The Coward

4.25 !
Thank you to Netgally and Angry Robots for giving me this opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

In the five kingdoms, Kell is known as the slayer of the Ice Lich, the only survivor of band of warriors that saved the world from famine and eternal ice. In other words, a hero. But is he?
We quickly learn that Kell is neither a hero nor a coward like the title would suggest, but a simple man who as a teenager just wanted to save the world and survived through a traumatic experience that resulted in ptsd. Now as a new threat emerges he must face his fears and try to save the world once more.

I really liked this book ! First of all this read was a lighter epic fantasy (light as in opposite of dark fantasy) than I usually read. At the beginning especially it doesn't take itself seriously. While it does have serious topics like ptsd, stereotypes, truth, lies, faith and religion, there were also several slapstick moments (like something out of a Monty Python sketch) that made me laugh. About halfway through the book, as the characters get closer and closer to their goal, the action takes the front scene culminating into a epic end. There was also a good amount of political intrigue that sets up the rest of the saga.

I loved the diversity of the secondary characters, they were all really fleshed out and boy do I hate that nasty ass Reverent Mother the most.
The writing was great and the world building was richly and superbly interwoven into the story. As always Stephen Aryan excels in these areas.

Kell as a main character was really engaging. I really liked how we could see his struggle with being famous, especially the way people see him as a figure from a tale and not a real human being. It's a good critique of celebrity culture and how we can idolise them in a selfish, possessive way yet. And of course there was a clear critique of organised religion who want to impose their way of thinking and their evil schemes to colonise the world.

There were times where the writing wasn't polished enough (like repeating something about a character or contradicting statement by a character) but it didn't impact negatively on my enjoyment especially considering this is an ARC.

The ending has me super excited and I'm looking forward to read the next book in this series!