The Forgetting Moon (The Five Warrior Angels #1), by Brian Lee Durfee

  If you liked Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, you're going to like The Forgetting Moon. Complex world building, a lot of characters, a medieval slightly magical world, cruel violence and feudal machinations.

  I only got this book because Brian Lee Durfee also has a YouTube channel where he discusses books and writing. The channel isn't great for me, but the book is really good. The writing is solid, there are clear signs that the author has an outline of the entire story with consistent plot and character behavior. In short, if you want a captivating, terrifying magical war of kingdoms grimdark fantasy, this is for you.

  It's not all great. One of the things I really hate in fantasy is the prophecy angle. People do stuff because of something that was foreseen, and the readers know that it has been foreseen, so it will happen, so the reader knows it will happen. It robs of the agency of the characters. The only good prophecy angle is when they all find out it was all bullshit. This is further confounded by active characters that can see some of the future. It's like the spoilers are published in the book!

  Another thing that bothered me is the weird behavior of the characters, especially the female ones. At one time they are proud, the next they are meekly following instructions. One moment they want to defeat everybody in battle, the next they are scared little children. At times they are proud royalty knowing everything that happens in their realm, and at other times they are OK with their castle being infiltrated by enemy spies they can't control. And it's not often that it happens, but it does happen eventually: the character decides to do something in the heat of the moment that just happens to be what the author needs to happen. Come on, Durfee!

  But the story is vast and quite interesting. I don't intend to read the other books any time soon mostly because it requires that much investment. But who knows, maybe I will get back to it.