what he wants – the power to rule – will soon be in his grasp. And nothing will stop him once he has started on his path. Veradis is the newest member of the warband for the High Prince, Nathair. He is one of the most skilled swordsman to come out of his homeland, yet he is always under the shadow of his older brother. Nathair has ideas – and a lot of plans. Many of them don’t involve his father, the High King Aquilus. Nor does he agree with his father’s idea to summon his fellow kings to council. The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle, but now giants are seen, the stones weep blood, and giant wyrms are stirring. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. For if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust…and it can never be made whole again. Malice is a dark epic fantasy tale of blind greed, ambition, and betrayal. -Amazon

The Review:

I loved every single thing about this book.

It strikes me that I need to be careful what I say I don’t like in books. Because before diving in I would’ve told you I don’t have patience for books with a classic fantasy feel. That I’m “so over” familiar tropes like a-boy-with-his-sword and the-chosen-one. But everything about Malice was executed on such a high level that despite the inclusion of all familiar elements it’s still one of my favorite reads in ages. Everything about it was superb.

The writing style is sophisticated, bringing a classic tale into the modern era of storytelling. Gwynne has this masterful way of pacing things within each chapter, where even though the overall plot is ticking by very slowly, characters experience significant change per chapter in a way that makes you feel like the story is flying. It’s totally engaging and never feels like a single page is wasted.

Other than the adept writing style, my favorite thing about the book were the characters. So many great profiles. Usually when an author tackles so many, they run the risk of watering down each persona, but that wasn’t the case here. You’re following more than a dozen POVs (I didn’t actually count, but it feels close to that), all of which are rich characters. And I tell you, there was only one minor one I didn’t enjoy reading about. Those are great stats.

I also loved how high-stakes the story was. Other authors will try to sell you that their worlds are perilous!! But no one actually dies. In Gwynne’s worlds, things are every bit as brutal as promised, and that put me constantly on the edge of my seat, wondering who was going to make it and who wasn’t. Talk about an engaging read! It set a brilliant atmosphere, delivered on all the promises, and had me completely hooked from start to finish.

I will say the book took a lot more concentration than I thought it would. With so many people to follow, and being a perfectionist to boot, I wanted to make sure I knew who he was talking about with every reference. It took me forever to read, but was well worth the effort. I’ve discovered that if I lose track of characters to any degree when reading a book, I become less and less engaged and a snowball effect of dissatisfaction happens. Luckily that didn’t happen here.

Recommendations: Pick up this series for a classic fantasy story written in a modern, sophisticated writing style. There aren’t too many fantasy fans I would hesitate to recommend this to – it’s superb! With all of the characters to keep track of, it might be prudent to skip the audio on this one.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Title: Valor

Author: John Gwynne

Series: Faithful and the Fallen #2

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4/5 stars

The Overview: The Banished Lands is torn by war as High King Nathair sweeps the land challenging all who oppose him in his holy crusade. Allied with the manipulative Queen Rhin of Cambren, there are few who can stand against them. But Rhin is playing her own games and has her eyes on a far greater prize… Left for dead, her kin fled and her country overrun with enemies, Cywen has no choice but to try to survive. But any chance of escape is futile once Nathair and his disquieting advisor Calidus realise who she is. They have no intention of letting such a prize from their grasp. For she may be their greatest chance at killing the biggest threat to their power. Meanwhile, the young warrior Corban flees from his conquered homeland with his exiled companions heading for the only place that may offer them sanctuary – Domhain. But to get there they must travel through Cambren avoiding warbands, giants and the vicious wolven of the mountains. And all the while Corban must battle to become the man that everyone believes him to be – the Bright Star and saviour of the Banished Lands. And in the Otherworld dark forces scheme to bring a host of the Fallen into the world of flesh to end the war with the Faithful, once and for all. -Goodreads

The Review:

I continue to see why this series has gained so much momentum in the SFF community. Valor was a solid installment.

What’s remarkable is that this chonker of a book manages to be both a slow-burn expansive story and a fast-paced page-turner at the same time. The overall arc of the story is a gradual build, and actually this sequel didn’t do a whole lot to advance the plot. But within each POV (there are about ten) chapter, the author takes care to make sure each passage has a significant change in status quo before each switch. And all within relatively short chapters to boot! That’s hard to do. It’s part of the reason I’ve come to love Gwynne as very concise and deliberate writer. And it’s also why I deem this classic-feel fantasy as a totally engrossing story. The composition here is incredible, easily one of the most well-done I’ve read.

One of my favorite things about the story is the wide array of compelling characters. With ten POVs it’s probable that you’re not going to like some as much as others, but with the exception of a single one, I found myself completely invested in everyone.

Bouncing around so much can also negatively affect the momentum of a story, but the placement of each switch was so good, sometimes the passages played off of each other and actually enhanced the momentum.

I also love the unexpected quality of Gwynne’s writing. Every time I think I’ve got the trajectory figured out, he switches things up (for the better). I loved the direction some of the POVs took in Valor. This also goes along with those high-stakes elements mentioned in my review of the first book. Most novels with this type of classical feel play at “dangerous” worlds full of peril, but this is one of the few that actually makes me feel any sort of stress for the characters. No one is safe, and I lovelovelove that aspect as much as I hate losing characters.

Recommendations: if you like classic fantasy but can also appreciate a more of a modern writing style, this is my top pick for you. Heck, even if you don’t like classic fantasy but just want a great story, this will win you over with its thoughtful pacing, great characters, and fun (gut-wrenching) story.

Other books you might like: