I just want to start of by saying that this read was awesome, an absolute gem of fantasy writing and surely to be a contender for best fantasy book of the year. This is my joint favourite read of the year alongside Mike Shackle’s A Fool’s Hope. From the moment I started it, the pages flowed, where one day I found that I had read 40% of the novel throughout the day. I just couldn’t help myself.

The story starts in a very simple yet big way: The emperor is dead! The world is dominated by an ever expanding Empire, who are trying to force their way across the map, pushing their ideals onto everyone around them, whether they want them or not. The Empire is suddenly left without their beloved Emperor, who mysteriously dies and the vacuum is filled with politics, assassination and constant accusations. There are those desperate to preserve tradition and are loyal, others who seem to be sniping for power and others trying to fill the shoes of those before themselves. These elements of the story are largely from the perspective of The General, a man who had served the Empire with pure loyalty, desperately trying to rescue his precious Empire and bring his Emperor’s body back safety. He himself is only trying to preserve tradition, but is thrown into trying to discover who was behind the murder, which is difficult when surrounded by potential suspects. I absolutely loved this character, finding him down to earth and extremely humble.

The second perspective within the book is The Magician, Kyron, who at the start of the story is an apprentice mage, training alongside his master. He finds himself escorting the Emperor’s body back through the dense forests, which are dominated by the tribal people they have fighting. It is through Kyron that we get a brilliantly understanding of the conflict between magic and religion, playing on the ignorance within religion and their attempts at removing anything that questions its own ideals. This made for some fantastic interactions between characters, adding a real depth to the Empire throughout the novel. Matthews also does a great job not over explaining the lore within the world, instead building our understanding alongside that of Kyron’s, as he moves away from regimented understanding through the Empire, to a more broad and questioning take on the world.

My favourite part of this book is the subtly in which the author drops clues, never being too in your face and always causing me to predict at what or who might at play under the surface. Now I know what happens at the end, I can clearly see the bread crumbs Matthew’s had left for me along the way. And it was these hints that kept me wanting more, always wondering if my theories were correct.

The other characters within the book are all equally fantastic, each playing their part brialliantly in the story. One of my favourite characters is Kyron’s tribal guide, who throughout the book adds in the perspective from the tribes. The theme running through the book of forced acquisition was brilliant, and the scenes between the two characters did a stunning job highlighting this side of the story.

Overall, Seven Deaths of an Empire is a brilliant read, the pacing and chapter lengths makes a slightly longer novel seem much shorter, with interesting characters and a plot full of subtle twists. This is easily a must read for the year! I happily gave this book a 5/5!

An excellent book, a goood read with lots of plot twist and turn that keep you interested until the end.

Full disclosure: received an eARC from the publisher. All thoughts are subjective and honest to the best of my abilities.

What a slow burn. Well. Not in the thriller sort of way. But the way the author moved things forward, one step at a time (sometimes literally) it felt like I was moving towards something grand and epic.

It was grand. And epic in a sort of way that's not quite epic. It was the dread you feel when you know something is wrong, that it will go wrong no matter what you do.

And it did.

To begin with, I'd like to say I am a sucker for the character types that are good people, but they will do horrible things to maintain the goodness of the world. That's probably contradictory, but you get it. (Just get it, please.) General Bordan has to be one of the best morally grey characters I've ever come across. I've been moving away from grimdark since a few years because some of the grimdark books don't have rhyme or reason to their grimdarkness. But the author here showed how amazingly you can write a great morally grey character.

In the opening scene of the book, the author somewhat abruptly, but in hindsight, brilliantly sets up the type of book we're going to read. He shows us what kind of man Bordan is. Initially I thought he was a bit of a cunt. But slowly, step by step, page by page, I came to truly appreciate him. And by the end I was more attached to Bordan, the old general, instead of the other main character...

...Kyron, is in my opinion, a bit of a hit and miss.

Initially you'll see him as the young, nervous, and unknown apprentice he is. He's biased. Bit of a xenophobe—hope I'm using the correct term—and generally the type of young character most people find annoying.

But he starts growing on us. And by the end he's cemented as the main character. Not just as another POV, but the character I will want to read about in the eventual sequel.

The worldbuilding is inspired by the Roman Empire. And that's not all good.

It was done great. The author did a seamless and clear job of it. It's just that... Personally I've never enjoyed fantasy books that take heavily from the real world. (one of the reasons I rarely read Viking inspired fantasy books.)

The magic started out great. Basic, not wholly powerful nor weak. With clear—if not clever—drawbacks. But by the end it became a bit hard to follow.

Ah... Now the end, and the antagonist: what the fuck? So we basically have the old run of the mill evil for power's sake villain? That's it? Man, that was a letdown. But I liked the twist that came with it. Proved me wrong the first time this year when reading a book.

Overall, a book that I really enjoyed even if I took a long time.

Good book.

The Seven deaths of an Empire takes place in the lands collectively called as 'The six Kingdoms'. The Empire, one of the six is a rapidly expanding kingdom in the process of conquering 'the forest of the tribes', another of the six in the name of bringing the so called 'savages of the tribes' to civilization. The Empire is obviously inspired by the ancient Roman Empire and the kingdom of the tribes representing the various tribal factions of Germania with who the Roman Empire clashed repeatedly in their conquest of Europe (I think so, please don't, I'm not exactly well versed in that particular subject). The citizens of the Empire follow the doctrines of church of the flame. The flame which symbolises the single deity who will embrace it's followers with warmth and eternally scorching it's enemies (remind you of something?). The emperor possesses an amulet of the flame, which contains the collective knowledge of his predecessors. Backed by this knowledge and the power of the flame, the Empire rightly moves ahead with its "noble" conquest. Surely their advance would be successful right?. Wrong, the emperor dies and now his body must be transported from the front lines of the war to his capital so that his heir could claim the Amulet and succeed him. This is where we meet the two points of view in the book. General Bordan, one the most trusted men of the late emperor must hold the capital city at bay as they react to the death of the emperor while at the same time dealing with the heirs to whom the time has come to bear the responsibilities of the Empire. The other POV is of Kyron an apprentice magician on the warfront, whose master has been chosen to escort the body of the emperor back to the capital. The escort must battle the tribes trying to thwart their return with the body. Along the way Kyron must come to terms with the ideology set by the Empire and the church as he begin to see things in direct contradiction with what he previously belived. Meanwhile at the capital, Bordan senses that there's more going on behind the scenes and that this isn't going to be a trouble free succession. Subsequent events in the palace only make things worse. As the two storylines converge, the pacing picks up exponentially and the book keeps you at the edge of your seat with an explosive (pun intended, if you know you know) conclusion and setting up of the sequel.

The pacing for the first thirty or so percent of the book is quite iffy. The book starts off well but then devolves into a slow trudge. The dual point of view is usually used by authors to keep the story interesting and stop the book from feeling stagnant (unless they've got god tier worldbuilding and character work). This unfortunately doesn't work in this book initially as for some stretches of the story only one character's POV is interesting while the other sort of feels dull. The dual POV works when both are equally or atleast nearly enjoyable. This issue is resolved to an extent once the book picks up the pace. The worldbuilding is interesting, bit we dont get much (close to none) details of th world other than the two main factions at war. There is hope that this is remedied in the sequel. Another issue (this is mostly personal by the way) and is something I've noticed in many characters across many books who have a similar situation to Kyron. The character start with some pre existing ideals, the journey they take makes them question their ideals and they come out as a chaged person. This works well, but most of the time what end's up happening is that the faction or the ideal the character stood behind initially ends ups feeling entirely in the wrong where as the faction the character was initially against are having ideals entirely the right one. This makes the reader choose the second faction without another thought. Wouldn't it be much more interesting if both factions have had holes or flaws in their ideals and the character who is in question undergoes a change to fit the best in both worlds. Only in a few books have I seen this happen and fewer hav I seen it succeed. Mostly it goes quickly to one side or another. With the way the sequel is set-up I hope some of the concept I've mentioned in my mini-rant is explored. I will be looking forward to the sequel.

Also thank you to the publisher Rebellion and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. This does not affect my opinion and my rating of the book

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a great beginning to a new grimdark fantasy series. I have not read main grimdark fantasy books but this one hooked me in right away. It was full of political intrigue, action, magic, and great world-building. It had everything that I love in a fantasy novel.

4.5 stars overall

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion/Solaris for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A grim dark fantasy feat Roman Empire influence.

4.5 stars

Seven Deaths is heavily influenced by Christian Roman Empire. They had similar culture with Romans such as Gladiator and Colosseum. They even had military system replicate from Romans. The Empire in this story worshipped monotheistic religion but they practiced magic. I really favour the themes were political maneuvering, loyalties, betrayals, action, fighting and murders. This has made me invested to this book dearly. As it has political maneuvering, it comes along with treacherous act definitely. The most enjoyable part was one treacherous act is followed by another and this left me shocking, especially 100 last pages.

Another absorbing scene that author highlighted was colonialism and had a debate about "White Man's Burden" where colonizer claimed had sensed to civilize people outside from Empire. Looking to the characters, they were portrayed very well as author managed to bring out their worst and best of them which I did express my feelings to it. I admit that it's a bit dry but still enjoyable to me.

I like how no romance are not involved at all and probably will be budding in the next book. We were only exposed on the early stage 'hatred to each other'. Despite of the book is quite lengthy, it is a justified one.
Really hoping to able read the second book as I am hoping magic system will be expandable, a little touch of romance, more actions, more background about tribes and more wisdom to be learned.

***Will be reviewing in Goodreads separately due to technical error***

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. My sincerest thanks to the publisher and author. :)

Overall this was not a bad book or story though it fell a bit more flat for me personally than probably the average reader will find. The story itself is told well, the plot is a bit par for the course of the genre, from multiple angles and the prose itself is well done.

The setting for this book is incredibly Ancient Roman-esque and is the primary basis for the units, armor, tactics, weaponry etc. It has a bit of magic mixed in. The enemies of the empire are clearly either Gauls or Germanic tribes. There is a bit of late Catholic Inquisition thrown in for good measure and conflict between the Gymnasium of Magic.

This sadly, is where it falls flat for me. If I had known that a lot of this setting had been lifted from the Ancient Roman era I would have given it a pass. I found myself reading it and going "Man I wish I was just reading a historical fiction novel."

My humble point being is that there is too much lifted from that ancient era to really set this novel apart. If it isn't going to be a historical novel I desire a more original world to explore. As it is the bit of magic thrown in along with an Inquisition like church just wasn't enough to make this worth the read as a fantasy in my mind. I felt the author needed to commit, either write a historical novel or create a much more original world setting for his fantasy tale.

As it stands, with one foot firmly in history, the other anchored in fantasy it just ends up getting lost in the shuffle and not excelling at either.

Strong Roman Empire influences throughout, the "tribes" gave off Picts/Celts vibes. There was some strong potential here, and I'd like to see where the series goes, but overall it would probably be 3.5 stars for me. There were some minor grammatical errors, to vs too, but that is a non-issue in an advanced copy for me. There wasn't anything objectively wrong, I just had trouble being excited to keep reading at points. This may be more of a reflection of my personal taste than the quality of the writing.

If you are into Roman influenced fantasy, with a bit of thriller/intrigue mixed in its worth checking out.

It doesn’t happen too often but every now and then you get a book come along that just makes it hard to begin anything else. For me books like A Memory of Light, The Sword of Kaigen, The Burning White and Ruin have left me not reading for weeks or months even. Now days I don’t feel like I have that particular luxury anymore, I want to review books and that means I need to read books which means slumps aren’t allowed to exist. From now on these mental blocks will be laid siege too. Today’s review is on Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.R Matthews and it’s the book that beat that slump, it’s the trebuchet that flattened my mental block. This won’t be my prettiest review and I apologise off the bat because I think the story that GR Matthews wrote deserved a better reader. I struggled to get going with this, and that isn’t down to the book, purely my own mental incompetence.
Thank you to Rosie over at Rebellion Publishing for sending me an ARC of this incredibly beautiful book. I wish all paperbacks looked this good.
The Emperor is dead. Long live the Empire.

General Bordan has a lifetime of duty and sacrifice behind him in the service of the Empire. But with rebellion brewing in the countryside, and assassins, thieves and politicians vying for power in the city, it is all Bordan can do to protect the heir to the throne.

Apprentice Magician Kyron is assigned to the late Emperor’s honour guard escorting his body on the long road back to the capital. Mistrusted and feared by his own people, even a magician’s power may fail when enemies emerge from the forests, for whoever is in control of the Emperor’s body, controls the succession.

Seven lives and seven deaths to seal the fate of the Empire.
Seven Deaths of an Empire is a new epic fantasy series following the stories of Bordan, a general of the Empire and the man ultimately in control of its military, and Kyron, a young apprentice whose job it is to guard the body of the dead Emperor as he’s escorted home after campaigning in the North. Seven Deaths of an Empire is set in a world heavily inspired by our own historical period of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, we are brought into a world were the unstoppable might of the Empire continues to roll out from its capital, swallowing everything as it goes and bringing its own version of civilisation to the Tribes and peoples of the Forests. The Empire is heavily based on the Romans as we knew them, we have its Gladiators and Colosseums, its soldiers carry the same weapons, their armies building the same roads and following the same military strategies on the battlefield, and the Empire following the same tactics that made the Romans one of the most powerful empires in history. Even a lot of the lore we are given seems to mirror our own historical events quite well, the book having a considerable focus on religion that a lot of people theorise is a large part of why the Roman Empire eventually crumbled. The Tribes are a little less of an exact copy but share a lot of similarities with the Gaul and Germanic Tribes that the Romans fought and eventually conquered around 50bc. Even though Matthews has heavily sourced his story and ideas from our own history he has done incredibly well to make this world his own and I found myself loving the setting and changes that were made.
One of my only real criticisms of the book and not even a very large one is I felt we had barely scratched the surface this world that Matthews built. I really enjoyed the magic system that Matthews has built, it reminded me in part between a mixture of life magic similar to what we see in Paolini’s Inheritance Series and the channelling we all know from The Wheel of Time but yet felt new and original in a way. Magic is seen as “motes”, particles that are found in all living things are drawn from around the Magician and then are weaved into complex and fragile webs, Magicians having talents in different areas of magic and stronger Magician’s being able to form more numerous and stronger webs. We saw quite a few uses for this in some inventive ways, webs being built that could detect lies, battle magic and even wards that help preserve a body from rotting. This I felt was a soft magic system, there was no real limitation on what could be done as it seemed to be scaled more from the users own imagination and quick thinking. It definitely also seems like the Empires power starts to decline its knowledge is slipping away with it, I do not believe we’ve fully seen the extent of what can be done, and I can’t wait to see what we might get in the next book.
Only the minute specks of magic remained, passing through and bouncing off all that surrounded him. They were everywhere, in everything, a million tiny flies buzzing past his ears, a billion minuscule stars wheeling around the sky. They called to him and he to them, commanding, cajoling, explaining, demanding, and controlling.
This was magic. This was where he existed.
The Tribes themselves seemed such a massively unspoken part of the story and it led to a lot of frustration, I want to learn so much more about them and the broader world outside of the Empire itself. We do get a little look into one of the villages part way through the book and all it did was flare up my curiosities further. I feel I understood why Matthews decided to leave out so much lore, it seems to mirror the characters ignorance to the world and cultures around them, it means we have to be a part of Kyron’s lack of understanding and learn alongside him as he has the world and truth start to open up to him. So even though I consider it a criticism, I believe it is there for a purpose and will give us a much more exciting book two as we find out a ton of new info. So instead of a criticism, it should be more of a frustration?
Seven Deaths of an Empire is a two person POV story which was right up my alley, alternating chapters between Bordan and Kyron which I loved because it never meant we had long to wait when we had those little end of chapter cliff-hangers that authors love so much. It took me a while to really fall in love with either of these two, this was in part because of the mental blocks Ive previously mentioned, but I also didn’t feel that these two characters were really fleshed out till we really got into the book. Once Matthews got going we ended up getting a lot of depth and complex motivations behind both, Bordan and Kyron both being incredibly well written towards the end with a lot of focus on what drove them to make the choices they make, plenty of situations that left them questioning their beliefs and a lot of tough choices to be made. I ended up invested enormously in both of these characters particularly loved the progression that we saw with Kyron as the book went on, Matthews doing a wonderful job of writing a youngsters naivety to the real world and a realistic look at what happens when you are introduced to things that questions those lifelong beliefs that you’ve held.
Bordan almost took a step back in surprise. There was a heat rising from the young woman’s skill, almost too hot to touch and Bordan could feel the heavy pulse of blood running through her arms. Grief tore at your mind, he knew that, and gave free rein to base emotions. Some raged and spat at the world. They would shout and fight, attack with words those closest to the. Eventually, they would calm, and relation would come crashing down with a hot wave of crushing sadness. Later, they would raise their heads, emotions spent, and carry on, the hole in their heart scarring over but never truly free of the pain.
I may have struggled to be drawn into the two main characters, but I quickly fell in love with Matthews supporting cast, both Bordan and Kyron were surrounded by characters I enjoyed reading about and spent much of the book wishing to see more of them. Emlyn was my favourite character of the entire story and definitely the first character I actually found myself loving, brimming with attitude, and making me laugh out loud at moments, I thought she was incredibly well written, and I feel she will have a much larger role to play in coming books which is a very exciting prospect. I also had some genuine anger and frustrations towards the Royal Family and people such as Livillia, Matthews wrote characters I would struggle not to slap if I stood in the same room as them, and Ive always believed that if an author can make me feel some rage or anger, they’ve done an incredible job.
One thing that really stunned me as the book went on was how beautifully Matthews did with writing the fight scenes, even though battle and bloodshed wasn’t at the forefront of this book the bits we got were thrilling, Matthews has a natural ability to write fights that many authors struggle with. The Roman setting isn’t something new in fantasy and most will have some knowledge on how they fought, but I grew up watching shows like Time Commanders and playing games such as Rome Total War, I love the way ancient civilisations fought and the Romans were geniuses on the battlefield, Matthews managed to transport me into that shield wall, he made me hear the call for heavy Pila’s as they were thrown from the back lines to find purchase in the bodies of my foes, and he set the rhythm to the fight that found us taking that one step forward, grinding away at our enemies bit by bit . I could read Matthews battle scenes every day and be a happy man.
An axe rising into the air, the suns light scattering from its chipped edge. A whisper of air and a cry of effort as a shield met the blow and shattered. Splinters pinwheeling through the air and sudden lack of weight on his arm. Gladius stabbing forward, driven by training and instinct. A gap opening in the line ahead. A soldier falling and stumbling over the injured man, desperate to keep his shield high and sword in tight. Moving into the gap and slamming the shield forward to create room, peering over the top, wary of an attack. Heavy armour and biting pain at the base of your neck where the helmets rim met flesh. Sweat pouring down your face, under your cheek guards, and hot breath burning lungs as each precious gasp powered you forward.
A quick final shoutout to Matthews on his writing, I was a big fan of his prose and writing style in general. His writing was unpretentious and never felt unnecessary, but out of nowhere he would smack you with this beautifully written sentence that struck to your core. I find this sort of writing so much more impactful sometimes because when you get to that incredible prose they are really elevated and give pause. His chapter structure was also something I loved and something I’m always grateful for. I always love a wonderfully short chapter that doesn’t waste any time, they break up the story so well, every page giving you what was needed, when it was needed without that horrible pain you are normally left with at the end of an exciting chapter.
Seven Deaths of an Empire isn’t outrageously different, it isn’t a new take on the fantasy genre, and it isn’t leading the pack in diversity, but it is a superbly written grimdark story and a classic feeling epic fantasy that reminded me of reading authors like Raymond E Feist and David Farland, its exciting at every turn with a wonderfully spun plot that keeps you guessing the entire time and Matthews has written a book that I really hope and believe has opened up a much vaster and even more exciting series to come. I can’t wait for book two, Silencing of the North.

I've been enjoying enough of the diversity of the fantasy novels coming out recently to not begrudge the odd trip into what feels like a very European, indeed very Roman Empire feeling setting. Its not named and the familiarity only comes to you in fits and starts, but its enough to fill out the bits of the world - and the politics - you need. This is an Empire where there is magic, but the Church opposes it but works in tandem with it for the necessity of the ruler. We have an expansionist Empire hemmed in by warring "barbarian" tribes, and a leadership slowly becoming paranoid from the centre. Our protagonists are an old general, the head of the military, and a young magician - all reacting after the Emperor is murdered on the front line of battle and his body needs to be returned to the capitol to pass on the amulet of power (which carries memory as well as ritual significance).

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of the book, not least because I realised the guy who killed a messenger for being a messenger was supposed to be my stoic steady viewpoint character, and this act of cold blooded murder didn't sit all that well with his supposed heroism. It is all shown to be part of intricate courtly politics, but it took a look time to redeem to me and only really when his voice and opinions kept uncovering even worse monsters than him. The young magician was an easier narrator, though actually quite dull for the greater part of the book, surrounded by much more interesting characters. Nevertheless the whole thing is extremely pacy and once it gets into the back and forth of raiding parties, and assassins it was a compelling read. Once you twig the Roman thing too, the direction of travel becomes clear, and whilst the book manages to guard it secrets until the end, a smart reader of the parallels would guess who is responsible.

The first part of what I am guessing is a trilogy, Seven Deaths Of An Empire has a very classic robust shape. The first book is the fall, and the disillusionment that the Empire won't last forever and perhaps shouldn't. Again we perhaps as readers are too savvy to be taken in by the inherent goodness of an all conquering Empire, and the outsider character who gets to snipe in is far too interesting to ignore. But it does manage the difficult trick of trapping its characters in to wholly understandable but poor actions in the finale to set up the future conflict. Its odd - I was normally four or five steps ahead of the book, but the satisfaction was in seeing how it would actually play out (not least when I was wrong or off in places). Its well done rather than ground-breaking, but well done is a pretty good start,

The story is told in a very cool manner as each chapter alternates between two main viewpoints: one the magician's apprentice Kyron, and the other loyal General of the Empire, Bordan. There are also mini-flashbacks that begin each chapter that count down from 10 years prior to a couple of years before the events that are currently taking place. All of this is done for a particular reason and starts to make sense with the overall story as you read further. Frankly, I loved this method of storytelling and it just made the experience that much better in my opinion.

As SEVEN DEATHS OF AN EMPIRE unfolds we see an Empire somewhat in turmoil and uncertainty with the death of the long-reigning Emperor. Stability must be regained at all costs, for the risk of opportunistic enemies who would take advantage of the transition between rulers is both very real and potentially catastrophic. It is incumbent upon the main characters in the story to play their own part in service to the Empire, yet each have their own daunting challenges that confront them. One wields the weapon of magic (albeit raw and untested), while the other uses the force of military might. It is interesting to see the dichotomy between the two play out as tensions rise and danger looms.

This is a book that has a good deal of intrigue and political maneuvering in it, which I am a huge fan of. If done right, it can propel a standard fantasy tale into something much more engaging. And this one is done right. Matthews never spoon-feeds the reader and it seemed like I was always kept on my toes as one treacherous act is followed by another that I didn't see coming. Predictability is a big turn off for me but I'm happy to say that so many things happen in this book that made my jaw drop, especially in the final 100 pages or so.

The aspect that makes this book a cut above your normal fantasy read though is the growing anticipation of something transformative building as you turn the pages. There's a creeping sense of dread as the characters desperately try to hold on to some semblance of the status quo in the face of treachery and setbacks galore. Throw in the fact that many of the factions who are attempting to salvage the Empire don't really trust one another, and the task is an onerous one for sure.

SEVEN DEATHS OF AN EMPIRE is an excellent book that I recommend to anyone who loves their fantasy with loads of intrigue, deception, action, and magic. A fascinating book about what happens when a once powerful Empire shows a brief moment of weakness, and in doing so, exposes its throat to predators both internal and external. This is a fantasy book that pulls no punches and keeps you ensnared in its clutches from start to finish. I can't wait to see what G.R. Matthews comes up with next. The book isn't officially out until June 22nd, but it can be preordered now to be delivered on release day.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I was very excited to read it, and it was one that just didn't live up to the hype for me, unfortunately.

The main characters just didn't connect with me. Kyron, the magician, whined and complained far too much, and even at the end of book had not shown any growth and was still complaining about things being unfair.

The general was a bit better as a character, but it was hard to get to know him.

The plot was quite predictable. I didn't think there were any twists or turns. It was quite formulaic.

The book gets two stars simply because I finished it. However, it was a slog. I felt the pacing was quite slow. It did pick up at the end, which was much better than the beginning and middle of the book. If the ending had been the beginning of the book, I think it might have served to get me engaged.

Fantasy books are, at times, books that I struggle to get in to. Any book that gives me a chapter or two of pure world-building and history to start the book loses my interest as I just want to get on with the story. Build the world as you go, weave it into the story. Too much information about the world at the beginning and I won't remember half of it anyway so it'll be lost on me, so I tend to stick with a select few fantasy authors that I know. No one wants to start a book and be bored straight away. Ones that drip in bits of the world around the story, even if it's someone explaining how magic works later in the book, are the fantasy books that I like. So I'm selective, that is until I had the opportunity to read/review Seven Deaths of an Empire, by G.R. Matthews and Rebellion Publishing imprint Solaris, as something about the description and that beautiful cover (I know, shouldn't judge it by the cover) just screamed at me that I needed to read it - and boy am I glad that I read it!

The story is about seven lives and seven deaths that seal the fate of the Empire. Each chapter switches between the two main characters of the story - General Bordan and the apprentice Magician Kyron. The seven deaths and lives are scattered throughout and shape the Empire and the two characters we follow. The side characters, whether they live or die, all have a part in shaping how the book unfolds.

The two main characters though are General Bordan, a man who has dedicated his life in service of the Empire, in charge of the army and protecting the heir to the throne, and Apprentice Magician Kyron, assigned with escorting the late Emperor's body and his honour guard on the long road back to the capital of the Empire whilst battling tribes in the forests and the priests who hate magicians. Whoever controls the Emperor's body, controls the succession to the throne, so getting the body back to the capital is paramount.

Seven Deaths of an Empire is easily one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. My favourites are books like The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson, and I honestly didn't think I'd find a book that came close to enjoying as much as I do Sanderson's work. There's a lot of Roman influences in the story that is apparent throughout with the use of Roman numerals for each chapter, mentions of gladiators, soldiers using gladius swords, and how the soldiers appear. It's a delight that gives you little nods towards the Romans without actually being Roman. You get introduced to the priesthood, magicians, soldiers, generals, tribes, forest, lore and forbidden magic and the world in general, but not too much. There's definitely plenty of room to expand, but is there a need to when the real joy is how well-balanced everything is? There's politics, action, brutality, humour and sadness. Magic explained enough that you know how it works but still have some questions. You know bits of the history of the Empire, and like our own world it's passed down information so might not be entirely accurate. Everything is expertly delivered with nothing feeling out of place and nothing feeling like filler to add to a word count.

We need to talk about the prince for a moment though. I had Game of Thrones Joffrey level hate for him. A young prince grieving the loss of his dad, by my God was he awful. Get's good advice and just ignores it all and wants everyone to bow down to him and to kill anyone that doesn't conform to his way of thinking. A proper rule by fear would-be Emperor. Granted, things could have gone differently, but he was an awful, scared boy who ultimately just wants to be a strong Emperor.

Throughout the story, it's clear that something is wrong in the Empire - a trailer, someone that wants to be Emperor that isn't in line to gain it. I was pretty sure I knew who was the traitor was, even though I had moments of doubt. I was right, partly, with there still being room for a surprise which was great. I thought I had it all sussed out but did not and looking back there are plenty of reasons why I picked why I knew who it was as well as plenty of reasons to doubt that. But like any good story, it's never that simple and the eventual reveal of what's been going on just made everything fall into place.

There are more surprises though than just who has been trying to take over the Empire. Each chapter starts with a snippet of the past which are easy to follow through to the end, which near the end becomes part of a reveal that I definitely did not see coming. The reveal happens in the main story which is then picked up again in the pre-chapter snippets and suddenly they all make sense.

Overall, it'll take one hell of a book to top this one in 2021. It's a complete story but I'd like to think that the ending has left a door open for a sequel. Even if there's not, I hope that this isn't the last we see of this world that G.R. Matthews has created as there's so much potential here for more. I enjoyed it so much I even went and bought some of his previous books to read.

It took me a while longer to read this book than what I would have hoped, but I do think it's an interesting start to a new series.

I have received this book in exchange of an honest review, thank you to NetGalley and Solaris / Rebellion for the opportunity.

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I'm not very sure if it's because my interests or likes are changing, but I really enjoy books with more than one POV. Being new to the world, I enjoy seeing different aspects and/or familiarizing myself with them alongside the characters as we make our way together which makes me glad that this book has two of them and the best thing about them is that they were not set in the same location.

Even then both of them actually follow different plot-lines before they merge into one, which I thought was an interesting mix and the author's got the required skills to pull it off without making it seem that one is lacking. I have read previous books with multiple point of views where I was hoping one of those point of views will disappear because it was boring to me, which I thankfully didn't experience here.

The General's point of view is based in the capital itself, where I get a closer look at the political side of the court, the major players, a somewhat whodunit mystery and of course a look at the different factions that make up the Empire. The army from one side, the magicians from another and because it's set in a heavily inspired Roman world, the church is also extremely prominent. Couple that with the mystery element here and I'm enjoying the subtlety pointed fingers while I got to build my own assumptions. What made it even more interesting in this regard, is that the mystery was well done. I had a few possible suspects and slowly worked around filtering them the more information became available to me and it's probably the part I enjoyed the most in the book.

On the other hand, the Magician's point of view is more of a journey. This in turn opened the door for me to see completely different things like the magic, the tribes and colonialism. The last point there is a very heavy theme in this part of the book as the Empire started out small and started working it's way absorbing other locations, therefore Kyron gets pulled into these view challenging discussions that I ended up really enjoying.

In this point of view however, I did wish for a couple of things to have a bigger view, the tribes and the magic system. Now that I finished the book, I have a somewhat vague knowledge of how this system works and being the magic loving person that I am, I did wish for a bigger explanation on how it's done and what are the types to name some examples. The tribes as well were a very interesting existence and I hope to see them in a bigger light at some point.

The pacing of the book because of the above hefty collection of discussed things, was a bit on the slow side, but it made the progression feel like a gradual learning curve that is very open to a more thorough continuation which I also ended up liking. I say this because the author may have tied up the plot-lines in a neat way, but he also ended up opening the path to a much darker plot-line moving forward. For that, I can happily say that I have enough knowledge of the world to act as a frame for the details that I couldn't see here, to be added in while reading the sequels.

All of that aside, I did struggle in the beginning 25% or so of the book. The writing is pretty interesting, don't get me wrong, but I just couldn't really commit as quickly as I would have hoped. Later on, I was curious to see where all of this is going to end up while getting caught up on all the elements this book had, but I knew why I couldn't get as hooked as I had hoped and it's because of the characters. Obviously, they weren't bad, otherwise I wouldn't have continued till the end. But there were these nitpicks of mine on several of them that made it hard to care all that much and while they didn't completely disappear, some of them ended up growing on me and by then I was pretty hooked to the plot-line anyway. I literally could not stop thinking about it whenever I wasn't reading.

If there's one thing that G. R. Matthews managed to do to me which I don't recall being done in the same way for a very long time (if not ever), it was to hook me to the plot regardless of what I feel about the characters which is a thing that I almost never get to experience in my reading so thank you for that interesting experience.

All in all, I enjoyed myself in the end, and I do think that this series has a lot of potential, which I really hope I get to see very soon.

Final rating: 3.5/5

The story is told from two different perspectives. First we have the young magician Kyron, who travels with the army to protect the body of the late emperor from the tribes living on the lands they travel through. Kyron is young and because of this a pretty naive character, who we slowly see become a more matured man. The other perspective is that of the old general Boran, who resides in the capital to serve the royal family. Because of his lifetime of experience Boran is a wise, patient man. The contrast between these two characters kept the story very interesting and made me want to keep reading.

The plot surprised me in a good way. In the beginning I thought the story was going to be a straightforward quest, which isn't my favourite, but I was quickly proven wrong by the plot twists. While they weren't the best I've ever seen, they were extremely interesting and added a lot to the story, especially at the end of the book.

The pacing of the book was also really good. The constant switch of perspective after each chapter was easy to get used to and it kept my interest in the story.

The world building was amazing. Since we followed the story from two different settings, we got to know more about the empire itself, but also about all the tribes living in the lands surrounding the empire. The culture of the empire was also fascinating to learn about, and I would love to learn more about it and also about the culture from the tribes. The world is full of political issues, most notably the conflict between the clergy and the magicians, which is present throughout the whole book. All these things combined made the story even more intriguing to read.

I do want to note that the ending wasn't fully satisfactory to me. I believe a sequel to this book is coming, which I would love to read. It would be a shame if this book would remain a standalone.

In conclusion, this was an amazing book, definitely one of the best ones I've read this. If you're into high fantasy, I highly recommend you pick this one up once it comes out on June 22nd!

I wanted to not like this book because I had a really good play on words involving the title of this novel.. But sadly it was pretty awesome. The plot was fast paced and thoughtful at the same time. The action felt real and the character choices did also. My only complaint is the ol show don't tell. I could have done with out some of the pontificating, but that really is a minor issue at best. I'm excited to see what comes next!

Seven Deaths of an Empire is a story of a conquering empire at the peak of its power but the sudden death of the Emperor during a campaign leaves a power vacuum.

The Magician Apprentice Kyron, a naive, young man struggling to find his place in the Empire. He and his master were tasked with overseeing the safe return of the Emperor's body and the amulet to the citadel.

Enter General Bordan, an old man who dedicated his life to serving the royal family. He has a strong sense of honor and duty and he needs to keep the Empire from falling into chaos and protect it from machinations until the body of the emperor and the amulet is safely returned to the citadel and the new Emperor is crowned.

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Seven Deaths of an Empire is a grimdark fantasy based on the Roman Empire. Told in two POVs, switching every chapter between General Bordon and Magician Apprentice Kyron.

This was a refreshing and engaging read, a traditional fantasy for the modern reader. It has political intrigue, betrayals, great battle scenes, and a well-crafted world. This was a political and character-driven story.

It's well written and executed skillfully. The prose is straightforward, clear, and precise. It has a solid and intricate plot. GR Matthews did a great job balancing politics, fantasy, and magic. The plot moved reasonably well.

The characters are complex and realistic. I especially enjoyed seeing Kyron's development. Bordan and Kyron's POV complement each other.

The world-building is top tier and well researched. It's Romanesque with its structure, culture, weapons, the conflict between the Church and the magicians, and the Empire and the tribes. The battle scenes are well written and realistic. The magic system is described well. The hows of it are simple enough to follow and visualize. It's not that powerful but it has its merits.

I do hope this will not be standalone. This is a promising to great fantasy series.

I recommend this for someone who's fed up with all the mainstream fantasy (heh) and would love to try something new.
Thank you Netgalley, GR Matthews, and Rebellion for an opportunity to read this amazing book!

Very cool, and very well written. Can't wait to read others in the series, and by this author. Would tell my friends and family to look out for this book and this author.

I enjoyed this book. Good characterisation and it ket me interested all the way to the end. It's easy to read with clever dialogue and descriptions.

“The desire for revenge can destroy a person or fuel them for a time, but when revenge fulfilled is an empty thing. In the end, it is how we deal with our losses that define and guides our future.”

Seven Deaths of an Empire is a Roman-inspired fantasy set in a world where the empire is actively trying to conquer and control the “barbarians” in the forests. However, due to the sudden passing of the Emporer, the whole empire is struck by uncertainty and fear. This book follows two POVs, Bordan, a general that has gained a reputation of being loyal and skilled through his many years of service, and the apprentice Kyron, who is being trained by his Master Padarn, to become a magician.

G.R. Matthews does a phenomenal job at introducing the reader to the world and its characters. The reader is introduced to a world with a focus on forbidden magic, politics, discrimination and rebellion. Although there is a lot of political manoeuvring, the reader is never left confused. Matthews writing style is very accessible, and the pacing is phenomenal, making the reader feel immersed in this world from the first page. This book reads like a classical fantasy, but the fast pacing and the unexpecting plot twists make this story feel exciting and new.

General Bordan and the apprentice Kyron are great characters, with a lot of depths and complex motivations. Matthews does a terrific job at making the reader feel invested in the character’s story by explaining their thoughts, feelings and giving the reader some insights into these characters past. Moreover, these characters are put through challenging situations, forcing them to act on their intuition and showcase their character. Having the reader follow these two characters, which are different by age, location, and occupation keeps this story fresh throughout the book. Matthews is also analysing some fantastic themes in this book, such as identity, the value of human life and the cost of being loyal.

The world-building is also great. The world is inspired by the Roman empire, which is reflected in the Empire's motivations, how the Roman numerals used at the start of each chapter and the mention of gladiators. The reader is introduced to a priesthood, magicians, soldiers, generals, tribes, forest, lore and forbidden magic. The magic system is based around the weave of motes into constructs but has its limitations and rules, making it feel like a “hard magic” system. My primary “criticism” is that the reader is left wanting to know more about the world, such as the tribes, the magic system and the empire’s history. Although we learn about these aspects, the reader does not get extensive knowledge about this, and the reader is left wondering what else there is to discover in this world (which can be a good thing!). Hopefully, we will learn more about this world in the sequel.

In conclusion, Seven Deaths of an Empire is a classical fantasy with fantastic pacing, memorable characters and satisfying plot twists. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. If you are looking for something new to the fantasy genre, I wouldn’t recommend this book. However, if you are looking for a classical fantasy, done well, then I can highly recommend this book. Although this is a thick book, it didn’t feel long or drawn out. I will definitely be continuing with this series. My only ‘criticism’ is the lack of explanation about the tribes, the lore and the magic system. Hopefully, we will learn more about these aspects in the sequel.

4.25 / 5 stars

Thanks to Rebellion Publishing and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.