**A full review will be added to NetGalley, Goodreads, my blog, and Amazon closer to publication in February!**

Master of Sorrows and is ambitious and inventive story about a boy who must learn to handle a dark secret that could have dire consequences from those around him if they ever found out. I was enthralled with Call's story the entire time and absolutely loved how much detail and effort he obviously put into developing the world, magic system, and each and every character. This story seems to take a lot of trope-like elements and turn them into new ideas and an entirely new narrative that I really appreciated. Annev himself is a compelling character to follow and I had a fantastic time following his development.

Overall, four stars from me! I can't wait to read the next book!

I am having a hard time writing the review for this one. This book was good. It had great world building. It also felt long and often times too descriptive. There were a whole lot of characters to the point that it was hard to keep track of them and it took away from the story. I am giving it a four star because it kept me engaged and there were some scenes ( I am looking at you wood witch!) that I will never get out of my head! I think that this could have easily been a five star for me if it wasn't quite so wordy!

I didn’t love this book. To be honest, I kind of trudged through it. It might be the uncorrected proof, and maybe the final copy is more polished. I was so looking forward to it, but I think it’s just not MY style. I usually love fantasy books settled within a school but this one didn’t work for me. I think there was a LOT of chatter that I just found distracting. Over-explanation and a lot of lore thrown at you at once. For some people, this will be a major advantage, though. I did enjoy that the main character, Annev, had certain disadvantages, things don’t come easy to him and he is disfigured. That was refreshing to see. I also felt like it took FOREVER to get anywhere substantial in this book. The testing phase was so drawn out. This might also be a book to come back to for me. I don’t want to turn anyone off from this book because I think it’s A LOT of fantasy readers cup of tea, just not mine!

Welcome to the world of “Dark Magic” with a brand new tale which is highly recommended to “Poppy War” fans because the training parts in academy and cruel, bloody, mind blowing fighting parts reminded me of those series so much!

We’re introduced a new, fresh, reluctant protagonist, Annev, a hero with dark powers, firstly has no idea how to use and control them. Dark Gods demands him as a reflector of dark magic but he only wants to be trained and learn how to be an avatar at the academy. He keeps his identity as a secret from his masters but too many times he gets too close to be caught or reveal it. Mostly he is suspicious character, who doesn’t obey everything he’s told so it is good for him not to be biased easily like the other students and he has still clear judgment about the people around him and the special hierarchy of master community. But they had no idea their enemy is standing in front of them. They’re getting closer to catch him but he luckily finds a way to deceive them.

As we continue to devour the pages we get stumbled with more direction changes, surprises and twist so the progression of the story is getting darker, more thrilling and more vulgar tones. So this book is not for everybody. You cannot say I didn't warn you!

At first when I saw the longevity, I was easily terrified and if I didn’t get it as an ARC COPY, I should happily use it as one of my book dumbbells for my combat training (Don’t ask me why I’m doing that kind of exercise! I just love it! That’s all! I never insisted that I was normal person!) and skip it, put them at my tbr list longer than Great Wall of China.But the progression and development of the story is direct, moving, fast paced and intriguing and if you’re fan of darker, twisty turns, big shocks, betrayals, deaths, big fights, epic wars, this will be a great fit for your expectations.

So far I don’t know how long I will have to wait for the sequel but first book was remarkable, different, exciting, severe, mind blowing and I think I’ll never say no to get my hands on another journey!

I cut one star because some parts of the book are wilder, bloodier, more disturbing for my taste. But I truly enjoyed the characterization, world building and revelation so yes it is one of the promising reads of 2020!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for sharing this amazing ARC COPY in exchange my honest review. And congrats to Justin T. Call for creating such a viciously intriguing , exciting work.

Recommended: Sure
For a super fast-paced story with lots of high intensity fighting, for an interesting world of gods and magic, be ready for some "lore" moments where you read sections from the gospel to understand everything

Thoughts:
I have a lot to say about this one so here are the bullet points:

- Annev is an idiot
- The relationship between Annev and Myjun is confusingly weak
- The end leaves a lot of questions open; like so many that I wish there were a few more answers to give a strong reason to read the next book
- The lore-building around the gods is amazing and fascinating
- There is non-stop action and important moments in this; you won't be bored
- I want more magic!!!

I think I can easily sum my overall answer as I like the world, and I don't like Annev. Annev annoys me as a character with his inconsistency and willful idiocy. The amount of times he would say he had decided and fully committed to a plan only to say two sentences later that there was no way he could follow through with that plan just about gave me whiplash. I can forgive some of his idiocy in chalking it up to "he's a teenage boy," but basically see everything relating to Myjun for further examples of how annoying he is. Overall he seems like a fairly weak-minded person, who is easily swayed by others' words and actions.

Smaller issues arose in here that took me out of the story. I had to work hard to suspend disbelief at times, like the fact that only about three days passed in terms of the story, and in those three days Annev slept for maybe 3 or 4 hours. That would be rough for anyone, but in his case he was doing constant high-intensity running around and fighting, life-or-death stuff, so how the hell is he not falling down tired?! Apparently the twist is that Annev is actually Jack Bauer.

The 'romance' between Annev and Myjun was weird. Ignoring how Annev acknowledges his many bad ideas and just chooses to stick his head in the sand about them, it all seemed to come out of nowhere and really intensely, too. From what we get in the story, they can hardly ever talk to or see each other and have only been "courting" for like 6 months. Myjun may have become the most interesting character in the last few chapters though, and I will probably pick up the second book JUST to see what happens with all that craziness at the end.

The end. Man. I'm fine with not giving everything away, but there are still so many questions and unexplained aspects that it didn't really have a lot of pull to read the next book. The events we end on, and presumably would pick up on, were pretty mild and we have no idea what they matter. I wanted more of a Big Reveal kind of moment so that you're blown away and hooked and cannot wait to see more now that you know The Secret.

Ok. I know that sounds like a lot of me listing out so many things that I disliked or that annoyed me, and honestly even I'm surprised by how much I had given how much I did actually enjoy reading this. I loved the interesting side characters, and I wish some of them had more of a starring or lasting role. I loved that any time I had to stop reading it was a bad time to stop reading, because there's always something exciting or important going on. You will not be bored at any point in this, I promise! I loved the elaborate belief system that's woven in through everything, and the larger-than-life humans who end up getting sucked into it. (Wait, are they all human though?) I love magic, and I love the idea of things like sharp air, and shadepools. I want more of that, which seems like it will be coming in the second book, and that is why I'll likely continue with this series. The worst thing about reading an ARC is that not only do you have to wait until the next book is published, you have to wait until the first book is published.

Thanks to NetGalley and Justin Call for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a debut novel, this is fairly impressive. Not great, but certainly shows a ton of potential.

The premise really caught me. The elevator pitch for this book would basically be a protagonist destined to become a major force of destruction, struggling against that destiny. This isn't like the Dragon Reborn from <i>Wheel of Time</i>, where the prophesied salvation brings a lot of death and destruction along with it. We're talking full out vessel-for-reborn-dark-god. The idea of protagonist-as-prophesied-destroyer is one I find super intriguing. It's more of a background thing in this first-in-the-series book, but it's got a lot of potential to be very interesting.

That being said, this was a comfort read to a surprising degree. The protagonist is attending a </s>magical</s> anti-magical academy, where he and his classmates are trained to go out and retrieve dangerous magical objects for safe storage in the Academy's massive underground vault. He's an orphan, with dangerous secrets, a mysterious mentor who is More Than He Seems, upperclassmen who bully him, a love interest in the person of the headmaster's daughter, etc. He's determined to Prove Himself on His Own Terms and all that.

Despite being familiar, it's good and well written. The action carries along nicely, and I get invested in Annev and his mentor and friends pretty quickly. The mythic backstory that Call adds here in there is a very nice touch - it's a very believable mythology (in the sense that "I can see this being an actual mythology" kind of believable), and he does a good job of spinning it out.

It is borderline-litRPG at places. In and of itself that's neither a good thing nor a bad thing, just a thing, but I wasn't really expecting it. One of the tests that Annev goes through might as well be a dungeon from a Zelda game, and you better believe that vault full of magical artifacts comes up. There's even a bag of holding. There is, sadly, no portable hole. Justin T. Call, if you're reading this, that is a hint.

There is one big ding I'll give this book, though, and the clearest sign of Call being a rookie at this: there's basically no women. I mentioned the headmaster's daughter, but she's not a character so much as she is a motivation for the main character. I get that there's a gender-segregation thing going on with the academy, but it could have been done much better.

Overall, I'm giving this four stars. I think that's a little high for this book on its own merits, but there's enough potential that it feels appropriate.

Bingo squares: character with a disability (hard mode), published in 2019 (hard mode).

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy if this book.

For a debut novel, especially fantasy, this was good. Although slow at the start, and kind of slow burner throughout, it does have its high points. It is quite long, as most high fantasy books are, but it was good debut overall.

It has been a long time since I have been moved by a somewhat dense fantasy novel.. but Justin Call managed exactly that. In fact, its density slowed my reading pace, but I was never bored. I was engrossed in every word.. every description.. every tale shared.. new and old.

I find, it's very easy in novels similar to this one, for the author's to lose my interest. They allow themselves to get so caught up in focusing on the world they're creating.. how and why it's different.. that they bog down the pages with excessive details. Don't get me wrong.. I love details. But there's such a thing as packing too much into a page too.

Call doesn't do that. Oh.. he gives you plenty of information. He offers enough to dig down inside and eat at you with worry over the characters' paths.. collisions you can see (or think you can see) coming.. and crises of conscience.. but he knows where and when to deliver it. He trickles those bits of information throughout his story with a skill I rarely see in modern writers. He finesses them.

The story is filled with foreboding and tragedy.. love and loss.. and not always in the ways you would expect. His characters grow and change, sometimes for the better.. others.. not so much. Some of them seem to waver on the verge of something great or horrible.. and surprise.. surprise.. not all of them take the same turns.

I loved this book. I'm not an emotional person really.. but it brought tears to my eyes at least once. It's not fast paced, it moves with the trepidation of it's main character.. young Annev, like it too.. is unsure what it will become. But every step is worth following.. and I cannot wait for the next book..

I really enjoyed this book. Although there are some familiar tropes (orphan boy raised by a wise old man who is not what he seems to be, bullied by others, in love with the village beauty) the world building is unique and the author clearly has given a tremendous amount of thought to the cosmology of the place.

I personally was not terribly interested in the incessant action, and the final battle scenes were a little too brutal for my taste, but I'm curious to see where the story goes.

I did find some of the secondary characters a bit one dimensional; the antagonist, Fyn, seems to change his mind about the hero in a heartbeat, and the gibbering rage of the masters was a bit much. The heroine was extremely dull until the very end.

All in all, a well told story.

This book was incredible! You'd never know that it was a debut novel. The world building was awesome, the characters were multi-dimensional. The only downfall was it was initially a somewhat slow moving book, but that wasn't entirely unexpected given that it's a first book in a series and that time without much action was needed to understand the world. I will definitely be looking for book 2 when it comes out!

Annev is teenage boy training to become an Avatar, which only a select few have the privilege of becoming to retrieve magical artifacts. However, he has a secret that can prevent him from reaching his goal, turn the villagers against him and could even get him killed. As Annev gets closer to to becoming a Master Avatar, he finds out about his origin and that some very dangerous people are looking for him, putting everyone and everything he cares about at risk.

I'm not really one for epic fantasies but both the cover and the summary had me intrigued and I was not disappointed. The characters each had their struggles to overcome and the world created for this book was fascinating to learn about; all the magical creatures and the history of the world were well thought out. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Slow burn, but worth the wait.

"You have heard the story before—of a young boy, orphaned through tragic circumstances, raised by a wise old man, who comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil that threatens his world."

Master of Sorrows by Justin Travis Call
Published by Gollancz, on February 21,

This book was received from the Author,Justin Travis Call and Publisher, Gollancz,
in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own

❝“So which is it?” Tosan said, glaring at him. “Are you a lying fool… or are you stupid?” Rhetorical or not, Annev didn’t have an answer for that – he didn’t see how kindness could be stupid, and he wouldn’t apologise for it.”❞


Get ready to fasten your seats belts, bookish epic fantasy lovers
- make sure you have a comfortable seat and plenty of time with no interruptions because you are not going to want to stop once you start.
This is a stunning impressive debut novel, by Justin T. Call

Annev is a struggling teenager with no family connections, he is being raised by an old priest, who has mentored him from birth. raised in a small village geared to the training of Avatars and Masters of Judgement, seekers, and warriors. Their task is to venture out into the world to track down and confiscate or steal magical artifacts for safekeeping. An ancient war between Gods and men has left the world suspicious of all magic and magically created items.
It is said that magic and magical artifacts are potentially dangerous. Or at least that everyone has been told, but nothing is ever as it seems. Annev must fights for his right to move up the ranks and become an Avatar along with his friends.
He has dedicated duties at the Church with his mentor, while also training for his final shot at passing the grueling Avatar test. If this isn’t enough on his plate, now he discovers he’s being hunted by a fallen evil god bent on destroying his entire bloodline.
The book is very character driven and Annev, is battling inner turmoil whileb trying to decide what his integrity is worth.
Intricately complex world building enough to be fascinating but not at all confusing, the magic system was so interesting and was different to most I’ve seen before. The mythologies were also well developed and I honestly just loved it. It’s fast paced and I struggled to put it down in all honesty! We’re told the story from Annev’s POV, with interesting chapters on the history of the gods at the beginning of each ‘Part’ of the book which was masterfully done.

The author catapults you into this epic fantasy, that you can tell the author has meticulously spent an incredible amount of time creating amazing world. Richly detailed and creating intriguing backstories of the Gods, the magic system and the societies which inhabit the world. While this first book is mostly restricted to Annev's home village, as he fights to discover his place in the world. The reader gets a glimpse that there is much more to be revealed. A riveting intricate systems of the world that lies beyond the confines of his village are tantalizing and inviting to explore. The complexity and thoroughness of Call's new epic world is a delight for all fantasy fans. Impressive action, addictive packed novel, with a stellar ending that will leave you longing for the next installment in incredible engaging stunning series.


❝What if you were destined to be a villain?❞
I honestly LOVED this book so much. A dark fantasy to rival Name of the Wind, Annev faces adversity and his own destiny. I was hooked in straight away and could not put this book down. The world building was on FIRE and I can’t wait to read more from this series.

I did not like the writing style. Very clipped, basic, and a lot of "telling" as opposed to "showing".

Also, the idea is highly overrated, and is just something that I've seen done before. Full points for creativity, but otherwise, I'll take a pass on yet another "complex world, boy anti-hero" mythology.

For a fantasy novel, I'm pretty impressed that this is a debut. The world building in this story was incredible. The plot was interesting and engaging. It suffers a bit from the typical adult high fantasy books being really long trend, but was an enjoyable read none the less

Quite surprised that this is Justin T Call ‘s debut novel. Extremely well written epic fantasy. This is the story of Annev.He is not who he thought he was and trying to hide things about himself while he struggles to deal with everything going in around him.Fascinating yet solid world building.
Thankyou Netgalley for this ARC

Please check out this review and others on www.grimdarkmagazine.com or my personal blog www.beforewegoblog.com

I received a copy of this from the author and publisher in exchange for my open and honest review.

Master of Sorrows by Justin Travis Call is the book I have been waiting for all year. Ainnevog, let’s call him Annev, is a boy with a simple but not easy path before him. He works as a deacon at a school and also takes classes to become an avatar there. An avatar is one who goes out into the world, finds magical items, and brings them back to the school so that they can be safely stored away. In the world that Call has created, magic use is verboten. If one is found to be using magic or has the magic gift, they are flayed alive and stoned. Passing the Avatar of Judgement classes and final tests for Annev is an all-consuming endeavor. Only the best can become an avatar. While taking his classes, Annev also studies and is guided by the school’s priest and father figure, Sodar. How will Annev balance the two halves of his life? The public half, avatar trainee and rule-follower with the secret half, magic-user, and possibly as a destined hero. That is the crux of the story, duality.

Furthermore, to add to the duality of the plot, Annev is on the precipice of manhood. Of coming into his own and knowing who he is. But, as it stands, he is not quite a boy nor a man.

Master of Shadows is in the style of Patrick Rothfuss’s epic Name of the Wind and Pierce Browns Red Rising series. They all share similar trajectories. A boy, from dubious circumstances, is thrust into a world they can not quite understand, in Master of Shadows‘ case, an anti-magic school. This boy is destined for greater things but is hampered on all sides by morally grey characters. I say they share similar trajectories, but there is nothing bland or hackneyed in Master of Shadows.

The plotting and backstory of Master of Shadows are tightly done and rich in history. Annev comes from a world of gods, precisely three major ones – all siblings. Odar, Lumea, and Keos. Two of the gods, Odar and Lumea, are still culturally and spiritually revered by the public. But the other god, Keos, is considered the betrayer. Those who are born disabled are said to have been touched by Keos. They are considered to be in Keos’s favor and are immediately put to death. But in Annev’s case, as he was born without a left hand, instead of death, he was saved and raised by Sodar. This becomes another part of the duality and line that Annev must walk. He is the antithesis of everything an Avatar of Judgement is, yet he battles and struggles to excel and achieve an Avatar position, all while hiding his disability.

One of the detractors of the story, there are very few, is the love interest between Annev and Myjun. Watching from the position of a reader, one can look at a relationship like Annev’s and Myjun’s and think it is incredibly unrealistic and sometimes silly. Annev makes buffoonish decisions that made me want to shake him. But isn’t that what it is like when you are 17? You make stupid choices because your body is going berzerk with hormones. As much as I cringed when reading about Annev’s mooning, it is a realistic detail. Annev needs to experience things like love, loss, and betrayal on his narrative path so that he is a full and round character. This relationship is something that an older and wiser Annev in later books can pull and learn from. Also, the exposition of the story in some parts was lengthy. This is necessary due to the humongous back story and cultural context that Annev’s character exists in. Sometimes, I wanted to get back to the action, but these chapters are necessary.

One of the significant strengths of the story aside from the tight plot was the relationship between Sodar and Annev. Sodar is not all that he seems. He was living a double life; one as a priest to the students the other as scholar and magic-user. The later he keeps hidden to all but Annev, whom he has raised from a baby and trusts. Sodar is the stern father figure character that attempts to guide Annev to his destiny while similarly protect him from the details of it. They have an easiness between them that has developed throughout their shared lives and is a testament to Call’s writing skills that this came off effortless. I believed in their relationship, and it presented no false notes to me.

Another major strength in this story is the tense action sequences. They flowed like water from scene to scene and are some of the best I have read. Whether Annev is battling wild contraptions in his bid for a position as an avatar or fighting Feurog’s (creatures that are made of metals, stones, and flesh), the pulse racing, edge of your seat intensity kept me reading into the late hours.

The first narrative arc for Annev is done, but his story is far from over. Master of Shadows can be read as a stand-alone novel if one desires; however, the outcome was a bit of a cliffhanger that and had me yearning for more. I want to know where this story is going. I want to more about Annev and about who accompanies him on the next part of his journey.

I hate that it hasn’t been written yet!

Master of Sorrows is one of the best books I have read this year and a perfect example of grimdark fantasy. It isn’t overly mired in negativity or cruelness. The rawer parts of grimdark and epic fantasy are there, but this story is tinged with hope in the best possible way. It is riveting, exciting, and one that is going to stick with me for a while.

I cannot wait to read the next one, solid five-star novel, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This book will be available in stores on February 25th, 2020.

I can sum up this book in one word: incredible. I am in awe of Justin T. Call’s writing. I opened the book and was immediately drawn into the story. I got major Name of the Wind vibes, which is high praise indeed.

Where should I start? Well, first off, the storytelling is masterful. There wasn’t a single misstep through the whole book. This book follows Annev as he learns who he is, both in a magical sense, and a moral one. Much like Name of the Wind, the book takes its time setting the tone for all that follows. And what follows is fantasy at its finest.

The solid foundation is what took this book a step above many other fantasies I’ve read. Each little tidbit mentioned fits like a puzzle piece, making a full picture. The trials at the beginning of the book were so interesting to read. I loved seeing Annev make decisions regarding his treatment of others. Would he betray them to get ahead? I’ll leave it to you, Reader, to find out.

I loved Sodar. He tried so hard to raise and protect Annev. He made mistakes and chose to be reticent when openness might have served him better, but that’s part of what made him so fascinating. He’s such a realistic character. Although, really, all the characters were utterly believable.

The world building was excellent, the characters fantastic, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes as it continues in the sequel. Basically-wow.

Grab this book the second you’re able to.

I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did. I have been excited by the summary of a book many times lately just to find myself disappointed in the actual book. But this one... I couldn’t put it down once I started reading it! Without any spoilers, the book only takes place over a few days BUT it’s still an amazing story!

For all lovers of epic fantasy - make sure you have a comfortable seat and plenty of time with no interruptions because you are not going to want to stop once you start. This is a remarkable novel; even more impressive when you discover it is Call's debut novel. Annev is raised in a small village geared to the training of Avatars and Masters of Judgement, seekers, and warriors who venture out into the world to track down and confiscate or steal magical artifacts for safekeeping. An ancient war between Gods and men has left the world suspicious of magic and the items magically created for anyone to use are potentially dangerous - or so the party line goes. Nothing is ever as it seems, as Annev fights for his right to move up the ranks and become an Avatar with his friends, hiding his own dark secrets which are under constant threat of discovery. Annev's journey to find his place in the world and discover the truth behind his own story is set against a remarkable world.

It is clear throughout the story that Call has spent an incredible amount of time building his world and creating the backstory of the Gods, the magic system and the societies which inhabit the world. While this first book is mostly restricted to Annev's home village, as he fights to discover his place in the world, it is clear there is much more to be revealed. The intricate systems and world that lies beyond the confines of his village are tantalizing. While there is no rest in the action of the novel, the end will leave you longing for the next installment of the adventure and the wonders yet to be discovered. The complexity and thoroughness of Call's new epic world is a delight for all fantasy fans.