Fatemarked (The Fatemarked Epic) Paperback – February 16, 2017

Four Kingdoms. A Prophecy. Knights. Jousting. Dragons. A Metal Forest. Royalty. A Killer Plague. Curses. And so much more...Fatemarked should be the definition of epic high fantasy. The Hundred Years War has been raging across The Four Kingdoms, creating nothing but violence and vengeance for all of its peoples. But, there is a prophecy saying there will be peace brought to the land from a chosen few, the Fatemarked. It is also destined that one will be the King's Bane, who will create death and fear, and another will be the Peacemaker, who will have the ability to heal. And so starts this epic journey...This book follows five different perspectives: Roan, Annise, Bane, Rhea, and Grease. Coming from all different backgrounds and areas of the land, their stories are all intertwined with War and the Prophecy. And each has an important role to play.I LOVED this story! The pacing was perfect, I was never bored, and really wanted to read this straight through the first time I read it. The author has created an immense and detailed world that was easy to escape to. This is a book I could read over and over again (I have read it 3 times to date).Things I loved about Fatemarked:--The Characters They were awesome, so very distinct, and the author nailed all their voices. Even the ones I didn't really like were interesting and contributed to the story. Annise and Roan were easily my favorite characters."Prince Gareth Ironclad’s horse, a black stallion that never seemed to tire, pulled up beside them, keeping stride. “Ho, plague child!” Gareth called. Roan pretended not to hear him. “Drowned rat?” Gareth said. Roan could see the prince smiling on the edge of his vision. He pretended to only just hear him. “Did you say something?” he asked."--The World Building The world building is really rich and detailed, and was my favorite thing about this book. One thing I really love is how each Kingdom has its own ruthlessness. None of them are really good per se. It seemed the Eastern Kingdom was a little better at first, but then you here about this strange tradition where the first born must die for his younger brother to become king. Really interesting stuff!--The Writing The writing in this was absolutely beautiful and also horrific (depending what was happening on the page). The writer managed to capture every emotion and made me feel whatever the characters were feeling, immersing me into the story."Roan tried to think, but it was difficult when his head was pounding. He reached up to feel the side of his scalp, which was bulging and crusted with blood. His ear was badly damaged too, and he wondered if his hearing would be affected. Not that it mattered.He touched his face to find his once-smooth skin covered in bumps on top of bumps, each filled with heat. He scrubbed at them with the heel of his hand, which was also bumpy and burning. He had the sudden urge to run. To where, he did not know.As Roan fought weakness and fear to push to his knees, the wind howled over him, and he shivered."--The Pacing The pacing was perfect. There was plenty of action, but also time to give the reader the information that was needed for the story. There was no Infodumping, though, which I really appreciated. The battle scene at the end was especially good, with a great build up and set up, and then great action during, with mind blowing moments!--The Plot and the Twists Loved it. Everything made sense, and I didn't find any plot holes. I don't feel like there was anything superfluous in the story, either. Everything pertained to the plot and characters. And the twists were mind-blowing!--The Feels This book was constantly bringing out some kind of reaction in me. Amazingly, a lot of the time, it was laughter! Even though this novel is very dark, it is lightened up at moments with some great one-liners!“They cheered louder than ever before.”“And blew you kisses and displayed their bosoms and offered themselves up for your spawn.”"“Good. Now, we have a battle to plan.” “Battle?” Roan exclaimed. “What battle?” The king sighed. “Do we have something to seal his lips with?” he asked no one in particular."What I didn't like about Fatemarked: Absolutely nothing. This was an amazing read for me. There's so much about these characters and the world to explore. I want MORE MORE MORE!! (Luckily, Estes is bringing out a few of the sequels SOON!)A great high fantasy story needs an incredible world built with lots of adventure, action, death, and dire circumstances with unique, amazing characters, and I feel this was all done very well in this book. And now, another favorite quote to leave you with:"Annise was on a roll and not about to stop now. “The princess of the north once devoured an entire royal feast in one sitting. And then she ate the plates and silverware,not to mention the table and chairs.” “A healthy appetite, by my reckoning,” Tarin said.**I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a HONEST review**

I got hooked in to the story pretty quickly and felt glad to have 5 books to read. It's a well thought out storyline with characters I loved and hated, but my enjoyment was a little dampened by some inconsistencies and typing errors. For example, in this medieval-esque world, the author used phrases such as "ramrod straight" which came from the black powder firearm Era; "she felt supercharged", that being a word invented with the supercharger for modern engines; "second fiddle", from fairly modern orchestras; characters talking about science and chemical reactions in the body. Also, one kingdom's motto is they're a shield that's cracked but never broken, yet the illustration of their shield crest shows it broken in two pieces... Last example (though there are more) is a plague marking that essentially the modern day biohazard symbol.I also wasn't a fan of how almost the last quarter of each book consists of postludes which are backstories of characters. Some were interesting but others felt like a chore to read and I just wanted to get back to the main story.But it's easy to be a critic, and he managed some unique and creative ideas in a crowded category. Over-all it's entertaining and worth reading.

As typical of David Estes a great book and can't wait to continue the whole series to the author you keep writing and I will keep listening.

I read reviews of this book before purchasing, both positive and negative - the positive reviews seemed like they were purchased, and the negative ones seemed valid, but I risked reading this and it was worth it. Don't believe the bad reviews too much. The book needs a better editor, yes, but it has a lot of merit "as is". The language is pretty good and descriptive, there's humour and banter in dialogues I actually enjoyed. Characters were pretty solid, except for Bane - I couldn't understand why Bane does what Bane does - but as Bane doesn't understand it either, I guess that's fair enough. As for everyone else, they were more or less relatable, some I liked more, some less, but one has to remember they're all teenagers or very young adults. Roan is the eldest, and he's just about twenty. Annise I like more than other characters, she shows real growth between how she began and where she ends up, I'm probably going to buy the next book just to find out what happens to her later.There's a need for a better editor. Some details are out of place or just missing, like when characters barely escape Castle Hill and then just sit to eat. Where did supplies come from, were they hidden before the escape or what, there were no mention at all. Small details like that need polishing out. Dragon and plague escape chapter in the beginning is just weak, Roan sleeping in the middle of mortal danger, TWICE, well. But later story picks up and does better than that.70% of this book is actually THE book, and 30% is taken up with short stories set before the main story began. Like other reviewers, I actually liked the stories more than the book itself, they made the world more alive and the main story made more sense after I read them. I think they should have been included in the main story's flow somehow, not set apart.

Wonderful, captivating and memorable characters!!Worth not getting enough sleep to find out what happens!!Can't wait to begin the next book!