Who here is a fan of Game of Thrones…the BOOK series?
Ever feel like it’s been 68 years for that epic conclusion we’ve all been eagerly anticipating?
Well, stand aside GRRM because Jonathan Maberry has crafted this newly released first novel in a brand new epic adult fantasy series that is going to knock your socks off.

Kagen the Damned is just so much damn(ed) fun to read.

Kagen Vale, captain of the palace guard and protector of the royal children of the Silver Empire, wakes one night to discover his empire in ruins and everyone he was sworn to protect slaughtered by the usurping army of the once-fallen empire Hakkia.
Damned forever, Kagen wanders the strange lands, killing enemies he can while plotting an assassination of the Witch-king of Hakkia.

It’s gory. It’s fierce. It’s not for the faint of heart. The first 100 pages is an action packed thrill ride that will make your heart pound. The world building is phenomenal—it’s vast and Maberry has created chapters that are the best “travel guides”, encapsulating voices of many from all over the map that only add to the dynamic world he’s constructed.
Multiple perspectives and short chapters easily make this almost 600 page book a pleasure to read. Allies and enemies, politics, religion, monsters and maidens, witty dialogue, twists and turns that you won’t see coming. This book has it all.
Kagen the Damned had me laughing out loud, my mouth gaping open in shock, goosebumps (the joyous kind), and filled with just so much damn(ed) excitement.

And I only have to wait six months for book two.

If you love fast-paced adult fantasy series with characters you give a damn(ed) about, then be sure to check out Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry.

Thank you very much to @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book. It’s easily a 5⭐️ read for me.

I'm a sucker for morally gray characters. The first part of this book I was so irritated with Kagen, but I had a feeling he'd would get better and he did! I really like the dark fantasy elements in this. The cliffhanger at the end was brutal, but I can't wait for more!

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and St. Martin's Griffin, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard and he has to protect the royal children of the Silver Empire. When he's attacked and drugged and the entire royal family is murdered, leaving the empire in ruins, his life is abruptly ruined and changed. Thinking himself cursed and damned, abandoned by the gods, Kagen becomes a wanderer, trying to defeat as many enemies as possible, while trying to kill the empire's usurprer, while dealing with strange and powerful magic that returned in his world. Fueled by rage and vengeance, Kagen will try everything in order to get what he wants, venturing into strange lands, finding weird creatures and gathering allies for his plan and mission.

Kagen the Damned is the first installment of an new series of dark epic fantasy novels and this book is absolutely amazing. Dark, sometimes upsetting, filled with war, destruction, death and pain, the story is told by multiple POVs and the author has the amazing talent of characterizing each character with depth and layers, from the main one to the side ones.
The setting is incredible and thrilling and the reader follows, mainly, Kagen in his mission, thiking himself damned but determined to get his revenge and defeat the usurper.
Some scenes could be too much for some readers, since there are many graphic moments, but it didn't disturbed me and I've found this first installment, a dark epic fantasy story, truly interesting, leaving me to need more about this world and its characters.
Definitely recommended it.

There are some aspects of the book I would have preferred to have been a bit less a part of things, (SA is fairly heavy in the first quarter of the book in particular and may be a big trigger if you're a survivor), but I found this book to be an interesting and ultimately satisfying take on sword and sorcery fantasy from an author I've already enjoyed quite a bit of good horror novels from. Kagen is not always an endearing figure, he can even become frustrating at some points, but he's a fair antihero in a world where magic and elder gods figure heavily after an age where these things were stripped away from the kingdom in an attempt to protect its people from the horror of the worst gods and actions. I think I liked our side characters best here, and particularly the slice of life scenes where the magic is coming back in surprising ways. If you want a dark fantasy book that has some of the trappings of Conan, Elric, and the underpinnings of the kingdom in Game of Thrones under the terror of Elder Gods this will do quite nicely.

Kagen the Damned is the first book that I have read by Maberry, and I really hope that he decides to write more adult epic fantasy in the future. Just a warning this book is not for anyone that has a week stomach. There are many graphic scenes.

This story contains multiple POV, thankfully they were different enough that keeping track of who is who was not too difficult. This story starts off with a bang you are thrown straight into the action. Kagen, who is off duty, wakes up hungover only to find his belongings missing and they are under attack. This should not have been possible they should have been able to see a group this large coming. Now Kagen must try to get back to protect the royal family. Kagen is the protector of the Seedlings (children)...I have no idea why that term bothered me so much, every time I read it, I cringed.

You learn early in the story why Kagen considers himself to be Damned. Just a heads up you most likely will not like Kagen especially in the beginning of the book. Strangely for me that did not stop me from continuing. I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that even though Kagen knows he is a strong and can at times be overly confident/cocky he still was affected by the traumatic events that unfolded in the beginning of the story. Kagen has to deal with what happened and shows real emotions and reactions to horrific events. He is not just some tough guy that just brushes it all off and moves on. There is a decent part of the book where he is actively wallowing and/or working though it all just to be able to function again.

"Kagen Vale is Broken but he is not destroyed… even a shattered sword may be reforged and made stronger”

I get that the Witch-king is the big bad in the story, but I really did not like his or anyone in his courts POVs. I mean I really did not like them they made my skin crawl. They were also some of the most horrific scenes in the book.

I was uncomfortable with the relationship/outcome between Rissa and Miri. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Rissa is an adult and Miri is only 15. Rissa just seemed very sketchy, and I just felt like there was always something off. When someone's response is always just trust me, you know something is up. It will be interesting to see the justification of the events in the upcoming books.

Tuke I really like Tuke he is the perfect balance for Kagen. There was just something about him that I really just liked.

I really liked how this story used old religions/lore and even referred to them as Elder Gods. I won't spoil which ones are in the story, but I really liked how it was done and I can't wait to see more of it. I was also impressed how the story addresses how history is written by the winning side and is not usually the full story. This is something that is often forgotten, and I am glad it was worked into the story.

I guessed the big reveal before the end I just wanted them to say it so that I could see if I was right. It was like all the pieces just fell into place. I cannot wait to see what the next installment has instore.

This was not the book for me right now.

I like the world building but found it too graphic for my tastes at this time.

I definitely think others would love this- it is a true fantasy epic but that is just not the genre that I am meshing with at this moment.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review!

Kagen the Damned is a meaty book, 560 pages and chock-full of story.

There are authors who write good stories; they pull you in and create a connection with the protagonist, they are innovative and bring you to a new and exciting place. Then there are authors who write great books; they do all of the things that make a good book and then some more; their supporting characters are given as much attention as the protagonist, they make you run the whole gamut of emotions. They make you tense, laugh, cry, just everything. Jonathan Maberry is one of those authors.

Just read the synopsis, Kagen the Damned is a story of war, death, turmoil, and destruction. Why was I laughing? Because Maberry knows that the story has to be multidimensional; the story and the protagonist must have layers. The secondary characters need and get as much attention to detail as Kagan, their every action adds to the enjoyment of the story.

As a book one, Kagen the Damned did exactly what it should have done: I’m invested, I like the characters (except for the ones I hate), and I want to see the story resolved. Will I read book two, hell yeah! Sign me up now!

Over the past few years, I’ve been avoiding series, I find that they get repetitive after a while. I want to see some change/growth/evolution in my protagonists. There are too many authors who get a good thing going and they just ride that pony for as long as they can. I hope that Maberry can wrap up Kagen’s story in a nice trilogy. A good 1 500 to 2 000 pages in total.

*5 Stars

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry is the first book in a new grimdark horror/fantasy series, and it's a bloody tale. I would recommend it to mature adult readers (probably 21 and over) who are not put off by blood and gore, and who enjoy genre-blending tales.

Worldbuilding is the shining star of the book. The author does a fantastic job of easing the readers into a complex, vast epic fantasy world. His descriptions and imagery are vivid; I never had an issue picturing what was going on (the descriptions were even too vivid at times - I didn’t really need all the pictures of entrails and blood in my head). I was also impressed by the political dynamics that made up the world. Our main character, Kagen, is in physical and emotional agony to learn that he failed his charges. You can’t help but feel for him and what he’s going through. I was confused by Ryssa’s storyline (she seemed way too innocent for such a violent tale) but it made more sense as the book went on.

While the worldbuilding is the highlight of the book, the pacing was a close second. This book is long at more than 500 pages, and books of this size frequently run the risk of feeling even longer and dragging on with lengthy chapters. Thankfully, Mr. Maberry made the choice to shorten the chapters and it worked out well. The short chapters helped keep the pacing up, and I never felt like the action suffered.

This book is bloody, and the author does not shy away from that aspect. Some of the subjects that were covered made this very hard to read (you can check the trigger warnings at the bottom of the review below to get an idea of what I mean). I wish this book had a set of trigger warnings at the beginning (as some authors are starting to do). The action is bloody from almost the first chapter and some readers may struggle as a result.

Altogether, Kagen the Damned was a fairly entertaining read with some minor issues here and there. I might not have been the intended audience, but I still enjoyed most of the book. Be warned! This book does end on a major cliffhanger, so go in prepared for that. I’m curious about what happens next in the story, but I don’t know if I want to read another bloody book so I’m on the fence about getting the sequel Son of the Poison Rose when it comes out in early 2023.

Thank you to the author, the publisher St. Martin’s Griffin, and the team at NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary review copy of Kagen the Damned. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review the book immensely! Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Graphic Violence, Adult Language, Adult Content, Blood/Gore, Rape, Attempted Rape, Domestic Abuse, Animal Abuse, Child Abuse, Murder

I’ve been wanting to try more grimdark., but this book wasn’t for me. I didn’t enjoy the more graphic scenes in the book.

The writing style also didn’t vibe with me, which made the story hard to read.

I was given a free copy of Kagen the Damned by Jonathan (author), St Martin’s Griffin (publisher), and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Kagen the Damned is the first book in the Kagen the Damned series and was published on May 10, 2022. Apologies for the late review.

This review will contain no spoilers.

Trigger Warning: cannibalism, violence directed toward children, torture, and detailed description of violence

I would characterize Kagen the Damned as dark fantasy with a bit of epic fantasy or high fantasy because of the multiple settings, several characters, and a heavy dose of magic.

The story takes place in several locales such as a large city similar to what a city would in the pre-industrial age, a large boat, a lush and tropical island, and a tower.

Magic is very critical in the story. At the beginning of the story, a nation, whose people used magic and its religion was influenced by magic, was under the heel of the empire for a thousand years. The empire forced the nation and its people to stop using magic. As a result, magic disappeared from the world until the new leader of that nation rose to power and invaded and controlled all the major cities and countries over one night.

The main character is a knight-type character who was drunk on the night of the invasion and something horrific to the ruling family which caused him to enter a deep and dark spiral fueled by alcohol. I had a hard time connecting with the main character until the halfway through the story because I did not find him compelling or interesting. I was more interested in his compatriots and the backstory of his family, particularly his older brother.

The story moved at a steady pace and there were not any dead spots or the sluggish middle. The issue I had was that I did not see how the story featuring the nun and the young woman had any connection to the larger plot about the disgraced knight-type character, and I was taken out of the story on more than one occasion when reading about the nun and the young woman.

The part of the story that took place in the tower was interesting, but similar to the part featuring the nun and young woman, I did not see how it was tied to the major plot arc.

I believe Kagen the Damned is the first dark fantasy novel that Mr. Maberry wrote and it is clear that he has the chops because he created an engaging and compelling world.

Even though I had some qualms with Kagen the Damned, I think I would be interested in reading the next story in the series.

I rate Kagen the Damned 3 stars.

I would like to thank Mr. Maberry, St. Martin’s Griffin, and Net Galley for the free E-ARC.

Kagen Vale wakes up with a hangover. He is the captain of the Silver Empire’s Imperial Guard Upon waking he finds out that the Hakkian army killed his family and the Empress. Gethon Haklan, the Hakkian Witch-king, has won. No one can resist his dark magic. He prepares for a coronation to gain official control of the Empire. Kagen flees certain death but falls into despair and drowns his sorrows in alcohol. Meanwhile, magic returns and changes everything. (Magic was forbidden). Underground revolutionaries search for ways to overthrow Gethon Haklan. Now, vowing vengeance against the Witch-king, Kagen embarks on a quest to climb the Tower of Sarsis and retrieve a fabled artifact. Why? Will this artifact help?

This is the first of a series. The author creates characters he manipulates in the world as he creates with figures from European folklore and monsters from the Cthulhu myths. Kagen realizes that things aren’t always as they appear. The novel’s ending struck me so that I can’t wait for the next book!

Great epic fantasy!
After falling down the YA fantasy rabbit hole a couple years ago, and outgrowing it, this was the PERFECT one to get me back fully into the epic fantasy genre!
The author does a great job of helping you understand the characters and then seeing their development was well done.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the eArc for Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Mayberry. I had never read Jonathan Mayberry before. I know he is well known for being a prolific writer in the Horror and thriller genres. I didn't know what to expect from this book but the opening quarter of the book was absolutely gripping. The reader is thrown into the story through the eyes of Kagen as he roused from sleep as the city he is sworn to protect is under attack. I found this book enjoyable to read and the short chapters made the book a real page turner, There are many POVs and characters and like many such novels the reader will find some story lines more enjoyable to read than others. I am looking forward to Book 2: Son of the Poison Rose.

I absolutely ADORED this book. I was unsure what to expect going in being familiar with other works in other genres by the author but what I found inside the cover was delightful. Kagen is definitely a character that I will be following throughout their adventures in the series.

I truly enjoyed this book. It has been a long time since I sat down and read an epic fantasy book of this caliber. I was a little bit leery of it at the start, but Kagen starts to grow on you as a reader. His arch from being an honorable defender to someone who feels the gods have turned their back on them, to realizing that while he still feels he is damned maybe not everything that happened that night is fully his fault. I just think that it really shows how perception and time can truly change how you look at things if you have the right people supporting you. I also loved the twist at the end. I think that it puts you in the perfect starting place for the second book. I do really wonder what the tapestry’s magic was. I feel like the way it was presented making it just a tapestry that allows him to travel to the capitol so quickly just isn’t its only abilities.
Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

On paper, this should be one of my favorite books. Epic grimdark fantasy using the gods of Lovecraft and Chambers? It would be difficult to come up with a concept that sounds more my jam.
Plus, throw in the fact that this was written by Jonathan Maberry, whose Pine Deep books are some of my favorite horror novels of all time?
Unfortunately, though, this book has some issues that are difficult to ignore. First, the main characters aren't especially likeable, Kagen especially. I found myself much more interested in what the villains were doing than the heroes.
Two, there is some serious deus ex machina plot stuff that happens just before the final showdown that was way too convenient.
And three, it leans way, way too hard on grimdark elements. I want a dark, gritty world, but I don't need rape and torture referenced in almost every chapter. The weight of that awfulness seems trivial when it is constantly brought up, and I don't ever want rape or torture to feel trivial.
So, ultimately a book with some incredible ideas, thrilling action, solid twists and turns, but one with some big flaws. And one that is DEFINITELY not for all readers.

Kagen the Damned is the first installment in author Jonathan Maberry's Kagen the Damned series. The book is being sold as The Witcher meets Game of Thrones. Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard, specifically charged with protecting the royal children of Gessleyn, 89th queen of the unbroken line of the Silver Lands. He's also the son of the famous Poison Rose who is one of the deadliest women in the Silver Empire. But one night while off duty, Kagen is drugged by a woman in a tavern and left weaponless.

The Silver Lands are quickly overrun, and the entire royal family is killed and burned as a sacrifice to the dark gods of the immortal Gethon Haklan, the Hakkian Witch-King. The once-thriving kingdom is in ruins, and the people are enslaved. Kagen manages to survive by killing an unkillable killing machine with banefire. Kagen doesn't blame the Witch-King or his Raven Warriors who seem to have come out of nowhere and quickly suppressed any threat they may face. He blames himself for allowing himself to be put into a situation where he broke a promise to the Queen to protect her children at all costs.

With his oath broken, and the Gods seemingly turning their backs on him in his time of need, Kagen becomes a wanderer, working odd jobs and trying to take down as many of his enemies as possible. While on the road falling deeper and deeper into malaise and alcoholism, he vows to kill as many of the Hakkian enemy as possible, with the end goal of killing the Witch-King of Hakkia before he can be coronated as emperor. In in a world where forbidden magic is now reawakening and strange things are happening, Kagen isn't the only one Maberry sets on a journey.

There is also the nun Miri and a fifteen year old girl Ryssa who manage to escape the capital city and find themselves in a far off land where things are a bit confusing as well as hinky. What role they will eventually play, really doesn't concern me at this point. Meanwhile, Kagen's only allies are Filia, a female warrior who is Unbladed or Outcast who is on a mission for Mother Frey, Tuke, a man who is as dangerous as Kagen is but without a hoard of enemies wanting his head, as well as Mother Frey who has been around for centuries and can be described as an inquisitor who missed magic making a return to this world and now must fix her error.

Who is the Witch-King that came from nowhere and is so enigmatic with a veil covering his face? Are any of Kagen's brothers still alive, and if so, where are they? Can Mother Frey overcome her errors in not seeing the return of the Witch King? Even though the book ends on a stunning cliffhanger, with a revelation that I think readers will see coming, the epilogue opens a path to the sequel to this book. This book is really dark, and bloody, and at times, Kagen isn't all that likable. He's literally given signs via flashbacks that should have clued him in on what's happening and who is responsible. This is also a new world now that has vampires, and fairies, and even werewolves. Anything is possible with magic roaring back.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy.

Most of Jonathan's books that I've read have been great. He's really got a sense of how to build up characters and their motivations in a way that is meaningful and compelling, so that even though, taken as a whole, a lot of the overarching plots of his novels are relatively uncomplicated, the way that he navigates through them is often poignant in ways you wouldn't expect from typical novels in this genre (violent horror or action/adventure). Maybe it's the juxtaposition that does it.

This time, the author tries his hand at fantasy, and honestly this one didn't really do it for me. I think it's mostly to do with my preconceptions going into it though. When I read the synopsis talking about a warrior taking up his blades for vengeance my first thought was:

"Awesome, so we're going to get a lot of technically detailed blade combat like we did in (I believe it was) Assassin's Code in the hospital and the final fight afterward, right?"

But we don't. Instead, initial combat is described relatively passively in comparison, while the initial chapters of the novel take us through our hero losing everything he cares about which is the inciting incident that kicks off the rest of the story.

And then Kagen spends the next ten or so chapters moping about while we jump around to other points of view. You get the impression that the main story sort of comes to a grinding halt right after the initial battle while the stage is set in other areas, and that combined with my initial disappointment surrounding the combat scenes made it difficult to push forward. Of all of the authors varied protagonists over the years and series, this one felt to me the most one-dimensional.

The thing is, we as the reader can't really put ourselves in Kagen's shoes right from the start, because we don't really have reason to care about any of the characters that he's lost, so the subsequent chapters spent exploring Kagen's grief and loss come off as annoying rather than anything integral to the character.

It also didn't help that seemingly every punishment meted out by the big bad in this story involved some sort of pillage, rape, and mass execution of countless ancillary characters, and providing something for the main character to get to put a stop to between bouts of self-loathing in the early goings. The reason it sticks out here in particular for me (as opposed to any other grimdark book I've read) is because it came off as being dark and grim just for the sake of darkness and grimness, and the implicit assumption of this kind of thing being the de facto standard in sword and sorcery novels, so of course it must be present here in ample quantities as well.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is - in contrast to a lot of Maberry's other work - the violence and darkness here, much like the initial inciting incident for Kagen, doesn't feel like it serves a purpouse other than to set up the bad guy as being the bad guy. It doesn't feel earned, in the same way that Kagen’s grief doesn’t feel earned, and because of this it was hard to shake the feeling that there wasn't anything that makes the antagonist the antagonist except for what he does to other people.

All of these things combined meant that this book, for me, just sort of failed to launch. I really don't think this reflects poorly on the author at all - I loved last year's <i>Ink</i>, for example. It's just that this particular book didn't do too much for me, despite its redeeming qualities. For example, nobody really does cosmic horror like Maberry, and to find that he's taken that particular trope and transplanted it to a more typically fantasy setting was a welcome surprise. The actual build up of the plot and associated side stories and characters are well done - when they get going. It was enjoyable to see all the disparate plot threads come together at the end, along with the associated progression of character desires and motivations, another thing that Maberry is good at. It's just that the rough start - and my own misconceptions going into the novel - sort of tainted it for me.

I think if any of what I've said above - the vengeance/redemption ark, the horror themes, the shifting points of view to characters that are actually meaningfully different from eachother - interest you, and you can look past what I've mentioned above, you will enjoy this novel. Just don't go in expecting one thing and being disappointed when you get something else. I think that - if and when the next novel comes out - I'll try and re-read this one and see if I feel the same way afterward. There's enough here after the fact to make me willing to give the second entry a shot. Or a stab, rather.

Grimdark sword and sorcery fantasy with an engaging main character. An entertaining introduction to the series, I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Netgalley*

As a long time epic fantasy fan I went in with the highest of hopes. Kagen Vale, protector of the royal children (fondly referred to as seedlings) wakes to find the place burned and the royal family slaughtered. Kagen immediately vows to exact revenge on the evil forces who have seized the capital as well as drown in a pit of booze and self loathing. It felt a lot like this book started at the climax, and the rip roaring pace never slowed.

This gruesome dark fantasy serves up seemingly constant but extremely engaging fight scenes a la Joe Abercrombie. What it lacked in character development, it made up for in action packed pacing and sheer grit.

It took me some time to get into the story, but once the pieces fell into place I was absolutely hooked. If you have a bit of patience and can make it through the strange and disjointed POV shifts, this book is well worth the read. I’m already holding my breath for the sequel.

“The fates move the pieces around the board with a purpose, even if it feels strange and random” is a very accurate (and self aware) quote that perfectly describes this book.