Pecan Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I finished this book a couple of days ago. First off, for a debut novel, it's fantastic. I liked that the author basically embraced the idea that his hero was going to be a badass and was going to act like it. He's definitely trying to write "heroic" fantasy, and that's fine. That said, there are a few problems. First, the entire novel is basically told through a single POV and 580+ pages of that kind of drags and doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot of room for character growth at this point. I also thought that the King Janus character was a bit of a cartoon. I don't want to give anything away, but the King's motivations for this big thing that happens is never really made clear. In fact, it just seems dumb. Maybe the next book will fix that though. Also, the world doesn't quite seem real. I don't get the sense of deep history, of stories untold. To be fair though, some of that may be purposeful and not necessarily a limitation of the author. But, it's a good book overall. Anthony Ryan is definitely on my list of up and coming fantasy authors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talleyrand Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I'll admit when I saw the huge number of positive reviews for an author I'd never heard of before I assumed there was some sock-puppetry going on but after seeing the recommendations here i'm going to give it a go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexal Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 How good is this book compared to ASOIAF? I mean, how do you compare them? They're different. This is a well written fantasy book about a warrior monk basically. It's excellent at what it sets out to do. It doesn't reinvent the wheel though and it certainly isn't as epic as ASOIAF. Well worth the read. I loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelhead3113 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 How good is this book compared to ASOIAF? Easily better than the last 2 books of ASOIAF IMO. I would say despite the differences of the series, the first 3 books of ASOIAF are better than blood song, However, this book is fucking awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pecan Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 It really isn't comparable to ASOIAF, except for the fact that they both take place in made up worlds where people have swords and there's magic and stuff. ASOIAF is epic high fantasy. Blood Song is more ground-level militaristic heroic fantasy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaston de Foix Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 It really isn't comparable to ASOIAF, except for the fact that they both take place in made up worlds where people have swords and there's magic and stuff. ASOIAF is epic high fantasy. Blood Song is more ground-level militaristic heroic fantasy. Blood Song is nowhere near as polished. It's got plot holes and jagged edges everywhere. I also thought a specific fact about the ending strained credulity. That said, it is highly enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pecan Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Blood Song is nowhere near as polished. It's got plot holes and jagged edges everywhere. I also thought a specific fact about the ending strained credulity. That said, it is highly enjoyable. If you're talking about the big reveal, I'm totally with you on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takiedevushkikakzvezdy Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 But what`s the deal with all the reviews? Blood Song is practically the only book to have a full five-star rating both on Goodreads and Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faint Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Having just read it, I can assure that it is indeed very good. At the same time, it is not the seconding coming of A Song of Ice and Fire, if that is the metric we are using. And, if that is the goal here, I can only say that the wait will be very long. That said, I compare Blood Song very favorably to other celebrated fantasy literature from the past decade or so, especially as the first book in a series. It definitely sits comfortably with The Name of the Wind, The Blade Itself, Gardens of the Moon, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and so on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 It's a good read. It feels like Batman Begins crossed with The Name of the Wind, with all the positives and negatives implied in that.I'm very impressed that the author self-published, found a significant audience, got a book deal and editor and is now publishing the second volume. That all sounds harder than any of the tests of the sixth order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 One more month until Tower Lord comes out.It's surprised me that I've not been able to find a single advance review for the book so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tall Tyrion Lannister! Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I thought the book was pretty good. Pretty interested to know more about some of the reveals in the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 One more month until Tower Lord comes out. It's surprised me that I've not been able to find a single advance review for the book so far. comes out the same day as the new Abercrombie, that's a tough call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 I've started a re-read to get ready for Tower Lord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 comes out the same day as the new Abercrombie, that's a tough call. My Kindle has room for both. I think I will read Tower Lord first, just because it's a direct sequel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I guess I don't remember the book well enough to recall the ragged edges and plot holes. Anyone care to fill me in? In spoiler tags maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samsaptakas Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I'm reading it. It is very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I guess I don't remember the book well enough to recall the ragged edges and plot holes. Anyone care to fill me in? In spoiler tags maybe. There was apparently a big difference between the first ebook and the actual hardcopy version. I only read the hardcover, but there are reviews around that talk about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First of My Name Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I bought this book and will be reading it in the summer vacation, looking forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Darth - That may be it. I read an ebook, but it was the (I guess) revised ebook that matched the hard copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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