I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
“The Bladed Faith” by David Dalglish is a fast-paced, action-packed story of rebellion, suppression, and religion. The story begins when the Everlorn Empire, ruled by their God-Incarnate, brings their invasion fleet to the tiny, distant island nation of Thanet. The Empire’s army, led by the paragons, quickly defeat Thanet’s deities, Lycaena and Endarius, and their paladins. Soon the king and queen are executed and the young Prince Cyrus is held hostage.
After years of brutal oppression, Cyrus escapes by happenstance and winds up in the arms of the remaining Thanet rebellion. Now he has a choice, run away, or train and become the Vagrant Prince, a terror to the occupying forces and inspiration to the people. This is an epic fantasy story, so the choice is obvious. He is joined by an interesting cast of characters, from failed paladins to a woman using the power of a slain god.
First, I need to get this out of the way: This book is fun. It’s a superhero movie in book form. There’s an epic guerilla war spread throughout that build to the climactic battle. There’s intrigue and mystery weaved throughout the book as you learn the history of the world and the nature of divinity. Honestly, this is the kind of book that you force into the hands of your friends while desperately saying, “I need you to read this and talk with me about it.”
Second, while it is fun, I do not want to give the impression that it is shallow. Too often we think if a form of entertainment is fun, then that’s its only purpose. Dalglish uses this novel to explore the effects and horrors of colonialism. Yes, the story of an orphaned prince waging war on a God-King is actually one of the best looks at colonialism that I have found in fiction.
See, the Everlorn Empire is a colonial power. They come in wage war and occupy. Religion is used to assimilate the native people to the “correct” way of thinking. Churches are placed on old religious sites to usurp the native worship. Language schools teach the Imperial language and the native tongues are outlawed. The Joining Laws that are instituted are so common in colonial governments in the real world, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dalglish ripped them out of a history book.
Everything the villains do from the oppression of Thanet’s LGBTQ community to requiring contracts to be written in the Imperial language has one purpose. It is to replace Thanet’s native culture and assimilate them into the Empire. The battle that the rebellion is not just a military conflict, it is shown as a cultural conflict as well. Throughout the novel, it is clear that the preachers that secretly teach children about their cultural history are just as important to the rebellion as the guerilla fighters.
Dalglish has written an engrossing story of rebellion and empire. Its fast pace means it is hard to put down, but thankfully you won’t want to. I love this book. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves superhero movies, action movies, or martial art movies. ( )

It's helpful to distinguish between 'plot' and 'narrative' when thinking about novels like these.

Literary fiction often doesn't have exciting plot material - terrorists trying to kill the president, etc. Which is why literary writers sometimes think they don't need to worry about narrative - 'my book is not about anything'. However this is a mistake, all stories have a narrative arc, and this must be skilfully managed, especially if the plot material is not engaging in itself.

Genre fiction - especially Fantasy - often makes the opposite mistake. The amount of plot overwhelms the narrative, so you end up not understanding or caring. Plot points must be tightly synchronised with narrative beats.

I don't see that a difference in consumption patterns will change what makes successful fiction, and if it does it won't necessarily make things shorter or simpler. Certainly in TV and film, the trend has been for things to become longer and more complex, as it has become easier for people to consume more.

What about Fantasy in general?

I'd say one might too quick to the "don't categorise" complaint about the question of what is literary fiction and what is not. The character rather than plot discrimination, its cliched nature admitted, IS a useful rule-of-thumb, isn't it? That's a reasonable point about Therese Raquin, but Zola didn't write it because he got a spiffing yarn to tell did he? Nor does anyone read it because the plot is equivalent to something from Eastenders. Context and intent is important as well as quality, there's still a difference between a badly-drawn nude and a well-drawn pornographic image.

A good thriller, murder mystery, SF or romance is still just a thriller, murder mystery, SF or romance. The only argument is about the derogatory nature of that word "just". And I'd claim the "just" is justified.

Genre fans always want to sneer at those who'd like to claim there is such a thing as a literary genre. SF or horror fans in particular seem prone to be apoplectic at the suggestion that there exists a literary genre which is "better" and above their favoured genre. Myself, I'm a self-confessed literary snob. I want to believe that the books I choose to read are more significant, important, cultured, sophisticated, difficult, beautiful and so on than the run-of-the-mill airport blockbuster paperback. But then again, I still claim that this isn’t much better than the usual Fantasy fodder out there: some of the choices seem weird,e.g., not spending time with him as a captive (Cyrus’ emotional development arc does not fully work because of that), and don’t Fantasy readers get fed up with teens getting really strong, shrewd so damn fast? Cyrus is a spoiled brat and then he spends about three years training, and then suddenly he is able to defeat some of the world's ablest warriors??? WTF! After “The Justice of Kings”, another stillborn fantasy novel… ( )

This book has an interesting premise and is written well. For some reason, though, I could not get into it. I never cared for the characters or felt invested in the story, or entertained by it. There's nothing wrong with it that I can point out, so I guess it just wasn't for me, but I would recommend others to try it.
I felt about this sort of how I've felt about Neil Gaiman's and Robin Hobbs' books. They all have compelling stories to tell, but the telling of them just don't draw me in. So maybe if you like those authors, you'd also like this one. ( )

A usurped prince is forced to become a deadly assassin in order to reclaim his throne and his people. The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish is the story of Cyrus, prince of Thanet when his island kingdom is invaded by the Everlorn Empire and he is forced to watch his parents and his gods slain in front of him. Kept alive by the invaders as a puppet to trot out in front of his former subjects from time to time, Cyrus is one day freed by revolutionaries. They wish to train him to impersonate the feared assassin, Vagrant. Vagrant will become a symbol that will inspire a captured populace to rise up against their invaders and offer Cyrus a chance at vengeance.
The Bladed Faith is a densely packed novel filled with action, politics, mysticism, and lore. Dalglish creates a cast of characters that are fully realized and a world that feels large even as we focus on one small island kingdom. The Everlorn Empire feels enormous, implacable, and relentless. Even so, you never feel that they are invincible. This is a world filled with gods that imbue their followers with powers. It also holds the god-emperor of the Everlorn empire and his own powerful defenders, which have defeated several nations' gods.

Cyrus's task is a complicated one. He is chosen to be a symbol and inspiration for resistance. He is intended to be a figurehead, yet he must train long and hard to be good enough to even pretend to be the Vagrant. The point of view shifts between multiple characters including Cyrus's paladin protector, Rayan, the daughters of Cyrus's benefactor, Mari and Stasia, as well as the invaders, Magus of Eldrid and the Emperor's daughter. Each of these characters has a story and a role to play and the time spent with them colors in more of the narrative and moves things along smartly.

Dalglish doesn't shy away from questions of morality and the price of faith. The characters are morally complex and all the shades of grey, rather than crisp black and white. Along with intense action sequences, there are contemplative moments. The book evolves as it progresses, seemingly one thing at the beginning, but filled with twists and reversals along the way. The book ends fantastically in a way that will make your eyes go wide and sets the stage perfectly for the next entry in the series.

This is a great start to a new fantasy series and one that leaves you with a lot to ponder. I can't wait for the next installment.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. ( )