Blade of the Destroyer [Book Review]

Genre - Fantasy
Year Published - 2015
Length - 293 pages
Written by Andy Peloquin

Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:
The Hunter of Voramis is the perfect assassin:

Ruthless. Unrelenting. Immortal.

Yet he is haunted by lost memories, bonded to a cursed dagger that feeds him power yet denies him peace of mind. Within him rages an unquenchable need for blood and death.

When he accepts a contract to avenge the stolen innocence of a girl, the Hunter becomes the prey. The death of a seemingly random target sends him hurtling toward destruction, yet could his path also lead to the truth of his buried past?

Review:
First, let's start with the basics:

I love the title of this book!
I love the cover art of this book!
I love the concept of this book!

Fortunately, this book lives up to all of the above hype!

In this day and age of digital books, it is somewhat easier/cheaper to take a chance with an unknown author. While I have many, many digital copies of books, I still prefer to read a physical book. I took a chance and paid more for a physical copy of this book, and that chance paid off, ten-fold! (This book now holds an esteemed place on the limited shelf space in my library.)

Peloquin immediately grabs you and thrusts you smack dab into the middle of the world and characters that he has created, and what a well fleshed out world it is! Every word that Peloquin writes has a purpose in the story that he has crafted. There is a depth to his characters, that pays off, as the main character is not a nice guy, (he is an assassin after all) yet once his humanity starts to peek through, you begin to understand the complexity of the character.
(I can best equate this to one of my all-time favorite television shows - 'Sons of Anarchy' - this is a show about an outlaw biker gang/club. These are not nice people, yet through the writing & characterization of the show, you begin to understand their humanity, and actually begin to start caring for the characters. Peloquin does the exact same thing with his character of the Hunter...)

I am extremely happy to say that this is Book 1 of a series ('The Last Bucelarii').
I cannot wait to jump back into the world of Einan and see where Peloquin takes us next!

Jason