Name: Valour
ISBN: 9780330545761

John Gwynne

The Banished Lands are torn by war as the army of High King Nathair sweeps the realm challenging all who oppose his holy crusade. Allied with the manipulative Queen Rhin of Cambren, there are few who can stand against him. But Rhin is playing her own games and has her eyes on a far greater prize . . .Left for dead - her kin have fled and her country is overrun with enemies - Cywen fights to survive. But any chance of escape is futile once Nathair and his disquieting advisor Calidus realize who she is. They have no intention of letting such a prize slip from their grasp. For she may be their one chance at killing the biggest threat to their power.Meanwhile, the young warrior Corban flees from his conquered homeland with his exiled companions, heading for the only place that may offer them sanctuary. But to get there they must travel through Cambren, avoiding warbands, giants and the vicious wolven of the mountains. And all the while Corban struggles to become the man that everyone believes him to be - the Bright Star and saviour of the Banished Lands.Embroiled in struggles for power and survival, the mortal world is unaware of the greatest threat of all. In the Otherworld, dark forces scheme to bring a host of the Fallen into the world of flesh to end the war with the Faithful, once and for all.

Valour

Aims

Celeste Richardson

Full review now posted! Original review can be found on Booknest.

“Two born of blood, dust and ashes shall champion the Choices,
the Darkness and the Light.”
Valor (or Valour, depending on which copy you end up with) is book two of The Faithful and the Fallen and sequel to Malice. While I thought that Malice was an absolutely incredible debut, Valor did nothing but improve upon an already fantastic story. There have been many comparisons between this series and Martin’s A Game of ThronesA Game of Thrones, and I completely see where these comparisons come from. But The Faithful and the Fallen seems like a much more hopeful and emotionally compelling story than A Song of Ice and Fire, and I believe that one day it will rise above these comparisons and stand firmly on its own as a classic of the genre.


  Everything I loved about Malice was improved upon in Valor.
 The relationships, be they between friends or family or humans and their animals, were handled with finesse, and their growth was completely believable. I have never in my life been so attached to literary animals, and they are many and prevalent in this book. I’m especially attached to Fech, though I love them all. There is a sense of camaraderie in this series that is completely unique. There isn’t the sass present in the Gentleman Bastards series or in Sanderson’s books, but there is a deep closeness between family and friend both human and animal that I’ve never experienced in any other fantasy series. 

“This world may be full of greed and tragedy and darkness, but I am fortunate beyond measure to have such people around me.”
And yet, in spite of this closeness, no one is safe. People die. Often. And because their attachments to their groups are so emphasized, their loss is felt more keenly than in many other books I’ve read. Every death is mourned, both by the characters left behind and by myself as a reader. (Because of the unavoidable death, I’ve decided not to mention any characters by name. Except Fech. I couldn’t help myself there.)

“Memory is a double-edged sword. It can keep you strong through dark times, but it can also cripple you, keep you locked in a moment that no longer exists.”
Something else I really love about this series is the overarching religious and supernatural elements of the war being waged. Spiritual warfare has always fascinated me, and some of my favorite books are Christian fantasies where spiritual warfare is the focus. Gwynne has handled this aspect of his series incredibly well. There is no preachiness here. The spiritual part of the war is presented as matter-of-factly as the rest of the war. And in no way does Gwynne seem to be expressing his own views on religion through his work. It was lovingly and respectfully handled without any aim to proselytize or tear down the beliefs of others, and I appreciate this immensely.

On to the warfare itself. War has erupted across the land, the smaller pockets we saw in the first book spreading far and wide. And the descriptions of the battles never bored me. Which is one of the biggest compliments I can pay this book. No matter how well written, I almost always get bogged down in books where warfare and battles are such a large part of the narrative. Not so with this series. Gwynne’s descriptions of the battles taking place were completely enthralling. The combat always felt close and personal, even in the presence of new, less than honorable techniques. 

The world itself also feels close and personal. With Westeros and the lands beyond it in A Song of Ice and Fire, I often felt lost. I never feel lost here in the Banished Lands. They feel tighter, if that makes sense. I never forget where I am. At least, I never forget where I am in the book. Because I often forgot where I physically was while reading. 
  This series is absorbing and moving and incredibly well-written, so while I am only halfway through, I have absolutely no qualms about recommending it to any and everyone.

Amira BEN

I don't know how to rate this one because I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed it. 
I think it was too long for my own good. I would have enjoyed it way more if it was shorter because there was too many unnecessary things happening imo. And suddenly everything escalate at the last quarter of the book. 
And also there're tons of characters. You don't have time to connect with all of them. Naturally I had my favourite POVs.
I liked following Nathair (I know weird) too bad we see him only through his entourage eyes. Despite all he has done, I feel his intentions are not bad. I would have loved to see what was going on in his head lol. That's my character-driven self speaking lol
Well now I have an idea how to rate it lol.

Alice Hyman

“Sometimes it’s not about the winning, Con. It’s about how you lose.”
🐺
It took me alot to get into this book. I didn’t remember much from Malice and found this book was really missing the clear directive that Malice had. It kind of felt like bad things just kept happening and happening. Like when the characters got a slight reprieve I was like “Lol this is not going to last”
As normal I adore the animal companions - Shield and Buddai were so adorable with Cywen, and Storm and Craf were just so epic.
A thing that stood out to me in this book was that all female characters where entirely there for the benefit of the male ones - like nothing they did or that happened to them was their own. Especially with Cywen there was so much opportunity of character growth and an interesting storyline whereas instead she was just entirely used for Veradis and Corban character arcs
I’m thinking about not continuing on with this series ( someone convince me otherwise ? ) It is a shame because you can definitely tell there are big things in the world with plot foreshadowing.
I think the other thing that this showed me was the huge increase in the quality of Gwynnes writing - not that these are badly written - it’s just that The Shadow of the Gods is masterful.

Judy McClure

I first thought that I'd read one book from this series per month, spread them out so I don't get bogged down in them or bored or whatever. Surely I'll be wanting to read something else as well.
Ummmm .... nope!!! Must Read Next Book!!!! Next two books are 700 pages. So that's June sorted. :)