Review: David Dalglish - The Weight of Blood

Title: The Weight of Blood (Book 1 of The Half-Orcs series)

Author: David Dalglish

Website: http://ddalglish.com/wp/

My rating: 4 Stars

 

 

                                                     Kindle:              Paperback:

 

It's not often I get to read a book written in the prospective of the "dark side". In fact, I would go so far as to say that this would be the first for me. I've read plenty of dark, chilling point of views to make the reader even more sympathetic for the good side's plight, but never more than a page or two, a chapter or two at most. Not to mention that this particular view point has it's own set of morals (for some characters) and more importantly, reasons. All to often, evil works without ryhme or reason, at least nothing that makes logical sense to the reader as to why they are doing less than pure things. It's rare to gain the perspective of the plight for some on the other side. In this story we get the benefit of not only knowing some of the whys, we also get a sense of understanding. I'm well aware as I read this story that what one particular half-orc is doing isn't right, but on the other hand it is logical - for him - at the time.

My heart breaks for him as I am witness to his crimes and his own internal battles as the part of him that knows kindness pulls at what he feels he has no choice but to do. I believe he struggles with this much more than he lets on in the book, and within him I can see a willpower to overcome his battles, to rise up if you will and fight for the good. However I can see a long road leading before him. Nobody can change everything at the drop of a hat afterall.

The characters presented to us are written well, however I felt eager to know more about some of them. I am hopeful that the next book will give some insight into some of the characters that were left without much of a story yet played such a critical part in this book. I do enjoy the relationship between Harruq (one of the half-orc brothers) and Aurelia (an elf). I feel it flows really well in contrast to the relationship between the two brothers.

I wish we could have seen a little bit more of the world they reside in, but the parts that we did get to see were well described. I wish that I could live in the forest, more importantly I wish I could have one of those horses that the elves ride! The element that intrigues me the most, however, is the weapons. I love stories where weapons are more than just hunks of metal. They have a history, a history I'd love learning a lot more about.

The plot stayed intriguing enough to keep me immersed into the story. The ending in particular left me with chills, wishing I immediately had the next to turn to. Overall this is yet another tale that I really enjoyed. I gave it 4 stars simply because I felt there was a lot more that could have been said about one particular area, without giving too much away I'll just say it has to do with part of the half-orc lineage. I felt that question was answered a little too abrupt with not much afterthought afterwards. I only wish it had played a bigger role.

Another author to add to my ever growing list of works to read. If you're looking for a great story that's not all sparkles and rainbows, this is a must-read.



Review: Craig Saunders - The Outlaw King

Title: The Outlaw King (Book 1 of The Line of Kings)
Author: Craig Saunders
Website: www.craigsaundersauthor.blogspot.ca/
My rating: 4.5 Stars

 

I stumbled upon this book browsing Amazon for fantasy books one night when I found myself at the end of another amazing book. I remember clearly having that feeling of "Wow, what do I do with my life now?" that I get whenever I finish a really good book. Usually I end up half-heartedly reading a short story that doesn't live up to the sheer awesomeness the previous book was. On this particular night, however, things were not about to follow the norm.

Finding The Outlaw King, I settled in thinking it looked interesting enough but still with the dull ache resembling the loss of friend in my heart, I loaded the e-book. Immediately I was drawn in. Transported into a new world, I followed the steps of Tarn, the main character. Us, the readers, get the joy of watching him grow into adulthood, fighting to create his own destiny. I will not outline the entirety of the book as I believe that is for the reader to discover on their own.


A common worry of mine with lesser-known authors is character development and a sense of realism - such as a character staying true to themselves. I find a lot of authors fall into the trap of characters completely changing as opposed to growing, which tends to rip me out of the book. This is not an issue for me with this book. All of the main characters, and a good majority of the minor, were well fleshed out. They have their own unique ways with the exception of a few listed in the minor characters that I'm sure we have not seen the last of yet.

On the subject of characters, the banter between the main character and some of his companions throughout the story had me literally laughing out loud. Do you know how awkward it is to smuggle your e-reader to the dinner table and almost snort a piece of corn out of your nose? Not only that, but to then have your 7 year old reprimand you for reading at the dinner table? I thoroughly enjoyed many of the characters in this book.


The world setting was done very well. I'm not sure if new lands are added in later books, but for this particular book there was enough world building to tell the story it needed to tell with just the right amount of wonder for what lies beyond. The author doesn't spend ages on small details, but wherever the character was in the story, I could picture it and "be there" with ease.


The plot moved forward at a nice and steady pace, I didn't find myself getting bored or tired of any part of the story. The ending quite ramped up in pacing, which is what it should do so that's far from a complaint. During the last few chapters, I forgot my nice fresh hot coffee on the cupboard and didn't think twice about it until I settled in to write this review. No surprise, coffee is cold.

Overall, I strongly feel that this book was written by a person with a strong sense of story telling with a natural born talent. I'm grateful that I ended up with such a great book for my first review. It was a good, solid candidate for 5 stars, but there were numerous errors with spaces at weird spots in the middle of a word all through the book, which brought it down to 4. I'm not sure if it was just a computer error or what, but it wasn't enough to draw me out of the story much.


But wait, you say. It says 4.5 at the top! Yes, indeed. Not a typo folks. See, there's a little glossary that most people skip over/don't bother reading in the back. You will be missing out if you do this. Do not read it before hand, read it at the end. You will not regret it. After the turmoil of emotions raging through me at the ending of the book, this little glossary was enough to settle my heart again.


My one and only regret of getting this book lies with the fact that I will not be able to get the next ones for an undetermined amount of time. However they are high on my list of books I want, nay, need. I look forward to reading more by this particular author!

Introduction

Hello! Welcome to my brand new blog, Only Book Reviews. I have created this blog to review the books I read. It will take some time to get posts up as I will only review books that I have freshly read, not the ones I've read in the past (unless I do a re-read). I will cover any author from well-known beloved authors to authors not so well known. My favourite genre is Fantasy, however I will read just about anything. There are so many books I've read from, in my opinion, authors who aren't well known but have so much potential. One of the reasons I am starting this is to perhaps spread the word, even if I only reach a handful of people. They could in turn reach a handful more and it snowballs from there! I hope whoever stumbles upon this blog will at least find a new treasure for their shelves. Happy reading!