BLOODHEIR - BRIAN RUCKLEY

[drosdelnoch]

Author of the Godless World series, its for the second novel, Bloodheir, that Brian has been nominated. Talk about his work here.

[Andrew Guile]

I going to have to confess my stupidity here and state that I was writing about Winterbirth and not Bloodheir. My foolish mistake - I will remove the post if needed (after all, it's not all that helpful is it!).

[Cringes]

Andrew.

[Mihai, Dark Wolf]

I liked "Bloodheir" even more than "Winterbirth". I believe that Brian Ruckley has potential, great potential. And I believe that it cannot be truly enjoyed without reading "Winterbirth" in the first place. It connects a lot with the first part of the series. And I can't wait for the third novel, "Fall of Thanes".

[Deborah J Miller - Award Administrator]

Thanks for this, Mihai - you reminded me to take out Andrew's post as he accidentally did a full critique of Winterbirth! Which is a bit of a shame, cos we do like fulsome critiques here - but I wouldn't want to confuse the issue for other readers/voters...

Sorry Andrew - hope you will post again on finishing Bloodheir!

Mihai, Dark Wolf said:

I liked "Bloodheir" even more than "Winterbirth". I believe that Brian Ruckley has potential, great potential. And I believe that it cannot be truly enjoyed without reading "Winterbirth" in the first place. It connects a lot with the first part of the series. And I can't wait for the third novel, "Fall of Thanes".

[Mary]

I found the second novel in the Godless World series mesmerizing. The first work enchanted me but the second one sealed it. I cannot wait for the third one to come out and finish the story. A good second work in a trilogy needs to forward the story and expand on themes or lines from the first work. Bloodheir not only did that but, at least in my opinion, added layers to the rich storylines. In many ways I am reminded of Tolstoy's War and Peace and not just for the brutality of the battle scenes.

[Crisp]

This one is very much in the style of David Gemmell. Great fighting and gory detail with reluctant heroes galore. A good second book - very much anticipating the third (so much that they will both get a re-read beforehand!). Also, I know it has one of the "fashionable" covers where it is mostly white, but they do look good on the shelf and really does exactly what it says on the tin.
On the cusp of my top ten.