The Fire Sacraments - Review
Link to the author's (R. V. S. Redick) personal website
Book 1: Master Assassins
Book 2: Sidewinders
Blurb: (From Book 1) Kandri Hinjuman was never meant to be a soldier. His brother Mektu was never meant for this world. Rivals since childhood, they are drafted into a horrific war led by a madwoman-Prophet, and survive each day only by hiding their disbelief. Kandri is good at blending in, but Mektu is impulsive, erratic--and certain that a demon is stalking him. Is this madness or a second sense? Either way, Kandri knows that Mektu's antics will land them both in early graves.
But all bets are off when the brothers' simmering feud explodes into violence, and holy blood is spilled. Kandri and Mektu are taken for contract killers and must flee for their lives--to the one place where they can hope to the sprawling desert known as the Land that Eats Men. In this eerie wilderness, the terrain is as deadly as the monsters, ghouls, and traffickers in human flesh. Here the brothers find strange an aging warlord, a desert nomad searching for her family, a lethal child-soldier still in her teens. They also find themselves in possession of a secret that could bring peace to the continent of Urrath. Or unthinkable carnage.
On their heels are the Prophet's death squads. Ahead lie warring armies, sandstorms, evil spirits and the deeper evil of human greed. But hope beckons as well--if the "Master Assassins" can expose the lie that has made them the world's most wanted men.
Review: I nearly DNF'd this series. The writing style is non-standard and took a while for me to start appreciating. The first 50 pages or so also didn't immediately capture my interest, although I think that was influenced by the previous point. Additionally, the cover and title of the first book are just a terrible match for the story. The person communicating between all parties for those choices did not communicate well enough. Nevertheless, I still finished the books. Why? Because they're proper good and after the initial hurdle I was swept up in the chase and heavily invested in the beautiful world that was being shown to me.
The first thing to do before reading this book is to rid yourself of all notions that it is about assassins. The second thing to do is to ready yourself for one of the most vibrant fantasy worlds I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. The setting of the story lends itself extremely well to exploring multiple cities and the countryside, and the author capitalises on that beautifully. The different cities, religions, languages, landscapes, flora, fauna, and conflicts all create a truly imaginative world. The cast of characters is also handled extremely well, with the cast being varied, self-driven, and large, but not large enough to distract from the central plot. I have extremely high hopes for the final installment.