Michael Barnes
First this seems to be a standalone captivating fantasy. That's not to say that the characters aren't interesting enough or the world building sufficiently engaging to carry further stories but it seems to have been written as a one and done.
In a historical fantasy where an immortal witch emperor (so far lived 300 years so off to a good start) has conquered much of the world through the draining lives, siring other witches (male and female, the story has a refreshingly take on gender and sexuality, present but not commented on because it is how a society should be) and healing himself whenever threatened all by making deals with death. I loved the non-nonsense snarky 'I'm death, I'm not a god' character.
Also I loved the way the narrative set up the way the world works and deaths deals and applied the reasonably and consistently. The characters are charming, interesting and varied and well worth getting to know.
First this seems to be a standalone captivating fantasy. That's not to say that the characters aren't interesting enough or the world building sufficiently engaging to carry further stories but it seems to have been written as a one and done.
In a historical fantasy where an immortal witch emperor (so far lived 300 years so off to a good start) has conquered much of the world through the draining lives, siring other witches (male and female, the story has a refreshingly take on gender and sexuality, present but not commented on because it is how a society should be) and healing himself whenever threatened all by making deals with death. I loved the non-nonsense snarky 'I'm death, I'm not a god' character.
Also I loved the way the narrative set up the way the world works and deaths deals and applied the reasonably and consistently. The characters are charming, interesting and varied and well worth getting to know.