Shards – A Story of The Realm by Ben Galley

HELL YES

I loved The Heart Of Stone, it’s a heart-wrenching book that just punches you in the face with brutality and feels, plus world building and characters that suck you right in. The hardest part about finishing THOS was the devastation of leaving Lesky and Task. I’m pretty sure in my review, which you can find HERE, I said that I hoped at some point Galley would write more in this world. There was such a treasure trove of characters and history that he could have gone forward or backwards in time and come up with something brilliant.
Well it turns out he already had, I just hadn’t found it yet.

Shards is set way back when Task, everyone’s favourite wind-cut golem, was still young. He and his brethren are still Belerod’s tools in a seemingly endless war. We see the taking of Malar Dorah through Task’s eyes. It has been a brutal bloody war and Belerod is determined to end it once and for all. But this time Task with his brothers and sisters aren’t the only ones with magic on the playing field.

Task is still young and we get a very clear display of just how different he is from the other golems. He has feelings, he can think for himself and he can reason. I loved the in depth look we got at the other golems. After reading THOS I didn’t expect the golems to seem so different personality wise. But as much as they didn’t have Task’s grasp on the bigger picture or his emotions, they had there own code of conduct and a clear leader. I loved visiting Task again, I love his growth, his self reflecting nature. He is such a powerful being, built for war and destruction, but he is capable of so much more. I loved that we got to see where and how Task coined his favourite terms like “skinbags”.

I loved Ben Galley’s writing. He doesn’t waste a word. And yes I’m aware of how many times I used the term “I loved”, but after the third time I went to write it I figured I should just embrace it, so I am. If you haven’t read anything by Galley please add him to your list of authors you want to try. He is incredibly talented. World building, brilliant character arcs, fantastic battle scenes, twists and turns, this man can do it all. He is an absolute force in the fantasy world.

The Heart of Stone – Amazon
Shards – Amazon

Title: Shards – A story of the realm
Author: Ben Galley
Released: 25th July 2017
Publisher: Self-Published