Blaise Ancona

The beginnings for a Master Storyteller

Revisado: 10-21-24

Stormwarden I found very challenging for about the first third of the story and I couldn't decide how I felt about it until it clicked. The story began to take shape and the characters were sorted into place and the rest is history. Janny's work with a pen is second to none and the blend of fantasy and sci-fi is magical to behold. Very emotional writing that only Janny could pull off. Eager to start book 2.

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The Ending of an Epic

Revisado: 05-23-24

At long last we have arrived at the finale for The Wars of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts. A series thirty years in the making since book one The Curse of The Mistwraith was first published in 1993 and according to Janny, fifty years since the idea first came to her brilliant mind. Through my friendship with Janny and relentless support for this series in the blogging sphere, I was gracious enough to be put on Janny’s beta team to read this epic conclusion. The time has finally come for me to talk about it as Song of The Mysteries will be released in May 2024. When this is all said and done The Wars of Light and Shadow will stand as a pillar of the fantasy genre for years to come. This will be a spoiler free review but I will be touching on events from the previous books in the series.

Broken and shattered from the barbaric execution of an innocent child under Arithon’s protection by the True Sect, he recovers in the confines of Althain Tower under the watchful eyes of the Fellowship. Now whole once again with the return of Ciladis The Lost, the seven will have to disperse and tackle the growing threat looming beyond the borders of The North Gate. Elaira sits by the Prince of Shadows bedside knowing the sacrifice he has made for better part of two hundred and fifty years to keep her safe from the prying glare of the Koriani now under the rule of a new Prime. History from the past has been discovered and Lirenda has her eye set on the one person who has caused her so much pain and suffering. 

The True Sect marches on the clans and the free wilds under the disguise of religion cleansing but what was once a beacon of hope has turned into corruption and rage. Lysaer sits with his servant Dace (Daliana in disguise thanks to Davian’s spell) imprisoned by the True Sect with no hope or way to know how to change the tides of fate. The only hope rests in the Paravians returning to the land of Athera before it is too late. Meanwhile the Elder powers of the Biedar have a trump card to play in story ahead and it will send shockwaves to all.

I realize that I’m being vague with these plot points but there is no other way for me to talk about this concluding volume without going into spoilers and I do not wish to ruin anything for readers. Janny’s writing absolutely shines here as it did with all her books in this series but even more so due to several different plot threads converging in a way I did not see coming and long time fans will love every second of it. 

One thing special about Songs is the breakneck speed Janny goes into the story from the first page. Normally with Janny’s books and especially in this series she will ease you in slowly and meticulously before the pace picks up, but not here. After the first chapter we are racing in a nonstop plot similar to how Janny wrote Traitors Knot and she will not let you up for air for one second. Each chapter will end with a bang leading up to the ultimate final chapters. I will say this now, Song of The Mysteries is Janny’s best written book to date. It has the painful and emotional moments of Perils Gate with the epic scope and battles of Stormed Fortress all wrapped up in one. This is a triumph not only for Janny but fantasy lovers all over the world.

The Wars of Light and Shadow series will forever stand as my favorite Epic fantasy series of all time and this finale volume is the final nail in the coffin for me. From beginning to end the amount of emotional gut punches, foreshadowing, themes of free will, war, love, power, and so much more will always stay with me until my last breath. Thank you Janny for delivering us your Magnum Opus in a time when we all need it. 

Cheers!

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The start of a masterpiece

Revisado: 04-25-24

Janny Wurst has created something I have seen very few authors do in the fantasy genre and I am in awe of the brilliance and creativity. In the first volume of this 11 book epic fantasy series, Janny builds up an elaborate world, stacked up the history with layers of lore and magic, and laid the ground work for the rest of the series to come. I have also been told by the author that everything I just read has the potential to be turned on its head in many different ways. Not since I have read Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson have I had this much excitement for the novels and revelations to come!

Before I get into all the positives of the novel I will need to touch on some of the shortcomings. This book is challenging and not an easy read to get through. Much in the same way as Malazan, you will need to pay close attention to the characters and the history as they will be important down the road. You must also have faith that the author will deliver on the promises laid out in this series. Although I have only read the first book, I have been told by lifelong fans that Janny Wurst delivers on the buildup and promises but she will make you work for it. You will not be spoon fed the answers like a warm piece of apple pie! Please also note that the middle section of this book is very slow at times and plot mainly focuses on travel, political, and the building up of the threats to the land. Slow burns don’t bother me at all but some readers will find this a major deterrent. I want everyone to be prepared of what to expect.

Now on to all of the positives with The Curse of the Mistwraith. The story revolves around a prophecy that the land of Athera, which currently exist in a state of eternal fog for the past 500 years, will be vanquished by a prince who wields the powers of light and shadow. The prophecy was half right in that the powers are split into 2 half brothers: Arithon is the Master of Shadow and Lysaer is the Lord of Light. The two brothers are accompanied by the Sorcerer Asandir and his apprentice Dakar sometimes refereed to as the Mad Prophet as it is his prophecy which all hope the brothers will fulfill. Asandir takes on the Gandalf type role of the story as the history, lore, factions, and traditions of Athera are told from his perspective. The plot slowly builds to the last 200 pages where the fireworks start and the plot kicks into hyperdrive. I won’t get into spoilers but I’m just letting it be known that the investment has a great payoff at the end.

Janny Wurst writes Curse of the Mistwraith as a high fantasy novel with beautiful and descriptive pros. There will not be info dumps as the tale and histories will be told organically and slowly over the course of the story. Janny also does something very interesting when it comes to switching the character narrative during a chapter. Each chapter is divided into several sections with a new character taking over, but the fun part comes at the end of each chapter. Janny will write 3 short paragraphs detailing an important event taking place in other parts of the world. I found myself referring back to these again and again as you normal expand on that short paragraph in the next chapter. This is a writing technique I have never seen used in this way and it was welcoming to learn something new. Not everything will be answered in this book and the rug will be pulled out from up you (or so I have been told).

I had a great time reading the first book in this epic series. Although The Curse of the Mistwraith asks a lot from the reader and I did struggled at times getting through the middle section, the groundwork has been built and I can see great things coming in future novels. I don’t know when, but I will be continuing with this series and I know Janny Wurst will knock this out of the park! Fans of Malazan will enjoy this series and it is one Under the Radar series I am happy to have started.

Cheers!

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Grimdark at its best

Revisado: 10-25-22

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. When I first finished the debut novel Oathbreaker, I knew that any additional books published by this author would need to be read. This series takes place in the same world as Oathbreaker but on a new continent and explores a completely new cast of characters as they struggle for survival, power, and revenge. There will be alot of pain in misery in these pages so I would proceed with caution as the wild ending will keep you guess for what else is about to come.

We follow three POV characters in Season of Kings and I found myself enjoying all three at various points. More so to the point that my favorite characters would often shift as I kept reading. First we have Grimm, a brute of a man being hunted by his king for rape and murder. At least that is what the king believes happened. Grimm is the most fierce warrior in the land and no small group of soldiers can keep him at bay. Grimm wants nothing more than to leave his land until he comes across a dwarf child with the slave brand on her body. Against his better judgement, Grimm decides to look after the girl on his journey no matter how bloody it may get.

Anna lives in the wilds with her father. Trained as a hunter and survivor in the even the most darkest of circumstances. When Anna’s world turns upside down, she travels to the city of Winterhelm to find her long lost aunt. Little does Anna know that her world will be turned upside down forever. Finally we have Elbert, stuck up and self-centered jackass who becomes King of Winterhelm after his fathers death. Soon after, he looses the ability to use his legs and his rule is percieved to be weak. In order to gain back control of the city, he must clean house of the treachery and launch a war against the northern clans even though it is a suicide mission. Don’t blink for one second or your will miss all the action!

A.J. Rettger is not afraid to explore the darkest aspects of human behavior. Whether that being vengence, pride, betrayals, slavery, and so much more for you are in for some very grim pages. The begining of the story is slow and didn’t grip me right away until the midway point where I could see the puzzle pieces starting to come together. Writting style is reader friendly and very action oriented but you need to give the plot several chapters to breath. I must say that Season of Kings is an excellent second novel by A.J. Rettger and If you enjoyed Oathbreaker then this is a must read.

With two active series now in the works, A.J. Rettger is certainly making a name for himself in the fantasy community. Grimdark fans will get a kick out of these two series so do yourself a favor and strike while the iron is hot!

Cheers!

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Not your Typical Dwarves

Revisado: 03-02-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

More reviews at undertheradarsffbooks.com


I was provided an audio copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Jari Rockjaw is a simple dwarf who has seen too many battles in his life to count. Tackling job after painful job brings him all the riches and spoils he could ask for, but at the cost of dear friends and allies. Jari wants nothing more than to retire his mercenary group and drink beers at his local tavern but the king of Ekepia has other plans for the Loners. The one thing Jari knows for sure is there will be blood.

I would like to take a moment and acknowledge the amazing job Walt Allen did as the narrator for Loners. Every voice was well defined, powerful, funny, and came to life through my headphones. Walt is definitely a narrator I will be following in future projects. The first thing that excited me about Loners, this is a story about dwarfs and a mercenary company looking for riches. You don’t get too many of these stories in the fantasy genre and it was nice to see a fresh perspective on this classical fantasy troupe.

The band that Jari travels with could be central POV characters in any other story because they are written so well. Traveling with Jari is his right hand man and fellow dwarf Toli Hookhand. Toli is the comic relief of the novel and always put a smile on my facing along the journey. The Loners also includes my favorite character Betha. Betha is a female minotaur with one horn missing and the other broken in half but she will not back down from a fight. We learn that Betha has a troubling past, which she escaped by joining Jari and his mercenary group but the past has a way with catching up with everyone. Although the brute of the Loners, Bertha has a good heart and she will gain your devotion on her journey.

We are thrown into the land of Labrys where the Loners have taken job after job for the past 100 years. They make their livings by hunting and skinning goblins for the local tavern to make a potent brew. Allies have been lost and gained through the years but Jari wants to leave this monotonous life behind. That opportunity presents itself when the king asks a favor of Jari and his band to destroy and the darkest dwarf in the land in exchange for the band retirement. Jari knows that this task will be nearly impossible but he will go once more unto the breech and face this enemy head on.

The writing style and plot moved along smoothly when listening to the audio version but the story has a lot of grit and dark moments. These dark moments really shine through because of the excellent job Walt Allen does in his production and please make sure that you are in the right mental space for this type of story. These aren’t your Typical dwarfs and creatures from Lord of the Rings as they will surprise you on more than one occasion. I had a good time following Jari and his band on this journey and if you are looking for a classical type story about dwarfs with a dark twist to it, Loners is the story for you!

Cheers!

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A hidden gem in Epic Fantasy

Revisado: 12-14-20

More reviews at undertheradarsffbooks.com

Welcome to the Lowlands and what I can only describe as the most underrated epic fantasy series of out time! Yes, you heard me correctly and I do not use these words lightly. Adrian Tchaikovsky is known mostly through his sci-fi novels but he wrote a ten book epic fantasy series starting with Empire in Black and Gold in 2008. This ten book epic fantasy series is the hidden gem of the epic fantasy genre and I would like to thank Tor UK for rereleasing the entire series including its first release on audible. The audible edition is performed by the very talented Ben Allen and he does a smashing job. Every single characters voice was performed brilliantly and I mentioned to Ben that one scene in a haunted forest was done so well that he literally game me the chills! Ok, that’s enough about me gushing about this story.

The Lowlands is a world and civilization unlike any other you have read in the fantasy genre and I can guarantee that! There are several different races of humans in this world with each race being referred to as a different Kinden. A Kinden is a race of human that based on the aspects of different insects!. I know this may sound strange but let me explain how it works. The world consists of several different types of Kinden: beetles, ants, dragonfly, mantis, spider, moth, wasp etc… Each Kinden contains their own skills or magic abilities. Beetle-Kinden tend to be short with round build and they are very smart with the ability to build machines. Ant-Kinden are short but very strong soldiers to go to war and they can communicate in each others minds without talking. Mantis-Kinden are elite soldiers similar to a samurai and very prideful. Finally Wasp-Kinden are magic users who can fly, but not very strong as a group. All of these Kinden and so much more inhabit this world and Adrian Tchaikovsky has taken my breath away with his imagination and creative genius!

There is so much that happens in just this one book that I believe it could have been split up into a trilogy. This is a dream come true for me as I read these books almost decade ago and it deserves a much wider audience and fanbase. Lets get into the synopsis: The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbors. But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, its killing Art…And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path. But first he must stop himself becoming the Empire’s latest victim.

We follow several characters on this journey and each one is better than the next. First we follow Cheerwell Maker: Stenwold’s niece and student at the collegium. Beetle-Kinden curious about the world and its inhabitants until the war is brought to her front door. Next we follow Tynisa: Stenwolds student and ward. Spider-Kinden who finds that she has no interest in the learning and knowledge of building machines but instead wishes to take up the way of the sword. Then we have Tisamon: Mantis-Kinden and a fierce warrior. Guilted by the betrayal of his once friend, he had lived in isolation for the past 17 years until Stenwold calls for help and the war with the wasps begin. Finally there is Achaeos: Moth-Kinden on a secret mission until it goes horrible wrong, He is a seer in training and his scenes involving his powers were the one of my favorite parts of the story.

Each Kinden has its own history and predigests towards the others. Beetles, Ants, and Flies were slaves, cowed by the powerful sorceries of their masters that they couldn’t even comprehend. The Lowlands were ruled by the Moth-Kinden, with the assistance of the Mantis-Kinden. This relationship is summed up in the commonly used phrase Masters of the Grey, Servants of the Green. This was until the revolution happened and the slaves rose up with the might force of the machines to overtake their masters and magic is now practiced in certain areas.

Now that we got that out of the way, lets get into the writing. If you have read any of Adrian Tchaikovsky other novels, you already know how much of a wizard his with words. Beautifully and methodically written with suspense and tension lurking around every corner. It had been almost a decade since I first read this and I was still shocked and how much I didn’t remember and I left with a huge smile on my face ready to dive into book 2. This book does have some very dark moments including a torture scene, a brutal murder, and the very brief glimpse of a rape scene (nothing graphic or descriptive), in case these types of scenes are hard to read for some readers.

I consider this series a must read for any lover of epic fantasy and those readers who are looking for something completely different in the SFF community. It is a crime that this series is such an unknown to the vast majority of fantasy readers and I will take it upon myself to correct this injustice. This is in my top 5 greatest epic fantasy series ever written and I hope you will see this work for the grand epic it truly is.

Thank you Ben Allen for your wonderful contribution to this series and keep the good work!

Adrian, I can’t begin to express my gratitude for creating this masterpiece and I hope many will appreciate this work and all its glory! It has changed the way I want stories to be told forever and I have you to thank!

Cheers!

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Something new

Revisado: 02-20-20

This is a new take on a journey adventure very various twists and turns along the way. Honestly, i didn't expect the story to go where it went, but the two readers made me want to continue listening, Can't wait for the next one!

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Diamond in the Rough!

Revisado: 12-16-19

The book is dense and a challenge to tackle, but well worth the investment! I couldn't stop listening and I didn't want the story to finish. Apparently, this is a planned seven book series and I can't wait to for the next one to come out.

Narrator is excellent and you never feel lost. Highly recommended

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Mysteriously Intreging

Revisado: 12-16-19

Reads more like a murder mystery with religion and war sprinkled in, but the writing is superb.

Also, the best opening line to a novel I have ever read. Must read for any fantasy fan!

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Pure Entertainment

Revisado: 11-27-18

Loved it! The Narrator was excellent and the story just flowed. Can't wait for book 2

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