Bis gegen Mitte war es ganz ordentlich.

Die Welt hat keine eigene Identität und verliert erst an Spannung, später an Glaubwürdigkeit.

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Good story, well narrated!

I’ve waited what felt like ages for this one, and I couldn’t be happier with the story I got to read!

Seven Deaths of an Empire is a grimdark fantasy that is inspired by roman legions and forest tribes. It combines a lot of my favourite things, so in this book you’ll find political manoeuvring, loyalties and betrayals, a whole pile of bodies, action and fighting along with quiet and contemplative bits, magic as well as a realistic feeling world where actions do have consequences.

I especially enjoyed the two different POVs and main characters. One being a battle weary old general trying to hold the young heir and the empire together.

*
Age was an enemy no one could defeat with cunning strategy, clever tactics, or sharp sword. It cut through armour, flesh, bone and blood without pause or care.
*

The other POV being a young and still rather naive magician and his sage master.

*
Kyron looked down at the intricate carving, not understanding. A state of being he was used to.
*

These different styles and manners kept me well hooked and breezing through the chapters as I always wanted to know what would happen on the other side of the empire. I clicked with the early characters early on and found them well rounded and enjoyed seeing them grow over the cause of the book. Besides the darkness there’s also a little bit of humour and banter sprinkled throughout the book, which made the world a bit less bleak and helped to get a good balance overall. Like this one after jumping at shadows:

*
“I will be stabbing a tree in a minute,” he said.
“Me too, sir,” the soldier said.
“Get your own tree,” Bordan said, his smile growing wider. “Plenty to choose from.”
*

Another bit of the book I absolutely loved is the prose. Most of it is effective but unobtrusive, doing its job well without drawing attention to itself as more purple passages might. And then you get those little bits of more introspection, and it contrasts so well with the unembroidered style. I wouldn’t want to read a whole book this way, but the little bits and pieces strewn throughout worked incredibly well for me.

*
Bordan chose each word with more care than he sharpened his sword. A cut here would not be healed with a simple bandage, but could put him in a grave of his own, next to the messenger, no doubt.
*

The setting also caught my interest quickly. I loved traveling the forest, and while I found the empire rather familiar having read quite a bit about the Romans, I was so very intrigued by the tribes! I really hope we might get to see more of them and their culture in later books of the series, but only time will tell! I didn’t even know who I was rooting for… I definitely hoped and feared for both sides of this conflict, which made the whole reading experience even more gripping to me. I can’t say I noticed even one infodump in the whole book, and the blend of new and well known to me cultures made it a good balance that was both fresh and yet not overwhelmingly new.

*
Even as the sun rose above the trees, turning morning’s gemstone dew into a thin grey mist which drifted to the canopy above, the sense of despondency settled anew into his heart. The aroma of loss overpowered the smoke from the fires and the scent of porridge charring in the pots. He drew it down with every breath, feeling it sweep through his limbs on each pulse of his heavy heart, draining the energy from his legs, and every step became a struggle against lethargy.
*

I love grimdark as a genre, because it so often just feels more realistic than the classics. If you get an arrow in the stomach, it is very unlikely you will get up again later on. Actions do have consequences and the stakes just are a lot higher if you have no idea if your favourite characters will actually make it to the end. It can turn too dark and end up completely hopeless, which will lose my interest, if I can’t see any way forward for the characters at all. GR Matthews always dangles just enough hope in front of you to keep you always ploughing on, hoping for the best while also fearing the worst. So I’ll leave you with one last quote, and hope you’ll do yourself a favour and go read this one!

*
One spark is it all it will take for them to burn us down.”
“Let us hope for rain then,” Bordan said.
“Always,”
*

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Bland "dark" fantasy

it had very few surprises. The characters are without depth. The story missed ambiguity in most emotional high points. All in all: nice try.

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