A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu

A Veil of Spears by Bradley P. Beaulieu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just wow, wow, wow!!! I'm so glad I have book 4 waiting for me! I'm also grateful for the synchronicity that got me reading this series! Seeing it in my news feed coz of my fellow reader Oldman_JE's rave reviews and realizing I might love this series too, and then finding books #2 and 3 at my local used bookstore!! Lucky!

I love reading acknowledgments and every time Beaulieu writes about how people helped him stay on point regarding the story! And it shows!! The story is incredible!! 3 books in and it's still just as exciting. Plus the story is big enough for 6 books! So there's no feeling of filler scenes or characters or unimportant chapters like many multi-book series have! I love Erikson but there were so many stories and characters in the Malazan series that were isolated and had no impact on the larger plot. And forget about GRRM or Kate Elliot or Rothfuss that have soooo much unimportant filler!!

I'm also reminded of the difference between authors that are good writers vs good storytellers. Guy Gavriel Kay and Jacqueline Carey are sometimes compared for their similar genres of putting a fantasy twist on historical worlds. Carey is a captivating writer but not a great storyteller (ie. linear plots that are even boring at times) while Kay is a true master at storytelling and wrapping up different plot lines into one fascinating ending!! And then, in my opinion, GRRM is simply terrible at storytelling but he's also a captivating writer that gets you hooked. Until I realized he wasn't going anywhere plot-wise and I gave up reading his series in disgust.

Anyways all that to say Beaulieu is both a brilliant storyteller and writer!! I'm ensnared by his writing but taken along for a most wondrous ride of a story!

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