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Scorpion (2011)

by Aleksandr Voinov(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

161581860X (ISBN13: 9781615818600)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Dreamspinner Press

series

Memory of Scorpions

review 1: Nice fantasy about a member of a small band of soldiers who get embroiled in a battle between city states. Great world building's essential to any fantasy, and this one delivers nicely, with cultural and religious references that are rich and detailed. I like the main character a lot, but I wanted to know his ultimate partner a bit better than we did. I understand the mysterious nature surrounding him early on, and maybe the next book will help uncover more of his character, but I didn't feel as if I got to know him well in this book. His situation is fascinating though, and the people surrounding him were interesting. Widowmaker is a great character, and I hope to learn more about him in any sequels.I'm used to the epic nature of high fantasy, so this felt comparatively a... morebbreviated to me, but I appreciated the story arc and will definitely read the next in the series.
review 2: An epic heroic fantasy that tells a tale of war, lust, and loyalty where the side characters outshine the heroes.4.5 stars rounded down.The writing in this novel is the stuff of magic. Vivid imagery without the purple tint, and a level of detail that can only come from extensive research. There is no magic in Scorpions, but there is a rich history and lore. You will find priests, anointed rulers, and gods, but there is no sorcery or dragons in Scorpion. Instead, there are descriptive battles which allow you to smell the scent of blood, a score of sex scenes while maintaining a riveting plot, and excellent dialogue.The most important theme of this book is loyalty. Kendras' loyalty to the Scorpions, to Adrastes, and to his own sense of self as a warrior. The most interesting theme in this book is morality--none of the men in this book are pure or noble. They kill who they need to kill, they fuck when they want to fuck, and I didn't know who to trust up until the very end.The best part of this book was the first half. Kendras' fighting his injury, and his attraction to Steel, in order to find his wounded men. Kendras is strong, but he is not a typical "alpha male". he is so much more. The most fascinating part of him was seeing how he could go between the never back down mindset to giving in to defeat when there was no choice, and his internal struggle during those moments.My other favorite characters are Widowmaker and Selvan. Widowmaker starts out two-dimensional, but he quickly turned into so much more! He had the smartest dialogue in the novel. Selvan was the exact opposite of the Scorpions in terms of physical strength, but his devotion and fortitude was admirable, and he never seemed only like the camp whore. So, why did I round down? Steel's love for Kendras was not convincing to me. It felt more like a raw, primal attraction than true affection, and his character was too quickly abandoned once Kendras found Adrastes/the officer. Once the officer became Adrastes, the book lost some UMPH for me. Adrastes was not as dynamic as the characters, and I did not fully understand why Kendras was so infatuated with him. He did not seem to have a struggle about abandoning his life as the officer to become the Lord Protector, and I was disappointed by the idea of the Scorpions becoming his personal guard at the end. To me, this would have made more sense as a HFN wherein Kendras knows he would eventually leave Adrastes to rebuild the Scorpions on the road.All in all, this is a beautifully written heroic fantasy, and it is highly recommended. less

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