Malice review

It has been a while. I've been in bookworm land, and have touched little else but a book or my kindle in the last few months. That being said, I have SEVERAL books in need of review. For now, we will go with the series I am currently reading, (spoiler alert. I LOOOOOVE this series.). For once I will be refraining from spoilers. It will be hard, but I want fantasy lovers like myself to read these books.

I recently picked up both Malice and Valor by John Gwynne from amazon.com. They are simple by eye catching covers, plus they both got pretty good reviews. Why not just go for it. I am not going to lie people, both of these books are no joke. Not the biggest book I've tackled, but not small by any means. Each book is 600+ pages. So if you are looking for a commitment, these are the books for you.

Our story is set in the Banished Lands. According to the map inside the book, (and what is actually written in the book.), there are many provinces within the Banished Lands. Each province has it's own king/queen, (or both), along with rules. Some lands get on a little better than others. Wars and skirmishes tend to break out more often than not here.

So, let me backtrack here a little and talk about Elyon and Asroth. The god wars began with these two. Elyon being a benevolent god, and Asroth being a great deceiver and all around douche monkey. While these two are not main characters in the story, they each play a big part in events to come.
A thousand (give or take a few years), years ago there was a god war. Elyon won and Asroth was banished to the underworld for all time. Asroth despised Elyon's creation of man and giants, and pitted the two races against each other. This action sent Elyon  to desperate measures, extinguishing the threat in to almost extinction. Elyon did figure out Asroth's plan, but massive damage had been done. Elyon, in despair, abandoned man and giant kind so he could mourn those he killed. This leaves Asroth with time to figure out how to release himself from the underworld and destroy Elyron's creations he hates so much.
This all comes in to play with a prophecy, (yes, yes. I know almost every fantasy series has one of these), there will be the "The bright star", which would be Elyon's champion, (I'd say minion of righteousness, but that sounds less heroic.). "The dark star" would, of course be Asroth's vessel to control.

Now we come to our players in this book. There are A LOT of them. Thankfully, Mr Gwynne makes them all easy to follow, so it doesn't feel so cluster fuckish. For now I'll cover the main players.

Corban is a teenage boy who dreams of being a great warrior. His name day is soon coming and he will finally get to show his worth. Unfortunately, the town bully, Rafe, makes him feel anything but a warrior. In order to better his confidence and his skills, Corban seeks out Gar, the local and mysterious stable master and asks for some training. That training will prove to be useful in more ways than one.

Veradis at first unwillingly joins the high prince's warband. Veradis is skilled with a sword, which comes in handy when your apart of a warband. The high prince and Veradis become rather fast friends, (given they have saved each others lives on several occasions.). Veradis and his dedication to his high prince is unwavering, and wants nothing more than to see his prince succeed in his journey.

Evnis is counsellor to king Brenin of Ardan, (Which also happens to be home to Corban as well). While he may have the kings ear, Evnis and his allegiances lie elsewhere. Really, all he wants is power.

Nathair is high prince and has ambitions way beyond his own fathers. He is ruthless and will cut down anyone who gets in his way.

*Deep breath*. The characters in this first novel are so varied and very well developed. Everyone in this book has reasons for what they do. No matter how far fetched they may seem, each character does a excellent job at justifying their actions; almost making the most horrible betrayal seem logical in a way.
We aren't going to get in to betrayals, because that would ruin the book. Rest assured there is A LOT of it in this story.
The world building is just as fantastic as the character development. Mr. Gwynne describes landscapes in such a way that you can see it in your mind, actually picturing what forests, picture what the people look like. It has been a long time, (Not since I've read...well any Robin Hobbs book. She's pretty much the queen of world and character building), since I've been able to picture a land and it's people in my head.
The battle scenes, (which usually bore me in most fantasy books), are richly composed and a joy to read. Which is super unusual. 
This isn't really a spoiler, but at one point Corban saves a Wolven cub from being killed by a hunt party. While I didn't list Storm as a main character, she should be. She has personality, and is fierce in her protection of Corban. It's sweet and reassuring. And most of all pleases the animal lover in me.

The villains are complex, and you can almost understand why they act the way they do. Well, all except for Asroth, he is your typical crawling from the underworld, and taking over the world kind of asshat. But Asroth aside, I  do enjoy a villain(s) with depth.

I really can't say anything bad about this book. Yes, it does the typical prophecy thing, which usually annoys me, but it isn't until book two that this prophecy is explored and explained a little more. I mean it's a little predictable who the dark and bright stars will be. But it's fun letting the characters come to conclusions and accept the truth themselves.

I've already finished the second book, Valor. I loved the second book almost as much as the first. I'm just sad I have to wait until October for book three, and even longer for book four.

But for anyone in need of a great fantasy read, this is the book for you!
10/5