My first Salvatore book. I enjoyed it. It's not my favourite type of fantasy, but it's pretty well-written and populated by mostly well-drawn characters. I'm sure I'll try the next book in the Coven series, but I'm not sure it's high on my must-read list.

If you're a fan of the author's work, I'm sure you'll find much to like in here.

Child of a Mad God is a different take on fantasy for R.A. Salvatore and I for one, believe it suits him. It's a blend of mystical, shamen-esque fantasy that incorporates some truly unique elements. Aoleyn and Talmadge are both great characters to follow and help set the stage for this new series.

Surprisingly, this is my first Salvatore. Haven't read any of his previous novels and that is a big mistake. What an amazing, thrilling and interesting trip. What a page-turner. I really enjoyed the story in this one.

Confession time - I've never reaf any of Salvatore's other work though I've obviously heard of the demon wars. This had the feel of a fantasy in the post Tolkien tradition which broke away enough from certain tropes as to almost be progressive. I think excellent writers such as Mark Lawrence, Fonda Lee, Josiah Bancroft etc might still be pipping Salvatore to that post and there are still a few very tiredly presented tropes holding this back from being a 5 star read. That said it was immersive with excellent world builing and I intend to seek out tge author's other work.

I’m new to Mr. Salvatore’s books. I’ve heard of his name and reputation as an excellent fantasy writer but this is my first foray into his worlds. I can easily see why he has such a strong following.

Vicious, barbaric, magical, fantastic, enthralling, startling, terrifying … all words I’d use to describe this book. It follows the stories of two very different orphans in the world of Corona. One, Talmadge, a young man on his own in a savage world. He is a sensitive soul, troubled by the violence around him, and by the violence he must wield in order to survive. Second, is Aoleyn, who is a very young girl when we first meet her. She is part of a tribe whose brutality knows no bounds. She is a girl with spirit, power and an innate goodness that lifts her above the rest of her people. She is seen as strange, and desirable by the terrible leader of her tribe. Of course, you know that will not serve her well.

If I have a caveat about this book it is with the level of violence. A number of readers have complained about the frequency of violence and rape in the book. Please consider that when deciding whether or not to read this book. While rape exists in this book it is not graphic and not described in detail, but it is definitely there. We see a surfeit of “rape as plot device” in today’s t.v. shows and books, so I felt I had to ask myself, “Is it used in the same gratuitous, superficial way in this book?” Honestly, I don’t know. I do understand what the author was using it for. He illustrated the ways in which men feel free to use a woman’s body as a means of stealing their power, which is quite literally what is happening in this book. Men of Aoleyn’s tribe have no way of using the magic in this world. They use sex with magic wielding women in order to subsume their spirit and make use of their magic without their consent. It is also a key component of the power dynamic in this god-awful tribe. I can’t pretend that both of those scenarios do not exist in the world today, and that they haven’t been part of the dynamic between men and women for millennia. I can accept it as part of this story because it is not used in a titillating or useless device to weaken the women and bolster the story of a man. You may not feel the same way and I have nothing but respect for your opinion. In that case, this book is probably not for you.

Apart from that issue, the writing of this book is exceptional. It can be a little slow, but only because the author is taking his time with development of the cultures in this world, the magical system, and the rich physical world of Corona. The book is not without it’s moments of beauty. Talmadge, in his journey as a merchant, provides a glimpse at the wealth of culture and people in Corona. While it is a dangerous place, it has it’s own savage beauty. I want to revisit these two characters, Talmadge and Aoleyn. I want to see more of this terrifying world so I will definitely be looking into his other books set in this world, as well as awaiting the next book in this series.

Song for this book: May it Be – Hayley Westenra

This is a bit of a mixed bag for me. It tells the story of Aoleyn, a young girl of the Usgar as she comes of age and learns the magic of the crystals. Firstly, the good things. Salvatore has created a very detailed and interesting world here, with an original magic system and fascinating practices. There are some well-drawn power interactions, particularly among the Usgar that I found compelling and overall, the plot is quite good. Unfortunately, there is a lot of unnecessary narrative included that just bogs everything down. I truly believe that a good portion of the book could have been excised and the result would have been far more exciting and far less confusing. I was also incredibly troubled by the consistently brutal treatment of the women in the text, physically, sexually and in terms of plot. All in all, there are the bones of a good story here, but for me, they were fleshed with too many words.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Child of a Mad God is a character driven fantasy. It's set in a small part of a much larger world. We have two main points of view throughout the book and through them get an insight into the finer details of the cultures and people.

Aoleyn is from the Usgar tribe, they live on the mountain, surrounded by magic and are considered daemons by the Lake tribes. Even at the age of three, when we first meet her, we get a sense of Aoleyn's spirit, her courage and her intelligence. She watches and understands a lot more than most. Maybe it is down to the relaxed way in which the crone raised her, but she has a fire in her, a sense of right and wrong that doesn't always align with the ways of the tribe. Combined with her talent she becomes a headstrong, intelligent teen. By the time she is 14 she is a force. She doesn't back down and considering the misogynistic ways of her tribe, the social system, she is beaten by the adults a lot. It's the women who beat her. I always find it interesting that when you have a group of oppressed people, that it is usually the oppressed themselves who are the most brutal with each other.

While the story is predominately about Aoleyn and the Usgar tribe, Talmadge gives us a much needed insight into the outer world, through him we get hints as to what has happened in the past. From what I can gather there is another series set in the same world, just in a different part of the land. The lake tribes are isolated, so the past events haven't impacted them. They are considered savages and looked down upon for the way they live, yet they survive in a very hostile environment, so they aren't stupid. They live in a way which lets them survive. They ritualised the ways of survival, passing the tools down through the generation. To an outsider it might look or sound like myths and superstition, but their daemons are real.

I liked the writing, it was smooth and easy to read. It was brutal and harsh when it needed and the time jumps were superb. So subtle, which I like. The plot itself had a lot of different themes going on, which was also good. It talks a lot about fear controlling our thoughts on people who are different to us, how to reclaim your power and living your life. In the end the story felt like it was going to build up to something, but it never did. It all felt flat. It took well over half the book to get to Aoleyn learning about the crystals and magic. Even when the action was happening it was all very basic. It didn't evoke any anticipation or reaction from me. I could put the book down at any time, I didn't feel compelled to keep reading. Yes its a character driven book, but all of Talmadge's scenes felt like filler. Did we get to know him just so we would have a sense of dread near the end? Because I didn't get that, I wasn't fussed by the events happening to him at all. I think we could have skipped over half of his story and been okay. And while we are on the subject of the ending, I thought it was a massive let down. It felt rushed, and skimmed over.

As my first experience with S.A. Salvatore, I have to say that I am infinitely impressed with this debut book in the Coven series. I found out after I finished reading the copy that there were ties to his other books within Child of a Mad God but I would never have known this had I not researched the author. I do not feel that I missed out on anything but look forward to seeing how the other book ties onto this one when I read them!
Child of a Mad God is beautifully written, and I do not have any harsh things to say about any of the wordsmith aspects of this book – it was outstanding! The book felt well thought out enough to be read on its own. I loved being thrust into the remote, wild landscape, and disposition that is almost ethereal in its conveyance.

The characters had so much complexity that it took me by complete surprise! I never expected to have connections with so many new characters and how their destiny would draw such emotion out of me. Self-examination seems to be the main theme of the book and each character finds themselves wondering where their place in this wild world could be. I found it interesting that the author chooses to touch on the culture of each tribe without the studious everyday commonplace of their day-to-day lives. This helped keep the plot on track and moving forward without distractions and lag.

This book touched on a few of my newly found favorite things to read about! Blood, brutality, death, and destruction! These key aspects were crucial to fully tell the aspects of the harsh world that the tribes lived within. I screamed for, wept for, and fought alongside these characters and was rewarded with a punch to the gut every time. Even so, the potential for satisfaction in future books is what has me eager to continue the series.

Recommendations: This book is going to be at the o foremost of my fantasy recommendation pile going forward. Though I am new to the author, his work speaks to me in a way that makes me want to delve into more of his storylines and probe the characters for their full potential. The next time anyone asks for a book that has great character build as their main criteria will hear Child of a Mad God from my lips! Though I will let them know about the brutality and harshness of the setting because unlike me not everyone can appreciate the finer qualities of death and destruction. I did fill it was a great standalone and even though I hadn’t read the rest of the books I don’t like I’m lacking.

I’d like to thank Netgalley, R.A. Salvatore, and the publicists at Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Child of a Mad God! :)

Unfortunately, although it appeared on my side of things that this book had been downloaded it wasn't. Sadly the .book was archived before I had a chance to rectify the problem.
Under these circumstances any star rating is not valid.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

DNF@15%

I should say up front that I've never read a book by R.A. Salvatore. I've seen the author's name around and have been interested in some of the books, so when I saw this book show up on Netgalley and was interested in the summary, I thought this would be a good chance to try out a new high fantasy author.

Unfortunately, this didn't work out for me.

I understand it is a long book, so 15% is really only about 70 pages, but Aoelyn who is supposedly the main character is still a child--and not on her own. She also doesn't narrate most of the book thus far. So, I didn't feel like I was getting what I signed up for. I decided to think of this as a very slow beginning and was trying to go with it. In fact, I liked Talmadge's chapters.

So, why did I stop?
Totally a personal preference.
This book is a bit too brutal for me.
Sometimes I'm okay with it, but other times... I'm just too sensitive. When one of the tribes attacks another tribe there is a slaughter and so much rape. How some things are handled made me super uncomfortable too. While Aoelyn dos seem to understand that some of what she sees is wrong, I didn't want to wait until she was grown and ready to (hopefully)fully condemn her tribe's practices.

I suppose this is one way of saying the author has a way of pulling you in, making scenes emotional and rough. There is no mistaking this as bad writing. Everything flows well, I think. I'm just too sensitive a soul for all the raping, slaving, and general horribleness.

Honestly, if someone tells me to give this book another try, I probably will. At this point, I just need that reassurance that these poor women will one day be saved.
This is a book I will recommend to people wanting high fantasy with female characters, although I'll warn them about the slow build up (meant to build the world and set the stage for Aoelyn) and be prepared for the horrid side of war.

Child of a Mad God is the first in a new series by RA Salvatore, the writer who introduced us to the crow ranger Drizzt Do’Urden. Set in the world of Corona, a world made familiar in the Demon Wars Saga, this book explores lands far from Honce-the-Bear, in a time after said wars. This story spans a decade or more, and follows several main players- Aeolyn, Seonagh, Talmadge, and Tay Aillig, whose lives are shown in a series of 'snapshots’ (possibly 'montage’ is the more appropriate word).

Aeolyn is a daughter of the Usgard tribe, an orphan raised first by a nameless elder, and later by her aunt Seonagh. The Usgard are a brutal mountain tribe who can use the stone magic, though it is different from the more refined style of the Abellicans. They raid the tribes living along Loch Beag, at the foot of their mountain, taking supplies and slaves. During one raid, when Aeolyn is but a wee, yet wild, thing, a pregnant woman is taken captive. Her child, born a slave, becomes a companion of sorts for Aeolyn as the years go by.

Seonagh takes over teaching and caring for Aeolyn, a daunting task as the young woman is willful and headstrong, refusing to settle for a woman's place in the Usgar tribe. Aeolyn wishes to learn the magic of Usgar, and to join the privileged Coven, but she is impetuous and that makes her a danger on many levels. Can Seonagh temper her fire before the men of the tribe decide she isn't worth the trouble of keeping around?

Tay Aillig we meet as a young, yet experienced, warrior who grows to become Usgar-laoch, leader of the warriors. Tay Aillig has bigger plans in mind. The fierce war leader wishes to become Usgar-triath, a position combining Usgar-laoch and Usgar-forfach. Along his quest for power, Tay Aillig has a plan to rid his people of the deadly demon fossa who walks the earth under the Blood Moon.

Down along the lake, the trader Talmadge grows from stripling to mature, yet gentle-hearted, man. Much of his life we see is shaped by a singular incident along the shores of the loch, when he is forced to take a life. Later, he loses another to the loch, bringing him to a terrible low point. For a time he stays away, and when he ventures back, it is only to become a captive of the Usgar.

Besides these interchanging viewpoints, there are some introspective essays from the viewpoint Aydrian Wyndon, much like Drizzt's in the Legend of Drizzt series. This is the only time we hear from Aydrian in this book. I imagine he becomes important in later books, and the essays give valuable information. These storythreads converge in a final battle against the demon fossa, a battle that truly brings Aeolyn into her own.

The perspective does shift between characters. At no point did I have trouble following the shifts, but if you dislike that style, be forewarned. While Corona was never my favourite (that would be Faerûn, and Drizzt’s adventures), I do enjoy the magic system of this world, and it was neat to see yet another group that had learned to use the magic of the stones. The anthropologist in me enjoyed learning about the cultures of the Usgar, and the lake tribes. The head-shaping practised by the lake tribes was a fascinating facet. Oh, yes, and I loved that there are snow leopards!

I was on the fence about Aeolyn. I liked her spirit, and she was rebelling against a harsh culture, which is how cultures change and evolve. I just think she could have been a little savvier about it, knowing the consequences of acting out against the norms. I look forward to seeing how she grows over the next books, and changes her tribe.

I liked Tay Aillig. I know I probably shouldn't, but I couldn't really see him as a villain when he acted as his culture dictated. He's another potential culture-changer, albeit likely opposite of how Aeolyn would change it. I'd really like to think he could change himself, and become an ally of Aeolyn. Not bloody likely, I know, but on can hope.

Talmadge I liked too, and hope we see again. He's a sweet man, with a good heart. It's through him that we really get to explore the lake tribes, and I'd love to see more of them in general. He's been through so much and I hope he finds the lasting happiness he deserves.

Recommended if you're a fan of Salvatore's works in general, or are a fan of fantasy with interesting magical systems.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
***Reviewed for the Manhattan Book Review as well.

I am sorry but I didn't finish this book.
When I saw this book on NetGalley I was really excited and I was more excited when they approved my request! Some years ago (ok, almost a lifetime ago, since I am speaking of high school) I read some of Salvatore’s books and I loved them! Drizzt was a character that I really, really, really liked so I was really happy to read again something written by him. It was exciting, wasn’t it? I wasn’t expecting a happy and soft book, because I don’t remember a lot (high school was a long time ago!) but I remember that the author didn’t make Drizzt’s life an easy one, so I was prepared… or I think I was.

I didn’t want to write this review, because I received an ARC and I wasn’t feeling so keen to write a review for a book that I didn’t finish and that I received for reviewing, but in the end… well, I think it would not be fair to just ignore all of this. It’s not pleasant to write a bad review, even if this one is not so bad, and to write about a book that you don’t finish is always tricky, but it’s just more honest to simply say the truth and speak about the things that went wrong for me than to pretend that this never happened.
The point here is not the bad review, I may not be so happy about writing them but I think them useful for a ton of reasons, so I would write them anyway, the point here is that I didn’t finish the book, just to be clear.

So… about the book. I would write a review mostly in point, but first a couple of sentences for introduction. I think this book was mostly introductory to the series, I stopped my reading at 60%, so it’s not that I’ve read 10 or 20 pages and give up, I really try with this one, but the things I didn’t like in the first 10% were the same things I didn’t like at 60%, so I’ve simply chosen to give up. This book really wasn’t for me.
And in more than 200 pages (because this is a long book) it doesn’t happen so much, so yes, I think that this book is an introduction for this new series.
But now is time to stop to stall and begin with the serious part.
Things I didn’t like:

The pace. It’s really slow. At first, I was thinking that it was normal because it’s a completely new world, with different cultures, places, characters and so on, so it takes time to set in the world and understand all, but it wasn’t just the beginning. It’s a really slow book, and even if usually I like when an author takes his(or her) time to show us his creations I wasn’t hooked up and I really didn’t care about the story, in the end.

The chapters. A good thing about them it’s that all of them have titles, and this is a thing that I really appreciate, but they were too long. I don’t like long chapters but I can cope with them, usually, but in this case they are too long and wrong. I mean, in the same chapter you have different characters’ POV, but it’s confusing if you are speaking about a girl in the mountain and in the next sentence you are speaking about a man on the lake, miles and miles away from the girl. Or in the same chapter we have different time: one sentence the girl is a little girl, and the next sentence is “Some years have passed and…”
I think they are just too confusing and I really didn’t like them.

The cultures. The world is a big one and in this book (or, at least, in the first 60% of it) we see just a little part of it, but the culture of the people who live there is quite barbaric and this really didn’t sit well with me. I mean, in this case is really a personal thing, more than for the previous points, but I am not happy to read about cultures that think of women as inferior, as things and owned by the men. Yes, it’s not true for all the cultures in this book, but it’s true for one of them, and it’s the culture that is more important for the story, or at least, is one of the most important, and the main character is from this culture. Also, I stopped to read when we reached the socially accepted rape, because for me it’s a big big big no. I know that you can see this coming from far away, and that it’s coherent with the culture that we saw in this pages, but I simply couldn’t stand it, so that was it for me.

The characters. They weren’t so bad but they weren’t so good either and I was expecting sooooo much more from them! Also, I wasn’t hooked up and I wasn’t so interested in the story, too.

In the end, I tried, I really tried because I wanted so much to like this book, but it just wasn’t for me.

I was honestly a little bit afraid to start reading this book when I received my copy a few weeks ago. I haven't really enjoyed Salvatore's last couple books but this one sounded really interesting so I figured I would give it a shot, and boy am I glad that I did. Child of a Mad God by R.A. Salvatore was a surprisingly dark and bloody story full of action and some of the best characterization I think we've seen from him in years. I was seriously unable to stop reading it once I had started and ended up going to work on no sleep at all just to finish it.

When I first started looking into Child of a Mad God I thought it was a completely new series but it's made abundantly clear in the prologue that this book is set on the fascinating world of Corona. I've always loved the DemonWars series and I think the books set on Corona are by far Salvatore's best stories and this book was no different. One of the great things about this book though is that while it takes place on Corona, it does so in an area we haven't visited yet and features peoples and magics we haven't really seen before. It expands on the world and the lore in many new and interesting ways.

I would definitely say Child of a Mad God is one of R.A. Salvatore's more well-written series with an interesting story and some fascinating characters. I thought Aoelyn in particular really stood out as a strong and believable character who shined so much brighter than the rest of the characters in the book that they almost looked dull in comparison. I think it's really going to be interesting reading the next book in the series and seeing wehre her and Talmadge's story ends up going. They were both great characters but together I think they made this book really stand out.

I'm happy I took a chance and read this book because it has renewed my love and faith of R.A. Salvatore as an author and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone that I know. I'm already eagerly waiting for the next book in the series to release and will most likely buy this one as an audiobook in the near future just so I can listen to it.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Child of a Mad God is a gritty, bloody, fascinating and engrossing epic fantasy novel that I absolutely could not put down.

Set in Corona, in remote mountains, Child of a Mad God is written from two POVs: that of Aoelyn & Talmadge. Aoelyn, a daughter of a witch and a witch herself, is an orphan, raised in a truly hostile and barbaric tribe. Talmadge is the only trader with whom the remote tribes of Corona agree to trade their precious pearls. Throughout the book, their POV shifts and the two main characters do not come together till almost the end of the book.

What made me absolutely love the book is Aoelyn – she is incredibly strong, perceptive, smart and just a character that you cannot help but fall in love with. Salvatore does an incredible job writing Aoelyn’s character and I find the character in this particular setting a masterstroke. Let me explain. Aoelyn lives in the most misogynistic society I have ever read about. Their treatment of women and slaves is truly sickening and it was very tough to read at some points. Rape, beatings and just overall status and treatment of women in the Usgar society is prevalent and I would not recommend it to anyone who cannot stomach it. That being said, the fact that Salvatore writes the story from the female POV, a female that realizes quite young that her society’s views are wrong is a strong statement to the traditional epic fantasy standards. I feel like Salvatore is trying to change the view of women in epic fantasy and he is doing it through Aoelyn. This is the reason why I LOVED the book, stuck with it and cannot wait for the next installment of the series. Not to mention the incredible magic system, the unique monsters and the whole setting of this book is just incredible.

Talmadge’s storyline was enjoyable – however, I did not feel as much connection with him as I did with Aoelyn. That being said, by the end of the novel I saw the two plots converging in an action packed way that really makes me itch for book 2.

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves Salvatore’s writing, The Malazan Empire series, A Song of Ice and Fire and who is looking for a strong female character.

Child of a Mad God is another formidable example of Salvatore's great fantasy. The story weaves the harrowing plight of Aoleyn, a young woman stuck in a brutal patriarchal mountain tribe, with the story of Talmadge, a solitary frontiersman who lives on his wit and the profit of his trade. This is a harsh and gritty world populated by slaves, witches, cruel masters, and paranoid tribes. Whether it is the laws of the tribe, the death of loved ones, or the result of personal decisions, each character is tested in this harsh and primal world.
Salvatore is consistent as an author in creating gripping and worthwhile mythoses in his works.
I recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy and wants a great escape. While I have read Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy, I haven't read any in his world of Corona. This was not an issue at all; I was able to jump into the text easily without any background information.

Thank you very much to NetGalley, Tor Books, and the author for providing the advanced copy for this review.