Of Blood and Fire Book Review

Welcome to the Indie Fantasy Club, where today, we’re doing an Of Blood and Fire book review. This is the first book in a series of five, I believe. I think there are like standalone novellas that are part of this universe though. Anyway, this story is written by Ryan Cahill and it’s about 200 thousand words. It’s written in third person with multiple character POVs, but mostly focusing on the main protagonist Calen. Without further ado, a new world awaits!

Summary

If I had to describe this book, I think it would be a cross between Malice and Eragon. The story has elements of coming of age, the reluctant hero, and chosen one vibes. It starts out with three young friends in a small village, who are thrown into conflict that sends them all over the continent. They discover magic is real and how destiny has chosen them to free the world from centuries of tyrannical rule. 

The book mostly follows Calen, the main protagonist, but there are occasionally other POVs from the other characters, but since they’re so minor, I probably won’t touch on those too much. 

Calen is a young boy in the process of becoming a man as he participates in the village ritual of running off into the forest to survive for a few days. Honestly, I wish things were that simple in my own life. Except I probably wouldn’t survive. Anyway, he goes with his best friends, Rist and Dann, and they return as men, with a few stories to tell. But not long after that, they have a run in with empire soldiers that changes their lives forever. 

I don’t want to spoil much more than that, but it’s very much an epic fantasy. You’ll get some magic, some battles, a touch of romance, and plenty of suffering. So if you like that sort of thing, this will probably have some appeal. 

With that context in mind, let’s dive into my INDIE review.

Immersion (Worldbuilding) 6.5/10

The immersion and worldbuilding I have to give a 6.5/10. And here’s why. 

This book does a pretty good job establishing the history and lore of Epheria. It gives you a pretty good understanding of how this massive empire came to power and why they should be overthrown. It folds in different races like giants and elves in a way that feels mysterious and organic. 

It’s funny because my last review was Sword of Kaigen, and I talked about breadth vs. depth a little bit. Now, where Sword of Kaigen has depth, Of Blood and Fire has breadth. You travel through multiple towns and cities, meet plenty of new characters, and have plenty of conflict. My only complaint is that everything moves so fast, I didn’t feel as connected to the events or characters streaming past me. I felt like a rock skimming the surface of the lake, when all I wanted was to slow down and really dive into these emotions and cultures. 

That’s definitely a preference of mine. And I don’t always like long descriptions or wallowing in character depression for an entire chapter, but it’s nice to have some of that balance. So if you prefer faster pace stories without getting bogged down in descriptions, this might work a little more for you. 

Names (Characters) 4.5/10

The Names, the characters…. 4.5/10.

Man, I really wanted to like these characters. But they just felt so shallow to me. Their decisions and dialogue seemed to be driven entirely by the plot and tropes instead of authentic reactions and communication. There were times when deaths occurred, and I know I was supposed to feel something, but because we just brushed so quickly through the story, I just didn’t care. 

With that said, I didn’t hate these characters. That’s why they get a 4 and not a 1. But I honestly felt like he could have done so much more with these Names if he just slowed down and really let us experience the emotions with these characters. I needed way more internal dialogue and conflict, rather than so many external forces driving the story forward. 

Da Magic (Magic/Creatures) 8/10

Now Da Magic and creatures were very fascinating, so this section gets an 8/10 from me. 

Obviously, I’m a sucker for dragons, like any fantasy reader, so you automatically have my interest with that alone. But the other creatures are so interesting. The giants, elves, fades, uraks, drelieds… they are all very fun to read about. 

The magic itself has a softer feel, where it does explain how these characters use the magic system, but it’s not like a Mistborn level of detail and logic. It’s more elemental, with the magic corresponding to Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Spirit, but as the events happen, it doesn’t really explain how this magic works most of the time. Which makes sense, since it’s the first book and Calen doesn’t know anything about magic. But honestly, I’m also one of the few readers who enjoy a soft magic system, so there you go. 

Infrastructure (Plot) 7/10

The infrastructure is rated 7/10 because it follows the conventional format for a fantasy epic and it does check all the boxes, in a sense. 

We have the inciting incident with the Proving, we have the mentors and the enemies creating rising action, there’s suspense leading to the climax, and it has a satisfying resolution with a lead into the next book. On paper, it meets all the marks of a great story. 

Again, I think this book would’ve really benefited from slowing the pacing a little and spending more time with the characters. Like if you cut this book in half, and found a way to stretch that to the same word count, I think it would be perfect. 

But I also understand the fears some authors have with that, especially in the indie realm. Like when I read Name of the Wind and Way of Kings, I almost didn’t finish them because I had to read for 200 pages before anything interesting happened. BUT… because I had to spend so much time with those characters, they became some of my favorite series of all time. So you do have to take the risk of telling your audience to be patient and invest in the story, but that investment always pays off in the end because you build a loyal fanbase that convinces other people to read that story. 

Enjoyment 5/10

My overall enjoyment I have to rate as a 5/10. Keep in mind that this is purely my opinion, so this is the least substantial of all the scores. But for me personally, it was just one of those books where it wasn’t bad, but it also didn’t have me glued to the pages. It was just, in a word, mid. Now that doesn’t mean I won’t pick up the next book in the series. In fact, I plan to at some point, because I’m sure Ryan’s writing has only improved since his first novel. That’s one of the things I’m looking forward to with these Indie reviews, is just seeing the progress and improvement from these authors. 

Not a bad score for the first book in the Bound and the Broken series, with a solid 6.2/10. Again, like I said in the beginning, if you’re a fan of John Gwynne or Eragon, this might scratch that itch for you. Though I felt like it lacked a little depth, it still had an interesting premise and overall story with these characters. 

Design

Let’s take a moment to appreciate the design and artwork of this book. I like the cover a lot, it’s simple, clean and have that aura that I’m looking for in a fantasy series. The map is excellent, very legible and clean, while illustrative the vastness of Epheria. This is great, especially when you have to reference the map multiple times during the journey of the characters. The chapter headings also have fun artwork, which I always think is a nice touch. It’s a small detail, but it just shows me that this author cares about the reader experience. A rare treat for indie books, we also get a couple pages of sketches, which is always fun. I love artwork within the novel, but I know it can be expensive for Indie authors to illustrate aspects of their novel. So that was a nice bonus. 

Okay, let’s add this Of Blood and Fire book review to the shelf. It’s going to be a spine, not a face. I am curious to see if one of you indie authors can hit that 9 or above mark. It’ll be an exciting day.  

For those that have read the full Bound and Broken series, let me know in the comments what you think of the series. I know Ryan is wrapping up the series, is it worth continuing? Do you think I’m off with any of the INDIE rankings? 

I’ve got a list of Indie fantasy books that I’m working through right now, but let me know what authors and books you’d like to see on my list. As always, be sure to join the Club so you never miss an indie review!

Thanks for watching this Of Blood and Fire book review and I’ll see you in the next one.