The Ember Blade: A breathtaking fantasy adventure (The Darkwater Legacy)

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After the first half of the book focuses on outward conflict, the story shifts focus towards the interpersonal relationships amongst the group. This is really when the book begins to shine: the friendships feel natural and lifelike, but Wooding really excels at depicting broken relationships within the group. There is pure hatred and strife between several of the characters, yet all sides of these relationships feel justified. Each character's journey is given ample time to breathe and grow, and it was incredibly satisfying to see how far our group has come over the course of the story. There are no less than 11 protagonists in our group of heroes, plus some additional side characters that help give depth to other side of the conflict, and no one is neglected from their time in the spotlight. One of the more satisfying decisions I encountered was how Wooding sometimes chose to tell a chapter's story through the eyes of a secondary character, instead of the person who's is the central figure at the moment. We're able to still view the major events of the chapter, but we also learn how the actions affect others in the group, and what emotions and reactions their decisions have influenced. One of the best fantasy books I've read in years. An instant classic!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Time for one of my hyper infrequent blog updates! Well, I’m about 20-odd chapters into the sequel to the Ember Blade, but a large chunk of time was spent upfront planning the whole thing so it’s not going quite as slowly as it might seem. That’s probably about one-fifth; I’m hoping it won’t be quite as long as its predecessor and certainly no longer, but who know what the gods of epic fantasy will decree? I’m also working on a ton of other stuff that as ever I can’t talk about just because.

With the exceptions of Cade and Aaron, the other characters are just faceless people that I don’t care about. I am also not a fan of third person narrative. Take a chance. BE the character. Don’t just watch him from above. It’s not in any way great writing. Eldritch Abomination: The Beast of Skavengard, and unholy mass of tentacles, eyes and mouths that is trapped on the island-palace of Skavengard. It was summoned from another dimension and slaughtered everyone on the palace centuries ago. Just a glimpse of it is enough to pretty much break Keel's mind. Secret Police: The Iron Hand is the organization charged with stamping out all dissidence in the Krodan Empire, both among the conquered peoples and within its own population. Recipient of a few international literary awards and nominations, he enjoys reading gritty thrillers filled with moral dilemmas and a real sense of danger.The reason why the Divide between the world of the living and the Shadowlands is thinning and the Outsiders are threatening to return.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware - Empires rise, civilisations fall and one culture comes to subsume another. It's the way of the world . . . sometimes ways of life are improved, sometimes they are not. But the progression of change is huge and - usually - unstoppable.In this story, the Ossian way of life is fading and the Dachen way is taking its place and Aren is comfortable with that. Even when his parents are accused of treason he supports the establishment and maintains there's been some mistake . . . which is all it takes to get himself and his best friend arrested . . .Thrown into a prison mine they plan their escape - only to be overtaken by events when they're rescued, and promptly find themselves in the middle of an ambush. By the time they've escaped, they're unavoidably linked to Garric - their unwelcome saviour - and his quest to overturn to Dachen way of life.If they leave Garric now, they'll be arrested or killed by their pursuers. If they turn him in, Garric will kill them. If they stay with him, they'll be abetting a murderous quest they don't believe in. There are no good options - but Aren will still have to choose a path . . .Designed to return to classic fantasy adventures and values, from a modern perspective, this is a fast-moving coming-of-age trilogy featuring a strong cast of diverse characters, brilliant set-pieces and a strong character and plot driven story. The story really “starts” with Aren, a young Ossian that is neither low- nor high-born, has a good life, and is trying to woo a local Krodan girl. His buddy, Cade, who also happens to be a POV character early on, is chumming around as well. If you know something about my tastes, the fact that we get two POV characters that are proximally close to each other was immediately concerning. The fact that the POV jumped heads so often was even more so. But I kept at my reading with a valiant effort. The beginning was slow, yes, what with scenes of wooing the girl and then building the world and its history, but I expected that more was to come. More goodness, that is. The world is big . . . Different cultures, magics, demons, politics - a whole new world to explore! . . . I was hooked from the start to the very last line' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Have read the Ember Blade, loved it, cant wait for the next book. I am a big fan, have read and re-read the Ketty Jay series and actually appreciate that you put so much work into your writing instead of blog updates. Wishing you a very happy and prosperous New Year. Strikes a magnificently fine balance between classic epic fantasy and grimdark fantasy, making this an amazing start to a new trilogy' Novel NotionsFantasy Gun Control: Partially averted. Even though firearms don't exist in the setting, Xulan military engineers have been known to dabble in explosives as siege weapons and Garric's true plan revolves around using a dozen barrels of elarite oil (a dangerous byproduct of elarite mining) as a make-shift bomb to destroy the fortress of Hammerholt. A fantasy novel by Chris Wooding, author of the The Braided Path series, the Broken Sky series and The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray. It is the first of a planned trilogy called The Darkwater Legacy. One of the best in the genre for a very long time . . . a masterful balancing of new and old . . . a rather grand first instalment in a trilogy that could be one of the best epic fantasy has ever seen' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ In my 70s introduced my sons to fantasy when they were babies. New Zealand needs your story to be made into a movie. Rusty (son) worked on the Hobbit and wants to do same for you. Please come. We ARE Struggling Together: In-Universe this is considered the Ossian hat, as they are constantly arguing with each other and are perceived as incapable of working together towards a common goal.

I love my fantasy books to have as much worldbuilding as possible – that’s why I read so many huge books and series, because there is enough space for all that exploration. We are certainly given plenty of time to soak in the world in The Ember Blade. Just reread The Ember Blade again…. holding breath for No 2. Hoping you all all you love are safe and well. Jill Summer If they leave Garric now, they'll be arrested or killed by their pursuers. If they turn him in, Garric will kill them. If they stay with him, they'll be abetting a murderous quest they don't believe in. There are no good options - but Aren will still have to choose a path . . . The Krodan Empire is a fantasy Expy of Nazi Germany, with an stereotypical Aryan phenotype, an obsession with rules and regulations, a brutal secret police, and is rounding up an ethnic minority into concentration camps and carrying out a genocide against them.The Krodan Empire has an obvious connection to the Roman, bringing ‘peace’ to their neighbours by the sword in their own version of the Pax Romana. It reminds us that these conflicts are not only fancies of the author’s mind; the detailed interconnections between the two Empires enhance the veracity of the narrative, one example, of many, is the Krodan religious conversion to the Sword and the Word harking to Constantine’s conversion to Christanity. The book owes as much to Gibbon’sThe History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empireas anything else and acts as a warning from without: all things change. As in the regions of Roman conquest, the Krodan invasion of Ossia, thirty years past, has left the population deeply divided, each person having an intensely individual response to the occupation, from collaboration to outright revolt. Aren, son a noble made rich by cooperation, is Ossian born, but raised in the Krodan style, conditioned to respect their culture, laws, and religion, while Cade is lower born and Ossian through and through. After all, the struggling classes have a much greater distance from Krodan influence, it’s much more important to indoctrinate those in society who are powerful or useful. If this seems simplistic, it’s because it’s only the set up, there to lull you into a false sense of superiority. As you keep reading you notice that every character has a nuanced, personal, layered, and complicated set of ideas about their country, the occupation, their fellow citizens, the Krodans (as individuals and as a group), the Sards (a traveller/gypsy community), the wrongs of the past, and what should be done about the future. And they change with experiences and new information, making mistakes along the way. The author makes sure that humanity = complexity, it’s exceptionally done. Im new reading this… but I find really hard understanding the caracters…. it’s like it was ment that I should k ow them already… I mean is there or is it going to be something before?… like for example… lord of the rings have the hobbit… which explains the beginning…. in this book the 2nd chapter starts talking about Aren.. so am I supose to know him already? Sorry to bother, … thanks I must admit that I did wonder whether I was going to last the distance when I started reading The Ember Blade. Though undeniably well-written, the initial set up felt like typically Tolkien-esque fare. So much of it was similar to things I’ve read many, many times before. What classic fantasy is all about - a slow build-up and an exciting pay-off - and I think this book as exactly that' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ The pacing of The Ember Blade is fantastic, with the stakes continuing to rise throughout the book. It was almost impossible to put this down, especially at the end of a chapter, when I just had to start the next one to know what happened next.

Chris Wooding grew up in a small town in Leicestershire, where not much of anything happened. So he started to write novels. He was sixteen when he completed his first. He had an agent by eighteen. By nineteen he had signed his first book deal. When he left university he began to write full-time, and he has been doing it professionally all his adult life.

Honor Before Reason: Garric will keep his oaths, no matter how impractical or dangerous to himself they might be. Case in point, since he once swore to protect Aren's father's family, he goes to rescue him from the prison camp, even though he later came to hate Aren's father fiercely. Overwatchman Klyssen was counting on this and was the only reason Aren was arrested in the first place. Look on My Works, Ye Mighty, and Despair: Ossia is positively littered with grandiose ruins from the days of the Second Empire, when the Sorcerer Kings of Ossia ruled the continent. Besides that there are other impressive but less beautiful ruins from the days of the First Empire, ruled by the urds. Chris is clearly a skilful writer, and there’s clearly been a lot of work in putting this together. Any reader wanting the challenge of a big Fat Fantasy will relish such a read and realise from the beginning that The Ember Blade is a story for the long haul. It must be said that by the end I felt that it is an immersive experience, if you give it time to develop. If that is what you want, then this is a satisfying read, building from traditional tropes into a series of set pieces that read well, although not always working well together. The beginning of a new epic fantasy series that is heavy on world building and light on its focus that ultimately left me wanting on so many levels. Stay in the Kitchen: The Krodan religion has very regimented gender roles, with women being considered not intelligent enough for scholarship or administration, let alone fighting.