This was my first Michael J. Sullivan book, although I'm familiar with the names of other series the author has published. I mainly read epic fantasy like GRR, Joe Abercrombie, Steven Erikson, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson etc. so I have to compare this also to where this new series stands within the genre.

The cover art is amazing and I really appreciated the ebook link to a bigger map - well done publisher!
I also adored the foreword by the author himself, this gave it a very nice personal touch we readers like.

First up there's no question. Michael J. Sullivan can write.
I preferred Sephryn's POV simply because I was far more emotionally invested and the plot itself was interesting enough.
However the side characters were not fleshed out enough for my taste. They were just names and occupations next to our two main characters. I hardly got background stories or motives. I did like the tension between all the races, but the whole "my god is better than your god" is not one of my favorite tropes and put me off a bit. The pantheon also needed something more (maybe there's more info in the other books?).

Altogether still an entertaining read, but it's a case of "it's me" not the book itself.

Thank you Grim Oak Press and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 out of 5 stars