Hello and happy Monday, everyone! Today I am here with my post for the blog tour hosted by Escapist Book Co., and if you want to find out more about the tour and the book, all you need to do is click here. Or keep reading this post!
Title: The Blade of Absolution
Author: Lou Yardley
Series: The Volkdrow Chronicles #1
Genre: Dark Fantasy/"Fiendish Fantasy"
Intended Age Group: Adult
Pages: 514
Published: June 23, 2023
Publisher: The Goblin Storybook (Self Published)
Content/Trigger Warnings:
Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader):
● Gore (a lil bit)
● Violence (a lil bit)
● Child murder/harm
● Some body horror
● A touch of general grossness in places
Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at):
● Discrimination against Orcs
One sword… a whole load of chaos!
Part dungeon break, part magical sword heist, "The Blade of Absolution" kicks off "The Volkdrow Chronicles" with a hearty dose of monsters, magic, and mayhem.
Set in the monstrous world of Venari, deep in the sprawling city of Red Fern, "The Blade of Absolution" follows Everfrost as she goes in search of adventure and her ever-so-slightly nefarious father. Things don't quite go to plan and, as chaos ensues, she meets Woodrow (a half-orc assassin), Pyggbe (an untrustworthy goblin), and Yelkrie (another untrustworthy goblin… but with a trick or two up her sleeve). Will they work together or will they be at each other's throats?
For those familiar with Lou Yardley's Venari tales, this book will introduce you to characters and monsters old and new. If you're brand new to this world, get comfy and prepare yourself for some epic fiendish fantasy, adventure, monsters, foul-language, odd humour, and a splash of gore.
Caution: This fiendish fantasy may contain monsters and swearing.
Actually, it absolutely does contain both of those things.
See Also:
Dungeon Break • Magical Sword Heist • Pesky Goblins
I won't be very long with my review, but let's start with the main bits: I enjoyed this book, there are a lot of good things going for it, and I had a good time with it, but I don't think I would continue it. My main problem with this book, and honestly, the only problem I had is that this is an adult book. We have violence, we have gore, we have swearing. And I am okay with all that. (I loved all of these things!) But the book reads like a middle-grade/YA. It's just about the way in which the author told the story, and it's all about the vibes, so I know that it is a highly personal thing, but still... To me it was like reading a book for children with an adult story. And even if the idea per se it's not bad, I am not a fan. Really really not a fan.
But, as I said, this was my only problem with it. And aside from this, I really enjoyed it. We have some really interesting characters and one of the best things is that some of them are pretty bad (but they are a mix between characters and villains, meaning that they are both, not that some of them are the characters and some the villains) and that they are goblin! And it's not just that the author tells you "Ehy! These two are goblins!" and that's it. Nope! She did an amazing job portraying them as goblins, and I appreciated that a lot.
The MC is Everfrost, and as far as MC went she is sort of average. I am not saying that in a bad way, but as a character she is good but nothing to write home about. What's really interesting about her are all the questions that we have about her. We know that she went to that particular city because she was hoping to find her father, sort of, and once we learn more about him we learn also more about her but... but this left us with more questions than before. And since a really peculiar thing happens to her in the book, we have even more questions about her future, too. So yeah, a lot of questions that still need answers. But, again, I am not saying it in a bad way, it was a thing that I appreciated. The constant wonder was not like an irksome hitch to scratch but more like a spice that added something to the story.
We have also a half-Orc that is quite good at heart, and I know, I know, he is an assassin but still!
And last but not least there are two characters that you need to meet: the Queen, because she is pretty scary and so damn powerful (and again, I have so many questions about her, argh!!), and Hero. He is a dire-hog! How cool is that??
As you can guess, my favorite part was the characters but the story is solid, and it is never boring. It is also quite even paced and we have a nice kind of humor through these pages. Sure, I am not a fan of the way in which this story is told but I had a good time with the book all the same, and if something in here sounds interesting to you, I'll recommend giving this one a try. It is not a small book, but it does not feel like a chunky one either, and it was a pretty fast reading!
and half!
Book Links:
Amazon: https://geni.us/blade-amazo
Universal Link: https://geni.us/blade
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/165789650-the-blade-of-absolution
Author Bio & Information:
Lou is an author. And a weirdo. She's sorta part Deadite and part Hobbit. Sometimes she feels like she's four goblins in a trench-coat masquerading as a human.
Up until recently, Lou Yardley has lurked mainly in the horror realms, but now she's taking her first gore-coated steps into the world of dark fantasy. Rather than just write one fantasy book, she's creating a whole world… and a dragon's horde's worth of books.
"Banished" was released in 2020 and was her first adventure in the monstrous world of Venari. In 2021, it was joined by "Creep" (a novella) and "Everfrost" (a werewolf flavoured novel). 2023 has seen the start of two new Venari series called "The Volkdrow Chronicles" and "Glintsprock's Quest".
Now that those are out in the wild, Lou is busy typing away at new Venari stories. We can't share too much about them yet, but we can promise they will be filled with monsters, magic, and mayhem.
Website: www.louyardley.com
Links: https://linkin.bio/louyardley
Instagram: www.instagram.com/goblinsstolemybrain
Facebook: https://facebook.com/louyardley
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@goblinsstolemybrain
About the publisher (The Goblin Storybook):
Run by a small group of goblins, The Goblin Storybook is the publisher responsible for releasing Lou Yardley's Venari books into the wild.
Before each book is released, the goblins will meticulously read it through and add in typos. As far as goblins are concerned, a book without typos is like a meal without mashed brains. It's just not right.
Once the typos are added, the goblins lovingly lick each word. They haven't shared their reasoning for this. To be honest, I think they just enjoy it. Everyone needs a hobby, right?
Books from The Goblin Storybook are available from a variety of retailers (with many of them unaware that they are stocking books coated in goblin saliva) and some stories are/will be exclusive to Lou Yardley's Ko-Fi page.
And that's all for today! What do you think about this book? Are you interested in it?? Let me know!!
Happy reading!
S.
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