Book Review || Demon's Rage || Ben Galley & David Estes

 

Book Review

Demon’s Rage

Ben Galley & David Estes

About the Book

The war to save the Swathe is far from over.

Since the Battle of Shal Gara, the Scions have lurked in the dangerous loam, hunting the survivors of the Last Clan. But a malice grows in the treetops and the canopies of the bloodwoods. Fireborn lies creep like a rot through the Swathe, turning citizen against citizen, brother against brother. Their purpose? To open another fiery gate to the demon realm.Racing against time, Tarko and Serisi must fight not only the demon threat but their own growing power. The bond of nectra and demon blood is as alluring as a precipice, and one just as perilous. As they become ever more entwined, the path to victory will present a to hold back, or to give in to the rage building within them.But these are desperate times, and such times call for desperate measures, even if it means becoming the very monster you're fighting against.

 

Review

Demon’s Rage is the second book in The Bloodwood Saga and continues the story of Tarko and his demon compatriot Serisi, who along with the rest of the Scions of Shal’ Gara continue to fight the demon threat against the Swathe.

Since the fall of Shal’ Gara, the Scions of Shal’Gara have been living in the Loam, hunting the renegade demons from the Last Clan who have foresworn that they will open a portal from the Void and let the God of Chaos loose upon the land.

Battling treachery, disbelief and themselves, the Scions must fight the growing power of the Fireborn and attempt to thwart the demon’s plans to decimate the Swathe.

I have to say that I love this series and I cannot help being swept up by it. The book in itself does not hold many surprises and it is easy to determine what is going to happen in the main overarching aspects of the story. However, it is the characters that hold dominion over the reader. And yes, whilst the reader may guess the direction of the various plot points and the direction the book is going. It is how the characters get there that is the most entertaining.

The main story of the book is the changing dynamic between Tarko and Serisi and how the bond that was forged in the first book is now growing and changing. The changing relationship between the two is really interesting in that Tarko does at times become quite unlikeable and there were many times that I was shaking my head at Tarko as he becomes more of the weapon that is needed to fight against the Demons and Fireborn as they become stronger.

As usual, the writing is full throttle and there is not much time to catch your breath as the story unfolds.

One minor quibble that I have with this book is that I didn’t feel that the side characters, Pel, Atalawe or Esteral had as much to do in this book. I felt that they tended to stand on the sidelines a little more than in the previous book, as the lens is mainly focussed on Tarko and Serisi. However, I can let this aspect go as on the whole the book is a bloody good fantasy adventure story. There are a number of new characters introduced in this book, with my favourite being the giant bird Vole who has powers of his own.

One of the things that I like about this book is how it amalgamates progression fantasy into the story without it becoming the main focus of the story. Now I will admit that progression fantasy is not one of my favourite sub genres, but Demon’s Rage makes it more palatable to my tastes as there are many other things going on to maintain my attention.

Now one of the things that I will mention that disappoints me is the reach that this book has had. Unfortunately, there are only a few people shouting about this book, and for me, more people need to get their reading gear round this book and shout from the houses about it.

If you want a good adventure that has a splash of progression with a healthy dose of Venom, then Demon’s Rage is a book that is worth picking up.