If you’re in the market for some awesome fantasy books, the first resource you’re likely to use are fantasy book reviews, am I right? If you trust others’ opinions on what fantasy books are great, consider Outnerd’s reviews. It’s a new website, that, after seeing these wonderful fantasy book reviews below, told me it’s one to follow.
(Warning – Spoilers Ahead)
Fantasy Book Reviews by Outernerd
The reviews are on his the Outernerd website, so I won’t copy and paste them here. Only enough to convince you, I hope. Go check out the sites other great reviews for a wonderful resource of what to read next.
LAND OF GODS
Justin Sloan’s Land of Gods is a fantasy story that combines many of the elements I liked best from the movie 300 with the first half of Full Metal Jacket. It is part ancient Greek adventure, part military basic training story, and part love triangle.
A quote the reviewer seems to have liked (you have to read the book for context):
“You have friends like me that are like this lake here, always calm and relaxed, always there for you. Then you have our Mawtu trainers. Like the rivers, they are always raging. And the ocean, well, I can’t think of something as perfect at times and insane at others, except for women.” -Semreh to Narcel
A bunch of other great review info here, followed by this conclusion:
I rate Land of Gods five stars. It was easily the most captivating book I have read this year. Listening to one of the podcasts that Sloan hosts, he mentioned that Land of Gods was one of the first books he wrote. I did not find this to be a detriment. The writing was easy to read, well paced, and descriptive enough without being entangling. I was quickly sucked in by the story and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
RETRIBUTION CALLs
Justin Sloan continues his Falls of Redemptiontrilogy with Book Two: Retribution Calls. The story starts where Land of Gods left off. Narcel and Kaire escape from the destruction of Valhia. They reunite with Semreh and together evade capture from both Lokum and the Mawtu. However, the trio eventually spit up again as Narcel finally decides Kaire is not the woman for him. He heads North on his own and in the small town of Karack, changes his name to Equitas. There he finds a new home, new friends, and a new love interest. Eventually his past catches up with him and events build to his return to Nethia and the final confrontation with Lokum.
A quote the reviewer seems to have liked (you have to read the book for context):
“Little brother, you still don’t understand us or why I feel so drawn to the Mawtu? After all this time? I love the Mawtu because I belong. Because of the honor and courage you see in every Mawtu warrior’s eyes, and because of the brotherhood that it stands for.” – Adonis
A bunch of other great review info here, followed by this conclusion:
I rate Retribution Calls five stars. I would have liked a little more Adonis, and although the book did not unfold in any way like I thought it would after reading Land of Gods and Blades of Gresva, Justin Sloan’sstory telling did not disappoint. The beginning didn’t initially grab me like Land of Gods, but by a quarter of the way in, I could not put it down. Of course I was at 32,000 feet flying across the ocean to South Korea at the time, but I read this book straight through when I could have been watching Dead Pool.
TEARS OF DEVOTION
Tears of Devotion is the third book in Justin Sloan’s Falls of Redemption trilogy. As with Retribution Calls, I read this one from digital cover to digital cover on an airplane. This time it was on the long flight home from South Korea. Sloan continues with his great, descriptive but not overly graphic, fight scenes, and he brings magic into the series in a big way.
A quote the reviewer seems to have liked (you have to read the book for context):
“That’s what happens when you become king, I suppose. You get a big head and start not wanting to roll around in feces.” -Semreh
A bunch of other great review info here, followed by this conclusion:
I rate Tears of Devotion five stars. It’s the best fantasy series I have read in a long time, and it shattered a lot of ideas I had about self published books. I will always love Lord of the Rings, Dragonlance, and theForgotten Realms, but if you want something new and fresh, the Falls of Redemption series is it.
So there you go! Check out Outernerd – this site is going to be big!