Jon Sprunk

Review Originally Posted At: FictionForesight

A "Pull No Punches" 4 1/2 Stars!

Blood and Iron is an action-packed adventure that hones all best pieces of fantasy into whats sure to be an amazing series!

A Quick Summary:

Blood and Iron begins as all epic tales do, with tragedy. In this case, tragedy comes in the form of a ship wreck. Horace, our main character, is a ship builder who was unlucky enough to be aboard a vessel that sank during an extraordinary storm. Washing up on the shore of his show more enemies homeland, Horace is taken captive and sold into slavery. Things don't look good. Not only a slave to his enemies, Horace is in a place where he doesn't speak the language, and doesn't know the customs. Combine that with the grueling conditions the slaves are put through, and you have a recipe for death.

Fate however, had another plan. Horace, and everyone else, soon discovers that he has latent magical abilities. Abilities which his enemies covet and consider a divine presence. It is because of this that Horace is soon broken from his bonds of slavery, and thrust into the even deadlier game of politics.

Along the way Horace crosses paths with a host of other characters, including Jirom, a gladiator and ex-mercenary, Alyra, a slave and spy, and Blythe, the queen of Akeshia (Horace's enemy). Each has a unique relationship, that inadvertently is affected by the other. And with each character having their own agenda, things don't look good for Horace.

The Good:

Lets start with the magic, because that was just awesome! I can't say that Jon Sprunk created a unique system of magic, because that's not necessarily true. Instead it seems that he did what he did with the rest of the book, he took some existing magic systems and reworked them with a bit of his own flavor mixed in. Well it worked. I loved the fact that each element had its own name, and own workings. For instance, throughout the book whenever the earth element was used, the character that was using it claimed they felt stronger. As if the element influenced the users emotions based on what we think of when we think of that element. Earth being strong, steadfast, unbending, etc.

The action was epic. Jon Sprunk knows what this reader likes. With some books the action scenes seem pitiful, or are seemingly indifferent to the other scenes. That's certainly not the case here. This book grabs you by the throat, and makes you take witness to a ton of "it's about to go down" moments scattered all throughout the book. Honestly, there are fight scenes in this book that literally gave me chills while I was reading. I can't stress how much I love that feeling in books.

Characterization was great too. I read quite a few reviews before reading this book (yes reviewers read reviews too!) and I have to admit, I was a bit bias going in. So many reviewers claimed that the characters were flat, one-sided, and lacked depth that's necessary in order to relate. I disagree wholeheartedly. I found the characters to be quite real, relatable, flawed, etc. I think there's a character for every personality too. I mean we have Horace, the conflicted foreigner with morals and beliefs akin to his homeland, who still is able to see the other side of the coin. He isn't perfect. He openly berates himself for his personal life and circumstances. He's this all-powerful sorcerer who has a hard time coping with the fact that he even has magic at all. Then even being an all-powerful sorcerer, he still has a lack of control over his own abilities, that doesn't "magically" go away. We have Alyra who is a spy, a fighter that serves and plays the role of a slave, who still comes to love and trust despite an upbringing that would not warrant such things. Jirom feels like your typical brute at first, but then we learn of a somewhat squishy layer that exists underneath. He set's himself a part from every other typical brute out there in that he's smart and calculating, but he's still not immune to his own hypocrisy. I could go on for days. Frankly put, these to me are not flat characters.

I liked the fact that while the story switched back and forth from different character's perspectives, we weren't in a stagnant rut. Some books switch back and forth from characters between chapters, but they always do the same switches. Chapter 1 is this person, 2 is that person. Back and forth. Blood and Iron switches between perspectives, but it does so in a much more flowing manner. The switches make sense. We learn more about situations when we get to see both, or all, sides. Not only that, but in a couple of situations the story flashes back a bit too, which is nice. So when we have an action scene take place with character A, we don't necessarily pick up at the same part with character B. We get to take a step back to see how the events built up to that point. I think this made this book much more enjoyable than others that have a similar story.

Speaking of story, lets briefly chat about the story-line / plot arcs. This entire plot, the idea of a stranger showing up, having magical abilities, finding a place in the world, it's all been done before. This isn't cutting edge stuff here. It's timeless stuff, the stuff that fantasy lovers want in their books. Jon Sprunk takes all the good things from other fantasy novels and twists it until you find something that's uniquely his. There were some parts where I already knew what was going to happen, because you could tell a mile away, and then others still, admittedly, surprised me quite a bit. (I. e. a certain someone taking a certain sibling captive!). It was these little surprises that kept me on my toes, and enjoying a story-line I had read a thousand times before, but never quite in that way.

The Bad:

I really had to think here to come up with something that I thought was bad enough to include in this section. I know other reviewers have their opinions (and they should!), but I just couldn't find a lot of fault here.

For me, setting was a point of contention. Don't misunderstand, the world building was pretty good. You got to learn quite a bit about the world that this story takes place in, but I still found myself picturing some place else. I know that this is set in Egyptian like times / locales, but all the while reading I kept finding myself picturing an Arthurian England. Why? Couldn't possibly begin to tell you. Mr. Sprunk clearly articulates the setting, style of dress, even the hierarchy that exists. And it all fits with the Egyptian theme. But short of the desert, I suppose you could take this story just about anywhere and still have it feel just as good. So in my head, were not in Egypt anymore.

Other than that petty point, I think the lacking romance was the biggest culprit. I mean I get it, you don't necessarily need people hooking up in every story. But that's not what I'm alluding to at all. I just wish there was a bit more romantically here. Sure Horace was fawning over other characters, and yes I understand the pain he went through and how big of a step this would be for him, but still. I'm dreadfully hoping for the romantic arc to take some major leaps forward in the sequel.

Overall:

Blood and Iron wasn't good. It was great. Jon Sprunk writes in such a way that little is held back, and in the end, everything is left on the page. For better or worse, he call's it like he sees it. For me, that's the key. That's what separates this book from all the rest. It was almost as realistic and gritty as a historical take on this type of era, with a great plot-line and cast of characters strewn in. I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who enjoys fantasy, or is looking for a little magic in their life. I can't wait for the sequel to follow Horace and the gang through to their next battle!

(www.FictionForesight.com) show less

I honestly didn't think this sort of fantasy got published any more - the pedestrian, cliche-loaded, mediocre-tolkien/mythology-aspirant sort. At least the plot moves fast, though I suspect it has to or otherwise you'd be able to see daylight through the holes that turn into lace. Characters made of thin cardboard in utterly familiar shapes, a brutal dichotomy of good and evil, and a setting that's both generic and wildly anachronistic in its influences. Sort of like in was written from an show more unholy melange of the notes from Dan Brown's newest novel, and the notes from a teenage GM's newest campaign. At least I finished it; it's that bearable. show less

There's a lot to like about this novel, which creates an interesting fantasy world and doesn't spend too much time detailing every aspect of it, including aspects that aren't relevant to the plot. The characters are strong and I thought the plot was compelling, but my biggest problem was a completely unnecessary rape scene late in the novel. This is such a tired fantasy cliche, and it doesn't need to be in the book. It's never really dealt with and could easily be excised without affecting show more the final story at all. show less

I can say without hesitation that I enjoyed this book more so than the first. Maybe this is because Sprunk took more time to detail the world or because my two favorite characters (Josey and Kit) proved themselves more than Caim's match in dealing with the unknown.

Our Merry Band of Miscreants have gone in different ways after Caim's decision to head North (to help his people) and Josey became Empress of Nimea. I was relieved that Sprunk didn't spend too much time on Josey becoming acclimated show more to being Empress; having been raised in a noble house she fell into the role of Empress easily enough (as far as manners and customs). Caim for his part didn't spend a lot of time moping that he had to leave Josey despite their feelings (and the beginnings of a relationship). At odd moments he will regret not being with her and accepting the easier road (as her husband), but he's doing what he knows to be right and that sustains him.mostly. By contrast Josey spent more time silently cursing Caim for leaving her, but she had a slightly better reason to do so.

Caim's family history is deeply discomforting. It would be better to say that the culture of his people makes it hard to be comfortable around them. Kit relays news to him that could be construed as good news, but straight on the heels of that revelation she reports about a family member that puts everyone else's Crazy Aunt Judy to shame. Sprunk spends time going from character to character to round out the worldview--we follow Caim, Sybelle, Josey, Kit and a small host of minor characters when they're viewpoint adds something different to the proceedings. This was frustrating at times because not everyone is given equal time--Caim will sometimes have entire chapters to himself while Josey is given only a small portion of one, or Sybelle will repeatedly show within a few chapters.

I think what pleased me the most was in between Caim and his new Merry Band of Miscreants fighting their way further North to purge the menace threatening everyone, we had the time with Josey and the Court machinations. Reading about Josey handling the precarious balance of power and unrest in Nimea, while being hunted by a creature of murderous intent, was more entertaining than the constant battles Caim found himself in. Sprunk definitely upped the body count for this book.

The various plot threads all end with the same purpose in mind--to get North and resolve things one way or another. I look forward to a reunion between Josey and Caim, as well as the nature of Kit and Caim's past being fully revealed. There's a showdown a-brewing and I'm rubbing my hands in glee for it.

review originally posted at Night Owl Reviews show less