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.

—

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.

A great grimdark fantasy with Roman undercurrents, what more could a man want?

Seven Deaths of an Empire is not a quick read, though the plot does have a fair amount of pace for a chunky book. The world is well drawn out, I could picture it without having to refer to the map at the front. The characters too are well rounded, the two POV's have their flaws and drawbacks, one being the limitation of age, the other the inexperience of youth.

The plot itself is simple enough to follow: the emperor has died in the far north on campaign, in the company of the soldiers charged with bringing his body home is a young magician, Kyron. In the city at the heart of the empire to the south is the General Bordan, and whilst the magician must battle the wild northern tribes and fight to stay alive, Bordan must weave the honeycomb alleys of imperial politics, and hope he doesn't reach a dead end.

There are many other side characters, each bringing their own personality to the party. The magic system is described well, and the ending brings a brilliant little twist a lot of readers won't see coming.

This is a workmanlike fantasy, competently put together, but which did not grab my attention.

The background of the book is an empire very like the Romans, and with an incursion into northern woods which brings to mind the invasion of Germania. The descriptions of various skirmishes and battles are well communicated, so you can follow what′s going on, and get the impact of fighting.

There are two voices within the book, the older General and the young Magician and we find out how they are connected as the book progresses. I found the General′s parts more interesting to read. The seven deaths that give the book its title do not stand out particularly. I think if the book was divided into parts with the name of the dead person as the title of the part, it might give the book a better pace. (Although some of the deaths perhaps come a bit too close together to make this work.)

I think I was able to work out who was behind the plot(s) too soon in the book, so I was not reading on eager to find out what would happen. It′s certainly not a badly written book, and I think somebody else might read it and it would just hit their sweet spot of empires and magic.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley

Well, I can recommend this book to any fantasy reader that likes battle, magic and intrigue. Matthews wrote a good book with an interesting plot, a good mix of action and dialogue with just enough new information every time to keep you interested.
I also liked how he managed to show the tension between church, magic and army while making it possible to understand where each was coming from. Kyrion was an interesting main character and I cannot wait to see what will happen next now that he has to decide which path to take in life. You see him grow from unsure, and frankly, childish apprentice into a more powerful magician. Now the question remains what is he going to do with that power and how will the events in the empire evolve? All side characters were great too, each with their own distinct personality and I applaud any writer not choosing the easy way out just so the reader will be left feeling good.

***An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review ***

The opening scenes and intro to the main characters failed to hook me or hold my interest so I gave up reading this book after 30 pages.
I'm a fan of historical fiction combined with fantasy such as Outlander and Vikings. I loved the Game of Thrones series.
I thought I would enjoy reading this particular book because it got so many good reviews from other readers, but I was disappointed with the slow-moving opening events and familiar character types from so many other similar stories.

That was really epic!! The story was awesome, we felt the stake of it all and we felt invest into it as a reader! The characters were well develop and most of them didn't fall into the clichés or tropes. Very well done for a newcomer, I least I think Matthews one! I recommend it!

This book was ok. I had much too high expectations, after seeing glowing reviews from Mark Lawrence and a few other authors. I didn't really like the young magician, his one mode of communication was complaining. I liked the aging general but I don't understand why he had to kill the messenger to gain one day of silence. He couldn't be confined for one single day, he had to be killed? That set me up to dislike the general too. I was happy when the wretched royal family started getting killed off though. After slogging through their ridiculous behavior I was glad there would be seven deaths. It was tedious reading, since nothing felt original. Twice Kyron explains gladiators to Emlyn. I had bigger expectations from Emlyn too, given the big shout-out the author gave to "the Emlyns". From the constant naming of weaponry and armor, woad paint, and other vocabulary, I presume this is an alternate Roman Empire expansion into the UK. I'm kind of just glad to be through with this one so I move on to something interesting. I think this book just wasn't for me, since it's getting high praise elsewhere.

This was a very interesting read for me overall. The plot seemed sort of straightforward at first but then as it went along I started wondering when the twists would happen. There were twists that I did not see coming and that was great although somethings I predicted did happen while some didn't.
The story centers around two main characters and those they interact with. Kyron and Bordan each serve the Empire but in different capacities. Kyron is relatively new to his service it seems and the Bordan as the General has served most of his life. Through these two we how they choose duty and service before almost everything.. I found myself really liking Bordan for his strength of character but he was not a perfect person. Kyron is a young man who is struggling to find out how he fits in the Empire. He is still learning and open to learning new things unlike the priests who hate magic and those who use it. The religion is not something that I really paid that great attention to but there doesn't appear to be a god but rather an abstract idea of some type of force. Most of the priests seem to be fanatics or heading towards that direction. I could see them as part of the Inquisition easily. The world seemed based off of the Roman Empire. There are no gods mentioned at all just worship of the Flame. There doesn't seem to be anything like a Senate but just the Emperor and his council that control everything.
The magic and combat were both good as well. The magic isn't all powerful but still able to do quite a bit of damage. The combat was thought out and written well I thought. The magic of the tribes wasn't gone into any detail but they seem to have magic users as powerful as those in the Empire perhaps but they use and see magic in different ways. At the end of the book I was already thinking about what may or could happen in the next book. I think this was a three and half stars for me but averaged it out to four stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book.

A fantastic fantasy adventure for all tastes.

I mostly read social commentary pieces, but I enjoyed this publisher's other title so had to give this a go and I'm glad I did.

The mash up of traditional fantasy story with ancient Roman influence was wonderful, and the strong characterisation of the General was perfection. I wasn't overly keen on the magician, but I think that's a credit to the author as the arrogance of his youth was grating at times! His female companion was fantastic however and I can't wait to read more about her.
The seven deaths were played out well, but the last one was absolutely fantastic.

A great page turner.

Update 23/03

I've been going back over my reviews and feel I was wrong on this.
I've upped this to a 3 star. I found myself thinking about the story even though I DNF so I went and read the rest. I enjoyed it. Still dry in places but the attention to detail was excellent.

Original review
This was a DNF for me. I found the plot predictable (and skipped ahead to the last 10% to confirm suspicions of family ties). The writing and prose both dry.
It wasn't quite the chosen one trope but the young magician was close and I've read enough fantasy like that to know I want (and expect) more in today's day and age.

Minor spoiler included, not for the plot, but the timeline of the book

The death of an Emperor, and the machinations that will always follow such an event as all those with a vested interest vie for the position that they feel they deserve.

I love the sharp prose in this, there's no wasted words, every scene advances the plot without giving too much away, and while there's two perspectives throughout, each tells a story that holds without requirement of interlacing with the other, even though they are interlaced, and intimately so.

The magic is well thought out, which is excellent, given that one side of the novel is for The General, an older man seeing perhaps the end of the life where he still serves a purpose, and the other side is for The Magician, a younger man just starting out on the path of life, with all the uncertainties that youth brings, particularly in an unfamiliar world where he seeks to master powers beyond his comprehension.. The battles aren't over described, the same economy of words used throughout the book allowing tight and precise fights that get to the point (literally) without weighing down the narrative.

I liked the story, and would like to see what happens next, but as mentioned at the beginning of the review, I do have an issue with the timeline of the book . This is a complete story, but throughout the book, the chapters refer to the time in which they are set, not with a year, but indicating "Ten years before," or something similar. In and of itself, this wouldn't normally be a problem, but the last chapter is "Two years ago." which makes the entire of the book a prelude to what's going on right now, a time that we never reach in this book. It shouldn't have affected my enjoyment of the book, and certainly, while reading it, I was very much looking forwards to finding out what was happening in the present day, presuming that the last chapter would be something along the lines of "And here we are..."

But it wasn't.

I like the world, I like the characters, I just want to know what's actually going on with them now. It may be an irrational twitch on my part, and if it hadn't been told as events that came before the now, I'd have had no issue.

I will be reading the next book, but if we still haven't reached the present day by the end of it, that might be as far as I get with it.

"The hardest truth is the realization that sometimes there is nothing you can do"

Seven Deaths of an Empire is a tale about the turmoil that succession of power can lead to. The book takes place in an Empire heavily influenced by the Romans. The titular Empire is in a long-lasting conflict with the tribes surrounding its borders and one of the military campaigns leads to the death of the old Emperor. The novel focuses on people having to pick up the pieces after such an event happens. The book is divided between two protagonists: The General who has faithfully served the old Emperor his entire life and The Magician who is just beginning to grasp the extent of his powers.

"A sword might end a single life, but a word can lead to the death of thousands"

General Bordan has to keep The Empire from dissolving into chaos during the power vacuum until the new Emperor is crowned. He has to deal with plotting dukes, rebelling crowds and a reckless crown prince who is not handling the situation very competently. It is up to Bordan to ensure The Empire remains strong while an entirely different mission is underway.

The Magician Kyron is an apprentice to a powerful mage and has the task of protecting the old Emperor's dead body and escorting it back to The Empire from behind enemy lines. On the journey back he has to deal with bloodthirsty natives and zealotry priests who treat magicians as abominations of the natural order.

"Fire cleansed, the priests taught, but Kyron now saw the truth, heard it in those screams. It burned. It destroyed. Lumos of charred meat, scorched store, night dark charcoal wood, the residue it left behind was a husk of all it had once been. Smoke rose upon the air, spreading the pollution, the reach of the fire, to everyone and everything, tainting with its touch.
It was not holy to be cleansed, to be cremated, it was destruction. It was not a new beginning: it was the end.
Fire did not create, it consumed."

I had a great time reading this book and it was thoroughly entertaining all the way through. The pacing is quite fast and the chapters rather short. Structurally the PoVs alternate every chapter which worked really well for the story. It was easy to get in the "One more chapter" mindset. The plot was gripping and offered plenty of action alongside some mystery and even a few emotional gut-punches. I liked the way the novel tackled the juxtaposition of progressiveness and tradition. We saw the cultured Empire slowly dismantle the traditional lifestyles of the tribal community in favour of a progressive lifestyle. At the same time, The Empire faced a problem where their religious faction relied on tradition to weed out the magicians who were originally a huge part of the Empires own progressiveness.

I was happy with the overall experience and I do strongly recommend it although it does come with a small caveat. The author has said that the novel is a complete story but has a sequel written. The sequel is currently at the agent but it isn't completely clear how many books are actually going to be released. This is where the caveat comes into play: I do not believe that it is a completed story. It works really well as a part of a series and it feels like it is designed this way from the start. Having it remain a standalone would hurt the experience and there is a lot of potential to be tapped. I really do wish to see more of this world!

There's a lot to like here: intricate world building, a varied cast of characters and a relatively fresh storyline (young magician and old soldier alternating POVs on the downfall of the empire).
I felt that we lost the way in the middle. This was a looooong novel and I was getting fed up with the battle scenes and angsty magician bits seeing his dead family in another dream/realm. I get we might be foreshadowing, but it didn't seem to fit the narrative.
The writing is solid, but it's just average in my mind. I enjoyed it but 2.5 rounded up to 3 to be kind

An ARC of this book was generously provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity!

So this follows a conquering empire at the height of its power but troubled with internal and external conflict.

The author switches point of view between the general in the imperial capital and the magician in the unconquered northern lands. Both characters arc are distinct but throughout the story both arcs come together quite nicely. I do wish we could have had more interactions between the two.

The world building was very well done and quite original for a fantasy book. The empire itself is very Roman Empire inspired, at the time of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty but with the monotheistic (Christian inspired) religion, and also magicians. I did like the gender equality in all level of society including the highest office of the Empire.
The northern tribes depicted was more Roman British/Germanic barbarians inspired. I wish we had spend more time getting to know that culture, or having a main character with a pint of view would have been interesting.


The author’s writing style was really good, the prose was clear and precise it was really enjoyable to read.
The plot itself moved quickly, there wasn’t a moment when it dragged and there was enough twists and turns to get through it without feeling bored.

In terms of the characters, I feel they could have used more polish, because even if they were all grey characters some of their reactions were puzzling or even frustrating, like for example they’d go from being angry to calm to irritating a bit too quickly.

There was also some repetitions that could have been avoided, like one of the characters gets explained what the colosseum and gladiators are by the same character in two different moments in the book.

The ending was very grimdark, and I do hope we’ll see more of how two of the characters will continue after what happened.

All in all this was a very good read and I’ll probably check out other books in this series!

I was expecting a lot of action in this book, but the story starts out quite slowly and follows a dangerously journey through hostile lands. The story follows two main characters, a magician and the general of the army.

Most of the story of the magician is about the journey and I kept waiting for them to reach their destination. Once I accepted the journey was a large part of the story I started to enjoy more. Good and evil is not simple and our young protagonist slowly realises things are not so black and white, as he gets to know the guide from the tribes.

The General POV chapters follow multiple murders and trying to ascertain who is behind those murders.

I found the story of the emperors very interesting and I would be like to delve a bit more into the backstory of the empire and would be interested to read further in the story if there are later books released. I believe the ending definitely makes it possible for the story to continue further.

Overall 4 star rating and I would recommend if you're looking for a fantasy that focuses on the journey of the protagonist, with mystery, murder and politics thrown in.

Seven Deaths of an Empire was better than I was expecting. It looked interesting enough on Netgalley but once I actually started it, I found it to be a very compelling story.

The action follows two people, the General, Bodan and the Magician, Kyron. Ok, so Kyron is actually an apprentice but putting magician sounds more epic. The action is set in a Roman Empire inspired world and the Emperor has just been killed. Before the next Emperor can be crowned, his body has to be returned to the Capital so that the new Emperor can take in the centuries of memories of their predecessors and the dead Emperor can be returned to the Flame. Kyron and his Master are tasked with returning the body while Bodan tries to keep the new Emperor in line while also investigating several assassinations because it looks like someone is trying to intercept the body and claim the throne for themselves.

Seven Deaths of and Empire has a very interesting story. As well as the story about the new Emperor, there is also a thread about the conflict between the Church and the Magicians and the tensions between the Empire and the tribes it has conquered. All of these plot threads work well together and by the end of the book they have become inextricably linked together. It doesn’t feel like there’s too much going on even though there is a lot happening.

I enjoyed reading both of the POV characters even though they could be frustrating at times. Bodan is a good man but his loyalty leads him to do questionable things even in the face of death and Kyron could be irritatingly naïve at times but one the whole they were very interesting to read and carried the book well. The minor characters, for the most part, were also enjoyable, Emlyn being the best. Alhard and his sister, Aelia, seem to be cut from the same cloth in that they’re both bratty and come across as seemingly insane.

I very much enjoyed Seven Deaths of an Empire. The plot is solid and there are several twists and turns so a lot happened that I didn’t expect which was good to read. The characters are interesting enough and the world is very well realised. You can understand the views of the people oppressed by the Empire and why they aren’t happy but Matthews doesn’t make it a clear cut good tribes vs. evil empire because it is pointed out several times during the story that the Empire has done a lot of good. On the other hand, they’ve also done a lot of bad. It isn’t a perfect book by any means, and sometimes the characters did grate on me a little but on the whole it was good and the story is interesting and it ends on a nice little cliffhanger.