⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A rare 5⭐️ read from me 😍🔥

Thank you to Quercus Books for this ARC ❤️

I've had this ARC for a few months now and I was sooo wrong to put off reading it until now!! Honestly, this is one of the best books I've read this year! I also had a copy of The Malevolent Seven that I hadn't yet read. I read both books in one weekend and now can't wait to read Sebastien's other books 📚

This book was described as Terry Pratchett x Deadpool and I can't think of a better way to describe Sebastien de Castell's writing. Given that Terry Pratchett is the author who got me into Fantasy books as a preteen and has held my book loving heart since, there's no way I wouldn't have enjoyed this series!

The plot was so unpredictable and the banter is hilariously shocking and dark (I love it). It's hard to discuss the plot and characters without spoilers. My favourite characters are definitely Temper and Corrigan and you'll understand why when you read this (and don't put it off like I did, pick it up now).

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see this as an anime show 🗡️

Rating of 4.75.

The always entertaining Sebastien de Castell unleashes one of the funniest books of 2025 with the dark fantasy novel, The Malevolent Eight, a compelling and impressive sequel that I couldn’t get enough of.

After a great betrayal, the mortal realm is in peril as the heavenly Lords Celestine and the dark Lords Devilish have simultaneously invaded, determined to fight their long-anticipated final battle on this unclaimed ground. As both sides recruit as many additional human soldiers and followers as they can to their cause, the survival of humanity seems to lie in the hands of an unlikely group of rogue magic users. Unfortunately for everyone involved, humanity’s saviours are the damn fools who caused this calamity in the first place, the insane mages better known as The Malevolent Seven.

At the head of this misfit band is Cade Ombra, a man who has known power and betrayal from both the Celestine and the Devilish and is determined to allow humans to remain free from their dual influences. Forced to work with the most emotionally unstable group of mages and wonderists in the mortal realm, including a destruction-loving lighting slinger, a fallen angel, a righteous devil trying to serve the Celestine, an uncertain blood mage, a roguish rat admirer and their newest member, a vampiric kangaroo, Cade begins to wage a surprisingly moral war on both the Celestine and the Devish.

However, The Malevolent Seven aren’t the only beings attempting to disrupt the plans of the two invading armies. Another group of mages, as well as a mysterious woman from Cade’s past with unimaginable power, are also fighting for their own purposes, and looking good while doing so. Forced to contend against angels, devils, and ambitious mages, Cade will need to outthink all his enemies, while also ensuring that his own chaotic allies don’t make everything even worse. However, the harder he fights, the more Cade begins to realise that he may have to sacrifice everything, especially when it becomes clear that the origin of the apocalypse lies in his gilded past.

De Castell continues to deeply impress with this brilliant, if somewhat unhinged, novel, as The Malevolent Eight was an exceptional dark fantasy sequel that comes very highly recommended. Taking all the comedic craziness from the first book and amping it up to eleven, The Malevolent Eight was a perfect follow-up to de Castell’s previous narrative that takes the reader on an exceptional adventure you just won’t be able to look away from.

To see the full review, click on the link below:
https://unseenlibrary.com/2025/07/13/the-malevolent-eight-by-sebastien-de-castell/

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Cade and his band of wonderists are back, and things are about to go from bad to worse. The Lords Celestine and Devilish are finally about to have the battle they’ve been itching to have for centuries, and they’re going to do it in the mortal realm. Cade and the Malevolent Seven have to do everything they can to stop this war and they might just have to kill a whole lot of people to do it.

I absolutely loved this book. This was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025 and it definitely delivered. It was fast paced with a captivating plot and I ended up racing through this one in a few days. It’s a compulsively readable story, full of de Castell’s trademark humour. There are quite a few surprise twists and this book had me gasping in surprise and laughing out loud in equal measure. There’s also a surprise crossover with de Castell’s Spellslinger series which I definitely wasn’t expecting.

The characters in this book might just be some of my favourites of all time. They’re not afraid to get their hands dirty and they’re all a little bit unhinged. Cade is a brilliant protagonist but my favourite is Corrigan – who doesn’t want to read about an angry thunder mage who tries to teach a vampire kangaroo to talk? This book is completely wild and I had the best time reading it. If you’re looking for a series that will have you entertained right to the very last page, this one is not to be missed. I loved every second of The Malevolent Eight and I cannot wait to see what Sebastien de Castell writes next.

First up, thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! Mine is rather belated... The Malevolent Eight is already available at a bookstore or library near you!

This was such a fun, silly, and honestly kind of deranged read. If you enjoyed The Malevolent Seven, you will enjoy this. I was cackling to myself on numerous occasions. There is a vampire kangaroo, which is a highlight. There is copious, delightfully crass humour. Our cast of characters are just as morally dubious as they were the first time around, even if Cade has heroic aspirations (kinda). It's just a rip-roaring good time.

I did finish this up as an audiobook, narrated by Joe Jameson. His narration is spectacular as usual.

Sebastien de Castell is one of my autobuy authors and at this point I'm pretty sure I will enjoy anything he writes!

As I hadn’t appreciated that this was the second book in the series when I requested it – I got hold of the audiobook version of The Malevolent Seven and tucked into that before starting this one. And I’m glad I did, as the action follows on immediately from the first book.

It took me a while to fully warm to Cade initially, but in this story we see a more vulnerable side to him. He is desperately trying to stop a catastrophic war between the celestials and infernals, but try as he might – he and his motley crew somehow always seem to be a step behind, no matter how ingenious or madcap the schemes. There is an extra character – the vampire kangaroo, who Corrigan is trying to teach to talk. Predictably, the word the kangaroo learns is a swear word.

I’m not sure why – but in this series, I found a lot of the bad language more jarring than usual. Partly, it’s because its use (particularly where the kangaroo is concerned) is supposed to be funny and I’ve never found swearing a satisfactory replacement for wit. There’s also a fair amount of bawdiness in the humour, alongside the swearing. Again – it’s not to my taste and slightly wrong-footed me as I don’t recall much of that type of humour in the Spellslinger series. I wasn’t all that convinced about the love affair that suddenly afflicts Cade about halfway through the book, either.

What about the pluses? I did like the magic system, which I thought worked well. And the dynamic of there being precious little to choose between the celestial forces and the infernal hordes was satisfyingly ironic. The author writes action scenes very well – in fact, I think it’s a major strength that is particularly highlighted in this book. While after a rather twisty journey – the denouement is suitably dramatic with several surprises and a strong ending I enjoyed. While I obtained the arc of The Malevolent Eight from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review. Recommended for fans who like their fantasy peopled with morally ambivalent characters, lots of violence and plenty of swearing and penis jokes along the way. 7/10

Absolutely fantastic. I love Sebastiens writing style and his characters are always so fully rounded and real. I'm obsessed.

I adored this book. It carries the same wonderful worldbuilding and characters as the first and the writing style is easy to follow while matching the tone of the world. Sebastien de Castell is an excellent writer in all forms and I couldn’t put the book down.

I loved being back in this world and with these characters! Sebastien managed to write another bonkers but great story and even managed to make some references to his other books as well. Personally I think this book is what Guardians of the Galaxy could have been if their movies had been R-rated. I love the found family aspect, especially when the found family is actually a bunch of criminals who become (reluctant) heroes. It's been a while since I've read the previous book but in my opinion there was enough explanation as to what happened in the previous book so you don't necessarily need to reread The Malevolent Seven before diving into this one (though I do still highly recommend because I loved that book as well). It wasn't as emotional as previous Sebastien books have been but the end did pack a punch!

Sebastien De Castell has my whole entire heart.

I was a late comer to his writing and am attempting to make up for it now. But give me morally ambiguous, sarcastic and frankly ridiculous reluctant heroes and I am IN.

As the Malevolent Seven continue their foolish attempts to stop the impending apocalypse, brought on by the Lords Celestine and Lords Diabolical looking forward to a scrap, we get to see so much more of our favourite idiots.

Corrigan is still obsessed with his...manhood...and thinks they should have uniforms, Galass is now in control of her sanguine powers, Shame is blending in, Aradeus is still too noble, Alice has no time for Cade’s (aka The Fallen One) nonsense and oh, they also now have a vampiric kangaroo named Temper. Cade fucking Ombra is still our noble narrator showing that internal monologues can be reliable - or maybe they’re not. His new alignment has the potential to rip the world apart, or save it.

What else can be said about de Castell? Another brilliantly written, thought provoking story with engaging characters and a humour romp for the ages.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley

I really didn't like this book much and likely would have DNF'd had I not requested a copy from Netgalley. Maybe too much time had passed since I read the first book but I found the first chapter very confusing and had no idea what was going on. Some of the humour in the book was funny but after a while I just got bored of it and wished the author focused more on the story rather than what witty lines he could come up with. There was a huge chunk of the middle of the book where I was so bored. There were also some scenes that would have been horrific and added to the emotional depth of the story but the author chose to make the inappropriately humorous and it just fell flat for me.
I also found some lines to be very close to lines from some other medias, had I enjoyed the book I would have liked the nods to LOTR and Gone In Sixty Seconds, but as it was I just found them annoying. I still want to go back to the Greycoats Series and try to finish that off but this series is just not for me so Im calling it quits here.

Book 2 picks up a little after the ending of the first, with a new character seamlessly inserted to smooth over the beginning time jump (big fan of the vampire kangaroo).
The tone of this book is different to the first one since now we're not striving to complete a quest for a payout, but trying to prevent the apocalypse ... despite the fact that it's already kind of arrived. The combination of just the bleakest world known to man and the irreverent humour and violence made for a brilliant fantasy/comedy/apocalypse-y novel with even a little subplot for the romantics.
My overall comparison for this duology (?) would be to The Suicide Squad (2021) for just how unhinged each character behaves and the ridiculous dialogue

Thank you to Sébastien de Castell, Quercus Books | Arcadia, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This unfortunately was not for me. Whilst the premise and world-building was interesting, the pacing and characterisation fell flat. I didn’t enjoy the narrative tone as much as I thought I would too - it tried too hard to be funny and I ended up mostly cringing. Maybe it’s the difference between Canadian / British humour.

I’m sure there’ll be readers who will absolutely love this book.

I loved the Malevolent seven, and I loved this one just as much. Dark humour balanced with true emotion, a battle between good and evil except our heroes by all normal standards stand more in the morally grey/questionably evil (even a literal moustache twirler). There is also a very humorous kangaroo that can only be understood by Corrigan (a brutish, crude and hilarious character with a paella obsession)

I really wanted to like this series but I just don't think it was for me- whilst I appreciated the action scenes and the characters journey in the plot, there were some factors in the story that just didn't appeal to me and detracted from the story as a result.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Quercus books for the opportunity to review this ARC book.

Sebastian De Castell returns to the world of The Maleficent Seven in this uproariously irreverent sequel to The Malificent Seven.
Following the events of the first book, Cade Ombra and the gang (including new member Temper, a vampiric Kangaroo) have taken up the mantle of the world’s protectors and are doing their level best to derail the machinations of the heavenly host of the Aurorals, and the devilish Infernals to bring about the final battle that has been foretold.
In the midst of this, there is another flashier group on the scene stealing their thunder, The Apocalypse Eight and a deadly new foe, a Spellsinger who for some reason has a beef with Cade.
De Castell is pbviously having as much fun as his readers in this latest book. Besides racking up a body count that puts John Wick to shame, he drops more F Bombs than the US military has hot dinners.
In terms of plot, De Castell rehashes Kurosawa’s Seven Samuri or The Magnificent Seven with as much glee as kid in sweet shop.
As usual, De Castell writes fantastic characters that you cannot help but love, and the new addition of the Spellsinger definitely adds a new dimension to the motley crew of miscreants.
At times, the story can get a little repetitive, but, to be honest, I will forgive De Castell anything as he is one of my favourite authors and for me hasn’t done a bad book yet.

Yet again another very entertaining book, I had such a fun time folllowing these guys. I did find it a little similar to the first one in terms of the general plot but otherwise a solid sequal I will highly recommend

I loved the ending - unpredictable, inventive, and improbably uplifting - and so I'm glad I finished the book. I did nearly give up in the middle, though. There is non-stop action, constant twists, jokes galore... and yet it felt slow paced. Why? I think it was because the humour created an emotional distance from the characters, so it all started feeling like just more of the same. In the Spellslinger series, the balance of comedy and emotionality is exactly right; here, I felt that it swung a bit off-centre. Maybe it's just classic middle-book syndrome: I felt like I was reading a reboot of book one, but without the surprises.

So, if you're a fan of the first book, this is worth reading to get to book three, which I hope will restore my faith in these irredemable heroes.

'The Malevolent Eight' by Sebastien de Castell.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ a joyride of murder and mayhem. I absolutely loved this book. I loved the first one and this one lived up to expectation. It's full of adventure, unusual violence and a little bit of romance thrown in. If you love a fantasy book with a dark comedic edge then give this book a read.

The stakes have never been higher.
The world is teetering on the brink of annihilation. The Lords Celestine and the Lords Devilish, celestial and infernal beings locked in an age-old enmity, have at last found the perfect battlefield for their apocalyptic Great Crusade: the mortal realm.
Cade Ombra, former Glorian Justiciar turned mercenary wonderist, leads a band of emotionally unstable mages in a desperate bid to prevent the impending clash of divine and diabolical titans. Failure will leave humanity to be conscripted into an eternal war, serving as foot soldiers doomed to oblivion.
The mission seems impossible, but Cade and the Malevolent Seven aren't exactly pacifists, so they're determined to bring peace no matter how many people they have to kill first. With wit as sharp as their blades and a moral compass that points only toward survival, they're ready to cut down anyone in their path to stop the war before it begins.

Thanks to NetGallery UK, the author and the publishers for letting me read a copy in return for an honest review.

Following a rag-tag group of magical people as they reluctantly try to save the world, The Malevolent Eight is the much-anticipated sequel to The Malevolent Seven. In this series, war mages, or wizards as we may call them, are much less noble than they sound. Like our main character Cade, many work for the highest bidder. And yet, when a war starts to rage between celestial and infernal forces, these are the people who have to try to prevent the apocalypse.

I absolutely love the way that Sebastien de Castell is able to blend his witty humour with high fantasy in this series. As we follow a violent group of troubled individuals, there are plenty of opportunities for action and ridiculous plot points. In my mind, The Malevolent Seven series is a bit like a dungeons and dragons story come to life (which is a compliment!).

If you are a fan of more light-hearted (but still well plotted and planned) fantasy and a lover of comedy, I think you will eat this book up!