Scan barcode
A review by thefussyreader
Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.R. Matthews
4.0
The Fussy Reader
TLDR
Characters - 3.5/5
Plot - 3.5/5
Setting - 3.5/5
Writing - 4/5
Final Impression - 3.5/5
-
The chapters alternate between General Bordan and apprentice magician, Kyron. I liked this back and forth, and thankfully I found both their storylines interesting enough that I didn't resent switching POV after each chapter.
They were plenty of politics interspersed with action scenes so there was never really a dull moment. I haven't felt bored reading it. I really enjoyed the writing in this. It found a very nice balance between prosaic and plain.
Full Review
3.5*
Characters
The chapters alternate between General Bordan and apprentice magician, Kyron. I liked this back and forth, and thankfully I found both their storylines interesting enough that I didn't resent switching POV after each chapter. I was always happy to go back to the other one. There is a connection between the two characters but I won't say it here. It's more fun to figure that out yourself through the flashback snippets at the start of each chapter.
Emlyn was a fun character. Smart and ballsy. I enjoyed the friendship that grew between her and Kyron despite initially disliking each other. I also appreciated the fact that they were just friends and not love interests. at least for now.
I really liked Padarn and Vedrix, oh, and Borus too. Solid blokes really.
I hate to be that person, but I do wish there were more women who weren't crazy bitches. Emlyn was literally the only woman of importance who was decent and not incensed. I didn't really notice until Livillia. I think she was just one crazy woman too far, then it just felt like a pattern was emerging.
The royal family, (AKA: the bad guys, cause let's be real, every one of them is portrayed as an arsehole from the very start) are scary in an annoying way. Not scary cause they are particularly villainous, but scary because they have more power than brains. Sometimes that can be the scariest villain imaginable, one that can't be reasoned with, but it also makes them really bloody annoying. Like Joffrey from GoT. Alhard and Aelia are brats. Spoiled brats, greedy and power-hungry. Alhard is impulsive, reckless and thick as shit. Aelia is manipulative, unhinged
Plot
Kind of like GoT in the sense that this is literally a race to become the next emperor after his untimely death in battle. A small escort is sent home to accompany his body, but they're unaware of the shit going down in the city as various characters move against each other to be the ones to greet the body on its return. Cause whoever has the dead emperor's amulet holds the empire.
I liked this plot. I haven't read an idea like this before, so this was initially what drew me to this book. There were plenty of politics interspersed with action scenes so there was never really a dull moment. I haven't felt bored reading it.
There were plot twists and betrayals but personally, I saw them coming, and nothing really took me by surprise. Pretty much any prediction I made came to pass. Not that that's a problem, but I did keep hoping something would randomly come out of nowhere and catch me unawares.
And when the bad guys constantly seem to get the upper hand, it's just unsatisfying from a reader perspective. There's small wins, but not enough.
The ending was awesome though. Obviously, I'm not going to say what happened, but let me tell you, Kyron does something really fucking cool at the end and it makes tolerating the royal family's bullshit worth it for that one exquisite moment.
Setting
I found the world more interesting than I expected. It's obviously based on the Roman empire, which is cool, but personally, Roman history wouldn't be one of my go-to historical time periods, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this as much as I did.
Something I loved however was the wood tribes, and how Celtic they felt. Celtic history is (ironically) something that does interest me (even though it's heavily connected to the Romans, I know.)
I really don't think Celtic culture is used enough in fantasy. The Celts were fucking cool.
The magic system within this world is quite fascinating. It's difficult to explain and I don't think I could do it justice. But the power to create constructs of seemingly anything the mind can conjure is such a cool idea with limitless potential.
However, I'm always a little bit baffled when fantasy worlds use iconography so deeply rooted in the real world. In this case, it's the use of the crucifix and crucifixion, despite how the religion in this world is completely unrelated. They worship the Holy Flame, yet they execute people by nailing them to a cross, and, I dunno, it just feels weird and out of place. And for me personally, a bit icky (my personal opinion as an atheist. Any form of religious execution makes me uncomfortable and repelled.)
I don't think I would be nearly as put off if it was a completely fictional religion, but this one just feels a tad too closely related to Christianity. I think that's why I suddenly felt so put-off at the end of the book. I know the Romans were Christians, and these people are inspired by Romans, but I just wish the Holy Flame was a fully fleshed out religion on its own that didn't lean so heavily on Christianity.
If not for the use of the crucifix, I don't think I would've had a single gripe about the world-building.
Writing Style
I really enjoyed the writing in this. It found a very nice balance between prosaic and plain. There was enough to-the-point, unembellished writing to appeal to those who hate purple prose, but also just enough beautifully creative descriptions to keep people like me satisfied. There were some truly delicious passages that fed my soul.
Though I will say, I'm not a fan of when a scene is repeated from a different POV. For me, it feels almost like a waste of time. I've already seen this, already know what happens, I just want to know what happens next.
Final Impression
Despite whatever issues I may have had whilst reading, I'm ultimately left satisfied, and I'm invested in Kyron and Emlyn. I can't deny how the heavy Christian inspirations is off-putting for me, but I do think I'll give the next one a read just cause I want to see Kyron and Emlyn fuck these fanatics up.
Instagram
Twitter
TLDR
Characters - 3.5/5
Plot - 3.5/5
Setting - 3.5/5
Writing - 4/5
Final Impression - 3.5/5
-
The chapters alternate between General Bordan and apprentice magician, Kyron. I liked this back and forth, and thankfully I found both their storylines interesting enough that I didn't resent switching POV after each chapter.
They were plenty of politics interspersed with action scenes so there was never really a dull moment. I haven't felt bored reading it. I really enjoyed the writing in this. It found a very nice balance between prosaic and plain.
Full Review
3.5*
Characters
The chapters alternate between General Bordan and apprentice magician, Kyron. I liked this back and forth, and thankfully I found both their storylines interesting enough that I didn't resent switching POV after each chapter. I was always happy to go back to the other one. There is a connection between the two characters but I won't say it here. It's more fun to figure that out yourself through the flashback snippets at the start of each chapter.
Emlyn was a fun character. Smart and ballsy. I enjoyed the friendship that grew between her and Kyron despite initially disliking each other. I also appreciated the fact that they were just friends and not love interests. at least for now.
I really liked Padarn and Vedrix, oh, and Borus too. Solid blokes really.
I hate to be that person, but I do wish there were more women who weren't crazy bitches. Emlyn was literally the only woman of importance who was decent and not incensed. I didn't really notice until Livillia. I think she was just one crazy woman too far, then it just felt like a pattern was emerging.
The royal family, (AKA: the bad guys, cause let's be real, every one of them is portrayed as an arsehole from the very start) are scary in an annoying way. Not scary cause they are particularly villainous, but scary because they have more power than brains. Sometimes that can be the scariest villain imaginable, one that can't be reasoned with, but it also makes them really bloody annoying. Like Joffrey from GoT. Alhard and Aelia are brats. Spoiled brats, greedy and power-hungry. Alhard is impulsive, reckless and thick as shit. Aelia is manipulative, unhinged
Plot
Kind of like GoT in the sense that this is literally a race to become the next emperor after his untimely death in battle. A small escort is sent home to accompany his body, but they're unaware of the shit going down in the city as various characters move against each other to be the ones to greet the body on its return. Cause whoever has the dead emperor's amulet holds the empire.
I liked this plot. I haven't read an idea like this before, so this was initially what drew me to this book. There were plenty of politics interspersed with action scenes so there was never really a dull moment. I haven't felt bored reading it.
There were plot twists and betrayals but personally, I saw them coming, and nothing really took me by surprise. Pretty much any prediction I made came to pass. Not that that's a problem, but I did keep hoping something would randomly come out of nowhere and catch me unawares.
And when the bad guys constantly seem to get the upper hand, it's just unsatisfying from a reader perspective. There's small wins, but not enough.
The ending was awesome though. Obviously, I'm not going to say what happened, but let me tell you, Kyron does something really fucking cool at the end and it makes tolerating the royal family's bullshit worth it for that one exquisite moment.
Setting
I found the world more interesting than I expected. It's obviously based on the Roman empire, which is cool, but personally, Roman history wouldn't be one of my go-to historical time periods, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this as much as I did.
Something I loved however was the wood tribes, and how Celtic they felt. Celtic history is (ironically) something that does interest me (even though it's heavily connected to the Romans, I know.)
I really don't think Celtic culture is used enough in fantasy. The Celts were fucking cool.
The magic system within this world is quite fascinating. It's difficult to explain and I don't think I could do it justice. But the power to create constructs of seemingly anything the mind can conjure is such a cool idea with limitless potential.
However, I'm always a little bit baffled when fantasy worlds use iconography so deeply rooted in the real world. In this case, it's the use of the crucifix and crucifixion, despite how the religion in this world is completely unrelated. They worship the Holy Flame, yet they execute people by nailing them to a cross, and, I dunno, it just feels weird and out of place. And for me personally, a bit icky (my personal opinion as an atheist. Any form of religious execution makes me uncomfortable and repelled.)
I don't think I would be nearly as put off if it was a completely fictional religion, but this one just feels a tad too closely related to Christianity. I think that's why I suddenly felt so put-off at the end of the book. I know the Romans were Christians, and these people are inspired by Romans, but I just wish the Holy Flame was a fully fleshed out religion on its own that didn't lean so heavily on Christianity.
If not for the use of the crucifix, I don't think I would've had a single gripe about the world-building.
Writing Style
I really enjoyed the writing in this. It found a very nice balance between prosaic and plain. There was enough to-the-point, unembellished writing to appeal to those who hate purple prose, but also just enough beautifully creative descriptions to keep people like me satisfied. There were some truly delicious passages that fed my soul.
Though I will say, I'm not a fan of when a scene is repeated from a different POV. For me, it feels almost like a waste of time. I've already seen this, already know what happens, I just want to know what happens next.
Final Impression
Despite whatever issues I may have had whilst reading, I'm ultimately left satisfied, and I'm invested in Kyron and Emlyn. I can't deny how the heavy Christian inspirations is off-putting for me, but I do think I'll give the next one a read just cause I want to see Kyron and Emlyn fuck these fanatics up.