As I said earlier in the thread, I'm reading Lorenguard's novel (The Days of Astasia, Pt. 1: Eve of Corruption).
It's... different. Not to go all literary nerd on ya'll, but if I understand viewpoints correctly, it's basically told in third person omniscient, meaning the narrator knows everything and tells you everything. It reads very much like a novelization of a tabletop, pen and paper RPG, which makes sense because the author plays quite a lot of games like that and is a big fan of fantasy. Unfortunately because the narrator knows (and tells!) everything, there is very little suspense in the writing. I read it once a couple years ago and although it does pick up and get typically epic in the second half (especially towards the end which details my favorite parts of the album), it's just that - typically epic. They introduce a lot of characters and nomenclature in a very short time that makes it almost overwhelming, even on the second read. The nomenclature itself is very over-the-top with odd naming conventions not unlike the crazy batch of names in the beginning of The Wheel of Time (Egwene al'Vere, Perrin Aybara, Nynaeve al'Meara) which gives heavy flavor to the tabletop novelization feel of the book.
There is an air of levity throughout the story and its characters and Brady Sadler never shies away from allowing some humor like in the beginning when the prince is nursing a hangover and vomiting in public. The characters themselves are interesting, particularly Raiken and the Greenstone. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm trying to keep details broad. One of my favorite moments in the entire book is actually early on when a main character, Sebastian, details some of the lore of the world by moving figurines in a diorama.
Memory's fuzzy on the later parts of the book but I'm halfway through the second read. While I can't honestly say the book is anything on the level of Lord of the Rings or Wheel of Time or my other favorite fantasy series, it's a quirky little novel that I think fans of tabletop RPGs would enjoy. I just think if there was more suspense in the writing, without the narrator detailing a character's motivations as soon as they're introduced, it would be a lot more captivating.
Hope that doesn't sound too harsh. I actually recommend anyone who's a fan of their album check it out because the guy's put a hell of a lot of work into this stuff and it really shows, but it's a very particular audience that will enjoy it, and you kinda have to go in with a lenient attitude towards the writing. It's just a fun fantasy adventure and any fan of power metal should like it. Please pick it up sometime if you can because it supports the band's fantastic power metal.
