If you love fantasy and haven't read Malice, John Gwynne's debut novel and the first in his four book series known as The Faithful and the Fallen, then you've been missing out.
Malice takes place in a high fantasy world with strong sword and sorcery elements. Magic doesn't play a huge part in this story, but it exists in subtle ways. In Gwynne's world, controlling elemental powers is the main form of magic. There are a few characters that can control these powers, but the focus of the story in book one is more on the sword-wielding aspects.
The Faithful and the Fallen isn't George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, though it could be considered Game of Thrones adjacent. It is medieval in setting and themes and contains slightly more magical elements than Martin's well-known classic.
The most significant difference is that Gwynne finishes what he starts. Malice was published in 2012, a year after Martin's A Dance with Dragons, the fifth installment of Song of Ice and Fire. Since then, Gwynne has completed all four books in The Faithful and the Fallen series and seven other books as well. Martin has completed nothing except his 1000th interview on why his series isn't finished. But enough about the Great Procrastinator.
What makes Malice so special?
Gwynne does a tremendous job of developing his main characters. He's extremely patient in his worldbuilding and storytelling, and makes you care about the characters before revealing too much about the plot.
Most of Malice is told through the points of view of three characters: Corban, Veradis, and Kastel. There are four other supporting characters that readers hear from as well, but those are kept brief and to a purpose. Through the eyes of the main characters, readers learn of the world the book is set in and its history.
Malice takes place in The Banished Lands, where giants once were dominant before men appeared. The two races waged a war for supremacy that men eventually won, after the lands were scourged by a god. Prophecies exist that say that the forces of good would unite under one man, the Bright Star, to battle against the god of evil, under another man, the Black Sun.
Telltale signs are heralding the coming of this god-war, and Gwynne patiently spins his story around the coming of these events. Slowly, he reveals the ambitions, or lack thereof, of his main characters, but he withholds their possible places in the upcoming war.
Not everything is clearly revealed by the end of the first book, as some mysteries remain. Characters we thought might be villains emerge as heroes, and others that might have been heroes turn villainous.
Readers would never guess this is Gwynne's first novel. His pacing, patience, and ability to keep some of the plotlines hidden in mystery are all marks of a master class storyteller. His ability to flesh out his main characters and the people, places, and events surrounding them keeps the pages flipping at a quick pace.
Malice is truly a book that you won't want to put down. It is fantasy at its best, and for those who love the sword and sorcery high fantasy genre, you shouldn't wait any longer to grab this book and delve into it, if you haven't already.