Hi Amica,
Books that deal with Angel and Demon figures has always interested me.( It might have something to do with my Catholic upbringing) When reading the Synopsis of John Gwynne new book A Time of Dread I knew I need to get my hands on it.
Warrior Angels called the Ben-Elim broke free into the Banished Land over 130 years ago.
On the trail of their mortal enemy the demon like creatures called the Kadoshim. Ben-Elim and inhabitants of the Banished Land worked together to defeat the Kadoshim. As a result of the battle not all the Kadoshim were not killed on that day. Therefore the Ben-Elim promised to stay and protect the Human and Giants. Through out the years the influence of the Ben-Elim has spread and the cost of their protection is to join their Kingdom and their rule.
In the meantime the Kadoshim have bided their time and in secret started to amass their own army. Striking from the shadows there attacks will test the long fragile peace.
The world that John Gwynne has created in A Time of Dread is incredible, detailed and complex.
For the first couple of chapters I did refer back to the Cast of Character guide to help me understand the relationship between the character better. Subsequently as the book has a large cast of character it took me longer than normal to fully immerse myself in the story.
As A Time of Dread gets to the Half way mark the world and it story had completely engrossed me.
A Time of Dread is told in the perspective of several different characters. Therefore it allow you to see more of the world and the impact the Ben-Elim and Kadoshim have had on the Banished Land and its people.
My favourite character is Sig a warrior giant.
Sig is very straight to the point and very honourable. I knew I was going to like her from her response to Queen Nara.
“Her hand slipped to the hilt of her dagger.
I like this queen more and more.”
Subsequently Drem just missed out on my favourite character accolade . I wasn’t sure how Drem was going to fit into the story at the beginning. Drem Trapper life is at the beginning of the story the furthest removed from the Ben-Elim and the Kadoshim. Consequently one of the biggest story revel comes from his journey. I felt a connection with Drem from the below quote, as I am not a fan of change either.
“He liked to do things the way he was told the first time, didn’t like change.”
To summarise A Time of Dread is an epic fantasy that has left me counting down the days until I can visit the Banished Lands again.
My rating for A Time of Dread is 4.3 out of 5.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.
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Thanks for reading,
Gem x
