Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley

I just finished the book Winterbirth by Brian Ruckley, part of the Godless Trilogy. It was an absorbing, exciting story with plenty of battle scenes, character development, and awesome locations. Set during the medieval times, this book has a lot of sword fighting, mysterious magical races (na'kyrim) and it leaves the reader wanting more. The book received an average score of 4 out of 5 stars at Amazon.com and the majority of reader reviews was positive. I'm looking forward to the next book in this trilogy.

Early on in the story, I found myself sympathizing with some of the main characters. I had a genuine, authentic concern for their well being and desire to see them succeed and stay out of harms way. But, what a boring story it would be if our protagonists stayed out of harm's way. They (or he) does not and the increasingly crazy landscape becomes an enjoyable and exciting journey.

The land in which the story takes place has been abandoned by the Gods. This because two races, created by the Gods, team up to annihilate a third and nearly wipe them from the face of the world. The inhabitants who are left behind struggle to find their way through the maze of feuding clans. Their is some mention of magic. In the story, it is referred to as "The Shared", but we are only briefly introduced to this and it seems that the author intends on maybe giving us more in the next two books of the trilogy.

It is a book I would recommend, mostly to fantasy fans, but not only to them. It's a readable, flowing and almost epic story that takes the reader on a journey through many fantastic lands and religions. Many customs, traditions, and cultures are introduced and Ruckley certainly does his job as a creator of worlds. I found myself easily 'imagining' the world of 'Winterbirth' in my mind's eye and it looked wonderful.

RaySildur