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Jeff Salyards

Scourge of the Betrayer: Bloodsounder's Arc Book One Paperback – January 8, 2013

by Jeff Salyards (Author)

3.9 443 ratings

Book 1 of 3: Bloodsounder's Arc

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Many tales are told of the Syldoon Empire and its fearsome soldiers, who are known throughout the world for their treachery and atrocities. Some say that the Syldoon eat virgins and babies -- or perhaps their own mothers. Arkamondos, a bookish young scribe, suspects that the Syldoon's dire reputation may have grown in the retelling, but he's about to find out for himself. Hired to chronicle the exploits of a band of rugged Syldoon warriors, Arki finds himself both frightened and fascinated by the men's enigmatic leader, Captain Braylar Killcoin. A secretive, mercurial figure haunted by the memories of those he's killed with his deadly flail, Braylar has already disposed of at least one impertinent scribe... and Arki might be next. Archiving the mundane doings of millers and merchants was tedious, but at least it was safe. As Arki heads off on a mysterious mission into parts unknown, in the company of the coarse, bloody-minded Syldoon,he is promised a chance to finally record an historic adventure well worth the telling, but first he must survive the experience! A gripping military fantasy in the tradition of Glen Cook, Scourge of the Betrayer explores the brutal politics of Empire-and the searing impact of violence and dark magic on a man's soul.

Book 1 of 3

Bloodsounder's Arc
Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Night Shade
Publication date

January 8, 2013
Dimensions

6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1597804517
ISBN-13

978-1597804516
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A tale of terror and bloodshed, set on a fascinating world, told by an interesting narrator. What more could you want?" -- Mike Resnick, Hugo and Nebula award winning author.

"Scourge of the Betrayer is as harsh and profane as anything Richard K. Morgan or Joe Abercrombie serves up. Fortunately, Saylards has the skills - and the humor - to pull it off. Snappy dialogue, political intrigue, shady characters, gripping action sequences, a poor guy that has no idea what he's gotten himself into... Yeah, there's a lot to like about this debut." --David Anthony Durham, author of The Acacia Trilogy.

"Gritty, gripping, and layered with surprises." -- Howard A. Jones, author of The Waters of Eternity

"I've long been a great fan of novels that play and experiment with the standards of fantasy, and Scourge of the Betrayer comes as no exception. Salyards not only executes the tropes of the genre skillfully, but he knows just when and how to surprise the reader by veering AWAY from any expectations we might be developing. Readers of traditional fantasy and sword-and-sorcery definitely should give this one a look; I'm impatient for a sequel already, myself." --Ari Marmell, author of The Conqueror's Shadow and The Goblin Corps

Salyards's first novel launches a fantasy adventure series filled with grim characters, fierce battles, and dark magic--as well as. . . macabre humor. Killcoin embodies many mysteries, including a cursed weapon and a past that remains to be explored, while Arki serves as a brilliant counterfoil, his initial naiveté glowing brightly against the dark background of his chosen world. VERDICT: Reminiscent of Glen Cook's "Chronicles of the Black Company". . . this fantasy adventure should have broad appeal among fans of military fantasy and sword and sorcery. --The Library Journal

About the Author

Jeff Salyards grew up in a small town north of Chicago. While it wasn't Mayberry, it was quiet and sleepy, so he got started early imagining his way into other worlds that were loud, chaotic, and full of irrepressible characters. While he ultimately moved away, he never lost his fascination for the fantastic, though his tastes have grown a bit darker and more mature over the years. Salyards lives near Chicago with his wife and three daughters. By day, he is a book editor for the American Bar Association; by night, he will continue to crank out novels as long as there are readers willing to read them.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Night Shade (January 8, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1597804517
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1597804516
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,825,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #13,776 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #17,251 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
- #33,174 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.9 443 ratings

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Jeff Salyards grew up in a small town north of Chicago. While it wasn’t Mayberry, it was quiet and sleepy, so he got started early imagining his way into other worlds that were loud, chaotic, and full of irrepressible characters. While he ultimately moved away, he never lost his fascination for the fantastic. Though his tastes have grown a bit darker and more mature over the years.

Jeff lives near Chicago with his wife and three daughters. By day, he is a book editor for the American Bar Association; by night, he will continue to crank out novels as long as there are readers willing to read them.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

443 global ratings

5 star		32%
4 star		38%
3 star		22%
2 star		7%
1 star		1%

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Paladin75

A Newcomer to the Genre - hits the ground running!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 12, 2012

Verified Purchase

Ok, so I picked up this book on the behest of the author, Jeff Salyards, a relatively new member of the Armour Archive. I'd recently read a new novel by Russ Mitchell, another AA forumite, that was pretty decent, better than I thought it'd be, even though it was outside of my usual fare. In any case, I decided to give this one a go as I was looking for a new book to put on the Kindle. Here's a blurb from Jeff:

"My name is Jeff Salyards. I'm the debut author of Scourge of the Betrayer, a hard-boiled fantasy that was published by Night Shade Books today, May 1, 2012. It's the first book in a series called Bloodsounder's Arc, in the tradition of Glen Cook, Joe Abercrombie, and David Gemmell. So, no elves, dark lords, heavy prophecies, or unicorns to speak of, but a lot of political intrigue, battles, and confusion on the part of the poor scribe trying to stay alive long enough to record the tale.

It's in stock now on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Scourge-Betrayer- ... 1597804061"

I must say I was pleasantly surprised, this book is well written, the characters were believable, if a bit simplistic, but then I prefer knowing or learning about my characters as I go and the author's pretty sparse with those sorts of details, but it doesn't detract from the story.

From the outset it reads like many other medievally inspired adventure novels with a few stock characters and a couple novel ones; the dialog is usually terse, and colorful but in keeping with the type of people you encounter. None of it seems forced- it flows natural like. It is refreshing really, to read dialog that isn't overly courteous or flowery, especially not in a tavern among rough and ready soldiers, townfolk and travellers who may be polite, but not necessarily virtuous or even friendly...and there's no willowy beauty inspiring men to foolishness. The action, when it happens, is visceral- there are no setpiece battles, every scrap has an edge of desperation to it, as if the fighters know there is no guaranteed outcome, except death if they aren't good enough at what they do. Put me to mind of the movie Centurion, starring Michael Fassbender. If you've seen it, you'll get what I mean. The lives of the people you read about aren't easy going or laid back...it is a rough existence, where death is commonplace, be it by disease, old age or the sword- the author has a way with words, descriptions that elicit the appropriate imagery and serve to augment the story without leaving you guessing what exactly it is you're supposed to see. Some authors just don't get it, this guy does.

Another surprise, it is a page turner...I hit the end before I even saw it coming; the Kindle doesn't do page numbers, it does placements and % completion but even with that it was over before I knew it. So, I'm re-reading it, to absorb those minute details I usually blow past in my eagerness to keep going. That I'm re-reading it is a testament to how good this book is...I never re-read anything that I didn't enjoy the first time around, I mean really enjoy.

I'm not all that familiar with the authors he's named as his writing being in the style of but I will be! I enjoyed this book, check it out if you get the time...unless you favor romance novels, which this decidedly is not.

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Brandon Z

Fantasy Battlefield Reporting

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 11, 2013

Verified Purchase

I really loved this book, and it's probably one of the most original fantasy books that I've ever read. The world itself is relatively bare-bones, but the style of story telling is amazing. My only real problem with the book is that it's relatively short, and because of the nature of the character narration/perspective the story is very limited. The main character and only viewpoint is that of a relatively helpless scribe that is hired to chronicle everything that happens with the company of soldiers. The whole story is told solely from the limited perspective of Arki, who becomes a great viewpoint character that maximizes the reader's immersion into the world and story of The Scourge of the Betrayer. There really isn't a lot of heavy world building, there are a few slightly forced but quick info dumps. However they are explained by the fact that Arki has led a relatively sheltered life and likes to ask a lot of questions.

The chronicler Arki is a very interesting character, an intelligent and talkative but shy young adult that grew up as a bastard from a Tavern Barmaid and an unknown rich man. He is very self-conscious about his upbringing, but he strives to make something of his life after he graduates from a University that was paid for anonymously by his absent father. This is the impetus for him accepting the contract from Captain Braylar Killcoin, a job that has very limited details, other than knowing it was very likely to be dangerous. This is where the story of Scourge of the Betrayer begins, the start of an adventure that will lead to many deaths, some of whom may be the main characters. There are very few featured characters for most of the book even though it features a company of soldiers, and they vary from being very quiet, to having bursts of talkativeness. The three main characters had a very interesting rapport, where they seemed to really like each other at times, but at the same time there was a certain amount of separation and animosity between them. The relationships just felt very real and different, and even the less important characters all have strong relationships with certain of their other companions, that mostly occur off the pages. The nature of it made the story feel very intimate and different, and the whole time I felt very close to the main character, especially with how the reader and Arki know very little about what's actually going on. The reader and Arki really don't learn about most of the actual plot/intrigue of the story until after the climax, when Captain Killcoin actually trusts Arki. This makes for a very unusual story, but it feels incredibly realistic, something that isn't common in a fantasy novel, or most books of any genre. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that even though most of the plot is explained near the end, the reader still doesn't know if the Syldoon Company are the good guys or the bad guys.

For the world building, while this is a fantasy world, magic plays a very small role. From what is present in the book, it seems to be a mostly mental magic with a strong focus on memory. There are a group of sorcerers that can change remove memories, and it is rumored that they can stop people dead in their tracks, but they aren't featured at all in this book. There are also rouge untrained mages, one of whom is the crippled Grass Dog companion of Captain Killcoin. She uses her limited abilities to strip from Captain Killcoin's mind the stolen memories that plague him after he kills using his cursed flail. The flail's heads are in the likenesses of the Deserter Gods, and they warn the Captain whenever violence and bloodshed is coming his way. The source of the weapon's powers aren't really explored, and all the reader and Arki really knows about the cursed flail is the Captain dug it up from the ground previously, and he can't get rid of it unless he want's to face a painful slow death. Apparently, at one time the world featured in Scourge of the Betrayer had multiple real Gods, but about a millennium ago they deserted the world for unknown reasons. The only sign that they ever existed being a magical veil that stretches across the country and leads anyone that gets too close to their death. The land in the book isn't too well described, but that's explained by the fact Arki isn't very knowledgeable about it. Essentially though, the company of soldiers featured in this book are from the Empire of Syldoon, whose power was originally gained by a bloody emperor that built an army of slave soldiers abducted as children. However, at the present time in the book the Syldoon forces are more of a normal but still brutal and efficient military force. Companies of Syldoon are sent around the world with various goals, and they all must include a Chronicler that's supposed to be impartial to allow the Empire to keep track of all of their actions. The country that this book takes place in is ruled by a Child King and multiple power hungry Barons, other than that very little is described.

The writing was probably my favorite aspect of this book, as it has a great flow that makes it tough to put down, and the action is among the best that I've ever read. The perspective is a little different, as of course Arki is usually just the spectator of the multiple battles in the book, though he does slightly participate at times. There is a slight inherent weakness as he can only focus on one fight at a time, and it can appear like he must be frozen in place doing nothing so that his viewpoint can describe the main action. Still, I really loved the realistic and high tension action, even more so as the main weapon is one I've really never seen used in a fantasy novel, a flail. I've just never really considered the effectiveness and purpose of a flail before reading this book, and all of the action really showed a depth of knowledge of that martial art style. The flail is used in so many different ways, from intentionally having the chain be blocked by the edge of the shield allowing the flail heads to crash into the vital organs of the opponent, to using it like a whip to crush the armored skull of the Captain's opponent, or even flinging it out in a jab. Some of the fights are quick and brutal, but others are wars of attrition when Braylar Killcoin goes against talented well armored enemies. The battles were so thrilling and entertaining that I almost wished there were more of them, but then if there had been it's possible that none of the characters would have been alive by the end. I also like how crossbows are used in the book as a great equalizer when they are otherwise outnumbered, and the actual mechanics the Captain teaches Arki about them are incredibly described in depth. It all just reads like the author has an intimate knowledge of all of the medieval weapons and armor featured in the book that allows Salyards to craft intense battles featured in this book.

So overall, I really loved Scourge of the Betrayer and I would highly recommend it, especially if you're looking for something that's different from the normal epic fantasy novel.

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Top reviews from other countries

LMH

Engaging, intimate and brutal

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 15, 2016

Verified Purchase

‘Scourge of the Betrayer’ is a book that’s been lurking amidst the dusty, long-forgotten recesses of my Amazon wishlist for over three years. Now that I’ve finally gotten around to finishing it I’m kicking myself for having waited so long.

It was social media that recently put the series back on my radar: after a few weeks of being regularly entertained by the Salyards’ laugh-out-loud Facebook posts I decided it was high time I checked out his fiction.

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I found myself immersed in a gritty, startlingly intimate fantasy; one that uses realism and detail to draw in the reader, and maintains the engaging and endearing first person voice of a rather inexperienced and anxious young man.

Our narrator is Arkamondos, an educated yet naïve small-town scribe. The main premise of ‘Scourge’ is that Arki has been hired to chronicle the day-to-day activities of a brutal warband. His new comrades hail from the shadowy Syldoon empire; led by Captain Braylar Killcoin, each man in the company comes across as hard-bitten and wholly at ease with violence and death.

What really sets Salyards’ writing apart is its charming and eloquent narrative voice, which captures perfectly the difficulties and doubts of an untested chronicler. Unlike other ‘grimdark’ protagonists, Arki is increasingly horrified by the violent deeds he comes to witness, and frequently questions his decision to join the Syldoon. We the reader get to experience his fear and shock – in complete contrast to the slurry of infallible, unshakeable antiheroes that the last few years have provided us with – and it’s refreshing to have a narrator that we can actually relate to.

Though Arki as a narrator is almost painfully naïve, he doesn’t shy away from observing and recording the brutal things he witnesses. He tries to do this as impassively and professionally as possible, but naturally his own morals and personality colour everything he writes. Arki is mostly left on the outside of the group, at least at first. This means that the reader is also left out, and we begin the story knowing next to nothing about what’s going on: just like Arki, the reader feels as though they’re stumbling around, completely out of their depth. And this is actually awesome - as long as you just sit back and accept the fact that everything will make sense eventually.

Above all, Arki’s lack of worldly experience makes every page feel realistic. Armour, weapons and warcraft are described simply yet effectively; there is an undertone of quiet competence that conveys the sense that the author has done his research but chosen not to show off about it by blinding his readers with pedantic jargon and details. Better yet, Salyards doesn’t assume that every single character possesses the same amazing skillset just because it’s fantasy: not everyone knows how to load a crossbow, ride a horse, pick a lock or even pull a decent pint. He avoids stereotypes, and by doing so he gives us characters that actually feel like real people.

The author deals with every other aspect of the story in a similar way. Sex is exciting yet ultimately disappointing; combat is prolonged and painful; death is graceless and unexpected. Arrows miss as often as not; ambushes are more likely to fail than succeed; bloodstains actually stick around for a long time; and every fight leaves the combatants with injuries both large and small that aren’t just shaken off and forgotten about. And though Salyards avoids the more ‘traditional’ elements of fantasy – specifically with regards to the somewhat obscure weapons used by certain characters – his combat scenes are never anything less than brutal, realistic and vivid.

For instance, one of the main characters’ chosen weapons is a flail. And not just any old flail, either: this is Bloodsounder, powerful but dangerous, which grants its wielder mysterious knowledge and an advantage over his opponents. Despite this, Bloodsounder is not a whirling tornado of wanton destruction when wielded, nor is its use dramatic or over the top in any way; in fact, the first time we see the flail in extensive action it’s used to gradually bludgeon a soldier to death in a tense, protracted one-on-one fight scene lasting several pages.

I’ve seen plenty of reviews complaining that ‘Scourge’ is light on the action, and that the bulk of the story focuses heavily on the mundane either through word-for-word dialogue, or internal monologue. I’ll admit I agree with this, but only to an extent, since I feel like this is also one of the book’s main strengths. Yes, the pace is slow. Yes, there are extended monologues that could perhaps have been shorter. And yes, some segments can feel slightly repetitive. But all this does is successfully convey a sense of routine, of the daily grind of men who spend every hour of their lives in one another’s company.

The plot progresses incrementally, but steadily. The fact that events are being chronicled in ‘real time’ makes for a relatively slow pace, yes, but it also gives ‘Scourge’ a pervading sense of immediacy and danger. And just because ALL THE THINGZ aren’t happening doesn’t mean that *nothing* is happening. ‘Scourge’ represents the beginning of a journey – and a surprisingly subtle journey at that – of discovery, both for the reader discovering the story and characters, and for Arki discovering that maybe he can cope with whatever the hell he’s gotten into after all.

And besides: the prose is smooth and engaging enough that it’s ridiculously easy to forget that not much is actually happening. Salyards writes with an easy tone and a poetic flourish; in fact, his style reminds me (in different ways) of both Mark Lawrence and Pat Rothfuss. But Salyards’ voice feels more *natural*, somehow; less choreographed wittiness and more self-deprecating observation. That’s not to say it doesn’t contain its share of dark humour and gritty dialogue, though. In fact, at one point I described it to a friend as, “a bit like if ‘Prince of Thorns’ had been narrated by Father Gomst with a sense of humour”.

One last thing I appreciated about ‘Scourge of the Betrayer’ is the fact that the author doesn’t fall into the trap of having Arki explain every tiny detail of a world with which he is already familiar. The setting is mostly vague, simply because it doesn’t need to be anything else but. Enough detail is conveyed for us to vividly picture the scenes taking place, yet not enough so that the world building takes over the story. Salyards takes a similar approach to history and lore: you get the sense that there’s a huge amount of it lurking just beyond reach, but he’s going to make us wait before we earn it.

I’m not saying ‘Scourge’ is perfect. It’s not. There’s nothing major to criticise, but it is kind of rough around the edges in a few minor ways. There are bits and pieces – arguably entire scenes – that could perhaps have been cut without detriment to the story; and as I already mentioned, the pacing can occasionally be an issue. But it’s a very, very good book nonetheless. And as a debut novel? It’s seriously impressive.

So yes, bend me over and call me a fangirl: I’m officially sold on Salyards. Now bring me more Bloodsounder. Now.

Dammit you horsec*nts, I said NOW.

3 people found this helpful

lynnsbooks

Great dark fantasy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 26, 2016

Verified Purchase

http://lynns-books.com/2016/01/22/sco...
Scourge of the Betrayer is the first of the Bloodsounder’s Arc series by Jeff Salyards. I really enjoyed this I have to say although when it comes down to writing a review I confess it’s quite difficult.

The story follows a relatively small band of characters, soldiers, on something of a military adventure. We get off to an immediate start and learn in relatively short order a few of the key characters and what they’re about. Arkamondos (or Arki) is a scribe. Having lived the majority of his, albeit short, life in relative comfort chronicling the narratives of merchants and other people lacking in excitement he takes a job that he believes will make his name. His new employer is the head of a bunch of Syldoon soldiers who are about to embark on a mission and Arki is about to go on an adventure.

We start the narrative in an inn where a number of the key characters are introduced as they exchange banter. And, let me just say that these are a bunch of lively characters who are not shy of a bit of creative cursing – you have been warned! Now, I understood on picking this up that this was going to be dark fantasy but after the first couple of pages I was wondering just how grim and dark this would really become, in fact I momentarily had doubts as the start of the book really does set its stall out quite early. However, a few pages later I found myself pretty much intrigued and compelled to read.

I can tell you absolutely nothing about the plot whatsoever and the reason for this is twofold. First, and most obvious, I don’t want to give away spoilers. Second, the plot is revealed as the story progresses. Basically we learn what’s going on through Arki and as he’s kept in the dark by his new boss then we are also pretty much kept in the dark too. When Arki learns something – then so do we and sometimes it’s a while before the information is forthcoming. That isn’t to say that nothing happens however – in fact far from it.

This is a very character led story and for the length of the book I would say it packs in an incredible, not to mention surprising, amount of worldbuilding. The characters primarily consist of the following. Arki – and I must say what a clever device for an author to use! Arki is bookish, well read and studious. He’s setting out on an adventure with a bunch of reprobates but in actual fact he’s far from rough and ready himself. How cool is that really. It feels like, as a reader, I almost have an affinity with this guy already! Don’t get me wrong, I love to read about action and adventure but in this respect all the events are chronicled by Arki and in such a way as to tell you how terrifying it all is in vivid detail.

We also have the surly and little spoken Captain Braylar Killcoin. Braylar is a fascinating character who I really enjoyed reading about. He’s a no nonsense, surly, rude and quite violent character. He carries a flail (although it isn’t naturally his first weapon of choice and the reasons do become clear as you read) and this flail seems to be, well, I’m not sure how to describe it really – magical? Possessed? Anyway, let’s just say that this weapon seems to lend Braylar certain abilities. However, it certainly doesn’t make him invincible and it’s a bit of a double edged sword as it also ensures that he’s haunted by his memories. The compelling thing about Braylar – well, you’re sat on the edge of your seat waiting for him to tell you something and he shares information quite grudgingly. Also, he’s written in such a way that you like and dislike him, then like him again, etc, etc, as the story progresses. On top of this we make the acquaintance of some of the other soldiers but for me the other character that really stood out was Lloi. Lloi has a lot of mystery in her life and I really enjoyed the scenes in which she took part – she just has a way of looking at things that is quite refreshing.

To be honest I would say that this book is more about the journey than the destination and I really do say that in a good way. We spend quite a bit of time in the company of Braylar and Arki with the occasional appearance of Lloi and during that time we really get to see the characters develop. This is particularly true of Arki who ends up surprising himself towards the conclusion of the story.

I think the writing is very enjoyable and the author manages to throw mystery, battles, strange creatures, shrines and other encounters along the way. The final reveal is definitely intriguing and actually incredibly gripping. In fact I reached a point where I actually wondered if anybody was going to survive! Anyway, enough of that – no spoilers.

I think my only criticism was that the ending felt a little rushed compared to the rest of the story. That being said I have No.2 lined up already and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.

2 people found this helpful

Martin Owton

Well-paced gritty adventure fantasy

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 20, 2014

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A group of mercenaries on a secret mission in hostile territory are required by their emperor to take with them an archivist who will record all their deeds. Sounds like an extract from a Black Company story by Glen Cook, and indeed it could be. Arki is not the first archivist to join the company and the other came to bad ends. Jeff Salyards paints a convincing picture of an outsider forced upon a group lead by Captain Braylar Killcoin who are comrades but not necessarily friends. Arki is no kind of a warrior as he shows several times before finally winning some grudging respect from the rest of the group. There is little magic, other than Braylar’s main weapon; a flail that warns him of incoming danger but demands a heavy price in mental anguish once the danger has passed.
Arki never knows where they are going and what the mission is, so this dilutes the tension somewhat and I would have liked to have seen the scene where Arki is recruited into the group. Other than that, Scourge of the Betrayer Other is a well-paced tale of gritty adventure, an enjoyable read that held my attention throughout.

One person found this helpful

paul nelson

Exciting debut

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 6, 2013

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Really enjoyed this, my only complaint would be it was to short and deserved to be a bigger novel. The story is excellent and also the characters - there is the goody two shoes scribe Arki who concentrates on not killing anyone, the mysterious Captain Braylar with a sinister possessed flail who is the outstanding character of the book and his company of men who's interaction is often humorous, typical of soldiers who work closely together for long periods of time.
The story is tense and violent at times as the Syldoon company set upon a plan to de-stabilize the empire, detail is well written but sometimes to much to the extent that only after the book is finished do you realise that the story has not progressed as far as it could have, leaving you wanting more.
The violence and battle scenes are certainly well described and Braylars weapon and the effect it has on him are intriguing and unique.
All in all look forward to the second novel

One person found this helpful

Toby M. Holmes

Good gritty fayre

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Good story, characters and world, main character is too superficial but growing into the story. Worth reading and following, should get better

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