Author: Ben Galley
Genre: Grimdark Fantasy
Format: e-Book
Pages: 391
I've followed Ben Galley on Twitter for a many moons now, and I finally made myself pick up one of his books. I mean all of his books sound right up my alley. Only Chasing Graves had one extra thing going for it, Egyptian mythology. Which is something I've been obsessed with since a kid. So I tried a little bit harder to get my hands on this series. As luck would have it, the random name generator that Ben Galley uses seems to like me. So with a promise of a fair and honest review, I downloaded this bad boy to my phone. Lost it when my phone freaked out and panicked. Then re-applied it to the new phone and devoured it.
Every free chance I've had since I managed to get back on my e-reading app I've spent reading this. My roommate even laughed as I was finishing the last few chapters, because I was reading I as making brunch.
How much did I enjoy this book? So much so that I'm waiting for the second book, Grim Solace, to finish uploading onto my phone.
There so much to like about this book, but I think my favorite thing is that we get thrown into the story kind in the middle of Caltro's story. He's already gone through some stuff and taken a job in a dangerous city because he's kind of got no other choice. We know nothing about him, except that he's smarmy and is a thief. It's the same with every other character we meet. Their story has already started and we've appeared midway through it. The great thing is your not left guessing what happened before the pages started. Ben Galley slowly reveals what you need throughout the plot here and there. Little moments that look random until all of sudden their not so little anymore.
In fact I got so focused on figuring out players and on the little side games, I forgot didn't think to ask the bigger question. Why was the emperor locked away? I knew it wasn't the reason we were being fed. That was too clean, to easy. My theory however was blown out of the water because I hadn't planned it being that! Which I loved by the way, but maybe I should have saw coming. Because I figured out how everyone else fits into this story. The pieces they needed to play. Those two were my odd men out. Moving parts I couldn't place.
Vague, I know. But, no one likes spoilers. Particularly with this reveal. It was one of the moments I yelled 'What?!' through our silent house.
But, on to the next amazing point the world building in Chasing Graves is stellar, and it's not just one landscape that we're shown. Through the story we see different parts of Araxes, some older, some newer, some nasty. But, each section is it's own and Ben Galley makes it so easy to picture these parts as our cast moves through the city. My favorite sights were the Long Sands. I mean they had me at duneworms. I just wished we'd seen one. I'd love to seem more of this world. More of Krass and Skol, even the Scatter Isles. We got a taste of them through out cast, but that was about it
And, the cast for Chasing Graves is really well put together. Each one stands on their own. None of them fell flat with me. I have my favorites: Etane, Caltro, and Ani. Etane because I want to see just how well he can use that sword, and because he comes with all the sass. Caltro because he doesn't want to be the hero of this story, but he's probably going to have to be. Lastly, Ani because she may not be able to hear you beg for your life, but she will enjoy taking it. There are also characters I don't enjoy so much, well mostly two: Vex and Nilith. Mostly Vex just annoys, more so after the ending. As for Nilith, I mean how lucky can one person be?!
Lastly, the writing style. I save this for last because it is more than amazing. So many different pieces are being weaved together in this first book. So many players put into actions, and not once did I feel the story falter. It has a good paces and jumps seamlessly between point-of-view. Chapter-by-chapter more of the story is being unraveled in front of you, but even as the book came to end, I'm not real sure what the endgame will be. Though I do know how more pieces fit together. The amount of research done for this book is easy to see. From the way the mention of the dead gods, to the way Araxes is set up, to the never ending desert. I felt like Caltro trying to unravel every piece of every mystery with each not bit of information that as given out.
In the end I'm left with a lot of questions. Is Nilith going to make it to the Nyxwell in time? What do the dead gods want with Caltro? Will someone smack Vex so hard his head spins? Among a few. All of my questions just make me want to jump into the second book even faster. While the book ended on a cliff hanger, which rude, I'm not unsatisfied with the ending. I'm just hoping the next books has more answered. Because all I now are theories and questions.
Buy, Borrow, or Skip: I'd say buy. This is one of those books that has a lot going on it, and is one you can ready a second time a find something you missed the first time. Some little thing you too busy theorizing to noticed you read.
Every free chance I've had since I managed to get back on my e-reading app I've spent reading this. My roommate even laughed as I was finishing the last few chapters, because I was reading I as making brunch.
How much did I enjoy this book? So much so that I'm waiting for the second book, Grim Solace, to finish uploading onto my phone.
There so much to like about this book, but I think my favorite thing is that we get thrown into the story kind in the middle of Caltro's story. He's already gone through some stuff and taken a job in a dangerous city because he's kind of got no other choice. We know nothing about him, except that he's smarmy and is a thief. It's the same with every other character we meet. Their story has already started and we've appeared midway through it. The great thing is your not left guessing what happened before the pages started. Ben Galley slowly reveals what you need throughout the plot here and there. Little moments that look random until all of sudden their not so little anymore.
In fact I got so focused on figuring out players and on the little side games, I forgot didn't think to ask the bigger question. Why was the emperor locked away? I knew it wasn't the reason we were being fed. That was too clean, to easy. My theory however was blown out of the water because I hadn't planned it being that! Which I loved by the way, but maybe I should have saw coming. Because I figured out how everyone else fits into this story. The pieces they needed to play. Those two were my odd men out. Moving parts I couldn't place.
Vague, I know. But, no one likes spoilers. Particularly with this reveal. It was one of the moments I yelled 'What?!' through our silent house.
But, on to the next amazing point the world building in Chasing Graves is stellar, and it's not just one landscape that we're shown. Through the story we see different parts of Araxes, some older, some newer, some nasty. But, each section is it's own and Ben Galley makes it so easy to picture these parts as our cast moves through the city. My favorite sights were the Long Sands. I mean they had me at duneworms. I just wished we'd seen one. I'd love to seem more of this world. More of Krass and Skol, even the Scatter Isles. We got a taste of them through out cast, but that was about it
And, the cast for Chasing Graves is really well put together. Each one stands on their own. None of them fell flat with me. I have my favorites: Etane, Caltro, and Ani. Etane because I want to see just how well he can use that sword, and because he comes with all the sass. Caltro because he doesn't want to be the hero of this story, but he's probably going to have to be. Lastly, Ani because she may not be able to hear you beg for your life, but she will enjoy taking it. There are also characters I don't enjoy so much, well mostly two: Vex and Nilith. Mostly Vex just annoys, more so after the ending. As for Nilith, I mean how lucky can one person be?!
Lastly, the writing style. I save this for last because it is more than amazing. So many different pieces are being weaved together in this first book. So many players put into actions, and not once did I feel the story falter. It has a good paces and jumps seamlessly between point-of-view. Chapter-by-chapter more of the story is being unraveled in front of you, but even as the book came to end, I'm not real sure what the endgame will be. Though I do know how more pieces fit together. The amount of research done for this book is easy to see. From the way the mention of the dead gods, to the way Araxes is set up, to the never ending desert. I felt like Caltro trying to unravel every piece of every mystery with each not bit of information that as given out.
In the end I'm left with a lot of questions. Is Nilith going to make it to the Nyxwell in time? What do the dead gods want with Caltro? Will someone smack Vex so hard his head spins? Among a few. All of my questions just make me want to jump into the second book even faster. While the book ended on a cliff hanger, which rude, I'm not unsatisfied with the ending. I'm just hoping the next books has more answered. Because all I now are theories and questions.
Buy, Borrow, or Skip: I'd say buy. This is one of those books that has a lot going on it, and is one you can ready a second time a find something you missed the first time. Some little thing you too busy theorizing to noticed you read.
HAPPY READING!!
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