Quinton Hoagland

Five Decembers was a book I picked up because of a YouTube channel (mancarryingthing) recommendation and I am so happy that I did.

This book caught me off guard in every way I can think of. On the surface it looks like a pulpy, hard boiled, detective novel… and it is, but it’s so much more than that. The prose is absolutely beautiful annd admittedly terse at points, although this didn’t bother me at all. In fact, that is one of the aspects I admire most about it.

While being action packed, tense, and a violent story, it is also a heartbreaking and beautiful character study about a broken man. It’s just as much his struggle for identity and purpose as it is crime thriller. It walks that line brilliantly.

Please, don’t judge this book by the cover. It is so much more what it appears.

The Blade Itself was a novel that, for me, was incredibly easy to read. The three main viewpoint characters are so interesting, unique, and well written. Even in series like “A Song of Ice and Fire”, I don’t always look forward to spending time with certain characters. This book didn’t have that issue. I was very invested in the lives these people were living.

The action is incredibly written, especially in the back half of the book. Bloody, nasty, and awesome. The magic system is interesting. The plot fed me just enough to keep me engaged and excited to read the next book in the trilogy.

This wasn’t a problem for me but I can see it being a problem for some, this is the first book of a trilogy and it does feel as such. This isn’t meant to be a stand alone novel. There isn’t a huge climax in this book but it sets up the chess board beautifully.