Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Resistance is a debut fantasy novel with two promised sequels from author C.S.R. Keeley. The story has multiple promising facets, including a large fantasy world with multiple realms, strong female characters in positions of power, and magical animal connections. I particularly enjoyed the mind-magic connection that the Wolven have with some of the human characters, as it reminded me of Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderings.

While the story is fast paced and packed with action, I struggled to get through the majority of it due to the writing style. The version I received as an ARC lacked a significant amount of editing. Grammatical mistakes, run on sentences, and missing quotation marks made much of the prose confusing to read. In addition, I was perplexed as to who, exactly, the main character of the story was. At the beginning, I assumed it was young Perrin, as he was the first character introduced to the reader, but as the story progressed, the narrative took on an omniscient tone that jumped from one character to the next without warning. All of the main characters needed significant fleshing out. Prince Bren, around whom much of the plot in theory focuses, was essentially left by the wayside for the majority of the story. In addition, there were short chapters interspersed from the view of different characters leagues away, who were then never revisited. Many characters often went on info-dumping monologues about world building that left me, as a reader, more confused than I was before.

The world is large enough and promising enough to create a much more developed and intricate narrative. With some editing and revising of the story’s outline, I think a second and third installment could bring a marked elevation to the story of Resistance.

I received a free e- copy of Resistance by C.S.R. Keeley through Net Galley. Thanks to Net Galley, the author and publisher for a chance to read “ “Resistance”
This novel is the first in a proposed three part series of a heroic fantasy. Of the genre, it is more fantasy than heroic, meaning that the reader will encounter Druids, spellcasters, sentient wolves , enchanted swords and other arcane artifacts. “ Resistance”. begins in the mountains where Perrin Ohmholt is tending the small flock that helps feed his grandmother, Garat, and his brother Bren. The story unfolds at a dangerous moment in the daily life of the destitute village; their fearsome overlords The Brocken, have sent another force of soldiers to recruit, i.e. impress new bodies for their army/ police force. While the Broken soldiers take the roll of eligible young men, the tax collectors enforce the Princes royal times of everything movable. Food, medicinal herbs, handicrafts and feed.
Grandmother Garat, tells u Perrin, who has already served two terms of duty as a slave / , soldier in the Army, is instructed to take his brother Bren away. Bren , a slow, dreamy youth soul, would not survive a recruitment in the brutal training camps. Garat gives Perrin a long- hidden great sword to take with him, along with instructions to head up into the mountains and find the resistance.
Perrin and Bern’s dangerous travels take them on a trip where they encounter enemy soldiers, strange beasts and eerie allies. There is a resistance army building , headed by an enchantress who leads a growing force of human and other warriors.
I am a fan of sword and shield heroic tales ,with a touch of witchcraft, spellcasting and nefarious plots. Not so much ethereal elves and their familiars., so the book was not exactly what I’m usually reading , but it is a good start to be a great series.. the writing, characters and world- building are well done. I can recommend to for those who enjoy a good fantasy novel. “ Resistsnce” was about a 300 page ebook. With two more books promised, that would mean a 600 page epic, and a challenge for any author to maintain the high quality. I hope so.
Recommended to fans of epic fantasy. My rating is a low four stars.

This was a strong start to the Chaos-Tol’s Bane series, it had that element that I was looking for and was hooked from the first page. It had a great historical feel to it and the world was what I wanted. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and follow their journey. C.S.R. Keeley was able to write a story that was well written and had that fantasy element that I wanted.

Keeleys's, Resistance, plays to the familiar theme of hidden identities as a central driver of the story.

"Perrin" & "Bren" raised by their "Gram" in the mountain town live simply, raising their flock and helping to find healing Herbs for Gram. Under the control of invaders known as Brocken, life is very controlled & people are not allowed freedoms for fear the people will form a stronger resistance than the existing one.

The story quickly changes direction & some rather semi easy- to - guess reveals occur, that open up the story further. Some interesting but light magic, with elevs and others help stabilize this epic fantasy.
Resistance is a solid addition to the fantasy genre, offering a gripping narrative and relatable characters that keep readers invested from start to finish. Fans of fast-paced, character-driven stories will find much to enjoy in Keeley’s novel, as it balances action with emotional depth and thought-provoking themes.