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A review by thefussyreader
Valor by John Gwynne
4.0
The Fussy Reader
TLDR
Characters - 3.5/5
Plot - 4/5
Setting - 4/5
Writing - 4/5
Final Impression - 4/5
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So fast-paced and action-packed, but there's still plenty of breathing room to allow some of the nuances of the story and characters to shine through.
If I've learnt something about John Gwynne's writing, it's that the man knows how to write a compelling battle scene with genuine stakes, and I never know who's going to make it out alive. This book is jam-packed with such battles and they never get boring.
Full Review
Characters
There's a lot of characters in this series. I don't know why, but in the beginning, I found it difficult to keep track of who's who, where they are and who's loyal to whom. There's also a lot of POV characters and though normally I love this in books, I find the majority of them I don't care for. I love Cywen and Corban's chapters, and I'm okay with Veradis, Camlin, and Coralen's chapters.
But I don't care much for the Uthas, Maquin, Lykos, Evnis, Tukul and Fidele.
Honestly, I think eleven POV characters is too many even for my tastes. A couple of them grew on me by the end, mainly Tukul and Maquin, but I think there's perhaps just a tad too many for me to fully invest in them all.
Another reason I struggled to keep track of the characters is cause there's a few with very similar-sounding names. Braith. Rafe. Rath. Dath. Craf.
I get that within this world and language there would be certain linguistic conventions to follow but bloody hell, when listening to the audiobook, they all start to sound the bloody same.
But besides this and the characters, I don't connect with, I think John Gwynne writes characters very well. They're all different personalities and well-developed. They grow as people and have doubts about themselves and the people around them. They're ever-changing and I think the author does an excellent job showing this.
Plot
A continuation from the first book. The god war between the Faithful of the Fallen starts to come to fruition as the Bright Star and the Black Sun are gathering armies to their sides. Despite the obvious fantasy tropes (prophecy, chosen one, good vs evil, etc) It doesn't feel like a tropey, derivative book. There's something dark and ominous, almost oppressive, in the way it's delivered. This sense that something massive is about to happen and which side the people choose to be on could change to fate of the world.
A mild spoiler for a mild annoyance,
Setting
I will say, I love how lived-in this world feels. It's just so vast and there's so much going on, so much vivid life in every corner of the map. John Gwynne certainly doesn't scrimp when it comes to locations. He really utilises the whole map, which I love seeing. He has a fantasy world and he's not afraid to use it.
Writing Style
So fast-paced and action-packed, but there's still plenty of breathing room to allow some of the nuances of the story and characters to shine through. Every action has a reaction and we, along with the characters, are always given that time to react before the next big action sequence. This is actually such an important part of not just story-telling, but life in general. If a character isn't given time to react to a situation, then they don't have time to learn or grow from it either. And John Gwynne captures this balance perfectly.
If I've learnt something about Gwynne's writing, it's that the man knows how to write a compelling battle scene with genuine stakes, and I never know who's going to make it out alive. This book is jam-packed with such battles and they never get boring.
Final Impression
I enjoyed this one more than the first one. Fantastic follow up that delivered on so many fronts. I look forward to reading the next one.
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TLDR
Characters - 3.5/5
Plot - 4/5
Setting - 4/5
Writing - 4/5
Final Impression - 4/5
-
So fast-paced and action-packed, but there's still plenty of breathing room to allow some of the nuances of the story and characters to shine through.
If I've learnt something about John Gwynne's writing, it's that the man knows how to write a compelling battle scene with genuine stakes, and I never know who's going to make it out alive. This book is jam-packed with such battles and they never get boring.
Full Review
Characters
There's a lot of characters in this series. I don't know why, but in the beginning, I found it difficult to keep track of who's who, where they are and who's loyal to whom. There's also a lot of POV characters and though normally I love this in books, I find the majority of them I don't care for. I love Cywen and Corban's chapters, and I'm okay with Veradis, Camlin, and Coralen's chapters.
But I don't care much for the Uthas, Maquin, Lykos, Evnis, Tukul and Fidele.
Honestly, I think eleven POV characters is too many even for my tastes. A couple of them grew on me by the end, mainly Tukul and Maquin, but I think there's perhaps just a tad too many for me to fully invest in them all.
Another reason I struggled to keep track of the characters is cause there's a few with very similar-sounding names. Braith. Rafe. Rath. Dath. Craf.
I get that within this world and language there would be certain linguistic conventions to follow but bloody hell, when listening to the audiobook, they all start to sound the bloody same.
But besides this and the characters, I don't connect with, I think John Gwynne writes characters very well. They're all different personalities and well-developed. They grow as people and have doubts about themselves and the people around them. They're ever-changing and I think the author does an excellent job showing this.
Plot
A continuation from the first book. The god war between the Faithful of the Fallen starts to come to fruition as the Bright Star and the Black Sun are gathering armies to their sides. Despite the obvious fantasy tropes (prophecy, chosen one, good vs evil, etc) It doesn't feel like a tropey, derivative book. There's something dark and ominous, almost oppressive, in the way it's delivered. This sense that something massive is about to happen and which side the people choose to be on could change to fate of the world.
A mild spoiler for a mild annoyance,
Spoiler
it's getting tiring reading about women being raped for the sake of it. It happens and then is never mentioned again, and it just annoys me. This rant isn't solely aimed at this author, but rather on the matter in general. I just think that if authors are going to include female rape in their books, fair enough, but at least be respectful enough to female readers to properly explore the trauma of it.Setting
I will say, I love how lived-in this world feels. It's just so vast and there's so much going on, so much vivid life in every corner of the map. John Gwynne certainly doesn't scrimp when it comes to locations. He really utilises the whole map, which I love seeing. He has a fantasy world and he's not afraid to use it.
Writing Style
So fast-paced and action-packed, but there's still plenty of breathing room to allow some of the nuances of the story and characters to shine through. Every action has a reaction and we, along with the characters, are always given that time to react before the next big action sequence. This is actually such an important part of not just story-telling, but life in general. If a character isn't given time to react to a situation, then they don't have time to learn or grow from it either. And John Gwynne captures this balance perfectly.
If I've learnt something about Gwynne's writing, it's that the man knows how to write a compelling battle scene with genuine stakes, and I never know who's going to make it out alive. This book is jam-packed with such battles and they never get boring.
Final Impression
I enjoyed this one more than the first one. Fantastic follow up that delivered on so many fronts. I look forward to reading the next one.