This book was a different for me. I couldn't get into it at all. This was my first Jonathan Mayberry book but after starting this one I think his books just aren't for me.

I liked his Pine Deep series (although it’s been close to 15 years since I read it), and the prospect of dark fantasy mixed with cosmic horror really appealed to me, but I DNF’d it once as a wrong-time, wrong-place, wrong-mood e-ARC, so I thought I’d give it another chance as a trade paperback (as I tend to enjoy physical reads more).

Spoiler alert, it didn’t make a difference.

This is everything I find distasteful about grimdark. It’s sensationalized violence that sees despicable things done to men, women, and children. If there were more than 2-3 pages that went by without a depiction of or reference to women being raped, I must have missed it. Also, I get that Kagen is the hero, but how and why he is the sole survivor of the opening massacre is never even questioned, much less addressed, and the woe-is-me drunkenness gets tired real quick.

And don’t get me started on the exposition! It seemed like every conversation was just there to convey awkward, forced, bland exposition – especially when women were involved. I was clinging to hope that Miri and Ryssa might become protagonists of note, both to counter the misogynistic misery and drunken despair, but they’re wasted – and worse, misused. Just not for me.

Wow. I've read Jonathan Maberry before, and always enjoy his books. But this one, just wow. It had everything, great characters, great plot/story, and great pacing. Didn't want it to end. Thank goodness it is a series, and will be starting the next book right away.

*Post will be published on 6/8/24

I originally requested this ARC because I was curious about the author after reading one of his short stories. I was really hoping to like this book, but I was unable to finish it. 

Honestly, I'm not even sure how to comment on the characters and plot because I didn't get very far into the story. I really tried but the plot was so slow and there was so much violence (especially sexual assault). 

It felt like the book's goal was to capture our attention through pure shock, but it really had the opposite effect on me. I couldn't stand so many mentions of rape, mutilated bodies, and violence in general. It's not the fact that these things were included in the story that bothered me, it was how the plot went nowhere and every page was saturated with violence. We were just bombarded with the cruelty of the invaders over and over. At some point, enough is enough. 

I didn't feel like Kagen was moving toward anything. It took so long just to move onto the next day. By then, I had already lost interest. 

Unfortunately, I won't be revisiting this one. I'd caution those interested in checking this out that the story contains many scenes that mention/describe rape and violence against women, which could be triggering.

This book just drops you into the world running! You don't have any time to breath before you're in the middle of action. I only figured it the twist right before it was revealed. The pacing was a bit weird for me, but overall I really enjoyed this book and plan on living up the next one too.

If you're looking for a triple whammy then look no further- Kagen the Damned was simultaneously a classic fantasy/ horror novel with adventure and a healthy dose of revenge!

Kagens progression and growth throughout the book was my favorite part, losing your empire and so many loved ones is tough but his journey on the path of revenge was exhilarating. You do have to power through a lot because he self-sabotages and is kinda douchy for the middle portion of the book but eat some cheese, drink some wine, and power through!

The Cthulhu- worshipping cult adds just the right amount of mystery to leave readers guessing.

I don't want to get into too many details but that ENDING!!!!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for my honest review. You can follow me on IG @JessicaReadsIt.

4.5 I really enjoyed this dark fantasy and really enjoyed the horror aspects throughout this book. This story follows Kagen a knight who is sworn to protect the seedlings ( royal children) that is till the Hawkkians raid the city killing the empress and her family as well as Kagens parents and brother. The Hawkkians a small nation that was suppressed by the silver empire rise up and conquer the silver empire forcing the peoples life’s to change and Kagen to swear to get vengeance.

This book I found to be fast paced and I really enjoyed the snarky morally corrupt main character overall. I will say there were points where the constant complaining got annoying but it was fitting for the character.I will say this book is pretty dark and some scenes were just brutal and gory so if you have any triggers I’d recommend checking for trigger warnings. I already have the second book in the series reserved and cannot wait to read it. I would say this would be great for fans of Nevernight or Red Sister. I would like to thank the publishers and net galley for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

It's a darker world, built on a foundation of the different Lovecraftian mythos, and it starts out with the fall of an empire, and the death of a helluva lot of people significant to the world and to the main character, Khagen. He wallows for a bit, and the story wallows with him, but it picks up speed, and by the time you get into the latter third of a book you're barreling down a track to an amazing climax. There's a few twists at the end that work well.
Full review on YouTube

I've tried to read this book a few times and it doesn't seem to stick with me. I definitely believe this is a case of the reader and not the book.

I read and loved Jonathan Mayberry's Rot and Ruin series so I was really excited to read this. It is very different than the zombie dystopian style I am used to from him but I still really enjoyed it. I will admit that there are a lot of things I still have questions about, but knowing there is another book makes me content to see if those are answered later. There are some spicy scenes in the book, but they were fairly short and could be skipped entirely if wanted. Honestly they kind of just felt like they were thrown in because fantasy with spice is such a big draw these days, honestly I feel like they would have been better left out. But overall a great book and I will be reading the other books in the series.

This is a story about damnation.

I love a good grimdark & I’ve loved the author’s other works, so I was super excited for this one. This was an interesting read! I would’ve liked more action, but I think that there was a focus on world/character building to set the scaffolding for an ongoing series. Unfortunately, the amount of sexual violence was off-putting for me, but in fairness any number of rape scenes is too many for me personally. Overall, a solid pick if you enjoy grimdark & don’t mind some building.


Thank you St. Martin's Griffin & Netgalley!

Great fantasy novel, I really enjoyed it! The world building was so good and I felt like I was there the entire time I read. The cliffhanger killed me but looking forward to reading the next one!

I loved this beginning to an epic dark fantasy series!

I loved the author's world building and how the story really felt alive, as if I was experiencing it rather than just reading it. I also really loved the arc of the character, and how he grew into a redeemable character with depth.

Kagen the Damned was a really wonderful new take on the fantasy novel. I think Maberry has a history of putting out really great stories and his most popular do focus on the flawed and dark protagonist who happens to also have great skill in killing. Seeing this novel as his first attempt at traditional fantasy both excited me and worried me, but Kagen was a beautifully designed character and the world building in this novel was fantastic. He is, of course, just the fantasy version of Joe Ledger, and that is both a good and bad thing.

I received an advance reader copy of Kagen the Damned through Net Galley, the publisher and author, in return for an honest review.
I must say at the outset that I did not and could not finish the book. I was aware that the Author, Jonathon Maberry, is primarily known for his novels about the world of monsters, creatures, the undead and other dark creatures, but I thought that “Kagen” was going to be was going to be a change for him - a novel, of heroic fantasy. It is a fantasy, but a grim, violent , bloody one.
It begins with Kagen waking up from a night of drunken debauchery to the clamor of a battle going on in the streets outside the bar/ brothel where was sleeping. Battle it was. The capital city had been invaded by the hordes of an evil empire long defeated and believed to had lost all its arcane menace, it they are back, with vengeance. Using terrible new weaponry and physically enhanced warriors, the soldiers of the Evil King swarm the unaware defenders of the city, leaving piles of bodies in the streets.
Kagen , sworn to defend the priestess/ heirs , tries to fight his way to the castle, only to find he is too late. The book has an electrifying beginning with Kagen, sort of a super soldier himself able to slay multiple foes with dagger. It seems that the Witch-King who was long dead is back and that the black magic and ancient daemon gods long buried in the seas and under mountains are reborn.But the pace slows as the author fills the next 100 pages or so with exposition . I struggled to keep going with the book, but the farther I read, the more I realized that I was in the wrong genre for my tastes. I enjoy fantasy novels, but this was more horror than heroic. I should warn unsuspecting readers that the book contains blood- drenched violence and sexual violence.
Summary- not for me, but that is only my opinion. For a person who enjoys monsters, black magic, and 300 pound fanged, armor- wearing dogs, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This book will be right up the alley of Game of Thrones fans. From page one you are thrown into the world and feel immersed. You don't get much room to breath at the beginning as you are immediately trying to figure out what's going on from the main character's POV, and then are in a battle. The descriptions of the battle and brutality of it are very detailed and keep you in the moment. Unfortunately this book was just not for me. I like new things in fantasy, not the same tropes over and over again, especially when they include brutality to women. Which is why I think Game of Thrones readers will like this one.

This novel was much more graphic/dark than I had initially anticipated. I also think that a lot of scenes/events were drawn out more than what was needed and a lot of characters were introduced in detail with no follow up on their story line later in the book.. I also personally didn't love the MC, Kagen, and found his whining and self pity infuriating at times.

I don't understand how this book does not have more 5 star reviews. I loved it - at times it may have slightly dragged. But I put all other books on hold to finish it.
The friendships, dark humor, desperate thrist for revenge reminded me so much of The Princess Bride.
Kagen is drugged - only to wake with a raging headache. The sounds of swords clashing - somehow he missed the Hakkian invasion. With the use of magic and mercenaries, the Hakkians defeat the Silver Empress.
After centuries of oppression, the Yellow King claims the throne. And Kagen is damned for his failure.
He jouneys and drinks among the kingdom, desperate for a purpose. For revenge.
I cannot wait for the next book!

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

This is the first installment in a new dark epic fantasy series and boy is it dark. This book really does not hold back with descriptions of the violent nature of war, so if you get squeamish reading about graphic violence, this book may not be for you. Definitely look up trigger warnings before starting Kagen the Damned.

That being said, I really enjoyed this. I loved Kagen’s growth throughout the first installment and how he’s working to redeem himself. The first third of the book, I was not sold. Kagen spends the entire time drunk and feeling sorry for himself for something that happened that was out of his control. But after he started to clean himself up, I was hooked.

The action sequences were done exceptionally well. I could really picture all of the movements and fighting styles that Maberry tried to capture. Again, it’s very graphic but it fits with the tone of the book.

I really love that this book made you question who were the ‘good guys’ and who were the ‘bad guys.’ Was the Witch-King justified in overthrowing the empire that was oppressing his people and making their religion illegal to practice? All of our characters are morally gray, as is typical with many grimdark fantasies, and I eat that up. I will definitely be continuing on with the series to find out what happens.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin, and Jonathan Maberry for an e-arc of Kagen the Damned in exchange for an honest review.