The Price of Power by Michael Michel

TL;DR: A fantastic and intricate grimdark fantasy.
Source: eArc via the author – I also purchased my own copies as well because I loved it so much!

Plot: Our characters find their paths as conflict looms, each completely separate but tying together so well.
Characters: Each character truly had their own strong unique voice, which was my favorite overall part of this.
Setting: A dark and cold world with spots of beauty. I’m hoping we get a lot more of this in future books.
Fantasy: A classic style fantasy. There is magic, but we’re focusing mainly on the characters and world at this point.

Thoughts:

It’s hard to write this review, I’m not going to lie. I’ve put it off for a few days. I always struggle to write reviews for things I really enjoy. This one I was able to real sink my teeth into and read slowly and I loved it. The version I read was the second edition, I’d previously read a chunk of the first edition and enjoyed it but never got to finishing it. This is a big improvement and I really need more folks to pick it up.

This is the best kind of setup book to me. We follow a handful of different characters all in different places and at different points in their lives. Two characters seemingly want nothing more than to die or disappear, while two others are striving hard towards a goal they think will help them help or even save the world. This contrast of characters and goals is fantastic. I’m not going to lie either, I loved our two sad boys. The world itself is well drawn and grim. It’s classic in feel and I think will appeal to a more classic reader. The story itself is still setting up, a looming threat and violence threatens and by god it’s going to be so good.

Rich characters, a cold and dark world with all the good vibes, and a fantastic start to a story. There is little here to dislike. I had the slightest slow start to this but I can’t swear that wasn’t me, so it really doesn’t matter to my ultimate rating. I highly recommend this – please if you love classic fantasy pic this up. Such a fantastic first book.