Malice: Wolves and Snakes, Gods and Men

Man, I gotta stop sleeping on John Gwynn’s work. I’ve only read three of his books so far, and all three have been incredible!

After many years of war between men and giants, the world begins to change. Signs point to the return of the gods, and with their coming, the fabled God War will begin. Mankind makes to prepare, but their enemy is as cunning as he is dangerous. Who is to say that their preparations will only aid their foe rather than themselves?

This is quality dark military fantasy through and through. It’s not nearly so depressing as a Joe Abercrombie novel, but it’s far from a happy fairy tale. Betrayal, large-scale battles, warrior princesses, men kicking each other between the legs, politics, all the good stuff I love from this genre.

The story is divided between several perspective characters. At the head of them is our main character: Corbin. A simple blacksmith’s son, young and cowardly yet curious and kind. With the guidance of a few unlikely teachers, the lad comes into his own as a man and a warrior. All to prepare for his mysterious destiny.

He also adopts what is essentially a dire wolf. Who, in my mind, is the real main character. Storm is the goodest of good girls.

While Corbin is obviously your standard fantasy chosen one, the execution of his story is one of the best I’ve read in a long while. His gradual transformation from a scared little boy to a powerful and confident young warrior is perfectly paced. His relationships with his various mentors, friends, and family members all feel natural and genuine. Especially with Storm. There’s a chapter in this book that actually had me in tears, I was so invested in these two!

A somewhat embarrassing moment, as I was at work at the time. By the by, the narrator of the audio book, Damian Lynch, is really good.

Equally important to Corbin is the war leader Veradis, sworn brother to the High Prince, Nathair. Their bromance is delightful, and the two share some incredible military battle scenes. More than that, we see Nathair’s rise to prominence through Veradis’s eyes. We see that the Prince is a great man, for all his faults, and he wanted to save the world.

Which makes his fall to darkness feel as tragic as it is inevitable.

That being said, the plot isn’t perfect. It almost lost me right off the bat. See, after a highly effective prologue, we’re hit by a fairly big exposition dump. It’s not even necessary; all the information it provides is covered in the story itself in much more diegetic and interesting ways. It almost feels like the author forgot to delete his notes from the final draft. Luckily, this only happens the once, and the book makes a quick recovery.

We only get a small taste of the world here, but it is oh so tantalizing. A rich Norse-inspired culture, giants, budding military tactics, monsters straight out of your worst nightmares, and bizarre god-made dreams? My favorite! I can’t wait to dive into the sequels and learn more!

That seems as good a note as any to talk about the ending. This is a fantastic conclusion! A deadly betrayal, multiple powerful character deaths, and to top it all off: a cliffhanger that left me starving for more! It is excellent through and through!

‘Malice‘ is a very strong first entry to a series. Great characters, an interesting world, perfect pacing, and an excellent ending. If you’re in the market for a good dark military fantasy, this is a rock solid pick. I’ll be picking up the rest of this series ASAP!

If only for Storm.