a good story

I enjoyed this book even though it is blatant plagiarism of asoiaf, still it was an interesting listen and the twists and turns of this medieval fantasy had me gripped, I'm looking forward to
the next installment of the series.

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Bit boring

I found the story to be quite middle of the road and the narration lacked energy. I didn't connect with many of the characters either.

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well worth a listen!!!

fantastic story, rich but accessable writing. brilliant characters. narration is great as well, the readers voice never grows tedious.
can't recommend enough.

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No sequel

George Martinesque pause between books. He’s not my bitch, you say, but no one likes a half written story. The characters quite stereotypical and the dialogue clumsy, but the narrative does weave into something decent and largely enjoyable.

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a very generic story

honestly, a very generic fantasy grimdark story. northern raiders, farmlands and villages being ravaged by aforementioned raiders or the decrees of an indifferent king. lots of plotting and backstabbing in the courts. the female characters are pathetically weak. And the story didn't really have an ending. good to pass the time but nothing exceptional

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How engaging and entertaining

I was gripped 3 chapters in, the inhumanity shown in the book is nerve wrenching can wait for book 2 to be on here!

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Cracking fantasy that takes a different tact

I think most fantasy fans will enjoy this book, especially as it offers something a bit different.

Instead of the usual good v evil battle it is told from the viewpoint of several characters, whose paths will undoubtedly collide. The great thing is you see good and bad in those characters, although some are tainted with more bad than good. The point is you can sympathise will more than one of them.

The prose isn't as impressive as some of the greats, so this won't be going into my all time classics but I was really impressed by this story.

The only thing that lets this one down is the narrator. It is as all purpose has been set on making characters sound different but the context has been totally disregarded. For example a daughter has a regal voice and her father sounds like a gruff farmer. Two brothers, brought up together, have regionally different accents. Men described brutes can sound like harmless middle managers. It does get frustrating but it doesn't ruin it.

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Great

Great story. Personally I found some (trying to not leave spoilers) storylines a little 'he said she said'. But it wouldn't be the same story without then!

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Average fantasy

A decent enough book. Nothing particularly original or earth-shattering about it. I've seen rave reviews about both the story and the narrator; both only slightly better than mediocre. A foreword plays us the "grim dark" nature of the book, and the "challenge" the book represents: both promises fall far short. It is a book of morally questionable characters on all sides like nearly ALL contemporary fantasy.

It is a story on a very grand scale, however, with engaging and well drawn characters. Certain debut novelist traits are present that I'm surprised the editor didn't fix.

I have little doubt that the series this grows into will be an engaging and interesting one. Not worthy of the highest praise I've seen of it, but certainly worthy of 1 credit and 20 hours of easy listening. And I bet the sequel will be 5 star worthy, in honesty and fairness.

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1 person found this helpful

Good book

I like this book it has the feel that it's building on to something much bigger and great, that is also the reason I marked it down as it kinda feels like the book before the book and it's just a book to lay the foundations for the next one.

I will defiantly read the next book

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