Rebel's Creed by Daniel B Greene, a review. The second instalment by the Dishevelled Goblin and a marked improvement on the Novella. Deepening the lore and expanding the world of the Almighty and the Anointed.

 

Rebel's Creed, a review.

    The first outing by Daniel, Breach of Peace, was a novella. It had been his intention for the next to be one also. That changed with the writing of Rebel's Creed. This outing is a novel over 350 pages in length with a deeper story and far more lore than the first book. It is also a direct continuation from where the novella finished, picking up with Khlid in dire straits and in the hands of the Anointed. In this book, we learn more about the Empire and the Anointed herself, more about what the Empire's plans are, and those that stand against them.

    Khlid is bound and trapped, her body experimented upon by her captors. Flooded with the Drip, she is already being changed by it, the first real success beyond what had happened to Chapman before his death at the Anointed's hand. We get a little more as the experiments continue, and the story changes to the new protagonist of this story. Holden is a mess, he believes none of the accusations against his former mentors, and here we see how manipulative the Anointed can be. She uses her position, power, and her obvious charisma to spin a tale that the grief-stricken Holden will hold onto. It is an obvious play, one seen in many novels, but here it is done well enough that Holden is never entirely taken in by her but is invested enough to go along with what he is told. It is an interesting back and to between them, and it gives some insight into both characters at this moment in time. This is just the setup for what is to come, the story taking a turn I did not expect.

    We learn more of what happened to Chapman leading up to the murders and everything that then, subsequently, followed. It was nice to get more backstory to the abrasive Chapman, who in the earlier novella felt like he needed some fleshing out. Here Daniel does that well, showing how Chapman became involved with the rebellion and his true place within its structure. Sure, there are some cliches, but there are some interesting turns, and we see just how much of an arse Chapman can be, whilst also seeing some of his struggles, humanizing him in a way that had not been done previously. In a twist I was not expecting, we see just how undermanned the rebellion is, just how small a force is set up against the mass of this formidable Empire. I would have liked to have spent more time with Chapman, but we get enough here to see how his direct involvement led to everything in the novella and the events occurring in the present story. At least now we understand a little more about the Drip and its study.

    Back to the present day and we see a much-changed Holden. No longer is he part of the Seventh, that precinct has now been left to rot, having been moved to the Eleventh Precinct, where life is proving far from easy. We catch up with him as he is being beaten by several of his fellow officers. Holden had made the mistake of reporting officers from the Fifteenth Precinct to his sergeant, a man he had believed he could trust. Gone is the prospect of him becoming an Inspector. He has been placed in the Eleventh to keep him out of trouble and out of sight. A place where there is little support and no real chance of him making himself a nuisance for those in power. He isn't entirely broken, but he isn't far from that point. Throughout this time, he has held on to his belief in Khlid and Samuel, that they were innocent and all blame lay at Chapman's feet. Though beaten down and increasingly jaded, there remains a fire in Holden, a need to discover the truth of the events at the Seventh. When the chance comes to truly learn what happened to Khlid and the Seventh, Holden will stop at nothing to get those answers. Once he discovers she is alive, he will not stop until he frees her from her captors.

    The book's pace remains quite fast, at no point did I feel like the story was stuck in place or there was too much filler. Holden, and his relationships, felt real and none too forced. Though, I have to note that some of the dialogue didn't quite work for me. I think that issue is down to Daniel's style and could well work for others, it just didn't for me. In the scene between Flip and the Anointed, Avi Cormick, I felt like the interplay was a little off. The chess-playing broke up the scene more than I would have liked, but I could see what Daniel was striving for as he described the scene. I enjoyed the slow evolution of Khlid, the development of her new form, and the power she now possesses. Even those experimenting upon the former Inspector are unsure as to what effect the Drip was truly having. More than anything I enjoyed seeing Avi unleashed. Seeing how dangerous and powerful the Anointed truly is, raised things up a notch for me. Rebel's Creed is a marked improvement on The Breach of Peace, Daniel's writing is becoming stronger, and I hope to see that develop further with his next entry into the series.

    I'd give this book a solid four out of five stars. There is room for improvement, but it is a very solid entry. I can't wait to see what comes next as we sail for the land beyond the Endless Ocean. I'd recommend any fan of the first entry to give this book a look, and for any fan of fantasy to give this book a read.

The Rage of Dragons, by Evan Winter. A review and look at this brilliant debut novel, a self-published piece that stands as an example of what self-published authors can achieve.

 

The Rage of Dragons, by Evan Winter. The Review.

    I decided to give this book a look after hearing positive reviews through several booktubers that I follow. It was the right move, this book is one of the best things I've read in years. I was reading another book for review and immediately lost any interest in it after the first two pages of this book. The premise is a good one, opening up with a people forced into exile, landing on a continent far from their own home as they fight to establish a beachhead and force back the natives that threaten to annihilate them. It is a bloody, hard-fought battle that is won at great sacrifice. We then flash forward to the future and the established nation that sits within hostile lands. Here we are introduced to our central protagonist and his father. Tau is the son of a lesser Common, part of the caste system that we are introduced to within the empire, a young man being taught all that his father knows in the hopes of passing his own testing. Winter created a world so different from the many western-inspired fantasy worlds that I have read. I found the direct correlation between the standings and the physical attributes a refreshing change, those of a higher noble standing being bigger, stronger, and faster than those below them. This plays into the story itself and influences how the world around Tau operates.

    Tau is a young man with particular ideas of how his life will play out. These change as the story unfolds, but in the first part, he merely wants a life similar to his father's. That is until the first time he is forced to kill, forced to face the horror of killing, his ideas change, and he begins to look for an out from military life, a way to avoid service. Piled on top of that, he is dealing with his feelings for Zuri, a young woman awaiting her own testing. I would like to highlight that Tau is not a perfect character, he is impulsive, childish in some ways, and his view of the world is narrow due to his upbringing and experience. I should point out that the army of the chosen is bolstered by the 'Gifted' woman that can call down dragons, turn warriors into enormous engines of destruction and send the souls of men to hell through the skill of enervation. This is the reason they have held back the Hedeni as long as they have. Tau continues to train with his friend and Petty Noble, Jabari, the two young men looking forward to their testing. As Jabari's training partner Tau struggles with the death he inflicted. His plan to injure himself after his time training with the army is still in his mind as time goes by. Unfortunately for him, that will never come to pass as events beyond his control shape the young man's future. A singular mistake at Jabari's testing causes Tau's entire life to be broken, creating a fury in the young man that will drive his entire path in life.

    Tau returns home and is exiled from his home. He attacks Jabari's brother in a fit of rage and should be hanged for this offense only Jabari's interference keeps him from that fate. The night before he is due to leave, Zuri comes to him and begs him to leave with her. The young woman has passed her testing and is destined to become gifted, but she does not want that life, a life without him. Tau is too lost to his pain and rage to hear her and leaves, determined to make the Nobles pay for what they have done to him. This is what the story is primarily about, revenge. Tau is driven by it, his whole fate decided by it, and he will do anything to see it done. As he takes to the north, after a bloody encounter with Leskan, Tau finds himself in Kigambe and the testing there. Soon it is proven that Tau isn't as skilled as he believed, only winning his first bout after goading his opponent into making a mistake. His fifth bout is against a giant of a man, Uduak, and there is no way he can win. Tau doesn't win against his opponent but refuses to fall, fighting until the two hundred counts, something that seems almost impossible. This is the prime attribute that carries Tau forward, he isn't the biggest, the fastest, or the most talented, but he refuses to fall. The young man will not surrender no matter what it costs him. As a character, this makes him unrelenting but so single-focused that he is hard to like, though it is easy to understand the fury that makes him so. Even with that, he makes stupid choices, is too hard on those around him, and loses himself to his fury more than once. Taken into the army, he is trained with other lessers, his squad leader eager to prove that they can be as an effective fighting force as the higher nobles above them. It is a gamble to prove this, and he rests his hopes on Tau and several of his sword brothers. He tries to teach Tau the way to be greater than his natural talents, that dedication and hard work will allow him to reach his goals but it is not enough for the young man. Determined to push himself harder, Tau walks a dark path to become more to push his skills to the extreme. This singular decision is one of the craziest made by the lesser. I loved how Winter filled out his characters, made them feel so real, with their own agendas and agency, not just driving the narrative through Tau's own place in the world. This builds then to the end of the book and Tau's need to kill those he holds responsible for his father's death. 

    Nothing is so simple, the climax of the book leading to an invasion and an attempted coup, Tau, and his scale caught up in it as he is forced to fight by the side of one of the men responsible for Aren's death. Winter does a great job of building the tension and keeping the pace fast as they are driven from one scene of carnage to another, determined to save the queen from those that would see her slain, all the well the Hedeni invading the lands around the capital. It is a desperate race to her, and it leads to several choices that influence how events play out, Tau and his scale doing all they can to survive amid the chaos. This ending leads directly into the next book, and I can't wait to read it. 

 

    This is easily one of the best books I've read in recent years. With its different settings, cultures, and a protagonist that is not so easily likable, it stands apart from so many fantasy books I've read. Winter has a solid authorial voice, his prose is not overly flowery, but it holds your attention, and his character work is brilliant. I can't wait to read The Fires of Vengeance, and my attempt to read a certain book has been put back as I found it so lackluster in comparison. 

    The Rage of Dragons is an easy 5 out of 5. Any fan of fantasy should pick this book up and delve into a world that stands so well on its own. I'm looking forward to what else Winter will bring out in the future. He is definitely a talent to watch.

Breach of Peace by Daniel Greene, a review

 

Breach of Peace by Daniel B. Greene, a review

    The Dishevelled Goblin, the youtube agent of Chaos that is Daniel Greene. I first came across his work on Youtube during the madness of the pandemic as it began to unfold. I'd say that was fortuitous timing, or merely happenstance. Either way, it led me to one of the most entertaining Book Tubers on the platform. Daniel has a unique sense of humour and a genuine love of the fantasy genre, both come through in his videos and make him such a standout amongst the many reviewers now on Youtube. His skits alone are worthy of seeking out, especially the Brandon Sanderson writing one. His latest 'interview' with 'Disney' is an amusing parody that had me chuckling hours later. Throughout this journey, Daniel had expressed his desire to write a number of Novellas before moving forward with his own full-length novels. This was to be the first in a trio but Daniel's second outing has now blossomed into a full novel. I'll discuss that later, for now, I'll concentrate on his first outing as a published author. 

    The story begins with a murder, a rather grisly one in fact. Now, this has been highlighted in certain reviews but I found it no worse than many of the scenes in any modern horror book. This murder is of an important family, people of worth within the Empire. Here we are brought into contact with Khlid, one of the investigators, as she starts to look into the killings. Khlid is one of three investigators in this murder case, Samuel, her husband, and Chapman being the other two. It is clear from the outset that Chapman is not well-liked, there is an arrogance to the man that instantly makes him hard to deal with but that arrogance is partially earned. He is intelligent, markedly so, and able to make quick deductions with a deep insight but his people skills are rather lacking. Khlid and Samuel have something of a reluctance to working with him but they do so regardless, this case is far too important not to. Now I don't want to give too much away as this is primarily a detective novel, to state too much would give away elements of the mystery of the book. I will say that the story unfolds well, with some twists and turns some will see coming but they are executed well enough that it will do little to spoil your enjoyment of the book. 

    For a first outing, this is a solid offering. Daniel's writing hints at a much bigger world than we are exposed to and there is more than enough here to entice the reader back to see how the story will progress. I enjoyed his character work and the hints of what goes on behind the scenes of this new and dark world he is presenting to us. Sure it is not perfect but for a first published Novella, it is a damn good introduction. I am looking forward to what his next offering will bring, and with it now being a full-length novel I am more enthused than I was initially at the idea of the second Novella. I hope Daniel continues to unfold this world to us, I, for one will be eager to read more. Give it a go and see what this interesting young talent has to offer.

    I'd rate it 3.5 out of 5. A good first published book with tons of potential moving forward, can't wait to see what he has in store.  Let me know what you think in the comments and give Daniel's Youtube channel a look if you enjoy good reviews of the fantasy genre.