John Gwynne Faithful and the Fallen Collection 4 Books Set

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Concealed in Forn Forest, Riv knows her very existence is a threat to the Ben-Elim. She represents their most dangerous secret, and if the warrior angels find her, they won't hesitate to silence her. This epic fantasy series is set in the Banished Lands, a place with a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle, and where the earth is running dark with their heartsblood. Across the Banished Lands armies are heading south, to settle ancient grudges and decide the fate of humanity. Drem, Riv and the Bright Star’s warriors will need every ounce of their courage if they are to join the final battle. But will their combined forces be enough to face down their greatest foe? I don’t know about you, but I often reflect on the fact that there just aren’t enough ‘wyrms’ (with a ‘y’) in fiction these days. And no, I’m not talking about bog-standard dragons who’ve changed their name by deed poll to make themselves sound more interesting. I mean Proper Wyrms, the kind that show up in Germanic myths without wings or even legs and looking like pants-shittingly gigantic– well, worms.

As the books increase in length and complexity, so too do they become more engaging – a testament to the author’s continually improving skills. Each book is stronger than the last, growing in pace, intensity and sheer readability with every chapter.

There are quite a few interesting supporting characters to begin with. And in impressive ways, they almost without exception all manage to lose their appeal. Mostly that is because you start realising that they are all cardboard cutouts only functioning as plot devices placed somewhere for the furtherance of the author’s plan. Just like the protagonists, that is. And then one of the two that remain somewhat interesting at the end turns out to be a secret bastard prince, taking his trope-ridden archetype factor to level 437. Have you ever read a book that you cannot put down, but at the same time desperately trying to slow your reading pace, wishing the book will never end? The Faithful and the Fallen respectfully eschews elements of ‘high’ fantasy in favour of more unusual, folklore-inspired creatures. Dragons, elves, wizards and dwarves are nowhere to be seen; nope, instead, the Banished Lands are populated with giants, draigs, fallen angels and – yes! – wyrms. (And giants. Did I mention the giants? Riding bears?) The characters! Granted, I'm still relatively new to the genre but I haven't read any books with more likeable characters than the protagonists in TFatF. They aren't perhaps as interesting as Abercrombie's characters, but they are simply so likeable. I can't find a better word. They are kind and courageous, loyal to each other, and you'll grow to love them, and your heart will break for all the tragedies they go through, and when they die. Because yeah, many of them will die. No one is safe in the god-war.

The way I have described it is ASOIAF fans would eat this book up. Not because the story is similar; far from it. This story is pretty fresh. But in that it's a similar structure and character/world building theme that made many of us fall in love with Westeros long before HBO had even considered purchasing the adaptation rights.

How to read John Gwynne’s Book Series in Order?

Like I said there are many characters in this book I liked and loathed. I haven't named them all. There is just too much and you should just read the book if you love epic fantasy books! I am anxious to read the next books because I don't know who else is going to die! God, it's like reading Game of Thrones or watching The Walking Dead! I'm going to start hating everything and everyone because if you like them even a little bit they will die. I think I mentioned that before but still. lol Except in the eyes of the characters, that is. The protagonists in this book are so pathetically, monumentally, unreasonably, unrealistically moronic and naive that everything gets past them. And so you’re left sitting waiting for the painfully obvious to catch them unawares. Yes, they’re young and stupid. Yes, they don’t have all the information. There are many excuses one could make, and none of them even come close to mitigating these examples of cataclysmic idiocy (there is one scene in particular I will always remember from this book, which is unfortunately an example of just this). But alas, when the whole world is too obvious for comfort, the characters in it have to be kept in the dark even when it makes no sense, so that the storyline can go where it clearly must go. Unfettered III: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy (2019) – yet another anthology containing a short story by John Gwynne. I finished Wrath, the fourth and last book of The Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne, yesterday, and wow. Just wow. I need to get my thoughts down.