#balen

I don't think Seth has written anything that I didn't enjoy.

Balen has joined the Paladin Order and has risen to the ranks of serving the as the king, Zavrius, prime. A great honor that comes with great challenges. As arcane assassins attempt to kill Zavrius, it leads Balen down a path of quiet paranoia. Very few are capable of utilizing arcane let along without assistance from special tools made from ancient beast. What follows the assassination attempt is an uncovering of political betrayal and family secrets that truly makes Balen's duty that much more difficult.

While this is technically book one in the World of Reforged series, you can read it out of order without missing too much. I initially wanted to start the series in order, I got tired of waiting and started with Reborn then got an eARC for Reclaimed before reading Reforged. In doing so, I noticed a clear improvement on a craft level. You can see the progression of Haddon's skills as a writer and how they improved since Reforged.

The plot was well thought out and Haddon continues to do a phenomenal job at world building, you can tell some of the pacing could've used a bit more refining. I could see the moments where it slowed to spotlight the characters and their relationships, which is always a great thing to have, I just wonder if we've could've done in slightly different style.

Besides that, and I reiterate, I continue to have a great time with Haddon's work. It's fleshed out and put together where it feels like you're reading something that rivals Game of Thrones. Everything is so robust and dripping with interest that I enjoy from High Fantasy. Not to mention the extra emphasis on how queer-centric Haddon makes his themes. Who doesn't love a pining/borderline forbidden love story about a king and his personal bodyguard with the real threat of a coup from one of the king's sibling?

Not to mention the inclusion of Mallet and Lance. I was obsessed with the two of them!