‘Litany of the Destroyer’ – Chaz Lebel
Page Count: 294 Pages
This is going to be a quick(ish) post today; I’m on leave next week and that means I’m looking at somehow looking at fitting an extra week’s work into this week (before I down tools on Friday). It would almost be more relaxing to just not go on leave… Oh well :o)
Just recently, I’ve been all about the comfort reading but I’m always on the lookout for something new and a chance conversation on ‘X’ pointed me at Chaz Lebel’s ‘Litany of the Destroyer’. A quick look at the blurb, along with ‘Litany’ featuring heavily on ‘Spells & Spaceships’ (Review and Interview) was enough to get me interested and clicking on the ‘Buy’ button. Alex knows what he is talking about and that was all I needed. A week later (give or take) and here I am, fresh from travelling with Galien and really keen to find out what happens next (luckily, I don’t think I have too long to wait until Book 2 comes along)…
After a close encounter with a summoned demon, Sir Galien Banforth is left in fear for his immortal soul, bound by oath to a life of bloodshed for his king. When the world’s greatest kingdoms march to war, Galien abandons the battlefield, and his knighthood, searching for a way to repent.
He’s about to find it.
After meeting Emi, a secretive orphan with a dark history of her own, the two uncover the works of a malevolent cult, and a conspiracy that threatens all of Europe. Soon, Galien will find himself in a new war, against the renegade angels of Hell, and the Apocalypse itself.
I’ve had more than a few demands on my time over the last week; work, family and so on. It’s no exaggeration though to say that every time I had a few moments spare, I dived straight back into ‘Litany’ to find out what happened next. ‘Litany of the Destroyer’ is a book that is very easy to get into and very difficult to put down once you do. Lebel has crafted something special here and I will be making sure to keep an eye open for future books and follow this story to it’s conclusion.
I’m no historian so I’m going to pass lightly over the historical elements of this tale. What I can say is that Lebel has clearly put the time in to give us a really detailed picture of this time. I may not know my history but I do love a bit of worldbuilding and what we are given here is superb. It doesn’t just tell you what period the plot takes place in, it places you right in the middle of it and serves as a great foundation to what becomes an enthralling plot. And with the aftermath of war laid out on the page, leaving to the imagination (just the way that I think war should be portrayed), it also serves as a curtain behind which a far greater war is being fought.
Which leads me onto the plot, an intriguing mix of horror and detective fiction that kept me turning the pages. I’ll be honest, I was there for the horror (and brutal scenes of warfare, especially when the dead get back up and come at our heroes again) more than I was for the mystery but the two dovetail really well and promise good things for future instalments in the series. I will be there to see what happens next.
‘Litany’ comes to an end by simultaneously wrapping up the immediate plot while opening a couple of doors whereby things can keep moving forwards. Galien proves himself to be a lead more than capable of holding the plot together and I’m looking forward to seeing how he manages what will inevitably comes his way. It’s Sir Godfrey that I think will prove to be more intriguing though, a man far more entrenched in knighthood and has far more weighing on his soul…
‘Litany of the Destroyer’ is a vicious little slice of medieval horror that has a hell of a lot going for it. Don’t hang about, get yourself a copy and start reading.
After a close encounter with a summoned demon, Sir Galien Banforth is left in fear for his immortal soul, bound by oath to a life of bloodshed for his king. When the world’s greatest kingdoms march to war, Galien abandons the battlefield, and his knighthood, searching for a way to repent.
He’s about to find it.
After meeting Emi, a secretive orphan with a dark history of her own, the two uncover the works of a malevolent cult, and a conspiracy that threatens all of Europe. Soon, Galien will find himself in a new war, against the renegade angels of Hell, and the Apocalypse itself.
I’ve had more than a few demands on my time over the last week; work, family and so on. It’s no exaggeration though to say that every time I had a few moments spare, I dived straight back into ‘Litany’ to find out what happened next. ‘Litany of the Destroyer’ is a book that is very easy to get into and very difficult to put down once you do. Lebel has crafted something special here and I will be making sure to keep an eye open for future books and follow this story to it’s conclusion.
I’m no historian so I’m going to pass lightly over the historical elements of this tale. What I can say is that Lebel has clearly put the time in to give us a really detailed picture of this time. I may not know my history but I do love a bit of worldbuilding and what we are given here is superb. It doesn’t just tell you what period the plot takes place in, it places you right in the middle of it and serves as a great foundation to what becomes an enthralling plot. And with the aftermath of war laid out on the page, leaving to the imagination (just the way that I think war should be portrayed), it also serves as a curtain behind which a far greater war is being fought.
Which leads me onto the plot, an intriguing mix of horror and detective fiction that kept me turning the pages. I’ll be honest, I was there for the horror (and brutal scenes of warfare, especially when the dead get back up and come at our heroes again) more than I was for the mystery but the two dovetail really well and promise good things for future instalments in the series. I will be there to see what happens next.
‘Litany’ comes to an end by simultaneously wrapping up the immediate plot while opening a couple of doors whereby things can keep moving forwards. Galien proves himself to be a lead more than capable of holding the plot together and I’m looking forward to seeing how he manages what will inevitably comes his way. It’s Sir Godfrey that I think will prove to be more intriguing though, a man far more entrenched in knighthood and has far more weighing on his soul…
‘Litany of the Destroyer’ is a vicious little slice of medieval horror that has a hell of a lot going for it. Don’t hang about, get yourself a copy and start reading.
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