Book Review: Crown of Madness by Ryan G. Beaty
Genre(s): Epic Fantasy
Book Synopsis:
The Order of the Grim Hunt, a group dedicated to the hunting and slaying of monsters, work to preserve the world and its inhabitants from the creatures of the dark. But what happens when the people become worse than the monsters?
Marcus, a professional monster slayer known as a hexblade, a master of both sword and spell, finds himself caught in a war between nations instigated by the manipulations of darker forces and a scheming sorceress. The affairs of men is something the Order of the Grim Hunt is supposed to remain impartial to, but how can he protect the world if it is left to destroy itself?
As the fate of the continent hangs in the balance, it will be up to Marcus, a simple hunter of the supernatural, to keep two nations from collapsing into the flames of war. It will be his responsibility to restore balance, and to serve justice by means of the sword.
Review:
I liked the premise of the hexblades in this book, and the Gerault from the Witcher feel they had. And monster hunters are always fun to read about!
However, the delivery was a bit lacking for me. Word repetition was frequent within paragraphs or sentences, and there were a number of homophone errors as well. While the earlier chapters were okay in terms of story structure, the later sections often felt rushed and choppy. If these things had been addressed prior to publication, I think this would have been a good read. As it is now, the issues distract from the story enough that I feel compelled to mention it.
There were some really cool ideas in this book though. The gene-splicing the hexblades endured to grant their abilities was fascinating, and the monster battles were done fairly well. I liked the intrigue that built up between the warring kings, and the hex/magic system had some interesting elements to it.
Crown of Madness is book 1 in The Grim Hunt series.
Author’s Amazon Page: Ryan G Beaty
Amazon link: Crown of Madness
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