I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars. This is how you write fantasy.
The plot opens with a blood feud battle between two clans, several years before the main bulk of our story. It's full of vigour, great descriptions of the action, and sucked me straight in with the mixture of violence and brutality on an epic scale.
The main events of the story start several years later, where the majestic angels, the Ben-Elim, rule the majority of the land from their fortress of Dressil. Here they train and continue to hunt the remaining Kadoshim - the race of evil that came through the rift so many years ago. The story follows four main characters on their various travails as the increasing danger of the Kadoshim threatens to undue the uneasy balance of peace the Ben-Elim have fought to uphold for so long.
Drem is my favourite character of the bunch. We meet him in the first chapters as he hunts with his father Odin in the Wild - the land to the North outside the Ben-Elim's rule. He's naive, with an innate goodness and moral compass. He won't kill if he can help it, even when faced with a fight with a man attempting to hurt his friend. His relationship with his father is also lovely. You can feel the deep amount of love and respect he has for Odin, and his desire to follow in his footsteps. You really feel for Drem, and I was constantly willing him to succeed as his storyline just got better as it progressed and developed. By the end I really thought Drem had grown so much as a character, and I'd taken that journey with him.
Riv is a human, raised within the walls of Dressil. She has an undying love for the white wing armies, the people who fight solely for the Ben-Elim, and wants nothing more than to be a warrior and fight the kadoshim. However, is unable to control her anger and rashness in battle. I liked this rashness and lust for battle, although sometimes I did think she was a little 'brainwashed' by the Ben-Elim. Her story was the one that took me most by surprise, and I ended up really enjoying it. She has a strong relationship with her mother and sister, and it was nice to see them take a position of power and respect within the White Wings as unit leaders. It created a strong family unit deeply embedded within this culture of fighting without necessarily needing a strong male role model. I wish more fantasy writers would take this stance.
Bleda is the son of one of the clan chiefs seen in the opening battle. Taken as a ward by the Ben-Elim as punishment, he is raised under their watchful eyes in the hopes he will one day return to his clan as leader and a dedicated follower to the Ben-Elim's cause. Bela's storyline I enjoyed the least, and I felt we see the least progression in his character, although I liked that he's so insecure about his nature. There's often an internal struggle between the culture he was raised in, and the need to withhold all his emotions, and the obvious respect he holds for his captures. This leads to a lot of self doubt. It's his growing relationship with Riv however that I found the most interesting, as they're at heart such opposing characters. The hot headed Riv and quiet and thoughtful Bleda. Their blossoming friendship over a bow is great to see unfold, and there is potential for it to grow as events develop further down the line.
Sig is the most fearsome of the four. A giantess, fiercely loyal to those she calls kin, and a glorious warrior. However, I felt the least connected to her. She feels the least rounded of the four (which is knit picking really as all of these characters are wonderful), and although her storyline packs plenty of punch, violence and action, I felt that I never really got to see another side of Sig. She was in full on warrior mode for most of the story, and I wanted to see some vulnerability or weakness that the other main characters had.
After the initial opening battle scene, this has rather a slow start - but it takes a long time to build a world so wonderfully crafted. I felt fully immersed, and knew everything I needed to about the lay out of the lands and its vast history and cultures. I hadn't read anything by Gwynne before, and in some respects I felt I may have missed out on some of this rich past and history that readers of previous novels would relish to read about. This never detracted from my immense enjoyment however, but I definitely felt I could have had an even better reading experience if I'd started with [book:Malice|22288664]. This shows the quality of the writing here, as it takes a clever writer to be able to create such a colourful world and gently guide us through hundreds of years of history without confusing the reader and allowing themselves to get distracted by meandering side stories. Everything that is written here has a purpose, whether that's to develop a character or flesh out the storyline.
I can't write a review for this without mentioning that ending. It takes a lot to surprise me, and this took me in a direction I didn't see coming for a number of characters. It's also tidied up in such a way that I felt satisfied by the end, yet desperate for the next adventure. I really enjoyed this, and I will be looking for more John Gwynne to pick up as soon as possible to tide me over until the next instalment. If you enjoy dark fantasy (and this does get dark) this is easily one of the best stories out there at the moment.
A Time of Dread is available to purchase now from: Amazon
- 4 stars
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