Okay first off a huge thank you to Mr. Salyards for sending me a copy of this book while I was deployed overseas. Seriously you get some major cool points for doing that! Sadly I've already missed the band-wagon for this book, but I'm still going to hop on and encourage anyone else out there to give this one a shot if you haven't already.
Instead of rehashing the plot for this one, I'll keep it simple and tell you what I liked. I know a lot of the other bloggers have covered this title, so I'm not going to beat a dead horse by telling you to pick this one up. Here are the top 5 things I liked about Scourge of the Betrayer. (In no specific order)
1) Main character is a "chronicler" of sorts, which is one of those groups that doesn't get enough attention. I think most book worms would agree that we all have a special place in our hearts for the ink and quill carrying nice guy.
2) First person narrative. Most love it or hate it, but when done correctly it really puts you in the characters head. Mr. Salyards nails the first person point of view.
3) Captain Braylar Killcoin. As much as I loved Arki the main character, I felt that Killcoin stole the show in this first novel. A cross between a bad ass warrior and a smart ass noble, he has mass appeal to any fan of fantasy.
4) Military "grunt" perspective. I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again, sometimes when authors try to give you a military perspective it often comes across as cheesy. Too much and it's hyper-masculine and too little and it's not noticeable Salyards does well giving the reader a dirty, nasty, and downright inappropriate look into life as a soldier/mercenary.
5) We get to see what a "scourge" can actually do in battle. I'm sure there is a pagan god of Scourge weapons out there who is nodding in approval! It's a pretty wicked weapon and it's nice to see something original.
I did have two issues with this book. First I thought it was just too damn short. The book clocks in at around 255 pages which is fine, but I really wanted a bit more. Second I thought some of the action/fight scenes could have been toned down slightly. Another blogger mentioned how these parts read slightly like "R.A. Salvatore" and I had to agree with that. To be fair though, they are still pretty awesome bloody fight scenes. I thought the "political intrigue" scenes had a bit more flavor, because it was awesome to hear Captain Killcoin run his mouth.
Book 1 in a series, "Scourge of the Betrayer" has a lot to offer a traditional fan of fantasy, as well as appeal to fans of the "new grit" scene. (May it never stop!) The story is short and sweet and I know I'm not the only one who is looking forward to book 2.
My only complaint about the book was that it felt like less of a complete story and more of a first arc in a longer book. It caught my interest, but left me wanting to reserve judgement until I knew more. Here's hoping the sequel provides that satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteDamn right. I agree with all your points...except the part about the action being too R.A. Salvatore-esque. Only because he's an author who has almost completely faded from my memory. My last Salvatore read is a little over half a lifetime behind me, so I don't remember too much about his writing style.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you make some nice points, and supply an added perspective to the many positive reviews that this book has received.