The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy)

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The books were legends and tales, stories from all over the Realm. These she had devoured voraciously – so voraciously, in fact, that she started to become fatigued by them. It was possible to have too much of a good thing, she reflected. Eldritch Abomination: The Beast of Skavengard, and unholy mass of tentacles, eyes and mouths that is trapped on the island-palace of Skavengard. It was summoned from another dimension and slaughtered everyone on the palace centuries ago. Just a glimpse of it is enough to pretty much break Keel's mind. I got nothing. I mean, it's a LONG book and finding time to read it with a new puppy nipping at my heels was tough... That's probably more of a review of the puppy than the book though. Lastly, this review will be incomplete if I don’t mention a thing or two about Klyssen. Klyssen is one of the main villains of the series. He has been there since the first book, and we have received a few POV chapters from him in The Ember Blade. In The Shadow Casket, Klyssen has more portion of chapters. And my god, I felt for his characters. I feel like Klyssen, as villainous as he is, is truly the character who could totally be on Aren’s side if only he was born and raised on the side of Ossia. The affection and love Klyssen has for his daughters felt so genuine. And he has a strong unbending sense of justice even though he IS on the opposing side of Aren. I loved reading his POV chapters, and I think Klyssen displayed, once more, why Wooding is so good at writing characters, both protagonists and antagonists.

One of the best fantasy books I've read in years. An instant classic!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ From the publisher: “Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He’s never questioned it; that’s just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free . . . Grub worships the Skull God who seems to be a Crystal Dragon Odin; especially given he's seen as a judge of the dead and crows are sacred to him.

Fantasy Books Of The Year

This book is a modern epic fantasy. It takes some of the best elements that are now associated with Grimdark, an unforgiving world, characters who are morally grey, very little plot armour for any of its characters; and it throws them all into an epic fantasy story the likes of which Tolkien or Sanderson might write. In fact, this book homages Fellowship of the Ring so hard it feels like Chris Wooding's love letter to Tolkien. I read a lot of fantasy, though I’ve never read a fantasy book that somehow manages to incorporate elements from so many other books and make them original and unrepetitive. It’s a triumph of writing, and I dare say one of the best in the genre for a very long time. I gave it five stars because it is a masterful balancing of new and old. Fantastic Nuke: Elarite oil is a highly unstable substance produced as a byproduct of elarite mining operations that can be detonated by any spark and emits fumes capable of igniting the air itself. Eight wine barrels worth of the substance note A dozen wine barrels each 2/3 full can produce an explosion powerful enough to demolish an entire fortress and burn down what is left in a blaze that can be seen hundreds of miles away. The pacing of The Ember Blade is fantastic, with the stakes continuing to rise throughout the book. It was almost impossible to put this down, especially at the end of a chapter, when I just had to start the next one to know what happened next.

Clever and challenging, but also funny . . . The explosive finale has more than enough bang for anyone . . . a group forged in blood and betrayal, bonded by their oaths do what needs to be done against any and all odds' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ To speak from the heart required more bravery than any physical risk. To heal a wound was so much harder than to cause one.” Following Aren and Cade from Shoal Point on their incredible journey was gripping. They were wonderfully written, with depth and complexity.The story I find fairly interesting, but (mild spoilers again) the book feels like it just STOPS. Yes, I know that there are to be subsequent books. I get that, but this book has a very abrupt end. Climax and done. I would have preferred a bit more of an epilog to sort of bring us down a bit and prepare us for the next book. That is not in evidence, at all. Thrown into a prison mine they plan their escape - only to be overtaken by events when they're rescued, and promptly find themselves in the middle of an ambush. By the time they've escaped, they're unavoidably linked to Garric - their unwelcome saviour - and his quest to overturn to Dachen way of life. Empires rise, civilisations fall and one culture comes to subsume another. It's the way of the world . . . sometimes ways of life are improved, sometimes they are not. But the progression of change is huge and - usually - unstoppable.

The Krodan Empire has an obvious connection to the Roman, bringing ‘peace’ to their neighbours by the sword in their own version of the Pax Romana. It reminds us that these conflicts are not only fancies of the author’s mind; the detailed interconnections between the two Empires enhance the veracity of the narrative, one example, of many, is the Krodan religious conversion to the Sword and the Word harking to Constantine’s conversion to Christanity. The book owes as much to Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as anything else and acts as a warning from without: all things change. As in the regions of Roman conquest, the Krodan invasion of Ossia, thirty years past, has left the population deeply divided, each person having an intensely individual response to the occupation, from collaboration to outright revolt. Aren, son a noble made rich by cooperation, is Ossian born, but raised in the Krodan style, conditioned to respect their culture, laws, and religion, while Cade is lower born and Ossian through and through. After all, the struggling classes have a much greater distance from Krodan influence, it’s much more important to indoctrinate those in society who are powerful or useful. If this seems simplistic, it’s because it’s only the set up, there to lull you into a false sense of superiority. As you keep reading you notice that every character has a nuanced, personal, layered, and complicated set of ideas about their country, the occupation, their fellow citizens, the Krodans (as individuals and as a group), the Sards (a Roma community), the wrongs of the past, and what should be done about the future. And they change with experiences and new information, making mistakes along the way. The author makes sure that humanity = complexity, it’s exceptionally done. I needed a bone-crushing hug afterwards to stop me quivering all over, overwhelmed as I was by the quality of this novel. Chris is clearly a skilful writer, and there’s clearly been a lot of work in putting this together. Any reader wanting the challenge of a big Fat Fantasy will relish such a read and realise from the beginning that The Ember Blade is a story for the long haul. It must be said that by the end I felt that it is an immersive experience, if you give it time to develop. If that is what you want, then this is a satisfying read, building from traditional tropes into a series of set pieces that read well, although not always working well together. Now thirty-nine, Chris has written over twenty books, which have been translated into twenty languages, won various awards and been published around the world. He writes for film and television, and has several projects in development. FRIDAY 10 am (bright and early): Megan Leigh (Breaking The Glass Slipper podcast) interviews little old me about all kinds of stuff! Signing at the Big Green Bookstore stand right after.Aren has lived by the rules all his life. He’s never questioned it; that’s just the way things are. But then his father is executed for treason, and he and his best friend Cade are thrown into a prison mine, doomed to work until they drop. Unless they can somehow break free . . . This book is the very embodiment of high fantasy, which is a sub-genre I love with all my heart. My first reading experiences were of high fantasy, and it is something that makes me truly nostalgic. Some people find this over done, a cliche if you will; the chosen one quest has been done time and time again for sure, but this trope is something I personally love. From the excellent characterizations to the relentless chase, from breathtaking set pieces to the intricate world-building, everything was written with finesse. It seriously doesn't matter whether you're a fan of classic, epic, or grimdark fantasy (even better if all three), there's a place for you here. The Ember Blade is a book every fantasy fan will feel right at home with, and yet will find new adventures in it. It's a book that fantasy readers will love to revisit and inhabit longer and longer with every visit. Honor Before Reason: Garric will keep his oaths, no matter how impractical or dangerous to himself they might be. Case in point, since he once swore to protect Aren's father's family, he goes to rescue him from the prison camp, even though he later came to hate Aren's father fiercely. Overwatchman Klyssen was counting on this and was the only reason Aren was arrested in the first place. That turned out way better than I imagined. I was a bit sceptical because the plot isn't original but the potrayal changed everything, the author made normal mundane fantasy troupe into something extraordinary. The book has a great world, good camaraderie, amazing friendship.