Master of Sorrows by Justin Call Review!

Today is the release day of Justin Call’s debut dark fantasy novel Master of Sorrows – The Silent Gods #1. Are you excited? I am! I had the privilege of reading this as an arc, and oh my gosh Booklovers it gripped me something fierce! I am in love with this book, and honestly can’t wait for the rest of the community to get their mitts on it!

Isn’t this cover amazing? I love it, it’s so beautiful. I know…we shouldn’t judge a book by the cover, but c’mon this makes you want to pick it up, and trust me the inside is just a amazing!

Anyway, I’m gushing, but let’s get on with the review! 

• Title: Master of Sorrows
• Author: Justin Call
• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (21 Feb. 2019
• Genre: Fantasy
• ISBN-10: 1473222869
• ISBN-13: 978-1473222861
• My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Synopsis – from Amazon

The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries.

Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another.

Of the Academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become Avatars – warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults – and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic.

More than anything, Annev de Breth wants to become one of them.

My Review (non-spoiler)

I know the synopsis doesn’t give much away, that’s kind of the point, but trust me it’s better that you don’t know much going into this (which is why I’m keeping this review vague and short). This book brings you in from the very first chapter! You are introduced to a new world, and it’s religious practices from the get go. I instantly fell in love with the world, and it’s history. Justin Call has managed to create such a beautiful and complex world with it’s own religious systems and Gods.

But this book isn’t just a bunch of world building and religion; there is action, there is monsters, and there is brutality to keep you on the edge of your seat. Annev, our main character, is navigating the world along with us, as he knows only what he has been taught, and is finding out there is much more than he could have ever suspected. More than anyone is letting on.

We follow Annev as he struggles to find the right path, and makes hard decisions. We experience every emotion with him, and I honestly loved reading his inner turmoil, and outward battles. This book had me guessing all the way, and was fantastic.

Master of Sorrows is definitely a fantasy not to be missed.