Graynelore

I don't like abandoning books, especially books I've accepted from Netgalley (because this was received free from the publisher through Netgalley for review, thank you to them). But after fighting the prose to about 15%, I decided to cut my losses and move on to one of the others.I did not enjoy Graynelore. But I have to give it credit for helping me pin down exactly why I don't like it and similar books. See, there are rules of writing and spelling and syntax. The rules exist for a reason. They [...]

This book came about because the author, Stephen Moore, discovered that some of his ancestors had been among the notorious Border Reivers, violent and bloodthirsty inhabitants of the disputed area of border between Northumberland and Scotland for centuries past. Not wanting to write a historical novel, he has used the character and appearance of the Border country, mixed with the atmosphere of suspicion and violence which was rife there, to create a haunting and gripping adult fantasy novel. Pre [...]

Steve certainly has stepped outside of the realm of children's fiction with the introduction of his adult book Graynelore. It is reminiscent of the Icelandic sagas in the gritty descriptions of battles waged and the cold manner in which reivers approach their life and calling to war with their neighbors at the behest of their lord. There is a dreamlike quality to the telling of the tale and I was reminded in parts of the ancient ballads of England. The ballad of Tristan and Isolde in fact came t [...]

Exceptional cover art draws the reader into the world of Rogrig Wishard, a hardened Reiver and a crude and ruthless warrior. He owes his loyalty to his clan, who are the only family he knows. He lies for them, steals for them, kills for them. He has no sensibilities, nothing to appeal to for mercy until one day on the battlefield, he faces something greater than himself, something so unexplainable and unexpected that he is left reeling, never to be the same again. This novel deftly juxtaposition [...]

I was first draw by the intriguing cover and name of this book and I wasn't disappointed. I was quickly hooked on the main character's story and world he lives in. Every chapter left me wanting to read the next and if time allowed I could have quite happily read this book in one sitting.It's fantasy with self -discovery, it is extremely descriptive with some sadness along with excellent humour.I loved "Graynelore" and would recommend it to anyone. I will be purchasing the book to go in my book c [...]

In my view this book is one of the greatest fantasy books I’ve ever read! The characters and structure are truly phenomenal. I love the way the author has coloured his world with details neatly borrowed from the history of the North of England. I live in the north so it made me feel even closer to the book. At long last a stand-alone fantasy novel that doesn’t pull its punches and delivers the goods with a totally satisfying final pay off. Highly recommended.

Did Not Finish.I was looking forward to this book. It sounds interesting and I absolutely love the cover.Unfortunately the writing style, the storytelling and the characters did nothing for me. In fact the writingstyle bothered me from page one, and it did not get better. I do however think that I would have liked it if I had read it when I was younger - around twelve or so.Not because it is a kiddie friendly book (blood, murder, rape and more), but I wouldn't have noticed the flaws back then, a [...]

Exquisite authorship, deeply rich storytelling, perfect editingThe editing of this book is clean, tight, consistent. The many descriptive or colloquial (for this universe) turns of phrase are always consistently used. Completely professional.Bards play an important role in the story and Mr. Moore created a bardic tale. The writing has an almost lyrical aura, appropriate for a tale including the fey. Mr. Moore's writing in this tale reminds me in its feel of Mr. Rothfuss' style in The Kingkiller [...]

In a word, bland.There is nothing new or interesting here and what there is isn't very good.It uses the poor style of having almost the entire story narrated by the main character talking about himself in the third person, this means the words are dead on the page, no emotion or empathy just raw facts, it feels like a writing exercise from a course rather than a real book.The author also show a staggering lack of understanding of the use of the comma, he uses them everywhere, there have to be at [...]

Rogrig is a reiver, caring only about stealing and killing and following his graynelord, but when something strange happens on the battlefield, he wanders off on a world-changing adventure.In the end, I gave it three stars. You might be asking why. The book and story are presented well—meaning it shows the ticks of someone having scoured over it to bring it to perfection. This is no hack-job. And in fact, others may rather enjoy the long-winded sentences that sometimes lead right back to where [...]

Refreshingly originalGo on. Just buy it.It's really unusual to find a fantasy story which is just one book long, but that's what this is. Surprisingly it is all told from a single point of view as well.The story is beautifully crafted and written with a very unusual style, it reminds me of many of the best fantasy books from the 70s. There is even a beginning a middle and an end, which leaves with all the loose ends tied up. I've really enjoyed this story, I recommend it.

Somewhat Refreshing Sample Overdoes Its Uniqueness To TediumI bought it after reading the sample and finding it refreshing that things were not quite explained and the protagonist talked and waffled rather than narrated. However, this was overdone throughout the book and he seemed to recap things over and again. There was promise, but in the end nothing really happened and what did never quite made sense, a fact apologised only too often by the storyteller.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but Moore delivers an engaging tale in a fresh fantasy world inspired by the Borders region between England and Scotland. A dark adult fairy tale with great details drawing on Reiver culture, something I've always found fascinating. Looking forward to what's next from this emerging talent.

Man discovers that he has faerie heritage and that he must work with different people in his lands to try to fix what has been done to faerie.It was very readable, quite like a fairy tale but fairly unforgettable too.

I found the writing style difficult to read and found myself re-reading large passages as the text seemed to veer away from the situation.As i have been unable to finish the book i am unable to award more than one star

I've never before travelled on such a journey. Thank you Stephen Moore. Brilliant and best!

couldn't even finish the sample: just not for me, too much fantasy,