The story follows three characters through three very different parts of one world to uneven effect. Evie and the Savage Legion of the title have all the excitement and military action (rebellion!) and keep the story moving along. Lexi tries to work and live within the world of common society and thus reveals most of the world building of the story, and unfortunately it is a bit of a slog. Slider is primary to the most imaginative and original part, a paraplegic street child kidnapped to an isolated wonderland of puzzle and problem-solving. The three stories are truly related, but so far in theory only, so the pace is off; you're reading three separate books at the same time. Perhaps more editing might have helped. It just didn't hold my interest, and I doubt I will follow up with the next in the series.

I want to start by thanking Netgalley for a chance to read this title through an e-arc. I don't want to give away too much from my review so I'm going to keep things fairly vague.

I have very conflicting feelings about this title. The beginning is slow and it really takes a while for the book to get going. I felt lost for the first 20% or so, but around the 25% mark things start to really take off and I found the story really engaging. It was really once Evie was in the legion that the plot really started to take off. The savages were great characters, the battle scenes were well done, and the slow growth of the rebellion is excellent. Evies story was by far the most interesting, though some of the side stories were good. I really like Sliders story. Her growth as a character and her growing knowledge and self confidence were well done. I was uninterested in the others.

Even though they sort of play into the main conflict, they really just felt like filler and were dragging out the story. The middle 75% was great but the last 5% really frustrated me. The novel doesn't really have a conclusion so much as it sets up a sequel. This set up isn't bad, but I don't feel very compelled to read the sequel and I really felt like the end just fell flat.

Bits of this book really shine and I couldn't put it down in the middle section, but the begging and the end really dragged. Some of the characters were phenomenal and others felt flat. I think if the the plot had just followed Evie and maybe Slider I would have given it a much higher rating. But as things stand, 3 out of 5 stars.

This book started off a 3-4 star story, good but maybe not great but it kept building and growing as the story went on and the characters evolved and I WANT MORE!

The world building was amazing and complex this book is very well written. The female characters could use some deeper development but the book is still excellent. However, the development of the female characters would really enhance this book by making it easier to connect and become invested in them. The flow of the story is excellent and kept my attention from start to finish. I definitely recommend this one.

I received this book from NetGalley and Gallery Books for an honest review.
#SavageLegion
#NetGalley

I really enjoyed Matt Wallace's Sin du Jour series and remembered his mentioning that he was crafting an epic fantasy book last year. I had kinda forgotten about it so was pleasantly surprised to see it available soon! I read the ARC and was impressed with the world building and the point of view chapters.
The book follows three women suddenly thrust into new roles in the society they live in. The society is very clean and orderly. All citizens have roles in the society and all have food and shelter provided. The government is based on merit, those who can provide services receive merit and better accommodations, food, etc. This was established after the overthrow of an aristocracy. But under this veneer there are many cracks in the veneer of this "perfect" society.
One of the protagonists is thrust to serve in the Savage Legion (the book is named after) a brutal piece of the war machine of the government in their battle against their neighbors. Another is a street urchin who gets taken to a mysterious tower where others with various maladies and permanent injuries appear to design, build and plan the infrastructure of the society and she discovers new avenues and strengths within herself that she didn't know were possible. The third is the wife of the chief representative of the poor and vagrants who live in the slums of the capital and who has recently disappeared after looking into mysterious goings on with those in the slums. She is accompanied on her quest to find him and investigate the reason for his disappearance by their genderless guard/servant who is loyalty is matched only by their ability to fighta nd protect.
I found the evolution of these women in their new roles to be exciting as they grew and changed to match the challenges they faced. The three completely different places they begin all move towards discovering many of the same troubling truths about their society and how it functions. I really enjoyed this book and am very much looking forward to seeing more of this world and series as the story continues!

This novel is one of the best I’ve read this year! The characters are so dynamic yet relatable. I loved the flow of the story. It held my attention the whole time.

The world was beautiful, complex, and obviously created by a very skilled mind. The mainly female-led cast felt hollow and like a stretch for the author, as if they were afraid to show emotion or didn't know how to portray the female mind. Could be. I wanted more from them, more depth, more longing, more anger, more love. Give me more!

I really enjoyed this story. I know other reviewers were bothered by the violence, but I've always preferred grimdark so it didn't bother me. At times it felt like the author was pushing a progressive agenda a little too hard, but I was able to look past it most of the time and just have fun reading the story. I felt the characters were unique, entertaining, and engaging which is always important. And although it took a while for the story to unfold, I felt it was worth the effort. I intend to read the next novel in the series to see where it goes.

A good premise and a solid story, with interesting characters and world-building. The writing style is a bit dry, but I powered through it and ended up enjoying the book.

I confess to a liking for books of this type and don't tend to read them looking for deep meaning and allegories.

Yes the book took a little while to really get started and the different chapters jumping through the main characters was at times frustrating as more of a particular storyline at that point would have been good.

It was also apparent by about halfway through that this was going to be the first part of a sequence of books as it seemed very unlikely that this saga would be brought to a conclusion before this book ended.

Would I read the next book in the series? Yes as I'd like to see how the characters develop. Would I have this on my Must Buy list, Possibly not but I'd happily read and review the next chapter.

DNF at 45%. This wasn't horrible, but it wasn't anything special. It seems to be sort of an attack on socialism/communism within a fantasy world. The nation of Crache has eliminated the ruling class and replaced it with a governing council of people who provide useful services to the nation. Everyone is supposed to get an equal share, but of course as people have come to power they have solidified their hold. They have been expanding the country and spinning the story of what is happening as a reaction to their neighbor's aggression. The Savage Legion that lends it name to the book is an army of cast offs and unwanteds, and also inconvenient people the government wants disappeared. The story follows a few characters who are involved in uncovering this program by the government to round up the poor and send them to this Savage Legion.
It was fairly standard, but I was put off by the constant "Look, it's a transgender character who is awesome but people hate them because they aren't binary, nyah" It felt less natural and more of a gimmick to make sure the book got published. I made it as far as I could but after the umpteenth encounter where the fantasy cops harassed the transgender character I was done. You can find more interesting political fantasy intrigue other places.

This story is tight! With a vast array of unique characters and fun storytelling I had a hard time putting this one down. Intrigue and corruption play hand hand with one another to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. I loved how Wallace's world takes a tired and overused political background and took the initiative to make it a more intimate story by focusing on the characters.

Writing politics is a tricky and complex feat. I would argue that this is Wallace's strongest point in the debut of his trilogy. With fast paced shifting between characters and well adapted delving into their own experiences I can say this is one polished book.

My only complaint lies in the fact that there are some messages in the story that are irrelevant and annoyingly out of place. To have issues or parts of a character's background mentioned over and over again without any context or extrapolation is simply pushing an agenda and detracts from the story. These issues were only minor but still distracted me from properly respecting the setup of part of Wallace's world.

An interesting premise, but I simply could not stay engaged in the prose. It felt dry and times, and encounters forced. I enjoyed characters on a surface level, but did not feel encouraged enough by the story itself to continue reading. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a chance with this books.

Wow - Matt Wallace's first venture into epic fantasy is a tour de force, bringing together visceral combat, appeals to higher understanding and emotional attachment with the flair we've begun to expect from his Sin du Jour series. Weaving together a story from the viewpoints of three different characters, he's created a world that teems with potential; whether for collapse or stability, it depends on who you cheer for. Wallace's background in combat shines in this novel, the action feeling brutal, passionate, and realistic and leaving you with the impression that he's recording, rather than creating the scene. He slowly lowers the reader into the world, allowing you to glean bits and pieces of the creation and operation of the civilizations of his world, before asking you to decide what is more important - stability or freedom. Finally. his characters feel real - their desires and emotions carry their actions forward, as each's decisions drive their growth and push the plot towards an inevitable climax. I've read all the Sin du Jour books, and plan on eagerly following the Savage Rebellion series.

Savage Legion by Matt Wallace, a good premise that just lacked the ability hold me in thrall. I think it does have potential and that others will enjoy it, simply wasn't for me. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book.

With exciting prose and sympathetic characters, Savage Legion follows a group of misfits called Savages, trained to fight and die for the empire. When one Savage decides to fight against her captors, the empire will tremble. This is a great novel for fans of high fantasy!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I'm sorry I couldn't make it through this. I found the prose to be extremely dry and mechanical and lacking an approachable voice. Couple that with the inexplicable use of present tense, and the whole thing reads like a 500+ page movie treatment. Sorry.