One of the things that I'm always talking about on my bookstagram is the lack of books with a villain as the main character. Books that follow a hero are a dime a dozen, and although there have been plenty of authors who have kept that trope fresh, after a while it can get a little old. I've always thought that villains were such an untapped resource. Villains follow their own moral (or immoral) code, they commit heinous acts, and more often than not they are selfish megalomaniacs. Why wouldn't you want to read about a character like that?? Villains do things for their own gain, and they follow their own philosophies regarding how to obtain and keep power. It's their subversiveness that makes them interesting, and Cameron Johnston knew that when he wrote The Maleficent Seven.

In The Maleficent Seven, Johnston introduces us to the demonologist Black Herran and her six captains: Lorimer the vampire lord, Amogg the orc warlord, Maeven the necromancer, Verena the pirate queen, Tiarnach the demigod, and Jerak Hyden the twisted alchemist. Once, they were on the cusp of overtaking their whole continent and putting it into the villainous hands of Black Herran, but at the last minute Herran disappeared and they lost their upper hand. In the power vacuum that followed a new power rose: the Lucent Empire. The Lucent Empire had one goal: convert the entire continent to their new totalitarian, evangelical religion. Now, 40 years later, Black Herran is back, and she needs her captains again so that she can stop the Lucent Empire before it engulfs everyone and everything in its path. The job won't be easy, especially because her captains hate Harren for the way she abandoned them. Each has their own agenda, but only time will tell if they can pull together one last time.

From the very first page of this book, I was in love. Black Herran and her crew were nefarious, filthy, mean, and cruel, but instead of coming off as one-note characters with just one goal, they each came off as nuanced, fully fleshed-out characters. It's easy to take a villain down the mustache-twirling route, especially in a book with 7 of them, but Johnston gave each villain their own motivations and backstories. They were all absolutely horrible people, but they were so well-written that you find yourself rooting for them! One of my main gripes with typical depictions of villains is that the author tries to give them redeeming qualities. Johnston does no such thing. While his villains may have a reason for their actions and may care about certain people enough to want to protect them, they are first and foremost VILLAINS. Their motivations are selfish, and they go about achieving them to the detriment of those around them. And I LIVED for it!

To me, this book was perfect. The worldbuilding was immersive, and I give it props for being a stand-alone book that adequately introduced the world and magic without it feeling rushed or like it was lacking. My one gripe is that it is in fact a stand-alone! I want more from this world! But the ending wrapped everything up nicely, which is something that can be hard to come by in a stand-alone. I left this book satisfied with the story I'd been told, and really that's all you can really ask for as a reader.

I am really pleasantly surprised by this! While the summary told me that it would hit most of the tropes and such that I adore, this was a fun ride with some depth that I didn't expect! This was the first book I've read from the author and while the first several chapters threw me off due to the writing style (just a personal preference), I'm glad I stuck with it as this book is a hidden gem! I

If you base your book on one of the most iconic western films ever made, you best bring it. If not, Yul Brynner, and Steve McQueen will haunt you.
Cue the soundtrack; Johnston brought it. Way to go Cameron.
7 powerful evil miscreants come together to fight a religious force threatening to overpower the civilized land. Black Herron, a demonologist, is the leader. Among her 6 captains include a vampire, an orc and a demi-god of war. Everyone hates everyone and everyone is plotting to kill everyone else. Great action plot. Well-written and easy to read. Could not put this book down. Highly recommend that you buy this book.

Thanks Netgalley and Angry Robot for the ARC.

The blurb for "The Maleficent Seven" doesn't do it justice! But then, I don't think any blurb (or any review for that matter) could. This book is a wild ride, jammed with action and some pretty gruesome scenes (if you don't say "ooh" at some point, you might need help). If you enjoy fantasy with more than a splash of horror, you need to read this! I loved Cameron Johnston's writing and can't wait to read more of his work.

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

Thankyou to the author and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book.

This book was an awesome read for lovers of dark and gritty fantasy tales. I loved the morally grey characters, they always add some spice to a tale. The book was well written and exciting, though I did find some scenes were a touch boring.

Overall, an epic tale, but not for the faint of heart.

While not for the faint of heart, this book is extraordinarily entertaining. It’s been a long time since I was dismayed when I finished a novel because I was so enthralled by it.

If you’ve seen the movie The Magnificent Seven, or, its inspiration, Seven Samurai, this book takes the basic premise (hence the name). Johnston re-creates the “last stand” situation from the movies but in a fantasy setting where the seven village defenders are villains. These are not just morally gray people, but straight-up murderers and psychopaths. There is Black Herran, a demonologist (aka, a witch), Maeven, a necromancer, Captain Varena, a pirate lord, Lorimer Felle, a vampire, Tiarnach, a disgraced war god, Amogg, an orc warrior, and Jarek Hyden, an alchemist (aka the mad scientist).

Every single one of these people are psychopaths or sociopaths who treat others as expendable to further their own goals. Yet, Johnston intricately balances their terribleness with understandable motivations. We get them. We find them fascinating. Their actions make sense. They are all given a few lingering humanistic traits that keep us from hating any of them. In fact, some of the most interesting parts of the novel deal with these aspects. We also get a few side characters that help even out the madness. The main villain isn’t very deep, unfortunately, but he serves his purpose well, and I think it’s intended that we don’t sympathize with him in any way. We don’t really need a complex villain in this story.

What’s also awesome about this novel is how old everyone is. Sure, some of them are immortal or at least semi-immortal, but half of the group are in their sixties and seventies. Black Herran is a grandmother. This aspect alone is worth picking up the book. The gender parity and jokes about traditional gender roles were excellent too.

The world-building is a little light, but the focus of the novel is not a world conflict, but the defence of one small town. I wasn’t really sure how big the rest of the world is or whether there were other necromancers, for example, but that honestly didn’t matter to me. I loved how Johnston utilized parts of traditional myths surrounding the various villain archetypes and twisted or expanded on them for the novel. Lorimer having both traditional vampiric tendencies and also more shapeshifter/regenerative abilities were quite fascinating, as an example.

I will say again - this novel is not for the faint of heart. There are numerous trigger warnings, such as mutilation, torture, animal cruelty (a small part), and death of innocent people, but like the nefarious natures of the characters, the novel balanced the gruesome aspects of the story quite well. It’s obvious the intention behind the novel is that it’s an over-the-top romp. It’s not quite the book equivalent of “extreme cinema”, but it’s violent and bloody and unapologetically so. It’s not a “serious” fantasy, I would argue. Were it so, it would be horrifying, but because the hyperbolic violence is self-aware or at least intentionally over-the-top, it’s lessened by that very fact. It’s almost silly at times because there is also a lot of humour in the novel. I laughed a ton.

The book was an absolute riot. I adored it. I wanted more.

I recommend it to people who like their fantasy bloody, irreverent, and have a dark sense of humour.

This book promised to be a lot of fun. It kept that promise. In spades.
A riff on the classic Magnificent Seven with a group of individuals defending a town from a Big Bad. Except these seven are definitely not heroes.
I enjoyed the introduction of each character. I would be hard pressed to point to a favorite character in the book. They all had their moments for me.
If this book sounds remotely interesting to you, do yourself a favor and get it.

It is not often that I am seduced into requesting a book based on its cover. In fact very recently I have criticised a book because the cover failed to live up to the narrative inside. But in the case of this book I admit I was seduced both by the title, I have a fetish for the number seven, The Seventh Seal and The Seven Samurai are among my most favourite movies, and the cover, I just knew I had to have it.

Do I regret this weakness? Not a bit. This was a good book, in a very rare form of fantasy, should we call it brutalist comedy? Or comic brutality? Anyway, a form of fantasy that it must be incredibly difficult to write; something that makes you laugh and cringe at the same time...



One of the things that from the beginning that got this crone's seal of approval is that four of the seven are female, including the leader, the shifty demonologist. The other female characters are the necromancer, the pirate Queen and the orc (I mean the sex doth not the orc make, does it? And an orc in either sex would be as brutish). The male characters are the vampire, who is black (another break with the genre), the former war God and the MAD MAD alchemist, who no one likes. In fact the maleficent seven are truly maleficent, and they don't like each other very much at all.
Now this may be one of the issues with the book, if you have a bunch of characters who are fundamentally evil and all betraying and backstabbing each other as well as the supposed goodies, it is difficult to find a sympathetic focus within the story. I never particularly found one, I think perhaps overall the characters most sympathetic to me was the vampire followed by the God. This is not much of a problem for somebody like myself, I mean I like Succession for God's sake, so I don't necessarily need an appealing character within the story to enjoy it, but it does help, and many people do.

However, the presumptive goodies are even worse. Whereas the maleficents all have their own respective ruthless personalities at least they seem to tolerate individuality, the goodies are Taliban level fanatics, using the justification of a religion based on beauty to repress, massacre and enslave the populace.

One of the main strengths of this novel is the plotting, which is pretty faultless, very much like The Seven Samurai, it is based on defending the demonologist's village from the fanatics. The world building is also extremely accomplished.

One weakness I perceived was the dialogue, I found it a bit stultifying, a bit slow, it should have flown freer it should have been funnier... I can't help but think that the author missed an opportunity here.

Would I recommend The Maleficent Seven to a friend? Yes, I definitely would, but only to that rather special friend with whom I share a tough stomach and a twisted sense of humour...

Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for providing an ARC of The Maleficent Seven for me. All opinions are my own. This was a violent and fast-paced dark fantasy adventure I thoroughly enjoyed. That feeling of Dark Souls meeting DnD worked in the book's favor.

While I would've loved to see and learn of the world of our villains a bit more, the book had enough to create the dark and grizzly atmosphere it was aiming for. And even though the 7, constantly shifting POVs were a challenge to keep track of, the characters were quite engaging and fun. In the end, The Maleficent Seven is definitely a book I'd recommend to dark fantasy fans that enjoy fast-paced books.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. I was very excited by the concept, and I enjoyed the introduction of Black Herran, and was excited to see the way she'd recruit her old team of evil generals back. Sadly, the writing and characters felt quite flat and I don't feel that the author took the tropes of a team of misfits and made it into something original. I liked a few moments and character interactions, and the world building was exciting, but this was not an enjoyable read for me otherwise. I also felt that there was a key piece of information that is revealed far too early, and it could have been a thrilling plot twist if kept for later. I will probably still recommend this book if the subject comes up, as others might enjoy it, but it didn't quite hit the spot for me.

I do not have much to say when it comes to this book just because it was a solid fantasy with great characters and great world building. I would recommend to fantasy readers.

Absolutely excellent, I cannot begin to describe this book, except with words that do not do it justice. Full of real entities that come to life (and death) on every page, from demons and grubbs to vampires, orcs and (almost) gods, through complete nutters to actual humans with all the foibles, frailties and strengths.

Fantastic Fantasy at its very best, read it if you dare!

I suspect you will not regret it.

The author's own review for this book cited it as "like Kings of the Wyld smooshed together with Suicide Squad into a glorious, gory, sweary melee", and he was not wrong!

I so enjoyed this story, which managed to be as fun and witty as it was gruesome and bloody. The initial portion of the book set up the discontent against the Lucent Empire and the formation of a group of mismatched rebels hopeful to remove them from power.

There were so many different creatures and races included in this. I thought it might become messy to read of so many inclusions, inside the kingdom of Essoran, but it really worked for me and made it a fun and diverse read where I never knew what would next appear. Vampires, necromancers, and orcs were just some of the characters that appeared, and they journeyed into underground ant nests, across the high-seas, and in disreputable taverns in search of their next ally or enemy.

Every character was a flawed one. They had more unlikable personality traits than likable ones and yet somehow all managed to quickly gain their place in my heart, as soon as they were introduced. Most had few morals and so bloodshed and death often followed in their wake. This became a very dark read and I was eager to journey with these characters and to see how depraved the author would have their actions become. He did not disappoint.

I have a soft spot for the underdog, those who have been defeated and rise again from the ashes, and ragtag, mismatched crews. All three featured here and bonded me with their side of the war as immediately as it did with their individual characters. Everything about this - from the humour, to the continual new settings explored, to the war looming ever closer, and the individuals who littered the pages - appealed to me and I have not one negative to say about this book. I can't wait to read from this author again!

3.75
This book was.. picture this, The Suicide Squad but instead of Super Villains, they're Super... natural creatures/monsters! Including, a demonologist (our heroine) a vampire, a Thor like God turned into an alcoholic, an mad alchemist and a freaking Necromancer!

This was fast paced, crazy, over the top and so much fun! Be mindful of the content warning with this one because it has gore and lots of violence.

I will be re reading this book before this year ends because it was THAT crazy good.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review*

Mayhem. If any book evokes that word, it's this book, and in the absolute best way possible!! Mayhem, monsters, madness, anti-heroes, and burning pigs of death. This is a wild ride right from the get go and if you want bad people doing bad things for mostly good reasons, but really with their own agendas, this book is definitely for you!! These are the morally gray characters you are looking for: Black Herran- the captain who abandoned her captains for 40 years and now wants their help, Maeven-the necromancer, Lorimer Felle- the vampire, Tiarnach-the intoxicated former war god, Amogg Hadakk- an orc you don't want to piss off, Verena-the pirate queen, and Jerak Hayden- the alchemist whose brilliance is truly frightening. All of them hate the Black Herran for abandoning them and hate each other in equal measure as well. The one thing they have in common is a hatred for the fervent Lucent Empire and it's leader, the Falcon Prince as they move across the land and destroy any who do not believe as they do. These seven villains know their way of life is coming to an end if they don't stand up to the Falcon Prince, so the Black Herran brings them back together for one last fight at the town of Tarnbrooke. It's an alliance on the edge of a knife and threatens to topple over into chaos at any moment. The gathering of the seven and the work to prepare the towns people is both fun, violent and quite often creepy!!
This was a fun read, although there are definite gory moments that make you go ewwwww!! My favorite character was the vampire, Lorimer, although I have to admit there were many times I asked myself- but should I like him or any of them, because they are bad, sometimes really, really bad.!! The fast pace and plans upon plans of the seven keep you turning the pages to see just who will live and what plans will really come to fruition. If you want a fantasy with unexpected protagonists and a story that moves right along, this book will do the trick.
Content warning; Gore and violence.

The Maleficent Seven is without a doubt one of the most fun fantasy novels I have read in a while. On the one hand, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and on the other, it deals with some very serious issues. Without giving too much away, the enemy that is descending on Tarnbrooke is a zealous religious cult. Popping up after Black Herran disappeared, this new Empire has taken over the kingdoms bit by bit slowly erasing the old ways and with it the old gods. As with most fantasy worlds, the old ways and the old gods are the ones that people with magic, and those who have other gifts, lean towards. This new enemy tries to paint themselves as the good guys, however, they’re oppressors who make it violently clear that it is their way or off a high cliff with you.

That is where our merry band of villains come in. Wronged, vengeful, angry and some of them wanting to know where the hell their former General has been and what the bloody hell she thought she was playing at 40 years ago, they’ve banded together again to stop this Empire with each of them having their personal reasons to do so. Most of them don’t like each other very much, at the most some of them tolerate each other – but they all need each other to get the job done. They also all agree that this new Empire needs to be stopped at Tarnbrooke. They don’t give a monkies about why it has to be this town, they just understand the need for a strategic point to draw the line for battle.

I fell in love with all of the characters, save for one of them who truly is a horrific monster, and Johnston has done a fantastic job of subverting the ideologies of good and evil. These aren’t anti-heroes; there is nothing grey about them. In a panel hosted by Glasgow in 2024, alongside Stephen Aryan, Johnston spoke about writing one of the characters and his struggle to even remind himself that the character was a complete bastard. He found himself beginning to like the man, then would need to remind himself that no, this man had done truly awful things and wasn’t looking for redemption. Looking back at the book I can see that tactic in action because I remember feeling the exact same way then that character, and many of the others, would do something that reminded me, nope these are the bad guys.

It was really refreshing to read a novel where the bad guys were unrepentant and unapologetically themselves. They didn’t cower from the townspeople they were trying to help, they didn’t try to fit in. They had a job to do and they knew that what made them monsters was what made them the only ones able to do the job. Too often authors feel the need to make their characters turn good, to have a heart of gold hidden beneath their monstrous exteriors. They’re just “misunderstood”. If that’s what you’re looking for then The Maleficent Seven is not the book for you.

The end is absolute perfection and had me howling with laughter. The only thing I dislike about The Maleficent Seven? It is sadly a standalone novel. In the same panel, I asked Johnston if he ever intended to go back to the universe of The Maleficent Seven and he confirmed that it was a standalone novel. I agree that it works perfectly as one, I’m just sad not to see these wonderful characters again. The host suggested that maybe he could return for a short story one day so I’m guessing I’m not the only one who felt that way ;)

The Maleficent Seven is unlike anything you will read this year. Even if you think you’ve read a book about villains, I can assure you that you’ve not read one like this. The cast of characters is so diverse, so full of charisma and the world-building is incredible. While there are religious elements in the form of the Empire they are facing this is not a religious fantasy novel, in my opinion. It’s an adventure, a reunion of seven monsters and like any reunion, it goes off with a bang.

Another outstanding effort by one of the most talented writers of fantasy in the business. Cam Johnston continues to write books that are edgy, fantastical, with a sly wit that many can't even touch. I loved this one so much and will be reviewing it shortly on the blog as soon as I can collect my thoughts better, but suffice to say, this was a tremendous fantasy read.

Johnston does an incredible job putting together a group of characters that you hate but still love and care for at the same time. Very much of a fun popcorn book. It wasn’t a book I would say was life changing or the best but definitely has a lot of entertainment value.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange of an honest review.

This book was not for me. I liked the plot, I liked the characters for all their monstrous natures. I loved how each of the seven had their own motives for coming together and I was excited to see how it plays out. But frankly, I lost interest after half of the book. I just wanted to know how all of this ended. But I was not even satisfied with the end.

Thank you Netgalley and Angry Robot for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh boy where to begin.

Where.

to.

begin.

The Maleficent Seven was wild, compelling, gross, and a journey like no other. I laughed, shed a tear or two and even cried out "wow that's gross". Cameron created a high action, fast moving tale that just kept me begging for more. This is the read I needed after two not so great reads in a row.

The Maleficent Seven follows the point of views from the villains who are going after the "good guys" (who are totally insane fyi). We get to see the team come together in the classic "lets go and find everyone and convince them to join in our cause" journey only of course those ways of convincing each other are more on the heinous side of things rather then the do well kind. I absolutely loved this, (I usually do I wont lie) Each character was introduced with just enough background that it made you feel like you had been following them for much longer. Each one had a distinctive voice and I feel being able to successfully pull that off in a short amount of time can be difficult for some authors, but Cameron made it look easy. We get to follow 7 people and a few side characters and each one stood out.

Tiranach was without a doubt my favorite character. I felt so much pain and heartbreak for him, he was the one who kept getting the tears to flow from my eyes. I wasn't full on bawling but I am a sap and this mans story just broke my heart and seeing how he handled it made me hurt even more for him. He had for me the most intriguing background and I was constantly rooting for him and loved every moment he was focused on, I just could not get enough of him.

Lorimer was my second favorite. I don't like vampires, I never have, they bore me with their whole " oh no we can't go into the sunlight" bit, I have always been a werewolf kind of girl. But Cameron said "girl you will fall so hard for this vampire" and I freaking did. Lorimer (from my experience) is not like any other vampire out there. I'm not going to give away it way but I really feel like Cameron brought something new to the world of vampires and I would love to see more like this particular one. His abilities, manners, speech and interactions were captivating and hilarious, Just like with Tiranach I wanted more and more of him.

I did not walk away from this book hating anyone, I mean even Penny left her mark and she is a side character. Everyone was captivating in their own way and it made me want to keep meeting more people. All the conversations felt real and not forced (and never gave me second hand embarrassment thank heavens) Cameron really has a way with characters.

The pacing of this story was fast and I mean break neck speed fast. You will find yourself flying trough pages and each page makes the story more compelling. I had a desire and craving to just know what would happen next. I needed to know what happened to Maeven's sister, I needed to know who would win, who would die (and yes lots die). I stayed up till 1:30 am to finish this because I just couldn't put it down. Cameron grabs you and just refuses to let go, and frankly I should have seen that tactic coming as he did the same thing in his debut "The Traitor God". Cameron knows just how much story to dangle in front of you to keep you hooked and obsessively wanting more.

The action is fast, bloody and honestly at times gross, I can handle this so it wasn't an issue for me, but as a warning I will say there are parts with animal torture/death. There are mutilations, and gore everywhere, I mean one of the characters we follow is a necromancer and she does some nasty stuff and it's in some pretty gnarly detail. If you can't handle that kind of stuff than this might not be for you. But if you can than you are in for a treat because the action just comes and feels like it never ends and the final part is just nonstop action.

The story plot its self was captivating, I mean I have only said that a 100 times now. I loved the idea of following a bunch of villains taking on the quest to do one solid act of actual goodness for the world because these "good guys" were not as good as they really thought they where. The only problem I had was that we don't get to see to much from the opposing sides point of view. I would have liked to see a little bit more of that. I feel it would have gave The Falcon Prince that push in really needed in selling how deranged and mad he was. I just kept hoping that at some point I would see the world from his perspective we got one moment of it and after that it was all through the eyes of everyone else we follow.

The story has a solid ending but honestly if Cameron wanted to continue with this world ( I don't know if this is suppose to be the start of new series or a standalone) but I feel he has enough material to work with with how it ended. And frankly speaking, I would buy it in a heartbeat.