I took a long time to review this book because the pace was so slow I had to stop in the middle.
I rarely go back to books I have paused but I was interested in the fate of the protagonists and how the story developed.
Imagine my annoyance when I get to the end and realise there is no proper ending because it’s the first in a series. Argh!!!!

Anyway the story is set in a medieval-style fantasy city where magic is performed using sigils and incantations. The citizens work hard by day and at night live in fear of both the demon-monsters that attack them and the guards who are supposed to protect them.

Up in the castle corrupt rulers are devising evil plans using the hard-working citizens as fodder for their secret magic.
Normally I complain when the villains are two-dimensional but here they and their political machinations were just given too many words. They are rich, powerful and willing to use evil means to stay that way. I didn’t need much more than that.

The story centres around three brothers who work as undertakers using magic that is standard for their trade. But in their spare time the older brothers, Rigan and Corran, leave their home to develop their recently-discovered skills while the youngest Kell stays home, keeping house and taking care of his brother when they (oh so frequently) return home battered and bruised from their adventures. After awhile it gets a bit boring when the brothers are constantly beaten until near death but then miraculously saved.
There are female characters in this book but they are compressed into love interests and are barely two-dimensional at that.

I decided to finish this book because there is a good story hidden in the text of this book but it is surrounded by so much repetition and info dumping, that while there were entertaining episodes I couldn't really enjoy it as a whole.

Le sigh. I think this might be my last attempt. I have had success with this author in the past but the last two series I have attempted have ended with frustration or DNFing. This is a case of BOTH. I made it further here than I did with Ice Forged but making 200 pages headway (of 560!) in two weeks is an idicstio of the struggle. Not for me.

it felt like something wasnt quite right with the story. I am not sure if it was pacing, or it just was missing something..

I am normally a fan of Gail's writing but this felt like someone else was trying to write in her style and missed some of her usual beats.

Really long winded and repetitive. I stopped reading around 33% because I just wasn't staying engaged and the political monologues were getting annoying. This one wasn't for me. I know I am behind on my review, so hopefully this was corrected in the final copy.

This book is very good. It took me a minute to get into, but once I understood the pieces, I highly enjoyed myself. It has twists and turns that I did not see coming, but they really surprised me. I loved the dark atmosphere and how the author dealt with magic. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the brotherly banter and internal thoughts of each character. I would recommend this to anyone who liked a bit of banter, ghosts and spirits and also if you are into something fresh in the sff world.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to read this before it´s release and therefore I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley.
Guys, this is a must read if you are into dark, atmospheric and cool off books!

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BAM The Bibliomaniac 's review Jun 12, 2017 · edit
it was ok
bookshelves: e-book, fantasy, net-galley, own

Many thanks to Gail Z. Martin, Solaris Books, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I'm going a bit off the beaten path. I'm not going to summarize the plot. I have so many composition issues I feel I must share that take precedent.

The story takes place in the village of Ravenwood, some sort of suburb of Darkhurst. This is the FOURTH fantasy book I've read in the past six months that has used the term Ravenwood to stand for something. It's a bit washed-up. Perhaps a change is in order? Why do some characters have ordinary names and some have the most thrown-together unpronounceable monikers possible? I can't even discover a root in most of them that declares they sprang from any etymological source. That goes for the gods, too. I find a little research makes the imagination more believable. A thick thesaurus is also something an author should keep on hand. I stopped counting how often the juvenile term "monster" was used, which led me to look it up in my thesaurus. There are numerous and possibly more appropriate alternatives-unless of course this book is geared toward twelve-year-olds. Also, "hunter" may need to be switched, too; otherwise one runs into such statements such as: hunters hunted or hunters were hunting. It has the potential to reach higher.

Enough about the vocabulary. How about the plot? Eighty-five percent of this book consists of repetition or contradiction. Personality traits change within just a few pages; timelines conflict, which leads to confusion and required rereading; the device of "the old woman" is worn out, as well as someone developing a fever no matter what strenuous activity or worrisome scenario has occurred, the use of abandoned buildings on a consistent basis, which always leads to disaster, and the phrase, "we've got to get out of here", which I also counted; events are discussed that clearly did not happen in the book, but the characters act like they totally did, so the reader is left wondering is this just an area that needs some polish, or is the author attempting to fill in blanks as she goes along to help move the story.
It's not until chapter thirty-nine (92% of the book) before any real plan is put into motion, and it takes all of six percent. So it's basically the end of the book-BAM. Not even much of a talking-down period. I was completely let down. I figured that after all I had suffered, at least I had an energized fight scene of two to look forward to, since most of the plot beforehand was superfluous and could easily be cut in exchange for a more well-developed denouement and the addition of the missing pieces.

A ton of editing is required to get this novel up to par. It has potential, but if it were published as is, I would not be interested in completing the series.

"Damn Aliyev and Gorog. Damn the Guilds. Damn Toloth and the Elder Gods, and damn Ravenwood. If I can't save myself, then I will burn and the world will be my pyre"

*
1 / 5

It gives me no pleasure to say it, but Scourge was a tedious read. It was repetitive, I could barely differentiate between the three brothers, and I had very little emotional investment the whole way through. Whilst I did appreciate Martin's creativity with the monsters (the skin-burrowing ones really freaked me out), I wasn't a fan of Scourge.

"Undertaking, like all the trades in Ravenwood, was a hereditary profession; that it came with its own magic held no surprise"

At the heart of this book are the three Valmonde brothers: Corran, Rigan, and Kell. They are undertakers, which I thought was a really neat perspective; they prepare the bodies of the dead for the grave and the afterlife, sometimes taking extra coin for a good burial, sometimes to damn the soul of another to the void. To do their craft they utilise one of the few permitted forms of magic: grave magic, used to hear the confessions of the dead and banish the unruly spirits. Initially, I loved the brothers. Their vocation was original and their dynamic a breath of fresh air, but before long they began to fit into very precise archetypes.

"Monsters returned time and again to Ravenwood, and when they did, tradesmen became hunters"

Corran is the warrior, fighting monsters that roam the streets of Ravenwood, unchecked by the guards that do little more than terrorise the locals; Rigan is the mage, learning illegal magics from the witches of Below; Kell is the dutiful youngest brother, trying to keep the house together. Despite these different roles, they all have very similar personalities: quick to anger, swift to revenge, in love with a girl they can't have, and far too many brushes with death. I swear that after about the sixth time that Rigan has used too much magic and his life is "with the hands of the gods", I stopped caring. And we see so much repeated: Corran fights monsters illegally and worries that the guards will catch him, Rigan trains in magic illegally and worries that the guards will catch him, Kell cooks dinner and worries that the guards will catch his brothers. Yawn.

"Plant the seeds, feed the rumours. Wanderers, witches, and monsters - it's a perfect storm"

Ravenwood is ruled by the iron fist of Lord Mayor Machison, a thoroughly unpleasant man who tortures peasant men and sexually violates their wives. A real charmer. Ravenwood is a sort of city-state, part of a League of ten such cities who are always jostling for favourable treaties. The trade treaty for Ravenwood is coming up for renewal and the three Merchant Princes and the various Guilds are jostling (and stabbing each other) for favourable terms. The explanation of all of this is very long, strung-out, and technically and politically boring. There's lots of meetings, assassinations, and treatise talk, alongside the Valmonde brothers' plot-line, and it's terribly slow.

Scourge is a mix of genres and ideas: it's about monsters, brothers and family, magic and oppression, trading and politics. Martin has a creative mind and it really does show, but unfortunately I found Scourge to be very tedious to read. It could have been cut a great deal in length and not lost much, due to the repetitive nature of all the monster-hunting and magic-learning scenes.

Gail does it again, fantastic world and character building, perfect blend of sometimes uncomfortable but always difficult to tear away from book. Looking forward to what follows through the series

Few authors can pull off the delicate combination of horror and fantasy. It's something of an awkward dance of genres, even when you're stretching the definition of fantasy with something like the grimdark movement. When you're talking heroic/epic fantasy, it becomes even more of a challenge, and yet Gail Z. Martin has done it again.

Scourge: A Darkhurst Novel is a book that opens with the exorcism of a violent, vengeful spirit, and then immediately leaps into a lynch mob extermination of a nest of undead, fast zombie-like monsters. It is almost like an urban fantasy in epic fantasy clothing, with some contemporary influences (like Buffy & Supernatural) that I'm sure many readers will catch along the way, but regardless of genre, when your heroes are undertakers, you know you're in for an unusual read.

This has all the hallmarks of a Gail Z. Martin novel. First of all, you have strong, complex characters with personalities, involved in real, often messy relationships. The Valmonde brothers are at the heart of it all - with all the bickering, infighting, and brotherly camaraderie you'd expect - but they're surrounded by an equally strong cast of supporting characters, and one of the more entertaining villains you are likely to come across in Lord Mayor Machison.

Second, you have a full, deep mythology, complimented by some exemplary world-building. The supernatural here is only half the story, but it is a fantastic half that delivers on all the promise of ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and more. On the more mundane side, it has the familiar flavor of a medieval fantasy, but with a strong political aspect involving merchant princes and trade guilds of Ravenwood. There is a little bit of info dumping, but it is crucial to the plot, even if it does drag the story down a bit.

On that note, there are some pacing issues with the book that may bother some readers. While it has a frantic, kick-ass opening, there are some prolonged lulls in the middle of the book, and the conclusion feels rather sudden. Part of that is due to the narrow focus, keeping the three brothers at the heart of the action. While a few more POV characters may have helped with the pace, they would have felt out-of-place in a story that belongs to Corran, Rigan, and Kell. Really, so long as you remember that this is the opening chapter of a new series, the pacing (and info dumping) is completely understandable.

If you're okay with swapping dragons for monsters and armies for merchants, with a family of undertakers as your unorthodox heroes, Scourge is a fun read that does something unique within a crowded genre. Well worth a read.

I wish I had the opportunity to review this book but it was archived the same date as approval 😣

Gail Z. Martin never skimps on the world-building and multi-layered storytelling. This new book "Scourge" is a worthy entry to her canon. There are good guys, bad guys (by the truckload), magic, magicians... everything you could ever want in a fantasy by Ms. Martin.

I have been an avid reader of all of her series, and this is a fitting beginning to what we can all hope will be epic.

Gail Z. Martin’s newest novel Scourge is a fantasy version of Supernatural. This story combining the familial relationship of brothers with monster hunting and more than a dash of political machinations and vile blood magic to craft yet another fine fantasy from this prolific writer. And while it does contain quite a bit of world building, it is sure to satisfy Martin’s fans and create more than a few new ones.

The linchpins of the tale are the Valmonde brothers; these three, young men having inherited the family business when their mother was horribly killed and their father died a mysterious death. Working as guild undertakers in the city-state of Ravenwood, Corran, Rigan, and Kell use rituals, religious ceremonies and more than a little magic to set the souls of the dead free and keep them from returning to the living as ghouls. But most of their time is spent arguing with one another, dealing with their personal issues, and desperately trying to make enough money to pay bribes to the city guard, yet still have enough left over to survive another day.

As for the brothers’ home city of Ravenwood, it isn’t exactly what it seems from outside its gilded gates. Certainly, it is a civilized land ruled by merchant princes, mayors, and powerful guilds, where the business of trade and the making of gold rules all, but even here there is a worsening plague of creatures terrorizing the citizens. Ghouls lurking in the shadows; other — even more foul — monsters springing up to maim and kill, while the city guard seemingly does nothing. All of which causes the Valmonde brothers to become embroiled in the dangerous business of monster hunting and forbidden magic.

Intertwined with our three brothers tale is the doings of the Lord Mayor Machison. This devious, power-hungry man about as despicable as one can get. His scheming, political maneuvering and callous use of power hiding a greater secret, one which involves trade and power, wealth and magic!

As always, the strength of Gail Z. Martin’s writing is her ability to craft likable main characters; people who draw you in and demand that you follow along with them through the story. The Valmonde brothers fitting this description perfectly. Corran, Rigan, and Kell very realistic people who have strengths and flaws, dreams and failures, which transform them into living, breathing people, whom a reader will learn to care for and desperate hope succeed.

The other highlight of the book is the different flavor of medieval society presented. Yes, it is still European in nature, but instead of the fairly pedestrian feudal monarchies of so many fantasy offerings, Scourge‘s world is ruled by merchant princes, revolves around trade pacts and includes powerful guilds with intricate politics involved in every facet of life. It is difficult for the author to set this all up, especially since it isn’t juicy stuff, but once Gail Z. Martin lays a firm foundation for this society in the first half of the book it really becomes very enjoyable experiencing something a bit different.

The only issue I had with Scourge was the length of the narrative. Many times the expositions on the world and its economic system seemed a bit too lengthy. This was more apparent during the Lord Mayor’s sections of the book than the Valmonde brothers, but it reared its head quite often. I completely understand why the author had to spend time explaining this unique city-state, its rulers, and the guilds, but I wish there had been a more organic, exciting way of handling it.

Undertakers. Guilds. Merchant princes. Monsters. Magic. And three brothers trying to live a normal life while caught up in the whole mess. Gail Z. Martin’s Scourge will entertain and excite readers, especially those who love stories driven by well developed main characters.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

Review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2049433783

I’ll kick off with the positives: the monsters in this book are really cool. If you’re not a fan of gore (or in one instance insects) then I would steer clear because these creatures creeped the heck out of me. The scary, supernatural elements of this book are the best parts without a doubt, they’re where you find the most evocative writing and, unsurprisingly, the most action.

The division of the three brothers was also, for the most part, well handled. Did it take me a while to work out which one was which (and which one was oldest)? Indeed it did. But I lose track of characters all the time when I read so I’m not necessarily faulting the book for that. Once you’ve worked out who does what you can quite easily remember it. I liked all three of the brothers, they were well rounded characters and none of them felt to idealised or fake which was good.

But now I have to move on to the negatives which is never a nice thing to do but sometimes it is necessary. Remember these are just my opinions and you might find you feel totally different (and that’s ok!).

Firstly, for me, this book was way too long. Especially since I didn’t feel like it picked up the pace until about 60% of the way through which is a little too late for my liking. By the last chunk of the book I was really on board with the story and I was desperate to know what would happen but I found myself really struggling with the opening chapters. I think it would have been better if it had got away from the complicated trade agreements and guild discussions and really got to the action much earlier in the novel. At least that would have made me happier. You might really like descriptions of council meetings.

Secondly, I feel like there weren’t that many female characters? There are some, don’t get me wrong, there’s some lovely prospective wives and some witches too all of whom were pretty well written but they didn’t really get to do anything until the latter half of the book (again the point at which I really began to enjoy things). I get that this was a story about the three brothers but there were definitely opportunities to broaden the number of characters and include more women.

Will there ever be a time when I am satisfied with the women in a fantasy novel? Only time will tell…

I don’t think this book was conceptually bad. In fact I think it’s well worth a read if you’re willing to slog through the opening half. It just takes a bit of work which does give you that nice sense of achievement when you get to the end. I mean, the first time I read Eragon I remember it took me a good while to get into. If you like your fantasy ‘dark and supernatural’ you might really enjoy this and if you’re more used to reading longer books you’ll probably get on better with it than I did.

My rating: 3/5 stars

Scourge is being published on July 11 2017 so, if you’re intrigued, be sure to preorder your copy.

Buy the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher (Solaris) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This story is absolutely packed full of Magic and monsters. It's an epic fantasy following three brothers who are all likeable and face their own problems. I liked all three brothers, and enjoyed reading about them. There was plenty of action but I felt like some of the monster attacks and and the guard showdowns started to feel quite repetitive in the middle. On top of that one of the POV's is very slow. I actually ended up skimming pretty much all his chapters and I honestly don't think I missed much. I do expect a certain amount of politics in an epic fantasy but it was just stretched too far. Half of the things we're told, we just simply don't need to know let alone in the amount of detail we're given it (repeatedly). If those chapters had been more succinct I think this would have been a four star for me. I did really enjoy the brothers and a lot of the side characters were great too, I think it should have stuck to those characters a little more.

First time reading this author and I throughly enjoyed this book. There was character development and a spectacular plot. The plot keeps you turning the pages; hungry for more secrets and reavles. The book also didn't rush into a climatic event when it got near the end, which some books tend to rush at the end.
I will be reading the next book and have recommended this book to family and friends.

Unfortunately this one just didn't quite work for me. I found the characters a little one dimensional and so I didn't connect with any of them. The concept is quite an interesting one but in practice it didn't work. The plot was alright but there were way too many monsters to keep track of. Overall this had potential but I found it to be a little lacking.

The Valmonde brothers are undertakers. Not only do they bury the dead, their rituals also prevent the spirits from coming back as ghosts, or worse, ghouls. I liked the idea for the book, and the brothers, but it just didn't come together for me.

1.5 Stars

The Scourge follows a story of three young brothers, undertakers, who live in Ravenwood - a town riddled with monsters, mystery, murder and magic. The three brothers are orphans, with their father killed in mysterious circumstance and their mother mauled by a monster. They do their best to survive the monsters, the city guards, make enough money to pay the bribes to stay safe, eat and live.

As the story progresses, we find out that Rigan, the middle brother, possess magic, passed down to him via his mother's bloodline (who was a Wanderer). Not only does he posses magic, but he is extremely strong and learns how to not only hear the confessions of the spirits, but also summon them and learn the truth about the monsters that plague Ravenwood. Meanwhile, Corran, eldest brother, get's into a lot of trouble with an the hunters - an illegal group who hunt the monsters. And Kell, the youngest, tries to fix everything. In addition to these three POVs we also have Machison - the mayor of the city who is plotting to gain more power and gives us the insight into why the monsters exist.

While I did not mind the bothers, with Kell being my favorite, I absolutely loathed Machison. His chapters read like an economics textbook of a feudal town somewhere in Italy in the 15th century. Not only was it extremely confusing, he kept on repeating what he thought every 3rd page - I get it - he has to walk a fine line or he will be killed, don't remind me in every paragraph! Also, all the names, the king, the princes, the merchant guilds, the bloodmages, assassins, guards - there is only so many characters I can keep straight (and I kept up in A Song of Ice and Fire!), this book made my head hurt with just names. And he is such a black and white character! No depth, no redeeming qualities, just pure evil. Why would I wanna read about a man like that? If you want to create a villain and make him have a POV - make him complex! Make him relatable in some ways so that I do not feel like I want to strangle him on every page!

And then there are the monsters. Okay, three to four different kinds of monsters are fine - this was an encyclopedia of monsters. Every single attack had a different monster. I mean really? Do we really need that many? Isn't it enough with all the names of the different people, now I have to know the names of different monsters too? And keep up with negotiations, the bribes, the economics and trading relationships? Oh and if an array of monsters isn't enough - let's throw in a vampire too!

The only redeemable character was Kell. He was sweet, kind, funny and caring, and then he died. After his death - I honestly did not care what happened in the book. I finished the novel only because I loathe DNFs. The only reason why I gave this book a 1.5 stars is because I actually liked Kell. I will not be picking up book two of this series. It felt like someone threw together everything they could think of and hoped for the best.

If you're not a fan of the 'high-fantasy' genre, then this book is definitely not for you. With multiple subplots and characters with ridiculous names, it became somewhat tedious to read through this one. While the actual story was pretty good, the tangents need to get under control and something needs to be done to "spice up" the writing - this was my go to 'need to fall asleep book.'