Hells Reward: Epic Fantasy (The Age of Heroes Book 1)

The Black Company is arguably the progenitor of the dark and dirty grim dark militaristic fantasy of the 21st century and one of the most influential fantasy books in the genre and as such, belongs on this list of one of the best fantasy books to read. Fans of Malazan Book of the Fallen, particularly, may find themselves right at home with The Black Company, as both series follow companies of soldiers through battle quite closely. Both series feature epic battles with magic and mayhem thrown in aplenty.

Both series have ambiguous characters who are neither black nor white. The Black Company is more tightly focused on a small band of characters than a huge cast, as in Malazan. If you've read anything in the fantasy genre, you can easily see some of the books that draw influence from The Black Company. What's particularly intriguing about The Black Company is that the characters are not afraid to make hard choices. Too many fantasy books these days have goody goody two-shoes characters who can't step on an ant for fear that it's the wrong thing to do.

Glen Cook throws all that out the window and creates a group of mercenaries who define their own moral codes, rather than bow to our own. Yet they have their own code of honor, despite the fact that their morality is often suspect at least according to our own social mores. That means characters often make uncomfortable choices, arguably evil choices. The Black Company really does ask the question: And it's not a simple answer folks. The Black Company end up employed by The Lady, a character who might be able to show Tolkien's Sauron a new trick or two.

So for an action-packed military fantasy series that was genre-busting way back before gritty fantasy was popular, The Black Company takes the cake. This came out in the early 90's, but despite its age, it still beats most of the other epic fantasy out there today, even in the era of fantasy, this classic is absolutely worth the read. There is still no other work of fiction quite like it right now.

A superstar on earth, Hari Michaelson is worshiped by billions. But in the world of Ankhana, Michaelson is feared by all. He is known only as Caine, the Blade of Tyshalle -- a relentless, unstoppable assassin who kills monarchs and commoners alike. Back home on earth, Michaelson's adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions, but he is forced to ignore the fact that he is killing men for the entertainment of his own planet.

Bound by the rigid caste society of his planet, forced to keep a growing rage in check, the boundaries between Hari Michaelson, the superstar, and Caine, the Blade of Tyshalle begin to slip. When his wife goes missing in Ankhana, Michaelson and Caine must become one to save his wife and survive the treacherous rulers of two worlds. Day of the Jackal meets Lord of the Rings, Heroes Die is a heart-pounding thrill ride that never brakes and one novel you don't want to put down. A blend of sci-fi and fantasy, Heroes Die is as good as they come. It's a unique tale with interesting concepts and a whole lot of blood -- like a lot of fucking blood.

A world is only as good as its characters, and Stover's Caine is very, very good. He's an anti-hero through and through, a man twisted by his own violence, confused between his role as a good guy superstar back on earth and his occupation as the best assassin Ankhana has ever seen. Caine ponders the morality of his actions, all the while eviscerating his victims. Who is the real man behind the character and which one is the mask?

Hari Michaelson the superstar or Caine the assassin? Ultra violent, visceral and just damn cool, Heroes Die is a shrine to violence and Caine is the high priest. Those wanting a superb story that rushes along faster than a supersonic jet, with more action then you can shake a stick at need wait no longer.

This book has been on multiple versions of this best fantasy book list and it STILL remains on the list, even in It's such a standout book in even in crowded genre with many greats, it's still one of the greatest, if oft overlooked and underrated, book. There are a number of Caine novels as of and every single one of them are fantastic, though the first couple books are the best.

This one is full to the brim with gritty, amoral, cynical dark humor. A different sort of fantasy, but one that's extremely refreshing, disturbing, and entertaining -- one of the best fantasy reads to come out the past couple years. Even as we near , The Prince of Thorns still stands tall among other strong fantasy books.

For a dark, gritty, anti-hero driven fantasy, I felt strong Abercrombie vibes. There's a strong influence from A Game of Thrones -- and if you've ever read KJ Parker's The Engineer trilogy , you'll see some similarities in the tone and style of world. The setting of the world is interesting too, a sort of post-apocalypse world gone to hell that sparks similarities to Jack Vance's Dying Earth world. This is the brutal story of Prince Jorg, a teenage princeling who abandoned his father's castle after witnessing the murder of his mother and brother.

During this time away, he's been eking out a place for himself with band of marauders. These are brutal killers of the worst sort and Jorg has been living as a sort of apprentice murderer under their rules. Things get interesting when he decides to head back home and reclaim his stolen birthright by force and blood. The narration is first person and well done at that -- I haven't been so entertained by first person narration in ages. This is some of the first person narration since Farseer and The Name of the Wind. I particularly loved Jorg's sharp insights into the human condition, which is generously sprinkled through the pages.

Lawrence has managed to do well what few authors ever do: Make no bones about it: But it's a vileness you understand. You know, kind of like that drunk guy you met at the corner bar who was abused by his father, had his wife stolen by his brother and his house auctioned by the bank -- you can understand why he hates the world. Truth be told, it's tricky for an author to cook up a compelling anti-hero; to do so, you need the absolute perfect blend of good world-building, a protagonist that you can still sympathize with, and sharp, witty prose that binds the whole thing together and keeps you from hating the protagonist.

Most authors can't balance this sensitive equation and fail horribly, either making the antihero so unlovable that you hate him completely or eventually turning the anti-hero into a good yet 'misunderstood' character. Well Lawrence does not fall into these trappings. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are looking for a darker sort of tale. It grips you in a horrified, yet I-can't-stop-reading sort of way. It's not for everyone, especially those who only like reading about good, lovable heroes. If you are averse to bad things happening, avoid.

But if you are on the lookout for a different sort of fantasy tale, one that's dark and brooding, starring a protagonist who's not afraid to do anything to achieve power, you'll find this tale gripping. The trilogy has been completed as of and from start to finish, the Lawrence maintains the quality of story, plot, and characters. This year the first book in another trilogy set in the same world, the third book, The Wheel of Oshiem , was released with another interesting, yet different type of anti-hero character. Lawrence has really come into his own as a writer the past few year and his outstanding series has kept him on this list of the best.

Kay has made this list in the past with his outstanding Tigana arguably one of his best works. Up until recently, I felt Tigana was Kay's magnus opus a work that he would never surpass. It turns out that Kay's recent book, Under Heaven, an alternate history set in a mythical China is every bit as grand as Tigana, and perhaps even better a more tightly weaved, more focused, more exotic tale. Under Heaven is Kay's first foray into Asian history and culture, his other efforts centered about European history.

Under Heaven takes place along a mythical China set around 8th century during the Tang Dynasty and follows a fictionalized version of the An Shi Rebellion one of the most brutal wars in history before World War II. For readers who actually love to read, who enjoy luscious prose and value outstanding characterization, Kay's books are pretty much made-to-order just for you.

There are a few talented wordsmiths in the fantasy genre who not only can mesmerize you with a rich tale but mesmerize you with their prose. Kay is one of these, up there with the handful of poetic authors with the likes of Sean Williams, China Meiville, and Neil Gaiman. Kay's works sit near the top of the historical fantasy genre and he's a master at it. His tales are almost always set in a in fantastical alternate history richly based on real world cultures, locales, and historical period. I was first enticed by Kay's literary spell casting because that's what it is, Kay casts a magical net with his writing and draws you into his worlds; once you feel the enchantment, you are forever bound to his works with his flawed masterpiece, Fionavar Tapestry.

The trilogy was Kay's conversation with Lord of the Rings, and while derivative also had its own unique identify and was deeply imbued with Kay's deep understanding of European folklore. His later work and masterpiece Tigana was so stunning and so startling a take on the ostensibly simple tale about a band of rebels fighting an evil wizard delivered a startlingly emotional tale of love, hate, hope, and ultimately redemption. Kay has had a lot of good books since then never quite touching on his former glory, though some of his romps through alternative versions of Venetian Europe and Medieval Germany were provocative.

Kay's heroes are not the traditional heroes of fantasy they are not always the talented swordsman, the heroic soldier, the all-powerful wizard, but rather men of knowledge and wit not of martial skill. Kay's heroes are in fact poets and jongleurs, the masters of word and song.

Kay shows these types can be every bit as dangerous, courageous and heroic as the swashbuckling hero.

And like his heroes who excel in the arts literary and celebrate language, Kay's works always reflect his love affair with language. Kay shows us that as far as Asia and Europe are in distance and culture, the peoples are still yet the same the love, they hate, they betray, they hate, and they find redemption.

People, as the saying goes, will always be people. And in the complex web of these interactions from peasant to emperor, from poet to politician, Kay shows draws a stunning portrait of a Kingdom on the verge of collapse and the people who seek to destroy it and to save it each with realistic motivations.

Kay has written many outstanding books. But Under Heaven is his masterpiece. Read if you want to be captivated by lambent prose, dripping with poetic beauty. Read if you want to be drawn into a fantastical tale of emperors, of soldiers, of nobles, and ladies, farmers and peasants each impacting in some significant way the flow of events that direct the course of Kitai, the mystical ancient Chinese kingdom. Even better, there is a sequel River of Stars which tells a different yet equally poignant tale in the same world, but years after the first book.

If words could tell a story just by the sound, then Kay's prose does just that. Read if you love to read. This book is the newest work just released September on this list -- but the author has been writing some of the best, if underrated, fantasy fiction for the past decade, so it's hardly a leap to put his works on this list in fact, I had one of the author's previous works, The Troupe , on one of the older iterations of this list a few years ago. Robert Jackson Bennett, like Neil Gaiman, is an author that seems unable to actually publish a bad novel.

Yes, some works are better than others, but even the 'worst' of make for a pleasant and highly imaginative read. City of Stars is his finest novel to date, a work that blends the traditional epic fantasy with a number of other genres and the novel, I hope, that will finally bring him the critical acclaim and popularity he deserves. Assassins, ancient gods, alternate worlds, mysteries, magic,politics, love, brutal action -- and a car chase thrown in.

City of Stairs is really an eclectic mix of ideas that all, somehow, fit together perfectly. And it's all told with such sardonic and crackling prose. And the sequel City of Blades was just released in and tells the same sort of wonderful tale the first book did. This is a book -- and series -- you would do well to lose yourself in. One of the best fantasy novels of on my list of picks for that year and I would posit,one of the best, most unique fantasy works in the past five years. City of Stairs is a captivating read -- once it starts going, it really gets going and you've found yourself at page at 4 am in the morning.

If you read one book this year, make it City of Stairs. A world of rich storytelling awaits in Robert Bennett Jackson's books. And City of Stairs is the perfect stairway in to his works. Finally a foreign author translated makes it onto the list. Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko, a Russian author, does something very different in the urban fantasy sphere.

It's a book about vampires but filtered through a different lens -- that of the Russian perspective. As such, it makes for a Night Watch is a morally grey urban fantasy, and one of the best examples of it; it's an updated, more modern version of Anne Rice, but much darker, deeper, more edgy and vastly broader in scope. Epic vampire fantasy set in Russia, but gritty and grey. Forget about the mediocre, angsty vampire lit of the Twilight books, Night Watch is the adult version that sparks in the night.

Too often we get fantasy filtered through the eyes of western writers, but Night Watch is something different -- it's fantasy written from the view of a different culture -- soaked in different cultural ideas, myths, and social norms. The style is gritty Gothic -- a sort of horror novel meets fantasy.

The premise itself is new for the whole vampire urban fantasy that takes the genre in a slightly new direction. But most of all, it's the dark work and the raw cultural differences infused into the story that make it such a refreshing read. This is like no vampire fantasy you've read, and I posit this is the best of the bunch. If you want to read books about vampires this is the one to read, the one that is, actually, different. Though it's a translated work, the translation is most excellently done -- you don't get some stilted dry version that's a pale shadow of the original.

Night Watch is not only one of the best non-English fantasy books, it's on of the best fantasy books in the genre.

• Seven Princes.
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Read it for something wildly different than you are used to. Rich characterization, a fascinating new world and mythology, interesting magic, and of course a vivid and lush setting Russia make this the Urban Fantasy to read. It's a book and series that's deserving to be read.

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One of the more exciting new fantasy works in the genre. Fafhrd And The Gray Mouser. Often referred to as ' the greatest fantasy author you've never read ' by some. But if you've read any modern sword and sorcery with dark themes, complex characters, strong world building, you've felt the far-reaching influence of Leiber.

Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser is a fantasy most of you probably have not read, due to its age and the criminal lack of recognition given to the series over the years.

The impact on the genre Fritz Leiber cannot be understated. Together with Conan stories and Lord of the Rings, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser were some of the most influential books in the fantasy, helping to define the boundaries of the genre and impacting generations of writers. Fritz Leiber actually coined the term Sword and Sorcery and together with Howard's Conan stories, he's credited as the father of Sword and Sorcery. The familiar trappings expected by the modern fantasy reader are all present in the stories of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser: But all these elements are used in such a way that the stories are fresh; indeed this older series is very much readable by today's standards of fantasy.

The cities are well developed, the landscapes are filled with a rich tapestry of history, the characters complex and realistic, thoughtful and at times dark. And the writings is sweet, hearkening back to a time when to be a writer meant to be a wordsmith, where the minimum of words are used with great skill to express so much.

Read this not only because it's one of the books that fostered an entire genre of writing, but for the phenomenal world building, the compelling characters, the deep relationships and exciting adventures all told with Leiber's remarkable prose -- a prose that many modern writers would do well to ape.

Despite the age of these stories, it's clear Fritz Leiber is 10x a better writer than a number of modern popular fantasy writers. There's a certain cadence to the way Fritz Leiber tells his tales -- a subtle but powerful, like a monastic chant that soothes the soul, and very much present in all of his works.

You have to read his stories to get the feeling of it, but once you do, you'll feel right at home in his wonderfully crafted worlds. Not a 'Modern' fantasy you say? Meh, this stuff is better than 95 percent of the new fantasy that's published these days. Leiber is right up there with the modern greats like Martin, Abercrombie, and Lynch and was undoubtedly a huge influence in their own writings. If you want to read sword and sorcery fantasy that focuses every bit as much on the relationship between characters as it does on the violence and action, this is a series you want to absolutely read.

This is epic fantasy with a different face, and different than any sort of fantasy out there. Think a delectable mix of epic fantasy, Gothic, Horror, and Mystery. If there was ever a definition for dark fantasy, it's The Coldfire trilogy. The main characters may die, the hero may die, evil may, in fact, win.

The hero may do questionable things to gain victory. It's fantasy that's morally ambiguous. The world created by Friedman is quite unique -- a landscape where your own imagination influences the very essence of reality. Of course, human imagination being what it is, instead of a paradise crafted by the mind, the world is rather a vivid and starkly realized nightmare that literally haunts the populous. Only men of supreme will are able to bend the world to their desires. It's an interesting premise that Friedman fully explores over the series. The hero, or rather anti-hero, is one of the more compelling protagonists in the fantasy genre.

This is a fantasy series that you will either love to death or utterly despise. These are books that use the characters, the world, and the plot as a vehicle to tell a deeper message about mankind's foils and foibles. If you are the type of reader who wants fast-paced, easy to read fantasy with no deeper message, this fantasy probably won't appeal to your sensibilities. But if you want to enjoy a deep story about the nature of man set in a horrific world with a cast of characters who are not always likable, this is a tale you should read.

This series has been around since the 90's now, but even in , the series still stands out among peers and is absolutely still one of the best fantasies ever written. This is a new entry on the list, one for those more literary minded who love a richly woven, utterly intoxicating tale of magical rivalry and love.

Set in a mysterious circus, the setting is just as much a character in the story. How to describe this book: A dream where the fantastical can become reality. Where the mysterious is just around the corner or behind the curtain , a place -- and time -- beyond our ken -- beckoning with mystery. The Night Circus , a book I eagerly consumed like movie theater popcorn, is magical indeed, from the structure of the chapters, to the setting, to the many character twining in and out of the story threads. The chapters are short and bite-sized, allowing short but sweet reading doses with each character.

The prose is good, simple but not too simple, elegant, but not too elegant. Overall, the writing is descriptive, lyrical, imaginative, and paints a fascinating portrait of a world you feel leaping from the pages. From cover to cover, the book keeps enchanting. Though I will say if you are not a fan of Morgenstern's writing from the get go, you probably will hate the entire book; her style of writing may annoy some readers.

The author does have an uncanny ability to paint a vividly realized world. The Circus is mysterious and yet strangely familiar. It's cliche to call a book ' a tour de force ' but The Night Circus earns such a description that fits. All told, this is not a book about action and adventure. It's a story about a story with the story played out across an evocative setting. Just enjoying a stroll through the magical setting is almost as rewarding as the story itself. The Night Circus is not a perfect story and not a perfect performance.

The characters are somewhat lackluster, the writing can fall short at times, but like an actual live circus, the Night Circus is an experience that needs to be experienced at least one time in your life -- and it's a performance that absolutely delivers like few other books do. And for that, this is a must-read book that sits on this list.

If you like stories about grand heroes who stand up for the downtrodden, who fight for a righteous cause, then Legend is a shining beacon of this sort of fantasy. Gemmell was a prolific writer and a good one at that. And it is these characters -- the ones you wish you could share a drink with or end up wanting to kill -- that forge the connection between fantasy and reality. Keethro, Titon, Ethel, Annora. These are names you will never forget, and each belongs to a man or woman as unique as they are memorable.

No book would be complete without a its fair share of intrigue, however, and there is no lack of it here. Each chapter leaves you wanting more, and Ireman's masterful use of misdirection leads to an abundance of "oh shit" moments. Do not be fooled or do -- perhaps that's part of the fun by storylines that may appear trope-ish at first.

This is no fairytale. Amber reads like a lucid dream — strange worlds, strange characters, and strange events all connect by a tightly woven thread. Unlike some of the classic Sword and Sorcery, the world or should I say worlds of Amber are more fleshed out, though hazy as if in a dream. And that's as it should be, as Amber is a world with many refections, each substantially less real then the true source of them all. Pretty much unknown by those not well versed in the classic Sword and Sorcery tradition, but Moor's work helped pioneer the way for female writers of speculative fiction she was one of the first.

These tales were written in Works by Clark Ashton Smith. This author, together with Robert Howard and HP Lovecraft, helped pioneer a whole genre of "weird tales" that the public had never encountered before. Clark blends together different genres: In his collection of short stories, there are a number of classic Sword and Sorcery tales: The writing is raw and beautiful -- Smith is surely a wordsmith. If you are the sort of person who loves to read about violence dressed up in the prettiest of words, you need to read Smith.

Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer. True to classic Sword and Sorcery, there are plenty of barbarians, wizards, and seductresses lining the pages of this classic work. The story centers on Gath of Baal, a barbarian guarding a realm that borders both a desert empire and a forest kingdom.

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Gath forms an alliance with a seductive sorceress. Mayhem for all involved results. Fans of true sword and sorcery fiction will love this series with oodles of bloody battle, evil sorcery, and dark demons. There are a lot of similarities between this series and Robert Howard's Conan tales. The titular hero grows up as an outcast from his tribe, born to a mother who was banished from the tribe.

He returns to the tribe to train as a warrior and though despised and mistreated as the son of an outcast, grows into the role as the greatest warrior in a tribe famous for great warriors. This work is basically episodic in nature. Readers will see in Imaro the same qualities found in other famous Sword and Sorcery heros Conan. What makes this hero unique is that he's African and not of European decent.

The Chronicles of the Black Company. This is a different breed of fantasy fiction than its pulp fiction brethren. However, there are many elements found in the Black Company that have Sword and Sorcery qualities to them. Glen Cook is one of the modern authors who writes what you might call modern Sword and Sorcery. Black Company is not traditional Sword and Sorcery, but there are enough elements to loosely class it as such. The Black Company is a true classic -- a thrilling tale of magic and might, where the characters are neither good nor evil, and evil itself has shades of good.

Many will argue that the series loses some of its appeal after that in part because the narrator of the story changes to a different character. This is more of an epic fantasy, but with quite a few Sword and Sorcery elements to it. First it's a dark world where morality is questionable. There's the loner hero with an emerging power. The landscape is one of ice and stone, a setting that fits perfectly with the brooding hero of the tale.

Yes this is epic fantasy -- there is a world that's in grave peril and an emerging hero who steps up to set this world-gone-wrong back on the right path. But there's also a hack and slash quality to the series. If you are looking for a modern sword and sorcery mixed with epic fantasy, a combination that works perfectly in this case, read Sword of Shadows. Gemmell specializes in heroic fantasy. His best book is widely regarded as Legend. Gemmell explores a lot of themes in this book -- the idea of true heroism for instance. Fultz lists as his influences Clark Ashton Smith , Tanith Lee , Darrell Schweitzer and Lord Dunsany , which means he couldn't have aimed this book more directly at me if he'd tried.

Dec 02, Justin rated it did not like it Shelves: View all 12 comments. This novel was very uneven, but ultimately worth the read. Unlike other fantasy series which seem more like historical fiction with just a sprinkling of supernatural elements, Seven Princes is reminiscent of classic sword-and-sorcery yarns with an emphasis on the sorcery. Ironically, this is both the book's greatest strength and weakness. For me, it was refreshing for the fantastical elements of a fantasy to take center stage.

It's one of the main reasons I read the genre - pure escapism.

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While s This novel was very uneven, but ultimately worth the read. While series like Game of Thrones excel at capturing human drama and intrigue, at times those novels seem too dry and academic. Sometimes I want an epic fantasy that is the equivalent to a summer action movie. This is what you get with this book.

While the action and plotting move at a very fast clip, what does suffer is characterization. You get the standard genre tropes including: The characters are just a cut above being completely two-dimensional. However, just when you think the plot is standard by-the-numbers fantasy, the author throws in some excellent twists you don't see coming. There are enough of those twists, and episodes of real human drama, that keep this novel from being considered completely pedestrian.

All in all, I recommend the book for light summer reading. If you need a break from fantasy novels heavy with byzantine plots shared among a sea of characters, Seven Princes will be a nice, if not substantial, diversion. Harks back to an earlier time, when magic didn't need to make any sort of sense, the age of legends could be within a generation, and women were either princesses or wenches. Or maybe evil sexy sorceresses. Or maybe shape-changing non-talking animal spirits who make perfect life companions.

It doesn't get any better. It's a valid literary choice, I suppose, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Or that I won't make disparaging remarks about those who make it. I was going to read the whole thing Harks back to an earlier time, when magic didn't need to make any sort of sense, the age of legends could be within a generation, and women were either princesses or wenches.

I was going to read the whole thing as an exercise in a completely different style of fantasy - one that ignores all the advances the genre has made since Howard - but at page I admitted I was having far too little fun to wade through the other two-thirds of it. Feb 20, Jonathan rated it it was amazing. One of the best epic fantasy books I've read in ages. The style is more akin to Moorcock or Howard than Martin or other modern fantasy authors.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ending, and in the style of most epic fantasy or even pulp fantasy, there were more than enough plot threads left for the next book. I enjoyed this book immensely and am looking forwa One of the best epic fantasy books I've read in ages. I enjoyed this book immensely and am looking forward to Seven Kings, the next in the trilogy. Jul 18, Dave-Brendon Burgh rated it it was amazing. It also introduced one of the characters that would not only grow and mature through the book but also surprise the hell out of me later on — in terms of character-arcs, I never saw it coming.

The rest of the characters in the novel all resonate for different reasons — a group of siblings are as different to each other as day is to night, even though they grew up under the same roof with the same parents; the prince of another kingdom is the quintessential non-hero, more of a reader and historian than a scion of his house; I could go on but half of the fun in this novel is meeting, getting to know, and journeying with these characters. Then I just had to carry on reading! I loved it and Book 2, Seven Kings, is definitely one of my highly-anticipated future reads.

Feb 05, Casey rated it really liked it. I had a hard time getting started with this book. I see a lot of reviews of people that had trouble finishing the book, or simply did not finish and I can understand. Like I said, it takes a bit for a flow to establish itself. Once it does, this turns into a solid epic fantasy with fun characters and some decent action and bloody scenes. One thing of note here is "Seven Princes" stance in common fantasy tropes; It does I had a hard time getting started with this book.

One thing of note here is "Seven Princes" stance in common fantasy tropes; It doesn't do a whole lot new in this sense. There's a grand destiny, a quest and and the threat of a great evil; all of the common themes we normally see. That doesn't mean this is a poor story however. While it's not necessarily new, it still makes good use of those themes to tell a solid story with some good world building. In the end, I felt that some of the confrontations that we were building towards throughout the entirety of the story were wrapped up a bit easily.

Not so much a disappointment, but more of a surprise as it did take us a long time to get to said confrontations. Still, things wrapped up decently. As for characters, they are likable and deplorable as needed , but they are a bit one dimensional. We only see two of our main characters undertake any real kind of growth through the story and the rest finish much as they started.

For further books in this series, which I would say I do look forward to reading more of, it would be nice to see more growth in more of the central characters. These personalities were good and enjoyable; there was no mystery to where they were going to wind up by the time the story ended.

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To wrap this up; this is a good fantasy yarn and well worth reading. Push through the slow start and I promise the story will pick up. Seven Princes, vol 1 of Books of the Shaper, is fantasy so high that it is a danger to passing aircraft. They live in enormous palaces with vast hordes of treasure, eat sumptuous feasts, ride magnificent stallions, wear gleaming breastplates, carry enchanted swords, cross desolate mountains, face dreadful dangers, and sometimes the description goes on a bit.

The foes they face are ancient, powerful and unquestionably evil, without motive except to conquer and enslave all. Well no; there is all the plot stuff and an attempt at characterisation. John Fultz spreads his point of view a bit too thin for my liking, but some destinies are questioned, doubts expressed; characters do grow. This book is a throwback to the 80s, maybe even the 70s. If you love stuff from that era then check it out. Dec 10, Fletcher Vredenburgh rated it really liked it. Fultz writes crazily over-the-top fantasy. If you're a gamer of a certain age and remember Arduin that's the sort of world he's created.

Jun 07, Jake Hawkins rated it liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Marked for spoilers, but they're very light spoilers Journey before destination is said a lot. It means that the ending isn't as important as everything before it.

However, that doesn't mean the ending doesn't matter at all. The ending was too fast, it was so anticlimactic. There were two "final confrontation" scenes, both of which were incredibly fast. There was no real fight in either one and the heroes just won because they did. In fact, we don't even get to see one of the final fights. In Marked for spoilers, but they're very light spoilers Journey before destination is said a lot. Instead, we listen to the princess hide and plan with her mentor while the villain is having his ultimate battle with the hero. The villain and the hero both suffered mortal wounds, it might have been nice to actually get to see that happen.

The magic system is so loosely defined that there are no rules to it. If you have magic, you can do things. It wasn't very fun. That being said, the journey was fun and the characters were good. I really enjoyed the twin princes in particular. All of the characters were very well written and had fantastic character arcs. Every location is as unique and very easy to imagine. The prose never went purple and never went stale. It was good and it was fun. A lot of payoff for no reward. I don't regret reading it, but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't pick up the sequels.

If you get the audiobook, the narrator was fantastic and kinda sounds like Seth Macfarlane. Aug 03, Peter Greenwell rated it liked it. More of a 2 but I'm generous today. According to the author blurb here, the author cites Dunsany, C. Smith et al, as literary heroes. You can tell, as this story could easily have been penned by Smith, such is the occasionally florid and entertaining wordplay.

That aside, this novel is an epic fantasy homage to films like Seven Samurai or the better known The Magnificent Seven. Despite some reviews here, this isn't a rewrite of said films, as the plots differ - nobody's hired the seven princes to defend anything. Instead, this is about alliances to get back an overthrown kingdom.



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• Seven Princes (Books of the Shaper, #1) by John R. Fultz;
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It's entertaining and the author's style certainly helps, but the net result is a mark or so above mere serviceable. There's some definite lulls among all the highlights, and I could argue the characterisations have taken a back seat to prosody and world-building. I'm not sure if I want to read the remainder of the series. This book works as a standalone, and perhaps the kindest thing I can say about it is that it's okay. There's nothing to recommend about it - it's a traditional tale of good vs evil, with good triumphing. The writing is workmanlike and the ending well-telegraphed - you're not looking for many surprises here.

The characters are the standard princes and princesses going to war against evil. Perhaps the folly is that it tries to be too ambitious - yes, we meet seven princes, but each of them feels li This book works as a standalone, and perhaps the kindest thing I can say about it is that it's okay. Perhaps the folly is that it tries to be too ambitious - yes, we meet seven princes, but each of them feels lightly drawn out.

I finished the book just not caring about them. Aug 11, Thistle rated it did not like it. It's a bad sign for a book when I'm more interested in correcting a book's grammar than I am in the story. The first page had a grammar issue big enough that I had to read a line multiple times to figure out what the author meant, and the same issue was repeated on the next page. The story seemed very stereotypical fantasy -- nothing original. Characters were "types" instead of people typical evil sorcerer, etc.

Oct 15, Jeremy Schofield rated it did not like it Shelves: Holy smokes, what a terrible book. Too many moving parts, one-dimensional characters, and a plot line that obviously exists for no reason than to set up storylines in later books. No congruent internal story arc or character arcs. Dec 07, Helen rated it did not like it Shelves: File this under 'wish I hadn't bothered'. But, in the end, the cover-art and the blurb won out, so I decided to give John R. Fultz a try, eager to see what a new author would bring to the epic fantasy.

After all, novels such as the Riyria Revelations series Original Post: After all, novels such as the Riyria Revelations series by Michael J. And as it turned out, not much. How does that work then? Well, let me show you: The novel contained some epic battle scenes within its pages, ignoring the fact that they might have been a tad bit predictable — and I think there are some epic set-pieces that kept me reading, and got me really into the novel as a whole.

However, all that said, I still think that this book kept me entertained enough to pick up the sequel upon its release. Feb 27, Danielle McDowall rated it liked it. Bit disappointed with this one. I always enjoy a book with multiple POVs and this book seemed fast-paced enough to make that work. Unfortunately, it was a little bit too fast-paced and at times, uneven. The characters were two-dimensional and all fell into the usual categories.