Snag Your Copy A Time Of Blood (Of Blood And Bone, #2) Engineered By John Gwynne Readily Available As Interactive EBook
on A Time of Blood (Of Blood and Bone, #2)
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“We live our lives through Truth and Courage.
Love and loyalty, friendship and honour are our guiding lights, ”
Malice/
Valour/
Ruin
Wrath
A Time of Dread/
A Time of Blood/
There are not many consistent authors like Gwynne, he keeps producing highquality books at a constant rate and I dont understand how he does that!
A Time of Blood is the second book in the “Of Blood and Bone” series and takes place immediately after the epic battle that happened in book.
I find it hard to talk about the plot without spoiling the book so I wont, but it was fastpaced, full of action and awesome battle scenes and emotions, as expected from Gwynne.
The writing is great but that does not surprise me anymore, as I said above, I dont know how Gwynne does it but he writes multiple POV and he weaves all the threads into one tale and I find that amazing! To be totally honest, I kind of preferred the first book in the series but only a bit more than this one and I gave both the same rating of.
which means both were still pretty awesome,
“Stop raging about the things you cannot change, Just be true to yourself and do what you can do, Love those worth loving, and to the Otherworld with the rest of it, That is all any of us can do, ”
The characters were all well written and I cant decide which is my favorite POV because I did like Drem but also liked Riv and Bleda as much.
Most of the chapters end with a cliffhanger which makes you care about all of them, I just think I was more connected to the first series characters more because they were as epic as they can be!
And I kind of found the plot twists in this book to be predictable, I dont know if it is because I am used to the writing and twists from previous books or because I have a usually good eye for these things.
But anyway, it is not something that bothered me because it was more about the journey and not the destination as they say and I think that those makes the plot advance in the best direction so why the hell not!
Summary: Epic, awesome, great as expected.
The writing is good, the characters are well written and I did care about them, I am looking forward to bookfor sure! A Time of Blood is the second in the new series from John Gwynne, It picks up where the last left off, and let me tell you, it was SO great to be back in this world with these characters.
Gwynne has not let me down yet, in all the years I've been reading his books, and I doubt he ever will,
This book was amazing! The character development that continued from the last, it's so easy to really feel like you know everyone in the book.
The tension surrounding them throughout the story just mounts as you progress, because you know no one is safe and you worry for all of them.
The action sequences are forever exciting, I could read a whole book written by Gwynne where it's just one long fight, and I'd be so there for it, Yes, the characters are amazing and it's nice being attached to them, but he has such a way with words describing battles that I'd be okay with just that.
Also, less stressful if it's one long fight and I'm less worried about favourites dying, Anyways, that's getting off topic,
I find this series is much darker than The Faith and The Fallen, it was evident in Time of Dread, but Time of Blood really picks up with how dark it is.
Again, constantly worried about all my favourites, Both The Faith and The Fallen, and Of Blood and Bone are series that I'm regularly recommending to fans of fantasy and even some people that are adamantly antifantasy, and this just boosts why I recommend it.
If you've not read this yet, I don't know what you're waiting for! If you haven't started the series yet, get out there and get going on it.
The title sums it up pretty well, blood is being spilled throughout the book and I loved it!
John Gwynne can write about battles in a way that I see them in my minds eye and I can actually follow what is happening!
Another fantastic book, can't wait for A Time Of Courage.
. . Well, I haven't smoked in over a decade, but I could use a cigarette, Bloody good stuff. soon. Let me preface this review by stating that I have never given a John Gwynne book anything less than five, If you are doing the math, that's five books in total that all were pretty damn perfect in my opinion, Along with Tad Williams and Robin Hobb, Gwynne is one of the very few authors who literally makes me block out any outside stimuli when I'm reading one of his books, I'm that focused on them.
His preceding series The Faithful and the Fallen is in my topfantasy series of alltime and I'm actually planning on doing a reread of that one very soon.
It's reasonable then to assume that I was more than a little excited to receive an advance copy of book two in John's Of Blood and Bone series A TIME OF BLOOD from the publisher Pan Macmillan.
For those who follow my blog, you are already aware that the first book in this new series A Time of Dread was myread of.
So now that my cards are all out on the table, here are my thoughts on A TIME OF BLOOD,
We pick up the story of A TIME OF BLOOD pretty much immediately after the events of the first book in the series A Time of Dread.
Book one described a land torn apart by the war that took place over a century previous between the demonic Kadoshim and the angelic BenElim.
The last vestiges of the Kadoshim, appearing to have been mostly eradicated by the BenElim and their allies, were being hunted in every secluded corner in and around The Banished Lands.
Yet rumors still abounded of a group of Kadoshim holdouts who may or may not be growing in strength and numbers, The end of A Time of Dread was one of the more thrilling I have experienced and definitely set up the events in this second book tantalizingly well.
Book two brings us back to The Banished Lands and the four main character viewpoints that are prevalent in this new series, The action in A TIME OF BLOOD has been ratcheted up considerably and the battles that the characters must endure, both physical and emotional, are just vintage John Gwynne.
We continue to struggle with the BenElim as "heroes" when often times their motives seem selfserving and they can tend to be rather ruthless in their supposed protection of their human beneficiaries.
As in book one, we see that the Kadoshim are still ever present across the land and the threat that they pose is no longer whispered at but is gradually becoming a reality.
Throughout the book, Drem and the other characters embark on an attempt to warn each city about the impending danger that may be coming.
When ultimately a large force of the demon horde amasses at the foot of the BenElim stronghold, war is all but certain again, but this time victory for the BenElim may not be so easily won.
You see,the Kadoshim have learned from their previous defeat and coupled with a new leader, may have discovered some secrets that could tip the balance in a potential new clash with the mighty BenElim.
If that final battle does come, who wins and who loses will be a question of who has enough strength, courage, and faith to throw back a faithless foe bent on nothing but death, subjugation, and destruction.
What will be the ultimate result You just have to pick up this series and read it from the beginning because I promise you that it will be an experience you will not soon forget.
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I am continually impressed with John Gwynne's ability to deliver one topnotch brilliant fantasy book after another, A TIME OF BLOOD takes the Of Blood and Bone series to dizzying heights indeed, John has taken all of the fantastic elements from the first book and carried that into an actionpacked second offering filled with battles and treachery aplenty.
As with any John Gwynne book you also know there will be some heartache, The guy really knows how to get you emotionally invested in a character and then proceeds to put them in extreme mortal peril the entire time.
That's where I believe A TIME OF BLOOD really stands above the majority of fantasy fiction today, The amount of distress I was put in as the reader and believe me this isn't a bad thing at all in my opinion was such that I almost turned every page with my eyes halfclosed.
Tell me how many books can achieve that So many times I read books where you have no doubt that nothing bad will happen to the "goodguys".
Everything works out way too perfectly and there's always an ending that is happy and neatly tied up in a bow, Well to be honest I can't stand books that don't put any of the characters in any real danger and even perish the thought, kill some off.
It's exactly the reason why George RR Martin's books are so popular with the public and also critically acclaimed, You read his books never knowing if your favorite character will be dead by the next page, Gwynne has this knack and talent as well, Getting back to a TIME OF BLOOD, it was simply an amazing journey of a book, An added aspect that I found compelling and original is the BenElim continue to be both protectors and almost semivillains at the same time.
The gray area that they occupy in so far as their motives go and the way they have been somewhat corrupted by their earlier success over the Kadoshim is a fascinating character study.
We have all seen in real life where governments or leaders who claim
to have the good of the people at heart actually end up being tainted and their biggest oppressors.
To be able to write a book where even the protagonists may not be the saviors that they appear, is just a testament to the greatness of this book and of John Gwynne's writing as a whole.
I also loved that the book was a seamless continuation of A Time of Dread and ended with so much up in the air in anticipation for book three.
In closing, A TIME OF BLOOD is possibly one of the best fantasy books I have ever read and I fullthroatedly recommend this and all of John's books in this continuing saga.
I actually read the lastpages in three days because I simply did not want to turn the final page, You know that you've just read a magnificent book when that happens, A TIME OF BLOOD is due to be released next month on April,, so do whatever you have to do to secure a copy whether that be preorder, running to a physical bookstore on publication day, whatever it takes just GET IT! It's a shining example of the very best that fantasy literature can offer when in the hands of a true master.
A Time of Blood is aptly named, There are great moments of triumph but there are also some heavy losses taken in this book as well, Deceptions, alliances and betrayals, along with a great rising of Kadoshim against the BenElim and the land of the faithful,
Ive found that in fantasy some of the best Ive read have been because the author, through multiple PoVs is able to give you both sides of the story.
John Gwynne does this easily by having multiple people relaying the story through their eyes,
While I enjoyed Drem, Riv and Bledas tellings of the story the new PoV of Fritha added some dimension to the fight of good against evil.
Even though there really isnt a wholly good side because the BenElim seem just as corrupt in a slightly different way than the Kadoshim.
Fritha is in deep with Kadoshim, who are trying to resurrect Asroth the Lord of the Kadoshim currently in a frozen state locked in the BenElim stronghold.
The lengths she is willing to go in this story to capture Drem and make her ghastly new creations are horrible and mind boggling but captivating and as much as I want her demise Im also strangely drawn to her character.
I enjoyed learning more about her motivations and while Im not playing for her team, she makes a good, smart villain,
Drem, that poor kid has learned and lost so much in a short time, He has gone from a mostly solitary life of trapping with his father to running from the Kadoshim with a small band of elite soldiers.
This is a boy with a destiny and Im not sure he will survive to the end of the series or go out in some blaze of glory.
I love that with Gwynnes writing you cant be sure either way, As Drem travels to get word of the danger to the Order of the Bright Star he comes alone some creatures of tales and superstitions.
Each battle is dynamic and entertaining,
Riv and Bledas story is kind of intertwined in some ways, They are dwarn to each other and became friends in A Time of Dread, I for one was hoping that would eventually bloom into more in this book even though Bleda has an arranged marriage to someone else.
They are a good team and I think long term can teach each other a lot, I had some suspicions about Riv when her wings busted through in the prior books and there was a lot of movement on that front.
Even though I dont like the BenElim either I do think the direction they took in this book was a move in the right direction.
Still Kol, new leader of the BenElim is on my top ten list of people Id like to die in this series,
Bleda and Rivs PoV each show us something different in the story, Riv lets us follow the happenings in the BenElim inner circles while Bleda lets us know what is happening on the human front, As the threat draws nearer each with take bigger risks for the other and in so doing draw some lines in the sand that can never be taken back.
“There is much in life that is beyond our control, events that sweep us up and along, actions that wrap us tight in their consequences.
Stop raging about the things you cannot change, Just be true to yourself and do what you can do, Love those worth loving, and to the Otherworld with the rest of it, That is all any of us can do, ”
There is a lot of action leading up to the ending and Time of Blood is a very fitting title since there was a lot of it.
This ended on a really dire kind of note and no one is safe leading into the next book, Gwynne has woven an intricate tale, with great world building and character development, We hit the ground running in this and so there isnt much down time overall in the read,
Another wonderful tale from Gwynne, Im very curious about the prequel series and Im excited to start it as soon as the last of the audios comes out, I think it will add even more depth to the series, .