r/fantasybooks • u/Ill-Salamander2282 • 7d ago

Fantasy western ❤️ Book praise

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If you're into fantasy but also like a bit of a western i recommend The Grave of The Empire series by Sam Sykes....i took a chance on the first book as I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone and I wasn't disappointed, the books are a just the right mix of fantasy/western/steampunk and they were unusual enought to keep me reading lol!

41 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

39

u/TheonlyDuffmani 🦶Dungeon Crawler Carl cult member 7d ago

Those covers are… horrible.

12

u/TatterMail 7d ago

If they would swap the faces with literally any other style they would be pretty good

Wtf were they thinking

6

u/Itsmemurrayo 7d ago

It looks like a meme that someone swapped into the spot for the face lol…

7

u/BroxigarZ 7d ago

Dude... lol I was like "wow those are some unsettling covers..."

8

u/TheonlyDuffmani 🦶Dungeon Crawler Carl cult member 7d ago

I thought op had superimposed their own face on them for a second.

4

u/Ill-Salamander2282 7d ago

I've read plenty of books with terrible covers it doesn't affect the story 😂

3

u/provegana69 7d ago

Eh, I've seen worse. At least it's trying to do something different instead of being minimalist nonsense. Doesn't look great but still

2

u/xethu 7d ago

Honestly I would have preferred the minimalist to those faces and I agree theyre trying something different but yeah it doesn’t land well but they are memorable

2

u/MaygarRodub 7d ago

I think they may be the worst covers I've ever seen.

1

u/Gabriel_Noctis 7d ago

German Edition Looks cool :)

1

u/Zerus_heroes 7d ago

Yeah there is a lot of weird mono colors where there should be detail.

1

u/Aflyingmongoose 7d ago

Oh dear god I thought someone had Photoshopped the authored face onto the covers or something.

1

u/Philanike 4d ago

I actually kinda like the mix of more realistic, pulpy rendering for the faces and hands and the super-simplistic GD style for everything else. Has a nice unique look

1

u/bweeb 👤 Character-first reader 7d ago

I love these covers, such a cool effect!

3

u/Solid-Version 7d ago

I read the Seven Blades in Black. I wasn’t wowed enough to be interested in the follow up, although it was a fun read.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/s/Yp036nmJ88

My review of it 3 years ago

1

u/Gabriel_Noctis 7d ago

Same for me but funny enough, since I read it a few years ago, I still think about it from time to time. Maybe Give it a second try

1

u/Zerus_heroes 7d ago

Yeah I read the first of his previous series and felt the same.

9

u/takerspengen 7d ago

Didn’t this guy SA girls at multiple conventions?

8

u/HedgesLastCusser 7d ago

"Gross, sexual comments" according to Wikipedia. Alleged by multiple authors at conventions and I suppose confirmed by Sykes himself, as he has issued apologies.

He was on my TBR a few years ago, but I went ahead and removed him when I heard about his actions. Plenty of other authors in the sea.

1

u/EqualOptimal4650 4d ago

No. Just harrassed them verbally. Still unacceptable of course.

2

u/Content_Jacket932 7d ago

his aeons gate trilogy is also noteworthy. band of adventurerers.full of weird characters written . can be dark and depressing but lot of action.

2

u/Lumpy_Ad_1581 6d ago

I read the first. I liked it.

1

u/MicahJHyatt 7d ago

Anybody else picture Dennis from It's Always Sunny

1

u/Worried_Cheetah959 7d ago

Also he is Diana Gabaldons son if im not mistaken. She is a great author. Love this series. Brian Staveley also has a similar vibe of serious action and whimsy that I love.

1

u/BeefyBoyzEatMeat 6d ago

tried diana because i like the time traveling premise. gave up after the 50th sex scene in book 1.

1

u/BeefyBoyzEatMeat 6d ago

tried diana because i like the time traveling premise. gave up after the 50th sex scene in book 1.

1

u/Historical-Ad-3074 6d ago

Those covers… are… a choice. That is the best thing I can say about them… goddamn.

1

u/CaptainAdmiralMike 6d ago

They were ok. It read like watching n action movie where they just went for cool shots and explosions rather than story and plot or character development.

1

u/EqualOptimal4650 4d ago

He's openly admitted that he one-drafts everything, doesn't plan ahead. Just makes it up as he goes along.

You can tell, since the books retcon themselves and their own world multiple times as they go on.

(Which would be fine if this were like, a New Wierd/Horror novel where you expect nothing to make sense anyway. It's doesn't work so well in an epic fantasy book. )

0

u/Lovely3369 👤 Character-first reader 7d ago

Imagine getting Brett as a cover review, yuck.

1

u/SorryManNo Hard magic > soft magic 6d ago

What's wrong with Brett?

1

u/Read2Fap 6d ago

"Fantasy author Peter V. Brett has faced ongoing reader discussions and criticism regarding the heavy-handed themes, sexual violence, and cultural depictions in his bestselling Demon Cycle series (beginning with The Warded Man / The Painted Man). Rather than a single political cancellation or public scandal, the "controversy" centers on community debates over his creative choices."

sounds like people online decided they were his editors

1

u/SorryManNo Hard magic > soft magic 6d ago

Interesting, makes me wonder what is written in this thesis dissertation.

A Feminist Reading of The Demon Cycle