<i>I was provided a digital review copy by Talos publishing in exchange for an honest review.</i>

<b>"Love is an illness, a savage enchantment."</b>

Beautifully written, suspenseful, and at times surreal, Robert V.S. Redick's "Master Assassins" crackles with energy, from the magnetic opening passage through the whirling dervish finale. Although this was my first book completed in 2018, it will likely be a contender for book of the year.

I first heard about "Master Assassins" from a review by Mark Lawrence, and being a fan of his, I can see why Mark enjoyed it so much. There's some symmetry in Redick's world with Lawrence's "Broken Empire" setting: both worlds are warring to the point of possible extinction; there's supernatural works at play, but they do not necessarily take center stage; there's a sense of much more going on outside of this world than what initially appears; there's companionship that hinges between love and hate; memory, family & fate play large roles in determining epic consequences; and many more themes of grim suspense and morally questionable activities.

<b>"You will take a private oath tonight: to tell your children this story. And you will nurture this pain we share, this burning in your blood and mine, and distill from it your essential selves. Do year hear me? You will make of it not the venom that weakens you but the elixir that makes you indestructible. They fear us, my children. But they will come to fear us more."</b>

This is a book that can devoured with your eyes, but slowly chewed in your mind. There's plenty of subtle foreshadowing that is executed brilliantly, and once discovered, forces you to rethink what you knew (or thought you knew) about some of the characters' decisions and motivations.

And what characters! Kandri and Mektu, half-brothers, linked forever by saving each others' lives, can hardly suffer each other from day to day. Whether it's a woman that has come between them, or a simple question of honesty, or something potentially much more dangerous, theirs is a great dynamic to explore. Pitch-perfect dialogue and cleverly-written reactions to each others' bickering captures the brothers' relationship in a real, tangible way. The supporting team of misfit outcasts, mad zealots, vile merchants, and murderous fauna are wrung through non-stop environmental hazards filled with enough twists and turns for a full trilogy on its own; thankfully there's more of this series to look forward to.

<b>"YOU MOTHERFUCKING SHIT-EATING PIG-ASS-FACED FUCK DOGS! GIVE US SOME HORSES! WE'RE YOUR FUCKING FRIENDS!"</b>

This book will be published on March 6th, 2018. Be sure to pick up a copy.

This may seem like your traditional fantasy tropes with a village boy, in this case two, but the author subverts these tropes and creates a dark, repressive world where might is right.

The jagged prose of Redick, together with unlikeable characters and strained dialogue, makes Master Assassins a difficult read and I struggled to finish the book.

Master Assassins is the first instalment in The Fire Sacraments series, but I unfortunately will not be returning for more.

A good start to a series. The brotherhood between the main characters felt realistic and the desert setting world-building with hints of Asian elements are great. However, the present tense this time didn't really work out for me. Most of the time I felt the switching around between present tense and past tense for flashback unnecessary. If you can appreciate the prose more than me, this book will definitely be a hit for any fantasy lovers.

I read this book fairly quick, the relationship between Kandri and Mektu is one that I think is common among siblings. I enjoyed this book very much, it had a lot of adventure and explanations.