HIGHLIGHTS
~a mountain the size of a world
~bring back the trees
~dreams are dangerous
~a suspicious number of immortals
~I have more questions than I started with and That’s Okay

What the fuck even did I just read???

I don’t know, but folx, it fucking rocked!

There’s no neat little summary I could write that would come close to doing The Failures justice, or give you any real idea of what you’re getting into when you pick this book up. I can’t cut this into bite-sized pieces for you. I can’t simplify it. Any attempt would water it down and be so completely misleading anyway.

So how to tell if you should pick this book up, if no one can describe it properly?

GOOD QUESTION.

This is not the book for you if you desire something light or sweet or easy. But despite the vibes of the cover, I wouldn’t call it grimdark; it’s certainly grim in places, but there’s none of the despair or bitterness I associate with grimdark. (Well, maybe not none. But it’s not fundamental to the story or its world.) If you enjoy stories that juggle multiple plotlines, some of them very far apart from each other, prepare yourself to be challenged keeping up with all the ones Liar weaves; on the other hand, if you get frustrated by major questions going unanswered (and bear in mind this is the start of a series, so we will presumably get answers eventually) Failures might not be your cup of tea. There is an annoying dearth of female characters (one of our POV leads is a woman, and one of the Major Players pulling all the strings is too, but the vast majority of the cast is made up of men); however, all the characters are impressively human (even the barely-human ones), and I was delighted by how often many of them rejected tropes, tradition, and The Way These Things Always Go. Boredom and fuck it are just as likely to be motivators as the desire to save lives or seize power; the wooed absolutely know they’re being played; and one scene in particular had me yelling ‘FINALLY SOMEBODY SAID IT’, because yeah, that is not how love works, actually, you utter twit.

There’s something indescribably epic about the contrast – or combination? – of these really, intensely believable characters in a setting that is so utterly vast and mysterious and full of as many monsters as wonders. The two play off of each other; the characters feel more human by contrast, and the epic scope of this world is underscored by how very relatable most of the leads are. Because the world of the Failures is not relatable. It’s not incomprehensibly alien, either – at least not the parts we see in this first book – but…

What has stayed with me most clearly in the weeks since I finished reading this is the sheer IMMENSITY of this world. Worldbuilding is hard, and complicated, and you can often tell when a sandbox is one an author has been building for years and years before they ever started writing. This is definitely one of those times, as Liar lays out for us in the author’s note (but then, can we trust anything said by a man who calls himself Liar???) This world is sprawling, massive, with many moving pieces. It has a rich history, having gone through multiple Ages that we know about (and probably plenty more that we don’t), all of which have left their mark. There are far more factions than ‘us vs them’, which is what most stories ultimately come down to, whether it’s one country vs another or rebels vs the empire, etc. There are multiple magics. Everyone has their own goal or goals and most directly go against everyone else’s. There are entire civilisations that don’t know about each other’s existence! Which I guess is something that happened in our world too, but is more noteworthy here because the setting is a mountain. Singular. All these characters, plotlines, and kingdoms exist on one mountain.

But it’s a mountain the size of a planet. Hence why most of them have no idea the rest exist.

The Failures isn’t Weird Fantasy – there’s nothing experimental about the writing style, the prose isn’t arranged in spirals and other strange shapes on the page, and there’s no mind-fuckery à la Vellum by Hal Duncan or Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera. But it is brilliantly, delightfully weird, with something new and unexpected everywhere you look. A mountain the size of a planet! A world without a sun! A maybe-goddess sending dreams to children because…why? Howling rabid monster-babies. Silver fire. Assassins whose souls have been torn in three. Machines made by the ancients. Two idiots from our world who’ve unknowingly become priceless prizes to be won. Unkillable giants. Magic mechas. Failed (or are they?) chosen ones. Underground kingdoms that know nothing of the world/s above. Dirt magic. I could keep going and going and going, and it would barely scratch the surface of everything Liar has poured into this world and its story.

Don’t be fooled by the book’s opening, wherein a number of strange and mysterious people gather around a fire for a secret meeting. Don’t be disappointed by how cliche some of them seem. Don’t trust how stereotypically over-the-top it feels. If you hold on for just a minute, The Failures unfolds like a Kamiya Satoshi origami; complex, breathtaking, impossibly imaginative. Unpredictable as fuck; seriously, don’t even bother trying to guess where any given plotline is going to go, because you will get it wrong, you are not going to see the twists coming. And I loved that so much; I was (and am) so impressed with how all these dazzlingly disparate pieces ended up fitting together; with how there was never a plotline I wanted to skip over, or character I wasn’t interested in (bar West, right at the beginning, but look how that turned out!); with how deliciously intricate and labyrinthine each skein of story was. And with the fact that Liar never made me feel stupid or overwhelmed (or frustrated by all the mysteries); sometimes big huge doorstopper books make you feel small and idiotic, like you’re the failure for not knowing what’s happening, but I never got that here. It was always clear to me that I didn’t know everything that was going on, but in a way that was deliberate, intentional. I could keep up – I just didn’t know, don’t know, all of Liar’s secrets yet.

Which is fair. We’re only on book one of a trilogy, after all.

That being said: this is not an easy read. You can keep up, but you’re going to have to work for it. Liar is not out to make you feel stupid, but he doesn’t exactly hold your hand, either. There is no infodumping; there is virtually no telling. You learn by being shown, and thinking about what you’re shown, and remembering it to connect to other things you’re shown later. As I said earlier, the world here is VAST, and you need to be able to hold all of it in your head. Every detail is relevant. I think great writing, great characters, and great pacing make it much easier than it might otherwise be, but some readers are going to be overwhelmed, or feel that the payoff isn’t worth the effort. No book is for everyone!

Although personally – evidently! – I think the payoff is so worth it.

If you ask me, The Failures is the epitome of what fantasy is actually supposed to be, supposed to do: blow our minds and show us something that is nothing like our world. Fantasy is the genre of imagination and invention, but we are but mortals and inventing completely new and original ideas is hard – and also polarising, because lots of us don’t WANT completely new things, because completely new also means unfamiliar, and unfamiliar can be…off-putting? Uneasy-feeling? Hard to connect with? Impossible to fit neatly within the context of our own experiences? Some people don’t want fantasy that really, truly feels like another world, and that’s okay!

But if you DO. If you DO want that.

Then folx, this is the book for you.

"The Failures" is an exceptionally ambitious novel and debut novel at that! Liar swings for the fences and knocks it out of the park. This book can be categorized as epic fantasy, science fiction, post apocalyptic, grimdark, steampunk, and more. Liar does not hold your hand but instead fully immerses you into the fascinating world of The Wanderlands, where darkness reigns supreme inside of a mountain civilization. You will encounter unique magic, giants (who can either save or destroy the world depending on who you ask), portals, magical artifacts, automata, and much more.

The story follows multiple POV characters across different time periods, creating a complex puzzle of timelines and narratives that come together through thrilling "a-ha moments." It is brilliantly executed. The novel explores themes such as identity, friendship, and power.

As you read, you'll find answers to your many questions, only for new ones to arise. The world’s history is expansive and deeply intriguing, leaving you eager to learn more. The author masterfully balances providing answers while setting up future installments in this exciting new series.

This is truly a remarkable debut novel. Liar meticulously crafts a complex and epic tale. The best part is that this is just the beginning. I can't wait for book two and until then "The Failures" will be living rent free in my head.

The desperation of seeking of light in the darkest parts of the world is the central premise of The Failures, the debut novel from Benjamin Liar, and kicks of The Wanderlands series.

The Failures is set in the titled Wanderlands, a monolithic structure shrouded in perennial darkness after the magic of the lights is stolen in a war among the great powers that be, in the age prior to the events of this series. The tale follows various factions in their own subworlds of The Wanderlands, as they tackle their own subplots, all working towards bringing the long lost light back to the dark world. To reclaim the light, our factions, both good and evil, must collect The Book, The Sword, and The Key, to free a boss-tier giant. And away we go…

The factions center around our major POV characters, ranging from The Killers headed by our “protagonist” Sophie Vesachai. Sophie is a child-hero of the great prologue war but is haunted by it, as she leads her ragtag group of heist-caper companions as they navigate a plot to forestall various antagonists from stealing The Book, which is in Vesachai’s possession. The next of the major subplotlines follows Jackie Aimes and Gunnar Anderson, two teenagers following Gunnar’s dream of adventure after he dreams of bringing light back to the dark world, which portals them into the dark Wanderlands. They have to fight their way out with nothing but each other, and Gunnars trusty sword, yes it is The Sword. But unbeknownst to them, and the readers at first glance, they are actually titanic creatures known as the Behemoth, creatures of super-strength and near impervious durability. The last of the major plot factions deals with the brothers Chris and James D’ellan. The younger, James is also visited by the dreams of light, bestowed by the Mother, and takes it upon himself to find The Key to the portal to the land of light. Their tale follows the complex relationship between the brawny simplistic James, and the hyper-intelligent, cunning, and crafty Chris as they navigate betrayals from within and without in search of The Key.

Two additional minor plotlines follow the Cabal, a group of older beings also making moves towards the demigod Giant for their own, seemingly nefarious ends. It is the Cabal that kicks off the narrative in The Failures though we do not check back with them till the third act of the book. The last minor plotline follows the Deadsmith, a near-immortal killer being on the hunt of his Prey as he tracks the latter through various portals of the Wanderlands, exploring the depths of his own psyche as the Prey tests his mental and physical resolve.

The Failures, and by extension The Wanderlands series is a curious blend of genres, drawing from various corners of the SFF space. It is difficult to pin down a genre that would touch the majority of the tropes in this book, but the closest I could reach for was Dark Steampunk. There are clear influences drawn from various other works and their authors. Many of the major characters here are representative of archetypes popularized by other works, and unfortunately fail to live up to their progenitors. The Killers arc veers too closely to every other caper story, ranging from the YA efforts of Six of Crows (Leigh Bardugo) to the new standard of heist fantasy, The Gentlemen Bastards series (Scott Lynch). Sophie is a less charismatic, while ramping up the snarky-but-broken protagonist that modern fantasy, especially overflowing in the darker YA spaces. Lady Winter feels like a discount-bin Bayaz (First Law series by Joe Abercrombie). Her presence in the narrative does not elicit nearly as much menace as Bayaz, and her snippy smug dialog style is a pale imitation of Bayaz’s self-confirmed transcendent attitude towards the petty squabbles of mortal plotting. The Deadsmith plotline did nearly nothing for me, and looking at other reviews of this book, seems like a popular opinion. His journey through malicious and miserable self-discovery was not as deep or rewarding as Liar probably intended it to be, especially to someone as buried in GrimDark lore.

In fact, it is this overly snarky one-upmanship of the prose, and specifically the dialog between characters that quickly becomes grating while reading through The Failures. The issue with having several competing competent characters is that they quickly devolve into a tiring bog of “look how smart I am” and “this was my plan all along!” which is one of my least favorite aspects of YA fantasy, and will keep The Wanderlands series nestled in the no-mans land between YA and Adult Dark Fantasy. When all your characters are snippy and quippy with every single line, even in the darker moments of the narrative, it fails the story on two counts. First, it detracts from the gravitas of the moment, diluting the stakes. Secondly, it blends all the voices of the characters into one self-congratulatory effort by the author and becomes an exercise in the author trying to convince his readers about how smart he is with his plotlines.

The Failures had things going for it as well. The setting felt unique enough, even though the monolithic mountain of the Wanderlands hearkens to Josiah Bancroft’s Books of Babel series. Dark Steampunk is not a genre often explored, steampunk being a gritty but ultimately optimistic promise of progress with their gears and oily aesthetic. Liar does a great job of integrating familiar steampunk elements into his Silver-powered automatons and devices throughout the book, giving him enough leeway to create new technologies on the fly to further his plot. James’ character felt like a breath of fresh air because he was one of the few, if not only characters that did not fall into the smug dialog trope in this story. His internal struggles of reconciling his own ambitions and his limitations of being more brawn than brain, especially when contrasted with the more influential Chris, was refreshingly deep with enough grit to keep me invested.

The your-mileage-may-vary aspect of The Failures is its narrative structure. The various plots following the various factions feel disjointed at first and seemingly bear no connection to each other. Benjamin Liar spends no time attempting to hold the readers hand through the plot structure, elements, locations, or timelines, beyond subdividing the chapters into The Cabal, The Killers, The Monsters, The Lost Boys, and The Deadsmith to guide your way. My rating of The Failures was surprisingly sensitive to this aspect. I started off strong with the introductory chapters, but felt myself lowering points towards the second and early-third acts where the plots felt severely disconnected. It isnt towards the last quarter of the book, that the plotlines begin to converge and your internal compass and plotclock coalesces and you begin to appreciate what Liar was trying to achieve. Some may consider this to be a genius move by the author. The severe non-linear plotting of The Failures is something that none by the most brave tend to dip their toes in, and Liar does a formidable job diverging and then converging the plotlines.

However, and this is a big however, many of the converging checkpoints and aha! moments came off as a little too neat and hence a little too forced. It only added (when coupled with the dialog style) to the self-congratulatory nature of Liar’s writing and felt like an ode to his own intelligence rather than a natural progression of the sensibilities of the characters. The casual name-drop reveals of characters from different factions appearing in different chapters felt too on-the-nose at times, and towards the end I found myself rolling my eyes more often than feeling rewarded for sticking with the divergent trajectory of the middle chapters.

Overall, The Failures is a strong debut that explores a unique blend of tropes and archetypes from various spec-fic subgenres to tell a solid tale of power and betrayal. However, several aspects such as the tiresome dialog and homogenous characterization, along with few stylistic and plot design choices mar this book from fully crawling out of the dark and reaching its own light!

"The Failures" by Benjamin Liar is an exceptional read that intricately weaves together a complex narrative of epic proportions. The vast range of characters, each distinct and integral to the story, navigate multiple roles across different timelines, creating a tapestry that doesn't fully reveal itself until the end. Despite the initial challenge of immersing myself in this multi-faceted world, the story becomes compelling and easy to follow once you get past the first 50/60 pages. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, featuring a richly imagined society within a mountain, populated by monsters, automatons, and other fantastical entities. Liar's creativity in crafting this unique setting is nothing short of amazing, making it a captivating backdrop for the unfolding drama.

One of the most striking aspects of the book is its exploration of character evolution, particularly with Sophie Vesachai. Once a hero, now a bitter and traumatized adult, her reluctance to return to the fray adds a layer of depth and realism to her character. Her dynamic with the Killers, a group of loyal friends, is both touching and engaging, adding emotional weight to the story. The narrative's blending of past and present timelines is masterfully done, with revelations about characters' identities providing both expected and surprising twists. This debut novel brilliantly merges genres, offering a satisfying mix of epic fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic elements, and mystery. It's a must-read for anyone looking for a deeply immersive and genre-defying experience.

Wow. This was a hell of a read. I don't often give five stars, but The Failures is well worth it.

This book is definitely epic in scope with a vast range of characters playing multiple roles, with different names at different times spanning various chronologies. And it doesn't start coming together until the end. Each character is definitely unique and there is no problem keeping them separate from each other and focusing on their story. Each one is the hero or villain of their own subplot within the overall narrative.

However, for all of that, it isn't that hard to follow once you get into it. It does take a little bit at the beginning to get into, but only about the first 10% or so.

The worldbuilding is incredible, as well. An entire world built into a mountain (with the exception of Forest), in the Dark, with all kinds of monsters, automatons, and other various entities.

It really is amazing what Liar has achieved with this book, and I seriously look forward to the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley for review copy provided by in exchange for an honest review.

So, this is marketed as the authors first published novel - but it doesn't read as such. It seems as a work of very experienced author and if there's one word I could use to describe The Failures, that word would be - ambitious.

To be perfectly honest, its ambition seems to be the biggest failure of The Failures. The novel reads almost as three different novels set in one tome, that begin in medias res, almost like Erikson's Gardens of the Moon, but with dense language and heavy prose style that is present in later Malazan novels, which makes it difficult to engage with characters presented in one story arc, which brings its own set of difficulties since the novel is primarily character driven.

I was really impressed by the world building, prose level and storytelling in general, but the book simply tries to achieve too much too soon. To be honest, I was more interested in the events mentioned as the past of one of the main characters than the issues at hand. OF course, the world of the book seems to be a character in its own right, but this simply doesn't seem enough to overcome overly dry and complicated 2/3 of the novel. On the other hand, 1/3 is almost Abercrombian in its execution, and that part is the most enjoyable to read.

To be perfectly honest, if I didn't got this one via NetGalley I would probably dnf it, but I can't ignore extremely well executed prose, world building and even great characterization - it's just that throughout the 2/3 of the novel I felt that it simply tries too hard to be Malazan, or First Law or even Dying Earth.

The good thing is that we do have a new voice in the genre of fantasy, an author who is obviously well proficient and in the years to come can provide us with some extremely enjoyable reading - only if they can just tone it down a notch or two.

3*

Really interesting worldbuilding. Solid writing for a first epic fantasy novel with small instances of awkward writing. Something very special has begun here. I look forward to seeing what comes next. Recommended for anyone who is tired of standard fantasy worldbuilding.

I don’t think any review I could write will do this book justice. Just like the gears turning and keeping the Wanderlands alive, Benjamin Liar’s writing moves like a cog in a machine, churning out one of my new favorite reads. The world is strange and so much fun to explore and learn about. The way the past and the present are woven together in the grand tapestry of this book, is incredible and hauntingly beautiful.

Sophie Vesachai is bitter, broken, and overall traumatized after being essentially the kid hero that saved the world. Now that she is older she drinks a lot with her “killers,” a band of friends that follow her lead on most things. I always wonder how these characters will act many years after being the heroes and this seems perfect. She does not want to be dragged back into the saving-the-world business and will do anything to prevent that from happening until she is forced into it. I love all of The Killers and how their band works together.

With the winding and mixing of two (or more) timelines, I love how certain characters in the past are revealed to be other characters in the present. Some of the reveals I guessed, but others blew me away. I am so impressed by how good this book is and how it blends genres and that this is a debut!

If you love a blend of epic fantasy, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic/apocalyptic, and mystery, you NEED this book in your life.

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

I had to DNF this book. I don't think it was the right time for me to read this novel. I couldn't connect with the characters but the world was interesting. I will try to come back to this book in the future, maybe it just was bad timing.

Greatly enjoyed this book. Loved the world building and character storyline. Glad to have been a chance to be given an eARC by the publisher and netgalley. Can't wait for the sequel. Highly recommend.

5 stars isn't a rating I give to many books, but here we are. I was deeply impressed with the intricacy and complexity of the worlbuilding, the sharpness of the prose and the vivid character creation and development. and ALL THIS in a debut!? I'm shocked almost as much as I am eager to read more from the author.

the Wanderlands unveiled their secrets hesitantly, one by one, never quite allowing the reader to see the whole picture, letting them catch glimpses of the labyrinth of connections. the ever-present air of mystery, paired with the quick pace of the plot, kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I had so much fun theorising about characters' secret identities and the ways different storylines were related to each other! (and I am proud to report I got practically all of them correct:))

Benjamin Liar is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing new authors that I've had the honour of reading books from. thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e-ARC! I can't wait to read the second installment of the series!

This was something special. Ambitious, weird, clever and unlike anything else I have read. This is not a light read, densely layered in multiple unclear timelines everything cleverly interweaves with itself, but trying to parse it together definitely requires some focus. Whilst billed as apocalyptic science fiction, this is very much more to the fantasy end of the spectrum than anything. There is lots of weird tech everywhere in the world of the Wanderlands, but that tech could just as easily sit in a fantasy setting as anything sci-fi. This is a study in politics, in power disparities, in what it means to be a hero or a villain. There is a lot of grey present in the moralities on display, with the boundaries between good and evil very murky - it is ultimately unclear as to what most of the major characters and players are trying to achieve. This is very much in the grimdark realm, and I love it.

The world of the Wanderlands is definitely a strange one. We have a giant mountain with a kingdom hidden within, we have a land permanently smothered in darkness, we have magical gates that allow instant transport between places. Darkness and light are key issues here - The Dark being a malevolent presence, gradually overwhelming the few remaining bastions of light. Light itself becomes a kind of currency. The world is a broken machine with no clear view as to its original function or how to fix it.

Then we have the monsters and they are a fascinating mix - some through their very humanity and some through the creepy weirdness. The Behemoth are like bored teenagers, a wonderful concept playing on the destructiveness of the idle mind. The Feral Children are downright creepy with their call and mindless violence. The Deadsmith with its subdivided soul, extreme loyalty and supernatural abilities is frankly terrifying but also has an amazing amount of pathos. The Giants are eluded to as the most destructive of beings, but we have yet to see them unleashed. Then we have the gods - the mysterious Mother the most prominent of them, sending dreams to children and madmen to enact their plans. The characters themselves are frequently monstrous in their single minded ambition - there is no thoughts about the little people in any of the actions with events frequently the slave of the egos of the mighty.

Layered over this is a Machiavellian politic. Multiple power plays all happening at the same time give a wonderful sense of chaos as the sense of who is on top at any given moment constantly fluctuates, with curveballs falling on curveballs. A Gordian knot of extreme complexity that is a delight to try to solve.

This was a revelation - a meaty and satisfying read. I am beyond excited to see where this ends up going!

Without a doubt, <i>The Failures</i> is one of the more ambitious and unique sci-fi/fantasy debuts I’ve read in quite a while. It’s also incredibly difficult to describe and pretty weird. Imagine if Christopher Ruocchio, Gene Wolfe, Joe Abercrombie, China Mieville, Ursula LeGuin, and Neal Stephenson all decided to write a book together about a world that is engulfed in darkness. Literally—little to no light exists here, in a setting that feels both vast and mysterious, but also extremely claustrophobic. With a wide cast of characters and a heavy focus on developing them meticulously through the first half of the book, while also doing so with extra care and attention that certain surprises come out of nowhere when they land, Liar keeps your attention at an all-time high, consistently throwing in various names, nicknames, settings, worldbuilding aspects, and more. It can feel on the verge of being overwhelming at times as you really don’t want to miss anything and at the same time there is little to no true info-dumping or explanations, but it’s rather hints and clues and character building that truly drive the information about what is really going on. That said, it never felt like it crossed that threshold for me as far as not being able to get my bearings. I always felt like I had a grasp on characters, character motivations, and the general plot – or more realistically, what Benjamin Liar wanted me to think was going on – throughout the entire story.

It's not an easy read, but I found it to be vastly rewarding. While I found myself slightly underwhelmed and a little confused as to why I was reading this book when I hit the 200 page mark, as Liar’s plan starting to unfold and things began to click into place, I was caught off guard in the most satisfying way and all of sudden was so hooked into the story that I needed to know what was going to happen next. It’s a story driven by mystery and subversion and your desire to get answers to questions you might not even always know you want to ask. The dark tone and atmosphere, combined with extremely weird, individualistic and intriguing characters, and an underlying plot that continues to throw you for a loop builds and builds to a final act that is rewarding and fitting, but not necessarily explosive. This book perfectly sets up the world of the Wanderlands and the story to come and I could not be more excited to see what’s to come in the sequel.

That said, it has its flaws and most definitely will not be for everyone. In fact, I think off the top of my head I can name more readers close to me who probably will struggle with this one than ones who will find it works for them, but that said, if it clicks for you, you are in for a wild ride.

I am completely impressed. This is a book with both massive ideas, plot threads and intricacies, juxtaposed with some serious restraint in a way that manages to maintain a feeling of focus and propulsion, but also layered in intrigue. If you like sci-fi, if you like fantasy, if you like weird fiction in general, I would highly recommend you put this book on your radar because whether or not it ends up being a surprise favorite with you like it did for me, I guarantee it will be unlike any book you’ve read in quite a while.

<i>Thank you to DAW Books and Benjamin Liar for the ARC and the chance to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.</i>

3.5 stars. This is a tough one to review - I enjoyed the writing style and most of the narrative choices but I also found it really easy to put down and almost DNF'd it a number of times. I think that was probably because I struggled with the characters and found it really hard to root for them as none of them initially come across as particularly 'nice'. Saying that, when I got to about 70% of the way through, things started clicking into place and then I could barely put it down.

Am I going to read the next book? Definitely. Would I recommend it? If you like convuluted plots and morally grey characters, then yes.

After reading this book for 40 days straight, I finally reached the last page, and I've gotta say, it was a journey worth taking. This fantasy gem packs in elements of sci-fi and post-apocalyptic vibes, making it a thrilling read. Now, it's not exactly a walk in the park; it requires a bit of brainpower, so maybe not the best pick for fantasy rookies. But if you're a seasoned reader looking for a challenge, this one's for you.

Let's talk world-building – it's off the charts! From intricate magic systems to portals and automata, this world is bursting with creativity (and some "inspiration" as Benjamin Liar admits) And don't get me started on the characters – they're as diverse as they come, and despite their numbers, each one stands out.

The story doesn't follow a straight path, which might throw you off at times, but trust me, it's all part of the charm. Props to Benjamin Liar for pulling off such a rich and slow-burn narrative, especially for a debut novel. Mark your calendars because this book hits the shelves on July 2nd, and I have a feeling it's gonna make waves. I absolutely want a physical copy too. The Failures gotta be in my shelves.

Shoutout to netgalley, dawbooks, and Benjamin Liar for giving me early access!

My thanks to NetGalley and DAW for a free eARC of "The Failures" by Benjamin Liar.
A challenging but also rewarding debut that blends the Epic Fantasy, SF and Apocalyptic in one complex puzzle.
With a strong emphasis on worldbuilding, atmosphere and with five different point of views, "The Failure" is more suitable for advanced Fantasy readers who enjoy being surrounded by complex concepts and intrigue.
In this first installment of "The Wanderlands" trilogy we focus on the Mountain, "a utopia carved from stone and then left to die". Through the five POVs we slowly unravel some of the events that caused this immense part of the world to break and go dark.
With the ever present darkness. sources of light are the most sought after resources.
The story starts with The Convox or The Cabal, my favorite point of view, where we witness the planning around the current situation and what can it be done about it with relevant implications that will resonate through the rest of the novel.
Next we meet The Killers, my second favorite point of view, a band of delinquents lead by Sophie Vesachai. She was both a hero and outlaw as a youth and now we see how that lead her to extreme debauchery, a damaging form of coping with her trauma. Will she be forced to sober up by the upcoming series of events and coincidences?
Then we meet "The Monsters". Started as most hated characters in a long while, for they represented the privileged in control of even more power than they could imagine and what tragedy that can be, ended up as something I cold respect as necessary for the plot. I am glad I trusted the author and persevered with their POV.
Through "The Last Boys" not only do we witness a coming of age story, but we also learn about one of the magic uses of this world and we go along them on a life-changing adventure.
Lastly, "The Deadsmith" was a dark and mysterious story and I am intrigued to see how it will impact the next installments in "The Wanderlands".
A great debut, perfect for the veterans in reading Adult Fantasy who are used to stomach some triggering content , who can stand behind a story where the complicated worldbuilding is at the center and can trust the gradual process of clues and reveals.
So trust Benjamin Liar to deliver a satisfying conclusion and also making you excited for what it is to come.
I also need to thank Petrik Leo, the most prolific and passionate creator of Adult Fantasy and SF book content for bringing this debut to my attention .

This book was quite a ride, several storylines that sometimes seem almost unconnected until pretty far into the book. The author reveals the setting (and some of the characters' backstories) in pieces that are just the right size and lets the reader fit them together, and there is some well done crazy action and some powerful magic too. Looking forward to the next one.

I had do DNF this one, I couldn't get into the world, I"m not sure if its because the world building was a bit much for me. Or perhaps I'm the wrong audience.

This book was a surprising, enthralling and simply impressive read. I laughed, I cried, I raged!

The Failures is a hard book to explain. There's a lot happening, there's a lot of systems and places and characters. The best I can do is to say it's about a world where light is a scarce and precious resource. There is no sky like on earth, but rather something akin to a dark ceiling encompassing the Wanderlands. And the light is dwindling, and will eventually all be gone unless something is done. The story is about some who are trying to save the Wanderlands, and others who are trying to wrest control of it to serve their own goals.

But again, it's complicated. When you first start reading, you will be confused. You won't understand references and words. But like with any good sci-fi or fantasy, you get to that part where it just <i>clicks</i> and you're immersed and it's amazing.

There's a lot of characters in this book, and I'm sure everyone who reads has their favorite. Mine was James (and his mechanical fairy Buckle). The Deadsmith is a close second. At first I wasn't the biggest fan of sort of the edgy/sarcastic way certain characters talked (Gun, Jackie, Sophie especially) but I do think if there wasn't some sort of levity, the book would be to bleak.

I absolutely loved this book and I'm hyped as hell for the next one. I will say that this is a book that demands your attention. It rewards it immensely if you've followed along threads woven through the stories and characters. There were multiple times where I audibly went "Oh my god!" at certain moments. I honestly can't believe this is the author's debut novel.

So in conclusion: Read this book!!

A hugely entertaining romp. Nineties/early 2000s-eqsue wide-screen, ambitious speculative fiction of a sort that seems to have gone out of fashion lately. Appealing characters without any of them being particularly 'nice'. The author references Tad Williams and Neal Stephenson, and you totally get echoes of both here - Otherland meets The Baroque Cycle. Like those works, however, The Failures is very clearly Part One of what is functionally a single enormously long novel, and the plot arcs raised during the book are not all satisfactorily resolved in the way you'd expect book one a series of actual separate books to do. The dangling threads do irritate, and leaves things feeling somewhat incomplete, even for an opening book. In a way, though, that just means I'm quite excitedly waiting for the next installment to see what happens - a good problem to have.