Hello! I’m Matthew Ward, games developer-turned-author, cat servant and walking encyclopaedia of Babylon 5 quotes. I’m the author of Legacy of Ash – whose paperback is out today in the US (hooray!) – as well as the self-published [Coldharbour & Eventide] (http://thetowerofstars.com/books/) – fantasy works set in the (mostly) contemporary UK. Beyond that, you’ll find my paw prints across a decade and a half’s worth of Games Workshop’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40k IPs (not necessarily where you might think), as well as their acclaimed The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (key contender for wargame with the longest name). When not stuffing words into fantasy manuscripts, I work as a freelance creative consultant for a variety of clients – most notable of which is on Fatshark’s celebrated Vermintide video game series (amongst other things, I put the words in the characters’ mouths). I live near Nottingham in the UK (sadly not in the vaunted Sherwood Forest, but you can’t have everything) and desperately want to wander around the London Underground while it’s so deserted and take all of the photographs … but accept that will probably end badly if I make the attempt. If you want to find me after today, try my Twitter Facebook or my website
Hi all, I’m John Gwynne, fantasy author and fierce Viking re-enactor (when not getting stuck in my coat of mail). I’m also growing my beard. I’m here today because my latest book, A Time of Courage is published in North America. It is the third and final book in the Of Blood and Bone series. I’ve also written the four-book series The Faithful and the Fallen I was born in Singapore while my dad was stationed there in the RAF. Up until he retired that meant a lot of travelling around, generally a move every three years or so. I now live in East Sussex in the UK with my wife, four wonderful children and a handful of dogs. If you want to find me after this the best places to look are: Facebook [T
... keep reading on reddit ➡The sale is from Orbit to promote the sequel, so should apply to your preferred ebook platform. Has anyone read it? Any good?
This was epic in the true sense of the word. Just because a book is long doesn’t necessarily mean it will use a wide-angle lens to view the world. There can be extremely lengthy books with a very narrow scope. This is a book that tried to show you every angle possible. Each character had their own schemes, plots, motivations, background, and reasons to get behind one leader or another. Sometimes their loyalties weren’t as strong as they appeared to be, not even amongst family members. All of that came together to make this a very dense, complex, and intricate kind of book. There was a long learning curve to this one, but I believe the pay-off was sufficient.
If you enjoy stories like Abercrombie’s where you get to see all sides of a war, (and with more than just two sides to a war), this book could be for you. Unlike Abercrombie, however, these characters aren’t quite so dark, grey, and uncomfortable. I found it easier to relate to these characters than say, Glokta, the professional torturer. Since it’s easier to root for them it actually made it harder and more tense for me when five of them show up on a battlefield ready to slaughter each other.
Two of the main POVs are siblings, their mother was killed 15 years ago in a failed rebellion. Ever since then the North and the South have been at odds with each other. The brother, Josiri, is in love with a witch… it could lead to his execution. He’s also trying to fund and support another rebellion… it could lead to his execution. The sister, Calenne, doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the rebellion or her dead mother. She wants to shed her last name, flee her ‘prison’, and go marry a northerner to finally get rid of her past. She’s had a betrothal since before the war and intends to go through with the arranged marriage… but of course, things can’t just go smoothly for everyone. Where’s the story in that?
Another POV is the Black Knight. He’s a figure of legend. He has a secret as well… he has a barely contained entity that’s best described as a shadow. It can slaughter those around him, it turns the air cold, and he has little control over it when he’s stressed or angry. He’s also the one who killed the mother of the other two POVs. He’s also the one who could help bind the North and the South together, a necessary task since there’s a bigger threat looming. The Hadari are on a warpath towards the Tressians, and it’s a problem for both the North and South Tressians. Prince Saran is determined to claim his bir
... keep reading on reddit ➡>A shadow has fallen over the Tressian Republic.
>Ruling families – once protectors of justice and democracy – now plot against one another with sharp words and sharper knives. Blinded by ambition, they remain heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire.
>Yet as Tressia falls, heroes rise.
>Viktor Akadra is the Republic’s champion. A warrior without equal, he hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic.
>Josiri Trelan is Viktor’s sworn enemy. A political prisoner, he dreams of reigniting his mother’s failed rebellion.
>And yet Calenne, Josiri’s sister, seeks only to break free of their tarnished legacy; to escape the expectation and prejudice that haunts the Trelan name.
>As war spreads across the Republic, these three must set aside their differences in order to save their homeland. However, decades of bad blood are not easily forgotten – victory will demand a darker price than any of them could have imagined.
It feels like a long time since I’ve last read a big, chunky epic fantasy book set in a pseudo-European medieval setting. Which is wild, when you think about it, seeing as these types of books are still so often the most recommended.
But reading Legacy of Ash managed to stir up a little bit of nostalgia in me. It was a similar sort of feeling to that of eating a really good meal that reminds me of your parent’s cooking. The restaurant might use fresher ingredients than you would have found at home — and if you’re honest with yourself, it might even be a little tastier — but there’s enough of a similarity there to tug at these memories without overpowering the joy of a new experience.
I’ll admit, I was a little unsure of the book at first. My stamina for large epic fantasy novels isn’t what it used to be, and it probably didn’t help that I came into this off the back of a book that pushed 1000 pages. This isn’t to say that there’s anything “wrong” with the opening. It’s just that there are quite a large number of point-of-view characters, most of which are cycled through right from the get-go. It took me some time to build up some familiarity with the cast and the wider world, but from there… it was plain sailing.
The story starts with a prologue which, in a break from tradition, isn’t a confusing mix of made up fantasy words that have little bearing on the actual book. Instead, we’re shown the end result of a failed rebellion set 15 years before the events of the sto
... keep reading on reddit ➡I haven't but I keep seeing it pop up on places like Amazon and Goodreads and it's gotten absolutely rave reviews so far. I believe it only came out a few months ago like November? People are calling it one of the best epic fantasy books of these last few years
[Or, a brief review for such an enormous book.]
>A shadow has fallen over the Tressian Republic.
While the armies of the Hadari Empire invade the borderlands, the Republic’s noble families plot against each other, divided by personal ambition.
But as Tressia falls, heroes rise.
Viktor Akadra is the Republic’s champion and conqueror of the rebellious south. A warrior without equal, he also hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic.
Josiri Trelan would gladly see Viktor condemned to the flames – vengeance for a rebellion crushed and a mother slain. And while Josiri plots fresh insurrection, his sister, Calenne, is determined to escape their tarnished legacy and break the shackles of the past.
As dark days beckon, these three must overcome their differences to save the Republic. Yet decades of bad blood are not easily set aside. Victory – if it comes at all – will command a higher price than they could have imagined.
Wow! This book is packed with political intrigue. And with no clear sides to root for and so much going on, everything is exciting. There is a lot happening in just this one book. For those who get easily lost with lots of characters, I highly suggest you use the dramatis personae at the beginning. If you’re listening to the audiobook (like I was), this is one where I’d say keep it on 1x speed if you normally like to speed your audiobooks up.
What really caught my attention, aside from the politics, was the writing. It’s one of those styles that manages to be both straightforward while also invoking some nice imagery. There’s an ongoing metaphor that connects death to ravens (at least how I interpreted it), and it’s done very well. Even the title hints at the straightforward-yet-metaphorical nature of the prose. What with it implying both a phoenix rising from the ashes, as well as a forgotten legacy. The prose really helped make the massive book feel easier to handle. It got into the depths of characters’ motives and personalities without feeling overwhelming.
At least in my opinion, there really was no clear “These are the antagonists/protagonists” in the book. However, I wouldn’t call this a case of “everyone’s an antihero/no good guys” either. Everyone is simply human. Trapped in politics and schemes. Honestly, they didn’t feel like characters in a book. It felt like I was reading about actual people.
All in all, Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward is a gr
... keep reading on reddit ➡Is the man that made 5th edition Space Marines the man behind Guilliman? Or maybe if he does work at GW maybe he doesn't have a major part in 8th edition?
Hello /r/SaultSteMarie! I'm running for ward 5 city council and wanted to do an AMA here.
Ask away!
Will keep it short like the novel's protagonist, Monsieur Meursault. Prose is short yet descriptive. Conjures images of a country side beach town. Book is a nice intro to Absurdism, the philosophical stance of author Albert Camus.
What I liked about the book was that the protagonist mostly lived an authentic life. That is, a life without pretence in the face of societal pressures. Come to think of it, not deviating from a moral framework at all times is really hard. What were your impressions of the book? :-)
