The first in the “powerful” (SFFWorld.com) New York Times bestselling fantasy series.Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order to be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate and dangerous life of a warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order. Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the Unified … Janus, ruler of the Unified Realm—and Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright knows no bounds. Even his cherished memories of his mother are soon challenged by what he learns within the Order.
But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the Realm but the world.
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I’ve finally got my claws on a copy of Queen of Fire in trade paperback, but I’ve made the executive decision to revisit these books before hitting the capstone to the trilogy. These books don’t pretend at complexity – it’s definitely high fantasy with a narrow view that only widens to a huge degree by the time you hit the second book, Tower Lord. Blood Song was a huge debut when it came out, so I’m eager to wrap it up. Ryan likes the slow game, but it’s always the ones you don’t see coming that get you good in the end.
I wasn’t sure what to think when I picked up this novel, but I was pleasantly surprised. As a huge fan of epic fantasy, I enjoyed how the author built the world and the character of Vaelin. It could have so easily turned into another hack and slash fantasy, but it has everything that makes a well rounded page-turner for me: heart, intrigue, comradeship, magic, a little dash of romance, adventure, battles, and makes you think about everyone’s agendas..because there are many duplicitous characters and not all of them are good. Highly recommended!
I found “Blood Song” to be a gripping coming-of-age tale with better-than-fair character and setting development. I enjoyed the single-point-of-view perspective and the pacing is good for the most part. I wanted to know more about how Vaelin Al Sorna felt and how he came to be such a devout and moral person. I liked that he often made the hard choices, and that he didn’t whine about it. Sometimes didn’t even tell others about them!
Mind, I first read this a few years ago, so I don’t know if any editing has been done, but I struggled with a few places when the timeline changed suddenly and without warning, or the actions and attitudes of the players didn’t seem to match their ages or time spent at the school.
I enjoyed Ryan’s language skills, and he can paint a very nice scene. The political landscape intrigued me, as did the virtual landscape. With the Orders being numbered rather than named, their purposes (aside from the Sixth, which is “main character” material), were tricky to keep track of.
In the end, it kept me turning the pages and suffering an unwillingness to put it down until I was done. I am glad I read it, it’s a very impressive beginning to the series and I’m looking forward to reading more.
I almost gave up but now I am on the third book of the trilogy.
Absolutely brilliant grimdark story of a boy-to-man in a system designed to make warriors. A gritty world, filled with danger, and truly memorable settings and people.
First off: love the title and cover.
I enjoyed Vaelin’s story – the usual fantasy tropes of Orders/Guilds for each profession, different classes, secrecy, etc.
But… The weird way the story starts, leaving the true story as a flash back, irritated me because a) it’s from someone else’s perspective and b) I don’t care about any of the characters yet.
A really fun coming of age fantasy novel told from the pov of a very relatable main character. The writing is stronger than a lot of this type of story and I am looking forward to the sequels.
This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2019 & the series gets better & better (which I thought was impossible to accomplish ) but Anthony Ryan seemed to keep my attention throughout each book.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT JUST BLOOD SONG BUT EACH BOOK OF THE SERIES.
THX I ABSOLUTELY LOOK FOR ANYTHING WITH HIS NAME ATTACHED TO IT!!
One of my favorites!
Fantastic!
Loved this book. A perfect coming-of-age blend of fantasy and military action.
Very well written! And a helluva ending!
There was only a couple things I didn’t like about this awesome book. The first thing that struck me was the first chapter in italics, not a deal breaker but I really wish the chapter title had been enough for the author to distinguish the differences in time. I found the introduction to the order a little slow because meeting the characters was so rushed and choppy, I couldn’t take in all the information. It soon smoothed out though and I loved delving in the boys’ training. I love Vaelin’s character! There was no real building to the climax at the end, but the last chapter . . . wow! That threw me for a loop!
Cannot wait to read the next one!
For some reason this book and blurb caught my eye, and then I read the first few pages and was HOOKED. This is an amazing book–the characters will fill you, and the world building leaves you with the sense that you are inside the pages. Such a good book. I can’t recommend it enough.