Review: Blackwood Marauders by K. S. Villoso


I loved K. S. Villoso's Agartes Epilogues (aka Legacy of the Lost Mage series) and I enjoyed Legacy of the Wolf Queen as well, so I've wanted to read this book for a while. I finally had the chance and I found myself flying through it. Compared to both the other series I've read it was much more on the character-driven side so it reminded me more of the Wolf Queen series. At the same time, there were a lot of call-backs to the Agartes Epilogues in terms of the settings and characters. Overall, I loved the main character Luc, but hated the other main character Roena so it wasn't my absolute favourite of Kay's works, but let's be honest, I still flew through it and found myself eager to get back into it and find out what happens next.

Blackwood Marauders follows the (mis)adventures of Luc - a boy who was born on a slave ship and rescued by a man who came to be an amazingly loving father. He grew up on a farm with his father, his father's wife, and their son Alun and had a happy life. It was only when he signed up at the academy so he could study to join the army that things started to go wrong. 

I can't overstate how much I loved these first couple of chapters. To read an epic fantasy story and find yourself reading about a young man who struggles with his identity, who struggles with the fact that he's being rejected by an academy because of who he is, because of the colour of his skin and his origins... only someone who understands the full sting of those kinds of experiences could work them into an epic fantasy story so beautifully, so naturally. This is why I love Villoso's books. Well, this and the amazing world-building, of course. I also really enjoyed what we got to know about Jak's character and really wished there had been more of him in this book! 

If the story had continued entirely from Luc's perspective I probably would have loved it much more. Roena's spoilt, manipulative personality was not one I enjoyed at all. I had to skip large parts of her chapters because they all inevitably descended into very explicit sex scenes. Also, I really did not appreciate that she was manipulating and using Luc who had grown on me by that point. Ugh. 

Despite my hatred of Roena I couldn't helped being glued to the pages as monsters and the plot unfolded throwing monsters and haunted cities and complicated mercenary plots at me. In true Villoso style it all comes together really well in the end. I'm excited to read Daughter of Wolves (hopefully soon!) and some of the other upcoming works by Villoso so I can dive back into this world, but first I really need a giant map of Agos-again and also why isn't there a wiki for this world yet? 

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