Seven Forges

"And now Morello, the damned cook of all people, had alerted him to the howling screams of the PraMoresh. He wasn’t upset with the cook for noticing; quite to the contrary, he was very grateful. He was also extremely annoyed that neither he nor any of the twenty soldiers with him had heard them first." "Merros had no desire to be dinner. To that end he called for his soldiers to get their asses in gear." "He was very grateful for the ability to sound like he wasn’t ready to piss himself as he took careful aim and fired." "Really, it was hard to say which was more exquisite, the torture of shattered hands or a broken heart. Poets and physicians each have their own answers." For me, Merros was hands down my favorite character. What I quoted above was in his PoV within the first chapter, except for the very last one. It was his voice that kept me glued to this book. The story is an interesting one set in interesting lands. Merros, an ex-soldier turned mercenary, is hired by a wizard and advisor to the king to go into the Blasted Lands, which are barren ice lands, and create a map of the lands. Other expeditions in the past never faired well, so there’s already a sense of doom. Anyway, in these lands Merros comes across a race of people. These people want to travel to his homeland and start relations. Merros escorts them back. Now, obviously that’s really, really dumbed down. There’s a few other stories going on, but they kinda all tie into these people coming to Merros’s home. But what makes the story engaging is the fact you’re never sure if you can trust these people. You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Now, these new people are very interesting; solving disputes through violence, honor through fighting abilities, and so on. The story spends a lot of time exploring the differences between Merros and these new people. We get to hop into the minds of a few of these Blasted Land natives as the PoV wanders to a few different characters, and it definitely gives you a perspective from both sides. Still, something always feels off about the exchanges, which again is what keeps the reader glued. Despite all the cultural exploration, the book moves rather quickly. It had enough fighting and action to keep the pages turning. The cast was diverse and entertaining, fleshed out nicely. I enjoyed them all, but Merros had hooked me from the beginning and I always looked forward to his PoV. As for the world, it felt very nicely developed to me, and I never felt bogged down by history lessons. Yet Moore wove information into the plot effectively. Traveling through the Blasted Lands was my favorite because it was such a harsh and foreign environment compared to where fantasy is usually based. And Moore did an excellent job of describing the scene without boring me to tears. Overall, if you’re looking for something that goes a bit off the beaten track in terms of setting, you should pick this up. It was a fast read, and as I said, entertaining.

Compelling characters and a very original story line make this a page turner that is part mystery, part thriller, yet still solidly in the fantasy genre. Well developed characters, but a disturbing thread of amorality runs through this and the follow-on stories in which life is expendable and cheap, and the taking of innocent life seems to have few consequences. This is part of a trilogy or more, so grand concepts and themes are still being developed--and there original ideas in every chapter--but the character development keeps up with the story line. Exciting and readable, but somewhat dark

This review was originally posted on Avid Reviews: [...] Seven Forges is the first book in a new epic fantasy series. The entire novel is written in the tone of a prequel, and instead of a plotline filled with conflict, the reader is given a story that very gradually builds a sense of tension. I found this an interesting and unique approach for a first book in a series, though unfortunately this method of writing made for a story that took a long time to get into. Although the book was entertaining, I did not become fully engaged in the story until near the end, but by that point I was definitely interested in reading the next installment in the series. This novel is told from several different points of view and tells the story of two very different cultures meeting for the first time. Captain Merros Dulver, a man of the Fellein Empire, is hired to map out the Blasted Lands. It is an empty place full of constant ice and storms that lies before the distant, and never before explored, mountains called the Seven Forges. In this desolate place Merros unexpectedly comes across a member of a whole new culture, a man named Drask who has a hand made of silver that moves and feels just as well as one made of flesh. Drask invites Merros and his party to enter the Seven Forges where he encounters an entire people with veiled faces and a proclivity for violence. When Merros returns home he brings an entourage of the fascinating strangers with him. It is a diplomatic mission with the hopes of introducing the people of the Seven Forges to the emperor of the Fellein people and cultivating a peaceful relationship between them. But when Merros learns that the people of the Seven Forges communicate directly with their violent gods, who could order them to start or war or worse at any moment, he starts to wonder if the people he is bringing to the heart of his empire are really there for peace, or if they have darker intentions. Even though this novel lacks a hook to engross the reader in the story, it is a good introduction into an interesting world that I would love to know more about. Moore used several familiar tropes in his world building including a wizard advisor, and a foreign race of savage warriors, but despite this managed to create a unique setting with a mysterious magic system. The differences between the two races, and their several violent misunderstandings, are what drive the plot of this book. Even though these encounters are entertaining I do not think they were engaging enough to be the substance for an entire novel. Moore has done a good job of setting the scene, now I hope that he will give us an exciting story with a fast-paced and conflict filled plot in the next few books of the series. I would also like to see a deeper level of character development in the rest of the series, because even though the characters were interesting enough, there was no single character that I really felt sympathetic towards. I would rate this novel a 6.5/10, though hopefully I will be able to rate the next novel, The Blasted Lands much higher.

Die Geschichte handelt von den Menschen aus Fellein die sich auf Suche nach einer alten Legende begeben. Sie finden die Sa'ba Taalor, eine alte, mysteriöse Rasse. Sie sind anders, schneller, tödlicher und sie sind nicht das, was sie vorgeben zu sein. Mehr möchte ich nicht verraten, sonst wäre ja die ganze Spannung weg. Das Buch hat mir super gut gefallen und ich habe mir gleich den nächsten Band gekauft. Die Reihe besitzt insgesamt 4 Bänder, was sehr übersichtlich ist. Der Anfang war etwas zäh, aber nach ca. 40 Seiten gewann die Story an Fahrt. Die Story ist spannend, unterhaltsam und anders als bisherige Fantasy Bücher. Die Cover von allen 4 Bänden sehen super schön aus. Ich kann das Buch jedem nur wärmstens empfehlen. Das ist mein erstes Buch von dem Autor und ich wurde positiv überrascht. Aufmerksam bin ich auf den Autor durch "Blackguards: Tales of Assassins, Mercenaries, and Rogues" geworden und habe außerdem eine Handvoll neuer, interessanter Autoren für mich gefunden!!

Well written with an interesting and original storyline. The characters come across well and the plot and action are well paced. I shall be reading the next.

Couldn't put it down characters and plot well planned with next to zero skip through bits definitely will continue series

Please, please, please hire a better editor. The book was still enjoyable but the painfully bad editing really ruined what could otherwise be a great book.

I liked this book, I really liked it. It had the perfect pace, right amount of mystery and snarky and if some word choices were completely out of place then so be it. It was overall pretty enjoyable. Which is why it came as a bit of a nasty surprise when the book was over after 300 pages rather than the advertised 400. Another 50 pages were dedicated to a sneak for book 2 and the rest to a completely different series. I hate when people do that, so I'm taking a full star off for that. The story itself could have had 4.5. But the Kindle edition is a rip off.