The Lich's Heart

by Watson Davis

[chymerra]

Hanno: I liked Hanno and I understood her reluctance to get involved with the rebellion. She was a healer. Her vow was to heal people whenever she could. She wasn’t going to ignore an injured person because they were a rebel. If they needed healing, she was going to do it. She was also a little naive. She kept giving people the benefit of the doubt. But, at the same time, it was refreshing.

What I also liked about Hanno was that she was conflicted. She stayed conflicted for almost the entire book. I got why she was so conflicted. She still believed in the temple and its teachings. But at the same time, she understood why the people were rebelling. Even towards the end of the book, she was still trying to pave the way for communication.

If you have been reading this blog long enough, my love for dark fantasy is well known. I have become picky about what kind of dark fantasy books that I read. When I read the blurb for The Lich’s Heart, I knew that it was going to be a great book. And it was.

The plotlines for The Lich’s Heart were well written. The author did a great job of keeping the pace of the book up for the entire book. There was no lag. There were no dropped storylines. The storylines were also wrapped up in a way that I liked too.

The secondary characters made the book. I was surprised by the appearance of Gartan. I liked seeing this different side to him. He cared for Hanno and she for him. The other characters in the book flushed it out. They added extra depth that was needed.

There is a lot of violence and violent situations in The Lich’s Heart. There were several scenes where I did wince. But I also realized that this book wouldn’t be as good as it is if there wasn’t violence. That whole culture is a violent one. The book couldn’t have been written any other way.

The end of The Lich’s Heart was interesting. While the plotlines were wrapped up, I still had some questions. Mainly after reading the final chapter.

I would give The Lich’s Heart an Adult rating. There is no sex but there are sexual situations discussed in the book. There is no language. There is explicit violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread The Lich’s Heart. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.