Blood Song

On a certain forum I spend quite a bit of time and a fellow member offered to buy me some books as a present. This was one, by beloved baby [b:The Aeronaut's Windlass 24876258 The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires, #1) Jim Butcher https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425415066s/24876258.jpg 24239884] the other. So all in all, it was a really nice experience and quite touching. Seriously. Now to me actually talking about the book and not just blabbering about my life. Vaelin is the son of the Battle Lord of the king, which usually means he is that annoying little jerk who thinks he can do whatever. Which doesn't happen, as at age 10 he gets handed over to this religious order, the warrior-making part of it. His role in life will be being a badass. At this point we turn this into a coming of age story of young boys growing up to become brothers in arms, tough as nails through regular lessons and daily beatings if you mess up. Plus some chllenges where you can die. I want more friendship stories. Or ones about siblings, comrades, masters and apprentices, parents and children, cousins, whatever that is not just one more stupid romance novel. I am tired of every meaningful relationship being more or less ignored, but everyone going nuts when it comes to romance. I mean normal human beings have all kinds of meaningful relationships. (Sure, there is some romance in this, but it's not stupid, not too much and not the only defining relationship in here.) From that angle this book was already a win to me. Not everyone is going to love it, I know, some people dislike little kids doing random stuff to grow up to fulfil whatever role the author wants them to have, but this was genuinely cool. The different children are distinct voices, they are not boring and you will care about them. You will learn to love even the one who looks like a little dick at first. Prepare for heartbreak, though. Beloved children with greaaaaat prospects are not sent to be beaten silly every day if they don't run fast enough or fight good enough. They all have their issues, which makes their friendship feel even nicer, especially knowing they are not going to have a safe life even after finishing training. This is a fantasy book, though. You know that much, but it's one of those ones where magic in any kind is rare. It's not beloved by the people, normal life is spent without “pfft, I just magic it better”. Later on magic gets more of a role in the story as Vaelin sees more of the word and realises there are underlying secrets out there, but the characters are not just equipped with some magic stuff and no other real skills. Fantasy is my thing for sure, but it's so easy to make the mistake of all of the plot being centred around it and have not much when it comes to just good old people-doing-people-stuff. It can have its charm, sure, I just like my fantasy to not be solely held up by magic. In some way this makes things feel more serious; you know the characters can't just miracle themselves out of everything. Reading this I realised something, though. Authors, please give up on trying to make the princesses sound like the biggest victims, especially in darker stories. Like once again, we are expected to feel the princess is a victim for having to marry (which she isn't forced to do to someone random, more like “hey, pick from the inner circle”), while the protagonist and his friends are given away to a monastery at age 10, get beaten daily, are expected to sacrifice themselves even if they survive the potentially deathly “exams”, like being left in a forest in a snowstorm for like a week all alone at age 12. The ones who freeze to death, crying after their mother, not even really understanding the ideas behind this provoke a bit more sympathy. All in all, I loved this book. Then again, Mr. Ryan's Draconis Memoria series is a favourite of mine, so I am content. Apparently the rest of the series is less satisfying, so I'll keep that in mind, but I'll most likely give it a go and I'm definitely reading the next Draconis Memoria, coming out this summer. Good night and let me sing you the song of my people!