Midlist Writer: Book Review: The Betrayed

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Book Review: The Betrayed

The Betrayed (The Lost Words, #1)

The Betrayed by Igor Ljubuncic
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Betrayed is the start of a promising grimdark fantasy series. There are multiple POV characters who provide different viewpoints on an escalating religious war. As you'd expect with grimdark, there's a lot of violence and a fair amount of gore, although it's never gratuitous. The world is nicely fleshed out and the various cultures are drawn in a distinct manner and really come alive.
My one problem with this book was that the characters are a bit superficial. We never get deep inside their heads to find out their motivations and how they made it to where they are. This is especially true of Adam the Butcher, who goes from being a male prostitute to Pol Pot without batting an eye. The monk character is drawn better than the others, but even he at times seems to be going through the motions. It reminded me a bit of Game of Thrones (the show, not the books) where too many characters were hardened warrior/political types who rarely showed much personality beyond a knack for survival.
Still, this is a good read and a bodes well for the author's career. If you like grimdark fantasy, consider picking this up.

View all my reviews

1 comment:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: Characters drive the story. Not sure I could get into it if the characters aren't fully developed.; 14 January 2015 at 07:33

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