What do you think?
Rate this book
The Keepers #1
Soulkeeper
In the first book of USA Today bestseller David Dalglish's epic fantasy trilogy a warrior priest must answer the call and protect his world from monsters that were once only legend when ancient magic suddenly returns to his land.
Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, traveling through remote villages as a preacher and healer. But when a dragon awakens--the size of a mountain and leaving great chasms in its wake--the veil is torn, flooding the land with ancient magic and forgotten races. Now Devin must set aside his words of peace and accept his new role: slayer of monsters and protector of the human race.
But not all the creatures that have re-awakened mean humanity harm. And as Devin slowly befriends people of these new races, his discomfort in his role grows. But Soulkeepers must slay without mercy. And even sympathizers risk their wrath.
For more from David Dalglish, check out:
Shadowdance
A Dance of Cloaks
A Dance of Blades
A Dance of Mirrors
A Dance of Shadows
A Dance of Ghosts
A Dance of Chaos
Seraphim
Skyborn
Fireborn
Shadowborn
Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, traveling through remote villages as a preacher and healer. But when a dragon awakens--the size of a mountain and leaving great chasms in its wake--the veil is torn, flooding the land with ancient magic and forgotten races. Now Devin must set aside his words of peace and accept his new role: slayer of monsters and protector of the human race.
But not all the creatures that have re-awakened mean humanity harm. And as Devin slowly befriends people of these new races, his discomfort in his role grows. But Soulkeepers must slay without mercy. And even sympathizers risk their wrath.
For more from David Dalglish, check out:
Shadowdance
A Dance of Cloaks
A Dance of Blades
A Dance of Mirrors
A Dance of Shadows
A Dance of Ghosts
A Dance of Chaos
Seraphim
Skyborn
Fireborn
Shadowborn
657 pages, Paperback
First published March 19, 2019
537 people are currently reading
8274 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews
March 19, 2019
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
4.5/5 stars
Soulkeeper captivated my attention with its seductive storytelling. My inner bookworm is gratified to find another fantasy author’s backlog to go through; I can’t say the same for my bank account.
David Dalglish is not an unfamiliar name to me. For the past two years, I’ve occasionally seen his Shadowdance and Seraphim series being reviewed with positive ratings on bookish social media. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get around to any of his work despite being interested in them—especially Shadowdance. Soulkeeper, the first book in The Keepers trilogy, is my first experience reading Dalglish’s work; I loved it, so I know it definitely won’t be the last.
Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, a priest and a healer who travels through remote villages. When a mysterious and deadly black water appears and washes over the land of Cradle, the veil between worlds is torn, causing a return of ancient magic and forgotten races. The story revolves around Devin and his unlikely new companions as they try their best to adapt and survive the changes caused by all the new unprecedented dangers and situations. Here’s the good news I’m sure you want to hear: the execution of the story is even better than the premise. From the first chapter, I was immediately pulled into the solemn, melancholy, and dark mood of this world. The narrative has a voice that’s so compelling and addictive, imbued with resonating topics such as the nature of humanity, death, afterlife, and faith; all of these elements combined in a way that made it difficult for me to put the book down.
Dalgish’s characterizations in this book were terrific. The first ten chapters were all told from Devin’s POV; chapter eleven and the rest of the story changes the narrative to multi-POV style. The characters were the biggest reason why I highly enjoyed this book; Devin, Adria, Tommy, Jacaranca, Janus, Puffy, and Tesmarie were well-developed characters with distinctive voices and personalities. With minimum background revelations, Dalglish was able to make me care about these characters; the internal conflicts that they faced and the relationships they built were written superbly. The characters’ thoughts and actions in welcoming the arrival of awesome power and unknown threats also felt realistic and genuine. I really have to praise Dalglish on his creation of Puffy and Janus. Puffy is a firekin, a sentient fire elemental who’s incapable of speech but he ended up becoming one of my favorite characters from the book. He’s kind, endearing, loyal, and even though he doesn’t have any dialogue, his personality was fleshed out through his actions and behaviors. On the other hand, Janus is a fascinatingly malicious villain. Janus’s palpable hatred towards humanity was frightening and intense to read. Acting as a messenger of death and employing bigotry towards humanity as his fuel for destructive actions, every single one of Janus’s appearances pulled me in and pushed me to read; I was always intrigued to find out what he would do next and how the main characters would fight this savage predator of blood and gore.
I must also say that I’m impressed with Dalglish’s action scenes. The first half of the book was more fast-paced than the second half but I found the mix of great characterizations, exciting action scenes, and the gradual world-building inclusion to be incredibly entertaining so that even though there’s a slight lull after the interlude in the halfway point of the book, I remained thoroughly immersed. The swords battles, gunshots, magic-harnessing, spellcasting, and the battles with both humans and monsters were clearly imagined. I also loved how gradually the history and magic of the world—and how they’re related to each other—were delivered; there wasn’t any info dumping that hindered the pacing. I don’t think it’s too rash of me to assume that there’s still so much more in store for the rest of the trilogy. There have been usages of elemental spells, healing magic, and a bit of time-magic in this novel. Virtuous and evil creatures of different sizes—one being a literal moving mountain—have also appeared, but after finishing this book, I can’t help but feel that everything that happened within this installment was merely the calm before the storm.
Told in third-person narrative and focusing on several characters’ perspectives, the writing was accessible, evocative, vivid, and well-written; Dalglish’s prose was utterly engaging and delightful for me to read. As I mentioned before, Dalglish had already released a lot of books before Soulkeeper, and I have no doubt that this accumulation of writing experience played a huge part on how well-polished his prose was in this book. The prose never gets in the way of the story and there weren’t any instances where the writing felt too simple or too purple. There were, however, a few things in the prose that felt distracting to read for me. The curses (f words, shits, and all that jazz) somehow felt very out of place for the story and the tone of the book. I can’t really explain why, especially since I have always love curses in fantasy books; I enjoyed The Gentleman Bastards and many other fantasy series that use real-life curse words, but this was one of the extremely few fantasy books where it didn’t work for me. I also found the word ‘tremendous’ and ‘tremendously’ being used too often as a magnifier. Every time these words showed up in the book, my immersion was slightly distracted. However, do know that these are just my minor gripes and I doubt a lot of future readers will feel the same as me about it.
Engaging story, empathizing characters, steady pacing, wonderful prose, intricate world-building, and attention-grabbing action sequences; Soulkeeper has it all. Since the beginning of the creeping doom that started from the flood of deadly black water, my soul has been stolen and kept by this immensely enthralling first installment. The calm before the storm has ended, and I can’t wait to read the chaos that will be summoned in the next installment, Ravencaller.
Sidenote:
Read the acknowledgment section. This book is dedicated to Devin. The author named the main character of the book after someone he knew, a kid named Devin who has passed away. I’d like to offer my condolences and dedicate this review for him. Devin, may you rest in peace.
Official release date for the physical copies: March 21st, 2019 (UK) and March 19th, 2019 (US)
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
4.5/5 stars
Soulkeeper captivated my attention with its seductive storytelling. My inner bookworm is gratified to find another fantasy author’s backlog to go through; I can’t say the same for my bank account.
David Dalglish is not an unfamiliar name to me. For the past two years, I’ve occasionally seen his Shadowdance and Seraphim series being reviewed with positive ratings on bookish social media. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get around to any of his work despite being interested in them—especially Shadowdance. Soulkeeper, the first book in The Keepers trilogy, is my first experience reading Dalglish’s work; I loved it, so I know it definitely won’t be the last.
Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper, a priest and a healer who travels through remote villages. When a mysterious and deadly black water appears and washes over the land of Cradle, the veil between worlds is torn, causing a return of ancient magic and forgotten races. The story revolves around Devin and his unlikely new companions as they try their best to adapt and survive the changes caused by all the new unprecedented dangers and situations. Here’s the good news I’m sure you want to hear: the execution of the story is even better than the premise. From the first chapter, I was immediately pulled into the solemn, melancholy, and dark mood of this world. The narrative has a voice that’s so compelling and addictive, imbued with resonating topics such as the nature of humanity, death, afterlife, and faith; all of these elements combined in a way that made it difficult for me to put the book down.
“I have studied history extensively, Tommy. Any force for good, if capable of evil, will inevitably be used for evil. It’s just the nature of humanity.”
Dalgish’s characterizations in this book were terrific. The first ten chapters were all told from Devin’s POV; chapter eleven and the rest of the story changes the narrative to multi-POV style. The characters were the biggest reason why I highly enjoyed this book; Devin, Adria, Tommy, Jacaranca, Janus, Puffy, and Tesmarie were well-developed characters with distinctive voices and personalities. With minimum background revelations, Dalglish was able to make me care about these characters; the internal conflicts that they faced and the relationships they built were written superbly. The characters’ thoughts and actions in welcoming the arrival of awesome power and unknown threats also felt realistic and genuine. I really have to praise Dalglish on his creation of Puffy and Janus. Puffy is a firekin, a sentient fire elemental who’s incapable of speech but he ended up becoming one of my favorite characters from the book. He’s kind, endearing, loyal, and even though he doesn’t have any dialogue, his personality was fleshed out through his actions and behaviors. On the other hand, Janus is a fascinatingly malicious villain. Janus’s palpable hatred towards humanity was frightening and intense to read. Acting as a messenger of death and employing bigotry towards humanity as his fuel for destructive actions, every single one of Janus’s appearances pulled me in and pushed me to read; I was always intrigued to find out what he would do next and how the main characters would fight this savage predator of blood and gore.
“This world is much too hard and cruel to endure alone. From the first day the Sisters gave us life, we were meant to love and support one another. Sadly that basic tenet of our existence is also the hardest to keep.”
I must also say that I’m impressed with Dalglish’s action scenes. The first half of the book was more fast-paced than the second half but I found the mix of great characterizations, exciting action scenes, and the gradual world-building inclusion to be incredibly entertaining so that even though there’s a slight lull after the interlude in the halfway point of the book, I remained thoroughly immersed. The swords battles, gunshots, magic-harnessing, spellcasting, and the battles with both humans and monsters were clearly imagined. I also loved how gradually the history and magic of the world—and how they’re related to each other—were delivered; there wasn’t any info dumping that hindered the pacing. I don’t think it’s too rash of me to assume that there’s still so much more in store for the rest of the trilogy. There have been usages of elemental spells, healing magic, and a bit of time-magic in this novel. Virtuous and evil creatures of different sizes—one being a literal moving mountain—have also appeared, but after finishing this book, I can’t help but feel that everything that happened within this installment was merely the calm before the storm.
Told in third-person narrative and focusing on several characters’ perspectives, the writing was accessible, evocative, vivid, and well-written; Dalglish’s prose was utterly engaging and delightful for me to read. As I mentioned before, Dalglish had already released a lot of books before Soulkeeper, and I have no doubt that this accumulation of writing experience played a huge part on how well-polished his prose was in this book. The prose never gets in the way of the story and there weren’t any instances where the writing felt too simple or too purple. There were, however, a few things in the prose that felt distracting to read for me. The curses (f words, shits, and all that jazz) somehow felt very out of place for the story and the tone of the book. I can’t really explain why, especially since I have always love curses in fantasy books; I enjoyed The Gentleman Bastards and many other fantasy series that use real-life curse words, but this was one of the extremely few fantasy books where it didn’t work for me. I also found the word ‘tremendous’ and ‘tremendously’ being used too often as a magnifier. Every time these words showed up in the book, my immersion was slightly distracted. However, do know that these are just my minor gripes and I doubt a lot of future readers will feel the same as me about it.
Engaging story, empathizing characters, steady pacing, wonderful prose, intricate world-building, and attention-grabbing action sequences; Soulkeeper has it all. Since the beginning of the creeping doom that started from the flood of deadly black water, my soul has been stolen and kept by this immensely enthralling first installment. The calm before the storm has ended, and I can’t wait to read the chaos that will be summoned in the next installment, Ravencaller.
Sidenote:
Read the acknowledgment section. This book is dedicated to Devin. The author named the main character of the book after someone he knew, a kid named Devin who has passed away. I’d like to offer my condolences and dedicate this review for him. Devin, may you rest in peace.
Official release date for the physical copies: March 21st, 2019 (UK) and March 19th, 2019 (US)
You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
January 19, 2024
My complete review of Soulkeeper is published at Grimdark Magazine.
Soulkeeper is the action-packed first volume of David Dalglish’s dark fantasy series, The Keepers.
The novel opens with the reaping hour, a religious rite for the recently deceased, calling upon deities known as the Sisters to release a person’s soul from their body. The ritual is conducted by a warrior-priest known as a Soulkeeper. One of the most interesting aspects of Soulkeeper is the physical manifestation of the souls themselves, glowing orbs that people can witness emerge from a body and ascend toward the heavens.
As the most prominent Soulkeeper of his time, Devin Eveson roams the land offering his services to those in need. Unfortunately, a mysterious plague has created an unprecedented demand for his skills. Although the role of Soulkeeper comprises both religious leader and healer, Devin is also a pistol-wielding fighter extraordinaire who will defend innocent lives through any means necessary.
The plague seems to originate from a mysterious black water that is rising throughout the land, similar to the premise of the “Dark Tide” and “Darker Tide” short stories by Mark Lawrence.
This black water in Soulkeeper is accompanied by the return of a host of magical creatures, long forgotten by humankind. Much of Soulkeeper concerns people finding their place in a world where they’ve been suddenly displaced by strange and powerful beings. Some of these creatures are friendly towards people, but many are horrifying, including a mountain-sized dragon and a villain who mutilates humans, turning their bodies into macabre works of art.
Soulkeeper features a great cast of characters, including two of my favorite sidekicks in recent memory: the faery, Tesmarie, and the delightful firekin named Puffy. Puffy is a joy and steals the spotlight whenever he is on the page, communicating through his strokes of flame.
At over 650 pages, Soulkeeper is a chonker of a book, but the pages fly by quickly thanks to David Dalglish’s accessible writing style and fast-moving plot. There are plenty of dark moments in Soulkeeper, but these are balanced by a levitous sense of humor. My grimdark heart would have preferred a more consistently bleak tone to the novel, but I appreciate what Dalglish has done here in trying to balance the darkness with more lighthearted elements. The last third of the novel was the best part of the book, taking a definite turn toward darkness and ending with a big emotional punch.
For me, the emotional impact of Soulkeeper deepened when I read the author’s afterword describing the inspiration for the character Devin, a boy by the same name who frequented the author’s boardgame store and passed away from a rare disease as a college freshman. This background helped me to understand the deeper significance of Devin’s role as Soulkeeper and the design of his character as a clean-cut, do-it-all good guy. David Dalglish has also dedicated the book to Devin, describing him as “a great kid who left us far too soon.”
With Soulkeeper, David Dalglish has created a rich and engrossing new world. Soulkeeper is a consistently entertaining read with just the right level of darkness that would serve as a suitable entry point for readers new to grimdark fantasy but not yet ready to dive into the deep end of the genre.
Soulkeeper is the action-packed first volume of David Dalglish’s dark fantasy series, The Keepers.
The novel opens with the reaping hour, a religious rite for the recently deceased, calling upon deities known as the Sisters to release a person’s soul from their body. The ritual is conducted by a warrior-priest known as a Soulkeeper. One of the most interesting aspects of Soulkeeper is the physical manifestation of the souls themselves, glowing orbs that people can witness emerge from a body and ascend toward the heavens.
As the most prominent Soulkeeper of his time, Devin Eveson roams the land offering his services to those in need. Unfortunately, a mysterious plague has created an unprecedented demand for his skills. Although the role of Soulkeeper comprises both religious leader and healer, Devin is also a pistol-wielding fighter extraordinaire who will defend innocent lives through any means necessary.
The plague seems to originate from a mysterious black water that is rising throughout the land, similar to the premise of the “Dark Tide” and “Darker Tide” short stories by Mark Lawrence.
This black water in Soulkeeper is accompanied by the return of a host of magical creatures, long forgotten by humankind. Much of Soulkeeper concerns people finding their place in a world where they’ve been suddenly displaced by strange and powerful beings. Some of these creatures are friendly towards people, but many are horrifying, including a mountain-sized dragon and a villain who mutilates humans, turning their bodies into macabre works of art.
Soulkeeper features a great cast of characters, including two of my favorite sidekicks in recent memory: the faery, Tesmarie, and the delightful firekin named Puffy. Puffy is a joy and steals the spotlight whenever he is on the page, communicating through his strokes of flame.
At over 650 pages, Soulkeeper is a chonker of a book, but the pages fly by quickly thanks to David Dalglish’s accessible writing style and fast-moving plot. There are plenty of dark moments in Soulkeeper, but these are balanced by a levitous sense of humor. My grimdark heart would have preferred a more consistently bleak tone to the novel, but I appreciate what Dalglish has done here in trying to balance the darkness with more lighthearted elements. The last third of the novel was the best part of the book, taking a definite turn toward darkness and ending with a big emotional punch.
For me, the emotional impact of Soulkeeper deepened when I read the author’s afterword describing the inspiration for the character Devin, a boy by the same name who frequented the author’s boardgame store and passed away from a rare disease as a college freshman. This background helped me to understand the deeper significance of Devin’s role as Soulkeeper and the design of his character as a clean-cut, do-it-all good guy. David Dalglish has also dedicated the book to Devin, describing him as “a great kid who left us far too soon.”
With Soulkeeper, David Dalglish has created a rich and engrossing new world. Soulkeeper is a consistently entertaining read with just the right level of darkness that would serve as a suitable entry point for readers new to grimdark fantasy but not yet ready to dive into the deep end of the genre.
March 17, 2019
‘“Hundreds of years, we slept. Buried beneath the ground, like seeds. Locked in the sky, like water within clouds. We slept, so you might multiply like rodents. We are angry, and you ask why?”’
~
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH
Go read it!!!
End of review.
~
Okay... okay... I’ll go into a bit more detail, but be warned, this review may contain serious amounts of enthusiasm!
~
Soulkeeper by David Dalglish is the first book in The Keepers series, and is just one hell of a bundle of fun and entertainment. This first instalment is fast paced, witty and is full of so many fantastical monsters it made my heart so happy to read it!
~
I feel that this book had a great balance between being fast paced but also being able to inject enough world building and characterisation to keep the reader well engaged. From the very first page we’re hooked right in.
~
The story begins with the main character, Devin, being sent on a mission to find a fabled cure for a plague that’s killing the people of a secluded village. Devon is a Soulkeeper who worships the Three Sister Goddesses; Alma, who births the human soul, Lyra who cares for the soul during life, and Anwyn who takes the soul when you die. Soulkeepers pray on a dead body and call upon Anwyn to take the soul during the reaping hour. When Devin travels in search of this cure he discovers the reawakening of long forgotten evil in the world, intent on destroying humanity.
~
I won’t say much else about the plot as it’s better to discover for yourself, but there is a bucket load of monster slaying in this, and if you’re like me and love that kind of thing, then you’re in for a treat! I mean there were zombies, wolf-spiders, man eating flowers, freaky man eating owls, ALL THE MONSTERS!
~
My favourite characters were; Devin, Jacaranda, and Tommy; from the non human characters Tesmarie and Puffy just stole my heart too!
~
Devin’s character was pretty easy to love right from the very first chapter. He’s illustrated as being loyal, caring, and not afraid to do anything to protect others, even if it may cost him his life. His scenes often had such dark violent moments, which were incredibly exciting, but to cut through that he was quite humorous. I mean he’s a completely foul mouthed priest, and some of his commentaries whilst fighting, really made me laugh. He was a great well balanced character.
‘“Take a single step my way and I shall run all the rest. Put your trust in me and I will move an entire world to prove I’m worthy of that trust.”’
~
Tommy’s character also provided a huge amount of laugh out load moments for me. He had this awkward insecure air about him that made him such an entertaining character. His interactions with others always involved a lot rambling and him blubbering out something embarrassing, and of course that really made me laugh!
~
Jacaranda I feel had the most heartbreaking narrative. I don’t want to say much about her, because her story is best discovered without knowing anything, but she went through some horrific events. Her quest for vengeance and freedom was often so emotional to read, and some scenes had me on the edge of tears.
~
Throughout the book not all the creatures Devin encountered were evil. Tesmarie, an onyx faery, and Puffy a Firekin, both became central to Devin’s band of friends. This was definitely one of my favourite aspects of the book, because both of these characters were just perfect! Their scenes were full of mirth and charm. Once again it bought a welcome balance to the much darker themes of the book.
~
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the dark chapters though, if you know me, you know I love a bit of stabby stabby gut spilling action! In fact I damn well loved the main villain, Janus! He’s one of the best villain’s I’ve come across in a long time. He’s a creation that enjoys killing, he revels in bloodshed, and no amount of slaughter is ever enough to satisfy him. He views it as a work of art. You gotta love an insane character like that!
‘“Not all art must be pleasant to the eye to be beautiful. There is an undeniable pull to the truth, however wicked.”’
~
Essentially this book is a battle of humanity vs fantastical creatures, and the raw conflict they have with each other. I felt that the book leaves this conflict right on the brink of a storm that will either see the two sides coexist in a new way, or end in utter destruction, and I for one cannot wait to find which way it will go!
~
Thank you to the publisher Orbit for providing this free copy in exchange for an honest review. Soulkeeper is due for release 21st March 2019.
~
I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH
Go read it!!!
End of review.
~
Okay... okay... I’ll go into a bit more detail, but be warned, this review may contain serious amounts of enthusiasm!
~
Soulkeeper by David Dalglish is the first book in The Keepers series, and is just one hell of a bundle of fun and entertainment. This first instalment is fast paced, witty and is full of so many fantastical monsters it made my heart so happy to read it!
~
I feel that this book had a great balance between being fast paced but also being able to inject enough world building and characterisation to keep the reader well engaged. From the very first page we’re hooked right in.
~
The story begins with the main character, Devin, being sent on a mission to find a fabled cure for a plague that’s killing the people of a secluded village. Devon is a Soulkeeper who worships the Three Sister Goddesses; Alma, who births the human soul, Lyra who cares for the soul during life, and Anwyn who takes the soul when you die. Soulkeepers pray on a dead body and call upon Anwyn to take the soul during the reaping hour. When Devin travels in search of this cure he discovers the reawakening of long forgotten evil in the world, intent on destroying humanity.
~
I won’t say much else about the plot as it’s better to discover for yourself, but there is a bucket load of monster slaying in this, and if you’re like me and love that kind of thing, then you’re in for a treat! I mean there were zombies, wolf-spiders, man eating flowers, freaky man eating owls, ALL THE MONSTERS!
~
My favourite characters were; Devin, Jacaranda, and Tommy; from the non human characters Tesmarie and Puffy just stole my heart too!
~
Devin’s character was pretty easy to love right from the very first chapter. He’s illustrated as being loyal, caring, and not afraid to do anything to protect others, even if it may cost him his life. His scenes often had such dark violent moments, which were incredibly exciting, but to cut through that he was quite humorous. I mean he’s a completely foul mouthed priest, and some of his commentaries whilst fighting, really made me laugh. He was a great well balanced character.
‘“Take a single step my way and I shall run all the rest. Put your trust in me and I will move an entire world to prove I’m worthy of that trust.”’
~
Tommy’s character also provided a huge amount of laugh out load moments for me. He had this awkward insecure air about him that made him such an entertaining character. His interactions with others always involved a lot rambling and him blubbering out something embarrassing, and of course that really made me laugh!
~
Jacaranda I feel had the most heartbreaking narrative. I don’t want to say much about her, because her story is best discovered without knowing anything, but she went through some horrific events. Her quest for vengeance and freedom was often so emotional to read, and some scenes had me on the edge of tears.
~
Throughout the book not all the creatures Devin encountered were evil. Tesmarie, an onyx faery, and Puffy a Firekin, both became central to Devin’s band of friends. This was definitely one of my favourite aspects of the book, because both of these characters were just perfect! Their scenes were full of mirth and charm. Once again it bought a welcome balance to the much darker themes of the book.
~
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the dark chapters though, if you know me, you know I love a bit of stabby stabby gut spilling action! In fact I damn well loved the main villain, Janus! He’s one of the best villain’s I’ve come across in a long time. He’s a creation that enjoys killing, he revels in bloodshed, and no amount of slaughter is ever enough to satisfy him. He views it as a work of art. You gotta love an insane character like that!
‘“Not all art must be pleasant to the eye to be beautiful. There is an undeniable pull to the truth, however wicked.”’
~
Essentially this book is a battle of humanity vs fantastical creatures, and the raw conflict they have with each other. I felt that the book leaves this conflict right on the brink of a storm that will either see the two sides coexist in a new way, or end in utter destruction, and I for one cannot wait to find which way it will go!
~
Thank you to the publisher Orbit for providing this free copy in exchange for an honest review. Soulkeeper is due for release 21st March 2019.
January 23, 2025
Devin is a warrior priest whose devotion to his job makes him the first person aware of the gods awakening. the world isn’t one he remembers, instead it’s flooded by monsters and creatures of all kinds. as he works to fix all the things that have gone wrong, he’s accompanied by his siblings and new friends alike.
”Any force for good, if capable of evil, will inevitably be used for evil. It's just the nature of humanity.”
this was so fast paced and i liked that Devin is truly just a good man, he prefers not to turn to violence but this new situation forces him to do so. we have multiple POVs besides Devin— his sister Adira who’s a mindkeeper with healing magic, his brother Tommy plays the role of mage who discovers a new form of magic and Jacaranda: a slave that Devin saves from her distraught existence. there’s also Janus, a creature of chaos that’s been freed from imprisonment and set a task. im surprised to say that i enjoyed the side romance and the characters overall are all great with their various personalities. the end setup the rest of the series in an intriguing way, I’ll definitely be continuing.
”Any force for good, if capable of evil, will inevitably be used for evil. It's just the nature of humanity.”
this was so fast paced and i liked that Devin is truly just a good man, he prefers not to turn to violence but this new situation forces him to do so. we have multiple POVs besides Devin— his sister Adira who’s a mindkeeper with healing magic, his brother Tommy plays the role of mage who discovers a new form of magic and Jacaranda: a slave that Devin saves from her distraught existence. there’s also Janus, a creature of chaos that’s been freed from imprisonment and set a task. im surprised to say that i enjoyed the side romance and the characters overall are all great with their various personalities. the end setup the rest of the series in an intriguing way, I’ll definitely be continuing.
April 5, 2020
2020 reread
Just as good as the first time. An amazing dark and grim world and the most precious beans for characters. I'm a happy trash of emotions.
2019 read
BEST. BOOK. OF. THE. YEAR. Y'ALL
This is not my first meeting with David Dalglish. I enjoyed his Shadowdance series though I never actually finished it, and absolutely adored his Seraphim trilogy. Suffice to say is that I had high expectations on this one, and was also a bit scared my expectations was not met.
Spoilers: It met my expectations and went beyond!
I love the world. How dark and brutal it turned with magic (and gods and monsters) returned. I also liked the magic system alot.
And the characters. The characters. So precious I love them all. (Not you Gerag you can go die a slow painful death in a pit for all I care.) But Devin, Jacaranda, Adria and Tommy. And Tesmarie and Puffy. I love you with all my heart. I loved the relationships between them and their humor was such a nice contrast to everything else going on around them.
Just as good as the first time. An amazing dark and grim world and the most precious beans for characters. I'm a happy trash of emotions.
2019 read
BEST. BOOK. OF. THE. YEAR. Y'ALL
This is not my first meeting with David Dalglish. I enjoyed his Shadowdance series though I never actually finished it, and absolutely adored his Seraphim trilogy. Suffice to say is that I had high expectations on this one, and was also a bit scared my expectations was not met.
Spoilers: It met my expectations and went beyond!
I love the world. How dark and brutal it turned with magic (and gods and monsters) returned. I also liked the magic system alot.
And the characters. The characters. So precious I love them all. (Not you Gerag you can go die a slow painful death in a pit for all I care.) But Devin, Jacaranda, Adria and Tommy. And Tesmarie and Puffy. I love you with all my heart. I loved the relationships between them and their humor was such a nice contrast to everything else going on around them.
February 15, 2023
This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷 Support me ☕
Actual Rating: 4.25 Stars
There are a bunch of authors that I wanted to read as soon as I got into adult fantasy. Some of these include Michael J Sullivan, Brian McClellan, RJ Barker and many others including David Dalglish. For some reason I had a good feeling about his books and I even got gifted a copy of Soulkeeper through an online bookstore but never got the copy which sucks and which made me postpone reading it for the longest time.
What I can tell with a quick glance at the GR page of the book is that it is a very underrated series. It deserves a higher average rating and it deserves more than just 1300 reviews. I don’t understand why aren’t more people are reading this great book.
I was also a bit intimidated by the length but to be honest it was a fast read and I finished the 700 pages in 3 days. The flow of the story is very consistent and I did not feel like there were parts that I was bored while reading. I enjoyed the author’s note about how the idea of the story came to him and I am very glad he listened to his publisher and editor and did not do the time jump because this book shows us how old and dark powers are awakening which was not the usual story telling he originally wanted to go for.
It is my first book by Dalglish so I did not know what to expect from the writing but the first few chapters were enough to let me know that he writes well and is experienced. I loved the writing style mixing between action, humor and wholesomeness.
The characters were all well written, the chapter headers change depending on whose POV we are reading and they are written in 3rd person point of view which was a good choice to prevent confusion. Devin, Adria, Tommy and Jacaranda were all unique and added something to the story. Not only that but each character got different powers with the awakening of those deities and I liked that.
Speaking of powers and deities, I really really liked the world building. I loved how everything seemed connected from the dragons to the magical powers to the order of creatures and we gradually get to discover the world preventing it from becoming overwhelming. We also have Tesmarie and Puffy who are cute AF!
Summary: This is my first time reading Dalglish books and definitely not the last. I really liked everything about this story from the writing style to the characters and world-building and the plot. I don’t know if his earlier works are as good but I sure as hell know I will be continuing this series and discovering his future works.
Actual Rating: 4.25 Stars
There are a bunch of authors that I wanted to read as soon as I got into adult fantasy. Some of these include Michael J Sullivan, Brian McClellan, RJ Barker and many others including David Dalglish. For some reason I had a good feeling about his books and I even got gifted a copy of Soulkeeper through an online bookstore but never got the copy which sucks and which made me postpone reading it for the longest time.
What I can tell with a quick glance at the GR page of the book is that it is a very underrated series. It deserves a higher average rating and it deserves more than just 1300 reviews. I don’t understand why aren’t more people are reading this great book.
I was also a bit intimidated by the length but to be honest it was a fast read and I finished the 700 pages in 3 days. The flow of the story is very consistent and I did not feel like there were parts that I was bored while reading. I enjoyed the author’s note about how the idea of the story came to him and I am very glad he listened to his publisher and editor and did not do the time jump because this book shows us how old and dark powers are awakening which was not the usual story telling he originally wanted to go for.
It is my first book by Dalglish so I did not know what to expect from the writing but the first few chapters were enough to let me know that he writes well and is experienced. I loved the writing style mixing between action, humor and wholesomeness.
The characters were all well written, the chapter headers change depending on whose POV we are reading and they are written in 3rd person point of view which was a good choice to prevent confusion. Devin, Adria, Tommy and Jacaranda were all unique and added something to the story. Not only that but each character got different powers with the awakening of those deities and I liked that.
Speaking of powers and deities, I really really liked the world building. I loved how everything seemed connected from the dragons to the magical powers to the order of creatures and we gradually get to discover the world preventing it from becoming overwhelming. We also have Tesmarie and Puffy who are cute AF!
Summary: This is my first time reading Dalglish books and definitely not the last. I really liked everything about this story from the writing style to the characters and world-building and the plot. I don’t know if his earlier works are as good but I sure as hell know I will be continuing this series and discovering his future works.
March 7, 2019
As always this review can also be found on my blog The Tattooed Book Geek: https://thetattooedbookgeek.wordpress...
3.5 stars.
Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper. Soulkeepers are part of the Keeping Church who worship the Three Sisters (Alma, Lyra and Anwyn) and travel the land of the Cradle offering aid, healing, mediating legal issues, officiating marriage ceremonies, overseeing the reaping rituals (where the spirit of the deceased leaves the body during the reaping hour) and offering protection from bandits who prey on the hamlets, villages and towns that are located throughout the Cradle.
As a Soulkeeper Devin is called to the village of Dunwerth where a disease has spread through the population, killing many and sickening more. While in the village a strange black water cascades over the land deadening, decaying and rotting everything in its path. The remaining villagers leave Dunwerth and head to the town of Crynn hoping to escape the tides of the black water. Crynn has also succumbed to the black water and the villagers, the refugees who have lost everything must carry on and seek shelter from the corruption that is plaguing the world in the city of Londheim.
Devin, who followed in the footsteps of the Dunwerth villagers, stopping at Crynn, seeing the corruption and finding his brother-in-law, Tommy still alive also heads to Londheim hoping to find his sister, Adria still alive too. Devin and Adria find each other, a family reunion along with Tommy and then a moving mountain is spotted in the distance making for Londheim. The crawling mountain arrives at the city gates, spewing black water around the perimeter and laying siege to the populace of Londheim.
The black water that rolled over the leagues did more than damage the land and with its advent, magic and creatures not seen in centuries return to the world of the Cradle. According to the scripture of the Keeping Church magic and creatures are just fable, myth, stories told to entertain or scare children, they aren’t. They were lost to time and now the world is changing, reverting back to how it used to be, inhabited by both humans (the Three Sister’s creation) and creatures (dragon-sired) who used to co-exist. The creatures (zombies, spider-wolves, living plants, giant owls that hunt humans, stone gargoyles and shadow/void monsters and more) were real, the magic was real and both have been slumbering for an age only to be awoken by the black water that has washed over the land.
With the crawling mountain outside of Londheim. Janus, a creation of Viciss, is released from his long imprisonment and set a task. Janus hasn’t slumbered, he hasn’t been awoken by the black water, he was awake through the centuries as a punishment and harbours a deep-seated hatred against the keepers and the Keeping Church. Janus travels to a nearby forest to retrieve an artefact and then, upon his return, he can torment the streets of Londheim sending a message to the keepers, the Keeping Church and the Three Sisters through his artwork, grotesque and twisted sculptures made from the bodies of the Keepers. With Janus terrorising the streets of Londheim Devin and his companions must put a stop to the killings, uncover the truth and adjust to the deadly new world.
Janus is a horrifying creation that been dragged out of Dalglish’s mind, a nightmare of foul proportion come to life on the pages. His hatred for humanity and the art that he creates is black as pitch. While there was the ever-present threat of the sadistic Janus I did sometimes forget about the crawling mountain being outside the gates of Londheim. After issuing a threat the mountain remained silent and seemed to only be mentioned in passing, coming across as more of an afterthought than an adversary capable of mass destruction. The mountain does have an important role to play in the story, at the beginning it is the cause of the black water and it has a role in the ending too. The mountain just seemed to be ‘there‘ and the impending threat wasn’t. Or, at least, I didn’t feel the threat whilst reading. The threat of the monsters newly re-awoken and plaguing the streets of Londheim, yes. The massive mountain, no and it just felt like background after its initial arrival at the gates. A presence, lurking, waiting and biding its time. Which, it is, it was just lacking in ominous dread.
The writing in Soulkeeper is decent if a little wordy but Dalglish kept my attention over the course of his 700-page tome. He also knows how to write exciting fight scenes and the book is peppered with fights that are exhilarating to read.
The world and its history and lore are intriguing (with more to be revealed in the future books in the series) and I liked all of the characters that Dalglish has created from Devin through to his companions. Tommy, his goofy brother-in-law who finds that he has the ability to wield magic, Adria, his strong sister who finds that she has the ability to heal people, Jacaranda, a soulless (without spoilers detailing it her story arc is really interesting), Puffy, a firekin and Tesmarie, a faery. With Adria and Tommy, they are discovering the limits of their new abilities, the gifts bestowed upon them by the Three Sisters who watch over the Cradle, learning how to control their powers and finding out what they are capable of. Tommy, in particular, is the comic relief to the story and all of them in their own way are engaging and add to the story. For Puffy and Tesmarie it is easy to see where the influences for them come from and I had a real soft spot for Puffy, the little firekin, his attitude and his mannerisms. He’s a lil’ dude who exudes a lot of tude! However, I did feel that their charm and cuteness was a dramatic departure from the darkness of Janus and his hellish macabre artwork who would be at home in any grimdark book. I felt that they were polar opposites, light and dark. No-one wants characters who are all the same but it seemed like they were from two different books and the contrast between them was extremely jarring.
I have to admit that Soulkeeper wasn’t entirely what I was expecting. From the blurb, in particular, the part that read ‘as the land grows more dangerous‘ I thought that the story would take place out in the newly awoken wild world and that Devin would hunt the killer of the other Keeper’s across the Cradle. This doesn’t happen, after the arrival at Londheim Devin does venture out to a settlement near the Oakback woods (which is great seeing the altered forest and the living plants come to savage life) but the meat of the story and most of the book takes place on the streets of Londheim.
I really liked the idea of Soulkeeper and I thought that it had the potential to be a fantastic book. Sadly, I felt that the premise was somewhat let down by the execution. It is still a decent read but it failed to live up to my expectations. It felt overly long and compared to other fantasy works that I have read the characters, the setting and the story never jumped out from of pages and grabbed me. I would have liked more from the book and while the future of humanity is at stake, the fate of the characters lacked any real emotional impact for me.
It might seem like I’m hating on Soulkeeper, I’m not, I don’t regret reading it, I’m glad I did. I was just disappointed with it and I’m trying to explain my issues. On the whole, I enjoyed Soulkeeper, it is a good solid book and a promising start to a new fantasy series. I would be interested in reading the sequel, Ravencaller to see what fate awaits the characters and to see where Dalglish next takes the story.
3.5 stars.
Devin Eveson is a Soulkeeper. Soulkeepers are part of the Keeping Church who worship the Three Sisters (Alma, Lyra and Anwyn) and travel the land of the Cradle offering aid, healing, mediating legal issues, officiating marriage ceremonies, overseeing the reaping rituals (where the spirit of the deceased leaves the body during the reaping hour) and offering protection from bandits who prey on the hamlets, villages and towns that are located throughout the Cradle.
As a Soulkeeper Devin is called to the village of Dunwerth where a disease has spread through the population, killing many and sickening more. While in the village a strange black water cascades over the land deadening, decaying and rotting everything in its path. The remaining villagers leave Dunwerth and head to the town of Crynn hoping to escape the tides of the black water. Crynn has also succumbed to the black water and the villagers, the refugees who have lost everything must carry on and seek shelter from the corruption that is plaguing the world in the city of Londheim.
Devin, who followed in the footsteps of the Dunwerth villagers, stopping at Crynn, seeing the corruption and finding his brother-in-law, Tommy still alive also heads to Londheim hoping to find his sister, Adria still alive too. Devin and Adria find each other, a family reunion along with Tommy and then a moving mountain is spotted in the distance making for Londheim. The crawling mountain arrives at the city gates, spewing black water around the perimeter and laying siege to the populace of Londheim.
The black water that rolled over the leagues did more than damage the land and with its advent, magic and creatures not seen in centuries return to the world of the Cradle. According to the scripture of the Keeping Church magic and creatures are just fable, myth, stories told to entertain or scare children, they aren’t. They were lost to time and now the world is changing, reverting back to how it used to be, inhabited by both humans (the Three Sister’s creation) and creatures (dragon-sired) who used to co-exist. The creatures (zombies, spider-wolves, living plants, giant owls that hunt humans, stone gargoyles and shadow/void monsters and more) were real, the magic was real and both have been slumbering for an age only to be awoken by the black water that has washed over the land.
With the crawling mountain outside of Londheim. Janus, a creation of Viciss, is released from his long imprisonment and set a task. Janus hasn’t slumbered, he hasn’t been awoken by the black water, he was awake through the centuries as a punishment and harbours a deep-seated hatred against the keepers and the Keeping Church. Janus travels to a nearby forest to retrieve an artefact and then, upon his return, he can torment the streets of Londheim sending a message to the keepers, the Keeping Church and the Three Sisters through his artwork, grotesque and twisted sculptures made from the bodies of the Keepers. With Janus terrorising the streets of Londheim Devin and his companions must put a stop to the killings, uncover the truth and adjust to the deadly new world.
Janus is a horrifying creation that been dragged out of Dalglish’s mind, a nightmare of foul proportion come to life on the pages. His hatred for humanity and the art that he creates is black as pitch. While there was the ever-present threat of the sadistic Janus I did sometimes forget about the crawling mountain being outside the gates of Londheim. After issuing a threat the mountain remained silent and seemed to only be mentioned in passing, coming across as more of an afterthought than an adversary capable of mass destruction. The mountain does have an important role to play in the story, at the beginning it is the cause of the black water and it has a role in the ending too. The mountain just seemed to be ‘there‘ and the impending threat wasn’t. Or, at least, I didn’t feel the threat whilst reading. The threat of the monsters newly re-awoken and plaguing the streets of Londheim, yes. The massive mountain, no and it just felt like background after its initial arrival at the gates. A presence, lurking, waiting and biding its time. Which, it is, it was just lacking in ominous dread.
The writing in Soulkeeper is decent if a little wordy but Dalglish kept my attention over the course of his 700-page tome. He also knows how to write exciting fight scenes and the book is peppered with fights that are exhilarating to read.
The world and its history and lore are intriguing (with more to be revealed in the future books in the series) and I liked all of the characters that Dalglish has created from Devin through to his companions. Tommy, his goofy brother-in-law who finds that he has the ability to wield magic, Adria, his strong sister who finds that she has the ability to heal people, Jacaranda, a soulless (without spoilers detailing it her story arc is really interesting), Puffy, a firekin and Tesmarie, a faery. With Adria and Tommy, they are discovering the limits of their new abilities, the gifts bestowed upon them by the Three Sisters who watch over the Cradle, learning how to control their powers and finding out what they are capable of. Tommy, in particular, is the comic relief to the story and all of them in their own way are engaging and add to the story. For Puffy and Tesmarie it is easy to see where the influences for them come from and I had a real soft spot for Puffy, the little firekin, his attitude and his mannerisms. He’s a lil’ dude who exudes a lot of tude! However, I did feel that their charm and cuteness was a dramatic departure from the darkness of Janus and his hellish macabre artwork who would be at home in any grimdark book. I felt that they were polar opposites, light and dark. No-one wants characters who are all the same but it seemed like they were from two different books and the contrast between them was extremely jarring.
I have to admit that Soulkeeper wasn’t entirely what I was expecting. From the blurb, in particular, the part that read ‘as the land grows more dangerous‘ I thought that the story would take place out in the newly awoken wild world and that Devin would hunt the killer of the other Keeper’s across the Cradle. This doesn’t happen, after the arrival at Londheim Devin does venture out to a settlement near the Oakback woods (which is great seeing the altered forest and the living plants come to savage life) but the meat of the story and most of the book takes place on the streets of Londheim.
I really liked the idea of Soulkeeper and I thought that it had the potential to be a fantastic book. Sadly, I felt that the premise was somewhat let down by the execution. It is still a decent read but it failed to live up to my expectations. It felt overly long and compared to other fantasy works that I have read the characters, the setting and the story never jumped out from of pages and grabbed me. I would have liked more from the book and while the future of humanity is at stake, the fate of the characters lacked any real emotional impact for me.
It might seem like I’m hating on Soulkeeper, I’m not, I don’t regret reading it, I’m glad I did. I was just disappointed with it and I’m trying to explain my issues. On the whole, I enjoyed Soulkeeper, it is a good solid book and a promising start to a new fantasy series. I would be interested in reading the sequel, Ravencaller to see what fate awaits the characters and to see where Dalglish next takes the story.
April 30, 2019
Soulkeeper is an epic fantasy with a huge amount of heart.
I really loved Devin as a a protagonist. He’s a bit of an old fashioned hero. He has kindness in him, unwavering intent and the character to make the right choice over the easy choice. As a Soulkeeper and it is his job to shepherd spirits into the next life where the embrace of the Three Sisters awaits. Every night there is a time of reaping where, if the circumstances are correct, he can usher glowing balls of lights that are physical manifestations of the souls of those departed up into the sky.
The story kicks off quite quickly with the discovery of an ancient creature that forces him to question the validity of his beliefs specifically the place of his gods in the universe. Through his travels he meets more creatures, some friendly some not so friendly, gains some companions and reconnects with his sister and her family. As he and his friends prepare to face down an almighty evil that is growing in threat things just kick up into an entirely different gear. The battle scenes are breathtaking and feel authentic with the tone changing just at the right moments to keep the reader off balance but engaged.
I couldn't put this book down. It’s absolutely smashing fantasy that hits all the right notes. 9/10
Thanks to Orbit for sending me a copy.
I really loved Devin as a a protagonist. He’s a bit of an old fashioned hero. He has kindness in him, unwavering intent and the character to make the right choice over the easy choice. As a Soulkeeper and it is his job to shepherd spirits into the next life where the embrace of the Three Sisters awaits. Every night there is a time of reaping where, if the circumstances are correct, he can usher glowing balls of lights that are physical manifestations of the souls of those departed up into the sky.
The story kicks off quite quickly with the discovery of an ancient creature that forces him to question the validity of his beliefs specifically the place of his gods in the universe. Through his travels he meets more creatures, some friendly some not so friendly, gains some companions and reconnects with his sister and her family. As he and his friends prepare to face down an almighty evil that is growing in threat things just kick up into an entirely different gear. The battle scenes are breathtaking and feel authentic with the tone changing just at the right moments to keep the reader off balance but engaged.
I couldn't put this book down. It’s absolutely smashing fantasy that hits all the right notes. 9/10
Thanks to Orbit for sending me a copy.
January 18, 2023
This was my first time reading a David Dalglish book and I was not disappointed in the least. Great characters, non-stop action, and a really fantastical world. I will be delving into book 2 right away. RTC!
April 3, 2022
Buddy read with mina
★★
You know, sometimes you come across a recipe with many tasty ingredients. When you make the dish, it comes out to be almost tasteless (meh!). Soulkeeper is exactly that, for me.
TW: Sexual abuse, graphic violence.
It took me over a month (and half) to finish my first book for this year (sigh!).
I started to buddy read this book with a friend, and as we neared chapter 15, we both agreed that the book is not interesting enough. At that point, my buddy made a smart call to drop it while I decided to give it a shot. I only wish I was wiser.
I have to admit, Soulkeeper is an odd one. It has an interesting premise. The world has different types of magic, is filled with a wide array of fantasy characters (a moving mountain, sentient fire being, time manipulating fairy, for example). But it lacks the emotional connect that would glue these together. The story-telling is way too slow to my taste. Each chapter teased me that something (big) of significance is going to happen but I only ended up saying meh!. There are certain events that would feel significant when they happen, but they end up having no impact on the plot. Things like these, wore me out eventually.
The plot did started moving at around 80%, but that was too late. The events at the end of this book didn't give me any sense of completion, but only a setup for the next one. Thus, the overall experience is a big NO.
This book has great reviews from some of my GR friends, so may be this book did not work for me.
I would reconsider this book if it goes through an edit and is probably brought to half its current size. However, in its current shape and form, this was a disappointing reading experience for me, and I would not recommend this to any one.
★★
You know, sometimes you come across a recipe with many tasty ingredients. When you make the dish, it comes out to be almost tasteless (meh!). Soulkeeper is exactly that, for me.
TW: Sexual abuse, graphic violence.
It took me over a month (and half) to finish my first book for this year (sigh!).
I started to buddy read this book with a friend, and as we neared chapter 15, we both agreed that the book is not interesting enough. At that point, my buddy made a smart call to drop it while I decided to give it a shot. I only wish I was wiser.
I have to admit, Soulkeeper is an odd one. It has an interesting premise. The world has different types of magic, is filled with a wide array of fantasy characters (a moving mountain, sentient fire being, time manipulating fairy, for example). But it lacks the emotional connect that would glue these together. The story-telling is way too slow to my taste. Each chapter teased me that something (big) of significance is going to happen but I only ended up saying meh!. There are certain events that would feel significant when they happen, but they end up having no impact on the plot. Things like these, wore me out eventually.
The plot did started moving at around 80%, but that was too late. The events at the end of this book didn't give me any sense of completion, but only a setup for the next one. Thus, the overall experience is a big NO.
This book has great reviews from some of my GR friends, so may be this book did not work for me.
I would reconsider this book if it goes through an edit and is probably brought to half its current size. However, in its current shape and form, this was a disappointing reading experience for me, and I would not recommend this to any one.
February 16, 2021
"By Alma, we are born."
"By Lyra, we are guided."
"By Anwyn, we are returned."
"Beloved sisters, take them home."
Holy War Priests was this ever a fun book to read. It's been a while where I have read something that has magic so front and center, and, I have to say, it entertained the hell out of me this go-around.
I had a real hard time pinning down the whole vibe of this book...part grimdark...part cosmic horror...one hundred percent fantasy. It all clicked together so well and told a story that had me racing through the pages at a breakneck pace. Even with all the grittiness and blood, gore, and horror - there was still this underlying feeling of hope, joy, and humor that took the edge off of everything, perfectly balancing the story.
It was just so damn dark - and yet it had me chuckling to myself as I read through the pages, which is mostly due to the great chemistry of the characters and how they interacted with one another. Soulkeeper has multiple points of view, and every single one of them was a delight to spend time with, and not once did I ever feel like it was time to 'move along.'
Big shout out to Puffy! A 'firekin' creature of flame that very much resembles Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle. I will kill for Puffy. Do not fuck with Puffy. And Puffy is just one of so, so, many interesting creatures (and/or) monsters that inhabit this book. There is so much whacky shit going on and it just entertains the hell outta ya.
Can you tell I'm excited? well, I am. So I'ma end this here and go jump into book two right now.
"By Lyra, we are guided."
"By Anwyn, we are returned."
"Beloved sisters, take them home."
Holy War Priests was this ever a fun book to read. It's been a while where I have read something that has magic so front and center, and, I have to say, it entertained the hell out of me this go-around.
I had a real hard time pinning down the whole vibe of this book...part grimdark...part cosmic horror...one hundred percent fantasy. It all clicked together so well and told a story that had me racing through the pages at a breakneck pace. Even with all the grittiness and blood, gore, and horror - there was still this underlying feeling of hope, joy, and humor that took the edge off of everything, perfectly balancing the story.
It was just so damn dark - and yet it had me chuckling to myself as I read through the pages, which is mostly due to the great chemistry of the characters and how they interacted with one another. Soulkeeper has multiple points of view, and every single one of them was a delight to spend time with, and not once did I ever feel like it was time to 'move along.'
Big shout out to Puffy! A 'firekin' creature of flame that very much resembles Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle. I will kill for Puffy. Do not fuck with Puffy. And Puffy is just one of so, so, many interesting creatures (and/or) monsters that inhabit this book. There is so much whacky shit going on and it just entertains the hell outta ya.
Can you tell I'm excited? well, I am. So I'ma end this here and go jump into book two right now.
April 17, 2020
Synopsis
Devin is a Soulkeeper, a preacher in the religious order that follows The Sisters. He is as devoted to his job as any, as such Devin is the first to learn when the Gods have awakened. These are not his Gods, though, but demigods and dragons from ancient myth. Devin can hardly believe it, until he sees the effects with his own eyes. The black flood. Faeries. Giant man-eating plants. And a moving mountain that threatens to crush his village.
Now Devin is pressed with a new task: protect the people from these angry, divine beings. He will not be alone, though, as he has a group of friends just as dedicated to save the human race – including one who has taken advantage of the recent change in circumstances to learn powerful magic. Devin and his crew must pull out all the stops if they are going to keep the human race alive.
Review
I enjoyed reading Soukeeper very much, as there were just so many different aspects of this book that appealed to me. From the characters, to the dialogue, to the writing style, there was just so much to enjoy about the book. This is my first David Dalglish book, and I immediately added his previous releases to my TBR (seriously, go check my Goodreads).
My favorite part of this book is the character set. The story contains many interesting characters, both human and non-human, that carried me through the book and kept my interest. There is Devin, the main protagonist, the Soulkeeper-cum-warrior who has dedicated his life to the people and is not going to stop just because some Gods and their minions have decided to return. Tommy is Devin’s brother-in-law, and he plays the role of mage in the book – having discovered powerful magic exists in their new reality. Adria is Devin’s sister, and she is a Mindkeeper. Also a member of the order, but her job is as someone who comforts and heals people in their time of need. Adria plays an important role, too, as she realizes she can now heal people instantaneously. This is a kind of traditional trio of heroes (Warrior, Mage, Healer), which the author uses as a base to build the remaining characters.
Our heroes meet some friends along the way, as well, that add to the personality of the team, my favorite being Jacaranda. After Devin rescues her from dire circumstances she becomes part of the squad, and she is such a firecracker. Her boisterous personality brings a ton of joy and fun to the team, and she becomes incredibly important.
In addition, there are monsters. So many monsters: Giant owls, man-eating plants, faeries, and many more. Even dragons make a cameo. Add in Gods and Demigods, one of which is a murderous sociopath bent on the destruction of the human race, and this is a character set that cannot be beat. I love how diverse and interesting the characters are.
While this amazing set of characters is the base of the story, the writing is what carries the book from there. I loved David Dalglishes’ writing style; it felt so smooth and effortless. One word flowed so easily to the next, making the book so easy to read (and hard to put down). The descriptions were great, and I felt really immersed into this world. Dialogue was on point, as well, and I cannot remember thinking one time that something a character said awkward or out of place. The story is full of great plot devices that move the story along, too, that I never really questioned any of the characters’ actions. I love writing that grabs ahold of me and keeps me interested immersed in the story; David Dalglish has provided that in Soulkeeper.
One more big positive is the ending of the book: it was enthralling. Not only does it wrap up this book rather nicely, but the best part of it is that it sets up the next book to be even more epic. As much as I liked Soulkeeper, I love even more the fact that it looks to be the precursor to a story that is going to get bigger, deeper, and better. That feeling of anticipation is a major plus, and I cannot wait to read Ravencaller (Book 2 in The Soulkeepers series).
The only thing that kept it from a perfect score is that I am unsure if the God-Demigod relationship to this world is fully explained. This actually happens often with books where all-powerful beings are involved: they do not always act like all-powerful beings, and without a full explanation of that it remains a bit of a mystery to me. This is not a big enough flaw to make a huge difference to me, as the rest of the story was just so good.
Soukeeper is so good, y’all. I love just about everything about it: the characters, the writing, the plot, the ending. The longing it created that will last until I read the next book in the series is real. I highly recommend this book for all fans of fantasy.
Devin is a Soulkeeper, a preacher in the religious order that follows The Sisters. He is as devoted to his job as any, as such Devin is the first to learn when the Gods have awakened. These are not his Gods, though, but demigods and dragons from ancient myth. Devin can hardly believe it, until he sees the effects with his own eyes. The black flood. Faeries. Giant man-eating plants. And a moving mountain that threatens to crush his village.
Now Devin is pressed with a new task: protect the people from these angry, divine beings. He will not be alone, though, as he has a group of friends just as dedicated to save the human race – including one who has taken advantage of the recent change in circumstances to learn powerful magic. Devin and his crew must pull out all the stops if they are going to keep the human race alive.
Review
I enjoyed reading Soukeeper very much, as there were just so many different aspects of this book that appealed to me. From the characters, to the dialogue, to the writing style, there was just so much to enjoy about the book. This is my first David Dalglish book, and I immediately added his previous releases to my TBR (seriously, go check my Goodreads).
My favorite part of this book is the character set. The story contains many interesting characters, both human and non-human, that carried me through the book and kept my interest. There is Devin, the main protagonist, the Soulkeeper-cum-warrior who has dedicated his life to the people and is not going to stop just because some Gods and their minions have decided to return. Tommy is Devin’s brother-in-law, and he plays the role of mage in the book – having discovered powerful magic exists in their new reality. Adria is Devin’s sister, and she is a Mindkeeper. Also a member of the order, but her job is as someone who comforts and heals people in their time of need. Adria plays an important role, too, as she realizes she can now heal people instantaneously. This is a kind of traditional trio of heroes (Warrior, Mage, Healer), which the author uses as a base to build the remaining characters.
Our heroes meet some friends along the way, as well, that add to the personality of the team, my favorite being Jacaranda. After Devin rescues her from dire circumstances she becomes part of the squad, and she is such a firecracker. Her boisterous personality brings a ton of joy and fun to the team, and she becomes incredibly important.
In addition, there are monsters. So many monsters: Giant owls, man-eating plants, faeries, and many more. Even dragons make a cameo. Add in Gods and Demigods, one of which is a murderous sociopath bent on the destruction of the human race, and this is a character set that cannot be beat. I love how diverse and interesting the characters are.
While this amazing set of characters is the base of the story, the writing is what carries the book from there. I loved David Dalglishes’ writing style; it felt so smooth and effortless. One word flowed so easily to the next, making the book so easy to read (and hard to put down). The descriptions were great, and I felt really immersed into this world. Dialogue was on point, as well, and I cannot remember thinking one time that something a character said awkward or out of place. The story is full of great plot devices that move the story along, too, that I never really questioned any of the characters’ actions. I love writing that grabs ahold of me and keeps me interested immersed in the story; David Dalglish has provided that in Soulkeeper.
One more big positive is the ending of the book: it was enthralling. Not only does it wrap up this book rather nicely, but the best part of it is that it sets up the next book to be even more epic. As much as I liked Soulkeeper, I love even more the fact that it looks to be the precursor to a story that is going to get bigger, deeper, and better. That feeling of anticipation is a major plus, and I cannot wait to read Ravencaller (Book 2 in The Soulkeepers series).
The only thing that kept it from a perfect score is that I am unsure if the God-Demigod relationship to this world is fully explained. This actually happens often with books where all-powerful beings are involved: they do not always act like all-powerful beings, and without a full explanation of that it remains a bit of a mystery to me. This is not a big enough flaw to make a huge difference to me, as the rest of the story was just so good.
Soukeeper is so good, y’all. I love just about everything about it: the characters, the writing, the plot, the ending. The longing it created that will last until I read the next book in the series is real. I highly recommend this book for all fans of fantasy.
April 26, 2022
4 🌟
Interesting. I enjoyed. The words on the cover of the book basically explains a lot. "The magic had returned" " So have to monsters"
Devin a Soulkeeper helps to send souls on and beyond but is also train for the unthinkable with his sword and gun at hand. When he finds that something isn't right about his surrounds mountains talking, wolves talking the dead coming back alive. And he thinks the world has ended.
But magic has returned. Talking faerie. His brother in law has a power he can't understand. His sister heals with prayers.
But there's a man killing people strangely that they can't fathom why and who is he and what do he wants.
Soulless that's train to kill are waking to havingsouls.
It's an interesting ride following Devin his sister and brother in law. I'll read book 2. Hoping the story goes on a journey especially with the big map in the book would like to know how far tgis magic and weirdness has gone. Just being told it wasn't good enough. But I enjoyed. Very mysterious on the ending. Still don't too much understand the 3 sisters. Are they Gods? I'm not too sure but seems like they were.
4 🌟. Intriguing.
2nd read 3 half ⭐
Interesting. I enjoyed. The words on the cover of the book basically explains a lot. "The magic had returned" " So have to monsters"
Devin a Soulkeeper helps to send souls on and beyond but is also train for the unthinkable with his sword and gun at hand. When he finds that something isn't right about his surrounds mountains talking, wolves talking the dead coming back alive. And he thinks the world has ended.
But magic has returned. Talking faerie. His brother in law has a power he can't understand. His sister heals with prayers.
But there's a man killing people strangely that they can't fathom why and who is he and what do he wants.
Soulless that's train to kill are waking to havingsouls.
It's an interesting ride following Devin his sister and brother in law. I'll read book 2. Hoping the story goes on a journey especially with the big map in the book would like to know how far tgis magic and weirdness has gone. Just being told it wasn't good enough. But I enjoyed. Very mysterious on the ending. Still don't too much understand the 3 sisters. Are they Gods? I'm not too sure but seems like they were.
4 🌟. Intriguing.
2nd read 3 half ⭐
May 27, 2020
Overall rating = 3.5 stars
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I’m a fan of David Dalglish, I’ve been an unabashed one since I first read A Dance Of Cloaks more than 9 years ago. Soulkeeper however is the start of a new series set in a new world. I was super excited to read this one when David told me about it. The book was definitely a distinct departure from what he has written about before.
The story opens up Devin Eveson, our protagonist and a soulkeeper, who is a part of the church that worship the Three Sisters (Goddesses who nourished and nurtured humanity). Devin is our window into the world and the world is a very different one than what we have seen previously in all of David’s titles. Devin is by nature a peaceful person but accepts the realities of being a soulkeeper. One such task that he’s asked to look into, is a village in crisis wherein people & livestock seem to be running away from something. Upon arrival at Dunwerth village, he finds that all of the strange occurrences can be tied to the black water which has encroached upon the village and its surroundings. Pretty soon Devin finds that the water is tied to more strange occurrences and is forced to retreat to the main city of Londheim. It’s there wherein majority of the plot & action will unfold and we meet several other important characters both protagonists and antagonists. There’s also the presence of a giant mountain that while seemingly important doesn’t quite translate its oozing menace.
This story is a distinct departure from his previous books wherein they were more about the darker characters. Devin Eveson is a more clean-cut figure who is kind, considerate and good-natured to a fault. This was a distinct surprise in this book as David Dalglish’s protagonists are usually from the shadowy walks of life. But besides Devin we have a huge character cast and within that we have quite a few who hearken back to his Half-Orc, Paladin and Shadowdance series. Chief among them is Janus who seems to fit in solidly with some of the Dalglish’s famous deadly creations in the past.
The world history and magic system isn’t quite as revealed as I would have preferred but there’s a lot that is laid bare. Such as the evolution of humanity which was entirely thanks to the sisters Alma, Lyra and Anwyn. The world however is much more than what humanity knows and soon fable and myth become reality and hazard becomes horror. All of this wonderfully unfolds as the characters soon realize what is happening but not how or the why of it. Action sequences have always been David’s forte and it’s no surprise that he excels with them over here too. Big action sequences, terrifying magic usage and dark villains, Soulkeeper definitely has it all but what it also does different from his preceding titles is a world that’s on the cusp of an apocalypse.
Chracterization is an art that David Dalglish has always had an excellent grasp on and it’s no wonder that within this book, readers will have their favorites. Mine were Jacaranda, Tesmarie and Puffy. Especially Puffy who is a veritable delight on every page that they appear and I hope the author gives us more and more of Puffy in the future volume. Jacaranda is a person who perhaps has the most twisted path but showcases that she’s not one to be easily categorized. It will be intriguing to see where the author takes her next. Lastly Devin as the main protagonist is a solid choice but is a bit of a goody two-shoes. This isn’t a criticism but I feel that he will have a lot to do in the future books and he might not get a lot of choices.
Lastly as with any Dalglish title, you can expect amazing action sequences, cool magic systems, terrifying monsters (of both the human and non-human kind) & the sort of fun that was found in 90s action thrillers. Soulkeeper is no different as the author unleashes a world that features some truly horrific monsters and that leads to some cool action sequences to satisfy the action aficionados. The magic system isn’t entirely revealed but I’m excited to see what happens in the sequel and know more about the three sisters as well as those who hate them and their progeny.
Lastly I had a couple of criticisms about the book, firstly the pace of the book isn’t typical of a David Dalglish book. Namely in the first third of the story, it’s much on the slower side as events unfold and many set pieces are slowly moved into place. But from the middle, things take off and we never have to look back. I felt that with this book being perhaps the longest one in the author’s career. The pace was perhaps lost for better exposition. Secondly I know many have loved the cover, however I think Orbit books completely missed the mark with this one. I say this because I have seen the fantabulous efforts they have done for the Shadowdance series and the Seraphim trilogy. Compared to those two series, this cover seems like a sub-par effort. I hope that Orbit can up their game as I know how wonderful their covers are (for eg. checkout any of their other books) as I was definitely flabbergasted to see this cover.
CONCLUSION: Soulkeeper is the start of a new trilogy that promises quite a bit of fun twists mixed in with trademark Dalglish action, cool magic & characters who will stay with you for a long time. This seems to be a new direction in the author’s career and I can’t wait to see what exciting experiences he brings to the table.
May 6, 2019
I need book 2.
I have discovered a talented author who creates worlds and characters to disappear in.
In Soulkeeper we are introduced to Devin who starts out having a normalish day for a guy of his profession to quickly discovering that magic is real and makes some interesting magical friends on his way.
What I liked about this book, was, unlike most epic fantasy's that dedicate a chapter to how grass feels and other useless information, this book is straight into the action, no long winded dialogue introducing new characters, information was given only when it helped the story progress, and what a story. I found myself living in the streets of Londheim, sharing everything that happened. The descriptions just drew me in, I was hoping for more magical creatures, but this is a trilogy so I hope more will be introduced.
Devin has a character was well written and I liked that he had feelings, it's not usual for me to relate to a male character but Devin wasn't written as a macho man, I liked that he relied on his friends to help and wasn't above asking for help.
Jacaranda, she nearly fell into the typical whiny female character but managed not to, we shall see how she grows in book 2.
Tommy was just funny and I liked that him been gay was written in a way that it was never questioned, the author never made it a bug deal out it, it didn't feel forced, natural is how it was and it worked.
I'm hoping for more Puffy in book 2 and I do hope we have more Janus, has a bad guy I liked him. He took pride in his work.
Bring on book 2 and I'm of to find more of this authors books.
I have discovered a talented author who creates worlds and characters to disappear in.
In Soulkeeper we are introduced to Devin who starts out having a normalish day for a guy of his profession to quickly discovering that magic is real and makes some interesting magical friends on his way.
What I liked about this book, was, unlike most epic fantasy's that dedicate a chapter to how grass feels and other useless information, this book is straight into the action, no long winded dialogue introducing new characters, information was given only when it helped the story progress, and what a story. I found myself living in the streets of Londheim, sharing everything that happened. The descriptions just drew me in, I was hoping for more magical creatures, but this is a trilogy so I hope more will be introduced.
Devin has a character was well written and I liked that he had feelings, it's not usual for me to relate to a male character but Devin wasn't written as a macho man, I liked that he relied on his friends to help and wasn't above asking for help.
Jacaranda, she nearly fell into the typical whiny female character but managed not to, we shall see how she grows in book 2.
Tommy was just funny and I liked that him been gay was written in a way that it was never questioned, the author never made it a bug deal out it, it didn't feel forced, natural is how it was and it worked.
I'm hoping for more Puffy in book 2 and I do hope we have more Janus, has a bad guy I liked him. He took pride in his work.
Bring on book 2 and I'm of to find more of this authors books.
November 9, 2020
4,5 rounded up (again, I know, but it was really good)
The relationships between the characters was heartwarming and I loved it, I really needed that right now.
It's a dark book, but there's so much hope and love and friendship to combat that darkness that it's never all that bleak. This book is really similar to John Gwynne's a Time of Dread in that regard, only this is lighter still.
It's going to be interesting to see how the world deals with all these beings coming back to the 'cradle' after them being absent for so long. Devin is a pretty relatable character for me so that's cool too.
Also readers will find great female characters in here and Tommy (Devin's brother in law) is seriously funny, loyal, gay, sorta geeky and just a delight to read about. AND there's Puffy! he's literally fire, he's cute and awesome and yeah.
Some of my love for this book probably has to do with my being sick, ridiculously busy and generally miserable for the last month or two, but I really did love it.
I'm going to dive into Ravencaller now, bye.
The relationships between the characters was heartwarming and I loved it, I really needed that right now.
It's a dark book, but there's so much hope and love and friendship to combat that darkness that it's never all that bleak. This book is really similar to John Gwynne's a Time of Dread in that regard, only this is lighter still.
It's going to be interesting to see how the world deals with all these beings coming back to the 'cradle' after them being absent for so long. Devin is a pretty relatable character for me so that's cool too.
Also readers will find great female characters in here and Tommy (Devin's brother in law) is seriously funny, loyal, gay, sorta geeky and just a delight to read about. AND there's Puffy! he's literally fire, he's cute and awesome and yeah.
Some of my love for this book probably has to do with my being sick, ridiculously busy and generally miserable for the last month or two, but I really did love it.
I'm going to dive into Ravencaller now, bye.
August 14, 2022
Super interesting world building, and a lot of action, which I like. But there were too many POVs for my taste. I don't like it when books jump around between a ton of different characters. Makes everything feel choppy.
April 1, 2019
Excellent dark and dastardly fantasy. Full review to follow.
February 1, 2022
I loved this book. If you can handle gore (descriptions of blood and organs, etc) read this book.
We follow a cast characters where people start to gain powers and a lot of creatures that no human knew to exist start to appear, some of the creatures wants to kill the humans while others want them to coexist together. The world is very interisting and I wanted to know what was going to happen next all the time.
The book is easy to read, since I managed to read 360 pages in one day (normally I read 20-50 pages a day).
This book has 4 awesome female characters that have point of views (2 of them we get only one chapter with their point of view).
There also gay characters, there was a random couple of guys that are married, and one the main characters is gay. And no one seems care about that, besides the fact if he is going to be able to date the guy he likes.
I need more fantasy books like this where there is more than one girl "that is not like others girls" (or the wife or daughter) and there are lgbtq+ characters.
We follow a cast characters where people start to gain powers and a lot of creatures that no human knew to exist start to appear, some of the creatures wants to kill the humans while others want them to coexist together. The world is very interisting and I wanted to know what was going to happen next all the time.
The book is easy to read, since I managed to read 360 pages in one day (normally I read 20-50 pages a day).
This book has 4 awesome female characters that have point of views (2 of them we get only one chapter with their point of view).
There also gay characters, there was a random couple of guys that are married, and one the main characters is gay. And no one seems care about that, besides the fact if he is going to be able to date the guy he likes.
I need more fantasy books like this where there is more than one girl "that is not like others girls" (or the wife or daughter) and there are lgbtq+ characters.
January 10, 2021
Ok but I think I prefer his other books
November 26, 2020
Well, this was fantasy at its oddest. In summary Demi-Gods have awoken in this fantasy realm. But their awakening has also awoken ancient creatures and some power within humans. As a mountain walks toward a city (er, yes I thought that too) the humans within find their world has changed forever.
Odd because of the premise, a walking mountain, yet when it turns up outside the city, they don’t seem overly bothered. They don’t abandon the city like anyone sensible would, they just carry on. They even, at one stage have merchant ships arrive at the docks. Who would trade with a city overshadowed by a walking mountain?
Anyway, it feels like the author threw loads of things into a cooking pot and then just served them up. So we have a bad guy who does some horrific things (not for the faint hearted, very unpleasant and violent), a warrior priest full of fortune cookie wisdom, a Tinkerbelle like fairy and a cute fire sprite. Oh and humans with no souls who are like zombies.
Quite a few interesting ideas, some of them work and others don’t, there is a good story in here desperately struggling to get out. Some of the dialogue is oddly trite, something the author is not usually guilty of and the behaviours of the citizens felt off.
If you were in a city with an evil mountain outside your walls, a demon inside killing in the most grotesque way, giant killer owls, newly murdering gargoyles I suspect you would be packing your bags. Much here that defies logic.
There is a follow up book, I would summarise my review by saying I will probably not be reading it.
Odd because of the premise, a walking mountain, yet when it turns up outside the city, they don’t seem overly bothered. They don’t abandon the city like anyone sensible would, they just carry on. They even, at one stage have merchant ships arrive at the docks. Who would trade with a city overshadowed by a walking mountain?
Anyway, it feels like the author threw loads of things into a cooking pot and then just served them up. So we have a bad guy who does some horrific things (not for the faint hearted, very unpleasant and violent), a warrior priest full of fortune cookie wisdom, a Tinkerbelle like fairy and a cute fire sprite. Oh and humans with no souls who are like zombies.
Quite a few interesting ideas, some of them work and others don’t, there is a good story in here desperately struggling to get out. Some of the dialogue is oddly trite, something the author is not usually guilty of and the behaviours of the citizens felt off.
If you were in a city with an evil mountain outside your walls, a demon inside killing in the most grotesque way, giant killer owls, newly murdering gargoyles I suspect you would be packing your bags. Much here that defies logic.
There is a follow up book, I would summarise my review by saying I will probably not be reading it.
April 15, 2019
It's been way too long since I smashed through a book like this in just a few days but holy shit this book is freaking amazing! I love Devin and Puffy and Tes but holy hell do I love Tommy more. I wasn't entirely sold on Jacaranda at first but as the book went on I actually found myself liking her a lot. I even appreciated the psychotic mess that was Janus.
All the characters were wonderful and brilliant and bring on Ravencaller...like right now please...
All the characters were wonderful and brilliant and bring on Ravencaller...like right now please...
June 29, 2020
CAWPILE rating: 7.21/10
STAR rating: ★★★★
REVIEW: I loved most of this, but there were chunks of it that I really didn't enjoy as much so trying to rate it has been interesting. Overall, a really good book and I'm diving into the sequel immediately. Longer RTC maybe.
warning/s: mentions of past rape, sexual assault, abuse
STAR rating: ★★★★
REVIEW: I loved most of this, but there were chunks of it that I really didn't enjoy as much so trying to rate it has been interesting. Overall, a really good book and I'm diving into the sequel immediately. Longer RTC maybe.
warning/s: mentions of past rape, sexual assault, abuse
March 19, 2021
First thing that stood out for me in this series is the soft magic, incredible amount of whimsy and unexpected magical abilities. The writing is easy and light, making it a quicker read even though it is quite chunky. It starts off without magic, Devin is a Soulkeeper. He helps souls travel from the body to the Sisters, it is heavy on religion. Soulkeepers are trained to protect and help and know how to handle a sword and gun. It kinds starts off directly with something going wrong in a small town. A black watery shadow spreads throughout the land leaving ash behind it. The magic and its magical creatures have returned. Where are the Sisters, who have long ago made this magic dorment. I loved the magical creatures, Puffy and Tesmarie are the cutest! The big Owls eating people are wicked and I oh so love Janus and his twisted macabre art created out of humans. The magic world is not happy, anger accompanied the return. Luckily not all hold a grudge. The humans baffled by magic, long forgotten they lived alongside magical creatures only remember some of them from folklore tales. No one knows what is going to happen next, there is a huge mountain before the city. It has walked its way towards it and stood still ominous and quiet. What has awakened? There is a lot going on in the story, I love the humor. I can still laugh loudly when someone draws a dick...easy to amuse I guess. Tommy is hilariously silly and naive. Jacaranda kicks ass, a soulles that has her soul back. Reliving her trauma as a soulles used as servant and more darker roles. Finding safety and friendship within the gang they try to help eachother and figure out what Janus is planning. Im curious to learn more about the characters and the world. What happened between the sisters and the dragons? It took me quite a lot of time to get into this book but the whimsy eventually had its charm and the I was looking forward to more weird unexpected magical creatures and possibilities within this world. I hope the sequel fleshes it out more. And gives more solid reasons.
April 9, 2019
It’s like The Witcher minus the everything.
I know Dalglish has an editor, because he thanks her in the acknowledgements. But I feel this book could have used a LOT more editorial direction and involvement. There was just so much going on that distracted from The Big Problem.
There's a giant living mountain outside of the city walls, monsters in the streets and Emo T-1000 wantonly murdering and mutilating swaths of people in increasingly gruesome ways, but Our Hero has time to go on a date. Priorities, right?
The most frustrating part? After 500 pages of minute details of everything else (like the completely bizarre date), we get two very important events that happen completely off camera while Our Hero was SLEEPING. Instead of detailing the murder of a child that wound up not serving the rest of the story outside of that moment, Dalglish could have shown us the Wacky Wizard Sidekick doing his important stuff that saved the world.
I guess I should take comfort in the fact that he didn't fridge the two female leads after seriously teasing it in the last 100 rushed pages of the novel.
There are some neat ideas in this book. The three disciplines, for example. I'd love to learn more about them and see how they interact in the larger scheme of things. But sadly, I'm not coming back to this series at all.
I know Dalglish has an editor, because he thanks her in the acknowledgements. But I feel this book could have used a LOT more editorial direction and involvement. There was just so much going on that distracted from The Big Problem.
There's a giant living mountain outside of the city walls, monsters in the streets and Emo T-1000 wantonly murdering and mutilating swaths of people in increasingly gruesome ways, but Our Hero has time to go on a date. Priorities, right?
The most frustrating part? After 500 pages of minute details of everything else (like the completely bizarre date), we get two very important events that happen completely off camera while Our Hero was SLEEPING. Instead of detailing the murder of a child that wound up not serving the rest of the story outside of that moment, Dalglish could have shown us the Wacky Wizard Sidekick doing his important stuff that saved the world.
I guess I should take comfort in the fact that he didn't fridge the two female leads after seriously teasing it in the last 100 rushed pages of the novel.
There are some neat ideas in this book. The three disciplines, for example. I'd love to learn more about them and see how they interact in the larger scheme of things. But sadly, I'm not coming back to this series at all.
February 15, 2021
4.5
I loved this too much to write a proper and well-articulated review so here are the main points I loved:
- the world and magic: they are very well-developed and so prominent in the story, I absolutely loved the way they are done. As a big fan of magic in fantasy books, I absolutely adored all of it, I adored the way its return was described and the people's reactions too. It's been a while since I read a book with such active magic, especially of this sort, with all kinds of magical creatures in it and I'm so excited for Ravencaller now.
The world and its lore seems pretty big and I'm very curious to see how it will be written in Ravencaller.
- the characters: honestly? I didn't find even one boring POV this time, all of them have their big roles in the story and each of them is very interesting to follow. Of them all, my favourite character is Puffy 🤣🤣
I really enjoyed reading about Devin and he's a very open-minded character, so naturally the people around him are open-minded too which I love. I'm curious if he would remain the way he is in the next books or if he'll too "evolve" so to speak 🤣.
His sister's role seems to be getting bigger which is all the mor eintriguing given what she did at the end of the book.
Tommy is such a sweetheart and I'm excited to read more about him too.
Honestly, after this ending, I can't wait to get to the next one.
I loved this too much to write a proper and well-articulated review so here are the main points I loved:
- the world and magic: they are very well-developed and so prominent in the story, I absolutely loved the way they are done. As a big fan of magic in fantasy books, I absolutely adored all of it, I adored the way its return was described and the people's reactions too. It's been a while since I read a book with such active magic, especially of this sort, with all kinds of magical creatures in it and I'm so excited for Ravencaller now.
The world and its lore seems pretty big and I'm very curious to see how it will be written in Ravencaller.
- the characters: honestly? I didn't find even one boring POV this time, all of them have their big roles in the story and each of them is very interesting to follow. Of them all, my favourite character is Puffy 🤣🤣
I really enjoyed reading about Devin and he's a very open-minded character, so naturally the people around him are open-minded too which I love. I'm curious if he would remain the way he is in the next books or if he'll too "evolve" so to speak 🤣.
His sister's role seems to be getting bigger which is all the mor eintriguing given what she did at the end of the book.
Tommy is such a sweetheart and I'm excited to read more about him too.
Honestly, after this ending, I can't wait to get to the next one.
June 5, 2021
Probably better than a 3 star book but not quite 4.
This was an interesting start to a new series. It was very readable, with lots of interesting ideas. Strange creatures and unique magic kept things interesting. The plot centered around an upheaval to the established order of most everything, from the dominant religion to the presence of magic to the existence of wild and dangerous creatures. Much of the book involves our characters grappling with these sudden changes.
The characters themselves were solid, a likable bunch with varied personalities. I appreciated the overall tone of the book, grim and terrible things happened without the narrative ever veering into the bleak make me hate the world and everything in it grimdark style.
The reason this isn’t rated higher for me is that I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing, something just didn’t click with me. Another admittedly minor complaint is the choice to use modern names for most characters. Seeing names like Brittany in a fantasy novel is just jarring to me.
Overall I enjoyed the book and will be interested to see where the story goes.
This was an interesting start to a new series. It was very readable, with lots of interesting ideas. Strange creatures and unique magic kept things interesting. The plot centered around an upheaval to the established order of most everything, from the dominant religion to the presence of magic to the existence of wild and dangerous creatures. Much of the book involves our characters grappling with these sudden changes.
The characters themselves were solid, a likable bunch with varied personalities. I appreciated the overall tone of the book, grim and terrible things happened without the narrative ever veering into the bleak make me hate the world and everything in it grimdark style.
The reason this isn’t rated higher for me is that I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing, something just didn’t click with me. Another admittedly minor complaint is the choice to use modern names for most characters. Seeing names like Brittany in a fantasy novel is just jarring to me.
Overall I enjoyed the book and will be interested to see where the story goes.
March 28, 2023
Not bad, but not great. There were numerous times throughout where I found myself just trying to get to the next chapter, but there were also many times I couldn't wait to see what happened next.
The weirdest thing to me is that it felt like this book drifted between YA and grim-dark which was a bit jarring. Like the romances felt rushed/forced and particularly cringey/teenage at times and on the very next page, you would read about a character being dismembered in graphic detail. It was just too tonally different in my opinion.
Some really cool concepts though. The soulless "waking up" is a great concept and I hope we have more examination of that in future books.
Room to improve, but enough good to keep me interested in the series.
The weirdest thing to me is that it felt like this book drifted between YA and grim-dark which was a bit jarring. Like the romances felt rushed/forced and particularly cringey/teenage at times and on the very next page, you would read about a character being dismembered in graphic detail. It was just too tonally different in my opinion.
Some really cool concepts though. The soulless "waking up" is a great concept and I hope we have more examination of that in future books.
Room to improve, but enough good to keep me interested in the series.
March 12, 2021
Not too shabby. I had never read anything by David Dalglish until this book. I would rate this way, way below the level of Steven Erikson, Brandon Sanderson, or even George R.R. Martin in his prime (and he hasn't been in his prime for a LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG, LONG time). Bitter about GRRM . . . me . . . no!!! A bit.
Anyway, Soulkeeper was a very interesting story. It at times reminded me of the good old days of fantasy, then he would throw in an occasional F bomb and it took me right back to the present. I like a good F word as much as the next guy, but it just didn't seem to fit in this fantasy setting. But, David does what he wants.
I've never been one to recap the story in my reviews, so I'll just say it kept my interest from start to finish. There are some pretty heavy scenes of brutality in this one, and I had no idea Mr. Dalglish wrote this way. I wonder if his other book series (series', what's the plural of series) are as dark and unforgiving.
So, I liked this story quite a bit, and already have book two, "Ravencaller", on my shelf ready to go.
But first . . . a side tour into western brutality with Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" is next up for me.
See ya!
Anyway, Soulkeeper was a very interesting story. It at times reminded me of the good old days of fantasy, then he would throw in an occasional F bomb and it took me right back to the present. I like a good F word as much as the next guy, but it just didn't seem to fit in this fantasy setting. But, David does what he wants.
I've never been one to recap the story in my reviews, so I'll just say it kept my interest from start to finish. There are some pretty heavy scenes of brutality in this one, and I had no idea Mr. Dalglish wrote this way. I wonder if his other book series (series', what's the plural of series) are as dark and unforgiving.
So, I liked this story quite a bit, and already have book two, "Ravencaller", on my shelf ready to go.
But first . . . a side tour into western brutality with Cormac McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses" is next up for me.
See ya!
June 21, 2022
I loved Soulkeeper so much 😍. 4.5 stars.I haven’t read anything by this author before but after this book, I may very well give all his books a try.
Devin Evason is a soulkeeper, a healer and a preacher. When an ancient dragon is woken, the viel is torn and the world becomes filled with ancient forgotten magic. Devin must accept a new role, a monster Hunter and protecter. He and his unlikely accomplices must learn to survive this journey.
:The characters are very realistic, flawed and vulnerable. The non-human charecters are amazing. The world is filled with all kinds of monsters and there’s non-stop action so far. Finally The writing is very well done. Most of all, the author managed to make me feel like the characters are struggling for real. Although they’re doing their best, they’re not super intelligent nor are they wise beyond their years, they’re just so real and I felt myself really caring for them and identifying with them. The action scenes is absolutely amazing and the world building is so good, plus the author gave us enough character backround to make me care about them without flooding me with endless flashbacks. The writing style was very easy to get to and the story was executed really well. Highly recommended
Displaying 1 - 30 of 303 reviews