What do you think?
Rate this book
Death's Disciple #1
Death's Disciple
Seven years ago, Captain Yala Palathar was a hero. She and her squad of close-knit dragon-riding warriors were Laria’s elite, fighting for their nation alongside the monarch and his magic-wielding Disciples. Seizing control of an unmanned island should have been a simple mission, but Yala’s squad was little prepared for the horror and tragedy that awaited. Instead of triumph, all Yala and her allies found was death.
Years on, Yala lives in seclusion in the deep jungle, ignoring the rumours of unrest in the capital following the end of the war. She little expects assassins to find her hideout - nor does she anticipate the mission that ended her career to have given rise to rumours that see her targeted by mercenaries vying to claim a price on her head. With the other survivors from her squad being picked off one by one, she has little choice but to return to the capital in the hopes of finding answers.
Whether the truth lies with the Disciples of the Flame - who refused to believe her stories of the monstrous beasts that haunted the island - or with the long-dead king who sent her squad to their doom, one thing is clear. Yala must finish the battle she started all those years ago… even if it brings her face to face with the god of death Himself.
Years on, Yala lives in seclusion in the deep jungle, ignoring the rumours of unrest in the capital following the end of the war. She little expects assassins to find her hideout - nor does she anticipate the mission that ended her career to have given rise to rumours that see her targeted by mercenaries vying to claim a price on her head. With the other survivors from her squad being picked off one by one, she has little choice but to return to the capital in the hopes of finding answers.
Whether the truth lies with the Disciples of the Flame - who refused to believe her stories of the monstrous beasts that haunted the island - or with the long-dead king who sent her squad to their doom, one thing is clear. Yala must finish the battle she started all those years ago… even if it brings her face to face with the god of death Himself.
Unknown Binding
Published May 30, 2023
16 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
Emma L. Adams
86 books949 followersI'm Emma, a fantasy author, book collector, gamer, and wanderer. I write urban and epic fantasy novels, including the international bestselling Changeling Chronicles, the Relics of Power trilogy, and the Death's Disciple quartet.
*Note: I use Goodreads only to keep a record of what I'm reading. Please don't send me unsolicited review requests.*
*Note: I use Goodreads only to keep a record of what I'm reading. Please don't send me unsolicited review requests.*
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 8, 2023
SPFBO9 Semi-Finalist Review
9/10
Now, I don’t know about you, but when you throw elemental magic, death magic, war drakes, and a cast of unbelievably amusing and endearing characters together, I am SOLD.
Death’s Disciple turned out to be the fast-paced and character-driven dark fantasy that I didn’t know I needed.
Seven years ago, captain Yala Palanthar’s squad of elite dragon-riders was unceremoniously disbanded after a supposedly easy mission went horribly wrong. Now, she is a disgraced, disabled and cranky woman hiding away in the farthest depths of the jungle, where she can live in blissful ignorance of everything that’s going on in the world. That is, until a string of unwanted visitors, including a war drake, come destroying her peace to bring her the news that she and her former squad mates are in mortal peril. And before she knows it, she finds herself at the centre of an intricate web of deadly politics and it turns out that the God of Death is out to get her.
From the very first page, I just absolutely fell in love with Yala and wanted to know all about her mysterious past that is coming back to haunt her. She is angry with the world and frustrated with her uncooperative ageing body, so naturally she reverts to sarcasm and dark humour to cope. In short, she is everything you could ever wish for in a protagonist.
There are, however, also two other POV characters who I surprisingly enjoyed just as much as Yala herself. Kelan is a sharp-tongued and overly self-assured disciple of the Sky and Niema is a disciple of Life who is way too naive and idealistic for her own good, but in an utterly endearing way.
It takes maybe 2 chapters for all of their paths to cross, and from there it is just one hell of a wild ride. These characters bicker like siblings at times and their snarky banter was truly top-notch, so I was highly entertained the entire way through this book. While they are ultimately all working towards the same goal, they also each have their own personal journey to undergo and there is some truly beautiful character growth that we get to witness.
There’s almost this sort of reluctant found family dynamic that develops over the course of the story, which I was honestly just SO here for.
I also really liked that each of these POV characters gave such a unique perspective on this world, because their life experiences and worldviews differ so widely. We organically get to learn about some of the different branches of this elemental-based magic system through the eyes of the two disciple characters, which I found super intriguing.
I always like it when fantasy stories blend religion and magic together, and that is definitely the case here. A disciple’s level of devotion to their God directly impacts the strength of their powers, which not only made this a very fun and unpredictable magic system, but also allowed for some surprisingly compelling explorations on cultish fanaticism.
Also, can’t forget about the death magic. I wasn’t expecting a sort of zombie-like scenario in this book, but I have to say it really worked. Some scenes were disturbingly gory, but the escalation of this conflict was just a trainwreck I couldn’t look away from.
Normally these types of fast-paced and action-packed stories leave me a bit wanting in certain areas of the storytelling, but I am happy to say that the opposite couldn’t be more true here. Everything felt super well-developed, from the rich world building, to the intriguing magic system, to the intricate web of politics, and of course to the wonderful cast of endearing characters. There’s also this slightly unsettling yet gripping element of mystery woven throughout the narrative that will undoubtedly keep you on the edge of your seat.
The final showdown happened maybe a little too quickly for my liking, but overall it was just so bombastic and thrilling that I didn’t even care.
So, that leaves me with only one real complaint: Where was my pretty fantasy map?!
Okay fine, maybe I am being a bit petty, but I think we can all agree that a story with this much travelling really deserves a map! Luckily, I never felt lost because Adams does a wonderful job of setting the scene and describing the world, so even without the map I felt totally immersed in this dark yet intriguing fantasy world and I loved every single second of exploring it.
All in all, I just had an absolutely fantastic time with this story and I can’t wait to return to this world in the future. This instalment wraps up in a satisfying way, but these characters have secured a place in my heart and I desperately need to know where their stories go next!
If you are looking for a character-driven dark fantasy that will keep you turning the pages, then you have to check out Death’s Disciple. I loved it!
9/10
Now, I don’t know about you, but when you throw elemental magic, death magic, war drakes, and a cast of unbelievably amusing and endearing characters together, I am SOLD.
Death’s Disciple turned out to be the fast-paced and character-driven dark fantasy that I didn’t know I needed.
Seven years ago, captain Yala Palanthar’s squad of elite dragon-riders was unceremoniously disbanded after a supposedly easy mission went horribly wrong. Now, she is a disgraced, disabled and cranky woman hiding away in the farthest depths of the jungle, where she can live in blissful ignorance of everything that’s going on in the world. That is, until a string of unwanted visitors, including a war drake, come destroying her peace to bring her the news that she and her former squad mates are in mortal peril. And before she knows it, she finds herself at the centre of an intricate web of deadly politics and it turns out that the God of Death is out to get her.
From the very first page, I just absolutely fell in love with Yala and wanted to know all about her mysterious past that is coming back to haunt her. She is angry with the world and frustrated with her uncooperative ageing body, so naturally she reverts to sarcasm and dark humour to cope. In short, she is everything you could ever wish for in a protagonist.
There are, however, also two other POV characters who I surprisingly enjoyed just as much as Yala herself. Kelan is a sharp-tongued and overly self-assured disciple of the Sky and Niema is a disciple of Life who is way too naive and idealistic for her own good, but in an utterly endearing way.
It takes maybe 2 chapters for all of their paths to cross, and from there it is just one hell of a wild ride. These characters bicker like siblings at times and their snarky banter was truly top-notch, so I was highly entertained the entire way through this book. While they are ultimately all working towards the same goal, they also each have their own personal journey to undergo and there is some truly beautiful character growth that we get to witness.
There’s almost this sort of reluctant found family dynamic that develops over the course of the story, which I was honestly just SO here for.
I also really liked that each of these POV characters gave such a unique perspective on this world, because their life experiences and worldviews differ so widely. We organically get to learn about some of the different branches of this elemental-based magic system through the eyes of the two disciple characters, which I found super intriguing.
I always like it when fantasy stories blend religion and magic together, and that is definitely the case here. A disciple’s level of devotion to their God directly impacts the strength of their powers, which not only made this a very fun and unpredictable magic system, but also allowed for some surprisingly compelling explorations on cultish fanaticism.
Also, can’t forget about the death magic. I wasn’t expecting a sort of zombie-like scenario in this book, but I have to say it really worked. Some scenes were disturbingly gory, but the escalation of this conflict was just a trainwreck I couldn’t look away from.
Normally these types of fast-paced and action-packed stories leave me a bit wanting in certain areas of the storytelling, but I am happy to say that the opposite couldn’t be more true here. Everything felt super well-developed, from the rich world building, to the intriguing magic system, to the intricate web of politics, and of course to the wonderful cast of endearing characters. There’s also this slightly unsettling yet gripping element of mystery woven throughout the narrative that will undoubtedly keep you on the edge of your seat.
The final showdown happened maybe a little too quickly for my liking, but overall it was just so bombastic and thrilling that I didn’t even care.
So, that leaves me with only one real complaint: Where was my pretty fantasy map?!
Okay fine, maybe I am being a bit petty, but I think we can all agree that a story with this much travelling really deserves a map! Luckily, I never felt lost because Adams does a wonderful job of setting the scene and describing the world, so even without the map I felt totally immersed in this dark yet intriguing fantasy world and I loved every single second of exploring it.
All in all, I just had an absolutely fantastic time with this story and I can’t wait to return to this world in the future. This instalment wraps up in a satisfying way, but these characters have secured a place in my heart and I desperately need to know where their stories go next!
If you are looking for a character-driven dark fantasy that will keep you turning the pages, then you have to check out Death’s Disciple. I loved it!
June 1, 2023
Review originally published on Jamreads
Death's Disciple is the first book in the eponymous series, a dark fantasy proposal by Emma L. Adams. A character-driven story with a strong female main character, a world with war dragons, corruption spreading and multiple cults; those are some of the elements that make this book an excellent fast-paced story.
Years after her squad was disbanded, captain Yala Palanthar is trying to have a secluded life, avoiding the world. When she receives a bunch of unwanted visitors, including a war dragon among them, she's convinced that her past is coming back to haunt her, putting in danger not only her, but the rest of her former squad mates.
In the company of an acolyte, she will be forced to leave her reclusion and travel to the city of Dalarthar; there, she will discover that a group called the Successors has put a price on her head, but not only that, a political revolution is being brewed.
Corruption is also starting to appear in the city, bringing Yala flashbacks of that final mission where her squad only found death; and that marked her for life.
In Death's Disciple, we have a certainly interesting character cast, starting with Yala. Captain Yala Palanthar retired after the disbanding of her squad, but returns to civilization after she's convinced her past might put in a danger her former mates and herself. She has reasons to be angry with the world, especially with how she was treated by the people in power; and while she wanted to flee from that last mission's memory, accepting and growing over it will be the key to solving the situation.
Accompanying Yala we will have two acolytes, each one from a different religion, and pretty much opposed in personalities. While one is kinda annoying and we will need our patience to deal with him, it's impossible to not develop a kind of affection for Niema, naive and idealistic, who hasn't visited the exterior world before.
While the world is not the main focus of this story, we get to see many original details weaved into the story, such as war dragons, and a complex net of politics. Gods have real power, with one of them taking a prominent role in this novel, and religions are formed around them.
The pacing is relatively fast, starting in a really high spot at the very start, with a slower part in the middle, building the tension for a final avalanche, showing Adams' strength in writing action scenes (especially when they involve war dragons).
Death's Disciple is an excellent first installment, a delightful novel, perfect for dark fantasy fans who like fast-paced stories. Definitely, I want to read book two as soon as it is published!
Death's Disciple is the first book in the eponymous series, a dark fantasy proposal by Emma L. Adams. A character-driven story with a strong female main character, a world with war dragons, corruption spreading and multiple cults; those are some of the elements that make this book an excellent fast-paced story.
Years after her squad was disbanded, captain Yala Palanthar is trying to have a secluded life, avoiding the world. When she receives a bunch of unwanted visitors, including a war dragon among them, she's convinced that her past is coming back to haunt her, putting in danger not only her, but the rest of her former squad mates.
In the company of an acolyte, she will be forced to leave her reclusion and travel to the city of Dalarthar; there, she will discover that a group called the Successors has put a price on her head, but not only that, a political revolution is being brewed.
Corruption is also starting to appear in the city, bringing Yala flashbacks of that final mission where her squad only found death; and that marked her for life.
In Death's Disciple, we have a certainly interesting character cast, starting with Yala. Captain Yala Palanthar retired after the disbanding of her squad, but returns to civilization after she's convinced her past might put in a danger her former mates and herself. She has reasons to be angry with the world, especially with how she was treated by the people in power; and while she wanted to flee from that last mission's memory, accepting and growing over it will be the key to solving the situation.
Accompanying Yala we will have two acolytes, each one from a different religion, and pretty much opposed in personalities. While one is kinda annoying and we will need our patience to deal with him, it's impossible to not develop a kind of affection for Niema, naive and idealistic, who hasn't visited the exterior world before.
While the world is not the main focus of this story, we get to see many original details weaved into the story, such as war dragons, and a complex net of politics. Gods have real power, with one of them taking a prominent role in this novel, and religions are formed around them.
The pacing is relatively fast, starting in a really high spot at the very start, with a slower part in the middle, building the tension for a final avalanche, showing Adams' strength in writing action scenes (especially when they involve war dragons).
Death's Disciple is an excellent first installment, a delightful novel, perfect for dark fantasy fans who like fast-paced stories. Definitely, I want to read book two as soon as it is published!
April 15, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. Necromancy done right for once. This book truly has all the gory and creepy scenes you will expect from a book featuring Death magic. Elemental magic is my favorite to read in fantasy and this story has tons of it. The last 30% of the book was very fast paced and action packed with quite a lot of shocking revelations.
The characters were great as well especially Yala. I liked the dynamic between all 3 main characters.
Will read Book 2 as soon as possible.
The characters were great as well especially Yala. I liked the dynamic between all 3 main characters.
Will read Book 2 as soon as possible.
January 29, 2024
Solid 4.5 stars
My thirty-second SPFBO-9 read was Death's Disciple by Emma L. Adams. If you've been following along you may nave noticed my mention that I was already a good bit into this one when I was writing up my review of the novella Monarch's Mission. In fact, I was finished with this one before I even posted that review. I'm really enjoying this world that Emma has put together so far.
Death's Disciple was also in my top 20 SPFBO-9 entries that I wanted to read. Unfortunately, I just didn't get to it as quickly as I initially expected. This one had been floating right on the edge of my monthly TBR's since September. I'm glad that I finally got to it and happy that my hunch on whether I'd enjoy it was spot on.
The pacing of this series so far really works for me. That is considering both the novella and book one here. The writing is smooth with very few noticeable edit issues. It shows that Emma and whomever is editing and proofreading her work has plenty of experience. As usual with pacing that works well for me, there really wasn't much in the way of names for characters or places that would trip me up.
The worldbuilding has been a joy to see with the Death's Disciple books so far. There is a lot going on from political intrigue, religion, military tactics and a good balance between the magic and martial abilities. This along with the different factions of Disciples and their god's eludes to a decent amount of cultures mixing things up in this story. The world itself seems fairly large as several scenes take place in different areas and others are mentioned which I'm we'll see more of in the future.
The character building was also really good. There are some solid character arcs to see unfold. One thing I am finding that I really like are arcs that show progression without too much of a drastic change. I felt we see this with our protagonist Yala in this and Monarch's Mission. She certainly goes through some change but she still seems to hold true to who is was and who she's become. There are some other solid mini arcs in Death's Disciple as well. I don't want to mention these as some of these can be a bit of a surprise.
This is only the second book I've read by Emma L. Adams and I don't want to get ahead of myself, however, I may have found another new favorite author. This is always good news, except for the fact she already has a ton of work out there that I need to check out. I will at least be following this series and progressing further as my time allows this year.
As far as recommendations go, I think if you like the various aspects mentioned above on politics, military, religion, magic and martial characters this would be a good epic fantasy to look into.
One more thing I wanted to mention being a big Dragonlance fan still to this day was I couldn't help but think of similarities between Yala and Kit from Dragonlance. Both are strong female military leaders. Not to mention both may or may not ride dragons. In fact if Dragonlance seems a bit more YA or MG to you, this might be a more adult polished series to check out.
My thirty-second SPFBO-9 read was Death's Disciple by Emma L. Adams. If you've been following along you may nave noticed my mention that I was already a good bit into this one when I was writing up my review of the novella Monarch's Mission. In fact, I was finished with this one before I even posted that review. I'm really enjoying this world that Emma has put together so far.
Death's Disciple was also in my top 20 SPFBO-9 entries that I wanted to read. Unfortunately, I just didn't get to it as quickly as I initially expected. This one had been floating right on the edge of my monthly TBR's since September. I'm glad that I finally got to it and happy that my hunch on whether I'd enjoy it was spot on.
The pacing of this series so far really works for me. That is considering both the novella and book one here. The writing is smooth with very few noticeable edit issues. It shows that Emma and whomever is editing and proofreading her work has plenty of experience. As usual with pacing that works well for me, there really wasn't much in the way of names for characters or places that would trip me up.
The worldbuilding has been a joy to see with the Death's Disciple books so far. There is a lot going on from political intrigue, religion, military tactics and a good balance between the magic and martial abilities. This along with the different factions of Disciples and their god's eludes to a decent amount of cultures mixing things up in this story. The world itself seems fairly large as several scenes take place in different areas and others are mentioned which I'm we'll see more of in the future.
The character building was also really good. There are some solid character arcs to see unfold. One thing I am finding that I really like are arcs that show progression without too much of a drastic change. I felt we see this with our protagonist Yala in this and Monarch's Mission. She certainly goes through some change but she still seems to hold true to who is was and who she's become. There are some other solid mini arcs in Death's Disciple as well. I don't want to mention these as some of these can be a bit of a surprise.
This is only the second book I've read by Emma L. Adams and I don't want to get ahead of myself, however, I may have found another new favorite author. This is always good news, except for the fact she already has a ton of work out there that I need to check out. I will at least be following this series and progressing further as my time allows this year.
As far as recommendations go, I think if you like the various aspects mentioned above on politics, military, religion, magic and martial characters this would be a good epic fantasy to look into.
One more thing I wanted to mention being a big Dragonlance fan still to this day was I couldn't help but think of similarities between Yala and Kit from Dragonlance. Both are strong female military leaders. Not to mention both may or may not ride dragons. In fact if Dragonlance seems a bit more YA or MG to you, this might be a more adult polished series to check out.
November 18, 2024
3.5 stars.
I thought this was quite enjoyable with some good elements and interesting characters. The magic of this world was well put together and I liked the way the different paths of disciples all had their own quirks, having kept mostly to their own communities. While we don't get to see too much of the physical world in this opening volume of the series, that's not always necessary, and here the story was well-contained, not needing an expansive landscape with lots of literal character journeys.
There were a few little bits of the story that didn't work so well for me, but they were generally small and easy to overlook, even if one of them did have quite a big impact on the ongoing story. The things that did work well far outweighed these, and the characters were probably the highlight for me. I really enjoyed the three leads we had, although I felt there was a definite hierarchy of Yala > Kelan > Niema, meaning Niema felt a bit under-developed in comparison to the other two. As individuals, I thought they each had their merits though, and over the course of the series, I can see them growing well, as there's a good base to build upon.
My enjoyment of the book did falter a little towards the end, which is unusual for me. I felt that the main conflict just sort of fizzled out a bit, with two key elements overcome in the space of just a couple of paragraphs. This was definitely disappointing, but especially so when the previous couple of chapters had worked quite well to build up the stakes.
I thought this was quite enjoyable with some good elements and interesting characters. The magic of this world was well put together and I liked the way the different paths of disciples all had their own quirks, having kept mostly to their own communities. While we don't get to see too much of the physical world in this opening volume of the series, that's not always necessary, and here the story was well-contained, not needing an expansive landscape with lots of literal character journeys.
There were a few little bits of the story that didn't work so well for me, but they were generally small and easy to overlook, even if one of them did have quite a big impact on the ongoing story. The things that did work well far outweighed these, and the characters were probably the highlight for me. I really enjoyed the three leads we had, although I felt there was a definite hierarchy of Yala > Kelan > Niema, meaning Niema felt a bit under-developed in comparison to the other two. As individuals, I thought they each had their merits though, and over the course of the series, I can see them growing well, as there's a good base to build upon.
My enjoyment of the book did falter a little towards the end, which is unusual for me. I felt that the main conflict just sort of fizzled out a bit, with two key elements overcome in the space of just a couple of paragraphs. This was definitely disappointing, but especially so when the previous couple of chapters had worked quite well to build up the stakes.
October 11, 2023
4.5 stars
One person couldn't make up for the mistakes of so many others, she knew, but it was a start.
☠️Death's Disciple
☠️1/4 series Death's Disciple
☠️Dark Epic Mystery Fantasy
☠️FMC Yala, former captain of the Dragon flight division
☠️FMC Niema, disciple of Life
☠️MMC Kelan, disciple of the Sky
☠️Character-driven
☠️Strong females
☠️Elemental magic and Death magic
☠️5 Gods with real power
☠️High-Stakes
☠️Older FMC
☠️Necromancy
☠️Fast-paced and lots of action
☠️And a super cool WAR DRAGON
Go read this, it's really awesome.
One person couldn't make up for the mistakes of so many others, she knew, but it was a start.
☠️Death's Disciple
☠️1/4 series Death's Disciple
☠️Dark Epic Mystery Fantasy
☠️FMC Yala, former captain of the Dragon flight division
☠️FMC Niema, disciple of Life
☠️MMC Kelan, disciple of the Sky
☠️Character-driven
☠️Strong females
☠️Elemental magic and Death magic
☠️5 Gods with real power
☠️High-Stakes
☠️Older FMC
☠️Necromancy
☠️Fast-paced and lots of action
☠️And a super cool WAR DRAGON
Go read this, it's really awesome.
June 17, 2023
This is a fun, primarily urban-based fantasy adventure featuring cranky dragons and even crankier ex-dragon riders.
Several years after her squad was unceremoniously disbanded following a mission gone wrong, Captain Yala is trying to avoid the world. But then a string of unwanted visitors convince her she (and her former squad mates) are in grave danger.
I thought this was a fresh fantasy story - I like urban medieval-esque settings, and I thought the plot and conspiracy at the heart of this story were original (if not too taxing on the brain). My favourite character was Niema: a naive and idealistic acolyte who never came across as stupid or annoying (a hard balance to strike!). Kelan though? He was obnoxious and super-irritating for most of the book. That was obviously by design, but still…urgh.
While I liked that this book had a tight focus on the central plot and protagonists, I thought a bit more worldbuilding/political context would have made the story more immersive, since there was a rebellion planned but we only met the king once. I was waiting for a key flashback that never came and I think it’s omission hurt the story (I believe it exists in a separate novella, but I kinda wanted to learn about past events as I was reading).
Still, I’m interested to read more of this series and the political hijinks, hopefully future instalments expand the world a bit.
I received an advance copy of this book, and I am leaving a review voluntarily.
Several years after her squad was unceremoniously disbanded following a mission gone wrong, Captain Yala is trying to avoid the world. But then a string of unwanted visitors convince her she (and her former squad mates) are in grave danger.
I thought this was a fresh fantasy story - I like urban medieval-esque settings, and I thought the plot and conspiracy at the heart of this story were original (if not too taxing on the brain). My favourite character was Niema: a naive and idealistic acolyte who never came across as stupid or annoying (a hard balance to strike!). Kelan though? He was obnoxious and super-irritating for most of the book. That was obviously by design, but still…urgh.
While I liked that this book had a tight focus on the central plot and protagonists, I thought a bit more worldbuilding/political context would have made the story more immersive, since there was a rebellion planned but we only met the king once. I was waiting for a key flashback that never came and I think it’s omission hurt the story (I believe it exists in a separate novella, but I kinda wanted to learn about past events as I was reading).
Still, I’m interested to read more of this series and the political hijinks, hopefully future instalments expand the world a bit.
I received an advance copy of this book, and I am leaving a review voluntarily.
May 16, 2023
It's always lovely to see something a bit different in a fantasy novel and Emma Adams provides it here with her protagonist. Yala Palathar was a captain in the flight division of Laria's army and she is (gasp!) middle aged. Getting into that age range myself, it was unusual to have a leading character I can directly relate to and I thoroughly enjoyed it. No teenage angst here, thank you!
Years after her division was disbanded, Yala is crotchety, disabled and living in seclusion in the jungle. Here is a woman who does not care about what the world thinks and only wishes to be left alone. She has little patience for smart Alecs and can be very snarky when she wants to. Like I said, relatable. I loved that aspect of her character and would love to see more older main players in fantasy. I think they are a wasted resource at present.
Another aspect of Death's Disciple that was a little unusual was the War Drakes. Although typical dragon-ish in design, these are more feral than most dragons on this genre. Not only are they lethal to their enemies, they are not tame by any stretch. Riders have been injured and killed by their charges. Again, this little change from the norm was something I delighted in. I thought it really added to the *danger* aspect of dragons.
To me, it was these things that really added to a good solid story, making it come alive. The worldbuilding of the city of Dalarthar gives it a squalid, dingy feel but the story doesn't fall into GrimDark territory (in my opinion. Others might disagree). There is a bit of travelling but it's not lingered over. It might actually be over a bit too quick, as I never really got a sense of the distances travelled but that is a minor grumble.
I really enjoyed this fist book in the Death's Disciple series and will be keeping an eye out for further books in the future. Added bonus points for a stunning cover :)
I received a free copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
Years after her division was disbanded, Yala is crotchety, disabled and living in seclusion in the jungle. Here is a woman who does not care about what the world thinks and only wishes to be left alone. She has little patience for smart Alecs and can be very snarky when she wants to. Like I said, relatable. I loved that aspect of her character and would love to see more older main players in fantasy. I think they are a wasted resource at present.
Another aspect of Death's Disciple that was a little unusual was the War Drakes. Although typical dragon-ish in design, these are more feral than most dragons on this genre. Not only are they lethal to their enemies, they are not tame by any stretch. Riders have been injured and killed by their charges. Again, this little change from the norm was something I delighted in. I thought it really added to the *danger* aspect of dragons.
To me, it was these things that really added to a good solid story, making it come alive. The worldbuilding of the city of Dalarthar gives it a squalid, dingy feel but the story doesn't fall into GrimDark territory (in my opinion. Others might disagree). There is a bit of travelling but it's not lingered over. It might actually be over a bit too quick, as I never really got a sense of the distances travelled but that is a minor grumble.
I really enjoyed this fist book in the Death's Disciple series and will be keeping an eye out for further books in the future. Added bonus points for a stunning cover :)
I received a free copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
Want to read
March 11, 2024This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBO9 contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
A wounded veteran watches the funeral pyre of the King, her leg cramping after long hours watching the rites, except there is no body to burn. Assassinated at sea, the King was never found.
The prose is grounded, competent, descriptive, focused on its MC, and revealing of the world bit by bit, drawing me into the story. The mystery, if a mystery it is, as to whether the King is truly dead, is deeply intriguing.
This story opens at a moment of transition. Something big has already happened, and now we get to find out what that means for our MC and the world of their life.
Characters are deftly and briefly introduced. As are religious(?) disciples, officials, and mention of enemy nation/groups. These orienting details, along with the sensory details of our MC and her thoughts all makes me feel immersed in the world.
The opening is a prologue and goes on much longer than I read. I don't know yet if time will jump forward or back, but I did know very quickly that this was going to be a yes from me.
It also begins with a kind of summary of past events, but as this is the first book of this series I suppose that is meant to be like the crawl in Star Wars, setting some of the stage preliminarily.
The narrative is taking its time introducing a driving conflict of this story for our MC, but the circumstances are so starkly presented, I'm confident my time is well spent with this story. It is no surprise to me find it is a semi-finalist. I'm in!
A wounded veteran watches the funeral pyre of the King, her leg cramping after long hours watching the rites, except there is no body to burn. Assassinated at sea, the King was never found.
The prose is grounded, competent, descriptive, focused on its MC, and revealing of the world bit by bit, drawing me into the story. The mystery, if a mystery it is, as to whether the King is truly dead, is deeply intriguing.
This story opens at a moment of transition. Something big has already happened, and now we get to find out what that means for our MC and the world of their life.
Characters are deftly and briefly introduced. As are religious(?) disciples, officials, and mention of enemy nation/groups. These orienting details, along with the sensory details of our MC and her thoughts all makes me feel immersed in the world.
The opening is a prologue and goes on much longer than I read. I don't know yet if time will jump forward or back, but I did know very quickly that this was going to be a yes from me.
It also begins with a kind of summary of past events, but as this is the first book of this series I suppose that is meant to be like the crawl in Star Wars, setting some of the stage preliminarily.
The narrative is taking its time introducing a driving conflict of this story for our MC, but the circumstances are so starkly presented, I'm confident my time is well spent with this story. It is no surprise to me find it is a semi-finalist. I'm in!
July 25, 2023
Former elite soldier and the leader of the war drake flight squad, captain Yala Palathar is now living alone in the middle of the jungle, with no war, no job, and no purpose in life. The end of the war left her squad scattered and relationships broken. But now that a wild drake and two different disciples arrive at her door, her quiet life is over. Wanted and with bounty on her head, Yala travels back to the capital with Niema, an innocent and naive yet loyal disciple of Life, and Kelan, charming yet careless disciple of Sky. The trio discovers on their mission a lot of secrets and hidden truths, plots, treachery and betrayal, and Yala's own knack for an unwanted magic.
Giant flying reptiles, intriguing forms of magic, and a country fighting for survival, the world building in the opening book already provides a solid base for another great series. The main trio forms a very improbable alliance of totally different personalities, reluctantly working together to achieve a common goal and slowly building trust. I loved how the reader gradually explored the potential of the various magics, the whole structure and hierarchy in the country, and discovered step by step the intricacies of the plot. I also enjoyed the range of characters we meet in the book, the excellent writing that sucks the reader in, and the excitement I felt during the whole time spent reading. Looking forward to book 2.
Giant flying reptiles, intriguing forms of magic, and a country fighting for survival, the world building in the opening book already provides a solid base for another great series. The main trio forms a very improbable alliance of totally different personalities, reluctantly working together to achieve a common goal and slowly building trust. I loved how the reader gradually explored the potential of the various magics, the whole structure and hierarchy in the country, and discovered step by step the intricacies of the plot. I also enjoyed the range of characters we meet in the book, the excellent writing that sucks the reader in, and the excitement I felt during the whole time spent reading. Looking forward to book 2.
February 18, 2026
Wow! This story was a pleasant surprise and an enjoyable read! I didn't know what to expect but I'm glad that I gave it a chance! What attracted me the most was that it was geared for adults and mature readers, but even then I felt that it was tame. The story was not watered down but would not be considered YA. And I'm grateful for that. Both YA and erotica are or can be good, but can sometimes be too cookie cutter or repetative. Sometimes you need a balanced story somewhere in between that is not afraid to have cursing and bloody fights. I'm also glad that this story wasn't a romance and didn't depict sex but discussed or implied that sex took or takes place. I'm fine with that. I don't need a vividly described sex scene just because. I'm still glad that the plot was better for not concentrating on those aspects, but on the others that make a story for adults. What also helped was that the plot was simple but effective. Just enough world building to hint at more going on, but enough time with the plot and characters that make you appreciate them. And I have come to appreciate and love the characters. Their interactions and growth felt real and thought and fleshed out. They were mostly responsible for keeping me reading and interested. I started to care for them and wanted to know what happens next. Which I hope to, in reading the next and continuing the series!
May 20, 2023
I dove into this straight after reading the novella introduction Monarch's Mission that was given out for newsletter subscribers as a taster for this series and straight away the atmospheric flamey descriptions set the scene for the rest of the book.
I originally read the descriptions and was like dragons/drakes, elemental disciples and magic absolutely yes I want to read this!
Full of some great interactions between the main characters Yala, Niema and Kelan who amusingly bicker like siblings at times despite having been thrown together by circumstance and godly intervention on their quest.
I really felt the characters frustration with the God of Flame's head disciple and his refusal to have anything to do with helping our characters.
I really loved the eerie descriptions of the void creatures, the zombies and the interaction with the god of death - Mekan and his disciples of death and of course the willful war drake who is a recurring star in this book.
Also I must mention the beautiful cover for this book with the dragon cunningly disguised like a flame behind the skull over the city.
I was gifted an advance copy of this via paperback to read and it's even nicer to see the cover in person.
I originally read the descriptions and was like dragons/drakes, elemental disciples and magic absolutely yes I want to read this!
Full of some great interactions between the main characters Yala, Niema and Kelan who amusingly bicker like siblings at times despite having been thrown together by circumstance and godly intervention on their quest.
I really felt the characters frustration with the God of Flame's head disciple and his refusal to have anything to do with helping our characters.
I really loved the eerie descriptions of the void creatures, the zombies and the interaction with the god of death - Mekan and his disciples of death and of course the willful war drake who is a recurring star in this book.
Also I must mention the beautiful cover for this book with the dragon cunningly disguised like a flame behind the skull over the city.
I was gifted an advance copy of this via paperback to read and it's even nicer to see the cover in person.
June 10, 2023
A timeless tale of unlikely companions joining forces and traveling across vast, treacherous and unfamiliar landscapes, to face unknown enemies and battle evil.
Together they form an unlikely bond, a friendship of sorts, which grows and evolves over the course of the story.
A heartwarming tale and intricately woven narrative that has you wondering, ‘what the hell is going on’ at times.
The characters are likeable and well written, each with their own narrative. A beautifully depicted world that has you lost within the pages. And, as the story evolves you become more and more invested in the characters well-being and the overall out come of the story.
I loved the dragons and magical elements in this story and look forward to more from these wonderful characters.
Definitely a must for any fantasy enthusiasts.
I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review.
Together they form an unlikely bond, a friendship of sorts, which grows and evolves over the course of the story.
A heartwarming tale and intricately woven narrative that has you wondering, ‘what the hell is going on’ at times.
The characters are likeable and well written, each with their own narrative. A beautifully depicted world that has you lost within the pages. And, as the story evolves you become more and more invested in the characters well-being and the overall out come of the story.
I loved the dragons and magical elements in this story and look forward to more from these wonderful characters.
Definitely a must for any fantasy enthusiasts.
I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this fantastic book in exchange for an honest review.
June 14, 2023
Emma Adams has outdone herself. Again!
A new fantasy world with gods and their disciples planning for power and of course world domination. Fighting a disciple of death, being one herself? The heroin of the story has some big problems. But also she has friends. Some very strange friends. And this works out for the best. With a roller coaster story, fun dialog an great main- and side characters, it was hard to put the book down to get some needed sleep.
Highly recommended!
I received an ARC from the writer and offer my opinion freely.
A new fantasy world with gods and their disciples planning for power and of course world domination. Fighting a disciple of death, being one herself? The heroin of the story has some big problems. But also she has friends. Some very strange friends. And this works out for the best. With a roller coaster story, fun dialog an great main- and side characters, it was hard to put the book down to get some needed sleep.
Highly recommended!
I received an ARC from the writer and offer my opinion freely.
October 6, 2023
Yala had once been a Captain of the Kings fighting wing - riding War Drakes to battle.
Her last battle was a trip to a disputed island but the horrors found there and that manifested ended up with the death of the King, his guards and one of Yala's team (an ex flame Disciple). With the King's death Yala's united is abandoned and left to go their own ways.
7 years on Yala is living in a secluded cabin in the jungle - slightly crippled by an old leg injury, still mildly pissed of with how she now lives her life but slowly making peace with her solitary life. This all changes when an Air Disciple (Kelan) drops in on her to say that there is a price on her head and mercanaries are after the bounty. Then ANOTHER Disciple (Niema) - this one from the Temple of Life arrives saying she must come back to the city as there are signs of corruption (a terrible misuse of Death, that entails blood, sacrifices, zombification and the bringing back of the God of Death) and Yala, being a Disciple of Death is in position to stop the corruption. Yala agrees only to come back when she finds out her old squad mates may be in danger.
I loved the bicking, banter and teasing between these 3 people it adds some light-heartedness to some of the darker aspects of the story. I thought the majority of characters well written; even the ones trying to stirring up a civil war, creating zombies or just being plain evil. There were a couple of template bad guys but the others outshone them.
The different religions and the magic they wield were quite fascinating and I'd love to see some short stories or novellas about each other - especially the ones we don't get to know.
The ending was a thrilling, bloody and fiery conclusion and I would recommend this book to people who like a bit of darkness in their books but with bonding of friendship and courage in the face of adversity.
Her last battle was a trip to a disputed island but the horrors found there and that manifested ended up with the death of the King, his guards and one of Yala's team (an ex flame Disciple). With the King's death Yala's united is abandoned and left to go their own ways.
7 years on Yala is living in a secluded cabin in the jungle - slightly crippled by an old leg injury, still mildly pissed of with how she now lives her life but slowly making peace with her solitary life. This all changes when an Air Disciple (Kelan) drops in on her to say that there is a price on her head and mercanaries are after the bounty. Then ANOTHER Disciple (Niema) - this one from the Temple of Life arrives saying she must come back to the city as there are signs of corruption (a terrible misuse of Death, that entails blood, sacrifices, zombification and the bringing back of the God of Death) and Yala, being a Disciple of Death is in position to stop the corruption. Yala agrees only to come back when she finds out her old squad mates may be in danger.
I loved the bicking, banter and teasing between these 3 people it adds some light-heartedness to some of the darker aspects of the story. I thought the majority of characters well written; even the ones trying to stirring up a civil war, creating zombies or just being plain evil. There were a couple of template bad guys but the others outshone them.
The different religions and the magic they wield were quite fascinating and I'd love to see some short stories or novellas about each other - especially the ones we don't get to know.
The ending was a thrilling, bloody and fiery conclusion and I would recommend this book to people who like a bit of darkness in their books but with bonding of friendship and courage in the face of adversity.
November 7, 2023
It's very easy to see why Death's Disciple was named a #SPFBO9 Semi-Finalist!
Filled with action, witty banter, and a delightful dose of necromancy, a reluctant team of heroes join forces to stop the spread of Corruption and the rise of the God of Dead.
Death's Disciple artfully blends a wealth of world building with an intriguingly twisty plotline to deliver an action-packed adventure perfect for dark fantasy fans.
Filled with action, witty banter, and a delightful dose of necromancy, a reluctant team of heroes join forces to stop the spread of Corruption and the rise of the God of Dead.
Death's Disciple artfully blends a wealth of world building with an intriguingly twisty plotline to deliver an action-packed adventure perfect for dark fantasy fans.
February 8, 2024
Firstly, can I just mention that cover?! It's awesome, and it's the first thing that caught my attention. Such an eyecatcher!
I loved this book. It had a very interesting cast of characters, not least Yala, Kalen and Niema. I loved how the relationships between the three of them changed the further in the book you went..something of a surprise considering the amount of times they came to killing each other!
If you're a fan of fast paced action, then this had plenty of it. Oh, and dead corpses too. If you like that sort of thing, then this is definitely for you.
I'm really looking forward to reading book 2!
I highly recommend this.
I loved this book. It had a very interesting cast of characters, not least Yala, Kalen and Niema. I loved how the relationships between the three of them changed the further in the book you went..something of a surprise considering the amount of times they came to killing each other!
If you're a fan of fast paced action, then this had plenty of it. Oh, and dead corpses too. If you like that sort of thing, then this is definitely for you.
I'm really looking forward to reading book 2!
I highly recommend this.
September 5, 2025
death comes for us all
but this death, is one I would only wish on people I abhor. To me, this is a brand new tale of gods doing what they do best: cause havok. The magic and gods are something I have not read before. I hope I find the 2nd book as captivating. I found the mystery, the intrigue, too much to ignore. This is my first book by this author, and with her imagination and writing skills, I don't think I will be disappointed.
but this death, is one I would only wish on people I abhor. To me, this is a brand new tale of gods doing what they do best: cause havok. The magic and gods are something I have not read before. I hope I find the 2nd book as captivating. I found the mystery, the intrigue, too much to ignore. This is my first book by this author, and with her imagination and writing skills, I don't think I will be disappointed.
August 12, 2024
This book was a real struggle to finish.
The writing isn't terrible, but it's all very bland. None of the characters feel distinct or interesting. The main character is the closest one to feeling fully realized, but even she suffers from sounding too much like all the rest.
The premise sounded interesting, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
I won't be reading the next book.
The writing isn't terrible, but it's all very bland. None of the characters feel distinct or interesting. The main character is the closest one to feeling fully realized, but even she suffers from sounding too much like all the rest.
The premise sounded interesting, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
I won't be reading the next book.
May 23, 2025
This is the first book in a series and the first book I've read by this author. We are thrown into a typical medieval setting where people ride dragons into war and magic is real and based on 5 domains (sky, sea, fire, air, life) where your powers come from the worship of different gods. In this story we follow Yala, a former dragon riding soldier who was a captain in her lands army before her branch was disbanded and she was summarily dismissed after the death of her king. She now lives a secluded life of retirement after leaving her squad mates behind until the spread of corruption leads to an unlikely meeting with two disciples (magic users) who travel with her to the capital to uncover the source of the corruption.
The story comes into its own once Yala and her friends hit the capital and the political machinations are laid out before us. This gave the author enough time to establish the three central characters and build a solid relationship between them. Through the time in the capital, the stakes are constantly raised as we learn more about the corruption and Yala's connection to it. The story is tight, the author does a good job of weaving in world building elements some of which pay off in satisfying ways. There are a bunch of cool scenes with dragons and large-scale battles. The dead feel scary and foreign. The magic is well-realised and since it requires a god to allow you to use it, it felt grounded with real consequences which have important pay-offs in the plot. Spoilers This is however one of the rare times when the title of the book does sort of ruin a major mystery thread throughout the book. As soon as people suggested Yala was a disciple of death, the title of the book clicked, and it was obviously true despite the author attempting to build some mystery around whether she was or not. I had some minor grips with the story, a couple of times characters just walked towards their rivals without coming up with a plan because it was convenient for the story, some characters intuited plot points from conversations that were a bit of a stretch and towards the end of the novel a few chapters ended on a tense moment just for the PoV to shift to a couple of minutes before that event to show them solving the issue. That happening once, sure, but multiple times that were almost back-to-back felt like artificial tension. Apart from these minor grips, I mostly liked the story and felt like its setup well for the next book.
The writing was serviceable but bland. It is written in a modern and very frictionless style. It made the book very readable and worked well in the many action scenes which were clear and well-written. At times it suffers from overt repetition of words to describe the same action (bunched wings is the big one). It also is very light on the exposition, often relying on established fantasy structures so it can spend less time on setting and personal descriptions. The dialog was also a little stiff for my taste and like I said above was mostly written to be smooth but it meant for me at times it lacked character. The other big one is instead of swearing the author describes people as “saying an oath” (there has been many discussions of fantasy swears, I’m not going to get into it, it is fine) but then in the later half of the book people are just dropping F-bombs (this worked better I feel). But having both exist seems like a continuity issue. The writing isn't bad, it mostly just conflicts with what I generally like.
Overall, I enjoyed this book without being blown away. It uses many common fantasy elements well and adds enough of its own spin to them. All of issues with the book are small, but they took me out of the story at times. The magic system was cool and I hope the author takes it further in the next book. Solid 3.5 stars for me, I will read the next one.
The story comes into its own once Yala and her friends hit the capital and the political machinations are laid out before us. This gave the author enough time to establish the three central characters and build a solid relationship between them. Through the time in the capital, the stakes are constantly raised as we learn more about the corruption and Yala's connection to it. The story is tight, the author does a good job of weaving in world building elements some of which pay off in satisfying ways. There are a bunch of cool scenes with dragons and large-scale battles. The dead feel scary and foreign. The magic is well-realised and since it requires a god to allow you to use it, it felt grounded with real consequences which have important pay-offs in the plot. Spoilers This is however one of the rare times when the title of the book does sort of ruin a major mystery thread throughout the book. As soon as people suggested Yala was a disciple of death, the title of the book clicked, and it was obviously true despite the author attempting to build some mystery around whether she was or not. I had some minor grips with the story, a couple of times characters just walked towards their rivals without coming up with a plan because it was convenient for the story, some characters intuited plot points from conversations that were a bit of a stretch and towards the end of the novel a few chapters ended on a tense moment just for the PoV to shift to a couple of minutes before that event to show them solving the issue. That happening once, sure, but multiple times that were almost back-to-back felt like artificial tension. Apart from these minor grips, I mostly liked the story and felt like its setup well for the next book.
The writing was serviceable but bland. It is written in a modern and very frictionless style. It made the book very readable and worked well in the many action scenes which were clear and well-written. At times it suffers from overt repetition of words to describe the same action (bunched wings is the big one). It also is very light on the exposition, often relying on established fantasy structures so it can spend less time on setting and personal descriptions. The dialog was also a little stiff for my taste and like I said above was mostly written to be smooth but it meant for me at times it lacked character. The other big one is instead of swearing the author describes people as “saying an oath” (there has been many discussions of fantasy swears, I’m not going to get into it, it is fine) but then in the later half of the book people are just dropping F-bombs (this worked better I feel). But having both exist seems like a continuity issue. The writing isn't bad, it mostly just conflicts with what I generally like.
Overall, I enjoyed this book without being blown away. It uses many common fantasy elements well and adds enough of its own spin to them. All of issues with the book are small, but they took me out of the story at times. The magic system was cool and I hope the author takes it further in the next book. Solid 3.5 stars for me, I will read the next one.
May 25, 2023
Entertaining read. I loved that one character was motivated by curiosity (never came across that before)!
The story is intriguing, with at least one twist that hints at more to come.
I found the resolution of the challenge a bit too convenient and easy (staying vague to avoid spoilers), but all in all, it was an enjoyable narrative.
The story is intriguing, with at least one twist that hints at more to come.
I found the resolution of the challenge a bit too convenient and easy (staying vague to avoid spoilers), but all in all, it was an enjoyable narrative.
May 30, 2023
Once again Emma L. Adams has created a richly fleshed out new fantasy world where gods grant their disciples powers and Kings have plans of their own. The unlikely unlistened to ex war hero finds a way to save the day and her friends and enemies alike making the most unexpected friends along the way. It will be very interesting to see where in this world the next story shall take us.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews