This is a dark fantasy that is East Asian inspired (but not own voices, so that irks me a bit if I’m being honest). I think this would appeal to most adult fantasy readers, especially if you like your fantasy similar to the writing of Brent Weeks. I felt very mediocre about it but can see how it would appeal to others.

This is by far one of my favorite fantasy books from 2020. I loved everything in this book: Characters, duels, environment and the development of the plot.
Even though we know from the beginning what is going to happen during the book, it is still very intriguing and exciting to read it from Justin's pen. 

I wanted to apologize about the late review, I had a rough year and forgot to update the reading. Thank you so much for the ARC, I loved it and I'm looking forward to enjoy more books by Justin!

Annev is a 17 year old orphan who has been raised and mentored by the elderly priest Sodar. Annev is enrolled in an academy where the students learn to fight and also to locate magical artificats. They students must participate in a competition. The sole successful student will be elevated to Avatar. The unsuccessful ones become stewards who cannot marry and must spend their lives serving their superiors. The beginning of this book was slow and the actual competition did not start until around the 35% point of the book. This special-orphan-on-a-quest storyline is basically the plot of 50% of YA fantasy novels. Annev learns he has special abilities, he is presented with challenges and he prevails. Nothing new there, but I was interested enough in the world building to keep reading. 

In this world you are in danger of being stoned to death if you have magic or are deformed in any way. Understandably, people keep a lot of secrets from each other. I found a lot of this book entertaining (I liked the monsters), but a large part of the book consisted of fight scenes. Whether Annev was in training or he was vanquishing monsters, it felt like there was a battle in every chapter and battles bore me. It was also a little too convenient that Annev always discovered a new ability or artifact to save the day at exactly the right moment. Periodically, the book quoted archives that revealed the complicated history of a bunch of gods. Honestly, I found those interludes pretty confusing. This is the first book of a proposed trilogy. Book 2 is scheduled to be published this year and I might read it.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I thought the premise of this book sounded really interesting but the first few chapters were a huge info dump and I had a hard time following along.

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

I tried but I seem to be having bad luck with Fantasy books lately. The prologue was good but after that I just lost interest, with the characters and the plot. There was too much info dumping and I just didn't really care about Annev.

This is how fantasy should read!

I'm always on the lookout for a compelling and immersive new fantasy series and Justin T. Call pulled out all the stops with debut that will no doubt be an epic series people will be lining up for. 

I already can't wait for the sequel!

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a copy to read and give my own, honest opinion.

This book doesn’t feel like a debut at all. The writing is really well done, I loved the style, and it’s complex without being confusing. It’s a dark fantasy that’s rather brutal, with a complex world, god lore, and characters. In a strange but highly interesting twist, the Academy that Annievog (nicknamed Annev) attends is very strictly religious and anti-magic. Its purpose is to train Avatars who track down magical items for the sole purpose of locking them away forever. In the eyes of the Academy and the people who live in the hidden, isolated village (Chaenbalu) it’s located in, any sort of visible disability or permanent injury is considered a mark of Keos, labelled a dark god. If one is born with one, they’re executed immediately, and while scars and other (visible) permanent injuries don’t warrant such extremes, the victims are seen as ‘tainted.’

Annev is somewhat at odds with the Academy’s beliefs on obtaining magical items to prevent them from falling into the hands of evil individuals, regardless of whether the items are dark or light in nature. He’s often in trouble for questioning the Academy’s ways of teaching and going against their accepted ways of completing and passing tests (through teamwork, rather than thinking solely of the self). This is partially due to his upbringing by Sodar, the village priest and an unfathomably old guardian of Annev’s line. Sodar teaches him that all magic isn’t evil, that there is good in the world, to think for himself, and magic. But Sodar is also hiding things from Annev, things that will change his life.

The book started off a bit slow but quickly picked up. The pacing was really good; a lot of action with some needed rests between. The stories of the gods are introduced both through being explained to Annev and through ‘excerpts’ from centuries-old books on the divine beings of their world. I usually skip over these when they appear in books because they tend to be boring, but these were pretty interesting! These excerpts are from Sodar’s translation of an ancient text. They reveal the truth of the gods, who truly is or isn’t evil, who was truly wronged, a stark contrast to the Academy’s chosen teachings and sermons for the village.

Call quickly sets the scene, laying out the isolated village in which Annev lives and the beliefs of the people and their actions in regards to those beliefs. The Academy is a lot darker than one expects, with secrets, surprising enemies and allies both. The events of the book happen over the course of a few days, though it feels much longer due to all that happens. Most of the characters are really interesting, with a few outliers. Even the more minor characters who only appear a few times add a bit of life to the world that Annev lives in. I also really rooted for Annev the entire time because he’s such a great and interesting character! The magic system is also complex and shown to be gray rather than painting it all in dark and light— or, in the Academy’s case, just dark.

The disability representation in this book is amazing and I really liked it. Annev doesn’t understand why having any sort of physical disability makes him a ‘child of Keos,’ tainted by the supposedly dark god, especially since he was welcomed into the academy like the others are able-bodied. Annev has some minor negative feelings about his missing forearm but he works through it with the help of Sodar. He wears a magic prosthetic arm that helps him hide his disability to keep from being killed for it. It looks, acts, and feels like it’s a true flesh and blood forearm and hand, though it bleeds a dark liquid when cut.

Annev is a really great protagonist because he’s very human; he makes disastrous mistakes and right decisions that really screw him over. His abilities are put to the test in unexpected ways that he quickly adapts to or doesn’t handle well. His beliefs, his approach to his tests, his views of his friends, enemies, love interest, the Academy, the village, and even Sodar are all challenged in numerous ways. How he reacts falls in line with his character arc. He’s inquisitive and quick on his feet. He questions things, rather than blindly accepting them as fact just because his elders and Masters present them as such. I really enjoyed his character.
I found Annev’s relationship with Myjun to be uninteresting, though it did cause a lot of tension for a few reasons including Myjun having the strong belief that any visible disability or permanent injury was a sign of taint. Myjun was a very flat character and seemed to exist just for tension and to set up important plot points for the future books.

Kenton was a good minor antagonist. When questioned about his past betrayal of and hostility towards Annev, Titus, and Therin, he claims to be ambitious and not wanting to be held back by them. Later, he explains exactly why he betrayed and stopped being friends with them. His hatred for Annev is shown through actions in the last third of the book, but I’m still undecided whether Kenton’s hatred was enough to drive him to do what he did during their task. His blindness to his ex’s prejudices mirrored Annev’s own, and he’s a good example for how Annev could have turned out if he’d gone down the path he’d considered taking during the trial to become Avatar.

Fyn is a somewhat delightfully brutal antagonist, though his character arc felt far too quick and unnatural. There’s no real explanation for why he targets Annev and his friends explicitly, which also makes his sudden shift during their task in the last third of the book very sudden and unlike him. I wish he’d had more character development and that there was more plausibility to his sudden change.

There’s so much going on in Master of Sorrows, but it’s in no way overwhelming, which is what I love about it! Too much going on often makes me put a book down because I can’t keep up. I’m really excited for the sequel!

The premise of this book follows a boy named Annev, who has to hide his secrets in his unaccepting and hidden town. But this isn’t your typical hero story: Annev is marked by an evil god and a source of that evil lies within him. 

This is certainly the start to a fantastic high fantasy series. The world itself is very fleshed out, and I love that the characters were all very developed. The beginning of this book is very slow paced, but you do get to know the characters very well, so it’s a bit of a trade off. The pacing at the end of the book picked up quite a bit, and a lot happened in those last pages. I’m honestly just very intrigued by this world and its prophecies, and I’m looking forward to where the next book goes.

This was a fun, if dark, read. I enjoyed both the story and the complexity of the characters. Most fantasy readers will enjoy this.

I enjoyed reading Master of Sorrows and can't wait for the next installment. The author has written a world as rich in lore and magic as John Gwynne and Trudi Cannavan. The protagonist doesn't take himself too seriously nor is he a complete push-over and, even with his secret deformity, pushes through every obstacle thrown at him.

Master of Sorrows was a remarkable debut which I simply couldn't put down. It is a dark fantasy.
The writing was really good and the action scenes amazing. What I liked the most was the world building, especially the story of the three gods Odar, Lumea and Keos, their powers and magical weapons and artifacts.
Looking forward to reading the next in the series!

I was sure I already wrote a review for this book, and yet, here it is. I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley, and here's what I thought of it: this is a summarized review of my initial one since it's been so long since I read this book.

The world-building and character development were so well done! I usually have a hard time when books take hundreds of pages to span just a few days because I'm ready for the plot to move forward, but this one made up for it with the second half of the book. The author concentrated a lot of the book on the test and while it was interesting and well written, I was ready to move on around that 30% mark. Thankfully it did, and I am so thankful this book is part of a series! I really enjoyed the conclusion of this one, and still think about it, months after having read it. I can't wait to see how things play out!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was in the mood for an epic fantasy and this one delivered. It took me a little while to get into the writing style – which was on the denser side – but once I committed to devouring ever details, I was sucked right in.

The characters were highly relatable. I appreciated the different type of representation that we got and I loved seeing how all the characters were able to grow despite the intense challenges that they went through. I’ve been really into characters that are monstrous lately and I already can’t wait for the next book!

It took me two months to read this book (which is very rare for me) and even though I had an ARC, I felt forced to buy the audiobook on audible to get through it because I just couldn't do it. Now, I know I might be harsh in my rating because it's not a "bad" book, it's a book I didn't care at all about. I couldn't care less, really. And I'm sad because it's not the first fantasy ARC where I've felt no attachment (Legacy of Ash for example). I don't know if it's the books I request or if it's just a "me" problem. Probably me.

When I read the synopsis, I expected a story with a villain as the main character. Except it didn't really deliver what I expected. I also wanted to be hooked but other than the beginning which was interesting, it ended up being a very slow paced story and after a little while, I just stopped focusing on the audiobook. I finished it because I had to, not because I wanted to.

That being said, you might love this book. It just wasn't sorry. Again, I'm sorry for giving such a review and I am grateful to have been given an ARC of Master of Sorrows via Netgalley.

DNF @ 9%. Oh boy, does this story drag and come off a tad bit too derivative, every time I would go to read this my eyes would gloss over. The plot is painfully slow, and is nothing like how the blurb made it out to be: wonderfully dark & dreadful. Perhaps this is a case of the style not being for me, because as far as I can perceive the writing isn't terrible in a technical sense, so someone else who prefers this kind of structure is bound to enjoy this read much more than I.

Review: 5 Stars

Master of Sorrows is a book that I picked up because I had heard good things about it, but I was initially inclined to pass this book by, but I’m really glad that I didn’t. Master of Sorrows had so many fantasy elements that I absolutely love. It had a magical school setting, a political system filled with injustice and prejudice and so much more. I am so grateful that I gave this book a chance because I wound up really loving the story and these characters.

Master of Sorrows was a character driven novel and it’s characters really found their way into my heart. Annev was such a great character to read about and I could really relate to him. He fought so hard for his dreams and against his destiny and his struggles were so easy to empathize with. The relationship between Annev and Sodar was one that I was so emotionally invested in, Several of their conversations brought tears to my eyes. Sodar was a great mentor and father figure and was one of my favorite characters to read about. I also loved reading about Annev and his friends Titus and Therin. The group of friends was fun to read about, but what I loved most of all was how loyal Annev was to them. The rivalry between Annev and Fyn also provided endless entertainment as they tried to best one another.

This was definitely more of a character driven fantasy than a plot driven one, but the plot was still really interesting. Throughout the book Annev and his friends tried to become avatars and had to go through many trials both in and out of school. Annev’s journey to become an avatar was full of hard decisions, yet he never sacrificed his morality and beliefs for his dreams. I was so emotionally invested in this story that I kept wanting to shake Annev as he made decisions that I didn’t agree with. The writing was so fantastic that I felt like I was watching a movie as I read this book because I could clearly visualize everything that was happening. I expected very little of this book and it wound up being absolutely incredible. I can’t believe I almost didn’t read this one!

I loved the way that the world building came into play with the plot as the history of the world melded with the future for humanity. There is still so much more to come in this world, but this series opener really helps the reader understand the scope of the problem that this magical world is facing. I think there could have been a bit more world building in this installment and I hope that book two explores the world and magic a bit more than this installment did, but regardless I was so invested in this journey.

I read this book months ago and I can still vividly remember most of it. The characters just got to my heart, the writing was spectacular and the plot was so cool.  Master of Sorrows was filled with characters that I love and this first installment has me dying for more in the series. I loved reading about Annev and I really related with him. I am glad that I gave this book a chance and I really need more of Annev’s story as soon as possible!

I received this arc for free. I enjoyed the writing. Its a strong dark fantasy debut novel. I would recommend to everyone.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review.  This book made me feel all kind of things for Annev. It did not start off on a foot for for him. There were things with this mentor, those at school and some internal struggle that he has to deal with. It puts a lot of weight on his shoulder and he is going to have to make a decision on where his life is going to go. I really want to see what the next going to bring. I still have a few questions, but that is a good thing when a books makes you think about what is going to come next and think you have it figured out and the author throws a curveball.

This is a great debut for author Justin T Call. Plenty of magic and adventure. I appreciated how you were kind of eased into the story, rather than thrown into the fire with a lot of questions unanswered. Can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of the series.

Master of Sorrows is the perfect book for fans of adult high fantasy. I was completely engrossed in this read. Each part of the book was introduced by segments from sacred texts within this world, and not only did that add to the incredible world-building, but it also allowed to show the author’s ability to switch from an archaic, more eloquent lingo to a more linear narration in the rest of the book, which was still some great writing.

As I mentioned before, I really appreciated the world-building, which had absolutely nothing to envy famous names in the fantasy genre. The religious and magical system was complex and filled with intrigue that tied in beautifully with the main plot, but what I loved most of all was the way the village was brought to life by the narration. I could see it before my eyes as I was reading, with its streets and its villagers, with all its imperfections, prejudices and obstacles to overcome. It created such a realistic frame for Annev’s story, and it made his struggles and his achievements all the more engrossing to me as a reader.

Speaking of Annev, this incredible main character was one of the strongest points of Master of Sorrows. I felt for him ever since the very first pages. His fears and desires were so easy to relate to, and it was impossible not to root for this cinnamon roll to obtain all the happiness the world could offer.
Which means that I was screaming in pain by the end of the book, naturally.
Annev was also the chance for some disability representation, which I find super important in all genres, but especially in fantasy, which is so compelling to a young audience! The author’s take on the theme was not only delicate and prominent in the plot, but also incredibly mind-opening and empowering!

I admit that at the beginning I was not completely sold on the supporting characters. Apart from Sodar, who acts as a mentor figure for Annev (and was one of my favorites in the book), I couldn’t bring myself to really care for Annev’s friends or for Myjun, who is his love interest. I was always more interested in the rivalry between Annev and Fyn (refreshingly, a rivalry that had nothing to do with the girl!), but I was happily surprised when, in the second part of the book, the secondary characters also went through important changes, both individually and in their relationships with Annev. I ended up picking a few favorites along the way, but I feel like it would be a spoiler to mention who they are!

To wrap this up, I really enjoyed this book. The only reason I’m not giving it a 5 star rating is because the first half had a much slower pace, which was enjoyable in most places but felt a bit dragging in others. But I still recommend this book to everyone who loves a good adult fantasy with a complex world, disability rep and self-discovery. Also keep in mind that this book is not romance driven if that is something that you look for in a book.