The Wulver’s Library‘s Review of The Fear of Moncroix by Bryan Asher
I first found out about Bryan Asher through his other books however the Fear of Moncroix is the first I’ve actually read. Safe to say it will not be the last.
All the Waywards have Fallen…
After a mission against the Royal Vampiric Court goes horribly wrong, all the Waywards are slaughtered.
All except one.
Davion, the last surviving member, must consume potions to mask himself and hide amongst the very people who killed his brethren. After a decade of living this double-life, Davion has resigned himself to his new purgatory. But all will not remain calm for him or the Court.
An unknown swordsman arrives, and after killing several Royal Vampires, rumour spreads that he’s searching for anyone still belonging to The Wayward order.
Davion decides he must track down this mysterious swordsman. But will finding him bring freedom or his own demise.
Firstly, the cover for this book is amazing. Illustrator Christian Angel has provided such elegantly bleak visuals for this book. We have this gorgeous cover art alongside inner page drawings that bring these characters to life. I also found out that these books are connected to a bigger universe called The Intercontinents, numerous floating continents where different stories take place. I was happy to find out that these, for now, are loosely referenced but I can see myself reading these in the near future.
This story follows a few characters but each of these have their own motives and depth to their side of the plot. We do get a great introduction to these characters and how their ideals fit in the world, how their thoughts and processes lead to their actions. For such a short book, Bryan has left me engaged with how authentic these characters are to the world that they are living in. The interactions, the dynamics, the satisfaction from revelations was top notch. I was especially intrigued by the mystery surrounding whodunnit and how things unfolded. Bryan has a great way of catching interest and leaving us guessing.
The idea of the connected universe intrigues me and I wonder if I’m missing something from not reading the others but I’ll be soon to find out. It does leave an interesting take on telling these stories because there can be so many different aspects to each. The setting of Moncroix itself was reminiscent of Bloodborne to me, or at least how I pictured it.
This was a brilliantly quick read but the action, the world, the characters, and everything else were fantastic. If you’re looking for an imaginatively short read that leads to a much larger scope, then this is a series for you.
