The cover caught my attention immediately. It is beautifully designed and definitely fits the vibe of the book.

"The Heretic" is Allen's debut novel, and he did quite well in writing it. I was quickly engrossed in the world and story he created.
With an innovative magic system and an enticing fantasy world, Allen started a series I am looking forward to keep following up on.

4.5 stars
Wow that was some cliff hanger. I’m really sad the next book isn’t out yet because I really want to know what happens to these characters next.

Damien is thrown into the thick of multiple plots against each other with barely any details to help him through. Damien may be the underdog, half starved and with one arm and numerous scars, but he’s smart and strategic. Damien is the definition of work smarter not harder.
He starts out working on a thesis project with runes that would revolutionize technology, but he’s ripped away from his work before it can be officially turned in. He’s thrown into working for the priests/government and to get out of it he seeks help from his estranged father, a known rebel leader.
Damien is then thrown into a plot against the government to help save his brother from having been drafted early into the military. So Damien is racing against time to complete training to become an elite warrior while spying and trying to uncover their secrets that have been impossible for even the most experienced of rebels. But there’s a larger plot at play that he doesn’t know about yet.
Lies, deceit, betrayal, unlikely friendships, and hard choices are a constant in this world. Will Damien not only survive but also complete his mission, save his brother, and spare his friends?

I like that they used a strategic gambling game as an analogy for how Damien thought and worked through his solutions to the trouble he constantly found himself in. It made it easier to understand how he came to the conclusions he did, even if the game was unfamiliar, the concept behind it was not.

Damien is an interesting character because he’s not the classic hero, in fact, he does a lot of villainous things. He’s a character that’s likable but also not likable at the same time. This makes him feel very real as no one is all good or all bad, especially when thrown into impossible situations like he is.

The Heretic by Nathan R Allen.
Runes and Ruin Book 1.
I loved the cover. That's why I signed up. It sounded so good. This was a good read. I did struggle a bit with the writing style. I had to keep putting it down and starting again. I liked Damian and Ned. It took me a while to get into this book. Once I did I couldn't put it down. I do love fantasy world. That did surprise me. I'm looking forward to the next book

thanks to netgalley for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review!

this one was a mixed bag for me. the worldbuilding is creative and deep, and i love that it's a magical fantasy and sci-fi blend. but this book is a LOT in terms of plotline and characters and everything that needs to be kept straight to enjoy the book. if you're someone that's into studying the book as much as you're reading it, this might be one for you.

i didn't like having to backtrack through the book to make sure i didn't miss anything. this one might benefit from some tightening up by the author in the sequel, but overall it is an impressive debut novel.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This was an interesting read; I don’t think it was for me, but certain readers are definitely going to devour this.

It’s very heavy on lore and strong world-building. We follow two timelines through the book; present day, with our main character Damian, and the past, following Damian’s parents, and their conflict with the church.

What this book if very strong with is character development; it takes its time, therefore can feel a little slow, but the pay off is excellent! If you are a big classic fantasy lover, I would recommend this!

This is a new concept for me about using runes as a basis for a worlds magic system. I loved it though as it made it interesting learning how this all fits in the complex world that the author has created for his characters. In the first 100-150 pages I enjoyed the fact that the author built the world up and introduced the characters to us and then continued to develop this further as the story goes on. I will interested to see how this is developed in the next novels in this new adult fantasy series.

I have to admit, I struggled to connect with this book. I made it through nearly half—250 out of 536 pages, which is much more than I typically give a book before deciding—but it just didn't hold my interest. Unfortunately, it’s now going into my did-not-finish pile. Maybe I'll come back to it down the line.

The Heretic is just a great fantasy book. Creative story idea, interesting characters, place, plot. I cannot wait to read the sequels to this book. Kudos to Mr. Allen.

Really interesting steampunk-esque fantasy with lots of different elements and a super intriguing magic system. Giving this a 4 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I won't lie that the first half of the book was a little difficult to get through. Something about the pacing just felt slow and like nothing was really moving forward, as each chapter moved between different perspectives. However the second half absolutely grabbed me and held me by the neck.

I want to know so much more about the runic magic system used in this world and how Damien learns to love himself through the friends he made. Definitely had a few plot surprises along the way and I have some theories about where things are going to go. So I am very excited for the next installment!

Full of conflict, action, and strategy, The Heretic is a great adventure read with moral dilemmas. There are so many questions I have, after finishing the book, that I am excited to find out as this series continues.

Engaging and inventive, this is a fun fantasy adventure! Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Heretic by Nathan Allen.

The book is a coming of age adventure, with some overcoming obstacles thrown in
The interactions between Damian and Ned remind me of my own familial interactions right from the start and they're part is heartwarming and real. The adversity thrown in the path of Rowin, Dawn, Damian & Ned through a split timeline moatly brings out the best in these characters & leads them down the path of thoroughly enjoyable tale.
World-building is top notch and you see quite clearly that while the protagonist appears to be one thing, he is truly more remarkable with Rune skills and more.
The magic is new because it takes different forms depending on its use.
The small guy fighting a larger problem promises to be a story that provides further characters development and growth that I'm anxious to see. I disagree with some test this is slow, I just believe it's developing

This book was really good. I enjoyed the characters and the world building that allowed for the story to flow fluidly and caused me to be entertained the entire time. The setting is so vibrant and it brings me right into the story and the characters are a joy to follow. Allen created a well rounded cast and story which allowed me to enjoy and appreciate the story.

BooksGoSocial provided a galley for review.

Fantasy stories have always been in my wheelhouse, both as a reader and a writer. With an intriguing cover and description, I was interested to get in on the ground floor of a new series by a new author.

I have to admit that I had a very hard time clicking with this one. I got through almost half the book (250 out of 536 pages - a lot more than my usual 50 to 100 pages) to try to keep me interested, but it just was not sticking. Sadly, I have to move it to my did-not-finish pile; maybe I'll give it another shot later.

The narration is split between present-day Damian and alternating flashback chapters with his parents Rowin and Dawn that stretch as far back as seventeen years. The latter are there to give the reader foundational information regarding the conflicts with the church, a more dynamic way to show this rather than tell it all via info dumping or expository dialogue. For some reason, though, I didn't feel the urgency with them (since we know where both parents are come present-day). I felt that these put the brakes on the present day narration. Since the author planned for this to be a series right from the start, maybe these chapters might have served better as their own prequel novel to come later - once the reader felt some kind of connection to Rowin and Dawn and then wanted more of their story.

It is obvious that Allen put a lot of work into the worldbuilding which he parses out quite generously at points. The reader learns how the church is layered in with military rankings and structure. He also goes into great depth of the training the initiates face (a part I was actually into as it added several characters for Damian to play off) with an interesting subplot involving the chemical stimulant vival to push through the pain (a nice allegory to opioids, perhaps). But we also get a good bit about the card game Radiate which Damian is very good at (good enough to win money) as well as the vamp trade (prostitution). Again, all interesting ideas but it is a lot of a lot for a single book much less for a debut novel in a series.

If this book did not go through any kind of formal editing process on the publisher side, that might be why it fell off the rails for me. Editors can help to tighten a work, offer the tougher criticisms and encourage reworking to make a piece stronger.

This book was super captivating!!! I’m not usually a huge sci-fi reader but the introduction to the world and characters has me immediately invested! definitely gonna read the rest of the series