Final Rating:
Date of Completion: 15/09/2023
Published by: Audible Studios
ISBN: B00WAC7NWY
Cover:
The clean and simple design is made eye-catching by the fierce sword and gothic text at its centre. These elements work brilliantly with the details of warriors at the bottom to convey the high fantasy genre of the story.
Writing:
I completely adored the descriptive writing style with its simple, vivid prose. Multiple points of view (POVs) are also neatly used to introduce the world’s rich history, mystical creatures and political landscape. However, I initially struggled with the constantly shifting POVs and information dumps, though these gradually became less jarring as the story progressed.
Most things of worth don’t come easy
Storyline:
Despite an intriguing prologue, the slow-paced, multi-character-driven story that emerged soon left me feeling painfully bored and confused. While I hoped this would change as the story progressed, I finally gave up halfway through as little had happened beyond an extensive introduction to the large character cast and complex world.
Characters:
No matter how hard I tried to keep track of the numerous characters (I even made a list!), I failed miserably. The “unique” names simply refused to stick in my mind, and even halfway through the book, the characters lacked enough depth to make them memorable.
Narration & Audio:
Damian Lynch’s deep, well-paced vocals are perfect for this story, as he nicely captures the emotions and grandness of the tale. Attempts are made to provide different voices for the characters, but little else is done to enrich the story.
Ultimately, I came to ‘Malice’ expecting a compelling tale similar to the Mistborn trilogy, but this convoluted, slow-paced storyline gradually eroded my interest. I finally gave up halfway through this book after realising I no longer cared about the story and characters. I had similar feelings while reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, but perhaps those who enjoyed this would love that as well.
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