Those who have been following for a bit may know that I’m quite the fan of Peter Grant. I discovered him last year with the audiobook version of his first western novel, Brings The Lightning, which I’ve stated is my favorite book of 2016 (including my own!), and have since gone on to read his sci-fi Maxwell Saga. What both of those books have in common is a man really trying to make his own way in the world, though at different points of life experience, both are charting new territory for something unknown and there’s a lot of parallels between the two series. Brings the Lightning I feel does it best as there’s something about the classic western that’s been missing in recent culture — and Grant recovered that spirit.
Today, Mr. Grant released his first fantasy novel, King’s Champion. This book starts out in a completely different manner than his other work. It’s got an aged protagonist who’s already seen war and his glory days, something that I personally have a soft spot for in fiction, as almost all fiction out there focuses on teenage protagonists, so it’s nice to see real diversity in content. Owain’s best friend is dead, his former lover or wife is dead too, he’s on his own and the world doesn’t remember many of the trials he’s faced. It’s a nice set up before the second chapter gets into really intense action.
Grant brings a gravitas to his voice and tone, as he always does, that reminds me of the heavier fantasies of yore, that a lot of fiction doesn’t have these days. It’s also a short book, which I vastly prefer. Fantasy doesn’t have to be overly-verbose to be epic. I look forward to reading the rest of the book and you can check it out here:
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