Master of Sorrows by Justin T. Call

Publisher’s Synopsis:

Every dark lord has an origin.

You’ve heard the story before: an orphaned boy, raised by a wise old man, comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil threatening his world.

But what if that hero were destined to become the new dark lord?

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.

But Annev carries a secret. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers. Seventeen years later, he struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When Annev is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must finally decide whether to accept the truth of who he really is … or embrace the darker truth of what he may one day become.

Edition:
E-ARC (Net Galley)

My Thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed each of the 448 pages of this book. Justin T. Call has begun building a truly fascinating world here, and it was a true joy to learn a little about it here.

The way that the people of Chaenbalu view people who are physically imperfect is actually an established trope within the fantasy genre (think of Tyrion in GoT [aside: there is a really fantastic article from a 2016 issue of Disability Studies Quarterly written by Colleen Elaine Donnelly titled Re-visioning Negative Archetypes of Disability and Deformity in Fantasy: Wicked, Maleficent, and Game of Thrones, which is 100% worth reading if your into this stuff – I cited it in a scholarly article I’m currently shopping. It’s really good stuff.], many Bond villains, Shakespeare’s Richard III, etc. you get the point, right?).

The thing that I love about Call’s handling of this trope is that he leads the reader toward the idea that this sort of thought process is nonsensical. Annev does hide his own deformity, but he is also one of the few people in his village to not look down upon others who are visibly marked. Even the girl he loves shares the general populace’s views on these matters – something which Annev feels more and more disturbed by as time goes on.

Despite the book’s length, the story of Master of Sorrows is actually told at a breakneck speed – the entirety of the book takes place over the course of a few very significant days in Annev’s life. In this very short period a remarkable amount of change happens in his life. He learns about his own past, something of the world outside Chaenbalu, all sorts of prophecy and lore, and plenty of new information about people he knows and loves. Essentially his entire world is flip-turned upside down.

There’s so much going on that I found myself pleasantly surprised that Call was able to not only keep everything straight and moving at a consistent speed, but that he was able to pull me as a reader through it all without a hitch. I never had to pause and look back at previous pages to try and figure out just how the hell we got to where we were. In a story that is working on such a grand scale, I think that is a pretty great accomplishment. He’s a hell of a writer – I’ll just leave it at that.

What I particularly enjoyed about Master of Sorrows is the way Call began to lay the groundwork for something that already feels epic in scope. This books reads like the kind of grand, sweeping tale that will keep me coming back book after book. I find myself not even married to a particular outcome for Annev as yet, but no matter how things turn out for him, I have found that I definitely want to stick around for it!

Rating:

Am I going to buy this book? Yes. Am I sad that personalized hardcovers are sold out on his website? 100% super-sad. I really loved this story, and as mentioned above, I’m really looking forward to the next installment, Master Artificer, which I know from his really well-designed web page is in it’s completed first draft phase.

About the Author:

Justin T. Call is a graduate of Harvard University and the author of Master of Sorrows, Book 1 of the Silent Gods series. In addition to being a novice screenwriter and voice actor, Justin is also the CEO of Broomstick Monkey Games and codesigner of Imperial Harvest and Royal Strawberries. When Justin isn’t reading or writing books, he likes boxing, designing tabletop games, and playing League of Legends. He currently lives in Park City, Utah, with his wife, his two sons, his Great Dane (Pippa) and his St. Bernard-Mastiff (Herbie).

Master of Sorrows
By Justin T. Call
Blackstone Publishing
Fantasy
ISBN: 9781982591786
Expected Publication: February 25, 2020
Hardcover, E-book, Audio
448 Pages
Author's Website
(you should check his site out - it's really informative and gorgeous!)