I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Fatemarked by David Estes Series: The Fatemarked Epic #1
Published by Self-published on 2018 April 01
Genres: Fantasy, Epic
Pages: 494
Format: E-Arc
Source: Author
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They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come.
An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him.
A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.
Enter a world of magic and dragons, kings and queens, and victory and defeat, during a time when honor and valor still meant something.
Everyone who knows me would probably know by now that while I’m not fond of the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, I’m a big fan of the TV show. And this love has enabled me to pick up the books and plow through them despite the pain. I just couldn’t get into GRRM’s style of writing but I must admit that all the political maneuvering and the overall plot of ASOIAF are mindblowing. Had GRRM’s writing style hooked me, I would have loved the books as much as the TV show but alas, I and ASOIAF are not just meant to be. So here comes this hunger for a series that might be able to fill that gap and whoa (as fate would have it), I came across David Estes’ Fatemarked and I was like, “This must be it!” Unfortunately, it isn’t.
On the other hand, Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings is one of the best books that I’ve read in my entire life. If could give it all the stars in the world, I would. As such, coming across a book that’s pitched as “In the spirit of Fantasy epics like GOT and TWOK, the Fatemarked epic blah blah….”would be a dream come true for me. So I immediately hustled to request an ARC of the Fatemarked and with my heart pounding, proceeded reading it. Alas, disappointment washed over me after reading the whole book.
Don’t get me wrong, Fatemarked wasn’t bad because it has its own merits but comparing it to ASOIAF and TWOK…? Now, that’s a problem. Fatemarked is fast-paced, straightforward and had some interesting characters. But it was simplistic and predictable whereas ASOIAF and TWOK are not. So my point is, don’t pick up this book because of ASOIAF and TWOK because you’ll be disappointed. Read it if you like a fantasy epic with multiple POVs, short and direct storytelling, and fast paced. There’s also a good romance brewing somewhere in the book, too.
Ok, I’m really sorry if this review seems incoherent but I’m sure there are a lot of reviews out there that have pretty much articulated every thing about Fatemarked.