Allies and Assassins. So here's the review.
I am sometimes lucky enough to get myself on a list of the American Book Center in Amsterdam to receive advanced readers copies of novels with the purpose of reviewing them and having that review posted on their blog. I had missed a few but was able over to summer to get hold of an ARC of Justin Somper's
As many of you know from previous rants, Fantasy is not my cup of tea. That being said I tried not to
let that have any bearing on my reading of Justin Somper’s
Allies and Assassins, because I want to remain as objective as
possible in my reviews, regardless of genre.
Allies and Assassins
follows the story of Jared- a prince in the fictional realm of Archenfeld, who
is thrust into the leaders position of the princedom when his older brother
Anders is poisoned. The story focuses both on finding Anders’ killer as well as
Jared becoming used to his late brother’s duties to the court and the people of
Archenfeld, It soon becomes clear though, that Jared is as much in danger as
his brother was, and it falls upon him, as well as a few trusted companions to
find out who is after him and perhaps more importantly, the throne.
The novel has a somewhat Game of Thrones vibe, which I
enjoyed. I am not a big fan of Fantasy novels- I’m much more of a Sci-Fi geek.
Many a time have I heard people say that Sci-Fi and Fantasy are the same thing.
It’s one of my pet peeves and I usually take it upon myself to get up from
where I’m sitting, insert myself into their conversation, and while they’re
dumbstruck by this complete stranger suddenly sitting next to them, I proceed
to explain that there really is a difference between the two; but enough about
my dysfunctional social life and back to the story. And while this story didn’t
really sway me into liking the genre more, I do have to say that I enjoyed it.
There is an air of politics and ceremony that add very much to the narrative.
Though many of the chractsters are not very animated, some seem downright
shoddy, the story progresses fairly smoothly so it helps where the lack of
character growth does not. It’s an okay read, though I’m not sure I’d read a
sequel, but I never say never.
You can buy
Allies and Assassins here
