I didn't like this guy nearly as much as his twenty palaces series. ( )

This book isn't bad at all, but it's not great either. It has pretty good world-building, and some of the characters are interesting, particularly Ivy and Arla. There are definitely some slow parts, like the seemingly endless trek through the mountains, but overall the book was interesting enough to bring me back for the next one. ( )

Harry Connolly pitched this trilogy to Kickstarter as “epic fantasy with no dull parts”, and he delivered. He concocts an innovative high-fantasy world full of clashing countries and intriguing magic and, just as the reader is beginning to get their bearings, runs it over with a steamroller. The two viewpoint characters of the story are the ones who have the courage— or just plain stubbornness— to stand up and do something about the problem while everyone else is running away, hunkering down, or getting killed. I recommend reading the whole trilogy in quick succession; you don’t want to be left hanging on anything less. ( )

I was disappointed when Harry Connolly’s Twenty Palaces series was discontinued, and I was shocked to find out that he couldn’t find a publisher for his new epic fantasy trilogy, The Great Way. He’s such an engaging writer and receives such glowing reviews, it was hard to believe they weren’t all competing for it. So Connolly turned to Kickstarter to self-publish the series, and it became one of the top projects ever in its category–so much so, that he was able to offer several extra incentives beyond the original ones.

First off, let me say that this does not look like any self-published book I’ve ever seen. The covers are done by the same artist who did his Twenty Palaces novels, and they are kick-ass. It also has a gorgeous map and some really nice drawings for the chapter headings to distinguish which of the two main characters’ point of view that chapter is from. In fact, the only thing I noticed at all that set it apart from a book released from a publisher was that there were a few more typos than usual, but it wasn’t to the point of distraction or even close to what most of the self-published books I’ve read contain.

What you’ll read in almost every review of these books is that Connolly promised an epic fantasy “without the boring bits.” And, man, did he deliver. It’s a fantastic blend of thriller-paced writing with epic fantasy world building that’s right up my alley. As someone who has spend the past decade and a half reading and writing more screenplays then novels, my attention span has dwindled, and I have to admit I have little patience for descriptions of every morsel of food served at a banquet or every blade of grass growing from the ground. When I tried to read The Hobbit to my kids, I couldn’t believe how little I remembered about one of my favorite books, and how bored I started to get at the excessive descriptions of everything. Unfortunately, Connolly has been dinged in some reviews I’ve seen from people who revel in that type of storytelling, but I have a feeling most modern readers can appreciate that, with all of the films, TV shows, and video games we’ve consumed, it’s no longer necessary for an author to paint a detailed picture of every single thing with words.

As for the story itself, I found it riveting, and I had difficulty putting it down. In fact, I fell asleep reading it late at night many times, which is not as negative as it sounds. It wasn’t for lack of excitement in the book, but the fact that I was so tired and yet still tried to pry my eyes open until my body just wouldn’t allow it any more. I’m not big on spoiling any aspects of a story, but I will say that this is an engaging tale of the fall of a great empire from the point of view of a middle-aged soldier and a teenage magician-scholar.

I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. ( )

I hit pay dirt with this trilogy. I have to thank time and again the Goodreads and Reddit Fantasy communities for their recommendations; I’ve discovered several “under the radar” books which were perfect for my taste, and also considering my ever-growing to read list, the word of experience is invaluable.

I didn’t know what to expect, other than a fast-paced adventure with military fantasy elements. Pacey it is, military not so much, but I don’t think any fan of the genre would be disappointed by one of the protagonists or the tactics and skirmishes of the story.

It’s a thrilling tale with a linear plot and I particularly loved the fact there is a nice balance between descriptions, thoughts, dialogues and action. The worldbuilding is a bit sacrificed, meaning that while what I was shown gripped me, I feel that some aspects could have been explored further, anyway the magic system and the theme of religion are very interesting and well-developed; I’m usually all for worlds with religion/s (in the all-encompassing meaning of the term) as active part of the culture, and this proved no exception. Throw in a short-sighted warrior past his prime, the Empire traitors’ offspring, mysterious Gifts, a nice take about the power of emotions, the insectoid Cho-ja…ehm, Tilkilit, several more races and people, an alien invasion…and a very original start, exciting and unexpected…you get an engaging mix indeed.

Supernatural invasion and saving the world, well, yes, from the blurb I feared this was going to be cliché, but since the introduction of the characters, and what happens to them when tragedy strikes, I was truly surprised and simply found the unfolding events and the central mystery addictive. I couldn't really predict the plot (okay, the clues about the reproductive habits of the grunts are clear but for all the rest, I did not have more information than the characters themselves), either, which doesn’t hurt.

Also Connolly is not shy with his characters. I can’t add more without giving away some hinge elements of the plot, but I truly liked the diversified personalities, the way the scenes are handled (this for the entire trilogy, which I’ve read with glee) and the direction of the plot.

The alternating viewpoints are very fitting and I sympathized with all the protagonists, I also liked when they managed to survive harrowing situations by dint of luck...nothing too contrived to be believable. The writing is flowing and very nice, there is the right raising of tension, and the visual descriptions are very detailed, which is important given all the locations involved. A bit too many sentences like "If a rotted hunk of wood snapped… It didn’t happen." or "the creatures were so packed together there, he thought he couldn’t miss. He didn’t.", but I appreciated the style and narration even so.

And the covers! “Never judge a book by its cover”, but I'm sorry, a cover is the book’s business card and while I never choose solely on a cover basis, the impact is undeniable. I prefer abstract pictures but really, the ones of this series are themed, beautiful and accurate to boot. Love them. The map is very nice too and so is the interior art. Kudos to the people credited in the book! This trilogy was a Kickstarter project (wish I could have backed it!) and it’s very well-finished, only a few editing issues mar an otherwise impeccable production.

The Great Way trilogy is a clever mix of epic/dark/quest/sword&sorcery fantasy, not of the grimdark genre but with the “realism”and flawed characters I expect in a satisfactory fantasy novel. Highly recommended to all fans of character-driven action stories with original twists. ( )