I received an advance reading copy of The Bladed Faith from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. And honestly? I'm not a fan.

I REALLY thought I was going to like this book. It's about a young prince named Cyrus who sees his royal parents executed in front of him. The usurper who invaded the country & stole his father's throne kept Cyrus a prisoner until he's able to escape with the help of some rebels. After his escape, he's given a choice: either run away to live his life in hiding or learn to fight & become the hero who can lead his people to freedom. Naturally, he chose option two: he wants to learn how to fight. And not just because he wants to free his people but also because he wants to avenge the brutal murder of his parents.

Sounds great, right? The evolution of a young prince from captive to vengeance-seeking hero is a very appealing idea for a story, but we don't see that evolution because we barely get to know Cyrus. The book starts the day of the invasion, and we don't see anything about Cyrus's life before the invasion. Then, the story skips ahead two years from the day of invasion to the day of his escape, so we don't see anything about his time in captivity. Sure, there are a few references to his life before the invasion and to the ill-treatment he suffered during his captivity, but that part of Cyrus's story never gets fleshed out so, consequently, his character never gets fleshed out, either.

The author pushes the plot forward by doing a lot of "telling" and not a whole lot of "showing." Through very long scenes filled with lots of talk, we find out a lot more about the people who are helping Cyrus and how the empire subjugated other lands and killed their gods, too. But we don't find out a lot more about Cyrus. So, he's just as two-dimensional at the end of the story as he was at the beginning and that's a shame.

I was very excited to read Cyrus's story, but this book ended up being more about the rebellion & other people in it and not so much about Cyrus. It was very disappointing. I give it 2.5 stars (I'm being generous & rounding up to 3).

I received an ARC from Netgalley / Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2 Stars

This novel had the potential to be quite good. I think it could have been a very interesting exploration of religion, conquest, and revolutionary politics. The "god-whispering" and faith-based magic system are intriguing concepts. Dalglish is also capable of being quite vivid; the fight scenes in particular were a lot of fun to read. Unfortunately, none of this was enough to make the story consistently enjoyable.

In his author's note, Dalglish mentions how he came up with the characters and wrote a handful of scenes that appear in the novel before he ever came up with a plot or a developed setting. This is very apparent in the novel. Almost every aspect of the story felt underdeveloped.

Some specific issues:

-The plot moves very slowly until the very end of the book, when a bunch of new plot points (e.g., Sinshei’s plot to take the throne, Stasia being a demigod, Cyrus turning into a god) are suddenly introduced and left unaddressed. It seems like this book was just a drawn-out introduction to the upcoming sequel.

-While the fight scenes were fun, I do think they were overused. There were 3-4 chapters at the end of the book that basically described the exact same fight scene from different points of view. This didn’t move the plot forward and was pretty frustrating after a while.

-The "rules" of the magic system are not explained at all. Since magic plays a rather integral role in the plot, the lack of clarity was frustrating. All we really know is that magic is somehow linked to the gods and/or worship/faith. However, faith alone does not seem to be enough to grant someone powers. Most of the citizens of Thanet and the empire do not appear able to use magic at all, despite being deeply religious. Generally, it seems like characters' ability to use magic depended entirely on what was convenient to the plot.

-The gods are not explained either. They take physical form and apparently can be killed—but not really? They are supposed to be mighty enough to cause entire religions to be built around them, but can also be captured and executed within hours of an invasion by humans who have been on ships out at sea for six entire months. Humans can be made into gods or at least be made "god-like". Gods can also mate with humans somehow. Nothing related to the gods made sense, which really broke my immersion in the story.

-The central conflict of this novel (Cyrus & Thanet vs. the Empire) feels flimsy. This is for two primary reasons:

1. We do not get to experience (directly or through flashbacks) Cyrus’ treatment at the hands of the Empire after his parents are executed. Cyrus references a few vague instances wherein Gordian behaved cruelly, but nothing is elaborated upon. We are basically just told over and over that Cyrus is angry. Basically, Dalglish “tells” way more than he “shows”, making empathizing with/ caring about Cyrus difficult.

2. The Empire is not a strong enemy. Every “bad guy” — from the soldiers to the actual antagonists— is a one-dimensional bully. They are cruel for the sake of cruelty. While it may be believable for some of the bad guys to behave like this, entire societies/cultures are not that simplistic. Also, they lose almost every battle with the protagonists. Large groups of the Empire’s soldiers are frequently decimated by a group consisting of fewer than 10 individuals. How were they able to conquer entire nations if their fighting ability is this pathetic?

The book clearly tries extremely hard to be nuanced. Because it tries so hard, the complete lack of nuance and insight kind of slaps you in the face. Honestly, it seems like Dalglish read a couple of news stories about some bigoted Evangelicals being homophobic and then decided an entire empire could be formed based solely on that belief. The insinuation that all polytheistic religions are somehow “kinder” than monotheistic religions or that they lead to less bigotry is also ridiculous. Dalglish’s childish take on religion (in a book marketed to adults) really ruined the immersion for me.

I do think this book had potential. Dalglish should take more time to flesh out his setting (particularly the values/beliefs of the different societies in his world) and the motivations of his characters. He should also explain more about the gods and the magic because they are integral to the plot. Most of all, he should resist the urge to overgeneralize complex topics like religion, especially in the obvious ways he does in this book. If he keeps these things in mind, I think the sequel will be a genuinely fun and engaging story.

Young Prince a boy loses his parents.. his God’s and is captured. Within his captivity learned how to protect himself and escapes and set to revenge his family. He become a symbol of revenge .
I give this book 3 stars This trope is used to much

3.5/5 stars.
A young prince takes up the persona of “The Vagrant”, a mysterious assassin, to reclaim his kingdom. But at what cost?

To begin his revenge plot, we first follow Cyrus through a training montage, I always love a good montage.
While some the characters' roles felt stock, David brought good voicing and contrast to them, such as Mari's gentleness paired alongside her ruthlessness.

I enjoyed the pace that propelled the story forward to higher stakes as Cyrus progressed; however, the tension could feel fairly low knowing this is the start of the series. This is a series I'll keep my eye out for later installments as it was fun read and I want to see our ragtag rebel crew kick some empire butt.

“You will be a phantom killer. A merciless shadow. A god among mortal men.”

At first I was worried this was going to be YA with Endarius a lion god, and Lycaena the butterfly goddess, but what I actually read was a stunningly, violent, revenge story full of blood and gore.

Anytime I read a well written fantasy with classic well loved tropes, but done in a modern way, I fall in love with Fantasy all over again. Who doesn’t love a reluctant hero, older mentor, great found family, or a magical relic?!?! Not to sound like a broken record but especially when a male author can represent women is such a strong and powerful way! It shouldn’t be “refreshing” to see women equally included in military or warrior roles, especially in Fantasy, but Dalglish did this VERY well. Then there’s the beautiful representation of same sex couples, and even a religious priest protecting a trans women. I thought this would be a typical, violent, alpha male, revenge plot, but it was so much more.

After young Cyrus the prince of Thanet, witnesses his beloved parents and his god brutally slain, and his kingdom invaded, he remains captive by the conquering Everlorn Empire. Fatefully, leaders of a long brewing rebellion rescue Cyrus and vow to train and sculpt him into the powerful symbol of their rebellion, The Vagrant. David Dalglish created such an endearing, reluctant hero in Cyrus. While overcoming great odds and internal battles, your heart aches for this poor young man. But honestly the emotional insight is so exceptional with all of the amazing characters, you really feel and understand exactly why the characters make every single decision.

Without a doubt my favorite characters are sisters Stasia the (bloodthirsty) Ax of Lahareed, and sweet (yet ferocious) Mari the god whisperer. These two deserve their own series. But not to be outdone by loyal Rayan a paladin of Lycaena. I’m also VERY intrigued by Arn the “Heretic” and Soma the horrible paragon.

It should almost go without saying that the sword training, epic fights and battles are incredible. And the gorgeous descriptions of Thorda’s crafted weapons had me drooling. I’m very excited to read more of Dalglish’s work because I loved his writing style and battle scenes.

Thank you to David Dalglish and Orbit Books for the opportunity to read this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing characters and even better world. This revenge story has everything you want in an amazing story.

ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.

The Bladed Faith is a familiar and action-packed revenge story executed magnificently.

“People say it is in the daylight that things are laid bare, but I’ve found truths are best revealed when the moon is high.”


Every time I think about how many books David Dalglish has published to this day, I always feel like I have a LOT to catch up on. I’m serious. The Bladed Faith, the first book in The Vagrant Gods trilogy is Dalglish’s 29th published novel, and prior to this novel, I’ve read only The Keepers trilogy. I have mentioned several times that The Bladed Faith is one of my most anticipated books of 2022. True; one of the reasons behind this anticipation is because I enjoyed The Keepers trilogy. But more importantly, what made me so excited for this release is how passionate Dalglish has been towards his work the past two years. And fortunately, not only did I receive the honor to host the stunning cover art reveal (illustrated by Chase Stone and designed by Lauren Panepinto) for this book, but I also got the blessing to read this early. I am not disappointed by this. The Bladed Faith is a great first book to a trilogy, and it shows promises that the sequels will be more explosive and larger in scope. Check out what David Dalglish has to say about The Bladed Faith:

“As I mentioned earlier, each series of mine tends to have a goal or idea that I’m trying out for how I want to tell the story. For The Vagrant Gods, I decided it would be less of an experiment and more of a culmination. I would take what I loved from my various series and try to create what I would view as the definite path forward. This would be the series that, if you asked me what a definitive Dalglish novel was, I would no longer point to A Dance of Cloaks, or The Broken Pieces. It would be this book. This trilogy. A band of powerful friends/ family like the Eschaton Mercenaries of The Half-Orcs and Shadowdance. The religious conflict of The Paladins. The anything-goes philosophy of The Keepers. And as always, my over-the-top battles, in a setting that would allow me to stretch my chops, like the aerial battles of The Seraphim. It’s a new world with new characters, but for so much of it, it felt more like a homecoming.”
—David Dalglish

Has the passage above sparked your interest yet? Well, it should! The story in The Bladed Faith revolves around the revenge story of a usurped prince named Cyrus Lythan. Cyrus was only 14 years old when his country was invaded. In the invasion, his parents and gods were slain in front of him. After years of being held prisoner in the invader’s court, a mysterious group of revolutionaries breaks him free, and they provide him the chance for revenge. Cyrus must train and become the figurehead of their rebellion. He has to become a hero to unite the people and strike back, and he’ll don the skull mask and twin swords to become the legendary “Vagrant”—an assassin of otherworldly skill. Creating an illusion of a hero is obviously not an easy task, and Cyrus will discover the price of his vengeance.

“To wear that new face. To become a heroic killer stalking the streets of Vallessau. You will be a rumor at first, one we will seed with whispers in the right ears in the right places. You’ll fight alongside my chosen elite as their figurehead leader, and receive all the glory for your combined exploits. Together, you will challenge even paragons. With every kill, you will make real the rumors that we have sown. And then our whispers will change. Who might this killer be? What identity does the cloak and skull hide?”


Dalglish has mentioned that writing The Bladed Faith feels like a homecoming for him. But in a way, I think there are a lot of familiar elements in The Bladed Faith that will make readers feel at home. The Bladed Faith does not bring anything new to the genre, and it might not become a classic for veteran fantasy readers. But the found family, training montage, clash of faith, and revenge story imbued into the narrative have been polished wonderfully. No battle school trope was involved, but the training montage in the first third of the novel has to be my favorite part of the entire novel.

“I am not training you to win sanctioned duels, Cyrus. You will not fight in an arena with fair odds, equal numbers, and rules of engagement. You will kill men and women who want you dead. It will be brutal, chaotic, and make a mockery of your sense of time. Some moments will last an eternity. Other decisions you will make so rapidly, you won’t know you are making them. Every swing, every block, every parry, and every dodge must be perfect. Anything less is death. Thanet’s resistance has clung to life by its fingertips after Lycaena’s execution. I will not build you up just so you may hang from the Dead Flags, the slain prince whose corpse marks the end of the rebellion. You will be a phantom killer. A merciless shadow. A god among mortal men.


I do think that Dalglish has a way with characterizations. I know that this will be subjective to each reader, but Dalglish's way of characterizing his characters—good or evil—does click with me, and they make the narrative he puts out more engaging. This was the same in The Keepers trilogy, and it is the same again here. Honestly speaking, I liked Cyrus Lythan and his revenge story. However, it was the main supporting characters that excelled more for me.

“These children didn’t yet know the sting of impossibility. They didn’t know the dread of the unrepentant and the determined ugliness of the Uplifted. They would, in time. When they did, Rayan prayed his stories of hope and forgiveness might bring them comfort.

Cyrus is accompanied by several important characters in his mission. First, the ruthless Stasia Ahlai, the Ax of Lahareed. And then the faithful Paladin, Rayan Vayisa. But my favorite of them all will have to be the relatively virtuous Mari Ahlai, the Lioness and a God-whisperer with the power to channel Edarius's skill to hunt her enemies. I do honestly think that Mari is one of Dalglish's most well-written characters so far. There was something about her that always felt so kind-hearted and terrifying at the same time, and I loved reading her narration.

“When I hunt, there is pleasure in the blood upon my tongue… War makes monsters of us all, but that is why I become the Lioness. I hunt so no one else must be a monster. I hunt so others may know peace, and love, and live in the joy of their gods and the beauty of their rituals. For me, that is enough to grant my soul peace.”


Lastly, I have to talk about the battle scenes. From my experience and my analysis, the battle scenes in The Bladed Faith could end up being a double-edged blade depending on its reader. There is nothing wrong with the battle scenes per se; Dalglish's battle scenes were well-written, vivid, violent, and exhilarating. However, I would definitely prefer more interactions and development for the characters. The Bladed Faith contained many battle scenes, and the pacing did feel slightly imbalanced because of it. If you don't like reading many action scenes in the first installment of a series, The Bladed Faith could end up as a mixed bag for you.

“The wise can rebuild a better world from the ashes, but for there to be ashes, we must first burn down the old and the rotten. I say we get to burning.”


For the first book of a series, I tend to prefer more characterizations and world-building than having more battle scenes. As I said, Dalglish's characterizations were praise-worthy, and I loved the characters he has crafted in The Bladed Faith. I did wish we saw them interact more to deepen their respective relationship further. This, of course, does not change my opinion that the battle scenes were well-written, especially in the climax sequence. I hope a more equal balance between characterizations, actions, and world-building will be achieved in the sequel to come in 2023 because I do enjoy reading the character's journeys, and I want to feel even more immersed in the crimson carnage on The Island of Thanet.

Overall, The Bladed Faith is a well-executed revenge story charged with endearing characters and bloody action sequences. It's a story about reigniting the candle of hope when darkness invades. Faith and hope rested upon the skull mask and the twin blade wielded by Cyrus Lythan, and I think The Bladed Faith should rightfully earn a spot in reader's hearts who love reading a fantasy novel embedded with found family, incredible training montage, and great assassins. I look forward to reading the sequel as soon as it's released.

“The life we wish for, and the life we have, will never meet… If your parents weren’t king and queen, they might have survived Thanet’s invasion. They also might have been soldiers who died defending against the initial wave of boats. They might have been priests executed in the early days when the Dead Flags filled not a crossroad but whole streets. We cannot judge ourselves by the unreal worlds we spin about ourselves. In this world, the real world, your parents were cut down before your eyes. Your sorrow is real, as is your pain. It could have broken you, but it didn’t. You lived on. You grew. You are not defined by your doubts, Cyrus, but the path you walked to bring you to where you are now.”


P.S:
The author told me that I'm featured in this book as a drunken sailor named Kirt for a few pages. I've read the scene, and I'm truly thankful for this honor.

You can pre-order this book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Blackwells (Free International shipping)

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

I received an ARC from netgalley for an honest review

I will start out by saying this is a good, engaging story that starts out as good vs evil, but turns into a little more like not so bad vs quite bad.

It's a classic tale of young person with tragedy going through trials to get to be really good. The action is well paced, it's obviously a dark story and pretty graphic. The magic was interesting, but could do with a little more fleshing out, maybe in future books,

There's a moral tone of colonialism and appropriation, but is not too preachy.

The story took a while to flesh out the world and there are plenty of characters who have some moral ambiguity. still lacked some punch to make it really stand out from the classic genre, but a good start.

I enjoyed the book, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I'm hoping the world and the characters get a little deeper now that the base has been created.

**Thank you for the ARC. All opinions are my own.**

3 stars. Very stereotypical story of a hero's training and revenge (not my favorite type of fantasy).

Does not stand up to the quality of other Orbit Books.

SUMMARY (spoiler-free): The story starts in the midst of a raging battle between a powerful, ever-expanding imperial empire and an island kingdom protected by two gods. The empire seeks to dominate and colonize various countries, all of which have their own cultures and gods, who take physical forms and have different abilities. The outcome of the bloody battle ends with the royal family of the island kingdom being violently slain, except for a young royal prince. The young royal prince swears to get revenge for his fallen family and to re-establish his presence to rule over and protect the people of his island.

MY THOUGHTS: Very reminiscent of Mistborn, in which a hero trains to take back his country from an evil empire. To be honest, The Bladed Faith was extremely stereotypical and hit all the "right" plot points: hero experiences something devastating and terrible at the hands of his enemy, goes away to train, and comes back to enact revenge.

CHARACTERS: There was no character that jumped out at me, nor was there anything that set it apart from other "hero's journey" books. The hero's family perished at the hands of some evil empire, but so what? A well-written character should have some sort of MORAL STRUGGLE that makes the reader think and empathize with his position. The hero's having one purpose, and one purpose only (getting revenge for his fallen family) was understandable, but did not make him admirable.

SOMETHING LACKING: Even though it hit all the cliched plot points, there was just something LACKING in this story. All the characters felt flimsy and one dimensional. There was really nothing that set this book apart from other "hero's journey" fantasy books. I mean, we've got the makings of interesting worldbuilding (come on, gods, anyone?), and yet this book lacked a special something to push from "average" to "great." Upon review, I think that this book lacked something truly COMPELLING. In fact, it felt like the characters stumbled through the motions of a mechanical plot, each serving their purpose when necessary, but nothing further.

TLDR; If you're looking for something more complex than the average "hero's journey" plot with flat characters, this is not for you.

Over the past few years, there are a few fantasy books that stand out to me. Nick Martell's The Kingdom of Liars, Brandon Sanderson's Rhythm of War, RJ Barker's Bone Ships trilogy. These books have renewed my love of the fantasy genre and have given me the firm belief that the best days of the Fantasy genre are ahead of us. The short of what's to come is: David Dalglish's The Bladed Faith is a definite addition to that list. The Bladed Faith embodies some of the best elements of epic fantasy and builds on those in ways I never could have expected.

When I read the blurb for The Bladed Faith, I had mixed expectations. I've long had Dalglish's Soul Keeper on my TBR list and just haven't gotten around to reading it yet. When I read the blurb, I mistakenly assumed that The Bladed Faith might just be an otherwise unremarkable fantasy novel with an interesting hook: that the survivor of the royal family would become a weapon of a larger resistance. You can imagine my surprise and utmost joy at discovering that this book was sooo much more than that.

After reading The Bladed Faith, I think I will describe it to my friends as "Epic Fantasy Batman meets He-Man." This could come across as a reductive reading of the book but I assure you that I mean those three words as the highest praise imaginable. I love Batman (and comic books at large) more than I can easily put into words so when Dalglish's book quickly began sounding those bells and turning into something reminiscent of Batman in epic fantasy form, I was absolutely delighted.

Cyrus is one of my favorite characters in recent fantasy fiction. His portrayal is utterly one of the most appealing aspects of the book and I found every moment I spent with him to be a delight. One of my favorite moments, early in the book, between a deity's proxy and Cyrus brought tears to my eyes. The tragedies that befell him made my heart hurt and his victories made me cheer and that's a rare feat.

On the other side, the supporting cast is fantastic. Stasia and Mari are amazing and I love their relationship with each other. Thorda and Rayan are fascinating and the early scenes of their differing ways of readying Cyrus for what is to come are some of my favorite moments in the book. The villains are truly horrifying and I'm fascinated to see what comes next with them.

Ultimately, this book is one that I will recommend to anyone that I can get a chance to. I got to read an ARC for review purposes but I've already pre-ordered a physical copy of this book because it's not enough for me to just read it but I want to reread it again and again and have it permanently in my collection. This book is not just one of my favorite books this year but probably one of my favorite books in the last three or four years. I'm utterly excited for the next installment and I'm slightly sad that the next one isn't here already.

4.75/5

The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish is a fast paced revenge story that'll keep you on the edge of the seat throughout. Outstanding series opener for the The Vagrant Gods series.

First of all huge thanks to the publisher and author for approving my request on NetGalley and it goes without saying that this is my unbiased review/opinion.

When his parents and Gods were slain by the Mighty Everlorn Empire in front of his eyes during the Invasion of Thanet... Cyrus, the Prince becomes something more the people of Thanet need in their desperate time. He becomes their Hope. He becomes The Vagrant Prince.


WHAT WORKED FOR ME IN THIS BOOK

Pacing / Writing: From page 1 to page 460 there was never a dull moment in The Bladed Faith. Not a single unnecessary scene. The Pacing was fast without ever being rushed. Breathing time between the fights and the ramp up of tension before a big confrontations were all executed properly. Action sequences were explosive, the world building was really well done and the writing was simple and direct which never affected the flow of the story.

Characters: Even though the story is about Cyrus it doesn't mean secondary characters didn't get enough page time. Each character is unique with a distinct voice and a proper arc. You'll feel sad for them. you'll feel frustrated by their action and you'll feel happy when they feel happy. Also, the conversation between the main characters were really fun to read. Each character has a factor that drives them through the rebellion that adds a shade to their character... Revenge for Cyrus and Thorda, Love for Stasia and Mari and Belief for Rayan. Also, the antagonists of this story, oh my... you would love to hate them. They are just plain cruel. It was really something to see the world from their POV.

And also, I loved the training montage of Cyrus even though it's a small part of the book it was written really well and makes you root for the guy and I'm a sucker for a weak character who becomes the badass after sheer hardwork 😅

WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME IN THIS BOOK

A minor nagging, I saw the big reveal coming a 50 pages or so before. But that didn't affect my overall enjoyment at all.

FINAL WORLD: After reading The Bladed Faith, one thing I know for certain is that I should definitely read the other works by David Dalglish. The Bladed Faith is razor sharp.

I'd like to thank Orbit and NetGalley for allowing me a chance at reading this book.

This was my first time with David Dalglish's writing. He has a wonderful world he has created. The problem is, I don't really understand it and there is no real world-building. A book like this which has gods existing amongst mortals, getting killed off, people taking on the god's powers? This requires some kind of background and or world-building on the gods themselves. This book bypasses all of that and you are left with characters in a plot that you don't quite understand.

I'm not asking people to be a Brandon Sanderson when it comes to world-building and plot going hand in hand, but I'd like some sort of depth and or scope to the story. These characters are just doing things without the understanding of why it is important and why I should care for the world they live in.

I was attracted to this story because I thought that a Prince taking on the moniker of a legendary hero had a Batman vibe to it, or even a Scarlet Pimpernel vibe. But after finally getting to that point, after slogging through 35%, I felt upset because the villains themselves were hardly strong enough foes for him to fight. The villains themselves just existed and there was no real background or depth to them either.

I don't know if this book is for me, and therefore, I don't think I can really continue to read it.

I have to admit to being a bit of a latecomer with regard to David Dalglish's books. But better late than never as they say because he is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors in the genre. His last series, The Keepers, really made me stand up and take notice because of its brilliant world-building and magic. Even though each book was fairly lengthy I flew through each one in record time, the story was that enthralling. So when I saw that David had a brand new book coming out, I simply could not get my hands on it fast enough.

THE BLADED FAITH is very much a fantasy story about revenge and the time and dedication it takes to obtain it. When the small island nation of Thanet is viciously invaded and eventually colonized by the extreme theocratic Everlorn Empire, things seem more than hopeless. Especially when the people of Thanet's gods and rulers are executed in front of their very eyes. Prince Cyrus eventually escapes and it is there where the story truly takes shape as he begins the process of becoming a force of inspiration to try and rally his homeland. But it won't be easy as the Everlorn Empire has not acquired its territory by peacefully integrating those that it conquers. The choice they offer is not an appealing one - convert to the twisted religion which guides its rulers and submit completely, or die.

This book kind of reminded me of another series that I really adore, The Last War by Mike Shackle. There is a very similar theme to it with regard to one country being decisively taken over by another and then the aftermath that results from that both in the daily life of the conquered and also the conquerors. That being said, this is no carbon copy and Dalglish definitely lays out his own unique and intriguing story to revel in. The religious fanaticism aspect was one that I found really compelling and also disturbing at times when you see just how blinded by faith people can become.

The characters in THE BLADED FAITH are what made me want to pick this book up at all hours of the day and night. I mean, I was angry when I had to stop reading it. Besides Cyrus, we also are introduced to some others who have their own motivations when it comes to resisting. Possibly even some within the empire itself. These characters were especially intriguing to me as it gave another perspective of the story which showed that maybe not everyone is on board with what the empire espouses.

Speaking of characters, they don't get much more despicable and evil than the Imperator Magus and those who serve under his command. I HATED this dude with the fire of a thousand suns. If you like your villains to be complete a-holes, then Magus fits the bill perfectly and you will wish terrible things to happen to him every time you read a scene with him in it. To be able to create someone this unlikable is a real testament to David Dalglish's writing chops in my opinion.

When I finally turned the last page of THE BLADED FAITH I was left with a sense that I had just read a truly magnificent beginning of what promises to be a phenomenal fantasy series. Dalglish has made me a believer and I now feel compelled to read every single book that he has ever written. Maybe I'll do that as I wait for the next juicy installment in this one. If you are looking for an exciting and interesting new fantasy series to start, I suggest preordering this immediately. You won't find many better opening books and you are going to want to have this one downloaded or shipped the day that it is released, trust me. Unforgettable characters, astonishing world-building, wondrous magic, and top-notch writing should make this a welcome addition to any fantasy lover's TBR shelf.