Review: "The Malevolent Seven" by Sebastian de Castell

So what kind of story do you have when your protagonist is an unabashed mercenary who makes deals with devils for spells to crush his foes?

More accurately, what kind of story do you have when that one is the good guy?

That's the latest offering from Sebastian de Castell, the author of the Greatcoats series. I enjoyed the Greatcoats series overall. Oh, there were parts of it that didn't set well with me, but overall it was an okay read. I found De Castell's "Tales of the Greatcoats" collection of short stories to be more enjoyable, mostly because the reader is spared the multiple chapters of narrative self-loathing and authorial sadism that is such a common thing in so many stories that are out these days.

"The Malevolent Seven" is set in an entirely different world. A world of magic, of angels, of demons, and of battle mages. Cade Ombra is one such mage and he's got a very complicated background for a simple mercenary mage. A series of events has Cade and his (sort of) friend Corrigan take on a job to kill seven virtuous mages for cash. If only the job were that simple. If only all the cast were that simple as well.

"The Malevolent Seven" is a delightful story. It's got a fun pace. Oh sure, the protagonist, Cade, is a tormented whiner who is really a hero among rogues in a shitty world (not unlike his setting for the Greatcoats) but it was a quick and fun read. De Castell doesn't shy away from moral questions any more than he shies away from having his characters wade through literal shit from time to time.

A part of me hopes there will be a sequel. The other part of me hopes he leaves the story where it is, set with a curiously-optimistic ending. I think I'll be fine either way, truth be told.

Review: "The Traitor" by Anthony Ryan

The latest in Anthony Ryan's series known as "The Covenant of Steel", the third novel entitled "The Traitor" follows "The Pariah" and "The Martyr" in the testament of Alywn Scribe, a former outlaw turned knight and lover of the Risen Martyr Evandine Coulain.

As one might tell from the title, the story is about as cheery and loving as the previous two books, as Ryan continues to abuse his protagonists viciously amid scenes of carnage and torture.

For all that, the story is an enjoyable enough romp with a lot more closure and coherence in it than the "Raven's Shadow" series. There are parallels in numerous characters between the two series, but I find enough differences that I don't give "Raven's Shadow" too much thought as I've made my way through "The Covenant of Steel".

Alywn Scribe's journey continued to keep my attention throughout "The Traitor", though there were few surprises. I found a few plot points introduces in "The Martyr" were left unresolved as "The Traitor" concluded, but Ryan hints there may be another series along one day.

Oddly, the one thing I found that really stood out in "The Covenant of Steel" was how Ryan handles the otherworldly powers. In his other series, magic is usually tied to vaguely godlike entities that are callous and indifferent, if not outright malign. In "The Covenant of Steel", there is, at least, some acknowledgement that there's benign powers out there, albeit ruthless ones.

The series was a fun read. I look forward to more from Anthony Ryan.