The Ember Blade

A young hero emerging into adulthood, a band of plucky adventurers uniting against an oppressive Empire, a talismanic weapon, an enormous page count....Chris Wooding's latest is a throwback to the classic fantasy I devoured in the 80s, your Belgariads and your Riftwars. But that's not to say it's deaf to the changes in the genre since then. There's an element of grimdark fierceness and a willingness to embrace shades of grey rather than a straightahead good/evil divide, but at its core this is good old fashioned epic fantasy. It's not difficult to spot the influences and antecedents (one lengthy scene is almost a rewrite of Moria), but Wooding makes it work with energy and brio, and his story is engaging and engrossing. It's a big book that doesn't feel like a big book, and it makes for great comfort reading. It's not challenging or groundbreaking, but it is a lot of fun.

(I am docking it a star for being too eager to use the woman as nagging shrew trope, mind you. We can do better than that these days)