Malice is the first book in a fantasy quartet. It is also John Gwynne's debut novel, and in my opinion does not disappoint. Malice is book one of the Faithful and the Fallen series.
Author John Gwynne studied at Brighton University. Along with writing, he runs a family business rejuvenating furniture. He is married and has four children. His debut novel 'Malice' also won the David Gemmell Morning Star Award for Best Debut Fantasy.
Malice begins with a young man who is disgruntled so he turns to evil entities for power. The young man in question is Evnis, who as the second son of a noble family, feels he is overshadowed by his brother. To combat these feelings, he turns to an ancient demon. The ancient demon promises untold power to Evnis in return for Evnis himself.
The story skips ahead a few decades. We now see Evnis as a man, married with a child. Evnis is am important person as he is the Chief Counselor to the King of Ardan. With the love of his wife, the darkness within Evnis has been dimmed, but this does not last with his wife falling ill. Evnis is knocked back when he asks to leave court to find a cure for his wife and is denied the opportunity. This begins the stirring of darkness within Evnis which is detrimental to both the lands of Ardan and Evnis himself.
An ancient prophecy has been foretold that a war between Gods is coming. A time, when the demon Asroth, will seek to destroy the world. Before the destruction can take place, people will bare witness to dire warnings which will include bleeding stones, war between man and giants and also a day when the noon day sun turns black. On this day, two champions will arise; the Bright Star who is the champion of Good and the Black Sun who is the champion of Evil.
Mr Gwynne then introduces us to many characters to develop the story. These characters include Corban, a young boy living in a town in the Kingdom of Ardan. Corban is a young boy who is waiting for the day when finally takes his trials and becomes a man. Alongside him is his sister Cwyen who is a ferocious young girl who is always in the middle of the action. Let us not forget that on the outskirts of Ardan is Evnis who is dealing with the darkness twisting his soul.
On the other side of this land is the Kingdoms of Tenebral and Isiltir. Here we are to the characters of Veradis and Kastell. Two young nobles brought together from different Kingdoms who form a friendship before being torn apart by their choices and fate itself.
Veradis is a warrior who is sent to Tenebral to earn respect and experience in service to his King. Soon enough after his arrival he is brought under the wing of Prince Nathair of Tenebral. Not long after, Veradis finds himself becoming a high ranking swordsman of Prince Nathair. Veradis realises that this promotion has a dark side as Prince Nathair has plans of his own that don't involve him following in his father's footsteps.
Kastell, on the other hand is a man that finds himself devoid of a home and a family. He is raised by his uncle, the King of Isiltir. Kastell and his cousin Jael are also embroiled in a lifelong rivalry fot the throne of Isiltir. Kastell and his best friend Maquin decide to leave Isiltir and forge lives for themselves away from the ever growing darkening shadow of Isiltir, but no matter how far Kastell goes; fate always ensures Kastell and Jael cross paths. This crossing of paths is surely going to result in the death of one or both of the men.
This book is a book for fantasy fans. It is a solid start to the series. As it is the first book in the series, it was sluggish at the beginning but once you learn who is who and the world becomes clearer, it sucks you in. I look forward to reading the rest of the series in the future,
Star Rating: 4.5 *
Author John Gwynne studied at Brighton University. Along with writing, he runs a family business rejuvenating furniture. He is married and has four children. His debut novel 'Malice' also won the David Gemmell Morning Star Award for Best Debut Fantasy.
Malice begins with a young man who is disgruntled so he turns to evil entities for power. The young man in question is Evnis, who as the second son of a noble family, feels he is overshadowed by his brother. To combat these feelings, he turns to an ancient demon. The ancient demon promises untold power to Evnis in return for Evnis himself.
The story skips ahead a few decades. We now see Evnis as a man, married with a child. Evnis is am important person as he is the Chief Counselor to the King of Ardan. With the love of his wife, the darkness within Evnis has been dimmed, but this does not last with his wife falling ill. Evnis is knocked back when he asks to leave court to find a cure for his wife and is denied the opportunity. This begins the stirring of darkness within Evnis which is detrimental to both the lands of Ardan and Evnis himself.
An ancient prophecy has been foretold that a war between Gods is coming. A time, when the demon Asroth, will seek to destroy the world. Before the destruction can take place, people will bare witness to dire warnings which will include bleeding stones, war between man and giants and also a day when the noon day sun turns black. On this day, two champions will arise; the Bright Star who is the champion of Good and the Black Sun who is the champion of Evil.
Mr Gwynne then introduces us to many characters to develop the story. These characters include Corban, a young boy living in a town in the Kingdom of Ardan. Corban is a young boy who is waiting for the day when finally takes his trials and becomes a man. Alongside him is his sister Cwyen who is a ferocious young girl who is always in the middle of the action. Let us not forget that on the outskirts of Ardan is Evnis who is dealing with the darkness twisting his soul.
On the other side of this land is the Kingdoms of Tenebral and Isiltir. Here we are to the characters of Veradis and Kastell. Two young nobles brought together from different Kingdoms who form a friendship before being torn apart by their choices and fate itself.
Veradis is a warrior who is sent to Tenebral to earn respect and experience in service to his King. Soon enough after his arrival he is brought under the wing of Prince Nathair of Tenebral. Not long after, Veradis finds himself becoming a high ranking swordsman of Prince Nathair. Veradis realises that this promotion has a dark side as Prince Nathair has plans of his own that don't involve him following in his father's footsteps.
Kastell, on the other hand is a man that finds himself devoid of a home and a family. He is raised by his uncle, the King of Isiltir. Kastell and his cousin Jael are also embroiled in a lifelong rivalry fot the throne of Isiltir. Kastell and his best friend Maquin decide to leave Isiltir and forge lives for themselves away from the ever growing darkening shadow of Isiltir, but no matter how far Kastell goes; fate always ensures Kastell and Jael cross paths. This crossing of paths is surely going to result in the death of one or both of the men.
This book is a book for fantasy fans. It is a solid start to the series. As it is the first book in the series, it was sluggish at the beginning but once you learn who is who and the world becomes clearer, it sucks you in. I look forward to reading the rest of the series in the future,
Star Rating: 4.5 *
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