I absolutely loved the concept behind this book. A ruthless conqueror redeemed by the power of love? Be still my heart. The author did an incredible job of balancing Corvis’ devotion to his family with the inner warlord that will always be a part of him. I really liked Corvis despite (or maybe because of) his moral ambiguity, but I also loved the secondary characters. Khanda was a particular favorite, as was Davro. Each secondary character had a distinct personality, and I really loved getting to know all of them in turn. I even liked the twist at the end when Audriss’ real identity was revealed. I—along with Corvis—though I was so smart and had it all figured out long before then, but I enjoyed being proven wrong. The action was fast-paced, the writing witty and descriptive without getting bogged down in its own brilliance, and the overall feel of the book was very much a fantasy one. I’m delighted to know there’s a sequel to this fabulous book. ( )

DNF. Just got bored with this. No interest.

I haven’t read a good fantasy in such a long time! And this one was excellent! It’s fun to see a bunch of misfit anti heroes come together to try and save the world because not only did they leave on bad terms back then in the day, Corvis actually had the galls to come back to ask them for favors (we all had that one friend didn’t we?)

Each of the characters have their distinct quirk and personality. Also they’re not afraid to tell Corvis how it is (and he surprisingly takes it...which makes them a more fun bunch to read) I can’t really say I have a favorite although I admit I was disappointed in Khanda towards the last half of the book. He definitely had the best and more fun personality to read on but he just *had* to do it didn’t he? (you’ll see when you finish the book)

The plot had a steady pace and it was good. I was actually surprised as to who the Serpent really was as you’d think it was obvious. It was a good surprise and the action in the last third of the book was massive with lots of action. Although it gets pretty dark at times and Corvis isn’t a hero per se (more like a terrorizing horrible despot who decimates towns and villages to his liking) it has black comedy elements in it and overall because of this provides a ‘lightness’ to the story. It helps that the cast of characters have witty retorts and comebacks which also provides a few laughs here and there.

The world building and setting is pretty much your standard fantasy setting that is portrayed in most novels of the genre out there. Nevertheless it doesn’t take away from the novel and still provides a good foundation for it.

A plot rich with a variety of characters, good light banter, and some action is what makes up this book in a nutshell. I definitely recommend it as it was an enjoyable read. ( )

I liked it, a lot. There was something light over the whole book, even in the darkness. Corvis is not someone you should like, but how could I not like him. At the beginning of the book he does his name credit, he is not a nice person, quite the opposite. The he disappears and marries, haves children, only to see the world break again. And again he shows that he truly is The Terror of The East. But sometimes you just have to love the evil guy, because at least this time he wants to protect his wife and children. Marmell sure does a great job creating this character you just fall for.

There is humour and a streak of light through out the book. Much come from Khanda, his "pet" demon. That demon has a tongue on him and says what he wants. To my horror I like him too, even when he is feasting on souls. There is also his once trusted friends, great sidekicks there.

The book does what fantasy should do. It sweeps you into a new world and make you feel right at home there. A kingdom that can not stand together, the guilds wants one thing, the nobles another thing, and a new enemy that wants to have it all. There are battles, death, destruction, and one good plot that had me guessing.

But the thing I did like the best was how much I liked these characters, and how I wanted to read more about them. The book ends where it ends. A nice conclusion and that is it. But it leaves an opening and there will be another book, and I want that book.

Recommendation and final thoughts:
Of course I am recommending this book, I could not put it down, and I did not want to put it down either. It was fun, it was light, it was dark, it was a great ride. I have to give it a 4 and I hope he keeps up the good work.

So go read it, and I promise you will like Corvis too.

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(Re-posted from http://theturnedbrain.blogspot.com)

So like many, many others I read Mieville's Kraken. I don't have any thoughts on that one that others (many, many others) have not posted, so I don't think I'll add another review to the teeming pile. Let's just say that overall I enjoyed it but upon completion my brain felt like it had run a marathon. I decided to read something light and easy to recover.

And The Conqueror's Shadow seemed like it would fit that bill. Except that I barely made it a quarter of the way in before I gave up and found something else to read.

What happened? My suspension of belief is what happened. You know, that ability to believe what ever outlandishness the author is selling you in order to enjoy the story. I've been reading pretty much exclusive sci-fi and fantasy since I was nine years old. I thought my suspension of disbelief was made out of the same stuff as Wolverine's bones. Unbreakable.

Talking dragons? Sure. Secret world of magic? Ok. Zombie plague? Why the hell not? I mean come on, I just read a book about a god-Kraken and my biggest issue was an excess of wordplay, not the idea of a missing squid heralding the end of the world.
But I just couldn't get my head to accept the premise of The Conqueror's Shadow long enough to enjoy it.

You see, there's this evil dark lord character, Corvus. The Scourge of the East or some such. He wants to rule the kingdom and devoted a great deal of effort to the cause, recruiting an army of orcs and goblins to do his bidding. Cities fall, countless innocent people are murdered, you know the drill.
Then something goes wrong, he nabs a young, pretty hostage and abandons his army. Fast forward a whole bunch of years and he's living the quite life on a little farm with the hostage, who's now his loving wife.

Corvus is now a loving father and doting husband and all round nice guy. And here's where the book lost me. I just couldn't buy it. This guy caused countless people untold suffering, and all in all he seems pretty ok with it.

The premise of this book really intrigued me. A now retired dark lord has to return to his old ways to save the land from a new rising evil. I was expecting a kick ass anti hero. Not necessarily haunted by his past, but at least affected by it. Something akin to Lucifer from Gaiman's Sandman series. But honestly, Corvus does not read like an anti-hero. He reads like a hero-hero, and if you didn't already know about the things he'd done you wouldn't suspect it for a second. I'm sorry, but if you were responsible for the fall of a whole bunch of cities and the deaths of thousands of people, you don't get to be a hero-hero. It's a deal breaker.

It's as though the author was worried the reader wouldn't be able to sympathise with an evil mass murderer, so he goes too far in the other direction to make us like him. Oh, he didn't want to kill all those people, it was a necessary evil and so on. Honestly, it made me lose respect for Corvus. If he had have stood behind the things he'd done it would have made for an interesting and unique perspective. The fact that he was such a nice guy made me dislike more, and above all I just couldn't believe it.

So, I stopped reading. Which means that as the book progresses Corvus might have dropped the nice guy facade, I don't know. If he does, feel free to tell me in the comments and I might give the book enough shot. Because it was written well enough, with a whole bunch of genuinely funny one-liners. And if your suspension of disbelief can handle it you may well get more out of this one than I did.
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