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It's not easy to keep both old and new readers happy when you write a second stand-alone novel in the same world. You'll either have to repeat yourself during world-building, annoying your old readers who already know this stuff from the previous book, or leave important elements out of your story, introducing your new readers to an incomplete setting. It's not easy, but it is possible, and Eames has managed to pull it off nicely, proving how talented he is.
Had it been mere months, she pondered, since she’d been a girl infatuated with Fable’s frontwoman? With the whole band, really. She’d considered them heroes, the infallible gods of her own personal pantheon. While on tour, however, and during the hard, harrowing weeks since, she’d come to realise that those heroes were human after all – as fallible as anyone she’d ever met. More so, even. Divine judgement is the domain of the Emperor alone, and while few would consider themselves worthy of judging guilt on His behalf, many stand ready to mete out the inevitable punishment. Eames, Nicholas (February 22, 2018). "My Very First Award!". The Heartwyld. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022 . Retrieved March 8, 2022. Next, friends, I loved Bloody Rose even more than Kings of the Wyld! This book feels like stepping into a fresh Dungeons and Dragons campaign, where you get to play as a Lesbian bard who is allowed the honor of going on a few quests and ultimately telling the story of the most famous mercenary this side of the Heartwyld. And, I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to play (or be) a character so much in my entire life.
Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time
Ivins, Jennie (January 9, 2019). "The Best of r/Fantasy Stabby Award 2018 Winners Announced!". Fantasy Faction. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022 . Retrieved March 8, 2022. And then—speaking of dark paths—there’s Rose herself, who’s gone and gotten herself a habit. Before every fight, she swallows Lion’s Leaf to bolster her courage, and “there [are] side effects (addiction not least among them).” Alas, the leaves only give her false courage, and Rose will need real steel if she’s to stand the slightest chance of surviving the hellish events ahead. “A rampaging Horde, a vengeful giant, a ruthless druin sorceress, and her undead Simurg” really might be the least of her problems. An entertaining, brilliantly crafted adventure . . . with just the right amount of grit and wit' Bibliosanctum Eames is the current reigning champion of joyful, human, madcap messy fantasy that hits all the right notes (FORBIDDEN PLANET) Eames] writes the kind of fantasy that is both immensely satisfying and deeply human . . . Kings of the Wyld was fun, but Bloody Rose is gods-damned epic . . . one of the best books of the year (FANTASY HIVE)
Other readers have commented on the darkness of this book as compared to KoTW. That surprises me because I didn't think this book was dark at all. A tad boring, yes, but not dark. Then again, I've been reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series this year and this book was a walk through a tulip field while eating an ice cream cone and holding a puppy on a summer day compared to that. There was some humor in this book but I never laughed once and, really, I was always rooting for the monsters to win.
New Sisters of Battle Order of the Bloody Rose Rules
Speaking of the characters, I’ve gotta give a shoutout to the ancillary cast again. I just love the way that Eames writes his side characters. They’re allowed to grow, and expand over the course of the story, rather than laying it all out for the readers at the beginning. Cura and Brune (I love him lots by the way) respectively both received really gorgeous character growth as the story moved along, confronting childhood trauma so that they could better handle the present dangers in the world. To Tam, there was nothing worse than the prospect of never leaving home, of being cooped up in Ardburg until her dreams froze and her Wyld Heart withered in its cage. She glanced at her uncle, who gave her a reassuring nod, and was about to tell Freecloud that it didn't matter if they were facing the Horde, or something worse than the Horde, or if they were bound for the Frost Mother's hell itself. She would follow.
It’s been six years since the climactic battle in Kings of the Wyld and the melodies of life must continue. The main plot this time centers on our new main protagonist, Tam Hashford, who has been living a secluded, repetitive and boring life working at her local pub. This all changes when the current most famous mercenary band, Fable, led by the infamous Bloody Rose herself, arrives and Tam immediately volunteered to be their newest bard. When the biggest mercenary band of all rolls into town, led by the infamous Bloody Rose, Tam jumps at the chance to sign on as their bard. It's adventure she wants-and adventure she gets as the crew embark on a quest that will end in one of two ways: glory or death. Some of the characters from the first book do appear again in this one. Of all the cast, who do you most relate to and why? To Tam, there was nothing worse than the prospect of never leaving home, of being cooped up in Ardburg until her dreams froze and her Wyld Heart withered in its cage.”
Their unwavering faith renders Battle Sisters of the Argent Shroud even more resilient against psychic assault than is typical for the Adepta Sororitas. As such, they are frequently able to disregard the cursed sorceries of the Archenemy’s minions.
As much as I enjoyed all the references, the thing that blows my mind about this book is that you could have removed every single one of those references and it would have still been an amazing story. I thoroughly enjoyed Ready Player One, but the references used in that book were the story’s glue, and I don’t think it could have stood without them. The references in Eames’s novels have been like sprinkles on top of an already delicious cake; they’re fun, but not necessary to the plot. You’ve already been asked on multiple occasions ‘if you were in a band…’ so I’m not going to ask that. However, if you were a monster , what would you choose to be?Such is their righteous anger that Sisters of the Bloody Rose are wont to charge headlong into melee regardless of the odds, tearing away at the enemy with blades, hands, and whatever else they can get a hold of. But what probably surprised me the most was Tam. Little Tam, "I'm just a bard," Tam. A piss-poor bard, indeed. :) I love the crap out of her. The winks to the first books were wonderfully executed. It wasn’t « let’s put that character here with no purpose » or « NAME-DROPPING TIME ! ». It made sense, and added something to the story – was even part of it – without ever sounding fanfictionnesque.