Review: The Free


The Free
The Free by Brian Ruckley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received an eARC review copy from NetGalley.

Looking for a stand-alone epic fantasy? Want some grimdark gritty kick-ass action and some badass magic-fuqery? Look no further. If Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erikson had a secret love child, this would be it. A gruff company of legendary warriors thrown in together with some cool battle scenes, occasional humor, and a wicked magic system with such dire consequences. Magic users that throw this fuqery and its results, along with the cost of these energies, both to the receivers and casters of said magic.

Why 4-stars rather than 5, if it has all the great things I like about fantasy? Well, the pacing was a bit slow at times, and the ending had some parts that seemed rather abrupt. Though the majority of the ending was good for me.

This book is satisfactory as a self-contained story, but it might just leave you wanting more anyway. There's a lot of great world-building going on that is out there for just this one book. I'll definitely read more books if you write them in this world, Brian Ruckley!

For that matter, I need to go back and check out his earlier work. He was on the radar for fantasy to try, but now he's definitely on my list of authors to read.



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