CRUSHING BOOKS: "Malice" by John Gwynne

Malice
The Faithful and the Fallen: Book I

The world is broken...
Corban wants nothing more than to be a warrior under King Brenin's rule - to protect and serve. But that day will come all too soon. And the price he pays will be in blood. 
Evnis has sacrificed - too much it seems. But what he wants - the power to rule -- will soon be in his grasp. And nothing will stop him once he has started on his path. 
Veradis is the newest member of the warband for the High Prince, Nathair. He is one of the most skilled swordsman to come out of his homeland, yet he is always under the shadow of his older brother.
Nathair has ideas - and a lot of plans. Many of them don't involve his father, the High King Aquilus. Nor does he agree with his father's idea to summon his fellow kings to council.
...and it can never be made whole again.

       If you want an old-school, slow-building, good versus evil, epic fantasy series with multiple characters and a few modern updates, this is one for you.  An enjoyable read once it gets rolling, you have to pay attention and keep the characters sorted--so it's not a book you can pick up and put down over a long period of time. That being said, the fight scenes are excellent, the dialogue solid, and the characters well developed. The pacing varies, and at times feels a little sluggish, but a little patience until the next POV shift or action scene will see you speeding through pages again before you get too bored. In the same sense, with so many characters, there are going to be POVs you enjoy more than others, but  you'll never stay too long with any one of them.

       Similar to Brent Weeks, Gwynne paints a fairly dark world with a solid coming-of-age storyline for Adult and High School level readers. There are plenty of common tropes (the young bullied child who is more than anyone suspects, dysfunctional families, learning to deal with loss, the dark god returning, etc.), but they are never overdone. Quite simply, the book is like reading an old classic, but with enough twists to to keep the reading fresh. John Gwynne is definitely a talented writer, and I look forward to years of reading his work.