Name: The Rage of Dragons
ISBN: 9780316489768

Evan Winter

Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival. The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him. The Rage of Dragons launches a stunning and powerful debut epic fantasy series that readers are already calling "the best fantasy book in years." The BurningThe Rage of Dragons

The Rage of Dragons

I want to preface this review with the fact that I’m currently in a slump, which made it very hard for me finish this book. That has nothing to do with the abilities of the author, but my review might be affected by the difficulties I faced pushing through this. I just felt like if I tried to wait until I was ready for it again, then I wouldn’t have picked it up for another year or something crazy like that. With that being said, let’s get into it.

I’m going to start with the positives. The lore, world building, and descriptions were gorgeous. It felt very fleshed out to me and immersive. I can tell the author spent time crafting this setting and its rules. Plus, I love being able to read about character that look like me. I understood the motivations of the characters, and the book left off on a note that does make me very curious about what’s to come. I also enjoyed the political aspects of this story and want to see how all that is maneuvered in the following project(s).

The things I felt needed some work: the main character, Tau, was hard for me to like. I understood everything he felt, but his decisions were just so impulsive and selfish at times that I wanted to scream. The book was also very heavy on the fighting and war aspect, and I would’ve liked to see more of the politics. There were just a lot of fighting scenes that I found myself rushing through. I’m personally more of a fan of a battle of minds than swords, so it’s just a preference I guess. Additionally, I could tell very early on this was a lead up to another book in a series because it felt like one long prologue. It sets the stage for the next project very well, but I’m never a huge fan of having to read a whole book before it “gets good”. Lastly, and this is likely a product of my own brain and lack of concentration at the moment, I found myself struggling to remember all the names and positions. We are introduced to a lot of characters and a ton of positions within the established caste system. It would’ve been nice to get a few reminders of how they all worked.

Overall, I liked this book, and think that it could’ve been a 4 star if I was in the right headspace, but considering it took me a month to get through it, I just can’t give it that. I want to see what happens next and hope the following book gives us more politics than combat. Considering the fact that this was a self published debut novel, I think the author did a phenomenal job, and I will be looking into any other works he has in the future.

Nik ✨

I want to preface this review with the fact that I’m currently in a slump, which made it very hard for me finish this book. That has nothing to do with the abilities of the author, but my review might be affected by the difficulties I faced pushing through this. I just felt like if I tried to wait until I was ready for it again, then I wouldn’t have picked it up for another year or something crazy like that. With that being said, let’s get into it.

I’m going to start with the positives. The lore, world building, and descriptions were gorgeous. It felt very fleshed out to me and immersive. I can tell the author spent time crafting this setting and its rules. Plus, I love being able to read about character that look like me. I understood the motivations of the characters, and the book left off on a note that does make me very curious about what’s to come. I also enjoyed the political aspects of this story and want to see how all that is maneuvered in the following project(s).

The things I felt needed some work: the main character, Tau, was hard for me to like. I understood everything he felt, but his decisions were just so impulsive and selfish at times that I wanted to scream. The book was also very heavy on the fighting and war aspect, and I would’ve liked to see more of the politics. There were just a lot of fighting scenes that I found myself rushing through. I’m personally more of a fan of a battle of minds than swords, so it’s just a preference I guess. Additionally, I could tell very early on this was a lead up to another book in a series because it felt like one long prologue. It sets the stage for the next project very well, but I’m never a huge fan of having to read a whole book before it “gets good”. Lastly, and this is likely a product of my own brain and lack of concentration at the moment, I found myself struggling to remember all the names and positions. We are introduced to a lot of characters and a ton of positions within the established caste system. It would’ve been nice to get a few reminders of how they all worked.

Overall, I liked this book, and think that it could’ve been a 4 star if I was in the right headspace, but considering it took me a month to get through it, I just can’t give it that. I want to see what happens next and hope the following book gives us more politics than combat. Considering the fact that this was a self published debut novel, I think the author did a phenomenal job, and I will be looking into any other works he has in the future.

Ankit Panchal

It's been a while since I read a book which I can not put down. This is one of them. Loved the pace of story and world building.

akynn 

George

Alina

** spoiler alert **
           After 100 pages, I’m not enjoying it at all. An opening battle is extremely odd for a book, since I know nothing about the characters yet. I realize this is in the past, so I think OK, let’s build some characters and the world now. Another battle, and I once again have no reason to be concerned about anyone.

It's hard to keep up with the characters' names. The class system remains complicated and unexplained. There's no attempt to explain the world or characters, yet it's popular. The smallest complaint that surprises me is that dragons appear very little in the story, despite the title.

Pacing is also an issue in The Rage of Dragons. A major event occurs too late in the story. They discuss other events I consider important in a couple of sentences, while repetitive training sessions consume most of the time. Having a dialogue about why training is critical on a battlefield about halfway into the story is ridiculous. It suggests the author was just writing for the sake of writing, without considering what might benefit his characters. 

The world building isn’t the best, either. Winter’s portrayal of the world doesn’t work for me. Instead of info-dumping, he sprinkles information along the way without linking it to the thoughts of his narrator. As there are no emotions or events in the story that stick in my mind, I cannot remember it. 

The Rage of Dragons is definitely not on

Game of Thrones meets Gladiator in this debut epic fantasy about a world caught in an eternal war, and the young man who will become his people's only hope for survival. The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for almost two hundred years. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him. The Rage of Dragons launches a stunning and powerful debut epic fantasy series that readers are already calling "the best fantasy book in years." The BurningThe Rage of Dragons

Adeline

Colleen

5 Stars 

*A heart-racing, gut-punching, action-packed helluva story*


In an ever-growing pile of generic knockoffs, it is so heartening to find fantastic new voices! It isn’t the least surprising that this novel was picked up by Orbit. They have become my go-to publisher for finding new stars in the Fantasy genre.


   “To defend against failure, every day must be hard. Every day must strengthen you. For it’s in the crucible of hard days that potential becomes power.”

I do have to admit that when I first picked up The Rage of Dragons, I only read a couple of pages then put it aside for a couple of months. It wasn’t anything against the book; I just wasn’t in the mood for it at that particular moment. But when I did pick it up again, I charged through it almost cover to cover! This stunning story is full of flawed characters, thrilling plot, sword fighting, battle strategy, love, revenge, magic, and dragons all plunged into a unique and creative world. 

The only thing I have to say against The Rage of Dragons is that the worldbuilding is a tad disorienting at first. The story starts off with a prologue, then skips ahead almost two centuries to the time when the rest of the story takes place. It does eventually all make sense, but it took a minute to connect everything. There are also some things are explained through context, so I would recommend making use of the glossary. 

This is an African-inspired world. Although it is analogous of Africa –particularly Xhosa culture – it is not set in our world nor is it a retelling. I liked that it drew inspiration while still creating something so original.

One of the things that put me off Fantasy for many years was how corny and generic so many Fantasy novels are. I have found that the Fantasy stories I do enjoy are ones with depth. I like allegorical stories, or at least ones that deal with deeper issues. The Rage of Dragons is set in a world with a rigid caste system where people are taught from birth to hate and fear those different from themselves. Even more so, they are taught to vilify the enemy whom they are caught in an endless war. Themes about classism and racism are strong in this book without being overpowering. This is also a story of love, loyalty, revenge, and the consequences of our actions.

One of the most impressive things about The Rage of Dragons is the action. The more books I read, the easier it is to see how often people struggle with writing action scenes. There are many who lose the suspense of fights by bogging down the reader with unexciting descriptions. There are still more who cheat and just tell you what happened after the fact. Most fight scenes can be broken down into two categories: close combat or largescale battles. Often times a writer may be good at one or the other. Evan Winter is a rare example of someone who excels at both types of scenes. Whether it was one-on-one sword sparing or massive battles with magic and dragons, every fight in this story was vivid, exhilarating, and masterfully crafted! There is so much fighting and training in this book, that you would think it would get repetitive and tedious. But it never did! Each fight was unique, and I was enraptured by every single one.


  “He was not the strongest, the quickest, or the most talented, not by any measure. He knew this and knew he could not control this. However, he could control his effort, the work he put in, and there he would not be beaten.”

Part of what kept my attention so well was that all of that action never eclipsed the character development. Rather, the character development was expertly interwoven into the action. The characters were deeply flawed but so easy to root for. I truly felt like each and every action would have consequences. The story lies in that foggy area where sometimes what seems right has terrible consequences or where bad people seem to get away with bad things. The story also managed to maintain that precarious position of never giving away whether everything will end in happiness and tragedy. It is like some epic Schrödinger's cat where until you finish the ending is both happy and tragic. You won’t know which until you finish.

Overall, there is not too much page time for the dragons, but there is a good reason for that. The story explained it well, but I won’t give anything away. Unlike that pathetic pisspot known as The Priory of the Orange Tree where the dragons only show up for deus ex machina. The Rage of Dragons on the other hand uses its dragons sparingly for maximum affect. 

Some people have complained about the lack of female characters, but I didn’t have an issue with this. As much as I love kickass heroines, I don’t expect every story to be about them. The Rage of Dragons is primarily about military training for an all-male regiment. So it makes sense that there aren’t many female characters. It never felt like women were being purposefully withheld from the story; it just wasn’t the path of this particular book. Besides, I have a feeling that things will change in the next book. 

This was a spectacular debut novel that deserves every bit of praise it is getting. I’m so excited to read the next book when it comes out!


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

Not a lot of talking, a whole lot of ass whooping. 

Daron Rose

tina

4.5

wtf the last few chapters gave me so much anxiety 😭

Anastasia 

Amazing , showstopping , spectacular, incredible , you know how the rest of the lady gaga GIF goes [ inserts here] 

Evan Winter has created such a unique tale that reminds me of the gladiator but with more heavily inspired African culture which is just fantastic to me 

His writing is so so good, the pacing did not drop for a single chapter in this book, the characters are well written ...even the ones that died at the beginning of the book leave a lasting impression 

I honestly cannot tell you a single thing about this book I did not like ...this is a fantastic fantasy debut and he is definitely an author I hope will continue to grow as the series progresses 

Tau is a charismatic MC just how I like them ...his tale of vengeance and hard work appeals to me so much and I cannot wait to see how that unfold in book two....once again this is truly amazing 5 🌟

Savannah Winchell

3.5 ⭐️
Highly enjoyable but with a fair amount of issues. 
- Mostly pacing and character motivations

Lia Yuliana

Update 14/11/2020

Find my reviews on :  An Ode to Fiction
Official Release Date : 7th September 2017
Buy the book :
 Amazon |  Book Depository

4.75 rounded up to 5/5 ⭐️


  
    “Do you bleed?”
  


The Rage of Dragons is a African-inspired epic fantasy debut by Evan Winter, and the first book to a four part series, The Burning. This book was originally self published in 2017 and by 2019 it is picked up by Orbit in a major 4-book deal, establishing Evan Winter as one of the up and coming fantasy authors to look out for. With a gorgeous cover art to boot, this book screams “BUY ME HUMAN” and I finally caved in.

Prior to reading this book, I was in a month long reading slump during the month of October. Slowly, I finally restored my interest in reading and I craved for a gritty fantasy book to liven up my reading mood. It was perfect timing that the book came in the mail so I dove straight in. Accompanied by a few of my friends (Raf, Ash, Sasha, Zah, and Arias) from Twitter we decided to have a buddy read. I’ve read many reviews raving about how good it is from YouTube, to Good Reads, and so on. My expectations were high for this book and as you can see from my rating above that the book did not disappoint.

The Rage of Dragons is a book centered around the Omehi people that is in the middle of a 200 years long war and the story revolves around the life of Tau Solarin, a young low caste and ‘giftless’ man. Being a man of the Omehi, Tau’s life is heavily influenced by his father’s job in the military. His father trains him with the sword and expects Tau to follow his father’s footsteps. Tau only wants a life away from war, to get married, settle down, and have a stable job with less chances of killing or being killed. His first taste of a battle had shaken him and made him even more determined to do whatever the cost to avoid such a life. All of his plans fall apart, after a series of unfortunate events lead him into a path of anger and revenge. These unfortunate events becomes his primary fuel in accomplishing his only motivation that is to kill everyone that’s responsible of killing his father.


  
    “He was not the strongest, the quickest, or the most talented, not by any measure. He knew this and knew he could not control this. However, he could control his effort, the work he put in, and there he would not be beaten.”
  


Revenge is the core of the story. Each action that Tau does is based of his blinding rage. This blinding rage is what I love about Tau, he is very explosive when it comes to retaliating and proving himself to everyone. Tau doesn’t seek glory or fame, his tunnel vision motivation is solely on revenge. As a main character, I understand that some readers would not like Tau as a main character. Some of his decisions and actions are reckless and he is much more inclined in his own voice than the collective voice. There are many instances when he is in battle and he charges into the fro like a blazing bull. He ignored his sword brothers that are clearly scrambling to keep up with him. And this is what makes him such a compelling main character. Tau’s unbending will and determination to achieve the unachievable fueled by his fury and thirst for vengeance is truly remarkable to witness. He completely sheds his old self, the Tau that only wants a peaceful life is gone and in its place a weapon is born.


  
    “In a small way, the world changed that day, when the Nobles of Scale Ozioma broke and ran, scattered by a new and horrible creature, born in Uhmlaba but bred in Isihogo.”
  


This book is incredibly hard to put down and incredibly engaging for readers. The story is told in a third-person narrative, with a variety of battle scenes that covers from duels to a full on army battle. I’ve read some reviewers said that if you’re a fan of Joe Abercrombie the action sequences are as gritty and suspenseful. It will leave you floored and breathless for more. With each battle the stakes get higher and higher, its heartpounding and intense that it left me shaking with excitement. The plot is easy to follow and slightly predictable; but the predictability wouldn’t distract you from overall story. I love the escalation of battles and when it reached the climax, I was screaming! I am a sucker for raging barbaric characters. The wrath that Tau brings into the battlefield is infectious and he is a beast. He trained with blood, sweat, and tears to reach his full potential. Tau’s development is believable because it achievable for any other human if they commit fully. The way Evan Winter writes battle scenes is effectively done with incredible cinematic scenes and emotion that bleeds through the pages. No character has dead eyes and fought like a puppet. Each one of them fought for their life until the very end.

The world and magic system Evan Winter created is unique and refreshing. There are deities that are incorporated into the magic system which adds an aspect of a dimension separate from the world. This dimension is called Isihogo, the place where the demons exist and in contrast to it is Uhmlaba, the place where humans exist. The way Evan Winter designs his magic system isn’t necessarily pure power with no consequences as there are draw backs from using magic in this world. There is balance in the world which makes it more believable and adds a twist for magic users.

One thing I’d like point out is that women in this world are valued and respected especially if they are ‘gifted’. Once a woman is discovered to be gifted they are trained to serve in the military as a Gifted and in the hierarchy of power they hold a very prestigious place. Ignoring their previous caste or origins. Sadly, we didn’t get to see any other note worthy female characters in this book. The are only two prominent female characters that made an appearance. One of them is Tau’s main love interest and the other only made an appearance during the last few pages of the book. But I am sure we will see more female characters or maybe a possible female POV judging by the way the book ended things.

I highly recommend for anyone to read The Rage of Dragons if you’re looking for a fast paced and intense epic fantasy with lots of gritty battle scenes. I will never stop raving about this book. It might be one of the best books I’ve read this year. Evan Winter is an author to look out for and I hope he writes more books in the future. Me impulsively buying this book at 2AM definitely paid off. With every page my love for this book grows and I am so happy I read this book. It is such a serotonin boost that I needed from a month of stressing about moving. Thankfully I have the ARC for the second book, Fires of Vengeance, ready to read but by the time I post this; the sequel is already released.

'A captivating epic fantasy from a major new talent' Anthony Ryan, author of Blood Song 'Intense, inventive and action-packed from beginning to end - a relentlessly gripping, brilliant read' James Islington, author of The Shadow of What Was Lost IN A WORLD CONSUMED BY ENDLESS WAR ONE YOUNG MAN WILL BECOME HIS PEOPLE'S ONLY HOPE FOR SURVIVAL. The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for generations. The lucky ones are born gifted: some have the power to call down dragons, others can be magically transformed into bigger, stronger, faster killing machines. Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Tau Tafari wants more than this, but his plans of escape are destroyed when those closest to him are brutally murdered. With too few gifted left, the Omehi are facing genocide, but Tau cares only for revenge. Following an unthinkable path, he will strive to become the greatest swordsman to ever live, willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill three of his own people. THE RAGE OF DRAGONS LAUNCHES AN UNMISSABLE EPIC FANTASY SERIES. 'Stunning debut fantasy' Publishers Weekly 'Intense, vivid and brilliantly realised - a necessary read' Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives 'Fans of Anthony Ryan's Blood Song will love this' Django Wexler, author of The Thousand Names 'A Xhosa-inspired world complete with magic, dragons, demons and curses, The Rage of Dragons takes classic fantasy and imbues it with a fresh and exciting twist' Anna Stephens, author of Godblind

The Burning, Book One

Fraser Simons

For me it was pretty much what it says on the tin. There’s nothing much new here if you’re familiar with the genre but it’s perfectly serviceable if you’re into the get good to get revenge arc. I wasn’t particularly invested in the character development from people or the action, personally. But I think it pulls off what it sets out to do.

Risa C

This is an African-inspired, high fantasy revenge story, where Tau, our main character, seeks justice against his enemies, all set to the backdrop of an unwinnable war against an infinite horde of battle-frenzied heathens.

Right off the bat, my biggest issue with this book and why I didn't give it five stars: This book suffers from having a rash, myopic idiot as a main character, whose impulsive and thoughtless actions have no direct consequences on himself, because the people around him, who see him as someone worth intervening on behalf of for some inexplicable reason, pay the price, often with their lives. This only fuels the main character's single-minded rage, which leads to more bad decision-making, which only leads to more people close to Tau becoming fodder for his fragile, male angst. I understand that this could have entirely been the intent of the author, in which case, he succeeded, but, as a personal preference, I hate this trope.

A few other issues: The romantic relationship. It's introduced quite early on in the story and, near as I can tell, Tau thinks Zuri is beautiful and grew up with her, I guess, and she's been conveniently in love with him too. I didn't need to see them falling in love to believe the relationship, but the development of their relationship is written so poorly. Tau is so consumed by his mission and so callous in his treatment to Zuri that the romance really feels shoehorned in to tie into certain plot points. I have a prediction for the second book and I am going to be so mad if (view spoiler)[Tau ends up with the Queen, given all the obvious Tsiory comparisons, and now that Zuri is a pile of ashes. (hide spoiler)] The women, in general, aren't written very well in the book, but I understand that the setting of a military school (where only men are trained) makes the inclusion of most women characters no more than cameos.

Based on the foregoing rants, you would think that I hated this book, but I enjoyed it enough to finish reading it in a day. The prose is middling, nothing breathtaking or truly evocative, but very effective at pushing the plot along at a frenetic clip. The prologue was indecipherable and was what made me put down this book months ago when I first attempted to read it, but past that the book just flows. I keep giving this book backhanded compliments, but I genuinely enjoyed it.

Other things I liked: The world-building. It was interesting to me that caste-based society of the Chosen was based not just on wealth or power, but actual genetic differences. The Chosen society is ordered and hierarchical in such a way that it the people on the bottom rungs of the ladder have little to no recourse against injustices perpetrated by those above them (except for vigilante justice ofc). Throughout the book, tensions between the castes flare up, come so close to exploding, and actually do explode, often to gruesome, unforeseen ends. All these things are what made Tau's journey to overcome his betters so compelling (and would have been so much better if he was just a teensy bit smarter).

The magic. It's simple enough that its vagueness can be hand-waved away, but what makes it so interesting is how deeply it's woven into the world-building. Women drawing power to do cool shit from the depths of hell is already cool as all get-out, but to know that that hell is a cosmic prison in which divine and demonic forces are locked in an eternal struggle is metal AF.

All the other characters. I loved literally everyone apart from Tau. I would have loved to see the friendships within the Scale developed more, but I understand that this was not the story for that. I hope we get to see more of that in the next book and that Tau's relationships (both people people who have passed and with those who still remain) give him some depth and greater introspection. Kellan, in particular, was really fascinating, and all the foreshadowing in the book suggests he'll play a bigger role in the series, which I look forward to.

To end this, since it's almost 5 a.m. and this is too long, I don't regret reading Rage of Dragons. It was so overhyped, and I was fully bought into it more than halfway through the book, before I got tired of Tau having to be constantly pulled back from careening into his death. My snippy, sleep-deprived gripes aside, I will definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out.

Monae Reads

This book left me wrecked and hollow inside

Sophia 

Incredible epic fantasy. A perfect “oh so you think I’m weak? Well then I’ll become the best and the strongest and train the hardest” trope. 

Tom Turner

A very impressive debut

It's hard to believe this is a debut novel! I will confess that I'm someone who struggles with fight and battle scenes, and it's no spoiler that this book is full of them, but my struggle with those does not detract from the quality of the story. I engaged with the characters, and enjoyed it throughout.

Nickie Mohler

This book is fantastic! I loved every minute of it. If you like fantasy, you have to read this.

Vitor Augusto Dal Molin 

“Where we fight! The world burns!"

4.5 * This was a journey!! The Rage of Dragons is brutal, pure adrenaline and I can't wait for more!!

Deborah Kerr

HOLY. SHIT.

Read this book. I have been suffering from a string of 1 and 2 star books this year--books that were boring and unoriginal, disappointing and lackluster and The Rage of Dragons has broken that streak!

This book is: fast-paced, action-packed, well-plotted, and so beautifully executed. 

Is it clear that it's a debut novel? Absolutely. Read it anyway.

This book is NON-STOP ACTION. Actually non-stop. There is action in every chapter... in fact, I would say 70% of this book is Tau fighting/learning to fight. Normally I like a few more rests but I didn't care here, I just wanted to do battle with Tau and my double-swords.

Down-sides:
- You are thrown into the deep-end without a life-preserver immediately. No explanations of the terminology, the magic system, any of it. And this world and magic system is intricate AF. The words for classes, military ranks, etc. are also extremely similar (they ALL start with an I) and keeping it all straight is rough going at first. Hang in there, suddenly, you'll have it.
- Though the prologue is a battle, once we're with Tau it takes a little bit for things to ramp up--a little too long with Tau in his everyday life before the inciting instance makes the first 100ish pages lag, but the structure of the chapters helps break it all down and I sped through even the parts I found unnecessary/boringish
- This is Winter's debut novel and I believe it originally was self-published? It shows. There are moments where he tells instead of shows, whole paragraphs where clunky sentences run into each other like colliding train cars, and his world building would have benefitted from an editor's eye (it may actually be too intricate?). 

HOLY SHIT, HELL YES: 
- Yes, this is Winter's debut and it shows, that being said: holy motherfucking shit can the man write an action sequence. Like, there are only a few writer's on the planet with the skill to write this many consecutive fight scenes (I'd say at least 45% of the book are battle scenes and another 20-25% where Tau is training with Jabari, his father, or his sword brothers). This book is 523 pages and with 70% of it being action sequences, that's almost 350 pages of action AND WINTER NAILS IT. He somehow makes every sequence feel fresh and new, he underlines the urgency of each scene with Tau's ever-evolving skill and the stakes are real. Winter isn't afraid to kill off his characters (RIP to like 80% of the characters in this book) and the pay-off is an emotional roller-coaster.
- The plot is nothing new--a twist on the hero's journey--but Winter manages to give us something that feels authentic and real.
- Give me every Xhosa-inspired fantasy novel. EVERY. ONE.
- The realistic progression of Tau's skill level. He doesn't become a super-badass killing machine over night (or did he?) and I appreciated it thoroughly.
- Intricate magic system, detailed expansive world-building, excellent character arcs. All of it.
- Believable romance subplot that didn't detract from the plot
Uduak is my cinnamon roll murder child and I will protect him at all costs


Seriously, read this book. It is worth every cent and every anxious moment you spend berating Tau in your mind for being a dumbass and rushing into battle.

Melea Mullican

3.5 stars with high hopes for the sequel. 

I really enjoyed this book. The world and the magic system are very unique and draw the reader in. My main complaint actually seems to be the favorite thing for most people: the action. While I love action, and it often makes the book fast paced, I’m not a huge fan of a 550 page book being 65% action. To me, there wasn’t enough time to get to know the characters, watch them develop, or really understand the politics. All that felt rushed and took a back seat to the fight scenes. 

I have high hopes for the sequel now that I know the wold and the characters. I will definitely be picking it up.

Kerri McDonald

So I read this a few months ago and I'm STILL having trouble writing about how much I loved this book. Because it's a lot, y'all.

This is the story of a war-torn country and a man named Tau, who wants nothing to do with said war. He thinks he's found a way to get out of basically mandatory military duty but then his world is turned upside down. After several tragic events, Tau ends up in the last place he wanted to be: a military training camp for the lower caste men with no magic in their blood. But he turns his tragedy into his fuel and we follow his story as he trains to defeat his enemies.

This book blew my mind! I mean, the concept isn't revolutionary, but the execution is absolutely breath-taking! Evan Winter's writing is just hypnotic. I would pick this book up and fall into this world as easily as I fall up stairs (i.e. super easy...). I loved the world-building oh so much. Just... ugh... give me more! It was so beautiful and rich and can I talk about how much I loved the fact that it was African based? The imagery was gorgeous, the descriptions are gorgeous, everything was gorgeous!

As for the characters, they were wonderfully wrought. I felt Tau's pain and I understood his motivations. I loved to see his development, even though I disagreed with, like... A LOT of his decisions. And though the other characters weren't quite as developed as Tau, I still loved to read about them and watch them grow. So many interactions just ripped my heart out because of these characters! Ugh!

This was an amazing book and I need just everyone to read it. I cannot wait until the sequel is my hands because, after that ending, I have Q U E S T I O N S! This isn't coherent at all, but just know that I absolutely loved this book.

Sally Salinas

4.5* It took me reading the prologue 3 times & finally reading Ch. 1 but once I did I was hooked. Ended up reading the book in 2-3 days. Really enjoyed this, Loved the characters but spoiler alert *don't get too attached* Enjoyed, Now I don't have to wait too long the for the next book.

Carla Aquino

4.4⭐️ I have to admit it took a while for me to grasp this book. Multiple factors probably play into this, I was in a reading slump because of fatigue, day to day life, and work. I had to re-read the first few chapters like 3 or 4 times and then I just had to keep going past what I didn't grasp until it all started to make sense. After that slump I started to love the book. I became attached to the characters. At first I kept thinking Tau can't be the protagonist, he sucks at fighting and he's always getting whooped....how will he ever survive to the end and reach his goal. But, I was pleasantly surprised by the means that got him there because I didn't know how that tactic would work out for him in the end. It proved to be fruitful. I am ready to read the second book now.