The Bookwyrm's Review of The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan

Author: Dave Duncan

Length: 432 Pages/ 13 Hours, 33 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Harper Collins

Release Date: September 1, 1999/ November 4, 2019 (Audio)

Narrator: Austin Vanfleet

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Tales of the Kings Blades, Book 1

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Amazon Link

While I usually review indie authored fantasy, I still have a huge collection of older traditionally published fantasy and sci-fi. This includes most of the books in The Kings Blades series, the first of which, The Gilded Chain, I'm reviewing here. The recent release of the audio version really piqued my interest, so here we go.

PLOT SUMMARY

This story starts with a young boy who's family brings him to Ironhall, where the King's Blades are trained to become the finest warriors in the world, being magically bound to their charges when they graduate. The young man takes the name of Durendal, the name of greatest hero in the history of the Blades, and a huge legacy to live up to.

We then switch to the POV of the kingdom's Chancellor, Lord Roland, as he sits in his office, running the day to day operations of the kingdom. When his biggest rival for power, the king's private secretary, comes in with an order removing him from office, Roland is relieved, thinking he can finally retire and spend time with his wife. Of course, its not that easy, and he is about to be arrested. Fortunately, Roland was gifted a King's Blade to bond to him as a guard, so he avoids being arrested, as any Blade is worth a dozen guardsmen. He heads home and apprises his wife of the situation.

Durendal, if you couldn't guess, is also Lord Roland, and the book switches between the two viewpoints, going back in the past for various important parts of his life, and then switching to the issues going on in the present. We see how, after his training, Durendal is bonded to his first charge, a spoiled noble who's gifted a Blade because his sister is the king's mistress. We get to see what the magical bond means, since it allows a blade to go without sleep for long periods of time, and forces them to defend their charge's life at all cost, including allowing them to fight long past injuries that would kill a normal fighter. 

We get to see Durendal caught up in a scheme by his charge to betray the king, and his bond forces him to go along, to eventual tragic consequences. This leads to Durendal being bonded directly to the king, and joining his household Blades. Rising though the ranks, he is tasked with a mission that takes him for years away from the kingdom,  tasked with bringing back a Blade that has supposedly been made into a gladiator slave in a distant land. This mission has a direct tie in to the end of the book, since what they find there will have dire consequences 30 years in the future. 

Upon returning, Durendal continues to rise in the ranks until he is eventually Blade commander, until the night the king is magically attacked by disgruntled magician's guilds, and Durendal saves the king's life, and is rewarded by being made the king's new chancellor. The years pass by and we get to the present, where we find that the king is finally dying, but something tied into that long ago mission is afoot, and will have horrible consequences for the kingdom, and possibly the world, if the king and his secretary aren't stopped from recreating what Durendal discovered all those years ago and thought he'd stopped then.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

While this book is very plot driven, the characters are surprising well rounded, especially Durendal and the King. Durendal is by every measure a fantasy hero of the old school, fearless, skilled, ruthless when necessary and a ladies man, and yet he also has flaws and blind spots you don't expect in such a traditional type character. His failures are as much a part of his character building as his many successes. The king is very much in the mold of King Henry VIII, starting out a vigorous, brash and energetic king, then getting fat and impatient with dissent as he gets old. He even alienates his daughter/heir. The secondary characters are given some love, especially the various Blades Durendal works with over the years, each given their own personalities, not just roles they play to move the story. 

The world building is solid, with the kingdom being pretty well described and populated, with the magic being fairly low key, but powerful in its way. The foreign locations are fairly well written, and you get a good feeling for the larger world, and the kingdom's place in it.

NARRATION

The narration is fantastically handled by Austin Vanfleet. He makes me think that every fantasy novel should be narrated with a scottish accent. He has such a good voice, with a smooth voice that creates many different voices for the various characters, giving them each their own unique life. His narrative pacing is some of the best I have ever heard, never dipping into a monotone, and really immersing the listener into the story. I will be happily reviewing more of his works in the coming months.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is the kind of traditional fantasy that could be seen as old fashioned, since the protagonist is not some shades of grey antihero, but is very much a hero. However, he is a flawed hero, making him much more than a two dimensional cutout, and the story is so well told that it keeps the reader engaged, with twists and turns that keep you guessing.  I suspect this book will appeal to a wide range of fans, from teens to fans of old school pulps. 

The Bookwyrm's Review of Sapphire of Souls by M. R. Mathias

Author: M. R. Mathias

Length: 437 Pages/ 6 Hours, 22 Minutes

Publisher: Mathias Publishing

Release Date: August 17, 2017/ August 5, 2019

Narrator: William Hahn

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Series: Fantastica, Book 2

Rating:4/5 Stars

Amazon Link

I have been a big of M. R. Mathias for quite some time. He is one of the pioneers of the indie publishing scene, and its really amazing to see that variety of stories and series he's written since his first book over a decade ago. Fantastica is a worthy addition to his portfolio of series, with broad appeal.

PLOT SUMMARY

The story picks up with Braxton and his companion, the mercenary Nixy, surviving their sea journey in search of the Sapphire of Souls, the weapon that will hopefully help them defeat the powerful demon Pharark. Joining them are are a sorceress, several elven hunters, and two dwarves, one of whom is crown prince, and they are all determined to help save the kingdom of Narvosa from Pharark and his pawn, the necromancer Reaton-Stav. The problem with finding the Sapphire is that its been missing for a 100 years since the elf carrying it was eaten by a dragon, who then flew off. 

Proceeding through the Wilderkin, the wild forest area they must traverse to try and find the jewel, the group is in a race with the wood trolls controlled by Pharark to discover the hiding place of the jewel. The situation gets even more tense when Braxton is thought lost when the group is attacked by a giant serpent, and ends up separated some distance from the group. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise, since Braxton ends up meeting a young girl with a magical amulet similar to his, allowing her to access the void and use magic as well. Traveling with an old dragon named Emerald they've met, they must try and reunite with their friends, while trying to get another weapon, Bloodstone, that can harm Pharark. 

As the two parties get closer to their final goals, their enemies aren't idle. Pharark has more Trolls and the giant Gothicans trying to attack Narvosa through their neighboring kingdom, and Reaton-Stav is trying to create an army of the dead while he tries to get a spell book that will increase his power immensely. These disparate threads come together later in a climactic clash that has repercussions for the greater world, with the results leaving both sides more determined than ever that they are on the path to victory, with only time telling whose vision will win out.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

Like the first book in the series, this book is very character driven. The author does an excellent job creating characters that are sympathetic while being strong and determined to do whats right, as far as the protagonists go, and creates some truly villainous antagonists that you can really loath. Braxton is kind of a traditional hero on the hero's journey, so he does have struggles and failures along the way. The other characters are given attention as well, expanding their stories to draw the reader into their lives. The villains are pretty much irredeemable evil villains, but are powerful enough that they have to be seen as a threat to the world.

The world building, as I've come to expect from this author, is excellent. You really get a solid feel for the world he has created, and it tends to draw you right into the action. It is a high magic realm, so you get your fair share of fireballs and other magic flying around. The settings are top notch, and are so well described you fell like you're walking the paths through the forest and down the halls of the castles. It's pretty much a hallmark of this author's writing.

NARRATION

The narration is handled by William Hahn. He has a big, deep voice, so his narration reflects that, really jumping out of the speakers at you. He does a good job creating different voices for each of the characters, and his narrative pacing is good, moving the story along at a nice clip. I look forward to hearing him narrate the rest of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS 

With a writer as experienced as M.R. Mathias, I had no doubts the book would be a polished, enjoyable story that avoided being a cliche of a fantasy novel. I was correct, and what we got was a well rounded story that should appeal to a wide range of fantasy fans. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this series to see how it ends.

The Bookwyrm's Review of Mountain of Madness by Derek Prior

Author: Derek Prior

Length: 235 pages/ 8 Hours, 12 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Homunculus

Release Date: 2019/ January 6, 2020 (Audio)

Narrator: Mike Carnes

Series: Annals of the Nameless Dwarf, Book 2

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Rating 4/5 stars

Buy on Amazon

I have to admit, I am a sucker for stories with dwarves in them. Gruff natured, hard drinking, hard fighting dwarves to me just make a fantasy story better. Books like Markus Heitz's Dwarves, D.A. Adams's Brotherhood of Dwarves and J. Zachary Pike's Orconomics are just catnip for me. When I read the first book in this series, Ravine of Blood and Shadow, I knew I'd found a series easily as good as those other. Mountain of Madness does nothing to change that opinion, being an outstanding addition to this series.

PLOT SUMMARY

The story picks up one year after the tragic events in the dwarven city of Arx Gravis, where the now nameless dwarf was duped into taking up the black axe, which drove him into a magical rage that led him to killing many of his fellow dwarves thinking they were demons. The only thing that stopped him was being separated from the axe and having an ocris metal helmet permanently bonded to his head, and being placed into stasis until he can be separated permanently from the axe. Hearing a familiar voice, Nameless awakens before he's supposed to, alarming the guards and leading to a confrontation with a large part of the guard force with his cellmate. The various factions come together to try and kill him, but he is saved by the magical entrance of a swords-woman, an assassin and a wizard, who are there to help Nameless's cellmate escape, and decide take Nameless with them. 

Having escaped Arx Gravis, but now being a nameless exile, a fate worse than death for a dwarf, he decides to accompany the group on their quest to stop the evil wizard Sektis Gandaw from unmaking the entire world with the power of the captive goddess Etala. Realizing they need to try and get armies on the move to try and stop him, the group, made up of Aristodeus the wizard, Zaylus the holy order knight, Rutha, a mercenary, Shadrak, an assassin and Nameless, proceed to the nearest human city.  The group ends up in an inn on the seedy side of town, and run into Albrec, Shadrak's old partner in the assassins guild. They send Zaylus to warn the city leaders, which is a mistake, since his order is banned in the city. and Zaylus is beaten and sentenced to death. This leads to a wild series of events as the Nameless, Shadrak and Albrec have to break him out and escape, while Aristodeus and Rutha leave on a mission of their own.

Escaping the prison, Zaylus, who wields a magic sword tied to his mental purity, kills a helpless guard, and can't use the sword anymore. This is a huge issue, since that sword was one of the only weapons that could possibly stop Sekris. While Aristodeus trains Rutha in his tower to use another magic sword that might work against Sekris, Nameless, Shadrak, Albrec and an old dwarf teacher of Nameless's approach Sekris's mountain to try and take him on, while trying to figure a way for Zaylus to use his sword. What happens next is an action packed confrontation as Nameless's group has to infiltrate the mountain, avoiding or fighting the traps and monsters in their way, while Aristodeus and Rutha try to confront Sekris on their own, while Sekris attempts to destroy the world with the stolen power, and the results of their success or failure have world shaking consequences.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

This is a character driven book, especially with Nameless, as he struggles to find his place in a world he never expected to ever be in. He is such a great character, strong and brave, but haunted by what he did in Arx Gravis and wondering if he will ever be worthy again. His companions are such a great group as well, with so many strengths and flaws making them seem like real people, and really help to sink you into the story. The villain, Sekris Gandaw, is kind of a trope, the evil wizard that is irredeemably evil, and is a bit over the top, but still makes an effective villain, since his power is so overwhelming. He's just kind of old school, having a more pulp villain feel. 

As far as world building, it's an excellent fantasy world, from Arx Gravis to the city life, to the underground tunnels of Sekris's mountain lair. Magic is not commonplace, but it's not unknown, especially with regards to artifacts. I'd probably rate it middle fantasy in regards to magic and technology. While not unique, it does have some fun with the dwarven realm and culture, which are pretty developed in the story, especially the history and mythos. All told, it's another strength of the story.

NARRATION

The narration is handled quite well by Mike Carnes. He does an excellent job bringing the characters to life, especially Nameless, who is channeling his inner Gimli for all he's worth. He has knack for finding just the right tone, cadence and accent for each character. His narrative pacing is excellent as well, never falling into a monotone. I look forward to hearing him narrate the next book in the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This book is a perfect example of a book that not only avoids the sophomore slump, but continues the story in such a way that it brings you even more into the story. The characters and world building mix with the solid storytelling to create a book that will appeal to a wide range of fantasy fans. I look forward to reading/listening to the next book in the series.

The Bookwyrm's Review of Forgotten Soldiers by Joshua P. Simon

Author: Joshua P. Simon

Length: 265 Pages/ 8 Hours, 57 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Joshua P. Simon/ Podium Audio

Release Date: December 14, 2014/ May 19, 2017 (Audio)

Narrator: Steven Brand

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Buy on Amazon

I happened to pick this book up on sale, but was a bit over whelmed with review reads at the time, so I was only able to listen to it recently. It turns out I should have gotten to it sooner, because wow, what a story! The themes of this book hit home, since I served in the Army with the last of the Vietnam era vets, who told us of returning to a divided country that didn't want them, and had a skewed image of what they had done while deployed. This book was an emotional roller coaster for me, but in the best way.

PLOT SUMMARY

The Kingdom of Turine has been at war with the neighboring empire for a decade.  Included in that army are a large amount of conscripted soldiers, among whom is a special group of soldiers who work for the commanding General as his special ops group. This group is led by Sargent Tyrus, himself conscripted at the beginning of the war, and the brains behind most of the General's strategic wins. He is also one of the rare people immune to magic, a valued trait in a soldier. When the enemy reportedly finds a magical relic that will win them the war, they mobilize for a full scale attack against the Turine forces. Tyrus convinces the general to deploy forces to flank the invaders, as well as sending his unit behind the lines to try and get the weapon from the enemy. Sneaking through enemy territory, they find the sorcerer's encampment where the relic is held, and after an intense struggle, manages to win the day, including killing the enemy's top sorcerer. 

Returning the weapon to their camp, they find the enemy has surrendered, agreeing to become a vassal state to Turine, as long as they promise to bury the relic and forget it exists. Not so shockingly, the King wants the relic studied, and Tyrus sister, Ava, his unit's mage, goes with the relic to the capital while Tyrus and his unit are released from service, along with several larger units.

As the group of soldiers returns home, they find as they go that they are not welcomed as conquering heroes, but looked at as akin to rabid dogs that were killing innocent civilians, raping and pillaging their way through the war, and now just wanted to return and take what the people who remained have. This leads to soldiers being attacked in a small city when they stopped for the night, and them having to fight their way clear. As the soldiers continue on, the party grows smaller as soldiers return to their various homes, until its just Tyrus and a few of his squad left. Reaching the road to Tyrus's farm, they separate and Tyrus heads for his farm to be reunited with his wife and children.

Tragically, this isn't what happens, and Tyrus finds that his hopes and dreams are destroyed as his farm has been sold, and his family shattered by a series of events he had no knowledge of, since the army has had an information blackout for the past 5 years. In fact, the army messed up and sent a message that Tyrus was likely dead, and this forced his wife to make decisions that eventually led to tragic results for her. Determined to reunite with his family, he finds his children indentured to his childhood enemy, a rich bully, and end up on the wrong side of the law after fighting him and his bully boys to get his kids back. He and the children are trying to leave town when Tyrus runs into two of his former squad mates that found a similar welcome for them, and as they are about to leave town, a mob approaches to stop them.

 Its here where the story gets crazy, as a portal opens, and Tyrus's sister Ava pops out, telling them they need to leave town immediately, since the king's magicians are about to mess with the relic and bad things are going to happen. All of a sudden, there is a flash from the direction of the capital, and people collapse into seizures. Tyrus and his kids alone are ok, since they have  immunity to magic, but the townsfolk are wrecked, and Tyrus has to decide if he and the family should run for it or help the town. This leads to wild series of events, as the blast was just the beginning of what could possibly be the end of the world if Tyrus doesn't do everything he and his people can do to try and stop it, all while dealing with a village that wanted to string him up not too long ago. His decisions will have greater consequences than Tyrus could have imagined.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

The characters in this are such a treasure. I think Tyrus may be one of my favorite all time characters in fantasy. He is such a tragic character, having to deal with so much loss and horror, and yet he still finds ways to struggle past and remain functional. He's such a well rounded character, with his flaws given just as much light as his strengths, making him resonate with me as a reader. The secondary characters are also fully realized, his old squad mates especially reminding me of people and times I had in the army. They just come across as real flesh and blood characters. The villain is a bit of a trope, the rich childhood bully grown into the town bully, but he doesn't go overboard with it, and he is still effective as the foil to Tyrus. 

The world building is a solid as you're likely to find in a fantasy novel. Turine is basically a fantasy version of the US during the Vietnam War, as soldiers returned to scorn and derision, just trying to return to the lives they were forced away from, shattered by what they experienced in the war. The prose describing these places and situations is just fantastic, really drawing you into the world, which is all you can ask of any author creating a new world. It's just done in such an impactful way, you can't help but feel you're right there in the middle of the action.

NARRATION

The narration is ably handled by the talented Steven Brand. He is one of my favorite narrators, and this is just another example of why that is. He does such a fantastic job of creating individual voices for the various characters, breathing life into each of them. His narrative pacing is some of the best in the business, with a crisp delivery that really keeps the story flowing, and his accents and tones are perfect for the story. I can't wait to hear him narrate the rest of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This was a difficult review for me, because I really did feel so badly for Tyrus and his fellow soldiers, having served with soldiers who had been through similar situations, and having heard their stories. Tyrus returning to tragically find his hopes dashed was a gut punch that when it all finally unfolded it actually left me in tears, and considering I have the emotional intelligence of a rock sometimes, that says a lot for the talent of the writer. I can't recommend this book enough to fantasy fans, and I'll even make a specific recommend, something I usually won't do. If you liked Peter McLean's Pries of Bones series, which starts with a similar premise but then goes a very different path, this may very well appeal to you. Definitely one of my top 10 all time reads of any genre.

The Bookwyrm's Review of Winter Harvest by Dawn Chapman

Author: Dawn Chapman

Length: 484 Pages/ 13 Hours, 23 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Mountaindale Press

Release Date: April 24, 2020

Narrator: Neil Hellegers

Series: Space Seasons, Book One

Genre: LitRPG/Sci-Fi

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Amazon Purchase Link

I've gotten a chance to review read some LitRPG lately, and I have been really enjoying it. When I got a chance to do a review of Dawn Chapman's new LitRPG title, I jumped, since I am such a fan of her sci-fi work. It turns out she has written a seamless hybrid of LitRPG and space opera that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what came next.

PLOT SUMMARY

In a future where your final school test scores determine whether you go on to a life working in a technologically advanced society, comfortably working for one of the corporations that run things, or end up downloaded into a VR body, fighting a war with hostile aliens on the far side of the galaxy, Kyle is all set. He's smart, determined and prepared for the tests. When the results come back, though, he is shocked to see that he has failed, and he must report for download while his body is disposed of. 

Resigned to his fate, Kyle gets uploaded, only to find himself downloaded onto the wrong planet, one with experienced troops, as opposed to a noob area where he should have been downloaded. He also finds he has special tech that allowed him to keep all his memories, while hiding his stats and abilities from other troops. He is almost immediately in over his head, as the area he spawned in is under threat from an alien race of giant wolfman like aliens, and the combat is only heating up. Making some allies in the fight, Kyle still ends up dying and re-spawning, finding the cost is a small percentage of his memories each time he dies and re-spawns. It doesn't help that he apparently has a bounty on his head, and some of the other troops will do anything to collect. 

Determined to try and survive, Kyle gets into the mech shop and figures out how to bypass the security and level overrides on a couple mechs, and he and one of his allies start training to use them, only to have an attack his the base that moment, forcing them to use their mechs to help repel the opposing forces, even if their hacking the mechs could result in their own side erasing them. They end up in a pitched battle and even find some incredible new uses for the mechs, and Kyle finds that one of his antagonists might not be what he seems, and that the world they're all fighting for may be much different as well.

Winning a combat test to win a slot on the team that has been trying to kill him for the bounty, Kyle finds their leader, Taito, has an agenda of his own. They make plans to try and escape the world they are on, while taking out the biggest threat to them all: Saskia, their ruthlessly efficient killer teammate. They manage to aquire a broken down ship that Kyle sets to fixing up, but this leads him into direct conflict with Saskia and her new team of killers, leading to a showdown which ends in ways they didn't see coming, leaving Kyle wounded and set into a healing tank as they depart.

Waking in the tank, Kyle sees blood on the outside of the tank, and opening it, finds the ship has been boarded and Taito fighting for survival. Realizing there is only one way to save Taito, Kyle sacrifices himself by jettisoning himself and a boarder out of the ship, allowing Taito to escape. Waiting in space, Kyle's specialized tech keeps him alive, but he slowly passes out, awaking on an alien world, naked and freezing, not having re-spawned but having landed somehow. Meeting up with a new team, who decide to help him, he finds they are much higher levels than he is, and that he is way off course from where he was trying to get to. 

Realizing that Kyle is dead meat if they don't get him leveled up, they take him on a crash course of grinding, basically letting him level up just by being part of their team, and getting him some specialized gear in the process. This all leads to the climactic battle which has far reaching implications for not only Kyle, but for so many other people stuck in the VR, since Kyle has found out secrets that weren't supposed to be known by anyone, and that the company in charge of the VR, Arndale Corp., will do anything to keep from coming out.

CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING

Being a LitRPG world, anything is possible, but the author keeps things grounded in a science fiction reality of just a relatively believable sci fi world. You can actually see a lot of what she  has written as possible, given technological breakthroughs with nano tech, robotics and weapons tech. The LitRPG elements are fairly standard, being mid-level crunchy, meaning there is stats and level/character building, but not overwhelmingly so. Its definitely a world I'd like to go gaming in, as long as I could get out at the end.

Characters are a definite strength of this story. Kyle especially has an interesting character arc, having to face the loss of his life's ambitions and make a new life in the VR, finding out along the way who he truly is, and having to determine which paths to take for success. He didn't start off the usual callow youth who grows into the role, but a competent young man who's skills allow him to flourish in a situation he never expected to be in. The secondary characters are an interesting bunch, with some coming on to the story briefly and moving on, and some being much more integral, and being more heavily detailed. Taito and Saskia especially get some attention, as their characters dynamics affect a lot of what Kyle does in the beginning and middle of the story, and Saskia turning out to be one of the antagonists and a part of a larger conspiracy was a major turning point in the story.

NARRATION

The narration is performed by one of my favorite top five narrators, Neil Hellegers. He has an amazing range of voices, using various tones, accents and cadences to differentiate the characters, bringing them each to their own life. His narrative pacing is excellent, never being monotone, but paced in such a way as to keep the listener engaged. I'd consider this some of his best work.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed this story. It was a nice blending of sci-fi/space opera and LitRPG elements, which is nice in a genre that usually focuses on fantasy elements. It had engaging characters, excellent action sequences and an underlying conspiracy, which is a favorite trope of mine. I do like a story where characters actions have broader consequences to the larger world. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for quality read with great world building and characters. It should appeal to a lot of different readers.