Thursday 24 July 2014

Blood Song - Anthony Ryan

"The Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm."

 Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order—a caste devoted to battle. Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate and dangerous life of a warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.

Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the Unified Realm—and Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright knows no bounds. Even his cherished memories of his mother are soon challenged by what he learns within the Order.

But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the Realm, but the world.

My thoughts:
This book had me thinking about ratings, expectations and hype. Yes I expected a lot more. The book was good, but the problem was, it stayed at that, it was good, it never crossed over to really good. I do want to read book 2 one day to see if it gets to that awesome territory, and to see what happens. But, I am in no hurry to do so.

This book has one hell of a rating, and often when that's the case I think ok not for me, but yes I can see why others really enjoyed it. Now, I did enjoy the book, but I sure could not tell why so many others though it was freaking awesome. Good, yes, awesome, nah. It was a solid fantasy book that never really surprised me. It never had me loving anyone, or hating anyone, it just sailed through.

After the beginning I was scared, then it was just ok, and I was all -this is not good, and after it had turned better I still hoped it would throw that punch, but nothing. What made it so? Who knows.

Vaelin, an ok guy. See, I can't get excited over anything. He was just so good at everything and even things he was not good at...he was still good at them. Mary Stu? People either loved or hated him. He got famous over nothing. Put in charge, and I was all...ok, why? Show me why. He is not the smartest, but he can fight. I guess I wanted more from him. Oh and he was such a saint too, snooze. I am good, I like fighting, oh no I killed someone, whatever man. Get a grip.

The side characters were there, and then I have nothing more to say about them. Maybe this is why it never went to awesome. The characters are all one sided. 

Right, so there is this plot too, but now when I think back I remember going to the academy to learn to fight, fighting in campaigns, going to war. And in the between we learn that magic comes from darkness so those are hunted down. And you if you need God, or Gods, then you are hunted down. I could have done with more worldbuilding too.

I am so picky. Remember, the book was good. Why does no one ever believe me? Lol. I nit-ipck cos I expected more, I wanted awesome, I got good.

PS. He is called Hope-Killer many times as he is narrating this and then finally, at the end I learn why. Omg, what? Lame.

Conclusion
Wanted more

Cover
ok

Mass Market Paperback, 624 pages
Published June 24th 2014 by Ace (first published 2011)
Raven's Shadow #1
Fantasy
own

39 comments:

  1. I'm sorry it wasn't as good as you thought. I heard great things about this one but well fantasy so maybe not too much for me.

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  2. I'm sorry that this book lacked the wow factor that you were looking for, but I'm glad that you still enjoyed it overall. I'm kinda curious about the Hope-Killer thing now though. LOL

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    1. Trust me, you missed nothing when it comes to Hopekiller ;) it killed my hope for him haha

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  3. I see this happen a lot in series novels, where a few are just ok. You do have me curious about the series though.

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    1. I do hope book 2 is better, if I read it one day that is

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  4. Great review. I know what you mean, I am picky too and sometimes I wonder if I'm just being too picky or what.

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  5. That happens to me sometimes too, everyone raves about some book and when I try it it's nothing special. :/ Eh, I guess we all like different things, that's why I give lower rated books a try once in awhile too ;)

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    1. Yes we are all different but the ratings here, you should see them

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  6. Great review - That happens to me alot. A book will be highly rated and I'll be anticipating it. Then, after I read it, I didn't feel the same as the reviews. That's alright, though. We all feel differently.

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    1. I should never read hyped books, I always get disappointed. I always expect fireworks

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  7. I enjoyed this book, but I definitely do think it got hyped up a lot! I was surprised it was originally self-pubbed before it was picked up by a big publisher, though, It's quite impressive and I think that might have been part of the hype.

    ~Mogsy

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    1. I think so too. It must have been all self-pubbed phenomenon gets picked up *cheers* But for me it was too hyped

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  8. I liked the blurb, but at 600+ pages I think I need more than okay.

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  9. Highly rated books often dissappoint I feel. Despite your okness towards I would still like to read it though ;)

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    1. It was good, sometimes ok, but mostly good

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  10. I'm sorry it wasn't as good as you thought it would be. When you finally get it and it doesn't live up to the expectations :( I hope that the next book is even better than this was.

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  11. don't you hate when you read a book that is so hyped and it is just good?

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  12. Hype can be a death knell for me when it comes to reading. I try to avoid it at all costs now.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  13. I am good, I like fighting, oh no I killed someone, whatever man. Get a grip. ROFL

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  14. I remember you telling me about this one. Good but, good. Thank you.

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  15. Bummer that the reason behind his name was lame!

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  16. Can't comment, linkity-ing!

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  17. So agree. Good, but highly overrated.

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  18. I've definitely got this one my TBR, but I'm not going to rush to read now, so THANKS ;)

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  19. Ugh...I hate perfect characters who say they have no flaws, but the flaw is a lie and it turns out they are good at it anyways. Sighs, this seemed so hopeful.

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  20. Didn't realise it was so highly rated, I read the synopsis and it didn't really do it for me so I gave it a miss lol. Least you want to read book 2 ;)

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