Synopsis

The final conflict between the Brotherhood of the Eagle and King Adalrikr Kinslayer approaches. Johan Jokellsward’s forces lay siege to Adalrikr’s stronghold, preparing to launch a deadly and decisive assault.

Far to the north, Rothgar returns to freshly liberated Norlhast, following his own adventures on the Fire Isle. Rothgar is reunited with his sister Nuna, and they prepare to sail with her husband, the Norlhast chief, to aid the Brotherhood and honour a broken oath.

Rothgar carries weapons forged by the gods, fashioned to defeat Adalrikr and undo his dark magic. Yet prophecies of ruin and failure follow Rothgar, and if those come to pass the Brotherhood’s efforts will end in tragic defeat. Is his destiny to defy those predictions, or will Rothgar lead everyone he loves to their doom?

In Broken Brotherhood, The Brotherhood of the Eagle series reaches its epic conclusion. Who will prevail, and at what cost?

Review

Well, I am not sure I can articulate a suitable review that captures how this finale made me feel or how much I loved this series .

Tim is a wordsmith and a phenomenal storyteller. This series is incredibly unique and told with its own voice. It doesn’t lean on fantasy tropes but carves out its own place.

I have absolutely loved the journey of the four books within this series.

From being blown away by book 1 ( Tim’s debut ) to just having all expectations shattered when book 2 was released (this remains one of my top 3 indie books of all time) and then set up for this outstanding finale with the perfectly paced book 3. This series has delivered in every moment.

This final instalment was brilliant. Tim’s writing is impeccable.

We have an amazing cast of characters, and their arcs have all been special.

I think sometimes there are structural challenges when writing a finale. When so much has come before, you dont want to lose the momentum of previous events. The only criticism I have for this book is that the book peaks at 50 percent and then just holds at the top of the mountain. With such monumental events taking place early in the book, it’s hard to continue to build peril and plot lines that push the story further up said mountain.

That said, I loved how Tim used the final portion of this book to tie up so many of the threads he created. I was more than satisfied with the final outcomes and the journeys to get to them.

I can safely say, Tim Hardie is now of of my favourite authors

Review

I will start by stating the obvious, The Stormlight Archive is going to go down as a generational fantasy series and will become part of fantasy folklore for generations to come. 

I have never experienced any story or series that is so ambitious in every aspect. 

The world building is on another level to anything I’ve ever read and the sheer depth of lore and detail is, quite frankly, mind boggling.

I am absolutely obsessed with the intricacies of the story and links across the Cosmere. At no point in this series have I been able to pre-empt anything happening, its just an incredible feat of writing 

I confess, this is my least favourite SA book. Part 3 and 4 of this one are a slog. I don’t know if it’s because I experienced this as a graphic audio (almost 60 hours) but I felt like we spent hours going nowhere .  The flashbacks of Venli and Eshonai being particular painful. 

The saving grace during these parts was Adolin. His arc has been phenomenal and he stands heads and shoulders above everyone in this instalment.  

By the end of part 4 I was however feeling a little Brando burnout, but as I have come accustomed, I knew the finale would be worth it. Boy, was it worth it.

Sanderson knows how to wrap a book. The chopping and changing of characters, the pacing, the memorable moments and the shocks. Just relentless and impossible to put down.  I have so many theories and questions and am desperate for the finale of this arc.

Series remains as one of my all time favourites but this one didn’t get the 5 stars of its predecessors 

Honor is not dead so long as he lives in the hearts of men

Well what do we have here! Anthony Ryan and a Norse Fantasy!

Not the combination I expected but certainly one I could get on board with!

A Tide of Black Steel is the first book of the “Age of Wrath” series. An epic fantasy trilogy!

I cant say it any better than the blurb so as a reminder, this is what you are in for;

“The land of Ascarlia, a fabled realm of bloodied steel and epic sagas, has been ruled by the Sister Queens for centuries. No one has dared question their rule.

Until now.

Whispers speak of longships of mysterious tattooed warriors, sailing under the banners of a murderous cult of oath-breakers long thought extinct. A tide of black steel that threatens to vanquish all in its path.”

Review

The first thing you should note on this book, is the cover! Goodness me does that hit all the right spots.

Looks fantastic, feels dramatic and will look beautiful on your book shelf.

But I guess you are reading this review to learn about what is inside!

I like to measure my books on a few different focus points.

Characters

There is a lot! I will confess, the sheer volume of new characters overwhelmed me at the start and made this a real slow burn read.

In a similar vain to Malice by John Gwynne it takes the first 50% of the book to really understand the runners and riders.

I struggled to connect with everyone, especially with so many POV’s. The stars of the story for me are Ruhlin and Thera, but I feel others might enjoy Elvine and Felnir more.

I landed on 3/5 for characters.

World building

This is where Anthony Ryan always excels. This is no different. He is phenomenal at pulling you into a series, and making you feel that you are there.

His ability to captivate the scene and everything in the world is brilliant. Norse Fantasy books is a pretty well trodden path in fantasy now and Ryan followed all the rules and gave me everything I expected.

4/5

Writing style

I usually really enjoy multiple POV but this felt sticky at times. Sometimes I didn’t need the POV change and I certainly didn’t need such gaps between returning to the character.

Parts of the story were more interesting than others to me, and when I was pulled out of those moments, it kinda sucked.

3/5

Plot and pacing.

This is a tough measure for this book. Book 1 of a new series is often going to be a slow start, as you are introduced to the world and characters.

For me, it was hard to feel fully engaged until about the halfway point. That said the second half is great and is the reason I will pick up the next book when its out.

3/5

Entertainment value

I think based on the above you can see this wasn’t plain sailing for me. I enjoyed it enough to want to read book to, but it wasn’t edge of the seat stuff.

I know Ryan delivers so I am eagerly anticipating book 2.

3/5

Overall 3 stars.

Synopsis

Death is missing – presumed… er… gone.

Which leads to the kind of chaos you always get when an important public service is withdrawn.

Meanwhile, on a little farm far, far away, a tall dark stranger is turning out to be really good with a scythe. There’s a harvest to be gathered in…

Review

We all know cosy fantasy is in its resurgence era, but its worth remembering the genre has a godfather and his name is Terry Pratchett.

The original master of the craft. 

This instalment in the Discworld series is The Reaper Man and it brings back one of TP’s most loved characters Death! Or does it?

After being left a little lukewarm with Mort, I was hoping Reaper Man would reignite my love for TP. 

TP was never going to miss twice in a row, and this book absolutely landed for me

Lets break this down;

Characters

The main protagonists in this one are Windlepoons a wizard who just cant die and the other is Bill Doors.

Windle is a bit hapless and his story does meander along, however his part of the story does provide all the humour you expect in a Pratchett work. The merry band of individuals he’s fall in step with had me chuckling along and left my cheeks hurting from smiling

As for good ol’ Bill, he just wants an easy life. However, life (and death) is never easy and Bill really did get put through the emotional ringer. There are so many layers to characters created in this story and it made sure I was invested throughout

5/5

World building

Its the Discworld! There is an orangutang librarian!! The world building in all Pratchett books is wild. The entire world blends together real life and some crazy concepts and adjustments to what we are used to. You can never predict where Pratchett will take you 

4/5

Writing style

As much as I love the world, characters and often the underlying stories and messages in Pratchett’s writing, I have to confess I don’t always gel amazingly with the writing style. At times i feel it can get a bit clunky. However the ability to write underlying humour whilst weaving a story always astounds me. I always appreciate how Pratchett can make you think and feel about life’s big questions.

4/5

Plot and pacing.

Bill’s part of the story was the highlight of the book. I didn’t expect it to unfold as it did and i confess it was a much more heartwarming tale and ending than i ever expected. Without wanting to give away spoilers, the final 10 percent is just a beautifully crafted story. Windles part of the story didn’t really have much substance or plot but it did give the opportunity to add humour into the story which was starting to get quite deep in other parts

4/5

Entertainment value

Entertained throughout. The writing was fantastically hilarious as expected however if it wasn’t for the Windle plot meandering along this might have landed as a 5-star book

4/5

Overall 4 stars