We Are The Dead

3.5 stars. A somewhat predictable plot with fully serviceable characters, in a story that was really well written and well edited!

The plot was solid and perfectly good, though if you're looking for something unique... maybe look elsewhere. I loved the grittiness of the story; it's dark in tone (extremely explicit torture scenes, one attempted on-page rape scene, etc.) which made the events believable to read about. Nothing groundbreaking, I think parts of the plot were pretty convenient, like

But overall the plot achieved what it set out to do—showing events of a rebellion unfolding through the POV of characters from all facets of this rebellion/war, in a grimdark narrative.

The characters were also perfectly adequate, though as a character driven reader I don't think they were all that special. Each character was unique, though their character traits felt one dimensional and lacking of nuance. I think writing characters that are very morally complex is an opportunity to be taken when writing a grimdark story; but even the character development of certain protagonists fell slightly flat for me.

Dren is a character who has good intentions, but is insanely asinine and egotistical in the beginning. His characterization sees development and he eventually comes to the right side, as you'd expect, but the character development from point A to point B felt too linear. The characters were good, but not great because they were lacking complexity despite being otherwise written relatively well for who they are.

I'd recommend this book to adult fantasy readers who are looking for a grimdark story that feels familiar, or are new to this fantasy subgenra. I thought the characterizations and plot were completely adequate; though it was lacking a certain ‘je ne sais quoi' which makes me think this story won't be all that memorable for me. And a big shoutout to the author's prose and whoever edited this book, because the writing was really polished!