This book is intoxicating. I would be late at night reading the end of a chapter with a fight, I would be "Ok time to sleep and start to morrow on the guys back at the camp talking". Then you check the start of the next chapter and be like "The battle was about to start" (in the next day) SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK LESGOOOOOOOOOOO

This is one of the rare books where I actually felt myself getting emotionally angry at some antagonist actions. (Which is a good thing)

Books are a new hobby for me. And your channel has really helped me dive head first into reading more books than I ever have, even though I’m a slower read than most people who watch your channel. You really peaked my interest with this book and I just ordered it so I can read it, too! Thanks Merph! Love the video, keep ‘em comin’!

I loved the book! I'm writing my fantasy book basing the world on my tribe and some others in my country. I'm trying to incorporate my mother tongue in the story. I'm excited to finish it!

i told myself 2 days ago that if i saw one more glowing review for this book, i’d give in and buy it. you popped up in my recommended videos today and settled that rather quickly lol. so now i’ve got a new book on the way and a great channel to check out while i wait! lucky me😊💕

As an aspiring author, to others of the same cloth, it's so important to learn from other Debut novelists! I'm sitting here with the book in my lap... And it begins.

I really felt anxious when I got near the end. Kept checking how many hours remaining every now and then.

Ha ha, dammit. I'm reviewing this one today.

Been waiting on this one since your vlog, loved this book also!

Guess what just got added to my tbr

5:40 "I loved how little plot armor there was around him." Are you sure you dont wanna give A Song of Ice and Fire another try??

I was lucky enough to have this experience you talked about twice last year, just being drawn in so much to a story... your enthusiasm is reminding me how exciting that is, To find a treasure!

Oh man! You definitely need to try Red Rising again. Everything you loved about this novel will resonate with you there too. I listened to the first Red Rising book, and I think that really helped! It does start out slow, but you will love Darrow's friendships, villains with personality, and legit cause for their "evilness". Thank you for your content!

I keep hearing such good things about this book and I really want to pick it up. I don't think any of your recommendations have ever led me wrong.

I was waiting for this video! I just started Rage of Dragons last night, so excited to read it after hearing all the hype!

Really want to read this book because of your review now, ha. It's so nice that you have your family to share books with :) my mom doesn't share my taste in books, and my dad isn't much of a reader 🤷🏻‍♀️ I had a cool experience once reading him the Martian, but it's so hard to find the time to read together. So that's really cool that your family agrees to read with you :)

Thanx for ur fantastic review. Details like "no info dump at the beginning" & the balance & arc of fight scenes being interesting, and the affirmation that things will get explained. I luv ur idea of book readingAlongside the audiobook. Audiobook alone left my mind trying to retain the exotic sounds & not following the next few sentences...a friend is dying for me to read this so thanx for being that cool acquaintance too🙂

Ooooo I love high adult fantasy books that primarily follow one character perspective. This has been on my radar and your review has made me excited to listen to the audiobook!! 😍

I bought the book months ago, and you made this video and made me read it. Oh my god! Might be my favorite book. Can't wait for the rest of the series.

Based on your reactions to the book in your reading vlog i looked it up and it was on sale for $2.99 on kindle so i picked it up. Definitely high on my TBR now and looking forward to getting into a series on the ground floor.

I am so excited to read this! Think it's gonna be the first book I pick up when I go out book shopping in the near future. - Bree

Your excitement sold me. I'm looking forward to reading this!

Read this back in december with my friend and we were both amazed, the book is just as good as you say in your review. I even had to write Evan Winter and tell him how great it was and got a nice response from him. Can’t wait for book 2, the series is definitely already in my top 5 as well!

This was my favorite book I read in 2019. Did the same thing with listening and reading to finish as fast as possible. One of the few books I've found where the combat can actually be pictured in your head accurately because it's so descriptive, yet easy to follow.

Oooh I bought this based on your raving in previous videos and I’m a couple of chapters in. Excited to read more! ☺️

Love hearing readers gush about books! You just made this book jump up to the top of my priority list!

Definitely adding to my TBR. I almost always enjoy the books you recommend and this sort of story seems right up my alley.

I Just finished this book last night and I remembered that you had uploaded this review, so I came back to watch it... THIS. BOOK. WAS. SO. GOOOOOOD.

i've only ever heard good reviews of this book. i just finished the prologue and this has motivated me even further. i think this will finally get me off my reading slump !!

I started this audiobook like 3 times and I thought the performance was so boring and the whole intro was just like "whatever" to me but once you get to Tao I was like more and more pulled in and I'm a few hours in now and absolutely obsessed and I love the narrator too his voice for the characters is so amazing with that accent. This book isnt readily available in my country where I'm living but I'm so happy with the audiobook right now. I totally get it, I'm so connected to Tao moreso than I have been to any other character in recent memory.

i've been eyeing this book on my shelf since it was released and you've convinced me i must start it nOW

Looking forward to reading this. I like how you said its in a very contained setting - I feel like a lot of fantasy novels try to be as grand in scale as the worlds of Tolkien, Jordan, and Sanderson, and set their characters on epic journeys where they only touch down at any given location for so long. I think having a localized setting for the story's entirety makes it a lot more intimate, and the reader can get more attached to the characters and cultural aspects that dwell there. I'm working on my first kinda trial-run standalone fantasy novel right now, and I've confined the setting to one city that the characters have deep connections to, which raises the stakes a lot more in the eyes of the reader when those people and places are in jeopardy. Instead of it being like, "Oh no, I just heard that my hometown was attacked by the bad guy and I have no idea if my family made it out alive" when the MC has been across the continent and separate from his family the whole time, it's more personal to the reader when there have been interactions with those people throughout the book and they've been right alongside, or at least in close proximity to, the main character all along. At least in my opinion. Grand scale adventures are still dope.

I have been waiting for your review. I agree with everything you said! Such an amazing book. Please PLEASE read the Riyria Revelations. You will love it because of an incredible platonic relationship, fun and adventure that progressively gets more entwined and epic, incredible female characters, and NO ONE FEELS SAFE.

I loved this book so much. I went into it with very little expectations and was blown away. Glad you liked it.:)

I have been loving it!! I've tried so many times to get into adult fantasy and it always seems to be too much for my brain haha. This is the first one I've been able to continue and I'm so excited!

Putting this on my tbr right away!!!! Sometimes I get so apprehensive on adult fantasy novels because I'm worried the world building will go over my head lmao, but I feel like this one will be well worth it and easy enough to understand!!

Loved this book. I've recommended it to everyone. It's definitely one of those rare books that completely hooked me. Read books 1&2 back to back, couldn't wait for the series to be complete!

I loved this book!! After seeing Daniel praise it so much I picked it up and couldn’t stop reading. I agree on the book hangover, the wait is already killing me 😭

WOW, what a glowing recommendation! Going to go get a copy this weekend.

I had read it when it came it out on ebook like 2-3 years ago. Good book. Finally some decent African fantasy book.

Hmm, glad you enjoyed! I might get around to it at some point but I’m unsure if I would actually enjoy it.

Gosh, now I need to read it! So many books, so little time!

Your enthusiasm is infectious! :D

Half way through this book and I have to say, although the fight scenes are numerous, each one is a distinctly different experience. You never tire from them as Tau “levels up” in some way after each fight. Some knew knowledge is gained, some new technique is discovered, some personality traits whether for Tau or his opponent are revealed.

I’m so excited to pick up this book! I’ve been looking for a new fantasy with dragons, and I’m sure if you enjoyed it so much, I will too!!! Can’t wait to experience the book hangover!! 📚📚

I'm so excited to read this! Evan Winter is Canadian (based in Markham, Ontario) so this book was shortlisted for Canada Reads on the CBC. It did not make the finalist list but that's how I first heard about it!

this sounds so good!

I just started getting back into reading after a few years and I'm definitely adding this to my tbr

I have the ebook, but after listening to your review I just placed a hold on the audiobook. I will hopefully be reading this in 20 weeks.

Ended up blazing through this book after it was suggested in a google search. Absolutely loved it.

Instant used an audible credit after your last update. Gunna be hype!

I have read the book and I agree it is a great read and a great story. Thanks for reviewing it

Excited to read this!!

I just finished reading it, and i can't wait to read the sequel. Thanks for introducing me to this book.

I listened while I read too and was blown away by the narrator, hes easily one of the best I've ever listened to. I would 100% recommend the audiobook while you read this, it's almost a whole different experience.

I'm glad it's one of your favorites! I read it last month and loved the worldbuilding and I'll definitely be continuing on with it but I didn't enjoy it quite as much. It was one of the first fantasy novels I'd read on my ereader in a long time and I think it suffered for that. It took me 30% into the book to stop critiquing the writing style (sentence structure and telling vs showing) and there wasn't enough depth to the characters. Most of them I could describe in two words: the pretty and loyal love interest. The taciturn and brawny fighter. The compassionate young leader. The evil rich boy, not to be confused by the other evil rich man, not to be confused by the ultimate evil rich man when we don't get any real motive for them being so evil. And at the end so many people die I"m just like, this isn't going to help you win this war. I'm rooting for them, but I'm a little frustrated.

I am forever fascinated and love how VASTLY different peoples' reading experiences are with the same books. :D Basically everything you experienced or felt about the book, I felt the literal opposite - haha! I never once felt like Tau was in any real danger and felt like I always knew how the fights were going to turn out. Glad you had a MUCH better time reading it than I did! Lol :D Woot woot!

I agree with absolutely everything you've said here. This is the first book in years that I've been able to become fully engrossed in. It is amazing and I was sad for it to end.

Just read it and oh my god is it amazing!! Thanks so much for the recommendation!

I love that you are making most of your family read this immediately. So adorable.

Revenge and book hangover? Guess I'm off to the bookstore tomorrow!

I read it and it contains a lot of things I really hate reading about but I did enjoy it and found the writing to be done well. It did take some time to get into but I really enjoyed the build and certain twists it took. I'm still uncertain on whether I want to continue the series but it was pretty solid for a first book.

I liked it a lot, although I have to say I felt reminded of Red Rising quite a lot to be honest. I had the impression it is the fantasy version of that book in many instances, but I still enjoyed reading it and can't wait for the next one.

So tempting, so tempting! But I’ll wait for book 2 so I can binge read :D

Definitely going to pick this up. Sounds like it was very intelligently written-which is something I really long for in fantasy.

Is there any way to "officially" give you recommendations for books? A way that there is a chance that you read the blurb or read the excerpt? Otherwise I will probably try to add the description of a book series I am virtually in love with and your enthusiasm really makes me want to share this story with as many people as possible :D

Got my copy this morning !!

This is rapidly skyrocketing up my TBR

I finished that book last week. I don’t think it’s perfect but definitely left me wanting to get into the next book. Now I’m starting Elantris then mistborn

Yess okaay I will read it next rather than adding it to my tbr pile u convinced me merphy.... 😂

Have read it, liked it fine.. but it definitely didn't wow me that much 🤣 Happy you did though, finding books to affect you so much is great! It was a good page-turner, but also a pretty basic coming of age story , YA revenge story. For a debut author it was wonderful, and I will keep an eye out for the sequel - but.. meh 😅

Everyone is loving this book! Just started it myself... it’s great so far

Omg omg omg. I finished Rage of Dragons tonight and I just. I don't even know how to put into words my feelings. I have been a writer for 15 years and this book makes me want to write, but then I also feel like I could never ever write anything as amazing as this book so I also want to lay down in the dirt and never create again. This book was amazing. I need to gush with people.

I recently read this and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The lack of plot armor was great. I thought it was completely possible that the main character could have died and someone could have taken his place, especially when they started changing POV’s. The ending seemed a bit rushed and definitely left it hanging for the next story. The politics of this world are infuriating but so real. I did find the beginning very confusing and was keeping a list of terms that I had no clue what they meant because my kindle version did not have a glossary. The one thought that I could not get over during the entire book is whenever they used the word Ingonyama, all I could think of was the beginning of Circle of Life from the Lion King. Which interesting enough the world Ingonyama is Zulu for Lion. Thanks for your review. I think I was way more into this book because I did it as a buddy read than if I had read it alone.

Adding to my TBR! :)

Awesome review for an awesome book!

I loved this book, I can’t stop thinking about this book, I need everyone to read this book, I’m obsessed with this book, it’s my new favourite fantasy!! I think I killed my blood pressure and heart throughout the entire book! IT’S INCREDIBLE!!

Just started reading this today, only 106 pages in and really enjoying it!

I read this book in 3 days. Thank you for bring it to my attention. I love this book but am struggling to find the words to explain why.

Loved it.... Need book 2...

I would recommend people who read this book work their way through the prologue, the first chapter, and the second chapter before deciding whether or not they should continue. I found it difficult to get into and it was only the second chapter that really hooked me.

Hey Merphy, I'm not sure if you already have, but I think you should read the "Mortal Engines" series. I'm totally obsessed with it and I think you'd like it.

Just started Audio book part 2....love it so far. Like the fact its single pov so far

Read the Temeraire Series of Naomi Novik. It's alternate history. Temeraire is a Chinese celestial dragon captured as an egg from Napoleon's armada.

Mike did it first, and he did a read along. I havnt read it yet, but you got me interested. So TBR

Just ordered my copy!

YOURE AWESOME!! Thank you

Initial description sounds very similar to Red Rising. If I enjoyed RR, would it make sense that I'd enjoy this one as well?

just finished this. WOW action packed. LOVED IT

So i've heard this called a Military fantasy, which sort of turns me off, but your review really makes me want to read it. Is it like gladiator one-on-one fighting, or big battles? for whatever reason that makes a big difference to me. thanks!

guess this will be the second book this week that I will pick up because a booktuber gushes about it (both books have been on my tbr for a while) but I will wait until I am a little farther into the other book

Omigosh, so I started Rage of Dragons on your recommendation. I went in hoping I would like it as much as you did. Next thing I knew I was halfway in, it was 3am, and I didn't want to stop reading. I only did is because I have four kids. I am preparing myself for another readathon so I can finish it, come back here, and gush.

I am adding rage of dragons to my spring tbr picking it up on kindle that's a massive heavy hardcover lol

Just finished it. Really liked it. Book 2 out in November.

I'm definitely gonna check this out.

Have you tried any books by Walter Moers? I’d suggest starting with them 13 and a half lives of captain bluebear’ all his books are very well written and translated from German into English. I really enjoy his writing style and the illustrations really add to the story

I have this on my Kindle. I'm so excited.

Have you read the Poppy War? This sounds sliiiiightly similar, and this has been on my TBR for forever

I just finished the book, I agree that there were a lot of fight scenes in it and while reading it did bother me a bit (though it was an amazing read) ... but looking back that was also Tau's state of mind. He blindly threw himself in his training and fights and conflict so there was no room for anything else. Another reason why I look forward to the second book.

It was so interesting to watch how heavily the need for vengeance twisted Tau. Like he became a completely different person