Aug 22, 2021
Ew.
(The Greater of Two Evils by Marc Turner)
seen from Canada
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seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Poland
seen from China
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from France
seen from France
seen from China
seen from Australia
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from France
Ew.
(The Greater of Two Evils by Marc Turner)
Review: When the Heavens Fall
Author: Marc Turner
Opening Line: ‘Luker had sworn never to return to this place.’
Okay, interesting. Let’s start with the good stuff.
The world-building in this novel is pretty sophisticated – it feels like a complex, fully-created universe, which I very much like. The plot was well-constructed, and the characters intelligently written and convincingly realistic – I particularly like the two major female characters, and Spider. All good so far. However, to be quite honest? The whole thing rather lacked personality.
The characters were believable and had a lot of potential (some excellent backstory and motivation choices!), but Turner never really manages to make them people to care about. By about halfway through I was beginning to be interested in their lives, particularly in the cases of Ebon and Parolla, but I didn’t really mind what happened to them. I was interested to see if they’d survive the book, but I didn’t care if they did or didn’t.
A great part of this is the lack of light and shade in the story. The Book of Lost Souls has been opened, and varies different groups and individuals travel to it, all fighting the undead and some sorcerers and sometimes each other until they get there, where they fight some more. And that’s… more or less it. The result is unrelentingly grim, and Turner doesn’t break things up enough to save it. The few rays of light – the entertaining archmage Mottle, Romany’s attitude to her goddess – are too sparse to manage it on their own.
Overall, a middling piece of work with some missed potential. I would, however, be interested to see some later work by the author – he writes well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the quality of his work improves over time. 3/5.
You might enjoy this book if you enjoyed: Gardens of the Moon (Steven Erikson), Malice (John Gwynne), A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin).
Check out the rest of my reviews here!
Book Review: Red Tide by Marc Turner
Book Review: Red Tide by Marc Turner @MarcJTurner @torbooks
My review today is for:
Red Tide: The Chronicles of the Exile, Book Three
by Marc Turner
A copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
Now I must say I was completely into the first two books in this series. They had complexed characters, a vast universe, and mythos that I was immersed in. This book takes it to a new level. Most of my favorite…
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Book Review: When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner
Book Review: When the Heavens Fall by Marc Turner @MarcJTurner @torbooks
My review today is for:
When the Heavens Fall: The Chronicles of the Exile, Book One
by Marc Turner
A copy of this book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.
I have been meaning to read this book forever it seems but something always got in the way, another book, another review request, always something. I finally put everything else on hold and read it…
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GUEST POST: MARC TURNER
GUEST POST: MARC TURNER
Today, I’m excited to welcome back Marc Turner to Bookwraiths! Mr. Turner has been mesmerizing his fans for several years with his sweeping, epic fantasy series, The Chronicle of the Exile, which keeps building upon itself; the latest installment, Red Tide, the best yet. Instead of answering my questions this time around, Marc will be addressing something all his fans wonder: Whom would he…
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All fantasy authors are mass murderers, according to Red Tide author Marc Turner!
WAITING ON WEDNESDAY -- RED TIDE
WAITING ON WEDNESDAY — RED TIDE
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine to let readers share their excitement for books coming out soon, and the novel I’m eagerly awaiting is . . .
Red Tide by Marc Turner
Genre: Fantasy
Series: The Chronicle of the Exile #3
Publisher: Tor Books (September 20, 2016)
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Length: 544 pages
The Rubyholt Isles is a shattered nation of…
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Book Haul: Dragon Hunters by Marc Turner
MightyThorJRS Fantasy Book News and Reviews - Book Haul: Dragon Hunters by Marc Turner
The wonderful people over at Tor were awesome enough to send me this review copy! Thanks Tor! I can’t wait to read and review!
Dragon Hunters by Marc Turner is OUT NOW!
So go get a copy!
Dragon Hunters: The Chronicle of the Exile, Book Two by Marc Turner
When the Heavens Fall: The Chronicles of the Exile, Book One by Marc Turner
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