SEEDS OF WAR | Joào F. Silva

Hello fellow book nerds!

Here we are again talking about another book. This time it's Seeds of War by Joào F. Silva

"He ran like the monster he was. And the smoke followed."

GIMLORE is a single mother and war veteran turned crime boss set on protecting her family and her town.

ORBERESIS is a petty thief pretending to be God to protect a terrible secret.

REDNOW is the world's most feared mercenary, but his best days are behind him and there's one job left to do.

In a world of dangerous monsters and devastating smoke magic, the seeds of war are being planted. Allies must be treasured and enemies defeated.

The Smokesmiths is a gritty epic fantasy series with a harsh world of smoke magic, alien creatures and ancient secrets where characters do their best to come out on top. Peace will not last.

Seeds of War by Joào F. Silva is a Grimdark tale set in a world where war has ravaged the lands

The story is told from the perspectives of three main characters; Gilmore, a former thief and blade for hire who has settled with disparate refugees on a new island which was raised by a god that ended the last war. She finds herself as its impromptu leader, cultivating a potion that can rival the destructive forces of the magic users in the world, the Smoke Smiths.

The other perspective is Rednow, a mercenary Smoke Smith who has broken free from the yoke of being tethered to the kings and masters of the numbering countries and has created a legend for himself and his mercenary band.

The final point of view is that of Orberis, a petty thief who finds himself imbibed with the power of a god. However, since the war has finished he has steadily built a following based on his exploits but now finds that the power eludes him. 

The story spends a lot of time building the stage for events to springboard off. As we follow the differing viewpoints for the first half of the book, it eventually connects each one, which will prove to be an interesting second book.

I found the pacing in the first half of the book a little heavy, as Joāo F. Silva carefully builds the foundations of the characters and the world a little slow going initially. I enjoyed Orberis's arc which I found particularly good as it showed us how he had reached the point where he is now, to where he is going by the end of the book.

However, it is the last two thirds of the book where the story catapults into its stride and it moves from the laying of foundations to becoming an active story.

Ultimately, this was an enjoyable read, with good characters, an intriguing magic system and a solid plot that will be interesting to see where it goes, and how events from the last act impact on the remainder of the story.

Well there we go fellow book nerds. I have got to say that was a