Immortals' Requiem: An Epic Grimdark Fantasy

by Vincent Bobbe

[chymerra]

When I first read the blurb for Immortals’ Requiem, I thought that this was going to be a run of the mill fantasy. Since I like fantasy, I figured why not, the worst thing is that this book is cookie cutter vampire/shifter/zombie novel. Well, wasn’t I super wrong. Immortals’ Requiem was like nothing I have read before. Let’s put it this way, I loved this book. I loved how the author took everything that terrified people (vampires, shifters, zombies) and put his unique spin on them. I liked how his heroes were flawed. I loved that the author wasn’t afraid to kill off characters.

There were things that I didn’t like about the book but they were minor things that didn’t have any effect on my review. I didn’t like how the zombies in the Tower of the Dawn came to be. More specifically, who was behind it. I wasn’t expecting that. I also didn’t like how the Barghest (Cú Roí’s children) came to be. When the birthing scene played out, all I could think of was the movie, Alien. The last thing that I didn’t care for was Mark. I didn’t like him .

There are several plotlines that are in Immortals’ Requiem. There is Grimnir and Cú Roí’s. Grimnir was charged with killing Cú Roí over 2,000 years ago. So, when Cu Roi comes back to Earth, Grimnir is resurrected. Then there is Mark’s. He is obsessed with hunting down and killing supernatural beings. He is also obsessed with keeping the reincarnation of his late wife alive. Lastly, there is Cam. Cam is a dissatisfied Elf who has distanced himself from his heritage and family. He happens to meet Grimnir in a pub and the rest is history.

This is a long book, 552 pages. While I like long books, some people don’t. Personally, I think that longer books are great. There is more time for the author to do world and character building. Which is what the author did here. He built a complex world with complex characters. I loved it!!!

I liked that the heroes in Immortals’ Requiem were not “good” per say. They were grayer. Take Mark, for instance. He became Immortal after peeing on a stone that told Grimnir’s tale. It was a punishment for a cocky young Roman man. He was also forced to live with watching his true love die before he could save her, every 50 years. He cannot die, so that means he cannot kill himself. So, what does he do? He starts to the hunt for the person responsible for his Immortality, the Maiden. He starts hunting down all supernatural beings and killing them. The reason I consider him a “good” guy is that he decided to help Rowan and his sister escape Cu Roi and then helped Grimnir and Cam when push came to shove.

There is a lot of violence in Immortals’ Requiem. Normally I wouldn’t touch it in my review but I feel that I have to in this one. Plainly, if you do not like violence, don’t read the book. Other than that, dive right in. This book is blood-soaked. No character is safe. Major characters are killed off without a thought. It was different and I loved it. But I did get sad when a certain foul-mouthed Elf met his end. That was a death I was not expecting. But what a way to die!!!

The end of Immortals’ Requiem was awesome. There were some things that happened that I expected, some I did not. I love how the author chose to reveal what Immortals’ Requiem meant in the book. Loved it! The almost all the storylines were brought together and ended in a way that I was satisfied with. Notice that I said almost. There was one storyline that wasn’t ended. I am hoping that it leads to book 2!!

What I liked about Immortals’ Requiem:

A) A unique spin on vampire/shifters/zombies

B) Flawed heroes

C) The author not afraid to kill off characters

What I disliked about Immortals’ Requiem:

A) How the zombies were created and how was behind it

B) How the Barghest was birthed

C) Mark

I would give Immortals’ Requiem an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is explicit violence. I would suggest that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Immortals’ Requiem. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank the author for allowing me to read and review Immortals’ Requiem.

All opinions in this review of Immortals’ Requiem are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**