Seven Deaths of an Empire is a sprawling work of epic fantasy from G.R. Matthews. It begins, as one might expect, with a death.And, in the interest of full disclosure, it doesn’t stop with just one. What it does do is give us a complex, clever storyline with narrative threads interwoven between two disparate viewpoints in different places. What it does do is give us a world which has familiar cultural undertones, and asks thoughtful questions about Empires, and what they are actually for. What it does do is do this through the lens of some compelling characters, and by providing intriguing mystery, kinetic, bloodthirsty combat, top-quality dialogue and believable relationships. This book is the whole package.

To be fair, at over five hundred pages, it is also a pretty big package. But it’s all useful stuff. Each page carries with it some snippet of character, a witticism that makes you chuckle, another strand in the world building tapestry, or a moment that makes you think you know what’s going on - having already made you think that, and switch dit up on you a couple of times before.


But I digress.


The Empire is the world. Everyone outside its boundaries is a barbarian. Or at least, so those in the Empire would have you believe. And the Empire thinks it has a mission to civilise. By which it means, to assimilate. It does so by fire and sword, cracking skulls and leaving trails of bodies across a continent over centuries. One strand of the narrative follows the aftermath of one of these expeditions, into the dark forests of some as-yet unconquered tribes. The clash of cultures is as much soft power as armed force. Those outside the Empire have no desire to pay its taxes, no desire to kneel to an Emperor who burns their woods and would throw away their religion. But the Empire is there anyway, legions invincible, or at least endless. And it brings learning, and books, and indoor plumbing in its wake. Are those within it better off than those without? It’s something to ponder, and I think the text explores the nuances of liminality on the borders of strong polities really well. And it makes the forest feel alive, from the close packed trees and dark mulch underfoot, to the people within who fade in and out of sight of their adversaries, and have a rich sociocultural life of their own. And as an army retreats back through that forest to the safety of its borders, we get to see some of Imperial military life. Harsh, sometimes, hierarchical, but also a place of opportunity, and one where comrades stand by one another; where the people in the machine help bend or shape the machine.And they do so with religion and blood, yes, but also with magic, and ties of friendship and history.


The other strand of story is deep within the Empire, in the capital. Here the lavish lifestyle of the aristocracy is made visible, but so too we see some regular people; all of whom seem fairly content with their lot. Sure, there are problems, but they’re not living in forests and crapping in compost heaps like barbarians. But this is a place of byzantine politics, patient schemes, and, well,murder. We’re here for the aristocracy, for their backbiting and human tragedy and moments of genuine growth - and, of course, the potential for their demise. But the world, the Empire, the marble palaces and the stone dry hills, the thronging streets and the simmering conflict between religion and magic - they all combine to help us see a living, breathing world.


The viewpoints. Well, I don’t want to give much away. But we get The General, and The Magician; one steeped in the service of the Empire, mired in old struggles and old loyalties, and keen to hand over the reigns of power. The other is younger, more idealistic about their role in things, but also perhaps naive, and willing to question their assumptions. Each brings their own biases, their own weaknesses and strengths as a narrator to the table - and it’s to the author’s credit that each is a totally unique voice. When the General speaks, you can hear the world weariness seeping through his bones, the rigid armour of old competence and quiet secrets. And in the Magician is youth and hope and that simmering insecurity, and a need to do something, to choose to be better, to be, even if changing, doing, being can end badly and bloodily. In both cases, their inner lives are opened to us - well, mostly. And What we see is rich and detailed and plausible; these are people, living in the spaces we see, with friendships and enmities and, well, everything that makes people..er..people.


The story I really won’t spoil. But yes, you can count the number of deaths. It’s in the title. Eqal parts murder investigation, explosive combat, suspense thriller and, well, magical shenanigans, this is all great fun. There’s enough twists and turns here that you could probably use the book to crack open a bottle of wine, and enough heartfelt emotion left on the page to make you laugh or weep. It’s a good story; at times a tragic, poignant one, at times hilarious, often thoughtful, and always interesting. If you’re a one for big fantasy tomes, this is one for you; and if you aren’t, generally, you might give this a look anyway, because it has so much going on that it may well grab your attention and not let go, much like it did mine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a decent story that I could see being made into a movie, but I can’t say it particularly stood out to me. Maybe this is because I was expecting a little more due to how this book was marketed as “grimdark”; there’s nothing in here that I haven’t read before in YA fantasy books.

This book follows two POVs. The first is a young magician called Kyron, who is very much the naive young fantasy protagonist. Although he was a fairly generic character archetype, there were some interesting topics raised in his chapters, like his complicated heritage or his anger issues, but I wish the book had explored these topics more to give his character more depth.

General Borden, the second POV, is much older than the typical fantasy protagonist and offers something a little more interesting. You could really feel his tiredness but also his dedication to duty. However, a lot of Borden’s chapters deal with political intrigue, but I felt they weren’t fleshed out enough to be truly intriguing. Unfortunately, I found the characters, from the politicians to the Emperor’s children to the High Priest, to be very flat, and I thought it was pretty easy to see what was going on which made these parts of the book feel painfully slow. The last few chapters are exciting and explosive, and I enjoyed them but they felt rushed in comparison to the earlier chapters.

Overall, I see a lot of potential in the world and characters of this story, but I’d like to see more depth all around.

🔥⚔ BOOK REVIEW ⚔🔥

𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗢𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 by @g_r_matthews

🌟 🌟 🌟🌟 🌟 /5

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱. 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲.

What a start fucking start to a series! I devoured this over two days, but had life not got in the way it would have been one sitting.

This book tells us the story about what transpires after the Emperor dies suddenly through the POVs of two great characters.

The first is that of an old General who has been loyal to the Emperor and Emipre since he was young. His story introduces us to the imperial family, political players and just the absolute shit show of trying to hold it together and protect the heir to the Empire alive until he can be crowned the new Emperor.

Our second POV is from a young magicians apprentice called Kyron. He and his master are part of the escourt that are returning the dead Emperors back to the capital city to be buried and pass on the special, shiny, emperors medallion. Through Kyron and the characters he is travelling with we learn the magic system, the state of the empire outwith the capital and the religious ways of the Empire.

Matthews has done fantastic character and world building. This book ticks a lot of my boxes - scheming, morally grey characters, a good magic system, stabbing, drawn aspects from actual history.

I'm normally good at sussing a plot out, but this threw me off and kept me guessing.

I cannot wait to own this in hardback as I LOVE the cover soooo much.

I would say that if you like Joe Abercrombie's First law books, then check this out.

Thanks to @Netgalley for giving me an earc copy for an honest review.

Warning... this is a page turner.

You may find yourself reading this at the wee hours of the morning, thinking, ‘just one more page.’

Like a literary version of the TV show 24, the chapters have a way of leaving you on either a cliff-hanger or on the verge of a new discovery.

All my reviews are spoiler free, but I do give a short a blurb - something similar to what you’ll see on the back of the book - just so I can discuss the concept and world. This only goes into events in the first couple of chapters.

The Emperor is dead.

The amulet that he wears must be given to his son, Prince Alhard, before he can be crowned... The only problem is that the Emperor has died far away from the capital.

General Bordan orders a cohort of soldiers to escort the body home, through a forest where thousands of newly conquered barbarians live. A magician and his master travel with the cohort, using their magic to preserve the body of the dead emperor.

The journey is fraught with danger, not only from the hostile barbarians, but also from the scheming Dukes of the capital. For whoever has the amulet is the new Emperor - and not everybody wants Prince Alhard in charge of an Empire.

And so there we are - a great premise - and two fantastic POV characters to follow.

The General, who tries to protect Prince Alhard, and his sister, Princess Aelia, from the dangers of court. And a magician apprentice, Kyron, who is learning how to use his magic as he protects the body of the dead Emperor.

We also have a great supporting cast. Religious zealots, a spoilt royal family, slimy dukes, and a barbarian tracker with questionable loyalties.

I enjoyed both POV characters and they were both different enough to give their chapters a distinctive flavour. Themes of loyalty, the meaning of empire, of peace and freedom are explored, but not in a preachy way. This isn’t a book that lets itself get bogged down in lengthy expositions and both sides of the argument are observed by the main characters.

In terms of setting, this is based on the Roman Empire. The link is very tangible. In fact, I don’t even remember the name of the capital, in my mind it’s just Rome.

I love historical fantasy and I love this era of history in particular, so I found this actually quite immersive. I felt like I knew what the city looked like, as well as the northern forests that the cohort must march through to get home. For those wanting a unique setting, this perhaps won’t satisfy, though there is enough to differentiate it for someone who doesn’t mind.

I would also add that the magical system is NOT based on the pagan gods of the Roman Empire and the main religion of ‘The Flame’ isn’t the same as Christianity. These both give another layer of difference.

The chapters weave together really well. At times you know trouble is coming before the character does, at other times you know a character has just lied because of something you’ve discovered from the other perspective. There is also a mystery to unfold. At the start of every chapter there is a short extract.

Who is the boy? Who is his grandfather?

This mystery is linked to the narrative and at the end everything comes together. As I have mentioned, the pace is brisk, and once we get to the last 1/3 it moves very rapidly. It’s been quite some time since I’ve had a plot move me along at this speed, and I enjoyed that. I’m usually in the “character-driven” camp when it comes to stories, but I found this had enough of that to sustain the more plot-driven sequences.

There were also some shocking twists. On two occasions I was very sure I knew where the story was heading, only to have the opposite happen. This again really elevated the story and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.

Overall this is a great debut. I’d say it will be a hit for fans of The Last Kingdom and Simon Scarrow - as well as those who have enjoyed historical influenced fantasy like Game of Thrones or Blood Song.

Best fantasy I've read in a long time

A wonderful fantasy novel that pays homage to ancient Roman lifestyle and warfare. I loved the two POV characters and the General was just everything. He never expressed his emotions, but they were there in his silence and reactions - great writing.
The 7 deaths were excellent, and I found myself often counting them to see where we were! I didn't like the last one...damn you, Matthews!

The magic system in this novel was incredibly unique and we'll constructed. The constructs, connection and spells that weave together was a joy to read.

this is pitched as a standalone - no way. this actually can't be read as a standalone as there are too many questions and open ended story threads.

Definitely coming back for more from this author

I just want to start of by saying that this read was awesome, an absolute gem of fantasy writing and surely to be a contender for best fantasy book of the year. This is my joint favourite read of the year alongside Mike Shackle’s A Fool’s Hope. From the moment I started it, the pages flowed, where one day I found that I had read 40% of the novel throughout the day. I just couldn’t help myself.

The story starts in a very simple yet big way: The emperor is dead! The world is dominated by an ever expanding Empire, who are trying to force their way across the map, pushing their ideals onto everyone around them, whether they want them or not. The Empire is suddenly left without their beloved Emperor, who mysteriously dies and the vacuum is filled with politics, assassination and constant accusations. There are those desperate to preserve tradition and are loyal, others who seem to be sniping for power and others trying to fill the shoes of those before themselves. These elements of the story are largely from the perspective of The General, a man who had served the Empire with pure loyalty, desperately trying to rescue his precious Empire and bring his Emperor’s body back safety. He himself is only trying to preserve tradition, but is thrown into trying to discover who was behind the murder, which is difficult when surrounded by potential suspects. I absolutely loved this character, finding him down to earth and extremely humble.

The second perspective within the book is The Magician, Kyron, who at the start of the story is an apprentice mage, training alongside his master. He finds himself escorting the Emperor’s body back through the dense forests, which are dominated by the tribal people they have fighting. It is through Kyron that we get a brilliantly understanding of the conflict between magic and religion, playing on the ignorance within religion and their attempts at removing anything that questions its own ideals. This made for some fantastic interactions between characters, adding a real depth to the Empire throughout the novel. Matthews also does a great job not over explaining the lore within the world, instead building our understanding alongside that of Kyron’s, as he moves away from regimented understanding through the Empire, to a more broad and questioning take on the world.

My favourite part of this book is the subtly in which the author drops clues, never being too in your face and always causing me to predict at what or who might at play under the surface. Now I know what happens at the end, I can clearly see the bread crumbs Matthew’s had left for me along the way. And it was these hints that kept me wanting more, always wondering if my theories were correct.

The other characters within the book are all equally fantastic, each playing their part brialliantly in the story. One of my favourite characters is Kyron’s tribal guide, who throughout the book adds in the perspective from the tribes. The theme running through the book of forced acquisition was brilliant, and the scenes between the two characters did a stunning job highlighting this side of the story.

Overall, Seven Deaths of an Empire is a brilliant read, the pacing and chapter lengths makes a slightly longer novel seem much shorter, with interesting characters and a plot full of subtle twists. This is easily a must read for the year! I happily gave this book a 5/5!

I thought the book looked grander in scale than it actually ended up being. We had only two different POVs, both of which were different enough and served their purpose in being a bit more personal and developing their side of the world. (Which I like!) I switched a few times between the two when it came to which POV I was interested in the most. At the start it was Bordan, then in the middle it switched to Kyron and so on. They both had their high points and their lower points.

The story itself was interesting, but it had an incredibly slow start. It took me about halfway to really warm up to it, and I was pretty invested by the time I hit the 80% mark, but because of that it took me ages just to get to that halfway point.

I scoff a bit when I hear people’s reviews of something being “I know the start is pretty so-so, but it gets good later, I promise!” which is often something I don’t agree with. In this case though, I would say it’s true. Not that the start is so-so at all, it’s just slow, but as long as you’re semi-interested in the characters and what’s going on around them, the road to the end is going to pay off. It isn’t as straightforward as it appears to be.

Certainly a promising start!

An excellent book, a goood read with lots of plot twist and turn that keep you interested until the end.

Full disclosure: received an eARC from the publisher. All thoughts are subjective and honest to the best of my abilities.

What a slow burn. Well. Not in the thriller sort of way. But the way the author moved things forward, one step at a time (sometimes literally) it felt like I was moving towards something grand and epic.

It was grand. And epic in a sort of way that's not quite epic. It was the dread you feel when you know something is wrong, that it will go wrong no matter what you do.

And it did.

To begin with, I'd like to say I am a sucker for the character types that are good people, but they will do horrible things to maintain the goodness of the world. That's probably contradictory, but you get it. (Just get it, please.) General Bordan has to be one of the best morally grey characters I've ever come across. I've been moving away from grimdark since a few years because some of the grimdark books don't have rhyme or reason to their grimdarkness. But the author here showed how amazingly you can write a great morally grey character.

In the opening scene of the book, the author somewhat abruptly, but in hindsight, brilliantly sets up the type of book we're going to read. He shows us what kind of man Bordan is. Initially I thought he was a bit of a cunt. But slowly, step by step, page by page, I came to truly appreciate him. And by the end I was more attached to Bordan, the old general, instead of the other main character...

...Kyron, is in my opinion, a bit of a hit and miss.

Initially you'll see him as the young, nervous, and unknown apprentice he is. He's biased. Bit of a xenophobe—hope I'm using the correct term—and generally the type of young character most people find annoying.

But he starts growing on us. And by the end he's cemented as the main character. Not just as another POV, but the character I will want to read about in the eventual sequel.

The worldbuilding is inspired by the Roman Empire. And that's not all good.

It was done great. The author did a seamless and clear job of it. It's just that... Personally I've never enjoyed fantasy books that take heavily from the real world. (one of the reasons I rarely read Viking inspired fantasy books.)

The magic started out great. Basic, not wholly powerful nor weak. With clear—if not clever—drawbacks. But by the end it became a bit hard to follow.

Ah... Now the end, and the antagonist: what the fuck? So we basically have the old run of the mill evil for power's sake villain? That's it? Man, that was a letdown. But I liked the twist that came with it. Proved me wrong the first time this year when reading a book.

Overall, a book that I really enjoyed even if I took a long time.

Good book.

The Seven deaths of an Empire takes place in the lands collectively called as 'The six Kingdoms'. The Empire, one of the six is a rapidly expanding kingdom in the process of conquering 'the forest of the tribes', another of the six in the name of bringing the so called 'savages of the tribes' to civilization. The Empire is obviously inspired by the ancient Roman Empire and the kingdom of the tribes representing the various tribal factions of Germania with who the Roman Empire clashed repeatedly in their conquest of Europe (I think so, please don't, I'm not exactly well versed in that particular subject). The citizens of the Empire follow the doctrines of church of the flame. The flame which symbolises the single deity who will embrace it's followers with warmth and eternally scorching it's enemies (remind you of something?). The emperor possesses an amulet of the flame, which contains the collective knowledge of his predecessors. Backed by this knowledge and the power of the flame, the Empire rightly moves ahead with its "noble" conquest. Surely their advance would be successful right?. Wrong, the emperor dies and now his body must be transported from the front lines of the war to his capital so that his heir could claim the Amulet and succeed him. This is where we meet the two points of view in the book. General Bordan, one the most trusted men of the late emperor must hold the capital city at bay as they react to the death of the emperor while at the same time dealing with the heirs to whom the time has come to bear the responsibilities of the Empire. The other POV is of Kyron an apprentice magician on the warfront, whose master has been chosen to escort the body of the emperor back to the capital. The escort must battle the tribes trying to thwart their return with the body. Along the way Kyron must come to terms with the ideology set by the Empire and the church as he begin to see things in direct contradiction with what he previously belived. Meanwhile at the capital, Bordan senses that there's more going on behind the scenes and that this isn't going to be a trouble free succession. Subsequent events in the palace only make things worse. As the two storylines converge, the pacing picks up exponentially and the book keeps you at the edge of your seat with an explosive (pun intended, if you know you know) conclusion and setting up of the sequel.

The pacing for the first thirty or so percent of the book is quite iffy. The book starts off well but then devolves into a slow trudge. The dual point of view is usually used by authors to keep the story interesting and stop the book from feeling stagnant (unless they've got god tier worldbuilding and character work). This unfortunately doesn't work in this book initially as for some stretches of the story only one character's POV is interesting while the other sort of feels dull. The dual POV works when both are equally or atleast nearly enjoyable. This issue is resolved to an extent once the book picks up the pace. The worldbuilding is interesting, bit we dont get much (close to none) details of th world other than the two main factions at war. There is hope that this is remedied in the sequel. Another issue (this is mostly personal by the way) and is something I've noticed in many characters across many books who have a similar situation to Kyron. The character start with some pre existing ideals, the journey they take makes them question their ideals and they come out as a chaged person. This works well, but most of the time what end's up happening is that the faction or the ideal the character stood behind initially ends ups feeling entirely in the wrong where as the faction the character was initially against are having ideals entirely the right one. This makes the reader choose the second faction without another thought. Wouldn't it be much more interesting if both factions have had holes or flaws in their ideals and the character who is in question undergoes a change to fit the best in both worlds. Only in a few books have I seen this happen and fewer hav I seen it succeed. Mostly it goes quickly to one side or another. With the way the sequel is set-up I hope some of the concept I've mentioned in my mini-rant is explored. I will be looking forward to the sequel.

Also thank you to the publisher Rebellion and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. This does not affect my opinion and my rating of the book

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a great beginning to a new grimdark fantasy series. I have not read main grimdark fantasy books but this one hooked me in right away. It was full of political intrigue, action, magic, and great world-building. It had everything that I love in a fantasy novel.

4.5 stars overall

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion/Solaris for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A grim dark fantasy feat Roman Empire influence.

4.5 stars

Seven Deaths is heavily influenced by Christian Roman Empire. They had similar culture with Romans such as Gladiator and Colosseum. They even had military system replicate from Romans. The Empire in this story worshipped monotheistic religion but they practiced magic. I really favour the themes were political maneuvering, loyalties, betrayals, action, fighting and murders. This has made me invested to this book dearly. As it has political maneuvering, it comes along with treacherous act definitely. The most enjoyable part was one treacherous act is followed by another and this left me shocking, especially 100 last pages.

Another absorbing scene that author highlighted was colonialism and had a debate about "White Man's Burden" where colonizer claimed had sensed to civilize people outside from Empire. Looking to the characters, they were portrayed very well as author managed to bring out their worst and best of them which I did express my feelings to it. I admit that it's a bit dry but still enjoyable to me.

I like how no romance are not involved at all and probably will be budding in the next book. We were only exposed on the early stage 'hatred to each other'. Despite of the book is quite lengthy, it is a justified one.
Really hoping to able read the second book as I am hoping magic system will be expandable, a little touch of romance, more actions, more background about tribes and more wisdom to be learned.

***Will be reviewing in Goodreads separately due to technical error***

I received an advance review copy for free via NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. My sincerest thanks to the publisher and author. :)

Overall this was not a bad book or story though it fell a bit more flat for me personally than probably the average reader will find. The story itself is told well, the plot is a bit par for the course of the genre, from multiple angles and the prose itself is well done.

The setting for this book is incredibly Ancient Roman-esque and is the primary basis for the units, armor, tactics, weaponry etc. It has a bit of magic mixed in. The enemies of the empire are clearly either Gauls or Germanic tribes. There is a bit of late Catholic Inquisition thrown in for good measure and conflict between the Gymnasium of Magic.

This sadly, is where it falls flat for me. If I had known that a lot of this setting had been lifted from the Ancient Roman era I would have given it a pass. I found myself reading it and going "Man I wish I was just reading a historical fiction novel."

My humble point being is that there is too much lifted from that ancient era to really set this novel apart. If it isn't going to be a historical novel I desire a more original world to explore. As it is the bit of magic thrown in along with an Inquisition like church just wasn't enough to make this worth the read as a fantasy in my mind. I felt the author needed to commit, either write a historical novel or create a much more original world setting for his fantasy tale.

As it stands, with one foot firmly in history, the other anchored in fantasy it just ends up getting lost in the shuffle and not excelling at either.

Strong Roman Empire influences throughout, the "tribes" gave off Picts/Celts vibes. There was some strong potential here, and I'd like to see where the series goes, but overall it would probably be 3.5 stars for me. There were some minor grammatical errors, to vs too, but that is a non-issue in an advanced copy for me. There wasn't anything objectively wrong, I just had trouble being excited to keep reading at points. This may be more of a reflection of my personal taste than the quality of the writing.

If you are into Roman influenced fantasy, with a bit of thriller/intrigue mixed in its worth checking out.

Seven Deaths of an Empire is a grimdark fantasy that combines a lot of my favourite things, so in this book you’ll find political manoeuvring, loyalties and betrayals, a whole pile of bodies, action and fighting along with quiet and contemplative bits, magic as well as a realistic feeling world where actions do have consequences. This is clearly the first of several books in a series and the magic works are barely hinted at in this volume. In many ways, this is a coming-of-age fantasy as the torch is passed from the older generation of the General and the Magician to the younger not-quite-ready generation of the Emperor's children and the apprentice. #SevenDeathsofanEmpire #NetGalley

It doesn’t happen too often but every now and then you get a book come along that just makes it hard to begin anything else. For me books like A Memory of Light, The Sword of Kaigen, The Burning White and Ruin have left me not reading for weeks or months even. Now days I don’t feel like I have that particular luxury anymore, I want to review books and that means I need to read books which means slumps aren’t allowed to exist. From now on these mental blocks will be laid siege too. Today’s review is on Seven Deaths of an Empire by G.R Matthews and it’s the book that beat that slump, it’s the trebuchet that flattened my mental block. This won’t be my prettiest review and I apologise off the bat because I think the story that GR Matthews wrote deserved a better reader. I struggled to get going with this, and that isn’t down to the book, purely my own mental incompetence.
Thank you to Rosie over at Rebellion Publishing for sending me an ARC of this incredibly beautiful book. I wish all paperbacks looked this good.
The Emperor is dead. Long live the Empire.

General Bordan has a lifetime of duty and sacrifice behind him in the service of the Empire. But with rebellion brewing in the countryside, and assassins, thieves and politicians vying for power in the city, it is all Bordan can do to protect the heir to the throne.

Apprentice Magician Kyron is assigned to the late Emperor’s honour guard escorting his body on the long road back to the capital. Mistrusted and feared by his own people, even a magician’s power may fail when enemies emerge from the forests, for whoever is in control of the Emperor’s body, controls the succession.

Seven lives and seven deaths to seal the fate of the Empire.
Seven Deaths of an Empire is a new epic fantasy series following the stories of Bordan, a general of the Empire and the man ultimately in control of its military, and Kyron, a young apprentice whose job it is to guard the body of the dead Emperor as he’s escorted home after campaigning in the North. Seven Deaths of an Empire is set in a world heavily inspired by our own historical period of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, we are brought into a world were the unstoppable might of the Empire continues to roll out from its capital, swallowing everything as it goes and bringing its own version of civilisation to the Tribes and peoples of the Forests. The Empire is heavily based on the Romans as we knew them, we have its Gladiators and Colosseums, its soldiers carry the same weapons, their armies building the same roads and following the same military strategies on the battlefield, and the Empire following the same tactics that made the Romans one of the most powerful empires in history. Even a lot of the lore we are given seems to mirror our own historical events quite well, the book having a considerable focus on religion that a lot of people theorise is a large part of why the Roman Empire eventually crumbled. The Tribes are a little less of an exact copy but share a lot of similarities with the Gaul and Germanic Tribes that the Romans fought and eventually conquered around 50bc. Even though Matthews has heavily sourced his story and ideas from our own history he has done incredibly well to make this world his own and I found myself loving the setting and changes that were made.
One of my only real criticisms of the book and not even a very large one is I felt we had barely scratched the surface this world that Matthews built. I really enjoyed the magic system that Matthews has built, it reminded me in part between a mixture of life magic similar to what we see in Paolini’s Inheritance Series and the channelling we all know from The Wheel of Time but yet felt new and original in a way. Magic is seen as “motes”, particles that are found in all living things are drawn from around the Magician and then are weaved into complex and fragile webs, Magicians having talents in different areas of magic and stronger Magician’s being able to form more numerous and stronger webs. We saw quite a few uses for this in some inventive ways, webs being built that could detect lies, battle magic and even wards that help preserve a body from rotting. This I felt was a soft magic system, there was no real limitation on what could be done as it seemed to be scaled more from the users own imagination and quick thinking. It definitely also seems like the Empires power starts to decline its knowledge is slipping away with it, I do not believe we’ve fully seen the extent of what can be done, and I can’t wait to see what we might get in the next book.
Only the minute specks of magic remained, passing through and bouncing off all that surrounded him. They were everywhere, in everything, a million tiny flies buzzing past his ears, a billion minuscule stars wheeling around the sky. They called to him and he to them, commanding, cajoling, explaining, demanding, and controlling.
This was magic. This was where he existed.
The Tribes themselves seemed such a massively unspoken part of the story and it led to a lot of frustration, I want to learn so much more about them and the broader world outside of the Empire itself. We do get a little look into one of the villages part way through the book and all it did was flare up my curiosities further. I feel I understood why Matthews decided to leave out so much lore, it seems to mirror the characters ignorance to the world and cultures around them, it means we have to be a part of Kyron’s lack of understanding and learn alongside him as he has the world and truth start to open up to him. So even though I consider it a criticism, I believe it is there for a purpose and will give us a much more exciting book two as we find out a ton of new info. So instead of a criticism, it should be more of a frustration?
Seven Deaths of an Empire is a two person POV story which was right up my alley, alternating chapters between Bordan and Kyron which I loved because it never meant we had long to wait when we had those little end of chapter cliff-hangers that authors love so much. It took me a while to really fall in love with either of these two, this was in part because of the mental blocks Ive previously mentioned, but I also didn’t feel that these two characters were really fleshed out till we really got into the book. Once Matthews got going we ended up getting a lot of depth and complex motivations behind both, Bordan and Kyron both being incredibly well written towards the end with a lot of focus on what drove them to make the choices they make, plenty of situations that left them questioning their beliefs and a lot of tough choices to be made. I ended up invested enormously in both of these characters particularly loved the progression that we saw with Kyron as the book went on, Matthews doing a wonderful job of writing a youngsters naivety to the real world and a realistic look at what happens when you are introduced to things that questions those lifelong beliefs that you’ve held.
Bordan almost took a step back in surprise. There was a heat rising from the young woman’s skill, almost too hot to touch and Bordan could feel the heavy pulse of blood running through her arms. Grief tore at your mind, he knew that, and gave free rein to base emotions. Some raged and spat at the world. They would shout and fight, attack with words those closest to the. Eventually, they would calm, and relation would come crashing down with a hot wave of crushing sadness. Later, they would raise their heads, emotions spent, and carry on, the hole in their heart scarring over but never truly free of the pain.
I may have struggled to be drawn into the two main characters, but I quickly fell in love with Matthews supporting cast, both Bordan and Kyron were surrounded by characters I enjoyed reading about and spent much of the book wishing to see more of them. Emlyn was my favourite character of the entire story and definitely the first character I actually found myself loving, brimming with attitude, and making me laugh out loud at moments, I thought she was incredibly well written, and I feel she will have a much larger role to play in coming books which is a very exciting prospect. I also had some genuine anger and frustrations towards the Royal Family and people such as Livillia, Matthews wrote characters I would struggle not to slap if I stood in the same room as them, and Ive always believed that if an author can make me feel some rage or anger, they’ve done an incredible job.
One thing that really stunned me as the book went on was how beautifully Matthews did with writing the fight scenes, even though battle and bloodshed wasn’t at the forefront of this book the bits we got were thrilling, Matthews has a natural ability to write fights that many authors struggle with. The Roman setting isn’t something new in fantasy and most will have some knowledge on how they fought, but I grew up watching shows like Time Commanders and playing games such as Rome Total War, I love the way ancient civilisations fought and the Romans were geniuses on the battlefield, Matthews managed to transport me into that shield wall, he made me hear the call for heavy Pila’s as they were thrown from the back lines to find purchase in the bodies of my foes, and he set the rhythm to the fight that found us taking that one step forward, grinding away at our enemies bit by bit . I could read Matthews battle scenes every day and be a happy man.
An axe rising into the air, the suns light scattering from its chipped edge. A whisper of air and a cry of effort as a shield met the blow and shattered. Splinters pinwheeling through the air and sudden lack of weight on his arm. Gladius stabbing forward, driven by training and instinct. A gap opening in the line ahead. A soldier falling and stumbling over the injured man, desperate to keep his shield high and sword in tight. Moving into the gap and slamming the shield forward to create room, peering over the top, wary of an attack. Heavy armour and biting pain at the base of your neck where the helmets rim met flesh. Sweat pouring down your face, under your cheek guards, and hot breath burning lungs as each precious gasp powered you forward.
A quick final shoutout to Matthews on his writing, I was a big fan of his prose and writing style in general. His writing was unpretentious and never felt unnecessary, but out of nowhere he would smack you with this beautifully written sentence that struck to your core. I find this sort of writing so much more impactful sometimes because when you get to that incredible prose they are really elevated and give pause. His chapter structure was also something I loved and something I’m always grateful for. I always love a wonderfully short chapter that doesn’t waste any time, they break up the story so well, every page giving you what was needed, when it was needed without that horrible pain you are normally left with at the end of an exciting chapter.
Seven Deaths of an Empire isn’t outrageously different, it isn’t a new take on the fantasy genre, and it isn’t leading the pack in diversity, but it is a superbly written grimdark story and a classic feeling epic fantasy that reminded me of reading authors like Raymond E Feist and David Farland, its exciting at every turn with a wonderfully spun plot that keeps you guessing the entire time and Matthews has written a book that I really hope and believe has opened up a much vaster and even more exciting series to come. I can’t wait for book two, Silencing of the North.

I've been enjoying enough of the diversity of the fantasy novels coming out recently to not begrudge the odd trip into what feels like a very European, indeed very Roman Empire feeling setting. Its not named and the familiarity only comes to you in fits and starts, but its enough to fill out the bits of the world - and the politics - you need. This is an Empire where there is magic, but the Church opposes it but works in tandem with it for the necessity of the ruler. We have an expansionist Empire hemmed in by warring "barbarian" tribes, and a leadership slowly becoming paranoid from the centre. Our protagonists are an old general, the head of the military, and a young magician - all reacting after the Emperor is murdered on the front line of battle and his body needs to be returned to the capitol to pass on the amulet of power (which carries memory as well as ritual significance).

It took me a while to get into the rhythm of the book, not least because I realised the guy who killed a messenger for being a messenger was supposed to be my stoic steady viewpoint character, and this act of cold blooded murder didn't sit all that well with his supposed heroism. It is all shown to be part of intricate courtly politics, but it took a look time to redeem to me and only really when his voice and opinions kept uncovering even worse monsters than him. The young magician was an easier narrator, though actually quite dull for the greater part of the book, surrounded by much more interesting characters. Nevertheless the whole thing is extremely pacy and once it gets into the back and forth of raiding parties, and assassins it was a compelling read. Once you twig the Roman thing too, the direction of travel becomes clear, and whilst the book manages to guard it secrets until the end, a smart reader of the parallels would guess who is responsible.

The first part of what I am guessing is a trilogy, Seven Deaths Of An Empire has a very classic robust shape. The first book is the fall, and the disillusionment that the Empire won't last forever and perhaps shouldn't. Again we perhaps as readers are too savvy to be taken in by the inherent goodness of an all conquering Empire, and the outsider character who gets to snipe in is far too interesting to ignore. But it does manage the difficult trick of trapping its characters in to wholly understandable but poor actions in the finale to set up the future conflict. Its odd - I was normally four or five steps ahead of the book, but the satisfaction was in seeing how it would actually play out (not least when I was wrong or off in places). Its well done rather than ground-breaking, but well done is a pretty good start,

The story is told in a very cool manner as each chapter alternates between two main viewpoints: one the magician's apprentice Kyron, and the other loyal General of the Empire, Bordan. There are also mini-flashbacks that begin each chapter that count down from 10 years prior to a couple of years before the events that are currently taking place. All of this is done for a particular reason and starts to make sense with the overall story as you read further. Frankly, I loved this method of storytelling and it just made the experience that much better in my opinion.

As SEVEN DEATHS OF AN EMPIRE unfolds we see an Empire somewhat in turmoil and uncertainty with the death of the long-reigning Emperor. Stability must be regained at all costs, for the risk of opportunistic enemies who would take advantage of the transition between rulers is both very real and potentially catastrophic. It is incumbent upon the main characters in the story to play their own part in service to the Empire, yet each have their own daunting challenges that confront them. One wields the weapon of magic (albeit raw and untested), while the other uses the force of military might. It is interesting to see the dichotomy between the two play out as tensions rise and danger looms.

This is a book that has a good deal of intrigue and political maneuvering in it, which I am a huge fan of. If done right, it can propel a standard fantasy tale into something much more engaging. And this one is done right. Matthews never spoon-feeds the reader and it seemed like I was always kept on my toes as one treacherous act is followed by another that I didn't see coming. Predictability is a big turn off for me but I'm happy to say that so many things happen in this book that made my jaw drop, especially in the final 100 pages or so.

The aspect that makes this book a cut above your normal fantasy read though is the growing anticipation of something transformative building as you turn the pages. There's a creeping sense of dread as the characters desperately try to hold on to some semblance of the status quo in the face of treachery and setbacks galore. Throw in the fact that many of the factions who are attempting to salvage the Empire don't really trust one another, and the task is an onerous one for sure.

SEVEN DEATHS OF AN EMPIRE is an excellent book that I recommend to anyone who loves their fantasy with loads of intrigue, deception, action, and magic. A fascinating book about what happens when a once powerful Empire shows a brief moment of weakness, and in doing so, exposes its throat to predators both internal and external. This is a fantasy book that pulls no punches and keeps you ensnared in its clutches from start to finish. I can't wait to see what G.R. Matthews comes up with next. The book isn't officially out until June 22nd, but it can be preordered now to be delivered on release day.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I was very excited to read it, and it was one that just didn't live up to the hype for me, unfortunately.

The main characters just didn't connect with me. Kyron, the magician, whined and complained far too much, and even at the end of book had not shown any growth and was still complaining about things being unfair.

The general was a bit better as a character, but it was hard to get to know him.

The plot was quite predictable. I didn't think there were any twists or turns. It was quite formulaic.

The book gets two stars simply because I finished it. However, it was a slog. I felt the pacing was quite slow. It did pick up at the end, which was much better than the beginning and middle of the book. If the ending had been the beginning of the book, I think it might have served to get me engaged.

Fantasy books are, at times, books that I struggle to get in to. Any book that gives me a chapter or two of pure world-building and history to start the book loses my interest as I just want to get on with the story. Build the world as you go, weave it into the story. Too much information about the world at the beginning and I won't remember half of it anyway so it'll be lost on me, so I tend to stick with a select few fantasy authors that I know. No one wants to start a book and be bored straight away. Ones that drip in bits of the world around the story, even if it's someone explaining how magic works later in the book, are the fantasy books that I like. So I'm selective, that is until I had the opportunity to read/review Seven Deaths of an Empire, by G.R. Matthews and Rebellion Publishing imprint Solaris, as something about the description and that beautiful cover (I know, shouldn't judge it by the cover) just screamed at me that I needed to read it - and boy am I glad that I read it!

The story is about seven lives and seven deaths that seal the fate of the Empire. Each chapter switches between the two main characters of the story - General Bordan and the apprentice Magician Kyron. The seven deaths and lives are scattered throughout and shape the Empire and the two characters we follow. The side characters, whether they live or die, all have a part in shaping how the book unfolds.

The two main characters though are General Bordan, a man who has dedicated his life in service of the Empire, in charge of the army and protecting the heir to the throne, and Apprentice Magician Kyron, assigned with escorting the late Emperor's body and his honour guard on the long road back to the capital of the Empire whilst battling tribes in the forests and the priests who hate magicians. Whoever controls the Emperor's body, controls the succession to the throne, so getting the body back to the capital is paramount.

Seven Deaths of an Empire is easily one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. My favourites are books like The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson, and I honestly didn't think I'd find a book that came close to enjoying as much as I do Sanderson's work. There's a lot of Roman influences in the story that is apparent throughout with the use of Roman numerals for each chapter, mentions of gladiators, soldiers using gladius swords, and how the soldiers appear. It's a delight that gives you little nods towards the Romans without actually being Roman. You get introduced to the priesthood, magicians, soldiers, generals, tribes, forest, lore and forbidden magic and the world in general, but not too much. There's definitely plenty of room to expand, but is there a need to when the real joy is how well-balanced everything is? There's politics, action, brutality, humour and sadness. Magic explained enough that you know how it works but still have some questions. You know bits of the history of the Empire, and like our own world it's passed down information so might not be entirely accurate. Everything is expertly delivered with nothing feeling out of place and nothing feeling like filler to add to a word count.

We need to talk about the prince for a moment though. I had Game of Thrones Joffrey level hate for him. A young prince grieving the loss of his dad, by my God was he awful. Get's good advice and just ignores it all and wants everyone to bow down to him and to kill anyone that doesn't conform to his way of thinking. A proper rule by fear would-be Emperor. Granted, things could have gone differently, but he was an awful, scared boy who ultimately just wants to be a strong Emperor.

Throughout the story, it's clear that something is wrong in the Empire - a trailer, someone that wants to be Emperor that isn't in line to gain it. I was pretty sure I knew who was the traitor was, even though I had moments of doubt. I was right, partly, with there still being room for a surprise which was great. I thought I had it all sussed out but did not and looking back there are plenty of reasons why I picked why I knew who it was as well as plenty of reasons to doubt that. But like any good story, it's never that simple and the eventual reveal of what's been going on just made everything fall into place.

There are more surprises though than just who has been trying to take over the Empire. Each chapter starts with a snippet of the past which are easy to follow through to the end, which near the end becomes part of a reveal that I definitely did not see coming. The reveal happens in the main story which is then picked up again in the pre-chapter snippets and suddenly they all make sense.

Overall, it'll take one hell of a book to top this one in 2021. It's a complete story but I'd like to think that the ending has left a door open for a sequel. Even if there's not, I hope that this isn't the last we see of this world that G.R. Matthews has created as there's so much potential here for more. I enjoyed it so much I even went and bought some of his previous books to read.