Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. Unfortunately I will not be finishing reading it as I am struggling with the language choices. The use of third person referral as a language system is very difficult for me to read and enjoy.

A little slow to get going but recognised this was the first episode. A lot of threads to be pulled together and this has set the scene nicely whilst still being an interesting story by itself. It successfully brought me into it's different world and made me want to read the next book in the saga.

An incredible ride in a brilliantly imagined fantasy world. Mike Brooks is a fresh voice in fantasy and the Black Coast marks the start of a journey into a new fantasy epic that is sure to be a high with fans.

The book is unique and filled with a myriad of layered and interesting characters. It definitely feels like the start of a series but all the various POVs start to come together brilliantly towards the end.

War, politics, assassins with a dash of romance, responsibility and family. The Black Coast is a fantastic adventure that all fantasy fans must read. It promises to be the start of something very special.

Now this book is one i was definitely looking forward to but there is no way I could have foreseen just how much I would love it. I finished this absolute tome in 2 sittings which I haven’t done in a very long time. This is a debut fantasy you can tell the author has been crafting and caring for as a book for years. The attentions to detail in the world building, the very flawed but incredible characters with a steady story are so clearly from a place of love that I can definitely say this was the most excited I felt reading a fantasy book for the last few months.

The world building is something I feel was definitely my favourite aspect of the book. So with this society and world, there are a lot of fantastical elements we don’t have such as dragons, which I wouldn’t expect to see. Yet in this world there is specific language and ways of addressing someone to not only account for their gender (if known or otherwise) but also their societal ranking. There’s also a change to the language where people address themselves to others in the third person. For example, Daimon Blackcreek one of our main points of view would describe himself to another as ‘This Lord thinks’ or ‘This Lord would have’ and the same for others in his country. It’s something so subtle with the language but is incredibly inventive! It may be a bit of a stumbling block for some readers but I personally thinks it just involves more dedication to you learning how the world works.

This story does have multiple POV as well, with a focus on a few mostly like Daimon, Saana and Tila. This is something I generally can struggle with if it’s with say more than three characters but each point of view is vital to the plot and once you realise why it definitely makes the story that bit more interesting. I found with the characters as well, the author went to a length to show them as people. For example, Daimon thinks of Saana’s people as basically Viking style savages. They don’t even use paper and they have women on equal footing with men. That being said, Saana and her people are all by a vast majority very homophobic. They don’t have the ability to even understand it beyond it being totally alien to them and a slight on their God, Father Krayk. It leads to a lot of uncomfortable situations definitely but they’re not ever easy things to discuss between people from different countries or cultures. It definitely adds a layer to their development that works very well.

There is a story here that does unravel very well with as decent pace, I only want more dragons. The dragons in this have some different species that I am a sucker for in any fantasy setting as well. There is a lot of set up for the coming books as well so there is a lot to come and I honestly welcome the next installment. This is a book I genuinely find myself loving and sad that I’m finished it. The sequel will hopefully be on the way soon.

Thank you to Compulsive Readers for having me on the tour and to them and Orbit Books for sending me a copy of the book to review. The Black Coast is out now!

I received a copy of this book from #NetGalley. The review is my honest opinion.

A new fantasy series that has similarities to Game of Thrones with its world building, intricately weaves plot lines, knights, raiders and let’s not forget the war dragons!

Told from multiple points of view but mainly Daimon Blackcreek a Sar and Lord who defies his father to protect his town by welcoming a clan of raiders. Sanaa Sattistutar chief of the brown Eagle clan who along with her people is fleeing her lands and ‘The Golden’. Tila the sister of the God- King who has a secret life under an assumed name, Jeya an orphan street thief and Rikkut Fireheart who is hunting down the clan chiefs on behalf of The Golden.

As I have found with most new fantasy books, the first in a series can be confusing at times especially when there is a complex world to be described. This was no different! The first 25% I was confused that some people seemed to refer to themselves in the third person and there is different inflections used for gender representations which I’m still not sure of even though I have reached the end.

The story covers an array of topics including equality, cultural viewpoints on homosexuality and challenging expected behaviours. It is well written with a twisting and interesting plot line of which I’m sure this book is just the tip of the ice berg.

There is just enough detail to pull you in yet I still don’t feel as though I know very much about anything. I have a feeling this series is going to be epic and I’m looking forward to the next instalment!

#TheBlackCoast released today!

This books speech choice was really infantile and was hard imagining a 40 year old talking like that.

I enjoyed this first instalment in the God-King Chronicles series by Mike Brooks. The world building is one of the main strengths of this book. While I enjoyed the story overall, I wasn't fully invested in the characters and so I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

There’s something great about reading an immersive fantasy, isn’t there? A book that you can wallow in, breathe in, live in, at least for a little while. Mike’s latest book, his debut Fantasy, I found to be one of those books.

There’s a lot of aspects that regular readers will like -  a range of characters in different settings, fights of a small scale as well as epic, swords, god-like beings, not to mention dragons.

The story begins in the land of Narida, where the peaceful people of Black Keep suddenly find that a group of raiders from Tjakorsha arrive on their shores. Fearing attack, they rally to arms, to find that the Brown Eagle clan, led by Saana Sattistutuar, are actually there to settle peaceably, not invade.

It made me think of what it might have been like when the Vikings settled in Saxon lands 1600 years ago. There is suspicion, misunderstandings, hatred, old scores to be settled and betrayal and division as a result. The young Daimon Blackcreek, adopted son of Lord Asrel, finds himself having to negotiate a difficult line of diplomacy between the two often discordant groups. It also doesn’t help that he has gone against his father and his brother in order to create a fragile peace. He knows that the ruler of Narida will not take lightly the arrival of these heathens to his shores and once the news has got back to the ruler will no doubt lead to retribution on Daimon, not to mention the arrival of an army from The God King to reclaim ‘his’ authority.

Whilst the groups appear to adjust to this new reality, we then find the reason for the arrival of the raiders. Sanaa and her clan have moved to the Black Coast lands because of trouble in their original territory of Tjakorsha. There are stories of a god-like being (or draug) known as The Golden who has taken it upon himself to subjugate tribes like the Brown Eagles and rule them with some sort of demonic magic. It is not a kind rule, nor a just one, and according to prophesy preludes the end of the world, so Sanaa and her clan make the tough decision to move or be conquered.

Things are also unsettled elsewhere. From the Prologue we find that Natan, The God King of Narida is without an heir and therefore faces being usurped by the Splinter King as a viable alternative from neighbouring Alaba.  His sister, Tila, is determined to remove the threat before it becomes a problem.

And then there’s dragons, used by the people of Black Keep and Narida in battle. Whilst these seem more like Tyrannosaurus Rex than the dragons of Game of Thrones, they are impressive. The battle scenes are quite visceral and show that the dragons are worth the wait.

So far, this sounds like a typical Fantasy story. Mike sets up a great world with a variety of memorable characters and a situation that seems on the cusp of change. But there are elements that make this more than the usual. Not only is this a Fantasy which covers many of the expected tropes, but The Black Coast is a story that is partly about peace and defending that peace rather than going to war. I liked the fact that it was in part about two disparate cultures attempting to overcome their various challenges and prejudices in order to work, live and survive together.

What Mike also does that is interesting is use diacritics (where symbols such as hé/shé etc are used) to denote gender. In Narida there’s also a difference shown in class, which leads to characters referring to themselves in the third person as “This lord” or “This man” as well as the first person. It’s a nicely unusual touch which allows the differences between the groups to be subtly shown without labouring the idea too much.

The Black Coast starts fairly slow but builds into an engaging solid piece of Fantasy that kept me turning those nearly 700 pages. Some nice characterisation and unusual touches turn this story into a superior piece of immersive fiction. For those looking at something to disappear into, it’s a great read.

When a story ends with a great battle, I'm sometimes left with an hollow feeling. While it's fulfilling to read a climactic payoff after so long a buildup,, I find myself wishing to know what happens after the battle. How is the new government going to rule? What is the temperment of the people? Can two hated countries put long-ingrained differences aside to work towards peace? The aftermath of these battles are rife with interesting storylines, and I would love to read more about the difficulties of shfiting cultural alliances.

The Black Coast skips directly to this period of aftermath. One kingdom is divided by religion, highlighted by vastly different cultural values, langauge honorifics, and societal norms, A group of foreigners--one-time raiders and generational enemies--now wish to live among these kingdoms as peaceful settlers. This melting pot has a lot of spice. Yet the POVs from each side show that they're trying to do what's best for their own people, and many cannot be faulted for being fearful, or angry, or reactionary. It's compelling stuff.

The story's threads weave a bigger and bigger tapestry throughout the book as it covers all the major beats of what makes a memorable epic fantasy story. There are high levels of adventure, love, danger, politics, and so forth, but the consistent focus on humanity's struggle to survive together in an increasingly uncomfortable atmosphere was the book's biggest draw.

An easy recommendation for a brilliant and thoughtful start to what promises to be a watershed epic fantasy series. I loved it.

You want to read this book.

A knife-throwing princess secretly running a patriarchy. An honourable young man caught between duty & pragmatism. A fierce warrior chief & her dragon-taming daughter trying to give peace a chance. Frigging DINOSAUR riders (although if it looks like a velociraptor and stalks like a velociraptor, I'll call it a dragon if it wants me to).

Stir in possibly illegitimate god-kings, demonic possession, and street rats saving hidden heirs as subplots (although I'm thinking they'll be centre stage in future volumes) and you could be forgiven for thinking there's a LOT going on in The Black Coast. There is - it's setting the stage for an epic series - but Mike Brooks does a great job of balancing it by focusing on the personal.

Come for familiar epic fantasy narrative tropes, stay for the glee with which epic fantasy expectations are challenged and characters try to work out their differences rather than just killing each other over them.

Just fab.

Enthralling fantasy novel - original and good world-building writing

This fantasy novel, the first part of a trilogy, builds an exciting and original road full of interesting characters, both in the main plot and in the seemingly secondary plotlines. It involves a coming-together of two different races/cultures and therefore explores both. There's hidden menace, bloodshed, betrayal, revelations, dragons, fighting and every other fantasy trope. The characters are well-developed and the plot moves along at a good steady pace. There's original use of language which is fun and the whole experience was enjoyable and intriguing. I look forward to seeing where it progresses from here and recommend it to all lovers of fantasy. I was given a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

DRC provided by Little, Brown Book Group UK via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: lesbian secondary character, queer secondary character, trans tertiary characters, queer tertiary characters, amputee tertiary characters, tertiary characters of colour.

Content Warning: violence (graphic), transphobia, homophobia, sexism, elitism, death (graphic), misogyny, maiming, war.

The Black Coast by Mike Brooks is the first instalment in Brooks’ new God-King trilogy, an enthralling epic fantasy with different levels of queernomative societies and captivating characters trying to find common ground among dissimilar ways of thinking.

Brooks created a world extremely diverse with fascinating civilisations, albeit some more forward-thinking than others, but nonetheless engaging. Even the ones that are completely wrapped in a veil of mystery and unknown. I am very much hoping that the next tome will include a point of view from a Morlithian! Before I start to talk about my favourites among Brooks’ creations, I need to establish a key line about the way gender is seen and expressed in one of the most modern civilisations, Alaba: an acute inflection (é) represents individuals presenting as low-feminine, the circumflex (ê) is used by people presenting as low-masculine, the lacking of an inflection (e) represents gender neutrality, a grave inflection (è) represents people presenting as high-masculine, the macron (ē) is used by individuals presenting as high-feminine and the umlaut (ë) is used by agender individuals.

Among the great number of characters, three are the ones I really loved more than others, despite the low number of chapters devoted to them. Each one comes from a different culture: the astute and wise Naridan blood-son of the Thane of Blackcreek, Darel Blackcreek who managed to discard his father hateful teachings and the notions on how their world worked to help his law-brother Daimon in creating a new way of living in their southern county of the vast Naridan territory; the resourceful and dynamic Jeya, an Alaban petty thief who wanders the streets of the City of Islands, Kiburu ce Alaba, in search of inattentive targets and their possessions, which would allow hér to pay for a roof over hér head for the night; and the unapologetic Tjakorshi healer and witch, Kerrti, important member of Brown Eagle clan.

I really enjoyed this huge brick of a book, which managed to maintain a steady course throughout the whole story and avoid any loss of interest. I will be fervently waiting for the next volume in the series.

The Black Coast is an intersting fantasy, based on the assimilation of the previously feared Raiders, the Tjakorshi, into the lands of Narida. We follow the point of view of the leader of the Black Eagle Clan, Saarna Sattistutar as she attempts to gain clemency in this strange land in which they have previously been seen as the enemy.

The other point of view is from Daimon, the adopted son of Lord Asrel, who seeing a different way to war and killing betrays tradition and family, and accepts the invaders, at the cost of deposing his father and brother in order to maintain peace and accept the Tjakorshi into the community of Black Keep.

What follows is the tale of the trials and tribulations of two very different communities coming together to work for the greater good. However, not everyone in Black Keep is as accepting of the former enemies and they attempt to derail the alliance and the bonds that start to develop between the two cultures.

Besides these two main points of view, we have several others that take us to different parts of the world and also the wider political machinations of Mike Brook's gigantic world.Firstly, there's Tila. The sister of the God-King, Natan, who is organising a move to assassinate the Splinter King, a rival and threat to her brother's claim to the throne of Narida (not a spoiler, it's in the prologue!)

And there's Jeya, a street urchin in Kiburu ce Alaba, who struggles to make a living by stealing. However, her life becomes irrevocably changed when she steals the purse of a rich young man in the market.

In amidst this, there are a number of minor characters that provide a view to different parts of the country of Narida or adds different aspects to the story.

Mike Brooks creates a rich tapestry of cultures in the world he has created. For instance, the Tjakorshi seem to reminiscent of a Norse culture, whilst the Naridans are based on feudal Japan. This makes for a diverse melting pot of culture and tradition. And then there's the Alabans, which reminds me more of an Arabian culture. Added to this, particularly in Alaban, there is the question of gender in which the society is based on a non-binary culture and provides a number of pitfalls to traverse for visitors to the country.

I have to say that whilst this is my first introduction to Mike Brooks, and I found his writing to be solid and expansive. He writes rich characters, particularly Saana and Daimon, and when we went to some of the minor characters' viewpoints I couldn't wait to get back to these two.

I found both cultures to be fascinating and enjoyed the descriptions of their opposing viewpoints and attitudes. For instance, the Naridans have a liberal attitude to same-sex marriage, whilst the Tjakoshan's find this bewildering and against nature. It is interesting to see the attitudes of the Tjakorshan's change, and when the change comes from a source that Saana is not expecting she is forced to accept this difference in culture.

Similarly, with the Naridans, who have a patriarchal society that sees women as second class citizens, Daimon has to change his attitude to fit with the Tjakorshans. I really liked this examination of socio-political attitudes within the world and culture and it was a refreshing change to see these kinds of things in a fantasy series.

I liked the idea of the war dragons, although they are not exactly dragons as in the traditional fantasy sense, but based more on like giants bearded lizards, and such like.

When reading the story, it is quite obvious that some of the subplots are setting up second and third books. The story of the Splinter King or the Demon Lord of the Tjakoshan's for instance, which is in the book but doesn't really have much page time. I found the character of the Golden to be a fascinating character and I wanted to see more of him but he seems to be used as a vehicle for later stories rather than being enmeshed with the current world, although the actions of the Golden do have some minor impact in the book.

Besides the rich characters and stunning world-building, Mike Brooks writes some pretty good fight and battle scenes. I have to say, that when the battle scenes do come, he writes engrossing battle scenes that get your pulse beating that little bit faster.

So, all in all, I enjoyed this book. It has well rounded believable characters, rich and deep world-building, and topped with a good dose of pulse pumping battle scenes

This is a story I think would suit reluctant readers, especially boys, who can be drawn in by action and gore. The multiple points of view might be difficult for some, but it worked alright for me. There was a fair bit of set-up telling at the beginning and although the description didn't say what age group it's targeted at, based on the sentence structure I'd say Middle-Grade, although there are some themes more appropriate for someone a little older.

I didn't really get into it, but another reader might love it.

I really wanted to like this book as the premise sounded amazing but after trying and failing to get into this book three times I have decided to DNF it. I think the story sounds amazing but the writing style is very much not for me and I really struggled to get into the book.

“The Black Coast” is a classic specimen of heroic fantasy in the best tradition of David Gemmell’s “Legend”.
I devoured Gemmell’s books in my twenties. I think I read them all. “The Black Coast” brought back the spirit and the flavour of those old fantasy masterpieces.
In this story Mike Brooks introduces us to several richly-drawn characters. My favourites are Saana (the chief of the Brown Eagle clan - Viking-like sea raiders of Tjarokorsha) and Daimon (the adopted son of the thane of Black Keep, a southern province of the kingdom of Narida). The worlds of these two leaders collide – and converge – when Saana leads her people to the shores of Narida as they flee from the bloodthirsty agents of The Golden (a demonic draug). I really appreciated the author’s novel take on gender identity in this book and loved the way Saana referred to herself as “this man” based on her interpretation of Naridan hierarchy. Saana is pure power and compassion – an ideal leader. Daimon has to make heart-wrenching choices between his kin and the survival of his people on the whole. His dilemmas are agonising, and utterly believable. There are huge depths to Daimon’s character.
The worlds/societies/cultures that clash in this book are perfectly realised: the Black Keep setting with its sars-warriors with their strict code of honour on the one hand and its relaxed and tolerant society on the other; the degenerate court of the God-King Natan and his sister’s Talia wicked manoeuvres to destroy her enemies; the hordes of raiders led by Rikkut and so on.
Apart from this being a grand and engrossing epic, it also has a wonderful message of diverse people coming together for their greater collective good.

There are a lot of things to like about The Black Coast but there are also some things that drag it down. The worldbuilding is excellent, Brooks spends a lot of time creating a rich and deep world full of language and culture and he has created different societies which feel different but very real. This is where the real strength of the book lies and I really did enjoy the world he has created.

The issue is that I found quite a lot of the story quite boring to the extent that I cannot remember most of what the story was about when it wasn’t focusing on Daimon and Saana. Their thread in the story is undoubtedly the most interesting as they try to broker a truce between their two societies rather than continue fighting. It was a plot point I enjoyed very much since it was focused on peace rather than killing and both Daimon and Saana were very interesting characters. They were, however, the only characters in the novel I can remember with any clarity and the rest oft hem simply fade in my memory until I cannot recall their names or what they did.

Another issue I found was with the language. Characters frequently refer to themselves in the third person, which I found exceptionally irritating but Brooks does do something interesting with language with the gender and status of a person and how easy it is to get wrong. A character, for example, calls herself a man because she doesn’t understand the subtle differences. The problem with that is that I didn’t understand the subtle differences either because although the written word shows the difference with accents, I didn’t know how the words were supposed to be pronounced so I pronounced all of them the same. A pronunciation guide would have been useful because there’s no point using accents if the reader doesn’t know how they affect pronunciation.

The Black Coast isn’t a bad book and I think a lot of people will like it. The lack of memorable characters dragged it down for me. The pacing is slow and it does feel more like a prelude in places than an actual novel but slow pacing normally doesn’t bother me if there are a lot of interesting characters. The opening was good and the end was very interesting but I find it difficult to remember what happened in the middle of the book. If you’re into elaborate worldbuilding then you might love this book but there just wasn’t enough for me to love it.

Ships land and Tjakarsha move towards Black Keep. Will there be a battle or can peace be achieved? A novel to get your teeth into. Dragons, sea monsters, conflict and a people trying to escape a demonic leader and start a new life in peace and harmony.

I'm annoyed. Annoyed that I hadn't heard of Mike Brooks until I picked up this book. "The Black Coast" is everything you could wish for from a fantasy novel. The world and characters are so richly developed that it's easy to fall into the story. The fantastic writing helps too! I really, really can't wait for the second book in this series!!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

A good idea for a story but too confusing to follow with all the different gender pronouns never mind the characters constant talking about themselves in the third person on top of that.