I’ve been following the Kencyrath chronicles series since it first came out 40 years ago, because it’s that good.

What to Expect

Another adventure for Jame, this time exploring the central lands and their various kingdoms and faiths (more or less). Things on the longer arc are happening in the background, and are nearing the climax.

What I liked

The world-building is top notch, with its fuzzy lines between life and death, real and divine. It’s not your ‘adventuring’ setup, but rather an interesting backdrop for a unique world and epic story.

Jame herself is a great character, balancing her tendencies for destruction with her desire to do the right thing (one often leads to the other, with surprising consequences). The series takes place over a few short years (events during the book are pretty much contiguous), and it’s great to see Jame mature from a young adult to new adult.

What to be aware of

This is novel number 10 in a slow-burn epic cycle — slow referring both to plot progression and publication journey. Absolutely worth savouring if you have the patience, but it’s not a closed series yet. You should start at the beginning — God Stalk — and read in order, as otherwise events won’t make much sense.

Felix’s Review

Felix does prefer getting to the point a bit quicker. He’s well familiar with the boundaries of life and death (and how surprisingly easily beings cross both ways), and gives all respect to those willing to take death on. That said, he did find some characters a bit droll, in that it’s easy to spot the bad ones by the appearance and demeanor.

Summary

Amazing series, the kind of fantasy story I’ve consistently enjoyed over the decades. If you don’t mind the slow burn and yet-to-be-completed aspect, do yourself a favour and start reading from the beginning.

You can find my previous reviews of the whole series here. I’ve also managed to get Jame for an interview on The Protagonist Speaks here — Hodgell has made it into an unpublished scene in between the books at the time. It gives excellent taster of the tone, even if it may not make sense if you haven’t read the books 😉

You can find Deathless Gods here, and God Stalk (book 1) here. Note that due to changing publishers, trying to follow the series on Amazon is a mess. Check the reading order on Goodreads here.

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Enjoying the reviews, but wondering who the heck is that Felix fellow? Glad you asked! He’s the protagonist of the Togas, Daggers, and Magic series, an historical-fantasy blend of a paranormal detective on the background of ancient Rome.

Come meet Felix and his world on the free short stories and novels!