Go read The Crimson Queen

1/17/2017

The Crimson Queen is a Kindle book by Alec Hutson. It is his first book, it came out about six weeks ago, and it has 24 reviews so far.

It deserves many more. Go read it.

Seriously, it's the best epic fantasy novel I've read in years. I can't recommend it more highly.

Last week, I had to offer the caveat that I normally don't enjoy LitRPG, so I couldn't comment on the genre as a whole. That is not the case for epic fantasy: I'm extremely familiar with the genre, and this is excellent. The last Kindle-exclusive epic fantasy novel I read that I could recommend without reservation was Anthony Ryan's original Blood Song.

This book was recommended to me by a fan in the comments of last week's blog (thanks, John!) who said it was one of the best stories he'd read in years. I can only agree. I'd never heard of it before then, I've never spoken to the author, and I don't know anything else about it. But it's a great story.

I don't have anything truly negative to say about it, but if I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel:

--The story is familiar. The main character starts off in a fishing village, his mother was a stranger with a mysterious background who is now dead, he's bullied by the local children, and so on and so forth. There's a holy empire that hates magic, assassins who move through shadows, and ancient immortal wizards pulling strings from behind the scenes.
Those are all elements we've seen before, but they're also all awesome, so who cares?

--There are a few typos clearly missed in editing: one character is referred to by the wrong POV name once, some commas are missed, sometimes dialogue is on the same line, and so on. But the rest of the editing is squeaky clean and incredibly smooth, so even the pickiest reader should read right past these minor blemishes.

--Some of the scenes feel rushed. The author spends much more time on description than I do, so every scene is lovingly set, but a few times it feels as though he lingers on setting the scene and then rushes through the actual events. When the chapter comes to a close, I get the sense that it was chopped short.

...and that's pretty much all I can remember that wasn't pure gold.

Seriously, if you're never going to take another recommendation of mine, take this one and go read The Crimson Queen. If you like "epic" fantasy--with all the spider-filled dungeons, quick-witted thieves, sinister wizards, malevolent cosmic forces, holy paladins, and dueling gods--then you won't go wrong.

Go read it!

-Will

EDIT 1/18/17: According to the author, sales have remained steady for weeks, but since this post they've spiked higher than ever before! We're doing it! Now don't stop--go read the book, and when you like it (because you will, it's awesome), leave a review and tell a friend! Let's push this guy to the top!

117 Comments

Jim

1/17/2017 03:02:05 pm

Currently reading it. Totally agree with you.

Brian C

1/17/2017 03:08:16 pm

I have just started reading it myself! So far its amazing.

Nocturniquet

1/17/2017 07:39:09 pm

I read mostly epic fantasy so I'll read this while waiting until next month for Blackflame.

Bryce

1/17/2017 07:55:05 pm

Started reading it when i saw the recommendation (had seen it on amazon already) halfway done and loving it so far.

Sam

1/17/2017 08:13:34 pm

On a somewhat unrelated note, Blood Song is one of my favourite novels too.

But then came the sequels. Which were so different from the first book, it almost felt like they were written by a different author! Strangest set of books I've ever read.

And yes, gotta read the Crimson Queen now!

1/17/2017 08:33:08 pm

Right?! Blood Song was so good!! Then the sequels happened and just brought the entire series down. It had such potential!

Will link

1/17/2017 08:41:25 pm

Yeah, I just pretend Blood Song was a standalone. That's the only way I can enjoy it now.

Brian S

1/18/2017 02:55:07 am

Heh, fortunately for me, the author jacked up the price so much, and the reviews were so bad I never read the sequels. So for me, Blood Song is a stand alone novel.

James A.

1/18/2017 09:43:37 am

Blood Song is my second favorite novel ever (after Will's collective corpus of course) and Queen of Fire was unreadable. I have wasted so much time trying to figure out just what the hell happened

1/18/2017 09:47:58 am

I don't like saying anything too negative about other authors on the blog, because it just seems...mean-spirited. But as a reader, I was certainly disappointed in Tower Lord and Queen of Fire.

Mostly because they were completely different books than Blood Song--instead of an adventure story focused on Vaelin, all of a sudden we have a multiple POV political epic spread out over four characters, three of whom I don't really know.

It wasn't a precipitous drop in quality--if anything, I think Anthony Ryan improved even further as a writer with every book, and he was great to start with--but it was such a jarring change that it felt almost like a bait-and-switch.

Emily

1/18/2017 11:46:49 pm

Ok sure the sequels sucked in comparison, but if it weren't for blood song being so good I don't think people would have found the sequels so bad. I enjoyed them and vaelin deserves the completion of his story.

Jono kinh

1/20/2017 07:50:15 pm

Bloodsong was one of my all-time favourites. The sequel was full of virtue signalling, unbelievable power leveling- by certain characters, weird power restrictions on vaelin and just an all time shitty plot. I did not read the 3rd.
It remains the biggest fantasy disappointment in my reading history.

Keith

2/5/2017 12:50:42 pm

Another series that started really well and just got weird and terrible was Painted man (Warded man). Desert Spear was ok and then downhill it went.

1/17/2017 08:43:47 pm

If you're looking for another recommendation for epic fantasy, I have to go with Terry Mancour's The Spellmonger Series. Its so good. Some of the best points are the world building, spell system, the amazing cast of characters, and how the author makes the relationships actually seem genuine and progress/develop in a real manner.

1/18/2017 02:58:35 am

A solid, well edited, series for mature readers. I couldn't agree more. He also writes at a fairly respectable speed. The only drawback is that I'm not sure how many more novels he'll need to complete the series, but it's a bunch.

1/18/2017 09:00:52 am

I believe he plans the series to be over 30 books or so? I also don't know if thats counting the novellas that are apart of the series. So there will be quite a few more books to go.

1/21/2017 09:06:05 pm

Well edited? Unless he hired an actual editor to go back through all of the books and then everything he writes now I cant disagree more.

Tacroy

1/18/2017 05:08:03 pm

If we're talking "random fantasy I found on Kindle Unlimited that is actually super good", I highly recommend Edward W. Robertson's The Cycle of Arawn series and Patrick Weekes Rogues of the Republic series.

The Cycle of Arawn is really interesting in that it turns all sorts of fantasy tropes on their heads - it's a classic tale of a boy who seeks to improve himself, and eventually grows to become a necromancer strong enough to shake the bones of the Earth itself. But since it's from his perspective, and he's a very reasonable person, you find yourself entirely agreeing that it makes perfect sense for him to carry dead rats in his robes (rat zombies make great sentries).

Rogues of the Republic is great, and a lot of it is because it (imo) is one of the few books I've read with characters who seem to be *actually intelligent* - they know a trap when they see one, and they plan around it instead of just charging right in. The first book is an excellent fantasy heist caper, but the story continues strong when things go off the rails in the second and third books and there isn't any more time to plan.

Azqa

1/19/2017 12:04:58 pm

Hmm, thought I'd posted this earlier but it doesn't seem to have gone through.

Seconding the recommendation for the Rogues of the Republic books. Very good world building, excellent characters, great dialogue - it's one of the few series that I've bought for other people as a gift just because I wanted to share it.

Chad

1/27/2017 04:53:59 am

I want to thank you for recommending the Spellmonger series. I just finished the first last night and have already purchased all of the following books.

Great story and world, Interesting characters, tense moments, humor and snark, Great book!

Two midgets in a trench coat

1/18/2017 05:10:05 am

Haven't read the book, but can you really blame all these kingdoms in various stories for hating magic? There's always some sort of dark lord or evil sorcerer who comes along to bring about the apocalypse.

1/18/2017 05:43:51 am

No spoilers, but if you think about it...that's completely true for The Crimson Queen. The book glosses over the fact that, frankly, the magic-hating paladins are completely justified.

Havel the Rock

1/18/2017 10:40:43 am

Not that that's a bad thing. Giving the pure a valid reason for their actions works in the book's favor, in my opinion.

John

1/22/2017 09:10:26 am

Except it IS racism -- judging a person on a quality they were born with and persecuting them for that reason alone.

Not every person with magic commits evil acts, so hurting someone simply because they have magic is not "completely justified".

Statistically, boys born to a certain race and ethnic group are far more likely than average to become terrorists. So are we "completely justified" to kidnap any boy of this race, perform a forced lobotomy on them, then brainwash them so they cannot remember anything? Of course not. We are only "completely justified" when we punish because of an evil action that someone actually committed, not because someone may possibly commit some evil act in the future.

While the paladins may be justified in hating magic, they are certainly NOT justified in persecuting anyone who was born with magic.

Tom

1/22/2017 09:30:39 am

The thing is, after a certain point of danger there is a real argument for "they are natural disasters".

Yeah, it sucks, and it IS racism, but from the point of view of the world as a whole there is an argument the danger they bring is too much.

It's a semi-common theme in fantasy/Sci-fi, to be honest, to have something that can bring a lot to humanity/etc but can also have high danger of randomly destroying it, and then have various argument on how to deal with it.

Exalted for RPG for example, or Dragon Ages for video games, or Shin Sekai Yori for Light novel/anime, and so on and so forth all use that theme (hell even WoT somewhat), and it can be really good as it's one of those "yeah, things suck, now what do" questions.

It's especially fun as it goes against a lot of the western conceit of "one man against the world/ one man saving the world" when you basically have to decide if you need to kill your savior because the odds of an apocalypse if you leave him alive to teach gets to 99% in 500 years.

1/22/2017 01:50:06 pm

Oh, I'm just appreciating the craftsmanship that goes into creating a world where everyone has believable self-justifications for their actions.

When I say "it's not just fantasy racism," I mean it's not just the same thing we've seen over and over again: people hate magic-users just because they hate things they don't understand. It's difficult to create believable, empathetic characters who subscribe to that paradigm because they're motivated entirely by hatred and fear.

In the world of the Crimson Queen, the paladins can tell themselves they're doing the right thing. It now becomes understandable that an entire empire can be built on this concept; they're still motivated by hatred and fear at the root, and it's still morally reprehensible to kill another human being for something they are only CAPABLE of doing.

But these paladins can be convinced otherwise. They can say "Yeah, it sucks, but it's a survival strategy. What can I do? I'm keeping people safe." Even as they burn kids alive.

Isn't that a much more compelling story?

1/22/2017 02:14:33 pm

Sorry, saying that they're "completely justified" was poor phrasing on my part. I meant that they are completely justified in hating magic, because it is the very force that destroyed their world. And their actions are justified from THEIR perspective, just not from ours.

It's not that they AREN'T bad guys, because they still are, and the book makes that clear.

Also...did you guys delete your comments just because I responded? I wasn't at all saying you're wrong; in fact I think you're right. But now I don't see your responses anymore.

EDIT: Never mind, some of my responses are gone too. Let me see if I can find them. Hold please.

EDIT 2: That should be everybody's comments back, right? If you're still missing a comment, let me know.

1/22/2017 03:04:07 pm

Oh, I completely agree. It all works, but there's this tendency to accept them as nothing more than an organization of bad guys right off the bat (Senacus as an individual looks even more noble by comparison to the rest of his order).

When in reality, there's more than just religious fervor motivating their actions; they have some real, solid reasons for hunting down mages and Cleansing them whenever possible. It's not just plain old fantasy racism to them, it's a pragmatic survival strategy.

EDIT: This was in response to Havel's comment above. The order is screwed up now because I had to restore some of these comments from a backup, but this is supposed to come right after Havel's comment.

Mahfuz

1/18/2017 05:53:02 am

That Jan reveal, man... Brought a tear to my dry eyes (dry beacause I broke my glasses halfway through the book but still couldn't stop reading)

1/18/2017 07:26:07 am

I can't say I teared up, but I did say "Hm, good reveal," so that's roughly the same.

1/18/2017 07:20:48 am

It looks like you should be a professional promoter. Willwight.com, the next bookbub. We drove him into the top 100 in fantasy books.

1/18/2017 07:24:31 am

Lol yeah, I saw that. He went from top 1200 overall to top 700, which means he probably sold 40-50 more books in the past 24 hours than he has been selling.

BUT WE CAN DO BETTER.

1/18/2017 07:46:17 am

Maybe you would be willzebub. The infernal lord of indie promotion.

1/18/2017 08:54:57 am

I just heard from Alec, and it turns out it was more like 70-80 extra sales yesterday, so I underestimated.

WE DID IT REDDIT

I mean, blog.

Ph34r the powers of Willzebub.

Zach

1/21/2017 12:05:56 pm

I bought it...must be good if Will recommend it...not sure anyone checked out kings dark tidings ....it's cool. As for blood song trilogy it should have been 6 books. He just bit off more than 3 books could handle. But I do appreciate that he comitted to 3 and finished in 3.
Thanks Will. You are crushing it. I refused to read cradle until you finished sea and Shadow and was pissed you weren't finishing them first.
Now I only want soul smith and could care less about sea and shadow which was my favorite work yet.

Alec link

1/18/2017 08:50:26 am

Hey Will and everyone else - wow.

I'm really sorry I couldn't respond earlier. I was married 48 hours ago in rural Hunan and have been traveling to HK for the past 18 (true story)

Outside of my personal life, the last 36 hours or so have been amazing, and I very clearly have this blog and Mr. Wight to thank for everything.

So thank you all, a hundred times over. This truly came out of the blue (thank you John, so much), and I'm having trouble expressing exactly how this all feels. It's been my dream ever since I was small to write a fantasy novel that others read and loved, and it seems to be happening right now.

I'm so excited and feel so grateful to join this community of independent fantasy authors, and I'm always available if folks want to chat or if I can pass along some of the great karma Will has bestowed on me.

Alec

1/18/2017 08:55:48 am

You got married! Holy crap, congratulations man!

It's been an epic month for you, hasn't it?

1/18/2017 09:16:04 am

Epic 48 hours or so, actually. It's like my life has been slowly, slowly, slowly building towards this exact moment, and then everything is happening at once.

My (new) wife asked me if I was more excited about the wedding, or the fact that Queen is suddenly doing so well.

I lied to her.

1/18/2017 09:30:11 am

Don't worry, I won't tell her.

Shane

1/19/2017 11:15:39 pm

First of all, Congratulations! Both for the book and your marriage! I can't wait to start reading it tomorrow. The book that is and not your marriage (I am not a pyschic, unfortunately.)

Secondly, you better hope she's not a Will Wight fan then or the jig is up!

Matt

2/20/2017 07:39:15 am

Hey Alec,

Congrats on getting married and the success of your book. I just finished it and really look forward to your next installment (no rush). I like reading indie fantasy, but it's sometimes hard to find quality work. Books like yours are the reason I keep sorting through all the less than stellar offerings on the kindle market. Any book or author you'd like to recommend to keep the karma train rolling?

And Will, if you're reading this, GET BACK TO WORK!

1/18/2017 09:34:06 am

Seriously. Consider this our collective wedding gift. Your thank you note can be multiple hours of enjoyment with your novel.

Congratulations on a great start to married life!

1/18/2017 09:40:12 am

John (if you are the same John, and not an Imposter John),

If you ever read anything else this good again, don't hold out on me. Best recommendation I can remember.

1/18/2017 09:45:55 am

I will see what I can do. I try a ton of books and finish many of them. I won't be shy. This one was a gem.

1/18/2017 09:47:00 am

Hey. Have you heard of Blackflame? I hear it's amazing. I keep trying to check it out, but can't find it on amazon.

1/18/2017 09:48:52 am

This guy.

1/18/2017 09:56:57 am

Ok. So I looked through my catalog. Amazing how many books I have on my kindle. Here are two. One is indie and the other isn't, but I don't think it cracked the charts in half.

Helen Lowe - Heir of Night - this one isn't indie, but I absolutely loved it and the subsequent books. Epic Fantasy with a bunch of interesting twists

Will Greenway - Reality's Plaything - This one is indie. One of my favorite series. It is a combination of fantasy and sci-fi, so it might not be for everyone. Well written and the I have read all 10ish books in the series multiple times.

1/18/2017 10:07:20 am

I've heard of Heir of Night, but I don't think I've read it. I bought it and I'll give it a shot.

Reality's Plaything I've never heard of, but it looks very intriguing. It also looks like a comic.

1/18/2017 10:10:30 am

Yeah, the cover is a bit misleading. It is a novel. I can't say exactly what it is about them, but they are great in my opinion. It is not my typical type of novel, which may be why I really liked it, because I thought it executed really well. Dialogue is good and realistic, which can be really challenging and the characters interesting.

1/18/2017 05:11:29 pm

Those both look interesting but I have to bitch about how Heir of Night has priced the Kindle edition higher than the mass-market paperback :(

john

1/18/2017 07:29:13 pm

I didn't notice that, probably because I got it on a bookbub where is was a special price about a year ago. That is how I stumbled upon it.

Did I mention I love reading?

Patrick

1/19/2017 12:28:41 pm

So I am also a hardcore reader and I seem to have run out of most of the fantasy/scifi novels that I find enjoyable (literally scouring the internet for book recommendations). However I have never heard of these two series and I will definitely give them a try based on your recommendation. Don't let me down!

On another note, The Crimson Queen is fantastic. I read it all in one sitting. Excellent plot and attention to detail. I thought it had a very high level of polish that is pretty rare for indie authors.

If anyone else has any other recommendations, please let me know! I'm desperately looking for good ones and find myself pushing into other genres just to get my reading fix in.

1/22/2017 06:27:40 pm

I liked kings dark tidings and light bringer series

Finn

1/18/2017 05:08:48 pm

I'm super psyched to read the Crimson Queen and Blood Song. A good series worth a read is the Legend of Eli Monpress. It's not Kindle Unlimited :( but is still worth a couple of dollars.

1/19/2017 09:30:53 am

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Eli Monpress.

Jaime

1/19/2017 01:55:42 am

Maybe a good sci-fi book you can also recommend??
By the way I red travelers gate trilogy when they came out afew years ago and I've just finished both audiobooks. They were awesome, I just had to set the reading speed to .90 and the experience got even better. When is city of light coming out?
And please never leave Simon without his dolls......

1/19/2017 03:49:18 am

For some reason I haven't found the sci fi offerings from the indie authors to be as good, generally speaking. Two indies, both of whom have enjoyed success are Stephen Bennett with his Koban series (although the more recent books aren't as good in my opinion) and Michael Hicks whose books are split into trilogy arcs that are in the same world, but can be read independently. I enjoyed the second arc the most, starting with Empire (book 4)

1/20/2017 02:48:49 pm

On the indie front, I recently tore through the EarthCent Ambassador series by E. M. Foner - it's a very light and humorous take on future, sort of like if Harry Harrison wrote a series of books about the Culture with an emphasis on interpersonal relationships and character growth.

The twist is that the Minds are actually well-intentioned libertarians rather than utopic communists. They're still just as nosy, prone to meddling, and amused by humans though.

1/19/2017 10:54:43 pm

Its not an Indie series but I can wholeheartedly recommend the Red Rising trilogy by Pierce Brown as a good Sci-fi series. (Red Rising, Golden Son and Morning Star)

I remember genuinely sweating, laughing and almost crying at different points in the story. It was very immersive. I'm not an expert but I thought it was very well written, the plot wasn't obvious and the characters are great. Really enjoyed reading the series!

It's worth a read if you haven't had a chance yet. I might have to re-read it again after thinking about it (after I read The Crimson Queen and maybe Blackflame if I'm lucky)

1/20/2017 05:47:37 am

^This

On another note, B.V. Larson's Undying Mercenary series is pretty good if you like military scifi.

Also Glynn Stewart's Starship's Mage is a good blending of scifi/fantasy.

1/20/2017 02:58:22 pm

Starship's Mage was good, but the later books suffered somewhat from what I like to think of as "shounen syndrome" - all seems lost, but then the main character pushes themselves just a little bit more and then they fix the problem.

It's not particularly interesting, because it boils down to brute force vs brute force - there's no real narrative justification for why one character prevailed over the other, except "they're the protagonist".

Modesitt's books tend to suffer from the same thing.

Lyrian

1/19/2017 03:33:24 am

If u are just looking for a good read, go for the inheritance cycle-Christopher Paolini. One of the best books I have ever read(and I have read more than my fair share of books)

jim

1/19/2017 08:22:07 am

I respectfully disagree, but to each their own.

1/19/2017 09:16:14 am

It's good so far but he's already managed to hit one of my pet peeves in the first few pages -

"There was no sound, no rasping of metal like accompanied the drawing of traditional swords"

No. No sword ever made by any culture that actually uses swords to fight people on a regular basis has ever made that "sching" noise when drawn. The whole thing started in the Victorian era, when swords became affectations that weren't supposed to really be used in conflict (that's what muskets were for).

I mean the whole idea is nonsensical - why would you add some bits to a sheath that will dull the blade and give away your intentions? I know that these days we have sheaths that "sharpen" when you draw the sword and make that noise, but that's a modern gimmick.

Pretty much every military blade that's expected to see combat makes the sound of metal rubbing on leather when you draw it, if it makes any sound at all.

1/19/2017 09:29:59 am

In this world they do.

1/19/2017 02:39:41 pm

Bah humbug, I say

1/19/2017 11:44:49 am

I always think it is interesting how much knowledge is out there that isn't common. I can accept mistakes like that without letting it bother me (I am assuming it wasn't an intentional departure from reality) partially because I wasn't aware even though the sword I had at West Point made that noise since the scabbard was metal, and partially because I consider it a trivial detail.

1/19/2017 02:34:43 pm

That sort of detail has never bothered me. There are inconsistencies that do, but only when they interfere with what I would logically expect to happen.

Recently I read a fantasy novel where a character fired a "revolver" once and then had to reload. That's not a revolver, unless he was stupid enough to load only one round. So the picture I had in my head was violated.

Similarly, when characters don't act consistently or consider obvious solutions, that bothers me.

But when a drawn sword makes a noise, or someone gets a medical detail wrong, or an experienced rider gallops his horse at night, I don't care. I read past it. I know it's wrong, and I recognize it, but it doesn't throw me off.

If it's someone's pet peeve, though, I understand. There are lots of things that do bother me even though I know they shouldn't.

1/19/2017 01:36:06 pm

50.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

1/19/2017 02:30:41 pm

Yes. Fifty.

1/19/2017 01:51:25 pm

I meant to say this a bit earlier, but you really should (both you and Alec Hutson) find a way to get your ebooks on more than Amazon.

As is, I need to go through Amazon to buy the book, then download it via kindle-for-PC, then use Calibre to convert it to another format so that my ebook reader can actually get the book.

For those of us who don't have kindles brand ereader, it can be a bit of a multi-step process that probably cost you sale.

1/19/2017 02:30:02 pm

That's a far more complicated process than it needs to be, Tom! There's a free Kindle app for virtually any device that will let you read the book. You don't need a Kindle device. I don't even use mine; I read everything on my phone.

1/19/2017 02:56:03 pm

Sadly as long as you use a ereader that has its own site/etc they don't, as far as I know, accept you to go through Amazon.

Uusually they have their own versions of the book, but it seems that for some indie authors they don't (strange, as I used to be able to find a lot of indie authors last I tried). Checking Nook/Kobo found nothing for you and Alec Hutson for example.

I am not sure about other ereaders.

1/20/2017 06:46:10 am

That's true if you're reading on a Nook. But if you're reading on a smartphone or tablet or computer, you can get the free Kindle app.

I'm not on Nook or Kobo, because I'm exclusive through Amazon. That exclusivity is what allows me to get on Kindle Unlimited and to have periodic promotions, and I make so much of my income from KU and those promotions that it would be a big risk for me to jeopardize that by branching out to another platform.

Isaac Xander

1/19/2017 09:31:35 pm

I'm kind of surprised nobody has mentioned the sword of truth saga. Especially the original two/three books. Those were amazing!!

Sean K

1/20/2017 03:00:31 am

I LOVED the sword of truth novels, especially Zed. My only gripe with then is that the author got too preachy. It isn't that I don't like his philosophy, but when EVERY SINGLE ONE of his books dedicates 10-30 straight pages towards talking about it, it gets a little old.

That said, the first book was amazing. And I think it was the 6th book, Faith of the Fallen, that I believe was the best of the series. Still, this has to be the most important series I've read.

1/20/2017 06:54:34 am

I think no one's mentioned Sword of Truth because it's a very famous series. If you're into fantasy novels, you've at least heard about them.

I used to love Sword of Truth, but that was up to roughly the fourth book. After that, they started spiraling downhill in my estimation, until by book seven or so the characters are all preaching the same philosophy to one another.

There's a scene in...I think it was Chainfire, but it might have been Phantom, where the characters LITERALLY stand in a circle and take turns explaining the philosophy THEY ALL SHARE to one another for the duration of a good 20-30 pages. I couldn't believe it. They are actually all circled up in a courtyard going "That's a good point, and also we're right because..."

Plus the repeated themes of sexual abuse started icky and continued down the Great Road of Ickiness. Book 1 there's a cult of BDSM witches, Book 2 there's demon rape, Book 3 there's mind-control rape involving genital mutilation, and so on and so forth.

All that said, the magic, descriptions, and action are all very cool. A lot of people quote the chime-possessed chicken scene from Book 5 as a reason why the series is so stupid, but I couldn't disagree more. I thought it was a great example of something mundane and ridiculous--a chicken--turned into a genuinely eerie and disquieting threat.

If he'd toned down the preaching and the rape, I'd still recommend the series.

1/20/2017 06:53:44 am

Well, since this thread is (very kindly) about my book, and we're discussing great epic-ish fantasies, I think I'll chime in with my favorites.

Game of Thrones - yeah, yeah, yeah. Everyone loves it. But I have the distinction of picking it off the shelf in 1996 on a whim, reading it, and then telling everyone I knew who liked fantasy that this book was the best the genre could offer. Seems like I was right.

The Darkness That Comes Before - I'm surprised that this series gets so little attention. I re-read this first book (it's the best in the series, by a fair margin) at least once a year. Bakker writes like Margaret Atwood or Michael Chabon or Cormac McCarthy. He's a master of the craft. The Scylvendi Cnauir is one of the great characters in speculative fiction, up there (for me) along with Triumvir Ilia Volyova, Jaime Lannister, Uther Doul, Sam / Siddhartha - I'll stop there before I meander off.

The Scar - this is my favorite fantasy novel. It is, in my opinion, a perfect gem of a book, despite its flaws. And those would be: an unlikable protagonist, an ambiguous ending, unclear motivations for the main characters . . . yet this book is amazing. China's mind is incredible, and the images and scenes he conjures cannot be expunged from memory. The crowd chanting as Uther Doul stamp fights the scabmettlers into submission . . . the vampire-beggars of High Cromlech imploring the Quick for blood . . . the Avanc, rising from the depths . . . the starving mosquito women flitting through the jungle . . . gah, so good.

1/20/2017 06:58:59 am

I doubt you're going to like my books very much, Alec.

They're the POLAR opposite of what you're listing. My latest series begins with Unsouled, and it's an action-heavy, description-light adventure story about a world full of magical martial arts and a powerless kid determined to climb the ladder.

1/20/2017 04:40:34 pm

Sounds great to me. I like and enjoy all kinds of speculative fiction - the ones I mentioned above are just the transcendent books for me, the ones I've read and immediately put on a special easily-accessible shelf.

1/20/2017 09:50:14 pm

I've been extremely busy taking my parents around Hong Kong, but I did find a spare hour this morning to start in on Unsouled, and I'm loving it so far.

I love being thrown into completely original and exotic situations and and having to figure out how the world works. You're right, we do have different writing styles, but you write excellently. Even though you don't offer up ornate descriptions I had a very clear sense of the world and a vivid image of the conflict with the Remnant (awesome scene, by the way).

1/22/2017 06:02:30 am

. . . . and I'm about 80% of the way through Unsouled. It's amazing, and at least as good as my book. I feel humbled that you would recommend Queen so highly.

1/24/2017 06:48:22 am

Wait a second, I'm basking in your praise...

∩(︶▽︶)∩

That's my basking face.

Thanks, Alec! I'm glad you're enjoying the book; that means a lot!

1/20/2017 07:00:04 am

Yes, Game of Thrones is amazing. TV show is horribly addicting.

The Darkness That Comes Before is an awesome series. Great set up and deep world-building based off of a medieval crusade type setting. Wasn't as big of a fan of the sequel series though. Obviously it was necessary to continue the story but it I didn't like the splitting of the settings.

I've never heard of The Scar though. Looking it up on Amazon I think you're referring to the series by China Mieville? Do you have to read the first book or can they be read out of sequence?

1/20/2017 04:43:54 pm

Yes. The Scar is China's second book set in the world of Bas-Lag. They are connected (the major event of the first book was the catalyst for the protagonist in the second book having to leave her home city) but it is not absolutely necessary that they be read in order. Personally, I would - Period Street Station isn't as tight or as well-crafted as The Scar, but it is an excellent introduction to China's world and incredibly fecund imagination.

I change my name every time I make a post

1/20/2017 07:41:19 am

This guy called Brandon Sanderson also wrote a very interesting book about people who eat poisonous metals and might actually be a robot. Would that make his book about cannibalism?

Captain John W. Trimmer's "How to Avoid Huge Ships: Or I Never met a Ship I Liked" might be one of the greatest books ever written, or at least, the amazon reviews are. I eagerly await the sequel.

1/20/2017 08:07:52 am

Read the reviews. Cannot stop laughing.

See, i changed my name.

1/20/2017 08:24:35 am

There's a whole list of items with similar reviews. Uranium ore and the hutzler 571 banana slicer come to mind off the top of my head

1/20/2017 08:27:14 am

I've seen the ones for the American Flag and wolf t-shirts, but never any on books. Really funny.

Different name

1/20/2017 09:10:39 am

The field guide to the stray shopping carts of North America also has some good reviews

1/20/2017 09:24:41 am

The one that always sticks in my head is the one for the five-pound bag of gummi bears.

kaden

1/20/2017 12:42:37 pm

As the lone Elder Empire fan sits in the corner and sheds a single tear every time he sees the blackflame progress bar. its because once again the book is delayed first in 2015 then in 2016 now in the year 2017. The year of Trump just another thing to add to the list of bad things in 2017*sigh*.

Also Crimson Queen is pretty good

1/20/2017 01:02:11 pm

Killers and Kings was never going to come out in 2015. I mean, Dawn didn't come out until 2015 was almost over.

The EARLIEST Killers and Kings could possibly have come out was June or July 2016.

And if I'd done that instead of releasing Unsouled, I would very possibly have had to find another career by now. Thanks to Cradle, now OKAK will come out only a year late, instead of delayed indefinitely as I hunted for another job.

So...in reality, it's good news! Yay!

1/21/2017 12:19:23 pm

Well said and well played. Now I can't wait for both

Noah

1/22/2017 11:27:35 am

It's funny you mention this, I just read this a couple weeks ago before this post. It was truly very good, and although the story as a whole is familiar, it had many unique elements!

1/22/2017 07:42:57 pm

Just finished Crimson Queen and it is a very good book, and there's not much wing with it. The story is very good, well paced and well written. The only thing I can say about it is that there are too many points of view. I keep having to remind myself of who's point of view I'm reading, and also I find myself wanting more time with certain characters. Too many different stories to follow within the same book. Other than that it was amazing

1/27/2017 05:43:23 am

Sorry about that. I tried to keep the plot to mostly Keilan and Jan, but Alyanna and Senacus kept worming their way into the narrative and refusing to accept their roles as secondary characters. I'll try to tighten things up in the second book. Though, of course, the first chapter is from a totally new viewpoint character. Sigh.

1/30/2017 11:04:28 am

I never felt that way, but I also tend to like having a bunch of POV characters in the same book.

1/23/2017 07:17:51 pm

I just finished the book. Thanks for the recommendation. I enjoyed the story and found it well worth the money. I would probably read any sequels that come of it.

If I was going to find one fault it would be that there were not enough enjoyable, humorous and personal close moments with the characters. A story needs a bit of fun now and then... a few good one liners etc to really form a bond between the reader and the characters.

Oh well... off to leave a review on Amazon

1/23/2017 11:46:11 pm

Hey Chad, wonderful review on Amazon, thank you very much. I'll certainly see where I can inject a little more humor into the story too, that's a great comment.

1/24/2017 05:31:08 am

Your welcome.

When you get your web site or presence going remember the three things the readers need to know.

1. A clear list of your works and the numeric order of a book if its in a series.
2. What you are working on now / next with a rough progress bar of progress. Update or comment at least once a month
3. Copies of any maps from your books as E-readers and smart phones make it hard to view the map in the book.

Good luck and best of wishes

1/24/2017 07:05:35 am

Did I not plug his website? www.authoralechutson.com

1/25/2017 11:05:46 pm

All great suggestions, Chad. Thanks. I'll work on getting that info on my website, but for now:

1. The Crimson Queen will be the first in what I'm now envisioning to be a trilogy. That may change as the story opens up further.

2. I'll be publishing a sword and sorcery novelette set in another world next month (or whenever my cover designer finishes - the story is done). A bit different flavor than Queen - I really like it, but we'll see if folks agree. In the summer I'll release a collection of my short fiction, including around 20k words of short stories set in the world of Queen. Just finished one of those stories yesterday. Now I can devote myself fully to Queen's sequel, The Shadow King. I have about 25k words done on that. I hope to publish that one next fall / winter.

3. Yes! I asked my website designer to add a map page and he forgot. High on my list to get done when I'm finally back in Shanghai.

Alexander

1/24/2017 05:25:54 am

I enjoyed the book quite a lot! I'm hoping that in the sequels we get to see more of the deep ones.

1/25/2017 11:06:43 pm

Don't worry, they are essential to the plot. They'll come round again.

1/25/2017 07:44:50 pm

I just finished The Crimson Queen about 29 seconds ago. Wow, excellent book. I love when an author creates not just a story, but an entire universe with a deep and fascinating history. It's one of the reasons I have enjoyed your novels so much Will. This was a great recommendation. I appreciate the help finding something to read while waiting for your next book. Alec is now on my radar and I can't wait to see where this goes.

1/25/2017 11:08:53 pm

Awesome TS, thanks so much. If you're so inclined, sign up for my not-too-frequent newsletter to find out when I release new stuff. The link is at authoralechutson.com.

Oh, and if you have the time / inclination (and if you haven't done it already), a review on Amazon would be incredibly appreciated. Take care!

Chris W

2/2/2017 11:33:17 am

Done & thank you for the recommendation! I was in need of a new book to read.

Daniel Young

2/6/2017 11:53:34 am

Thanks for the suggestion I read it and it was well done and entertaining. If you need a book to read I would suggest looking at perilous waif if you like syfy or reading the Daniel black series if you wanted a fantasy setting.

Lightsyde link

2/12/2017 06:01:30 am

Hey Will

I got around to the Crimson Queen cause of the recommendation. I enjoyed it to some degree, but I sorely wished for characters that stood out a bit more, were more distinctive in their personalities. I wish there were a handful of stand-out characters like Yerin, Bliss (From EE) or Kai from Traveler's gate. That's usually a heavy contributor to me falling for a book.

So yeah, generally I wish the battle choreography was more fleshed out, a little less detail on the descriptions, and a little more distinctive personalities on the characters. I would have liked to enjoy the book a bit more. I guess I am a little picky.

2/12/2017 08:00:57 pm

Well, obviously you know where my tastes lean: bright and colorful characters, light descriptions, and flashy fights.

While Crimson Queen didn't really fall into any of those categories, I thought it was excellent nonetheless. It's not the kind of fantasy novel I want to WRITE, and it's not like it's tailored perfectly to Will Wight's tastes, but I loved reading it.

Thanks for giving it a shot! No problem that you didn't like it as much as I did; opinions are always going to vary.

If I could wish up my ideal fantasy novel (which I try to do with every new series; maybe someday I'll get there) it would have tons of magic, colorful characters with unique and memorable personalities, light but evocative description that works in only a few words, a variety of engaging action scenes, and a gut-punch of a story.

...turns out I'm describing Undertale. With only a few minor tweaks, I basically just want Undertale.

brian hanson link

2/12/2017 05:17:20 pm

I thought Crimson Queen was a solid book. I posted up the link and indorsement on our blog: www.rolemasterblog.com. hope it helps even a little! We like you too Will!

2/12/2017 08:03:35 pm

Thanks, Brian! Now I'm reading about clerics instead of writing Blackflame; what have you done?

I did have a question, though: how does Crimson Queen "edge up to LitRPG"? I didn't get that impression at all, and my own books DO actually edge up to LitRPG.

No big deal, I'm just curious.

Brian link

2/12/2017 08:19:09 pm

Well the comment wasn't meant to collate your works with Alec but I thought Crimson Queen had more identifiable fantasy tropes than your works. Many of the naming was familiar and there were easily understood organizations (Paladins, Assassins, Rangers, Wizards) that pretty much sums it up? The magic was fairly standard: flying, dreadfire, portals etc.

Don't misunderstand, I thought it was well written! On the other hand, your Travelers Gate wasn't a "spoon fed" and easily recognized magic system. It gave me great new ideas or direction for my rewrite of the ICE Spell Law system so thanks!

2/12/2017 08:22:21 pm

That makes sense, Brian. I just wasn't sure what you meant.

And hey--the Traveler's system was developed (partially) based on what I'd want to see in a tabletop RPG. I wanted to marry magic progression and setting exploration as organically as I could.

Inna Hardison link

2/13/2017 08:39:04 am

Will - what a generous thing of you to have done for Alec. I'd read Crimson in its draft form ages ago and recall distinctly thinking that if there is a God in any form in this universe, that author must make it... It's a sin for talent like that to not find its audience.

Having since learned that Alec also happens to be a fantastic human, a genuine and generous soul - it tickles me immensely that his work is getting the recognition it deserves, and mostly - that someone who is successful took the time and effort to throw this much love towards as yet unknown. My hat's off to you, Sir.

PS: Interestingly (for me), I'd started madly reading your work after this bit of promo you did for Alec. I'm ashamed to admit I was not aware of you before.

Rob

2/16/2017 10:53:35 am

Half way through and really enjoying this.

There was a couple of mistakes that were a bit jarring but the biggest one so far was in a Jan scene when it suddenly called him Keilan. I'm hoping that's a typo and not a hint at something!

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.