A Time of Dread served as a brutal yet stunning reminder that Gwynne is one of the greatest modern fantasy writers.

The Faithful and The Fallen (“TFaTF”) was a superb epic fantasy series with one of the most well-written stories about prophecies and good vs evil that I’ve read in a very long time. Judging from what I’ve read in this book, I believe Gwynne is on track to surpass what he did in the earlier series. AToD is the stamp of a great writer that never stops learning and always keeps improving. While Malice was a great debut that any author would and should be proud of, AToD demonstrated that Gwynne has once again upped his game.

Over 130 years had passed since the Day of Wrath when the Kadoshim had been defeated. But in The Banished Lands, happily ever after does not exist. The Ben-Elim, purportedly the saviour of all humankind, enforced peace with an almost tyrannical rule that does not tolerate any infringements to The Ways of Elyon or the Lore. However, peace is tenuous at best as the Kadoshim that remain are plotting vengeance.

Gwynne seamlessly brought me back to The Banished Lands and made me feel like I’ve never left, even though it had been over two years since I’ve finished reading TFaTF. Even without rereading that series, I was able to immerse myself back into the world and relive the incredible bonds of family, friendship and companionship that was the hallmark of Gwynne’s stories. Make no mistake, these books are dark; they are brutally honest in the portrayal of good vs evil and the unremitting dangers faced by our beloved characters. However, where we have truth and courage, and love and loyalty, there will always be hope and light.

The characterisation is where Gwynne always excelled the most. If you don’t care for the characters, then the story becomes quite two dimensional with only the worldbuilding and plot to fall back on. The one constant that I’ve always felt while I read TFaTF was this impending sense of doom that someone I care about is going to die. It was so emotionally stressful and yet so rewarding when (some of) your favourite characters prevailed. But the thing is, Gwynne does not pull his punches. You will feel devastated, just as you will also feel vindicated and elated. It’s nothing short of an emotional roller-coaster – one that you don’t want to get down of but at the same time worried that you might die of a heart attack.

In A Time of Dread, I grew invested in the characters even faster than I did in TFaTF. For one thing, the smaller cast of characters to follow in this book helped, as we only had 4 POVs. I believed the other key element was the connectivity of some of these characters to those whom we have met and loved in the earlier series. I believe that nostalgia played an immense role in creating an almost immediate emotional link which would otherwise take a much longer time to develop. Whenever the words Truth and Courage were spoken, I was transported back in time to those moments, fist-pumping or heart-breaking. I felt full and empty at the same time when the names of the previous characters were mentioned. So much had been fought for, and yet the fighting was far from over. In fact, Of Blood and Bone is shaping to be even darker.

No review on a book written by Gwynne will be complete without commending his exceptional skill in writing action and battle scenes. While he may have an advantage of having done reenactments in real life, it is by no means a certainty towards well-crafted and realistic action scenes. Gywnne is an undisputed master of combat sequences that will make you wince and cringe with every slash of a sword, each smash of an axe, and even the wet crunch of a well-landed punch.

As an opening book of a new series, the pacing has noticeably improved in AToD as compared to Malice. Even though the beginning was still a bit slower as the new characters were introduced, the plot development was tighter, and events escalated reasonably quickly. The book couldn’t have had a more appropriate title. As the narrative unfolded, there was this sense of dread that slowly seeped through and gradually enveloped me as I began to put the pieces together; revelations which were brilliantly handled. The ending sequence was pulse-pounding, blood-gushing and heart-wrenchingly classic Gwynne; leaving me with a jumble of emotions; of loss, and hope, and dread.

If you have not read anything from John Gwynne yet, this flaring oversight must be remediated quickly. But I do highly recommend to start with The Faithful and The Fallen first (see what I said about nostalgia above).

Received from Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for honest read and review.
Wow it is so good to be back in the land of the Faithful. I have missed this place since the last book finished one of the best series I have read.
This is the first in a new series Of Blood and Bone,and it is as good as Faithfull and the Fallen.
If you have not picked up a book by John Gwynne,please give it a go,you dont have to have read the the first series,but some things are mentioned that bring you back to this wonderful series,but this book stands on its own to be a brilliant start to what could be another brilliant series.

Utterly enthralled and entertained ,up there for book of the year.
Cannot wait to the next.

I don’t know about you, but this book was bloody good. I can’t sit here and say that Gwynne writes like the great masters before him, but I can say he’s now firmly positioned himself as a part of the next generation of fantasy masters.

Perhaps I’m just madly in love with the stories he writes and the creative genius he polishes with each paragraph dancing through his keyboard. Either way, Gwynne’s mind definitely needs to be preserved like one of those disembodied heads in FUTURAMA.

Excitement, adventure, betrayal, come on, these are the raw ingredients of the genre and this guy makes damn well use of his wordsmith skills.

Now then, enough praise. Time to get to the bones of this story and for me to let you know if it’s actually worth your money and the next few hours you’ll be investing in it.

Ok yeah, it’s good. Go read it now.

But read this review first so you can get a taste of what I’m going on about.

As original as it is ambitious, A Time of Dread focuses on Riv and Drem – two individuals who fit the description of polar opposites as perfectly as you can imagine. Riv is a hot-headed mongrel too stupid to see the logic in her random outbursts, and Drem is tame to the level of being stupidly reluctant at defending himself as this approach has landed him in hot water on more than one occasion. All in all though, Gwynne deliberately takes these two vastly different characters, breaks them down into their core behaviors, and lands us with a boy and a girl who will grow to fully harness the prowess itching at their fingertips.

The world is beautiful and vast, and cold at certain junctures, but never dull. Gwynne has crafted a world full of possibilities with characters bleeding potential through every scene and shared piece of dialogue.

There’s a lot happening here, I’m just disappointed I’ll have to wait for the sequel.

This is how you write fantasy.

The plot opens with a blood feud battle between two clans, several years before the main bulk of our story. It's full of vigour, great descriptions of the action, and sucked me straight in with the mixture of violence and brutality on an epic scale.

The main events of the story start several years later, where the majestic angels, the Ben-Elim, rule the majority of the land from their fortress of Dressil. Here they train and continue to hunt the remaining Kadoshim - the race of evil that came through the rift so many years ago. The story follows four main characters on their various travails as the increasing danger of the Kadoshim threatens to undue the uneasy balance of peace the Ben-Elim have fought to uphold for so long.

Drem is my favourite character of the bunch. We meet him in the first chapters as he hunts with his father Odin in the Wild - the land to the North outside the Ben-Elim's rule. He's naive, with an innate goodness and moral compass. He won't kill if he can help it, even when faced with a fight with a man attempting to hurt his friend. His relationship with his father is also lovely. You can feel the deep amount of love and respect he has for Odin, and his desire to follow in his footsteps. You really feel for Drem, and I was constantly willing him to succeed as his storyline just got better as it progressed and developed. By the end I really thought Drem had grown so much as a character, and I'd taken that journey with him.

Riv is a human, raised within the walls of Dressil. She has an undying love for the white wing armies, the people who fight solely for the Ben-Elim, and wants nothing more than to be a warrior and fight the kadoshim. However, is unable to control her anger and rashness in battle. I liked this rashness and lust for battle, although sometimes I did think she was a little 'brainwashed' by the Ben-Elim. Her story was the one that took me most by surprise, and I ended up really enjoying it. She has a strong relationship with her mother and sister, and it was nice to see them take a position of power and respect within the White Wings as unit leaders. It created a strong family unit deeply embedded within this culture of fighting without necessarily needing a strong male role model. I wish more fantasy writers would take this stance.

Bleda is the son of one of the clan chiefs seen in the opening battle. Taken as a ward by the Ben-Elim as punishment, he is raised under their watchful eyes in the hopes he will one day return to his clan as leader and a dedicated follower to the Ben-Elim's cause. Bela's storyline I enjoyed the least, and I felt we see the least progression in his character, although I liked that he's so insecure about his nature. There's often an internal struggle between the culture he was raised in, and the need to withhold all his emotions, and the obvious respect he holds for his captures. This leads to a lot of self doubt. It's his growing relationship with Riv however that I found the most interesting, as they're at heart such opposing characters. The hot headed Riv and quiet and thoughtful Bleda. Their blossoming friendship over a bow is great to see unfold, and there is potential for it to grow as events develop further down the line.

Sig is the most fearsome of the four. A giantess, fiercely loyal to those she calls kin, and a glorious warrior. However, I felt the least connected to her. She feels the least rounded of the four (which is knit picking really as all of these characters are wonderful), and although her storyline packs plenty of punch, violence and action, I felt that I never really got to see another side of Sig. She was in full on warrior mode for most of the story, and I wanted to see some vulnerability or weakness that the other main characters had.

After the initial opening battle scene, this has rather a slow start - but it takes a long time to build a world so wonderfully crafted. I felt fully immersed, and knew everything I needed to about the lay out of the lands and its vast history and cultures. I hadn't read anything by Gwynne before, and in some respects I felt I may have missed out on some of this rich past and history that readers of previous novels would relish to read about. This never detracted from my immense enjoyment however, but I definitely felt I could have had an even better reading experience if I'd started with Malice. This shows the quality of the writing here, as it takes a clever writer to be able to create such a colourful world and gently guide us through hundreds of years of history without confusing the reader and allowing themselves to get distracted by meandering side stories. Everything that is written here has a purpose, whether that's to develop a character or flesh out the storyline.

I can't write a review for this without mentioning that ending. It takes a lot to surprise me, and this took me in a direction I didn't see coming for a number of characters. It's also tidied up in such a way that I felt satisfied by the end, yet desperate for the next adventure. I really enjoyed this, and I will be looking for more John Gwynne to pick up as soon as possible to tide me over until the next instalment.

It was so enjoyable to read some good old-fashioned epic fantasy! This book, set in the same world as the Faithful and the Fallen series, commences many years after the events of the previous quartet. We follow four key characters as they navigate through the world, each dealing with different challenges and beginning their own hero's journey. What I appreciated so much here was the world building. This is clearly a world that Gwynne is very comfortable in and has spent a lot of time developing. Consequently it feels very well realised and I got a good sense of the geography of the land. Despite having not read the other series, I never felt like I was lost or needed knowledge that I was provided with in this book. The long standing battle between the Ben -Elim and the Kadoshim feels vibrant and threatening and I read the narrative with a real sense of dread (no pun intended.) I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Mark Lawrence or the Ian C Esslemont Malazan books. It isn't high concept, but it is good quality and eminently readable fantasy. This book has set up the new series incredibly well and I will both go back and read the first series and look forward to the next instalment in this series with bated breath.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

8.5/10

Having never read any of John Gwynne’s previous novels, but being aware of them and them being held in high regard, I was quick to request this as soon as I saw it. I was in for a treat!

This, soon to be, trilogy takes place in the same world as his previous books but some 100+ in the future. I don’t think having not read those books took anything away from reading this, I still found it really good, but I do think that having all that knowledge from the previous books would have enhanced my enjoyment further.

The story is split with multiple POV’s with complete differing styles that don’t appear to be linked in anyway but as things progress all the strands come nicely together. As with these types of books there are often POV’s that stand out to those that don’t but there weren’t any I was dreading which was a bonus. Things start out at a slower pace but by the last 20% or so things are moving rapidly and it was hard to put it down.

Not only am I keen to read the next two in this trilogy, I’m also keen to pick up all the authors previous work. Highly recommended.

A Time of Dread was my first John Gwynne book, and I’m starting to wonder if that was a mistake.

Now, that’s a bit of an ambiguous statement. Do I mean that Dread was so good that I’m wishing I’d picked up his novels sooner, or do I mean that Dread doesn’t seem to be the best starting point?

Honestly? It’s a bit of both.

A Time of Dread is a good story, and it’s paced a bit like a barrel rolling down a hill. It’s slow to get started, requiring some patience and a little bit of a push. Then it begins to move, slowly and perhaps even ponderously approaching the slope. But then it really gets going. It races down the hill, always gaining speed. It hits a rock. It flies into the air. It crashes back down. It rolls on, hitting more rocks and throwing up dirt and grass until it crashes into the wall at the bottom of the hill and bursts apart in a stunning, splintery finale.

But the book does have its problems, and I couldn’t help but feeling that one of them was me.

As I said, this is my first John Gwynne novel, and it’s one that happens to follow on from the events of his previous series – The Faithful and The Fallen. As a result, there was always a sense that I was missing something. These characters here, are they making a reference to a previous book? This little piece of in-world history, is this something I should already be familiar with? There were a number of scenes that felt like they should have elicited an emotional response from me, but instead fell a little flat. Maybe if I’d had a pre-existing connection to this world and its history then it would have been a different story. Maybe not. Either way, these questions hovered around my brain for most of the novel.

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PLOT
We’re told fairly quickly that over a hundred years have passed since some event known as “The Day of Wrath”. A quick google tells you that “Wrath” is the name of the final book in the Faithful and Fallen series, so it’s pretty clear that we’re referring to the events that have occured in previous books.

We meet the Ben-Elim straight from the start. These are pseudo-angelic warrior folks with white feathery wings, and they are the protectors of a large area known as the Banished Lands and all the people within it. What are they protecting these people from? That would be the Kadoshim, who are pseudo-demonic warrior folks with black leathery wings. The Ben-Elim apparently “vanquished” the Kadoshim years previously, but a few of them are still skulking around.

We hear some rumours that the Kadoshim are gathering their forces in secret, and are planning something big. And this is fantasy, where false rumours don’t actually exist. So, y’know…

"It's true. All of it."

The Bem-Elim seem to be rather obsessive over their status as protectors, and this presents the other source of conflict in the story. Should two opposing groups of people in their lands come to war, as happens in the opening chapter, the Ben-Elim will intervene with violence of their own in order to enforce “peace”. This obviously breeds ill-feeling towards the leaders of the Bem-Elim, which only grows as they start to enforce stricter and harsher laws.

That’s pretty much a summary of the overarching plot, without going into the individual character arcs. The dark side is rising, and the question is whether the light can stop squabbling amongst themselves for long enough to deal with it.

This was very much a “setting the stage” novel, introducing the characters, and the world as it is now. The plot is there, and there is some amount of action, but you get the feeling that things will really kick into gear in following books.

Plot Score: 3.5/5

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PROSE
Gwynne’s prose is fairly descriptive, and he has what I like to describe as a “noticeable” writing style. It’s distinct enough that you would feel confident in picking it out of a line-up, and it’s pretty well-polished. I did notice that it took me a few minutes before I could look past the prose and into the story, meaning that it wasn’t suitable for one-chapter-at-a-time popcorn reading, but I’d breeze through the pages if I’d been reading it for any length of time.

The action scenes though… those are what John Gwynne was born to write. I don’t know if I’d put him above Abercrombie as far as very visual and engaging action scenes go, but he’s close. Gwynne’s battles feel more realistic. You won’t find someone cutting down 100 soldiers in a scrap. Instead, if you find a POV character faced up against 3 tavern brawlers, you know there’s a decent chance that they’re gonna get their ass kicked (depending on the character!).

Prose Score: 4/5

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CHARACTER
There are four main POV characters in A Time of Dread, and it takes a little while to get to know each of them.

There’s Bleda, who is taken from his clan by the Ben-Elim as punishment for a war fought with another clan. Bleda is a quiet, competent sort, who struggles to hide his emotions behind what his clan call “the cold face”.

Sometimes the effort to keep that control is so exhausting, the sense of failure at just the slightest slip crushing.

There’s Riv, who is training to be part of the Ben-Elim’s human warrior companions, the White Wings. Riv is extremely competent in almost all forms of combat, but has a temper that is prone to flaring at the slightest provocation.

There’s Sig, who looks like she may have been involved in the previous novels, and is a giantess and a capable warrior of some renown. She is part of an Order that exists to fight against the Kadoshim, but is completely separate from the Ben-Elim.

Lastly, there’s Drem. He’s the quiet son of a tanner, who is prone to very logical bouts of thinking. Another character actually describes him very well:

There seemed to be no falsity to him, no bluster or hidden ways. He spoke the truth as he saw it and displayed very little bravado.

As a whole they’re a very likable bunch of characters, and I’d have trouble picking any favourites beyond Drem.

With so many morally-questionable main characters nowadays, being in the head of such a nice kid is almost a breath of fresh air. I particularly enjoyed that we got to witness Drem’s relationship with his father, and in fact the scenes with Drem and his dad rate amongst the best in the book for me. Too often fantasy authors kill off the parents so we can have an orphaned main character.

We do get some good character moments that draw out the emotions, but again, this book feels like it’s just setting the stage for things to come.

Character Score: 4/5

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SETTING
Despite my earlier complaints over the shadow cast by the previous series, it does lend to worldbuilding that seems a bit more real than most. There’s a certainty about the way that the history of the world is told, and yet there’s still a slight air of mystery that partially makes up for my lack of emotional connection to these previous characters.

The concept that a race of divine angelic beings operating as leaders can be a source of conflict is an interesting one, and it’s explored well within the context of the novel. I’m not too keen on the idea of a race of evil beings that wants to take over the world just because, but I think that Gwynne managed to make it work through the contrast between Ben-Elim and Kadoshim.

The scope of the novel is very small and contained, and so you don’t get much of that sense of wonder that is common with epic fantasy. However, this does mean that you get to focus on the characters a bit more.

In terms of stuff, there’s a couple of warrior schools, a tanning/trapping village, a mining village, and a forest. That’s pretty much all you see in this book, but it suits the story, and there are some cool fantasy creatures like giant bears, wolves, and bats.

Setting Score: 4.25/5

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SUMMARY
This was a difficult review to write.

Overall, I liked A Time of Dread, and would class it as a good book, but not necessarily a great one. Had I read the previous series, then I’m fairly sure that I’d be a lot more positive about A Time of Dread than I have been, but too often I was left feeling like I was missing a trick.

I’ve read a fair few overwhelmingly positive reviews for Dread in the past few days, with the common theme being that each of those reviewers/bloggers had read The Faithful and The Fallen first. This suggests that A Time of Dread may not be the best starting point if you’re looking to pick John Gwynne up for the first time, but I couldn’t say that for certain without seeing more reviews from other first-timers.

A Time of Dread is good enough that I want to read on… but I’m now in the strange position of wondering whether to wait for future books, or go back and read those that came before.

*** Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. Typos and formatting issues (of which there were many) have not been reflected in this review ***
The first book in John Gwynne's new series (Of Blood and Bone) comes a little over 100 years after the conclusion of Wrath.
In some senses, and I have seen a number of reviews opining this, this marks the start of a different series, and no prior knowledge of the Banished Lands is needed. I would agree to an extent, though I would imagine a lot of things are taken for granted (the creatures and races of people for one, if not the actual storyline). However, if someone then wants to read the previous series I think a lot of the events of those books has been spoilt, not the overall conclusion but certain little details would be annoying to have spoilt. I would strongly encourage readers to read Malice et al first (though beware of the epic scope and cast of characters from the off).
The story follows three main paths which at times become two. Riv (a trainee warrior) and Bleda (a young ward, stolen from his family at a young age) are living with the "angels" that have broken through to the real world and are training to fight the "demons". Their story serves to chronicle the events of the first series quite neatly, and shows how the angels are not perfect in their role as mankind's guardians. Drem is a trapper living in the wilderness with his father and begins to uncover some unusual signs of dark work afoot. Finally, Sig the giant (a minor character in the first series) also works to eliminate the demons from the world, but does so independently of the angels.
The scope of the story and cast of characters is so much smaller more focused than Gwynne's previous books, which took some getting used to. While I felt the scope of the first series was so epic it was hard work, here it seems like a very different, simpler work. Almost, but not quite, like a step backwards.
As usual, there are twists and turns along the way, not all of which were particularly surprising (sometimes you just know that unless someone's head was cut off, they're going to come back again later!) and I felt they could have been dealt with better.
I felt there was maybe another chunk of the story that could have been added as the final 50 pages rattled along all of a sudden and ended abruptly with more still to tell.
I very much enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next instalment to see where the story goes from here, though I expect it will be a smaller series than TFAF, looking to tie up loose ends.

John Gwynne’s writing is magnificent, it pulls you right into the whirlwind of the events, it unravels the deepest secrets of the worlds and it keeps you glued to the pages, wanting to find out if the characters, that you grew so fond of, would overcome the dangers of the Banished Lands.

In A Time of Dread we follow a wide array of characters, all of them interesting in their own way:
- Bleda from Sirak Horse Clan who was taken by the Ben-Elim when he was little and raised as their ward;
- Drem and his father Olin, who had many secrets to share with his son;
- Riv, daughter of Dalmae, who was training to become one of the White-Wing of Drassil;
- Sig, a giant and weapon master of Dun Seren.

And of course there is a big focus on the battle between the Ben-Elim and the Kadoshim.

At some point, I imagine, our character’s paths will cross, but for now I was really enjoying to read about where they came from and what they are up to. My absolute favourite arc was about Drem. He was just such an easy character to root for! Kind, brave and quite intelligent, he will be destined for great things.

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It follows a similar format to many books of this type but there are sufficient novel aspects to the story to maintain interest. I found it well written and the characters to be interesting and well developed. It is difficult to comment on the particular aspects I enjoyed without spoiling the story. It is a great first book of presumably a new series. I am sufficiently interested to go and read the Faithful and the Fallen by the same author. Highly recommend.

https://lynns-books.com/2018/01/11/a-time-of-dread-of-blood-and-bone-1-by-john-gwynne/
A few days ago I finished A Time of Dread by John Gwynne, and I loved it so much that it made my ‘best of’ list for 2017. This is an author whose previous series, The Faithful and the Fallen, enjoys glowing reviews and yet for some reason I’ve never got round to reading them. I genuinely don’t know why that is and having now read A Time of Dread my only dilemma is whether I now go back and start with Malice? Anyway, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition so lets get on with a review and a bit of waxing lyrical about why you need this book in your life.

The long and the short of it – this book is epic – it has depth to the characters, it has scope to the story and it has meat on the bones in terms of world building. I admit I hesitate to use the word epic – I don’t know why but it feels overused somehow and even dated in these days of grimdark so I’ll just say that this is a damn fine book. The characters are amazing and the tension that Gwynne creates positively grows into a monster that has you holding your breath anxiously.

So, to the story. Told from a number of perspectives this is basically a tale of good vs evil. Of course it’s not quite as simple as that but bear with me. Many years ago the Kadoshim, demons of the Otherworld, broke free from their spirit world to wreak havoc upon mankind. Thankfully their enemy, the Ben-Elim, warrior angels, followed them into the Banished Lands, a fierce battle ensued but an alliance between the angels, giants and men left the Kadoshim out numbered, their Lord was encased in iron and they retreated to the shadows to regroup. So, history out of the way, the story really starts at this point. The Kadoshim are growing in strength and they’re making plans and none of those plans involve humans surviving.

Time has a way of making people forget and become complacent. They no longer remember the lessons that the war taught them and indeed some have even begun to doubt that such evil exists. Eventually the Kadoshim begin to feel like a long and distant memory at best or a child’s tale at worst. During this period of peace the Ben-Elim have spread their rule through the lands, encroaching upon other borders. Not everyone is happy living under their rule and this is where the lines between good and bad become blurred. The Ben-Elim may be angels but they are certainly not perfect. They’re arrogant. They have a way of demanding rather than asking which in my mind makes the whole idea of the alliance a bit unbalanced. They (or at least some of them) can be totally unwavering and a bit puritanical. On top of that – they don’t all agree with each other completely. Now, no doubt the Ben-Elim would defend their actions by saying they’re defending everyone and risking their own lives in the process but it also feels that in doing so they’re setting themselves up as the ruling authority in the land, unquestioned and unapproachable. They’ve trained and created their own army of humans (the White-Wings) and indeed have decided that a tithe will be required in future in order to sustain numbers. I guess it begs the question of when does protection become something more akin to rule. The peace that remains is tentative. Factions have started to form and with unknown entities waiting in the shadows, planning their moment to strike its really only a matter of time before hell in a handcart comes looking for trouble.

The story is told from four points of view. This is a method of storytelling that I particularly enjoy. I like experiencing the world from different eyes, minds and places and the four characters that Gwynne creates are easy to like making the switch between chapters all that more enjoyable.

Riv is a young woman who has always lived within the walls of Drassil, the fort of the Ben-Elim. She trains with almost a religious fervour to become a White-Wing, like her mother and sister before her. Riv shows plenty of potential as a warrior but the temper that she is unable to keep in check is her worst enemy. Her chapters allow us a birds eye view of life in Drassil and a look at how the Ben-Elim and the humans get along. These are intriguing sections in themselves. The people at Drassil are well aware of the Kadoshim and the threat they pose to their way of life and this is obvious in the way they live and train. Of course not everything at Drassil is perfect as soon becomes apparent.

Bleda was taken from his home to become a ward of the Ben-Elim following an outbreak of war and to act as surety of good behaviour by his people. He lives within the fort at Drassil and trains with the other potential white wings. Bleda is a good character to read about. He misses his home, even after living away for a few years, he doesn’t fit in at Drassil and at first it feels like he simply bides his time. The Ben-Elim have plans for Bleda that they believe will help keep the peace. Bleda is a strong character, he takes the right course of action even when it appears to be helping people that he doesn’t really like.

Sig is one of the giants. I love her character. She’s gutsy and just plain likeable. The giants were part of the original alliance and are also very aware of the Kadoshim. They patrol the borders protecting people from a threat that they’re not really even aware of. The giants live at Dun Seren. Their lives feel completely different to the Ben-Elim and if I was going to choose a place to live in this world it would be with them. They work and train hard, they’re tough, but they enjoy life. The giants ride on bears and have crows that not only talk but display intelligence and loyalty. Sig is probably my favourite character to be honest. She’s just a character that you warm to really quickly and then spend a good deal of time being worried about because she’s always throwing herself into danger.

Finally we have Keld. He and his father Olin live outside of the Ben-Elim’s lands. They make an existence as trappers which means they live in the wild for a good portion of the time. They have a fantastic bond and Keld’s chapters make for really entertaining reading. When they return to their homestead changes are clear. Their little town has started to develop, people are leaving the Banished Lands to avoid living under the Ben-Elim’s rule and unfortunately this brings something of an unsavoury element into their lives. The place in which they live as a lawless and almost wild west feel. Keld and his father are governed by their own code of right and wrong and Keld has been brought up with a strict moral code but more than that he’s the sort of character that would always help someone in need. I really enjoyed the chapters where they’re in the wilds surviving on their instincts.

There are plenty of other characters but the four main POV perspectives help to keep a grip on them all and stop the read from becoming a people puzzle.

In terms of the writing. Well, it’s very impressive. I have to say that Gwynne’s ability to write a vivid and exciting scene, be that a bear chase, a fist fight or a battle is absolutely excellent. I don’t think I’ve read such dramatic scenes before that are quite so easy to picture. He writes with practiced confidence and over the course of the early chapters shows the strength of will to take his time setting up the people and the place and this really pays off. This is a strong world, full of intrigue, history and varied races. Clearly Gwynne has already written a very popular series before and whilst I’m not in a position to compare the two I can’t help thinking that his past experience shines through here.

I don’t have any criticisms at all. I think that there is one particular thread that is clearly building to a final reveal and, yes, it was easy to guess what was going to happen with that storyline. But, I imagine that was the author’s intention to be honest. And, not a criticism, but this book doesn’t step into the realms of grim dark as we’ve come to know it. Of course there are battles and inevitably bloodshed but A Time of Dread manages to have an old school feel at the same time as breathing new life into the realms of swords and sorcery.

If it isn’t clear already, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t wait for No.2. No pressure at all Mr Gwynne.

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher, through Netgalley, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I went into A Time of Dread blindly, having not read the earlier book series (The Faithful and the Fallen) that takes place in the same world. That didn’t slow me down though, since the events of the previous series happened over 130 years ago and all the history is explained very well through the different characters. I imagine I would have gotten more out of characters like Sig if I was more familiar with the world.

The book has four point of view characters: Bleda who is the son of a warrior clan leader and also the Ben-Elim’s ward, Riv who is training to become part of the Ben-Elim’s army, Sig the giant who is part of the Order of the Bright Star and Drem who lives in the Desolation with his dad, away from the Ben-Elim and the Kadoshim mess.

I enjoyed all of the POV characters and they all offered very different perspectives to things. Drem was the only one whose purpose I questioned a little bit in the beginning since he was so far away from everyone else, but it all connected in the end and he actually turned out to have one of the most interesting storylines. Sig and Riv were definitely my favorites because hello, warrior ladies. A Time of Dread actually had quite a few cool warrior women so thumbs up for that. Sig was especially cool because giants in this world live to be really old (I believe she mentions being around 700 years old) and she was also the main source of history for that reason.

A Time of Dread couldn’t have a more appropriate name because it’s really really dark and the whole book is basically building up a huge Ben-Elim vs. Kadoshim conflict in the future. I don’t wanna get too much into detail because spoilers but there’s a lot of death and violence and some of the things that happened were actually pretty shocking. There are plenty of battle scenes which I’m usually not a fan of because so many things happen they’re hard to follow, but I didn’t really have that problem with this book. The battles were definitely one of the stronger points in the book.

I had only one thing that I found a little awkward, which was the inner dialogue of the characters because sometimes it felt a little unnecessary since the chapters were from the characters’ point of view anyway. All in all A Time of Dread was a pretty cool book, and I might consider reading the rest of the trilogy because it did leave me wondering what’s gonna happen next, especially to Riv!

Fans of dark fantasy should definitely check A Time of Dread out!

I loved the first series, and I'm excited for the start of a second set in the same world. John Gwynne is an excellent author. It was great to have some characters to remain in this series although it's over a century in the future, but you don't have to have read the first series to read this one. Excellent writing as usual. Fantastic read and I can't wait for the next.

Dear John Gwynne, you will never fail to surprise me, and your stories will never fail to make me inevitably cry!

Of Blood and Bone is a new trilogy taking place roughly 130 years after the last events of Wrath (The Faithful and the Fallen, #4). And things have significantly changed in the Banished Lands. The landscape is definitely different (can’t wait to get my published copy to see the map!), peace is tenuous at best and ghastly, troubling things are happening all around the land and even at the heart of the Desolation.


"Sometimes the only answer is blood and steel."


Reading A Time of Dread was a tricky experience for me. First, because of huge expectations of course! Second, because I was in a huge slump and I was afraid I would judge it too severely, especially since it’s an ARC. And third, because I kept asking myself if the new characters would rise to the perfection their predecessors achieved.

The first one couldn't be helped! The Faithful and the Fallen is without doubt one of the most overwhelming, emotional and satisfying series I've read in my life! But despite its narrower scope, a Time of Dread hinted at unexpected alliances and betrayals, gory action and epic battles coming our way in the sequels! While it still can be seen as a battle between Good and Evil, you will encounter a few shady protagonists and institutions and aside from a few exceptions, you will be seriously questioning some key characters’ motives!

As for the second, I avoided falling into the trap halfway through the book by taking a break and going back with newfound eagerness and fresh eyes! And I just enjoyed the last half even more! But then, it wasn’t much of a surprise really, Gwynne has a real talent for concluding his books! And when I started to wonder where he was taking his story, John brought every thread into focus in a most exciting, tense, unexpected and emotional way!

Lastly, the difficulty with sequel series is that you need to create new characters and stories that have their own voice and aren’t copies of the old ones, while keeping a coherent link with the latter and sharing a common history and background. John Gwynne pulled off the challenge brilliantly by creating attaching personalities struggling in a much darker and grimmer world than the one we left at the end of Wrath. The story is told from 4 points of view and despite sharing one or two traits with the old characters, they all felt so real and relatable and had so much room for growth! Every action, every thought or every retort seemed to build a new layer in their personalities!


"Leaders must act for the greater good."


Friendship and family, honor and loyalty are still as central themes as gore, fights and epic battles in John’s books! You will also find familiar elements like the Warrior trials, the Shield Wall, the Sword dance, the giants’ Segul, Wolven… (the mention of these names alone made me tear up inconsolably!) Therefore, the story and plot felt at the same time original and very familiar (coming of age trope, Good vs. Evil, angels and demons, strong family and friendship and human-animal links…) compared to Malice!

Which brings me to my most important point: NOSTALGIA! For those of you who’d read and loved tFatF, this book will feel all the more like a precious gift, with a huge sentimental value!! Gwynne celebrated his old cast in such a touching, exquisite way! I felt a pang of pain and nostalgia and love every time one of the old crew members was mentioned (this is no spoiler since more than a century has passed and naturally iconic characters died, but although I expected that, I still felt their loss as if they were friends or family!).

For that reason alone I wholeheartedly recommend to start with the tFatF series. The major events of Wrath are briefly reminded throughout the book. However, if you’re new to Gwynne’s work and want to start with this book, you totally can! Gwynne made an excellent job giving enough background and history to make you understand the context and the world of his new story.


"And so many of them gone, now. But their memory lives on. We shall never forget."


I feel like great but also dreadful paths are to be expected in the sequels! The tone of A time of Dread was definitely so much darker than the tFatF in my opinion and I wondered if some events and creatures wouldn’t qualify as Grimdark elements. There was also less humor and relief, for this is indeed a time of dread, with nothing except the bittersweet, warm memories and the unbreakable family links to alleviate the darkness! I can’t wait to delve into the next books and see where John’s taking us!

I thought this was a great introduction to this new fantasy trilogy. I am new to this author but when I saw this new book coming out I was intrigued to check it out. There are multiple perspectives throughout the book; each is compelling and each has a distinctive voice. However if you are not a fan of multiple perspective, than it is perhaps something to be aware of going in. I personally felt it was done very well. All of the characters are well written and there are many intriguing characters. I thought the plot was quite compelling and the world building was done well. I will say I found the first part quite slow and so it did take me a little while to become invested in the story. Perhaps due to this slow pace I didn't find the story as compelling as I thought I would. I did still really enjoy it though. I think it does pick up after the first half. I did figure out what a certain revelation was at the end but I still enjoyed reading it. Overall this was a great introduction and I'm definitely interested in continuing with this series.

A Time of Dread is a work conceived in the mind of a genius.

Simply amazing and almost impossible to put down, A Time of Dread is truly a masterful start to a trilogy which I envision will be crowned as one of the best series I’ve ever read by its end. <b>John Gwynne has proven himself once again to be the constant harbinger of superlative epic fantasy that only the greatest of authors can achieve.</b>

Let it be known that Gwynne is in fact the only author on my list to earn the perfect streak of top quality achievements from me. A Time of Dread marked the fifth time his work has been included in my ‘favorites of all time’ shelves; together with his previous quartet, that’s five out of five books. To do a bit of comparison, neither of my two other favorite authors—Brandon Sanderson and Joe Abercrombie—earned this perfect streak.

I can be quite petty with ratings; I don’t give a lot of full five out of five stars ratings. Gwynne, however, never ceased to impress me with his pure and unadulterated talent, and is one of the few authors who always did everything right for my epic fantasy craving. <i>The Faithful and the Fallen</i> is one of the series that I recommend the most often to every fantasy readers I know, whether it’s on Bookstagram, Booktube, Goodreads, or real life; I’m going to keep on doing that, except that starting from now, Of Blood and Bone will be included.

The first book in the Of Blood and Bone trilogy is a stunning and darker return to the world of the Banished Lands, the same world as his previous series. Creating a new series with a different cast in the same world is risky. The author has to do a lot of things right such as making sure the story will feel different and at the same time, retaining the elements that made his previous work magnificent in the first place; there’s nothing to worry about here because Gwynne achieved all that. Just from looking at the cover, it’s quite obvious there is a huge contrast between Gwynne’s debut, Malice, and A Time of Dread. Where Malice used a white background, A Time of Dread used black; this captured the tone of the book perfectly. Unlike his previous series, the line between good and evil is more blurry here.

Hundreds of years have passed since the end of the monumental events that took place in Wrath, now called the Day of Wrath. To save future readers of Gwynne’s previous series from spoilers, all I’ll say is that the main plot of this book mainly revolves around a new upcoming threat that’s coming to the Banished Lands. The book reignites all the sparks that made the previous book excel in quality; betrayal, familial love, the friendship between humans and animals, wars, deception, a few hilarious interactions, and many more. At the same time, like I mentioned before, the storytelling direction is also different. The first chapter, for example, immediately set the darker tone of the entire book which wasn’t found in Malice; even the source of inspiration is different. Here’s an excerpt from the interview I did with Gwynne back in March 2017:

“Where the Faithful and the Fallen was inspired by Paradise Lost and Caesar’s Gallic War, this new series is inspired by the Volsung Saga, the Fall of the Roman Empire, Atilla the Hun, the rise of the Orders of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller, and berserker Valkyries.” –John Gwynne

The plot is also highly addictive to read. By building the tension with each page turned, the last 20% of the book became one damn fine breathtaking and compelling book to read. Also, for those of you who had trouble with the myriad amount of characters in TFatF, A Time of Dread casts are smaller in quantity, with only four main POV to follow throughout the entire book; Drem, Riv, Bleda, and one side character from the previous series.

Speaking of characters: for me, the driving force of a compelling book depends hugely on its characters. If I have to choose, I prioritize marvelous characterization over anything else. Great plot, thrilling actions, and good prose are all almost pointless if I can’t bring myself to care about the fate of the characters in the book. Luckily, one of Gwynne’s greatest qualities as a writer is his stupendous achievement with characterizations. This book strengthens the notion that he’s one of the greatest SFF authors out there when it comes down to writing lovable protagonists and despicable villains. It’s excellent how he always managed to evoke my emotions through the characters' actions and interactions; they felt so real. Do know however that it’s not only the new characters that stole the spotlight in the book; some characters from Gwynne’s previous series do make an appearance here. Whether it’s in the form of their descendants or, in one case, as one of the main POV, I found all the protagonists endearing and the villains despicable. Hundreds of years have passed, so most of our beloved characters have become legendary figures and their names and deeds are mentioned a lot here. If you’re a fan of TFatF, all the homage paid to those characters is guaranteed to spark a lot of nostalgia.

“And so many of them gone, now. But their memory lives on. We shall never forget."

I’ve read a lot of epic fantasy books and I’m confident enough to say without hesitation that Gwynne is one of—if not the—best when it comes to writing grippingly realistic battle scenes. The nock of arrows, the clashing of steel, the explosion of blood, the formation of shield walls; his action scenes have always been very cinematic, intricate, immersive and dynamic, and this book is no exception. In fact, in terms of action, this book and its climax sequences make a lot of other series final book action scenes pale in comparison; Gwynne is miles above the majority of fantasy authors when it comes to close-quarter combat.

“Sometimes the only answer is blood and steel.”

It’s safe to say that my experience reading this book was enhanced immensely because of my knowledge on the world of the Banished Lands. Realms have come and gone, the state of the world has changed after hundreds of years; there are new factions, new cities, and an altered landscape. However, for longtime fans of Gwynne’s works, familiar names such as Drassil and Starstone Crater are designed to make you feel at home again. Gwynne did a fantastic job improving and reintroducing the established world of the Banished Lands. If you’re like me, not a stranger to this world, it will definitely enrich the already amazing experience of reading this book with the underlying experience we’ve gained. By reading TFatF before reading this, you would have lived through the histories talked about in this book. If you’re new to it, you’ll be just reading through them. In conclusion, the world-building is truly a work of excellence because the lore was actually established in full detail from the previous four books. It’s okay for you to read this book without prior knowledge of the world, but do know that it will spoil you on the events of Gwynne’s previous series. It can’t be helped; it’s this book’s history, after all. My advice? Read TFatF before reading this. You definitely should anyway, because it’s one of the best epic fantasy series out there.

One of my favorite things about reading something new from one of my favorite authors is seeing how much he has improved as a writer. Gwynne has come a long way since his debut, Malice. His prose is now even better, extremely well polished and top-notch in quality. I found his writing in this book incredibly engaging, vivid, immersive and bloody addictive to read. It was immensely hard for me to put down the book every time I start reading it; and when I did put it down, I couldn’t help reaching for it like I was having withdrawals. The fact that I finished reading this book in less than a day should say enough about how addictive it was. His prose is the glue that connected all the incredible plot, characterization, action sequences, and world-building to become one of the finest first books in a series I’ve ever read.

My time in the Banished Lands will always be one of my most treasured memories and experiences in my fantasy literature adventure, and I was beyond pleased to dive back into this world again. TFatF series has earned its place among my top five favorite series of all time, and Wrath is one of the best books I’ve ever read in my entire life. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it will be extremely hard for Gwynne to create a series that tops my love for his first series. However, I’m anxious to see Gwynne prove me wrong after the amazing things he did with A Time of Dread. Even with my high expectations, A Time of Dread still managed to blow me away; it’s truly a monumental start to a series that’s even better than his debut, Malice, by far. By the end of this book, I was already completely intrigued, hooked, compelled, and eager to read the next book in the trilogy.

If you call yourself a fan of heroic or epic fantasy—call it whatever you want—you owe it to yourself to read this book. And IF you’re a fan of Gwynne’s first series, there’s no excuse for you to not read this book. Not only this is one of the greatest start to a series I’ve ever read, Gwynne has truly earned his place among the ranks of legendary fantasy authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, and Brandon Sanderson with what he has achieved with A Time of Dread and his previous series.

The waiting game for the next book in the trilogy will be painful, but I know it will be worth the wait. Gwynne hasn’t failed me and I don’t think he ever will at this rate; he’s truly the Bright Star of epic fantasy literature.

“Truth and Courage”

I received an advanced copy of A Time of Dread in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank John Gwynne and Pan MacMillan for this opportunity.

The story places readers within the Land of the Faithful approximately 120 years after the conclusion of the novel Wrath, which was an epic, brutal, and fulfilling climax to one of my favourite ever fantasy series'. The angel-like Ben-Elim rule the land now from their base at the giant-erected fortress of Drassil. They've spent generations uniting the nations and tracking the remaining forces of the grotesque and scarily powerful Kadoshim, their Eternal enemy. The Kadoshim's leader, Asroth is frozen in metal within the Ben-Elim's stronghold but that doesn't mean his faithful aren't out there plotting, sacrificing innocents and boiling up some horrid actions that could equate to A Time of Dread.

In the first book of the Of Blood and Bone trilogy, we only follow four points of view perspectives so we get to know these characters very well. My favourites were the perspectives of Bleda, a warrior Prince who is superb at using a bow and arrow and Sig, a female giant that rides a huge yet loyal bear - she was also a minor character in Gwynne's previous saga. There are a great number of important personae, races, and animals throughout this tale that it might appear overwhelming to begin with but it's worth sticking with. The novel starts slowly as the characters, their allegiances and the history of the world are gently and cleverly massaged into the reader's mind. The world itself is also vast yet the action here predominantly takes place within a handful of fortresses, forests, and the bitter icy North which is known as the desolation. The story features the same areas and cities as the Faithful and the Fallen but time has changed the environment a degree. The history Gwynne has created is epic when describing events some readers will know from 120 years before, as are the revelations regarding important actions and battles that have happened since. This is cleverly done when elders explain the history to younger cast members. I have to admit that I went a bit teary-eyed with joy when occasionally some individuals discussed their relationships with the characters that I had followed for four books previously, and what had happened to them following the conclusion of Wrath. It shows John's unique skill as an author that him just mentioning Corban or Veradis had me so emotionally touched and gripped. I finished the Faithful and the Fallen a year ago so my exact memories weren't crystal clear. The way Gwynne introduces the characters, world, rivalries, and history is sublime, reminding me of the previous stories, however; I honestly believe this would be a great place to start too as the writing is deep, descriptive, and enchanting. This isn't just written for his current fans. You can lose yourself in this world even if this book is your first visit. 90% of the characters are new and likewise, I think previous readers will enjoy it 10% more with prior knowledge and past experiences yet that's not to say new readers won't be engrossed and blown away too. A few old characters are still walking this world. One of them returning made me 'fist-punch' the air.

It started off quite slow and steady. I enjoyed the beginning yet analysed this was targeted more at a YA audience. Boy, was I wrong? If anything this is Gwynne's darkest work to date. I should have known really looking at the awesomely designed cover. A Time of Dread contains amazing action scenes, shocking betrayals, intense battles, and a huge death count. The intensity rises right up until the awesome finale at an addictively gripping pace. Comparing back to the Faithful and the Fallen which has a clear alignment of the sides that were good and evil, those areas are greyer this time with political confrontations and even potential revolutions on the horizon between factions. The Ben-Elim were always heralded as the saviours of humankind. Now some people aren't so sure. There are many twists and shocking revelations throughout the narratives final half. I tend to be highly analytical when reading and I only predicted one of them. When that twist was revealed in the last chapter - the fact I had guessed what was to come didn't make it any less amazing.

I was so happy to venture back into Gwynne's world and mind. Gwynne is a master of his craft and one of the best fantasy writers around right now. With likeable characters, it hits so much harder should bad things happen to them but unfortunately, they do. This is a great place to start or an unmissable next step in Gwynne's majestic tale of Good vs Evil. A Time of Dread is epic, unpredictable and exhilarating with action galore and characters worth rooting for.

A Time of Dread is the first in a new series of fantasy by John Gwynne, whose ‘Wrath’ I reviewed earlier in the year. Gwynne has a reputation for producing high quality epic fantasy, with some compelling characterisation and…rather a lot of blood. I can safely say that in A Time of Dread, that reputation is burnished further.

The book is a follow-up of sorts to his earlier series, taking place a century after the climatic battles and social changes of ‘Wrath’. Though a century feels like a long time, the longevity of some of the world’s inhabitants – giants, semi-divine seraphim and their nemeses - suggests the possibility of the return of a few familiar faces. But having read the previous series isn’t necessary; though there were a few times when it added extra depth to some interactions, the shift in time means that this is designed to work as a stand-alone series from the get-go, and at that, I suspect it succeeds.

The land is, at least nominally, at peace. A large swathe of it is ruled by the winged Ben-Elim, apparently servants of an absent god, who followed their enemies back into the world to hunt them down. The Ben-Elim have a cultural advantage as rulers – their legend has been put out before them, and the malign nature of their enemy isn’t really in question. They flatly state that they were the servants of a god, and propound and propagate his lore. They’re also, broadly speaking, fair – they’re encouraging people to live safe, peaceful lives, which helps prevent the abuses of nobility against the common man. Mostly though, they’re doing this for their own reasons – a peaceful dominion allows them access to people and resources, to continue prosecuting their ongoing war against their less friendly kin. The Ben-Elim are goal oriented, and that has its own problems. They’re prone to rigidity, and to being prepared to sacrifice anything and anyone (else) if they feel it will help them achieve their aim. After all, defeating the more unpleasant flying monstrosities will lead to a safer humanity – so in the meantime, a bit of impressment or the occasional massacre is for the greater good.

That makes them a great, conflicted set of characters to root for. They’re definitely fighting against an absolute, horrifying evil. But their efforts to end that fight are horrifying I their own way. The humans they’ve brought in around them are similarly conflicted. Some question the rigidity of Ben-Elim rule, and others, drawn from cultures being drawn under the benevolent boot of Ben-Elim rule, wonder why they let these monsters be in charge in the first place It’s a complex situation, and one which Gwynne portrays with sympathy and an unflinching eye for the consequences of “the greater good”.

There’s also a politically separate group of humanity, out on their own and causing trouble. They feel like the Big Damn Heroes of the operation, without oversight from the Ben-Elim, living free and disrupting the bad guys that they and the Ben-Elim have in common. They suffer from a lack of resource and direction, seemingly, but they make a strong contrast in the forces of ‘good’. I’d like to see their fissures as much as those of their putative allies, but hopefully we’ll see that they’re not a united front either.

The bad guys are…well, they’re bad. The antithesis to the Ben-Elim, they’re full-on cultist-acquiring, scheming, plotting, indiscriminate slaughter bad guys. If the Ben-Elim are the perils of good intentions and an overly-taught system, their opponents are evidence of why that system exists, and they’re not nice people at all. If I have a complaint, it’s here – the bad guys are bad. Sure, the good guy have different strands of discussion over which brand of goodness they’re going to follow, in the authoritarian/libertarian mode, but their enemies represent a unifying threat – they’re so genuinely appalling, I haven’t worked out yet how they get their cultists to sign up. It’d be nice to see the same level of complexity that we see amongst the Ben-Elim in their direct opposition.

Character-wise, there’s some interesting people in play. I’d have liked to see more of their internal monologue. Some may be familiar from the earlier series, but some – like the Drem, a trapper youth in the far wilds of the empty area known as the Desolation – are entirely new. Gwynne has a firm grasp of characterisation – Drem, for example, has mannerisms and an internal monologue which make him feel awkward and a bit confused by social nicety, whilst also explaining to the reader how his viewpoint is constructed, and letting us sympathise with it. Others, like Riv, a trainee under the Ben-Elim, give us an insight into their culture, and a degree of empathy to that culture by way of what they’re going through. Riv is smart, funny, articulate – and given to the occasional blind rage. It’s to Gwynne’s credit that he can craft characters like this sympathetically, and make the reader feel alongside them, and understand the travails which they go through.
There’s some nifty character work here, especially as it opens up for longer term arcs in follow up books; I’m looking forward to seeing both how our protagonists from this volume interact with each other, and with any new characters in the next book. In the meantime, they’re convincing as people, with the sort of small troubles familiar to anyone, and the sort of larger causes and ideals which make them feel more heroic. Once again though, it’d be lovely to see something from the eyes of our putative villains – the book doesn’t suffer from the lack, mind you, but I’d love to get an understanding of their ideology.

The plot…well, it’s solid. There’s a slow ramp up as we’re introduced to the world and to the stakes. By the end, there’s sword fights, dread cultists, raids, blood everywhere, a little bit of magic – and, on a broader level, the suggestion that the world is about to change, not necessarily for the better. There’s some great emotional payoffs, not just at the close, but spaced through the text. They, along with the kinetic and vivid combats, and the closely observed characters, kept me turning pages long after I should have stopped for, you know, food.

In the end, this is a precursor to other volumes – and I imagine that the time of dread will open into something more sprawling and ominous. It’s a great start though, giving us high stakes action, believable characters, and a world which carries some of the complexities and shades of grey of our own, whilst still feeling fresh and imaginative.

If you’re coming to this series off the back of Gwynne’s last one, I’d say this will fit your expectations – smart and well-crafted epic fantasy. If you’re coming in without the benefit of that series, don’t panic. It still works on its own, and is still a great read. In either case, it’s a rewarding read.

First of all, a huge thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in advance. It was brilliant. Exactly the kind of fantasy I live for.

Now before I get started, I must confess that this is my first John Gwynne novel. His debut, Malice, was next on my pile to read when I was approved for this beauty so I thought I’d start here. Although I don’t regret it, I do feel like I have missed a lot of cool references to characters of his first series, The Faithful and the Fallen. For that reason, I found the first half of the book fairly slow, as new characters are introduced, the world explained and tales of the original heroes are told. There are a lot of talks and hints about previous characters which I am sure long time readers of Gwynne will love, I just wanted to get started with the new ones. Saying that, the slow start was necessary to making this book (and presumably, series) readable for those who are new to Gwynne and this world, me included. Now I don’t mind a slow pace so this did not put me off reading, but I wasn’t as glued to the story as I thought I might have been after the amazing reviews Gwynne already has for his work. However, I did just read the last 50% in one sitting this morning, so I can say with some certainty that this changes.

A Time of Dread is set in the world of the Banished Lands where warrior angels, the Ben-Elim, protect the humans of the realm against the threat of their great enemies, the demon race of the Kadoshim. Yet this is not a tale of Good vs Evil as you may think with that description. The lines between dark and light blur in this story, leaving you not sure who to trust and what to believe. Gwynne is a master story-teller. He weaves the lives of the four point of view characters excellently, revealing just enough of their personalities and knowledge of the world as they go through the novel for you to piece things together and come to your own conclusions. And then blasts them apart in the last 20%. The one thing I need to enjoy epic fantasy is great characters and A Time of Dread has these aplenty. We follow a young man in the Desolation, who understands the difference of right and wrong and wants the world to know it; a young human warrior in the Ben-Elim’s service, trying her best to prove she is worthy of being there; a ward of the Ben-Elim, taken as punishment from his clan to stop them from fighting; and a member of the people who don’t always see eye to eye with the Ben-Elim, but want the Kadoshim dead too. They each have different motives and feelings about the way their realm is governed and their unique insights are one of the main reasons this book is addictive. Even the side characters are well developed and complex. They all felt real, and as their dramas unfolded I really felt caught up in their adventure at every turn. At one point, I felt a certain character’s pain so strongly I had to put my kindle down and take a breath. This is why I love reading, and this novel truly takes you away from reality and pulls you into their world.

I love stories told from multiple perspectives as you get to see what’s happening in different areas of the world and see the action unfold around each character. This is also a great way to build up suspense. Gwynne had me cursing several times as huge events occurred in one character’s orbit and left you desperate to get back to them as the next chapter switches you across to the events on the other side of the world. So. Good. It is such an enjoyable experience to be in the hands of a great writer, if at times frustrating. But it’s that desperation to keep reading and then find equally shocking and exciting events happening to this character too that next thing you know you’ve finished the last 50% in a matter of hours and you’ve barely moved. It’s that absorbing.

I found that I did predict the revelation of the last chapter fairly early on in the book, but it was one I was pleased to be right about and left me so excited about the next book. I can’t give this the full five stars as I did find the first half a bit too slow, but it wasn’t enough to deter me and I think it was necessary to the story, it set many events in motion even if I didn’t know it at the time. I understand it’s importance but I can’t forget feeling a bit indifferent to picking it up again. But by the end I adored it, so I definitely recommend this to any fantasy fan and as suspected I am dying to read the next one, but will have to settle with starting Malice, and learning about this world as I was supposed to. And looking at the reviews for it, along with now knowing how talented John Gwynne is, I don’t think that is bad thing! I definitely have a new favourite author and I am looking forward to losing myself in the world of the Banished Lands.