The Flesh of War

The Flesh of War (The Warsworn Book 1) by Ben Hale.

Front Cover

Synopsis

Forged for combat, the rock trolls have no equal. They train from birth, endure brutal conditioning, and mark their skin with every kill. They have become the very flesh of war, but their history of honor has been forgotten. Now a bounty has been issued, one which calls for the extermination of their race. To survive they must awaken to what they have lost, before their enemies begin to gather. 

Born in the midst of a bloody conflict, Tryton bears a heart of peace. His talent will command respect, but his nature is the true weapon. To wield it he must rise to lead them all—without sacrificing his soul. The fate of his people lies with him, but the seeds of destruction have already been sown. 

And the harvest has come. 

My Review

The book is based on Rock Trolls, and I normally shy away from reading books that don't have a human as the main character, which, I suppose is strange, considering how much I love fantasy. I think the main reason why, is that when I read a book I imagine myself being that character, but if I'm reading about a orc then it makes it hard for me to picture myself as one. But after reading the synopsis, I liked what I saw and I'm glad I took that chance.

The protagonist is called Tryton, and the book begins with his birth and then continues to follow his life as he learns to become a warrior, leader and eventually a hero.

It was quite fascinating reading about the author's portrayal of trolls. Before I read this book I thought of trolls as giant, dumb beasts, like the one in LOTR, but Ben Hale creates intelligent, cunning creatures. They hold emotions such as love, sadness and hate, and though they did conform to their stereotypical violent selves, Tryton and his friends demonstrated depth to their character as they tried to fathom their purpose in life.

The storyline was a little too farfetched for my liking, but it didn't take away from the quality of the writing which I thought was superb, particularly, the action scenes. It's difficult to write a fight scene well, or should I say read a fight scene that doesn't have you flicking through the words, but Ben Hale does a fantastic job writing in such a way that keeps you on the edge of your seats - he keeps it simple but detailed enough that you can picture what's happening.

Conclusion

Fans of dark fantasy will love this book, especially if you've read David Dalglish's Half Orcs. Ben Hale has set the foundations for a thrilling series and he concludes the book in such a way that leaves you desperate for the sequel.

Out of 10 Stars:

7 Stars

Buy it here:

Amazon UK

Amazon US