3 1/2 Stars
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for early access to Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry in exchange for an honest review.
TW: Graphic Violence, Adult Language, Adult Content, Rape, Suicide, Killing of Animals
I enjoyed where the plot of this story was going, however I felt that there was a lot of repeating scenes. Whether they were flashbacks, or different characters talking about them, I found it a bit annoying. In the first 1/3 of the book, our main character, Kagen, was extremely unlikable. Maybe that’s the point, but he was extremely whiney and drunk. Once he sobered up, he got a bit better.
There are multiple POV throughout the story, which is normally something I extremely enjoy. I did enjoy switching views and following different characters stories, but sometimes I felt it jumped around just a bit too much. Sometimes your character switch was for half a page, which was the full chapter.
I enjoyed learning about the different gods and religions, the magic system, and different creatures. It’s action packed and kept me reading late into the night. I’m not sure if I will continue the series, but also need to know what happens with the last page plot twist/cliffhanger.