Allen you’ve got the best editing cutaways I’ve ever seen. 😂😂😂 It’s not just random stupid crap and the jokes LITERALLY always make me laugh!! That Bookborn intro, ‘stop looking at me swan’ hahahah. I would soon like another “zero fun sir” those are my favorite, this is my request! Haahha
Hahahahaha thank you so much! It always makes my day when someone appreciates them. I try to always keep them either relevant or surprising so as to maximize effect. I don't understand when people do them super randomly
"there's a lot of horror elements" and "you don't need to read the first trilogy" is all I needed to hear, thanks! I will be reading it for sure. Seriously though, great review, Allen, and I'm very curious now. The Broken Binding artworks were what first caught my attention, but this review is what actually convinced me
The random Bookborn intro piece was awesome! Great video Allen! Really have to get to some Richard Swan this year if I can! Also looking forward to re-reading THE WAY OF EDAN by hearing it via your audiobook narration, which is getting rave reviews! Happy reading!
So great to see you doing videos more often, Allen. And especially reviews. You always have some of the best reviews. I started this book and got 25% in so far. I wanted to read enough of t to know if I wanted the broken binding edition. And I did snd now I do 😂 gonna go back to it soon but agree with much of what you said already. Both POVs are great. The horror has been really good. It is also yucky.
Have added Monarchies of God to my TBR list. I love that you recommend other authors besides the same 5 or so who keep getting the spotlight. No shade to them but we definitely need more variety. There's soooo much good fantasy out there.
7:33 Hahaha! I just looked up your Goodreads review of Monarchies of War book 1: “Ships! Holy War! Political intrigue and military action and a siege! Also horrible sexy stuff that I just wish didn’t exist.” You should’ve just said that! 😛
You sold me on this, as someone thats getting back into reading more, I am gonna get through the stormlight archive right now, but im definitely gonna read this.
Great video as usual Allen. Looking forward to reading this when it comes out, good Flintlock fantasy is so hard to find. The questions around Empire etc also sounds super interesting. I need to read The Trials of Empire before it comes out.
with its massive vinyl map. And movement trays. It was based off of early Warhammer or a precursor of it…I don’t remember. It was also hilarious to see HeroQuest make a comeback in recent years. Have the original of that as well.
This sounds right up my alley. Not the right place for it maybe, but I've finally read my first KJ Parker novel and absolutely loved it. Basso might be a new favorite character.
@ yep I could barely get through Tyranny of Faith and bailed on bk 3 soon into it when I got a sense of the direction. This sounds more up my alley though I think
Wow a rating of 3 Shamoo’s, 2 Ariel’s and 4 Battle Masters hasn’t been recorded for decades. This truly is a must read!!! Great review, Allen! I am excited but also nervous about the gross stuff. Thanks for the warning!
Thank you for right away starting off with "you don't have to read the original trilogy and it also won't spoil anything". I was hoping for that answer because I never got to book 3 last year and I was also graciously allowed an eARC from netgalley and was worried. Also Broken binding edition looks awesome and I had to preorder without even attempting to read yet. So excited for this book!
Great video, loving the content! Might have to push Swan up my tbr! Question for you, have any recommendations for books similar to the older Assassins Creed games? I think I’m in the mood for some secret society alternate history historical fiction or fantasy.
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria I’ll give it a look, thank you!! With the popularity of those games I’m surprised more books in that style aren’t around, or aren’t popular if they are out there.
Great review, I've added it to my TBR. I do have one question. You said you don't need to read the previous books, but does this book spoil anything from the previous three?
@TheLibraryofAllenxandria Oh really? I think the writing was the worst by far. He got better with each book. Although I remember I recommended his other series and you hated it lol. Ashes of the Sun, if I recall correctly you found Kit unbearably annoying. Which, fair enough. Siblings to enemies is one of my fav tropes though! I think you've read these but Adrian Tchakovsky: Guns of the Dawn, a highly beloved standalone. Personally didn't care for it but not because it's bad. In my opinion it just told the wrong story for the world it described. It should've been dual POV with an enemy mage. 😒 Shadow of the Apt. Great series. Writing vastly improves with each book. Tyrant Philosophers series. Fantastic. Brian McClellans: His Sins of Empire trilogy is a VAST IMPROVEMENT on the original powder mage books in my opinion. Alex Marshall: A bit of a stretch but his Crimson Empire trilogy is great. Its legitimately the funniest series I've read. It has a real Glokta vibe to a ton of the dialogue and the audiobooks amp the humor up even more. Rare book to make me laugh out loud. Naomi Novik: Temeraire series Robert VS Reddick: Chathrand Voyage series. Good, highly underrated, however his Fire Sacrament series is legitimately Criminally underrated. Master Assassin's is book one and I think its failed miserably by its title, cover, and marketing, but holy shit it's so good. Def not flintlock though. 2 brothers are reluctant conscripts to this zealous army of fanatics lead by The Prophet who converts all her conquered people at sword point and conscripts them, ever expanding outward. One brother stumbles on a man SAing a little girl and kills him, only to realize it's the Prophets son and she will kill him. So he and his insane brother (who believes he's possessed by a demon) need to flee. And she sends this terrifying weapon after them called The Pale Child. I love it so much and book 2 gets crazy. The worldbuilding reveals were wild. The little side quest with the order of doctors was a fascinating reveal. Working that idea into my own book. Chris Wooding: Tales of the Ketty Jay Aeronauts Windlass (Much better imo) Weavers of Saramyr trilogy (not flintlock, my 2nd fav of his, though the writing isn't great at first. Just wanna mention it) The Ember Blade (lol also not flintlock. Just incredible. He's perfected writing at this point and the book is a modern masterpieces fusing classic and modern fantasy with truly impeccable characterization. Gareth Hanrahan: Black Iron Legacy (could use more flintlock) FromSoft: Just play Bloodborne lol Theres one really good one I'm failing to think of. Will comment again if it comes to me. Funnily enough, my priorities would be 1) Master Assassins 2) Ember Blade 3) Tyrant Philosophers 4) Shadow of the Apt 5) Chathrand 6) Temeraire (probably the most flintlock series on this list)
@TheLibraryofAllenxandria Do me a favor and read Master Assassins though lol. I've reviewed it on my channel but I'd LOVE to hear someone else finally talk about it and get to discover if they think its as good as I do.
It all sounds so good! Completely up my alley and I was thinking I would just try it even with the horror. But I was out at gross and yucky. 😢 I also enjoyed Django Wexler's Thousand Names.
Lol! Do you owe Bookborn royalties? So many lives and videos coming out, I'm not sure what to do with myself! Thanks! And holy crap, I had a version of that battle masters game, but could barely ever play it because the dog or cat would come in and just destroy the board. That's a deep pull.
The QUEST is back on track !! I was hesitant since I didn't read the previous trilogy (wanted to grab Justice of Kings, wasn't the right time, then book 2 & 3's reviews dropped and the Eldritch horror stuck focus felt like it wasn't for me) but this review sold me on the preorder. It gave me the same level of "picked interest" as your reviews of The Folding Knife, and, The Long Price Quartet, and those I part of my all time favorites. Very curious to try this. And I'm glad for those recent reviews; not everything is my jam but you've got the highest percentage when it comes to creating excitement for a book, and, success at pointing me towards what becomes my personal list of top tier reads.
The Bookborn jump was hilarious!😂
The Bookborn jump! 😁 I just love hearing you talk about stuff. Your reviews are just like talking to a normal person instead of a "reviewer".
Thanks so much, Rogue
A wild bookborn intro appears!
😀😀
Allen you’ve got the best editing cutaways I’ve ever seen. 😂😂😂
It’s not just random stupid crap and the jokes LITERALLY always make me laugh!! That Bookborn intro, ‘stop looking at me swan’ hahahah.
I would soon like another “zero fun sir” those are my favorite, this is my request! Haahha
Hahahahaha thank you so much! It always makes my day when someone appreciates them. I try to always keep them either relevant or surprising so as to maximize effect. I don't understand when people do them super randomly
@ I forget which review it was but each time you talked about Achilles you played the “sack of wine” comment from Troy. Peak comedy!!
"there's a lot of horror elements" and "you don't need to read the first trilogy" is all I needed to hear, thanks! I will be reading it for sure.
Seriously though, great review, Allen, and I'm very curious now. The Broken Binding artworks were what first caught my attention, but this review is what actually convinced me
BB did a great job with that artwork and getting people interested. It's great
The random Bookborn intro piece was awesome! Great video Allen! Really have to get to some Richard Swan this year if I can! Also looking forward to re-reading THE WAY OF EDAN by hearing it via your audiobook narration, which is getting rave reviews! Happy reading!
Yesssss thank you PL! I hope you enjoy the audio!
So great to see you doing videos more often, Allen. And especially reviews. You always have some of the best reviews.
I started this book and got 25% in so far. I wanted to read enough of t to know if I wanted the broken binding edition. And I did snd now I do 😂 gonna go back to it soon but agree with much of what you said already. Both POVs are great. The horror has been really good. It is also yucky.
Yesss! More yucky stuff to go!
And thank you!
Have added Monarchies of God to my TBR list. I love that you recommend other authors besides the same 5 or so who keep getting the spotlight. No shade to them but we definitely need more variety. There's soooo much good fantasy out there.
Thanks so much! I enjoy that also...I just like seeing some other things that sound interesting to me
7:33 Hahaha! I just looked up your Goodreads review of Monarchies of War book 1: “Ships! Holy War! Political intrigue and military action and a siege! Also horrible sexy stuff that I just wish didn’t exist.” You should’ve just said that! 😛
Hahahahaha the gross stuff in this is mostly of the unsexy type and even that is not as wildly awful as Hawkwood
You sold me on this, as someone thats getting back into reading more, I am gonna get through the stormlight archive right now, but im definitely gonna read this.
Awesome, I hope you love it!
One of my must reads for the year. Thanks for the review!
Yessss! Thank you for watching!
Great video as usual Allen. Looking forward to reading this when it comes out, good Flintlock fantasy is so hard to find. The questions around Empire etc also sounds super interesting. I need to read The Trials of Empire before it comes out.
Thanks, Albert! And I know! I don't know why there's so little decent Flintlock
A battle masters reference was completely unexpected but completely fits here. Still have my dads copy of it from when it first came out
YES YOU WIN. first person to recognize the reference. What a fun game
with its massive vinyl map. And movement trays. It was based off of early Warhammer or a precursor of it…I don’t remember. It was also hilarious to see HeroQuest make a comeback in recent years. Have the original of that as well.
Sounds really interesting! I have yet to read Swan's first trilogy, good to know I could potentially start with this one. Great review!
You absolutely can!
This sounds right up my alley.
Not the right place for it maybe, but I've finally read my first KJ Parker novel and absolutely loved it. Basso might be a new favorite character.
Oh my gosh YES! Another Basso stan!
Awesome review, and seems like it’ll be worth returning to Sova once again!
Really eager to hear your opinion, as I know you soured on the later books, right?
@ yep I could barely get through Tyranny of Faith and bailed on bk 3 soon into it when I got a sense of the direction.
This sounds more up my alley though I think
Great review! I love the rating system, and the references😂
Hahahahah thanks!
Awesome review. I loved this book, especially Peter's POV. The fantastical horror vibe was strong with that one.
Yes! Peter's was a real treat!
I'm so psyched for this.
Yessssssss
Wow a rating of 3 Shamoo’s, 2 Ariel’s and 4 Battle Masters hasn’t been recorded for decades. This truly is a must read!!!
Great review, Allen! I am excited but also nervous about the gross stuff. Thanks for the warning!
Thank you, Charmaine!
Ooooh looking forward to this one!
It's great!
I wasn't planning on buying it but after your review decided to get it. I ordered my copy at the broken Binding 🎉😊
Nice! Getting that sweet sweet artwork!
Making me want to get the book - great job 🎉
Still want to read the original trilogy though
Definitely worth it but not necessary for understanding this one!
Thank you for right away starting off with "you don't have to read the original trilogy and it also won't spoil anything". I was hoping for that answer because I never got to book 3 last year and I was also graciously allowed an eARC from netgalley and was worried. Also Broken binding edition looks awesome and I had to preorder without even attempting to read yet. So excited for this book!
Yeah, you can definitely dive in right here. It's fortunately far enough in the future that the previous events aren't referenced often.
Bought the broken binding version based on art alone and never read any of Swan's books. Hope the gamble pays off.
If you like military or flintlock or horror or politicking fantasy, you're in for a treat!
I'm really looking forward to this book!
Speaking of flintlock fantasy, I'm 2/3 into Guns of the Dawn and it's sooo good!
Yes! So glad you're loving GotD!
I had to preorder The Broken Binding’s edition of this book once I saw those battle sharks
Yesss battle.sharks and orcas!
Great video, loving the content! Might have to push Swan up my tbr!
Question for you, have any recommendations for books similar to the older Assassins Creed games? I think I’m in the mood for some secret society alternate history historical fiction or fantasy.
Oh my gosh I don't know but I wish I did. Brent Weeks' Assassin trilogy, maybe?
@@TheLibraryofAllenxandria I’ll give it a look, thank you!! With the popularity of those games I’m surprised more books in that style aren’t around, or aren’t popular if they are out there.
@BradySpiker same! And the Brent Weeks' one is called the Night Angel trilogy...just remembered lol
I'm sold
Yesssssss
Great review, I've added it to my TBR. I do have one question. You said you don't need to read the previous books, but does this book spoil anything from the previous three?
@@giannidewaele4355 very very little
If you want Flintlock id opt for Django Wexlers books. Thousand Names is just fine but the rest are quite good
Lol 1000 Names was my favorite of them. I did NOT enjoy the last book
@TheLibraryofAllenxandria Oh really? I think the writing was the worst by far. He got better with each book. Although I remember I recommended his other series and you hated it lol. Ashes of the Sun, if I recall correctly you found Kit unbearably annoying. Which, fair enough. Siblings to enemies is one of my fav tropes though!
I think you've read these but
Adrian Tchakovsky:
Guns of the Dawn, a highly beloved standalone. Personally didn't care for it but not because it's bad. In my opinion it just told the wrong story for the world it described. It should've been dual POV with an enemy mage. 😒
Shadow of the Apt. Great series. Writing vastly improves with each book.
Tyrant Philosophers series. Fantastic.
Brian McClellans:
His Sins of Empire trilogy is a VAST IMPROVEMENT on the original powder mage books in my opinion.
Alex Marshall:
A bit of a stretch but his Crimson Empire trilogy is great. Its legitimately the funniest series I've read. It has a real Glokta vibe to a ton of the dialogue and the audiobooks amp the humor up even more. Rare book to make me laugh out loud.
Naomi Novik:
Temeraire series
Robert VS Reddick:
Chathrand Voyage series. Good, highly underrated, however his Fire Sacrament series is legitimately Criminally underrated. Master Assassin's is book one and I think its failed miserably by its title, cover, and marketing, but holy shit it's so good. Def not flintlock though. 2 brothers are reluctant conscripts to this zealous army of fanatics lead by The Prophet who converts all her conquered people at sword point and conscripts them, ever expanding outward. One brother stumbles on a man SAing a little girl and kills him, only to realize it's the Prophets son and she will kill him. So he and his insane brother (who believes he's possessed by a demon) need to flee. And she sends this terrifying weapon after them called The Pale Child. I love it so much and book 2 gets crazy. The worldbuilding reveals were wild. The little side quest with the order of doctors was a fascinating reveal. Working that idea into my own book.
Chris Wooding:
Tales of the Ketty Jay
Aeronauts Windlass (Much better imo)
Weavers of Saramyr trilogy (not flintlock, my 2nd fav of his, though the writing isn't great at first. Just wanna mention it)
The Ember Blade (lol also not flintlock. Just incredible. He's perfected writing at this point and the book is a modern masterpieces fusing classic and modern fantasy with truly impeccable characterization.
Gareth Hanrahan:
Black Iron Legacy (could use more flintlock)
FromSoft:
Just play Bloodborne lol
Theres one really good one I'm failing to think of. Will comment again if it comes to me.
Funnily enough, my priorities would be
1) Master Assassins
2) Ember Blade
3) Tyrant Philosophers
4) Shadow of the Apt
5) Chathrand
6) Temeraire (probably the most flintlock series on this list)
@TheLibraryofAllenxandria
Do me a favor and read Master Assassins though lol. I've reviewed it on my channel but I'd LOVE to hear someone else finally talk about it and get to discover if they think its as good as I do.
now I have to sue you
You dont own that music and that was me doing a bookborn impression
You really need to read Sean Russell. I need to reread his books.
Adding him!
Are you talking about The Swans' War? I read book 1 in November and need to get back to the teilogy.
It all sounds so good! Completely up my alley and I was thinking I would just try it even with the horror. But I was out at gross and yucky. 😢 I also enjoyed Django Wexler's Thousand Names.
Some of it is quite graphic but a great book nevertheless. Keep your ear out on what others think about the grossness and see if it changes your mind
💚
Lol! Do you owe Bookborn royalties? So many lives and videos coming out, I'm not sure what to do with myself! Thanks! And holy crap, I had a version of that battle masters game, but could barely ever play it because the dog or cat would come in and just destroy the board. That's a deep pull.
Yessss I love Battle Masters so much. Also, I don't think Bookborn owns that music and what you can't see is that is me doing her voice 👀
The QUEST is back on track !!
I was hesitant since I didn't read the previous trilogy (wanted to grab Justice of Kings, wasn't the right time, then book 2 & 3's reviews dropped and the Eldritch horror stuck focus felt like it wasn't for me) but this review sold me on the preorder. It gave me the same level of "picked interest" as your reviews of The Folding Knife, and, The Long Price Quartet, and those I part of my all time favorites. Very curious to try this.
And I'm glad for those recent reviews; not everything is my jam but you've got the highest percentage when it comes to creating excitement for a book, and, success at pointing me towards what becomes my personal list of top tier reads.
Thank you so much for the kind words! If you pick it up, I hope you love it!
Us Allenxandrians have been eating good these last few weeks. 🫃
Hopefully it's a year of continued bounty!
“Looks like meats back on the menu boys”