The world-building in MASTER OF SORROWS is fantastic, it's characters complex, and the plot gripping. I didn't expect to be attached to this story, but from the first page, I was unable to put it down. It's been so long since I've read a book that's made me feel this passionate about it! A gem of a debut I would recommend to anyone wanting a taste of darkness in a richly vivid and immersive world.

A lot of people have compared this story to one of my all time favorite books, The Poppy War. And honestly, it really does give off those same vibes! It's an interesting magic system, the gods are all intriguing. And sweet baby Annev, I adore him so.

I cannot get over the anxiety this book gave me. It was such a roller coaster read. It was intriguing, fun, and dark. The sheer panic and anger I felt during this book is what made it such a fantastic read. I had so many things I wanted to put into this review and now all my thoughts elude me. The ending was just one punch in the gut after another and has left me thoroughly desperate for more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book for an honest review

Unfortunate this book is not for me.. I can see why it has the high ratings it has, but it just didn’t work for me. The story didn’t really appeal to me at all, and I didn’t really feel anything for the characters are all and about 50pages in,, I found myself skimming It more tha.n reading. I do thing that the plot and the general storyline was interesting - which is why I gave it 3 stars .

I definitely think there’s an audience for this book - just not me ( btw, the cover of this book is just gorgeous )

From the very first pages, it’s clear that Master of Sorrows is going to play with tropes and turn plenty of fantasy stand-bys on their heads. Justin T. Call gives us a wonderfully paced story that feels at once classic and fresh. There will be plenty that feels familiar to fans of the genre, but almost all of those familiar tropes are done in a new or unique or upside-down way that keeps you turning the pages. And there are plenty of pages to turn! Clocking in at over 600 pages, the novel manages to feel like a much quicker read.

I think Master of Sorrows reads much more quickly than you might expect for a novel of its length partially because Call does something that is all too rare in epic fantasy: he uses only one viewpoint character. This helps to keep the story tightly plotted and moving, without expanding ever outward. It also means that we come to know and love the main character, Annev, and experience his ups and downs without those being interrupted by other perspectives. Call uses all of this to wonderful effect and he deserves mountains of praise for it. In fact, Annev himself is one of the other big strengths of this novel. You care about him from the first page and that carries through to the last. In many ways Call’s story is character-driven epic fantasy, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. There’s also some wonderful character development for the side characters. Another major strength is the magic system, which involves spells and runes, but also incredibly powerful artefacts. It all comes together in very intuitive ways that area also fairly unique. That’s good, because magic plays a big role in this story, and as a result it’s important for it to feel natural and bring something fresh to the story. There’s also the whole subverting tropes element of the story. This is absolutely a coming-of-age tale, but with a twist. It uses the village boy trope, but with a twist (instead of longing to leave the village, this village boy wants to stay!). There are elements of the magic school subgenre, but with some important twists. There’s a chosen one! But it’s not quite like any other chosen one story I’ve ever read. Call does an incredible job of twisting and subverting tropes in ways that are fun and sometimes make you sit back and just sort of shake your head when you realize what he’s doing. It’s impressive work all around and makes for an entertaining read for those new to fantasy, or the grizzled veteran who has read it all before.

There were some small things here and there that didn’t quite connect with me, but my biggest complaint about the novel has to do with one of the tropes that Call is subverting. Don’t get me wrong, I love how he’s flipping tropes on their heads. Without giving too much detail, in most instances of the village boy trope, the boy wants to leave his village and see the wider world, go off adventuring, etc, etc. In this story, Annev doesn’t want to leave his village and does everything he possibly can to avoid that fate. What I never understood was why, given the circumstances he finds himself in, he wants to remain. It makes some sense at the beginning of the novel, but as the story progresses and Annev learns more about himself and the academy he attends, it seems like the height of foolishness. His motivations in that regard never seemed quite strong enough to me, perhaps more like the story was driving the character there, rather than the other way around. This ended up being more a niggling in the back of my mind, rather than something that ruined the whole story for me.

Master of Sorrows is a wonderfully fun and inventive character-drive epic fantasy. It subverts tropes and brings fresh ideas to the genre at nearly every turn. It will appeal especially to those who are familiar with the subgenre and want something that feels familiar and yet new. It’s also sure to appeal to those new to the genre looking for an engaging read. I’m looking forward to the next installment!

8.8/10

4.4/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing

What a whirlwind. If I had the schedule for it, I likely would have read this in one sitting. If Annev doesn't need sleep neither do I.

In short, this story follows Annev, a young man raised in a secret village, hidden from the world. Why is it hidden, you may ask. This less-than-benevolent village is home to an academy that "reaps" (read: "steals") infants from the arms of their family in order to raise them as fighters and thieves, destined to steal magical artifacts to hide away in the Academy's Vault of Damnation. But Annev is not like the other young men who were reaped as children for the Academy. He's an imposter placed among the acolytes as an infant, and he harbors a secret that would have him destroyed if ever discovered. Sounds intriguing, right?

This is a true high fantasy with epic world-building. The world-building is this book's strong suit, and that's saying a lot given that it contains a lot of my favorite tropes: meddling gods, comings-of-age, insular cults, brutal reckonings. Both the history and mythology of this world are very important to the story and you can tell. The history spans hundreds, thousands, of years before the events of the book and we often get direct quotes from the various holy texts of this world. With each passage we get more and more vital context to the story and the life of Annev.

In contrast, time progresses very slowly in this book. I'm talking very slow. Like, less than half a week in 600+ pages slow. That is not to say that the pacing is slow, quite the opposite, think Kiefer Sutherland's 24. I do think the hourly play-by-play did come at the sacrifice of some other elements of the book; namely character-building. A lot of the characters followed typical high fantasy formulations, the wise mentor, the well-meaning friend, the redeemable bully. But I'm too confident in the direction of this series and the author's skill at subverting expectations to write off the characters. I think they have potential to grow into true individuals, which you can even see happening at the end of this installment.

I think this series looks promising! There has been so much set-up that I'm really excited to see what the author does with the next two books in the series. I think it could go so many directions. Just the possibilities will definitely have me continuing with the future installments.

I never DNF but this has been very hard for me to get into. I’m 34% in and I am struggling with all the history, characters and the pacing. I hope to come back and finish it. Lots of people are raving about how good it is.

I struggled with this book. It didn't hook me in the beginning and I found myself reluctant to pick it back up. I think there may be something there that I'm missing, or perhaps the genre didn't work for me this time.

This is a great start to an epic fantasy!

It's the first in a series, and follows a young man who has ties to an ancient god and his magic, even though he denies it. This is understandable, seeing as how the god is, um, the dark one.⁣
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The mythology of the world is very robust, and this has all the trappings of a great epic adventure. ⁣
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I think it does get slow a little in some parts, but the story and the secrets unfold in layers like an onion, and kept me turning the pages. I can't wait for the next book!⁣
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Master of Sorrows by Justin T. Call is probably the most action fillled book I have read. There are so many instances of physical tests, training sessions and battles. As this is not my usual genre, I found it difficult to follow at times. I had a hard time picturing the imagery in my mind, the fault lies with me. Unfamiliar terms is what hampered me not the descriptive skill of the author.

It is quite easy to see from the first chapter and onwards that Mr. Call has put a lot of time and effort into writing this book, the first of a series. When I think of how much background he needed to create in order to build this world out of wholecloth, my goodness, it must have been years in the making before pen touched paper. While Master of Sorrows is not my cup of tea, I can certainly appreciate all that went into writing it. I think it is just the first piece of what will be a successful and much loved fantasy series.

I got about 50% of the way into this book and it just wasn't doing it for me. It sounds like something that would really interest me, but I'm going to say the writing style just isn't for me. I think a lot of people will really enjoy this novel for me it was just too slow and I also found Annev to be... both boring and annoying at the same time. However, I will say that I appreciate that there is disabled representation. I would recommend this for fans of slower paced novels with extensive world-building.

The ‘Chosen One’ trope has long been a staple of the fantasy genre. One person, usually someone from a lowly background (the farmboy, the scrappy street urchin), discovers they have some strange power which gives them the singular ability to defeat the Dark Lord who seeks to rule or destroy the world. Thus the Chosen One must embark on a quest to keep evil from overcoming everything. In his debut novel, Master of Sorrows, Justin T. Call seeks to upend this trope to see what would happen if the Chosen One ended up becoming the dark lord.

The story opens with the birth of a child with a physical deformity that is seen as an omen of evil by his people. A renegade priest saves the baby, Annev, from being killed outright and raises him in a hidden town that serves the Academy of Chaenbalu, a school that teaches young men the skills they need to go out in the world and steal the remaining magical artifacts and bring them back to the Academy where they will be kept from the world so as not to be misused. On the eve of the final test that will determine the course of his life, Annev discovers a series of harsh truths about himself and his world. He must find a way to adhere to the requirements of his teachers while simultaneously following his own path– a path at odds with everything he’s been taught.

The result is, at best, a mixed bag. While Call is undoubtedly passionate about the details of the story, those same details often turn the tale into a tedious trudge through half a book’s worth of the schoolyard antics of a group of teenaged boys. Long passages of dialogue are used for worldbuilding, which both over- and underexplains the world, its gods, and its magic:

“‘We also remember how Odar made the Oracle, a being of pure quire; how Lumea made the sprites, being of pure lumen; and how Keos make Fyoldar, an abomination of pure t’rasang that preyed upon Odar and Lumea’s worshippers for four hundred years. The Book of Odar calls this dark time the Fall of Keos, which only ended with the Breaking of the Hand of Keos.'”

It’s one thing to develop a complex world of gods and magic. It’s quite another to efficiently explain everything in a way that doesn’t make the reader’s eyes glaze over. After half a dozen similar, info-dumping conversations, it’s as difficult to maintain interest in the story– which isn’t moved forward by these conversations– as it is to stay engrossed in a lecture delivered in a monotone.

The prose, too, works against the story with its workaday presentation that can, at best, be described as grammatically correct. The differences between character voices are few and far between, making it difficult to differentiate one character from another in conversations lacking dialogue tags. And all throughout the book, the prose tells more than it shows, a move that creates distance between the reader and the story.

“As Annev stared at the place that would be his new home, he found he had mixed feelings about reporting to Tosan. For one thing, he was mentally and physically exhausted; the strange events of the past day and night had taken its toll in more ways than one, and the long run back home had drained him.”

That’s not to say that there are no redeeming qualities to this story. Annev is a charismatic protagonist who seeks to do the right thing, even when that is the opposite of what the teachers at his school have told him to do. Annev has a dire secret to keep, a girl he loves, friends and a mentor he cares about, and a conscience. These are all things that make for a compelling character. Unfortunately, the rest of the story’s elements let the character down. One can hope that major plot holes might be filled in in later installments, but tedious worldbuilding and dull writing make for a frustrating reading experience. In the end, Master of Sorrows is master of nothing at all.



Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for giving me a free egalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion.

Summary: Annev wants nothing more than to become an Avatar, basically an Academy-trained thief who retrieves magical artifacts. But he has a secret that, if revealed, would absolutely spell his death. The only member of the Academy who lives with an outside mentor, he also trains to be a priest, but it only brings the different ideologies each brings into conflict. Annev, though is good at almost everything and, by being incredibly smart, he manages to achieve his goal, just in time for his small, hidden village to be attacked and his secret revealed.

Described as the story of a young man destined to become a dark lord, I couldn't resist it. It's the beginning of a series, and I'm intrigued to see how it goes and how Annev's journey into becoming a bad guy goes, but I can't say I was completely satisfied in this first chapter of that journey. I know every dark lord has a start, but I had a hard time reconciling the idea of a dark lord with Annev's characterization in this book. Of course, I see bits and pieces where the darkness can creep in, but he still just feels so overwhelmingly good that I can't quite see the next, or any future, step.

The Characters: Amazingly Consistent

I must say I was quite impressed with the characterizations in this book. The characters felt like they were living and breathing. Even the minor characters were given their own lives, and it was so easy to think of them moving around and living while the story was unfolding. The main characters were given individual histories and personalities and watching them clash and harmonize was fascinating.

At the same time, Annev was so interesting, so complex that most of the other characters, while interesting on their own, paled next to him. That might be because the reader is really put into his head so he's more understandable, though. It just made everyone else more predictable and sometimes feeling like they were only there to support Annev's descent into becoming a dark lord.

What I loved the most was how consistent the characterizations were. Sometimes it'll feel like characters act out of character for the sake of the story, but it didn't feel at all like that in this book. Every character had their own motivations and personality and how they would react in any given situation. I was pleased that they were all so incredibly consistent, even when a different choice to be a bit off character would have done them well. It also made the relationships between the characters feel more authentic, more life-like, and much more interesting.

The Setting: A Magically Hidden Village

Most of the story is centered around the small, magically hidden village Chaenbalu. There isn't much more described beyond it or the woods it's nestled in, which felt completely unearthly and quite frightening, making it the perfect place to hide a hidden village. The reader is offered hints of the wider world, and I can't help but feel really curious about it. Since this is Annev's journey to becoming a dark lord and there were hints about leaving the village, I'm hoping that the next book will take the reader beyond the woods.

The village was quite interesting. It seemed that no one ever left outside of the Avatars and no one ever really entered. Yet everyone seemed quite happy to never leave the village. It was a close-knit community that closely adhered to the rules laid down by the Academy, but, at the beginning of the book, how their society functioned was a little confusing. Still, it seemed very quaint, small enough for everyone to know everyone, large enough for it to not feel confining. Or, at least, no one seemed restless, except Annev.

The Academy itself felt most interesting. It seemed to be governed separately from the rest of the village and almost seemed as though you entered and never really came out. Some members of that particular society weren't even allowed to leave the Academy walls. It had its own structure and hierarchy, which kept it functional, but also seemed a bit in the dark ages. Still, there was so much to it that I felt I could explore it forever and still not see everything.

The Plot: An Opening Chapter

I think of this as the opening chapter of a dark lord's life. After all, the series is supposed to be about a young man who is destined to be a dark lord. I struggled to see the connection between Annev and dark lord, though. Certainly, there were bits and pieces that gave me flashes of insight, and I can certainly understand Annev's frustration and wariness, but I still have a hard time seeing how he will become said dark lord. Boiled down, this is just the start of Annev's life, his life as it leads up to a tipping point, where we can see warring ideologies that shape his thinking, where we can see a point where he had everything and then lost it all.

What really blew me away, though, was the intricate mythology behind the story and the world. It was really breathtaking and beautiful and masterfully woven throughout the book. I can't say for sure if I enjoyed Annev's story or the mythology more.

This was a relatively slow moving book. The reader is given detail after detail to make the world and story as rich as possible, but it did make the story quite long, especially since a lot happens, but it felt like only one plot point in the greater story was hit. I did like that the slow pace really gave me insight into Annev and his background and that the story felt more character-driven, but I sometimes wished it would pick up now and then.

Overall: A Fascinating Fantasy

This is an interesting slow-moving fantasy with a unique concept. It has a fascinating world complete with a rich mythology, intriguingly complex characters just starting to find their paths, and a unique story that promises to be more interesting further down the line. The only thing that still bothers me is that I can't reconcile Annev with a dark lord, but I look forward to seeing how his journey proceeds in that direction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

At first, although the synopsis sounded interesting, I was worried that this would be a "chosen one to defeat all evil and stop all sin who suddenly has magic powers and can do incredible feats for no damn reason, with no real story line except for a ton of fast paced death defying stunts that he manages to get out of with nothing but a torn up map, a lucky rabbit foot his great grandfather made and a rusty spoon."

Thank god and Justin T. Call that I was wrong! I truly enjoyed getting sucked into this story line, and it is amazing that this is his debut novel with the way he built this world and its history. The story keeps you guessing throughout, and gives away just enough information to keep you satisfied and yet formulate even more questions. Seeing Annev go through so much in such a short time, and seeing him battle between the traditions and life that he grew up with in the Academy vs the morality Sodar instilled in him as he raised him was fascinating.

I am already eagerly awaiting the next installment, and would highly recommend giving this book a shot.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Admittedly, I found myself a little at odds with what drew me to the book and what I actually found. When I first read the book’s description on Netgalley, I actually hoped it would turn out to be more of a villain origin story, but it was less that and more classic high fantasy. Which, honestly, I have no problem with.

The world building was done in a way that was both familiar and different, and I enjoyed how much the author played with what characters think they know, and the differing beliefs between them. It was also great to try to predict how certain characters would react when they found out certain secrets, and whether or not they would change their opinions.

I’m really on the fence about Annev, I think he was generally well-done—a believable 17yo, with specific wants, and who is so very distracted by a pretty girl. But I just had trouble really connecting with him. Regardless of this lack of connection on my part, I did still get a little invested in him, and at every point, I could still understand his decisions—even the fucking terrible decisions. But yeah, I was definitely sitting there going “fuck, he’s gonna do the thing.” And lo… he did the thing.

And my final praise for this book is for the writing itself. It was so easy to get sucked into the world and swept away to the point where I forgot that I was reading, and that was just fantastic! It was clear that there was some depth to the world, and there was just the perfect amount of information given that I was able to make some predictions, get invested in the world and really get lost in the story.

I’m so eager to see where the next books go and I’m thrilled with some of the things that were set up at the end of this book!

Overall, I’d recommend this to anyone who loves high or epic fantasy!

(This review will go live at the included link on Feb 11, 2020)

I don't think this was the right book for me. I struggled to get into it and this is unfortunately a dnf for me.

I am honestly shocked this is a debut fantasy novel. The pacing was perfect, the setting rich, the tone laid out perfectly. For this being Justin T. Call's very first book, it's nothing short of surprising. Usually you walk into debut fantasy books worried you'll run into a ton of info dump, and over explanation of the small things and just generally getting bogged down.

Thanks Netgalley for letting me read this one early! I enjoyed it immensely.

Review cross posted!

Master of Sorrows is Justin Travis Call’s debut novel. I was intrigued by the lines from the book blurb on Goodreads: But what if the boy hero and the malevolent, threatening taint were one and the same? This is an anti-magic fantasy in which magical artifacts, when found, are confiscated and hidden away as they are considered to be tools of the dark god.

The hero is Annev, a boy born without an arm in a world where those with physical deformities are presumed to worship the dark god. He manages to survive in this anti-magic world only through the use of a magical prosthetic arm. Annev is driven by love and loyalty instilled in him by his surrogate father/mentor, Sodar. Early on Annev feels surges of power and hate when he touches objects of magic. He and his friends are schooled in becoming warriors and must pass a test to become an avatar. they fail, they are forever forbidden to leave the hidden village of Chaenbalu. Only avatars may leave to hunt down magical artifacts. The descriptions of this test are quite well done. If

Annev has a love interest, Myjun, that falls quite flat. She espouses the anti-magical dogma sanctioned by her father. Despite the fact that Annev is diametrically the opposite of anti-magical, he maintains his crush on her.

The very long “readings” from the religious tracts slow down the book and I found I simply skimmed them.

Did not finish. I couldn't orient myself around the fantasy dump at the beginning of the novel. It was too dense and disconnected me from the story. I spent so much time trying to figure out the specifics of the world that I didn't have the energy to invest in any of the characters.

“Master of Sorrows” is a Asian inspired epic dark fantasy featuring a reluctant hero who readers can easily gravitate towards and his journey. Unfortunately for me, this was a bit too slow paced for me and there just weren’t any characters that wowed me. In addition, more often times than I would like to admit had put this down to pick something else to read. I don’t think it was about the novel itself but more about me not being in the right mindset to take on this story. More likely than not, I will definitely consider giving this another try in the near future.