REVIEW: BLOOD OF THE SPEAR (EYE OF ETERNITY #1)

Classic-style fantasy that moves...

After hearing some really nice things about this book, I've been curious to try it. It's quite long though, so I've had it on the back burner for a while now, but the release of an Audiobook version allowed me to fit it in this past month. 

HOW I RATED IT 

3/5 I think that fans of classic-style fantasies are going to be obsessed with this more modern take on that style. For those who don't particularly get into the fantasy classics outside of maybe Tolkien's work, your experience might be a little mixed like mine was. 

CHARACTERS

This is probably the aspect of the book where I am going to be the harshest as I did not personally connect much with this cast. The story focuses on four young people. Kaiel and Darien are half brothers who find themselves swept up in powers they do not understand and must face an inheritance that they were not prepared to receive. They are joined by their childhood friends and tenuous love interests, Meg and Sevani (whose names I might be misspelling) and these two ladies seem to have destinies of their own which put them down the same path as the brothers. They are also accompanied by an older mentor figure, but I'll leave the specifics about him vague since there are some twists and turns that lead to his joining the party. I will say that he also has some surprise reveals which shake things up a bit. So, what's wrong with them? Well, nothing really. They are each deeply flawed in their own way and each seemingly have their own destiny to fulfill, but tend to be very archetypal in their characterization. Kaiel is the impetuous young warrior with a good heart, Meg is the sassy witch girl, Sevani is the sweet, but determined girl next door (though she does turn out to be a bit more interesting than that), and they have a stern mentor figure watching over them. Within the side cast, there is also a cartoonishly evil bully, a sultry and mysterious sorceress, a sort of pirate queen, and a couple foul-mouthed urchins for good measure. I omitted Darien because I can't really think of a specific mold he'd fit into other than maybe a dark chosen one depending on where future books take him, but he is also the character I found the least likeable (I couldn't really tell if we are meant to like him or not). It's not that these paradigms are bad, they've worked quite well for me in other stories before and are sort of hallmarks of classical fantasies. I think the big sticking point for me here is that I didn't feel like these characters grew at all over the course of the story. They do discover things about themselves along the way, but those revelations didn't change them in ways that I found to be meaningful. 

PLOT/TONE

I found myself feeling a bit warmer on the books core narrative than I did the cast though I still had some problems in this area as well. Things start off very slowly. This is fairly typical for this type of story and contains all the expected tropes of young peasant teens who dream of attaining a higher standing in their world, an irredeemably obnoxious bully, and some heavy handed worldbuilding to set the stage. Thankfully, the inciting incident happens quite early on and the pacing kicks off from there. I think this more modern take on the classic narrative pattern worked very well and the faster pacing that follows the initial twists which set the heroes on their journey will likely please readers who wish classic fantasies got to the point a little faster. Once the party is off, they move from one exotic location to the next with no place in particular ever growing stale. While the adventuring was fun, one thing that annoyed me somewhat is that the characters are mostly running away the entire time. Yes, some of the characters do have an intended destination in mind, but I didn't really feel a clear sense of purpose of the adventuring. The way things end seems to indicate that there might be a more concrete objective to fulfill in the next book, but the fact that nothing is really accomplished in this one left me with a hollowness upon finishing the book. It was kind of interesting to see how some characters who had clearer goals than the others ended up with those expectations being flipped on their head and I think I would have really appreciated these twists if there was something of greater consequence that they were successful in attaining. Instead, the plot feels a bit circular though I did enjoy that some characters I thought might have been left in the dust ended up showing up again. It's worth noting that this could all be building to something quite epic down the line, Ill just be hesitant to continue onward unless I hear from others that there is a stronger connective tissue driving the next story along. One other minor gripe I had is that the story uses modern curse words, including the f-word. This isn't in and of itself a bad thing, I read plenty of literature with foul language, but for some reason it felt really off-putting in the context of this story. Maybe it's because it had more of an old-timey feel to it (minus the old-timey ideas) and the swearing almost felt like it was there solely to remind me that this is a modern novel.

SETTING/WORLD

If I was a bit cold on the characters and perhaps a bit lukewarm on the plot, the setting is where things start to heat up for me. On a superficial level, we visit and traverse a diverse assortment of locales from an enchanted road enabling impossibly fast travel to a shady town filled with criminals, and a city that's steeped in arcane tradition. It all felt quite fresh to me and though I don't often like the travelling trope, I quite enjoyed exploring the different parts of this world. While the locations themselves are all compelling, what I found most engaging is the underlying lore that Timmony has begun building. Early on, we learn that this world has its roots in science fiction because the humans who dwell upon it came from the stars upon spacecraft. Somewhere along the line though, the discovery of magic led to things reverting to a more fantastical, medieval setting though it seems that traces of the old ways may still remain. I found this to be a fascinating concept and I hope it's one that the series really leans into. The magic itself is fairly mysterious which felt true to the classic sword and sorcery style of storytelling. Personally, I don't mind a softer magic system and I think that the ones presented here were well-defined enough where they served to add depth to the story instead of being used as crutches of convenience. There's some light political intrigue at play here as well and while it is all interesting, I suspect what we get here is just the tip of that iceberg. Ultimately, if I stick with this series, it'll be to see what is done with this enchanting setting because I think Timmony has crafted something really special here. 

AUDIOBOOK

The narration for this book works quite well. It's not the most intricate or extravagant performance I've ever listened to, but I loved that the narrator was able to evoke the distinct impression that this is a cherished tale of old being recounted to us by a passionate storyteller. The voice work is competently handled and the prose is crisply delivered. There's really not much more I think I could have wanted from this. As a really nice bonus, the STARBINDER prequel novella is also included. I have reviewed that separately and it's inclusion doesn't necessarily affect my thoughts on the core novel, but it's worth mentioning since I think it only adds value for your dollar (or Audible Credit).

CONCLUSION

If you're a fan of classical fantasies and/or sword and sorcery, then I think this debut in a new series is really going to knock your socks off in that it delivers those classic vibes with more modern pacing, prose, and perspective. If you're maybe more like me and don't always click with that style of storytelling, then I think there are still some things here for you to enjoy as much as I did, but your mileage will likely vary depending on taste. 

(+) The story picks up very quickly after the characters and world are established.

(+) Modern pacing, prose, and sensibilities all made for a smooth reading experience.

(+) The world building is top notch with richly conceived lore.

(+) There are a ton of fun action sequences.

(+) A solidly produced audiobook with the prequel novella being included as a nice bonus.

( ) Though this is a modern novel, it is going to work best for people who already like the more classic style of fantasy replete with it's existing conventions and archetypes.

(-) I did not personally connect with any of the characters in the ways that I usually need to for different reasons.

(-) The lack of a clear goal or sense of accomplishment at the end left me feeling a bit underwhelmed after such a long adventure (though yes, I understand that this is really just the beginning of a bigger one).

(-) The swearing didn't really add much and sometimes distracted me from the scenes that featured coarse language.