Book Review - MASTER ARTIFICER by Justin Travis Call

(Title: Master Artificer / Author: Justin Travis Call / Publisher: Gollancz / Publication Date: May 18th, 2021 / Pages: 866)
 
For those who are unfamiliar with Master of Sorrows, Justin Call's first book in his The Silent Gods series, it hit the fantasy scene like a shot in 2019 and showed exactly just how EPIC epic fantasy could be when written with passion and guts.  It was one of my favorite reads that year with its huge dose of magic, ancient prophecies, and evil gods that make up much of what I love in a meaty fantasy tome.  And the writing was just top notch, with a depth of narrative and characterization that compelled you to find an isolated quiet place to read and ignore the outside world for a while.

I was extremely excited to be able to obtain a pre-ARC of the sequel, especially so since the book isn't officially out until May of 2021.  So getting my hands on this book roughly six months early was awesome and I couldn't wait to jump in.  Oh just a heads-up, this is a huge book both in story content and page count, weighing in at just under 900 pages.  But don't let the page count intimidate you, because the action and intrigue are such that it never felt like an overly long story to me.  The alternating viewpoint chapters also make it easier to digest as the narrative continually changes and keeps everything fresh as you follow all of the intersecting story lines.

It is so difficult for me to find the words to encapsulate just how much I enjoyed MASTER ARTIFICER and what a pleasure it was to experience it for the three or four weeks that we spent together.  There are certain books that you don't want to part with because they were just so darn fantastic.  This was one of those that stayed with me and left quite an impression.  What is it that made it such a superior read you ask?   Bear with me and I will attempt to give you some of the exceptional things that might make you want to fast track this series to the top of your TBR.

First, the characters, which I just touched on briefly with the alternating viewpoints.  Unlike Master of Sorrows, this books takes more time with the other characters in this story and it really helped elevate it in my opinion.  No longer does Annev take up the majority of the spotlight.  Although he is still an incredibly important character, it was nice to also experience a significant portion of the story get advanced through the eyes of Kenton and Myjun.  It is doubly effective seeing as how the major conflict in this book primarily centers around the three of them so we get an up close and personal view of the drama that takes place.  Everybody seems to want to kill Annev for their own reason and it was both funny in a way and also cool in that the tension is ramped up to DEFCON 1 the entire time.  Anyway, I really enjoyed having the secondary characters fleshed out more and getting their own face time, so kudos to Justin Call for giving them more of a voice this time around.  

The next thing that made this a stellar follow up for me is it is reeeeally dark.  Being predictable is thankfully not one of Justin Call's many attributes, in fact quite the opposite.  This story takes a decidedly dreary turn for the brutal and macabre, so if you have a weak stomach, read with your eyes closed.  But in all seriousness, the characters face some violent and twisted stuff, mostly brought about by the various nasty gods and demigods who are pulling the strings by various means.  If you like badass magic and sorcery, MASTER ARTIFICER will blow you away with some of the craziest unearthly and morbidly fantastic artifacts than you can handle!  Justin has definitely stepped up his game immensely in book two and he's taking no prisoners with the magic system.

I'll just mention one more enjoyable aspect to avoid having this review almost match the length of the book itself.  I touched on it in my brief comment about Master of Sorrows, and that is the brilliant writing that is so tight that it enables the story to flow from one scene to the next with zero lulls or clunkiness.  I thought that the first book was a fabulous story but (and this is no slight to that book) MASTER ARTIFICER outdid it in many different areas and catapults this series into an absolute must read for every single fan of the genre.  

Justin Call knocked on the door and introduced himself to the fantasy world with book one, but with MASTER ARTIFICER he kicks down the door, grabs us by the throat, and demands our undivided attention.  I for one am happy to give it.

Rating: 9.5/10

Comments

  1. Amazing review! Sounds awesome. I've had the first book on my shelf eyeballing me for a long time. I bought it on my trip to London last year. I'm hoping to get to it soon.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Scarlett! Don't wait too long, it's an amazing series.

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  2. I'm pumped to hear about this book, and that is so good. The first in the series was excellent.

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