Shadow of the Conqueror (Chronicles of Everfall Book 1) Kindle Edition

Let me just start by saying that I love Shad. Awesome guy, great sense of humor, and has a addictive Youtube Channel. He's spent the last 10 years honing his craft and I can certainly appreciate that. But I can't help feel he's latched onto some pretty bad writing advice.For one, he's distractingly heavy-handed with dialogue attributions. For another, he doesn't seem to understand the reason for--or meaning of--showing vs telling. Dialogue often times contains zero tension, making some interactions feel forced and info-dumpy. The beats of the story feel awfully paced. His style of writing needs work. His editor needs even more work, and the list goes on and on.But here's the thing. Even the best-cut diamonds have flaws. And this book is most certainly a diamond. Shad has a good sense of story, plot, and character. He's also an amazing world builder (even if the way he conveys his world to the audience needs work). Definitely worth picking up this book.I could write a longer review, but I'm currently on a deadline of my own. So just buy the book already.

Shadow of the Conqueror is an enjoyable gem. It certainly has its flaws, but it has a lot going for it and I have no difficulty recommending it.The book's greatest strength is in the world that the author introduces. A great deal of thought has gone into this world; its physical mechanics, its magical systems, and the cultural idiosyncrasies derived from them. The downside to this is that it leaves the author with a great many things to explain, resulting in a lot of heavily expositional monologue and dialogue. This does constipate the narrative at times, and your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for info-dumps. Personally, I found it forgivable. The exposition is so enthusiastic that it feels like the author is really excited to share his toys with the reader, and it's endearing. A technically-minded fantasy reader who really wants to come to grips with the world and its systems will find much to enjoy.On to the narrative. Like the world in which it is set, Shadow of the Conqueror is marked by great contrasts of light and darkness. Much of the book is characterized by levity, dad jokes, cringe-worthy puns, and a wholesome lightheartedness. This is balanced out with frequent dips into much heavier subject matter; stunning violence, profound atrocity, and crippling guilt. The back-and-forth between the two poles does a lot to keep you engaged, as once things really get going you can't take for granted what the tone of the next page will be.Though there are a few other points of view, the narrative is tightly focused around the main character of Daylen, who like the book itself is a figure of extremes. He manages to combine elements of a superhero, an annoying teenage brat, a grumpy old man, and a repentant war-criminal. He's a tricky personality to come to terms with as a protagonist, but his journey is really quite poignant. He could perhaps be criticized for being an overpowered character, as his abilities are extremely versatile. He does, however, encounter characters and situations that are legitimately threatening to him. In that sense, the book has the feeling of a superhero story; if power-experimentation and clashes between overpowered individuals are appealing to you, then you're going to have some fun with it. Though to me, Daylen's most appealing "power" is his identity, and the intimate knowledge of the world he derives from it.Regarding the rest of the cast, the book doesn't fall into the trap of having too many major characters. It focuses on a core cast of strong characters whom I felt were handled quite well. As is par for the course with this book, there's a lot of goofy banter encasing serious emotionality and plot significance underneath it, and the time taken to establish these characters pays off superbly towards the book's climax.The writing itself is largely good. The dialogue could be refined, and there are more than a few sentences ending in prepositions. I was impressed with the structuring of it; the length and flow of chapters. It's a cliche to call a book a "page turner", but I did find myself irresistibly baited into reading the next chapter. The chapters themselves aren't labouriously long, so "one more chapter" never felt like too much of an ask.All things considered, I'm very pleased with the experience. The setting and supernatural mechanics are cleverly constructed and very enjoyable, and work well to deliver a story with some properly satisfying emotional heft.

I wanted to like this novel, I really did. I'm a fan of Shad's YouTube channel, and really love his content. Reading the back-cover blurb, I was excited to read this novel - there's so much potential. But after 30-40 pages (of a 500 page paperback), I had to put it down. The prose is extremely substandard, the worldbuilding is very heavy-handed, leading to infodump after infodump and aside after aside. In those 30 pages I have read, next to nothing happens. And the main character! He wobbles between self-pity and "I had it better in my day!" old-man-ism. And that could work... except he doesn't seem to have much of an actual personality.And there is such potential here, too! The world-concept is very Sanderson-esque, filled with magic and airships, and even some industrialization. It's just a shame that the author failed to heed his own advice. This novel should have gone through two or three rounds with an editor. And I mean a true content editor. Shad credits a copy editor and two proofreaders, but their only role is to correct spelling and grammatical mistakes (and I still spotted several, including tense confusion on the second page!)

Shad takes his time to build out a unique fantasy world with simple, yet utter complex, technology, based around the magic. His world building leans towards the heavy-handed explaining kind, so if that puts you off you might struggle, but if you can sit tight and get through the many lines of exposition then you are in for a treat!I bought the paperback and plan on re-reading it as soon as it arrives! *It Arrived!*

I'm halfway through and don't think I'll be able to finish.A small rant:We follow Daylen, a man who has done unbelievably terrible things, on a journey to redeem himself or at least do good in the world. An interesting premise, but sadly wasted (which sums up the book). Again and again Daylen slaughters and tortures for pges and pages and then has a little cry for half a page and never thinks about that specific deed again. That really captures moral struggle that is supposed to be at the heart of the character.Next, the info dumps... I had alarm bells early on when Daylen is facing certain death, his heart full of despair (not a spoiler, this is the first chapter). This should be an emotional and intensely focused scene, but Daylen (or shad) randomly decides now is the time to take half a page to think about how the sun works in the general larger universe being posited, and how voyagers have tried to locate it, and what theories have cropped up to explain it... In the middle of a potential death scene! Just such a bizarre choice...Then there's the fact that, so far at least, Daylen has nothing to do except wonder around. No real purpose besides a vague desire to do good (through killing!), no skills to aquire because he already knows everything and is instantly powerful. No evil to fight as the world is pretty stable... So, essentially there's no real plot.Plus, Daylen figures out every precise detail of how his power works within ten minutes of aquring them. And we find out the key details of his past in the first chapter. So theres no mystery either... So why am I reading this again?Even little things kind of bugged me. An example. Characters refer to 'gravity'. In this world, space is looped on the vertical axis, and if you fall off the world you'd fall forever, watching the continent sail by again and again. Would people in a world where gravity isn't a force that draws you towards bodies of mass, but a universal constant pulling everything in the same direction even conceive of 'gravity' as we do? Can those two forces really be equivocal? Do we have a name for whatever law of reality always pulls us forward through time? No, it's such an unquestionable and universal constant as to not need to be named. Characters in this world referring to gravity felt like the author writing without thinking, rather than something that fits into the book. I'm sure some people will say I'm overthinking it, but I think Shad is underthinking these granular details that really give a world heft and weight.Sorry, I didn't mean to rant on like a mad man. I guess this was kind of cathartic, even though no one will ever read it.Love Shad's videos, but this book doesn't work on so many levels. There's an interesting world here (hence the 2 stars), but it's lost in a sea of poor choices. Sad times.He seems passionate about writing though, so you never know. He may become the next Brandon Sanderson yet.

Binge read the whole blackened thing in two falls and a bit. My biggest complaint is that there are no dragons.The world is well developed with the repercussions fully thought out and a unique hard magic system that actually cares about physics. Any high fantasy setting will inevitably be an industrial revolution, but by clever world building Shad manages to make swords a sensible and viable weapon that allows for a "swords" and sorcery world.The story's themes centre on redemption. What can the evilest man do to atone and will anyone even care? This provides a unique protagonist — certainly fresher than another farmboy — that despite his great power doesn't manage to become too overpowered that no one can threaten him — at least for most of the book — avoiding a problem all too common in light novels.Prose are clear and concise with the world building seeping into the language like the shade's darkness that gives Everfall its own identity.I recommend this to those lovers of swords and sorcery. May the day be everlasting.

So, first off, a quick declaration of interests: I am a regular-ish follower of the author’s YouTube channel, which is how I became aware of the release of the book.Normally I wouldn’t purchase an e-book quite this pricey from an debut author but having an Amazon Giftcard to use up and being a fan of the author’s research and authority into matters mediaeval I thought, why not? Well, I am glad I did as I really enjoyed the tale and suffered none of the usual distractions relating to poor quality writing and editing I have so often found in self-published novels. The criticisms I level are, in the main, down to personal preference.The Humour, especially in the early chapters, aside from being a bit corny, did at times detract from the story. The “modern” feel of the jokes had the unfortunate effect at times of ripping me out of my immersion of the otherwise excellently created setting. It felt as if they had been badly transplanted into the genre. That’s not to say there weren’t some good jokes amongst the groanworthy ones but they were a little misplaced. Fortunately, this seemed to only be an affliction in the earlier chapters.Predictability. Virtually nothing that happened surprised me, I like a bit of mystery and surprise in what I read but too often I knew pretty much what was going to happen next, even if not the exact mechanism of how. The plot, seemed reasonably simple but that did not in any way detract from the story, definitely a page turner and kept me hooked.The Magic System. So, despite some decades of being an avid fantasy LRP’er, I’m actually far more a fan of Science-Fiction than Fantasy. I like my sci-Fi built on solid conjectures of the scientifically plausible or interesting hypotheticals, its possibly as a consequence that I therefore like my magic mystical and subtle. The magic system has clearly been carefully thought out and with precise rules, I sense the hand of one who has probably played a variety of roleplaying games. The magic has very precise mechanisms for how it works, with exceptions and rules regarding cheating the limits. This made a lot of the magic feel just like scienceI’m not keen on magic being so scientifically defined, but that is really a personal preference. The advantage of the story is we learn how magic functions in the same way that the protagonist does getting the basic rules, then discovering the nuances and subtleties later on. However the exposition of the magic did seem forced in the early chapters, with a lot of information being unleashed. There may have been a better way of writing itThe Characters, are all reasonable creations, although there was something I can’t quite yet pin down about the protagonist that didn’t quite feel right in their portrayal but their journey and arc was still interesting and I believe that I understood what the author was trying to achieve.The Setting, I was a little disappointed that the narrative and pacing did not allow for more exploration of the world and setting as it offered many tantalising hints of what is out there and beyond. The concepts introduced or touched on deserve expansion and I can only hope that they are sequels in the offing to allow the mystery of this world and its unusual universe to be revealed.The Writing, whilst not technically superb, is far better than most I’ve read in a first time work by a self-published author and, as I mentioned previously, suffers none of the all too common obvious poor spelling, grammar, punctuation or plain incorrect use of words. This made the whole book feel like a polished and professional piece of writing.So, despite the mild criticisms above I look forward to reading more by this author and rate this endeavour a 3 ½ out of 5 stars (alas the scoring system only allows me to select a 3 or 4)

Ich war sehr gespannt auf dieses Buch, da ich ein Fan epischer Fantasy bin (WoT, SoIaF) sowie ein Fan von Shad's Youtube-Channel. Leider wurden für mich diese Erwartungen nicht erfüllt und zwar aus zwei ganz unterschiedlichen Gründen:1. Setting und Magie-System (persönlicher Geschmack)Für mich war weder das "hard magic" System noch das daraus resultierende Setting ansprechend. Der Autor hat hier sicherlich etwas ganz Neues geschaffen: eine art "sunstone punk", da hier eine Gesellschaft in der Industrialisierung gezeigt wird, deren Motor eben die Magie und nicht der Dampf ist. Ich persönlich bin kein Fan dieser Epoche und bevorzuge für Fantasy-Geschichten ein eher mittelalterliches Setting.Daneben verliert sich der Autor teilweise über Seiten in ingenieurhaften Ausführungen über die Magie und deren Anwendung. Dabei wird einem nicht mal wirklich gezeigt, wie so etwas funktionieren soll, sondern der Hauptcharakter monologisiert einfach "ungefragt" seitenlang darüber. Sehr ermüdend und erfüllt am Ende noch nicht einmal seinen Zweck: Gerade wenn man denk, die Funktion der Magie verstanden zu haben, wird einfach ein neues Konzept eingeführt, welches alles über den Haufen wirft.Hätte der Autor die Magie und Ihre Wirkung einfach "gezeigt" und dem Leser den Rest überlassen, dann wäre das Buch deutlich kürzer und weniger frustrierend ausgefallen...2. Idee und UmsetzungDie Grundidee ist zwar wirklich ansprechend, denn sie hebt die übliche Erlösungsgeschichte eines Charakters auf ein neues, vielleicht sogar maximales Level: Der Massenmörder/-vergewaltiger (so beschreibt der Protagonist sich regelmäßig selbst) soll zum Retter der Welt werden.Nur leider ist auch genau das das Problem des Buches: Geschichten über Vergebung und Erlösung sind schwer, aber einem so maximal "schlechten" Charakter eine glaubhafte Vergebungsgeschichte zu schreiben erfordert sehr, sehr großes Talent und Handwerkskunst. Um es klar zu sagen: Dem Autor fehlt beides. Das klingt hart, aber wer die Latte so hoch hängt, der scheitert auch umso klarer.Der Protagonist, Dayless, ist keinerlei Vergebung würdig. Zwar darf der Leser über Seiten inneren Monologen folgen, in denen der Protagonist ausbuchstabiert wie sehr er doch leide und noch der Tod zu gut für ihn sei, doch leider sieht der Leser in den Handlungen des Hauptcharakters davon nichts. Im Gegenteil: Dayless verhält sich wie ein blutrünstiger Choleriker mit Empathiestörung. Trotzdem will uns die Geschichte weismachen, dass er der Vergebung und einer neuen Chance würdig ist. Das geht soweit, dass seine ehemaligen Opfer (und Gegner) sich für ihn einsetzen, ja opfern (!) wollen. Darunter eines seiner Vergewaltigungsopfer. Ich fand es an diesen Stellen unmöglich, mein "suspension of disbelief" aufrecht zu erhalten und habe mich einfach nur noch über das Buch geärgert.Womit wir auch bei der zweiten zu hoch gehängten Latte wären: Vergewaltigung als Thema. Natürlich kann man über Vergewaltigung schreiben. Auch über deren Auswirkung auf die Opfer. Auch ein Hauptcharakter mit Vergewaltigungstrauma kann man machen, aber man sollte wirklich das dazugehörige Handwerkszeug besitzen. Warum der Autor dieses Thema so inflationär und doch nur völlig schablonenhaft verwendet erschließt sich mir nicht. Es ist unnötig. Es ist stümperhaft. Es ist ärgerlich.Fazit: Eine gute Grundidee und viel Arbeit ist noch kein Garant für ein gelungenes Buch. Der Autor hat für sein Erstlingswerk zu hohe Ambitionen gehabt und ist daher härter gescheitert als es notwendig gewesen wäre. Grundsätzlich ist das Setting (auch wenn es mir persönlich nicht gefällt) erfrischend unverbraucht und sehr gut durchdacht. Die Charaktere sind dabei aber zu flach und hölzern und der Autor versagt - man muss es so hart sagen - an der glaubhaften Darstellung der von ihm aufgeworfenen Themen.

I have given up approximately a third of the way in. I have not read his other works but good grief, this is info dump taken to new heights. I understand he is world building but there are better ways of doing so. We, the readers, do not need to know everything in one hit. The dialogue is stilted even when it is trying to to be fluid.This novel is a slog that only fans of Shad would like (I suspect)