I found Seventh Decimate an average book for me. I found it hard to follow with the various point of view changes and characters. It was written well but I still found it quite hard to follow and get along with.

This was a real let down.
A real disappointment with bland characters and a slow story.
I could go on but I will stop there.
Do not bother with this.

The book box very hard to read and it was hard to get invested in the characters. I really liked the premise, though. I enjoyed the brilliant writing style and the fast pace of the novel, but the characters came a bit too short.. Iiked how was wasn't glorified but rather shown as the destruction it can be for whole generations and nations.. Still, prince benifat was especially a character I couldn't learn to like. too stubborn, too proud and unwilling to learn from his mistakes, it was hard to read about a character I started to hate.

*** Disclosure: I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***
I haven't previously read any of Donaldson's work, though my Dad's unwieldy omnibus edition of the First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever has been in my pile for some time now.

The storyline follows Prince Bifalt journeying to find the sorcery that can undo his country's current plight (they appear to have lost all magical abilities, key to staying in their generations old battle with neighbours). It starts off in the moments before battle, with the prince teaching his comrades about the history of the battle in a very hard to believe section of "here's the backstory but isn't it good that I wove it into the dialogue". We are introduced to his brothers at arms and each of their quirks and peccadillos, which turns out to be a waste as they pretty much all die within the next 100 pages, whether they like horses or are womanisers or not.

The opening action is very gripping and filled me with hope for the book to follow, as Bifalt and his companions lead a special mission to assassinate the enemy's sorcerers with their previously unreleased rifles.

Thereafter the action pretty much dries up. What follows on Bifalt's quest is a nonsense 200 pages of journey through the back country with a thoroughly detestable character who suspects everyone except those who actually have a reason to be his enemy.

After days in the desert, he meets a nonsensical caravan of misfits that he manages to ostracise himself from by being himself.

What follows is a tedious nonsense of journey, discussion, treachery, intrigue and just general nonsense.

Donaldson has an annoying habit of occasionally following a line of dialogue with "What he meant was" to show what the prince is actually trying to ask but didn't. This gets very annoying very quickly.

The conclusion of the story can only be described as relief that it is over, no great revelations, no climactic sequence or discovery, just "that's that sorted then now send to publishers".

Having recently read a number of fantasy books told from numerous viewpoints and covering really epic storylines, to come to such a linear, one dimensional tossed away story as this from someone who is supposed to be one of the greats of the genre, it really was an incredible disappointment.

I shan't be reading the second or third books of the trilogy, and Thomas Covenant has just slipped down my pile a bit.

I went back and forth with my feelings on this book. It tells the story of a quest to find the book 'Seventh Decimate' by Prince Bifalt in an effort to save his kingdom from their enemies. So far, so standard in terms of epic fantasy, which was a bit of a surprise coming from Donaldson, who has a reputation as a trailblazer of the genre. I found some of the prose really clunky and there is an awful lot of exposition in the early part of the narrative. I also found a lot of the plot turns really predictable, to the extent where I was getting really angry with the protagonist for not seeing the obvious. Despite all of this, however, I cannot deny that I really enjoyed this book! The idea of the Last Repository for a book nerd like myself is just a wonder and I found myself being swept up in the excitement of the journey, the battles and the strange people met along the way. So, this book doesn't do anything new or different from many other epic fantasy offerings, but it does hit all the right notes and takes the reader to a pretty intriguing new realm.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Before I picked up a copy of Seventh Decimate I hadn't read a Stephen Donaldson book since I was a teenager and had no idea what I was going to be stepping into with him 20 years later but what I got was a stark reminder of what a genuinely phenomenal author Donaldson is.

I have read some rather mixed reviews of Seventh Decimate but I must say that thoroughly enjoyed the read. I found the world building and magical system to be well thought out and developed, the characters were interesting (yes, I do agree with other readers that Prince Bifalt isn't the most likeable young man, but hey some people in life truly aren't likeable be can still end up being heroic given the chance!) even if many of them had a limited life span on the page. The pace of the book has a good and fast paced flow to it which kept the story moving a a pace and keeps things very interesting for the reader.

Personally I think the most interesting point about the whole book was the in-built and inherited prejudices that the characters from each of the warring nations felt for each other, prejudices that have come down through the generations regarding the long war and their opponents, each side is left feeling justified in the reasons for war whether these reasons be right or wrong and it just goes to show how these things can grow uncontrollably to the point that no-one even knows the truth of how these feelings even began in the first place.

All in all, I felt that this was a wonderful read and I will be there waiting for the next book in the series as it has reminded me of why I loved the Thomas Covenant books all those years ago (and why I MUST finish reading them all!). It was well structured and felt realistic, I was engaged throughout and never bored. If you want a fast paced and exciting read that is one to try for certain.

Would I recommend it to others? Well, yes I would as I loved it regardless of the many other views on the book out there!

SEVENTH DECIMATE

November 16, 2017 · by Lorne Anderson · in Books · 1 Comment ·Edit

In Stephen R. Donaldson’s latest novel, there are six “decimates,” supernatural powers that can be used for good or evil. The sorcerers of Amika and Belleger have employed their decimates for centuries in a war that is unending. Both sides are looking for something that will give them an edge, deliver victory and bring peace. Negotiated settlement is not an option.cover122440-medium

When the sorcerers of Belleger are rendered powerless overnight, there is great fear in the land. The country is now defenceless, except for rifles, something Amika has yet to develop. But the number of rifles is limited, and without sorcery no more can be made. The final attack could come at any time.

Faced with this dire predicament, Prince Bifalt, heir to the throne, sets out with a group of companions to search for the fabled Last Repository of the sorcerers. There he hopes to find a book, Seventh Decimate, which will contain the information necessary to restore power to Belleger’s sorcerers, and deprive their Amikan counterparts of their supernatural abilities.

Bifalt should already be dead, having been struck by lightning in a clash two years previously. Some miracle saved his life, for a purpose he does not yet know. What he does know is that he has a destiny. He hates sorcery and what it has done to his country. If he could he would end sorcery and sorcerers and live in peace, though admittedly he does not know what peace would look like.

Seventh Decimate, is yet another gripping fantasy tale from a master writer, one I first discovered almost thirty years ago when a friend recommended Lord Foul’s Bane, the first in the tales of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever. When I read that novel, I marvelled at Donaldson’s story-telling and his obvious love for the English language. With this new book I am pleased to say that nothing has changed: the man still knows how to tell a story that draws you into it, with characters that are believably flawed.

I am sure there are those looking for deeper meaning in Donaldson’s work. Yes, this is a fantasy, but is it also an allegorical tale? What are we to make of two countries that have been waging war for so long that the origins of the conflict are unclear? How do we demonize our enemies so that we see them as less than human? Are there parallels to be drawn between the societies found in these pages and our society in the early 21st century? Thank you for asking those questions, but I can’t provide the answers. I read this book for entertainment. Let someone else provide academic analysis.

My only real complaint is that Stephen R. Donaldson has a penchant for writing series. This is Book One in The Great God’s War. The story stands on its own, a tale of friendship and loyalty with an epic quest. Yes, there is more to the story, but that will have to wait until the next volume comes out.

As an entertaining tale Seventh Decimate works. That’s what matters most.



Review copy was provided courtesy of Orion Publishing Group.

Firstly, this is a quick read at only 307 pages hardcover. Maybe it just felt quicker because I had just ploughed my way through the Odyssey that was Those Above so anything (including the actual Odyssey) would feel like a quick read. Even so, this isn’t a lengthy fantasy novel which may be why I enjoyed it, there wasn’t time for me to get bored or to put the book down and moon over reading something else.

There are some fascinating elements and ideas explored in this story. I loved the idea of a world where they have guns, but it’s a finite number, stuck somewhere along in technological development. It was also interesting to look at how a society might react to having magic and then losing it – even though they didn’t seem to like it very much to begin with.

There are also some great moments of writing in this, I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the desert which left me needing to go and get a glass of water they were so evocative. I’m also always here for descriptions of libraries in fantasy worlds, I have yet to find one I didn’t like. (Never met a library I didn’t like).

Having said that I enjoyed the length of this book, my main critique is actually the lack of world building. I didn’t need a lot more detail to help me to fully immerse in this story but there were just a few things missing. I didn’t get a sense of the size of the land the characters were crossing, I didn’t have a feel for the clothing, the culture, the small things that can make a big difference. I’m not saying this should have gone to Those Above levels of detail (because please no) but just a few tweaks here and there and I would have had a better sense of the setting. I suspect we’ll get more of this in the coming books in the series so I’ll be keeping an eye out.

I rarely foray into adult fantasy, much preferring YA, but this was a truly enjoyable quick read. I will be interested to see who else picks up this series and what they think of it.

My rating: 3/5 stars

I received a digital Advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Prince Bifalt must be one of the most unpleasant main characters in a book that I have read in quite a while. He is 'belligerent' to say the least (see what I did there? I don't think this character trait is a coincidence, by any means. The name of his country is Belliger).
Bifalt is on a quest to find the Seventh Decimate - a type of magic which he believes has nullified the magic of the theurgists (magicians) in his country, Belliger. He believes that his country's opponents, the detested Amikans, are responsible for this.
So off Bifalt goes on his quest with his merry band of men, making an inordinately huge amount of mistakes at every turn. I have to admit that I really struggled with the first half of this book. I really didn't warm to Bifalt at all: in fact, at no point in this book did I warm towards Bifalt. It's a good story though. There's loads of action, it's really descriptive and well written. I don't know whether I ever really liked Bifalt, but I think I got used to him, and the other characters were really interesting - his fellow 'Questers' were likeable and the people he met on the way were mysterious and interesting.
I'd recommend this book to those that enjoy fantasy with this type of world building, but if you don't already like this genre, I do think that you would struggle to finish it.
I would be very interested in reading how this story progresses, though, and I shall be keeping an eye out for the next book.

The reader is likely to have certain expectations when it comes to Stephen Donaldson embarking on a new fantasy series. Some of them are met in Seventh Decimate, the first book of The Great God's War, and some are not. For others we'll have to just have to wait until the series really gets going, because Seventh Decimate has all the appearances of an introduction to a fantasy world that is going to get a lot bigger with a lot more complex moral questions to be resolved.

As an opening book, Seventh Decimate certainly starts off in a fairly straightforward and conventional manner, but a more expansive view is hinted at, and it might even be the whole purpose of the author's latest reworking of fantasy genre. We begin in a familiar and basic warring kingdoms setting, where there are (initially at least) only two kingdoms in conflict; Belleger in the south and Amika to the north. An old enmity exists based on an ancient and unreliable legend, and the result has been endless battles, skirmishes or "hells" between the two halves of a divided nation.

In this fantasy world, both sides have recourse to sorcery. Magisters practice the art of theurgy which permits them to control one of the six Decimates (fire, wind, pestilence, earthquakes, drought, lightning), but Belleger have recently acquired the knowledge (from ancient texts) to build rifles. No fan of sorcery, Prince Bifalt of Belleger, son of King Abbator, takes the rifles to use against the Magisters in their latest battle, but is killed in the process. Somehow however he recovers and finds that Belleger no longer have the power of theurgy.

Not only does this leave them open to finally being overrun by the barbaric Amika, but without these powers manufacturing, agriculture and even the forging of rifles becomes a problem and the kingdom will likely perish. One old Belleger Magister however recalls that he has heard about a seventh Decimate that has the property of ending sorcery, and it appears that this has been used against them by the Amika. The secret of the seventh Decimate is said to be found in an ancient book in a library in the unknown lands of the East, so Prince Bifalt sets out on a quest to unexplored lands in search of an ancient spell that might save his nation.

It's very much a case of so far so familiar. Bifalt even appears to be a flawed hero in the Thomas Covenant mould, a reluctant wielder of power (having survived death and appearing to have been chosen by a voice from on high) who proves to be prone to making basic strategic mistakes in his quest. As Bifalt and the few surviving members of his team venture into the unknown deserts to the East however, a much wider view of this world starts to form, and it's one that, unusually for a fantasy novel, even seems to have some real-world commentary.

Where Seventh Decimate departs from the conventional path is in how Donaldson seems to be prepared to challenge the basic rules of the fantasy novel. Why should kingdoms be perpetually at war? What rationale can permit it? Other than perspective, who determines one side to be good and the other evil, when both have shown themselves capable of committing war atrocities? Why does Bifalt believe that one side only should have access to weapons of mass destruction and seek to deprive another nation of wanting to possess them to protect their own people?

It's too early to draw any real-world parallels from this or imagine where subsequent books might go - a pacifist fantasy series? - but on its own terms Seventh Decimate is a very promising start to a new Stephen Donaldson series that seems to have ambitions to play within the genre, but also look beyond it. The writing is as ever beautifully lucid and free from the usual stilted dialogue. The creation of a more colourful eastern kingdom with a greater variety of races, belief systems and cultural ideas beyond the insular perspective of the Belleger/Amika sorcery wars is perhaps not anything new (at this stage), but it does lend further colour to the book and suggest that there is a much wider world and much more to explore in The Great God's War.

I have never read anything from Stephen Donaldson before but the description and the cover made me very interested. This is the first book in a trilogy and I found it just okay.

The realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war so long that they cannot even remember what started the fighting in the first place. They have been at a stalemate although Belleger has developed a weapon that might give them an edge against the Amika sorcerers. Suddenly, powerful magic called the Seventh Decimate has been invoked which strips sorcerers in Belleger of their powers. Prince Bifalt, eldest son of Belleger's king, is sent on a quest to find a mythical library that holds the book of the Seventh Decimate in order to use it on Amika and restore his realm's magic in order to finally defeat his enemies.

I would have liked to see more world building but I understand why we didn't get much. The story is told from Prince Bifalt's point of view and his entire life has been spent in Belleger or fighting Amika. The quest takes them across the desert and towards the mountains but I didn't think that we got much in terms of a feel for the world other than it is much bigger than the prince realizes. There was enough action, some twists and interesting developments to keep the plot moving along. The ending sets up some interesting scenarios for future books. However, I found it difficult to keep reading this book for one reason: Prince Bifalt as a character.

The prince is not a likeable character. I found him to be stupidly stubborn, slow to learn from his mistakes and clueless to events happening around him, specifically towards the end of the book. His intense hatred of the Amikan kingdom definitely clouds his judgment and his thoughts (he constantly is chewing on this cheek from frustration which got annoying). Even when presented with new information that changes his situation, Bifalt continues down his original path to get the book, use it to defeat Amika and then destroy all sorcery because he doesn't like it. This wasn't the longest epic fantasy book but I was hoping for some change in his character...but it didn't come.

I'm interested in the world and the events that are set up at the end of the book to pick up book 2. I am hoping that Bifalt grows up a little in the meantime.

In many respects there are similarities between the lead character of this book and another of the author’s creations, Thomas Covenant. He is a man of strong beliefs who is stubbornly committed to following through on a path he believes to be right despite any and all evidence to the contrary. This belief is so absolute that to fall from that path would undermine all he believes himself to be. Compromise, where it occurs, is justified in terms of the goal. Where he differs from Thomas Covenant is that the lead character’s beliefs are outward focussed, his goal is the defence of his country even to the risk of his own existence and of those around him; Thomas Covenant’s goal was one of self-defence. Both are martyrs of their own making and it is for the reader to judge as to which is the most heroic.

As with all other books written by the author, the world building is highly credible and provides atmosphere as well as context to the story. Characterisation is strong but there is as yet no stable core of characters apart from the lead character. Secondary characters are coherent as personalities but do not carry the plot. What is apparent is that as the central character learns more about himself and the world around him, other characters gain in importance and are richer as a consequence. It is to be hoped that this development will continue in later books in the series.

The story is one that holds the reader’s attention. There is action throughout with subtle development of tension that maintains the pace of the read. The plot is coherent themes are followed through to conclusion or are revisited throughout.

The ending was predictable, but then as it was approached the lead character could also see it coming. As such the manipulation became a part of the plot to allow for the next book in the series that leaves the reader with the appropriate sense of anticipation.

The author is very good at creating anti-heroes as a product of their background and knowledge, with personal development resulting in change. It is this growth, for good or ill that holds the reader, we want to know the nature of the evolution and how it impacts those around him. As such, whilst the lead character remains conflicted at the end of the book, the reader still wants to learn more. As such the next book in the series will be welcomed.

Though it was well written, this book felt too log to me, like it was trying to replicate a saga but fell short of its goal. Prince Bifalt of Bellegerin is sent on a quest by his father to try to find the Seventh Decimate, a book detailing magic that may help Bellegerin win the war they’ve been fighting for generations against their northern neighbors, the Amikans. The prince and his team lose many along the way, are betrayed and used, and learn how big the world is, that it’s not limited to just the two countries they thought were the only in existence. The prince is hard to like. I like that he’s honest with himself- he admits inwardly that he’s just a soldier and doesn’t have the head for politics or niceties. But he’s very rough around the edges, quick to anger, limited by his narrow view of the world, and bitter over the world and the power that magisters (sorcerers) hold over the rest. Like I said, well written enough, but it wasn’t imaginative enough to keep my interest.

The Seventh Decimate may seem like your typical traditional fantasy quest where a band of heroes travel the dangerous unknown in pursuit of an all-powerful item (in this case a book) that will ultimately save the day.

However, Stephen R. Donaldson has intentionally subverted these traditional elements of the genre to create a dark world infested with both physical and spiritual desolation. Similarly, our main protagonist, the so-called "hero" of the story, is Prince Bifalt, a rancorous man blinded by hatred and pettiness. A man constantly chewing the inside of his cheek in order to prevent himself from spewing vile utterances to all and sundry.

This is precisely the crux of the problem with this novel - a wholly unlikeable, if not hateful, main protagonist makes it extremely difficult to be invested in the story. The tension of the plot is further deflated by the fact that no matter how dire his situation seems, he is essentially unkillable.

The Seventh Decimate had great potential to be a strong foundation for a promising new fantasy series by an acclaimed author, but it is irrevocably marred by its irredeemable main protagonist who inhabits a nihilistic world where, despite there being a patently clear path to peace, the majority of the characters (completely blinded by propaganda and prejudice) are hell-bent on annihilation.