Malice

So here I am, years later, rereading this because when I originally read it... I just kind of didn't go ahead with the rest of the series. So I needed to just go from point 0, because years passed and I didn't remember shit.
On my second read, I would almost give it 5 stars. 4,5, it is. Still a great read. Still a lot of fun. The child characters are still a pleasure and not just the typical smug little bastards so popular nowadays. Good job.

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Based on the cover and the title this sounded like grimdark to me. Something incredibly depressing, so dark it was going to make me just feel this weight of everything being completely hopeless and generally horrible.
It actually wasn't like that, so if you worry about it, don't. It has its sad moments, but it really isn't that horrible. Now that my public service announcement is out of the way, lets just discuss the rest. There is quite a lot.

Here we have a continent with a lot of smaller countries, all under the rule of a king, the whole thing under the rule of a... super king? Lets say that. Super king. As it is customary, all the smaller kings tend to be a little bit petty, having their own conflicts and alliances, which comes in handy when things are changing.
What I mean by that is the god war, the battle between the forces of evil and good, lead by two battling gods and their respective heroes that will decide the fate of the world. So far pretty standard. As the war approaches, things are going bad for everyone. Lawless bandits, long dead monsters, wild clans of giants are tormenting the different countries of the place.
Meanwhile we have multiple storylines, all holding different characters, all nearing each other, with young boys, giant slayers, ambitious princes. It's complicated, okay?

That was actually the reason why I can't give this book 5 stars; it's just really complicated. Certain storylines (especially of the character Veradis, first sword of prince Nathair and at the very end even Corban's) just have way too many names. This probably sounds kinda petty, but there are pages that have 10-15 people and places mentioned. It's not easy to keep all of it straight, especially when so many of them sound similar. I understand that it connect them and shows their common origins stemming from the culture, but it was not easy to read.
It's a world with rich history, so we were going to get a lot, but sometimes things were difficult. I think a lot of it will be much more smooth in the later books in the series, partly because of Mr. Gwynne getting more comfortable in the world, partly because we learn a lot and actually get to know more than just a name about the mentioned characters.

Even with that, the book was just very pleasurable to read. The action and the prose felt fluid to me, the different POV parts had a nice variety. A lot of characters were a joy to read (like the awkward, bullied young man Kastell finally finding his place and becoming a much better version of himself). It had serious moments, but it wasn't weighed down by needless darkness just to push the plot. Don't get me wrong, I like me some ASOIAF, the grim things were done pretty well there, all divided up to be easier to handle by bright moments of fun and exploration and all. But this one was a bit more of the heroic and idealised kind.

One thing I personally find many authors do wrong is young/teenage characters. Here, though... god, I loved what Mr. Gwynne did! It really shows he has kids in my opinion, as the young characters were imaginable young people. None of that uppity, “I am so much smarter than actual adults because of reasons” crap, room left for development, flaws, imperfections that are real and actual parts of the characters. The kids have to better themselves, not just sit around being perfect little revolutionary heroes after a life of carefree village kids, no training anywhere.
Aaaaand no unnecessary suffering is thrown at them for no reason other than trying to make you care about them. I am so happy there wasn't any of the “everyone hates you, 12-year-old kiddo, but we don't say why, just torture you as it is the favoured activity in our picturesque village”. Here being a good kid means some people will actually stand up for you, because human relationships are like that. Appreciated.

The story itself is very much part of a series. While it ends with a very action-packed sequence of scenes winding down and everyone sitting down to catch their breath, it could have been just the end of a chapter. Yes, things are blatantly left unsaid (“hey, I need to tell you something” “later, I'm hella tired”), they are not impossible to guess, I think they are pretty obvious. Talking about that.... Nathair is go getting Stannis'd, it's almost funny, but as a Stannis fangirl, it really freaking isn't at the same time. Daaaaamn, boy.
So yeah, a lot of what happened here will actually bloom and come to full effect in the next book. Hopefully it having a solid base will mean a bit less cramming of names and things, maybe... edited down and streamlined a bit more.

Overall, I found it a fun read, really enjoyable, but I would say it needs you to train yourself for fantasy, as you really need to be able to handle fantasy names. The tropes and other elements are perfectly digestible, it's just the bloody names, oh goood.

Have a good night and make love, not god war!