The Fantasy Review’s list of 6 Fantasy Books With Deep Character Development.
The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy, #1) by Chris Wooding
Check out our review of The Ember Blade and our interview with Chris Wooding!
From the blurb:
Empires rise, civilisations fall and one culture comes to subsume another. It’s the way of the world . . . sometimes ways of life are improved, sometimes they are not. But the progression of change is huge and – usually – unstoppable.
In this story, the Ossian way of life is fading and the Dachen way is taking its place and Aren is comfortable with that. Even when his parents are accused of treason he supports the establishment and maintains there’s been some mistake . . . which is all it takes to get himself and his best friend arrested . . .
The Forgetting Moon (The Five Warrior Angels, #1) by Brian Lee Durfee
From the blurb:
Welcome to the Five Isles, where war has come in the name of the invading army of Sør Sevier, a merciless host driven by the prophetic fervor of the Angel Prince, Aeros, toward the last unconquered kingdom of Gul Kana. Yet Gault, one of the elite Knights Archaic of Sør Sevier, is growing disillusioned by the crusade he is at the vanguard of just as it embarks on his Lord Aeros’ greatest triumph.…
Illborn (The Illborn Saga, #1) by Daniel T. Jackson
Check out our review of Illborn and our interview with Daniel T. Jackson.
From the blurb:
Long ago, The Lord Aiduel emerged from the deserts of the Holy Land, possessed with divine powers. He used these to forcibly unite the peoples of Angall, before His ascension to heaven.
Over eight hundred years later, in a medieval world which is threatened by war and religious persecution, four young men and women begin to develop supernatural abilities. These forbidden and secret powers will shatter the lives that they have known, and will force each of them to confront the mystery of the ethereal Gate which haunts their dreams. What does the dream mean, and how is it connected to their burgeoning abilities?…
Of Blood and Fire (The Bound and the Broken, #1) by Ryan Cahill
Check out our review of Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill.
From the blurb:
Born in fire. Tempered in blood.
Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.
In the remote villages of southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving – a test of courage and skill that not all survive….
We Are the Dead (The Last War, #1) by Mike Shackle
From the blurb:
The war is over. The enemy won.
Jia’s people learned the hard way that there are no second chances. The Egril, their ancient enemy, struck with magic so devastating that Jia’s armies were wiped out. Now terror reigns in the streets, and friend turns on friend just to live another day.
Somehow Tinnstra – a deserter, a failure, nothing but a coward – survived. She wants no more than to hide from the chaos.…
We Ride the Storm (The Reborn Empire, #1) by Devin Madson
From the blurb:
War built the Kisian Empire. War will tear it down.
Seventeen years after rebels stormed the streets, factions divide Kisia. Only the firm hand of the god-emperor holds the empire together. But when an unexpected betrayal destroys a tense alliance with neighboring Chiltae, all that has been won comes crashing down.
In Kisia, Princess Miko Ts’ai is a prisoner in her own castle. She dreams of claiming her empire, but the path to power could rip it, and her family, asunder.…
