FANTASY REVIEW: Corvus - Paul Kearney

Release Date: 28/10/10

BOOK BLURB:

It is twenty-three years since a Macht army fought its way home from the heart of the Asurian Empire. The man who came to lead that army, Rictus, is now a hard-bitten mercenary captain, middle-aged and tired. He wants nothing more than to lay down his spear and become the farmer that his father was. But fate has different ideas. A young warleader has risen to challenge the order of things in the very heartlands of the Macht. A soldier of genius, he takes city after city, and reigns over them as king. What is more, he had heard of the legendary leader of the Ten Thousand. His name is Corvus, and the rumours say that he is not even fully human. He means to make himself absolute ruler of all the Macht. And he wants Rictus to help him.


REVIEW:

Having loved Paul’s Ten Thousand, I really couldn’t wait to embark on another novel set in the lands of the Macht. When this title landed after girding myself and preparing my own baggage train (hey I got a 2 litre bottle of Dandelion and Burdock and a selection of Sandwiches) I settled down to see what would befall the Dogshead.

What you get with Kearney is a story told at a blistering pace with graphic battle sequences, decent dialogue and above all else cracking characterisation with a Spartan descriptive style so that the reader knows that theirs no extra padding. In short a title that is combat fit with a hard toned literal wall of muscle that will kick the hell out of a lot of other titles on the shelves.

All in I loved this book which was a welcome escape from the real world into a clearer black and white one of the fantasy ilk. Great stuff.