Kagen the Damned starts a new epic grimdark fantasy series and boy, does it start intense and bloody right from the beginning. I don't read a ton of grimdark but the body count and slayage in the first 15 chapters is high! So be prepared for epic amounts of blood and body parts.
Kagen Vale is a warrior and captain of the palace guard for the Silver Empire and in charge of the protection of the Empresses children. He awakens from a night off duty to find the city and palace have been invaded by the Witch-king of Hakkia, an enemy long thought destroyed. And the Witch-king has brought magic back to the world. Kagen flees and eventually finds two old allies who help him begin his plan for vengeance.
After reading 25%, I truly wasn't sure I could like Kagen. Epic drinking and self-loathing really started to drag a bit, but I was glad I kept going. Once Kagen meets up with Filia and Tuke the story really starts happening. All the information about magic, his brother Herepath, and what the church had done to the Hakkians to suppress all forms of magic kept me interested. I enjoyed the other POV with Miri and Ryssa and their journey to Tull Yammoth. Mother Frey is also a terrific character. Once the story expands the magic and mythology is really where it took off for me and made me glad I finished the book. I will certainly be looking forward to the next book in the series.

3.75/4 stars
ARC provided by St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.

Title: Kagen the Damned
Author: Jonathan Maberry
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Sworn by Oath
Kagen Vale is the trusted and feared captain of the palace guard, charged with protection the royal children of the Silver Empire. But one night, Kagen is drugged and the entire imperial family is killed, leaving the empire in ruins.

Abandoned by the Gods
Haunted and broken, Kagen is abandoned by his gods and damned forever. He becomes a wanderer, trying to take down as many of this enemies as possible while plotting to assassinate the usurper–the deadly Witch-king of Hakkia. While all around him magic–long banished from the world—returns in strange and terrifying ways.

Fueled by Rage
To find the royal children and exact his vengeance, Kagen must venture into strange lands, battle bizarre and terrifying creatures, and gather allies for a suicide mission into the heart of the Witch-king’s empire.

Kings and gods will fear him.

This book took me a long time to read. Like, two entire weeks. The different cultures were so vivid and realistic, and I very much enjoyed that part of the story. The first third or so seemed to drag on a bit, although I liked Kagen enough to keep reading. I liked Tuke and his colorful language the most, though. Kagen spent a solid amount of time drinking himself into oblivion and feeling sorry for himself, so he kind of got on my nerves at times. I’d definitely keep reading this series though, just to find out how it all plays out.

Jonathan Maberry is a bestselling author. Kaen the Damned is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

I'm very conflicted on this one, while the world build and character development were amazing some of the subjects touched on were hard to read.

I feel like there should be trigger warnings for serial assault and animal cruelty.

That being said this bookbwas amazing, it was written in a way that the world felt real.

The torture Kagen went through loosing "the seedlings" his brothers, his friends, his family and then having his gods turn their back on him, my heart broke for him.

Even through all of that you can see that Kagen still has the heart of a warrior, he still wants to avenge the royal family and kill the Witch-King.

The path that Kagen takes has him on both sides of thr law and as much as I enjoyed the dark side of him the righteous Kagen is my favorite.

More surprised me with her strength and determination, I really misjudged her in the beginning.

I will be honest the cliffhanger at the end made me yell no and had me wanting to throw my kindle across the room, but the more I thought about it the more I understood and loved the ending.

This is a masterful tale of magic and mortality, hope and anguish, love and hate all woven together with such skill that I found myself laughing, crying, and everything in between.

Brilliantly written with characters I grew to care for, lands that I dreamed of and magic I was both awed by and terrified of.

It's not often that a book draws a true emotional response from me, this one did and I can't wait for book two.

A lot of mixed feelings about this book. The premise/concept is super promising, but I had some issues with the execution.

There are multiple hints sprinkled throughout the book that leave the reader curious about the history and setting of the world. Multiple varieties of gods with varying levels of corollaries to those known across Earth's history (both true religion and fantasy). The book opens with story driving action and the pacing moves along pretty quickly. The primary adversary is truly daunting and there is very real peril for the characters throughout.

Towards the side that I didn't like quite as much, the frequent scene shifting that I'm honestly not sure even now if they were chronologically sequential or if we were jumping in time as frequently as we were between character views. I can see what the intent was, but I found it to be a little jarring but not necessarily a deal breaker. Scenes of physical intimacy seemed forced and not quite as natural as would be ideal. I can only imagine that's a difficult skill to develop.

In the neither good nor bad category, but worth noting... this would almost definitely fall into the category of dark fantasy and there are sequences that may not be for everyone.

Overall, I am curious about where the series is heading, and what future developments will unfold in this world.

Kagen the Damned is a horror/fantasy that was slow to start but gained momentum after the book’s first quarter. I couldn’t put this book down!!

Kagen the Damned had a unique storyline. Kagen is a place guard and the protector of the royal children. He had gone to town on his day off to enjoy some ale and a wench. But when he wakes up, poisoned, and hears the sound of battle outside, he realizes something is seriously wrong. And it is. The Hakkia, led by their Witch-King, have attacked the Silver City and killed the empress and her children. Kagen arrives in time to see the children’s bodies, brutalized beyond recognition. He also attempts to defend his mother, a warrior known as The Poison Rose but is witness to her death. Kagen then has a vision where his gods turn their backs on him and damn him. That pushed Kagen to start drinking heavily and whoring his way around the countryside while avoiding the deadly Ravens (who are the Witch-King’s assassins). Can Kagen pull himself out of his despair and exact revenge on the Witch-King? Can he redeem himself?

There is another storyline running in tandem with Kagen’s. Fifteen-year-old Ryssa, an alocyte with The Garden, and twenty-year-old Miri, a nun with The Garden, run through the Silver City, looking for an escape route. Finding it in underground tunnels, they soon meet up with pirates taking them to a haven. But, Ryssa starts noticing that not all is what it seems with Miri and the crew. And when she finds out where they are heading, she is doubly sure that something will happen to her. What is going on? Can Ryssa trust her instincts, or are they wrong?

I am going to warn you about trigger warnings. They are rape, attempted rape, talk of rape, domestic violence, child abuse, animal abuse, gore, and murder. If any of these trigger you, I strongly suggest not reading this book.

I felt awful for Kagen and didn’t blame him for his actions during the book’s first 30-40%. How would you have acted if an invading force gruesomely murdered everyone you loved (family, friends, coworkers)? And then you find out that the gods you have dedicated your life to have turned their backs on you? My answer: The same way. He had a combination of survivor’s guilt, PTSD, and shame that he couldn’t save the children. What broke my heart the most about that part of the storyline was his anguish about not being able to save the children. Now, saying that, it did seem like the storyline stalled a tiny bit while Kagen was in his depression. When Tuke came on the scene and forced Kagen to come out of his depression, the book picked back up. From that point on, Kagen had a purpose: kill the Witch-King.

Ryssa was almost too innocent to be a part of this book. I got why the author wrote her the way he did but still. It wasn’t until she and Miri got to the island that I began to understand that she had a part to play in Kagen’s storyline and that her innocence was a considerable part of it.

The Witch-King was one of the more gruesome villains that I have read. He gave me shivers every time he made an appearance in the book. His end game was to become Emporer, and I was curious to see if that would happen.

The fantasy angel was wonderfully written. Kagen the Damned is a dark fantasy, and oh boy, did it live up to that genre. This was also one of the few books I have read that mentioned the Elder Ones (Cthulhu and Hastur). It made the book more enjoyable for me to read.

The author wonderfully wrote the horror angle also. This book was like a car accident, I wanted to look away, but I felt compelled to keep looking. I needed to read the next chapter to see what was going to happen and if Kagen would achieve his goal.

The end of Kagen the Damned was interesting. I did figure out who the Witch-King was, and I figured out who his children were early on in the book (well, once they were mentioned). The author dropped enough hints throughout the book that when the reveal happened, I wasn’t surprised. I also wasn’t surprised by what happened with Ryssa and Miri. The author did end the book on a cliffhanger, which I didn’t like, but it did its job. I am going to need to read book 2.

I would recommend Kagen the Damned to anyone over 21. There is graphic violence, graphic violence, and semi-graphic sex scenes. There are also the triggers that I mentioned above.

Grimdark at its best!
This book was immersive from the first page.

Kagen is a Captain sworn to protect the children of the Empress. After a night of off duty drinking, he wakes to find the city has been invaded by the Hakkians.

He has to fight his way to the children. What he finds is gruesome. He is devastated. He has failed.
His oaths are broken and his Gods have turned their backs on him. He is truly damned.

This story is brutal, graphic and very grim. It is also fantastic! The more I read, the less I wanted it to end. I can't wait to see where this goes in the next book. I was very shocked by the ending. I loved it!

This book was fun to read! I'm usually not into much adult fantasy, but this was a nice way to get immersed into it. Not going to lie, getting thrown into the action for 8 chapters made me so confused. I did not know what was going on and that threw me off for a bit. I didn't know the system I was in and the character I was going through this with. All I knew was that he screwed up and he had to fight as a soldier. Getting into the book though, it did feel rather slow to me, like it should not have taken that many pages to get through this first installment, but I went through it. I enjoyed the different storylines, even if I wasn't quite sure why they were there. I liked the different perspectives from this war and this battle.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it was a bunch of fun. The experience of grief and then resilience were beautifully executed. I'm hoping for the best for the second installment!

3/5 stars for a fun fantasy adventure with grief and hope.

**Thank you NetGalley for a free review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily!

I have been in a little bit of a fantasy novel kick lately. I really have to be in the mood for it. Finding that one of my favorite authors had written one made me so happy. This one starts with nonstop action of a kingdom under attack. It’s hard to tell much of the story without telling to much of the story. If you like either the action of a Jonathan Maberry book or fantasy novels, pick this one up.

Unfortunately I can’t finish this book. This was my first encounter with this authors work and definitely is not for me. I’m always open to try new stories out of my comfort zone, but this one here is way too much for myself. Very graphic scenes of sexual violence, this is way to dark and just can’t keep reading.
I have to thank NetGalley and St Martin Press for trusting me with an advance copy of this book, I wish all the success to all the parts involved in this.

Happy reading 🥰

I’ve been reading Jonathan Maberry’s work on and off for years, mostly his Joe Ledger and Rot & Ruin series, though a few others as well, so I was already a fan of his work. One genre I never equated with him however was epic fantasy (forgive me Jonathan if you’ve published other epic fantasy before and I just missed it) so when I saw Kagen the Damned was coming out I was quite intrigued.
This book features an excellent cast of characters (Kagen is one heck of a flawed hero), a rich and interesting world I’d love to spend more time in, some intense action, and a wonderfully twisting storyline. And while this will likely sound strange as the two books aren’t really much alike, the book kept giving me an Empire of the Vampire vibe.
Maberry’s dark fantasy debut has left me incredibly impressed and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an eARC of Kagen the Damned.

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Kagen the Damned is Johnathan Maberry's new dark fantasy series that has hints of the GOT and LOTR. This book was action packed, entertaining, and funny, and with a strong cast of characters. Warning though, the violence/pillaging scenes, particularly in the first half of the book, were very over the top and extremely repetitive. Half of those description could easily be cut out and the reader would still get a sense of the horror that took place. I was surprised by the twist at the end and will absolutely be checking out the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and St, Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book!

Grim, dark, and twisted. An excellently written fantasy that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Kagen the Damned is the first book in a new Grimdark fantasy series Kagen the Damned and it is dark. Kagen was part of the royal guard, trained by his mother the personal bodyguard to the empress he was supposed to protect the royal children. But the city was invaded while he lay drugged in a whore's bed and everything he lived for, all of his honor is lost and Kagen believes he has failed his honor and is damned.

The first 10% of the book is the sacking of a city and it is rough. The Witch-King of Hakkia performed a masterful attack and was able to take over the entire silver empire in one evening. His people were overthrown in much the same way over a thousand years ago when the Silver Empire slaughter many of the Hakkia people, outlawed their gods and magic persecuting and who practiced. The tides have turned and Witch-king has brought magic back to this land and outlawed only the new gods of the Silver Empire.

Kagen takes awhile to warm up to as he spends some time after the events in the beginning of the book lost in a drunken stupor. It takes some hard truths and a new friend, Tuke, to pull him out. Tuke was a much needed breath of fresh air and humor the story really needed. He has a quick wit and way with a turn of phrase that added a little light to all of the dark we had been dealing with. He is a good balance to Kagen and able to help him see a path that might mean vengeance against the Witch-king.

I did like how this book toyed with good and evil. Is the Witch-king really evil for wanting his people to be free to practice their religion and thrive in a world with magic again? Are the monsters of the deep and a dragon evil for needing to feed themselves or looking hideous? Do you blame the nature of an animal for what they need to do to survive or is their a balance that can be reached? There are truths to every story and whoever writes the history gets to decide what those truths are. It is a powerful thing.

I do wish we got to do more with the last dragon on earth currently trapped, that seemed like a quest worth going on. Kagen has magic himself, even though he was taught not to speak of it. He was probably born for this time in the world where new gods are awakening and the Witch-king is trying to bring hell to earth.

There are plenty of interesting characters. The historian selected to rewrite the history of the last 1000 years to make Hakkia the slighted country and the Silver Empire the villain. Mother Frey, once of the religion of the garden, with three different prongs to a plan that might be able to save them from what the Witch-king has in store. There is Ryssa and Mara, nuns escaped from the city on the night it was sacked and now on an Island where they are protected but there is a devious plot that is hidden until near the end. This storyline lost something for me halfway through as women became lovers. Not because they were women, but they were nuns and one nun was well into her 20s while the other was barely 15 it seemed a bit on the edge a pedophilia and blasphemy all at the same time.

This had a lot of great ideas and moments in the book if you can get past how dark it is. I usually don't read anything quite this dark. But I think the plot could have been a little cleaner as there is a ton of stuff going on in the background. I think that will play into the next books of the series but didn't have much to do with what is happening now. The book was engaging though and I did have a hard time putting it down after I got to 35-40% but did debate on DNFing earlier. Maberry is good at writing conflicted characters though and through the multiple PoV was able to develop was layered story.

Thank you netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for a honest review.

I was really excited to delve into this book switch from my reading preferences.

Our MC Kagen just could not catch a break, with his world and everyone he loves crumbling before him.

The book started off well but imo went down from there, so I quickly skimmed the rest.

Mr. Maberry in Kagen the Damned adapts the idea of the Ronin to a Western Fantasy world and does it well. Kagen is not merely tasked with the protection of the royal family in the "Silver Empire." The only thing driving Kagen after this is vengeance and rage. Grimdark fantasy is well served by both the author and this first installment of a new trilogy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an arc of this book!

This book is DARK and VIOLENT. Death galore. There is a lot of drama and rather wonderfully described world building in this novel. If I was better mentally prepared for this book I would have enjoyed it more! I may pick it up again at another time to retry!

Aside from that, there were some pretty graphic scenes which I was not prepared for and emotionally needed to take like 2 weeks to recover but I persevered!

Kagen is the morally grey character we all love but for a good chunk of the book I wanted to smack him for his drunken stupors. For example, one night took 20 chapters. You read that right... TWENTY. So there are some bits that are SLOW.

Overall my feelings of this book are, it's not my cup of tea. There was a bit of the novel that described some heinous things to women, children and men.

I'd say this book would be perfect for fans of Game of Thrones and The Witcher.

Overall- I'd say this is a wonderful introduction to grimdark fantasy for the author!

Triggers/Warnings: graphic violence, rape, adult language, adult content.

I honestly really wanted to like this book but i just could not get into it to save my life. I got about 20% in when I quite. I think there was a lot more information dumping than i originally expected and that normally for me personally hard to get through. With all that said i felt that the written was excellent i got a great grasp of the atmosphere and what the characters were feeling throughout the chapters i did read. I also did enjoy the dual POV as well! I hoping maybe if i can audio this book i can get past the information dump and finish it because i am fairlyinterested in the story

What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry is the start of an epic fantasy journey to overthrow the Witch-King who ruthlessly usurped the Empress of the Silver Empire and brought back the magic to the realm.


Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I admit it. The first thing I noticed about Kagen the Damned is that gorgeous cover. It drew my eye and screamed epic fantasy – how could I possibly resist? I understand from the blurb that there is a big battle, a journey, and my favorite component in a fantasy story – magic. If it ends up having dragons, too, I will have found a new favorite fantasy series. I’m a bit worried about the description that it’s a dark fantasy because dark means such a wide range of things. Overall, I feel that this is just the kind of fantasy that I will happily get lost in. The 560 pages will just fly by, leaving me waiting for book 2.

Actual Reading Experience:
Everything I thought about this book before I started it was absolutely correct. I have found my newest favorite epic fantasy. It has all of the elements that I adore in the genre, maybe even a dragon…shhh…that’s between you and me.

I loved the world-building. It is pure perfection. It drew me in and transported me to a new world, where I happily stayed as the story developed and eagerly sought to get back to when I had to put it down. I can’t say enough about how well-developed this world is and how completely immersive I found it.

The story is so complex but easy to follow and so full of metaphors that I’m still processing them. Magic has been made evil in the Silver Empire, and magic-wielders suppressed. So I knew the people would come back in a big bloody way – our own history tells us that people tend to revolt whenever a way of life is forcibly stopped.

There is a significant amount of death and killing, which constitutes the dark fantasy description. Still, those events are handled in a non-gratuitous manner, so I was easily able to take them. Sexual encounters are treated the same way. They are part of the story but are never written gratuitously, so I never had reason to skim over a scene. I appreciated this very much, and it kept me firmly in the book’s world with my disbelief suspended at all times.

Characters:
At the start of the novel, Kagen Vale is the sworn protector of the royal children. When the empire is usurped in a deadly battle, all the children are lost, and Kagen blames himself even though he is off-duty. The self-flagellation (metaphorically) he puts himself through can get tiring. Sometimes I just wanted to slap him and tell him to find the courage and reconnect with those hero qualities that caused him to be made the children’s sworn protector. He has a whole empire to save from the Witch-King, so there is no time to lose himself in self-pity and a bottle. This flawed hero is frustrating and intriguing, and I can’t wait until he thoroughly reconnects with all those hero qualities that peek out from time to time.

Miri and Ryssa lead a side story to a different land in the empire and another plot to stop the Witch-King. It feels like Ryssa, in particular, has a much more significant role in the story and perhaps in Kagen’s life, but that remains to be seen in future novels. These characters are enigmatic, but I look forward to learning more about them and their side plot.

To Read or Not to Read:
Since the world lost Terry Goodkind, I lost a series of fantasy stories that were always guaranteed to draw me in and take me away. Thanks to Jonathan Maberry and his Kagen the Damned series, that void in my life has been filled. If you love epic fantasy filled with a personal journey, magic, and madness, you will love Kagen the Damned.

Kagen the Damned A Novel by Jonathan Maberry is a suspenseful and action-packed story with compelling characters that kept me turning the pages. If you are looking for a dark epic fantasy with twists, action, and a few surprises, then this is one you may want to check out.

An epic first chapter in an even more legendary story to come. The ancient gods are stirring, the path to victory is fraught, and only one, betrayed and betraying man holds the key to the future of the known world.

Kagen is the epitome of the reluctant hero-his failures have marked him as Damned, but his very soul cries out for vengeance still. Following him on his journey often feels like we are on a fool's errand. But the intrigue around him never stops. So many pieces come together over the course of the story, disparate snatches coalescing into a greater truth. While the snippets of these tales tease, they come to glorious fruition in the end.

The story is far from over, and I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for my free copy. These opinions are my own.