Cory Daniells

In what should have been an epic fantasy, twins Byren and Lence find their world and beliefs at a crossroads. Lence is King Rolan the Implacable's Heir while Byren is his younger twin, content to be in his brother's shadow and watch him be great. When a seer predicts his killing Lence he laughs it off and thinks nothing else on it. Unfortunately with the madness sweeping the lands, a neighboring country's desperate attempts to either form an alliance or lay seige and circumstances conspiring against him Byren's wish to thwart fate turns out to be anything but simple.

I had really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I have a fondness for twins in stories and it has been a while since I read a fantasy with them. In a lot of ways this felt more like a shell of an epic fantasy--as if someone was relaying to me the events that happened, but without any emotion.

Daniells writing falls flat was the problem. Despite the varying third person viewpoints, we never really understand any of the characters or what motivates them. Daniells relays to the reader the why of the motivations, but never the feelings behind them. For instance, near the end, Byren and Orrade are discussing a previous event and Orrade doesn't understand why Byren accepts his Affinity (magic) so easily. Byren shrugs and says why wouldn't he? Well here's the problem we don't know. Would he not accept his friend and companion's power because society says it’s wrong? Because he has a personal problem with it? Because he thinks his friend will misuse it? The rest of the novel doesn't make the reader think 'Oh it’s because Byren is like this or that'.

That's only one instance however. As the book goes on there's a lot of such things that happen--significant moments in the lives of the characters that doesn't resonate on a personal or emotional level.

This was a quick and easy read however, which both works for and against the book. It’s good because it doesn't get bogged down by a sagging middle, but it’s bad because the books feels rushed to an early and superficial conclusion. Byren is suddenly facing the enemy, pleading with them and then it’s all over. I honestly thought my book was missing pages because something happens that should have been much more momentous then it was, but it was over and done with in less than a paragraph. Only another character asking about it did I realize something had happened.

In the end I couldn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to and I honestly have no real interest in continuing the trilogy. Why should I? I don't feel invested in the characters.

Review originally posted at Night Owl Reviews… (meer)

I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. It promised a rich world, magic, strong women, political intrigue - all the things I love in a good fantasy novel. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by all these aspects and ultimately, pretty bored.

My biggest issue was that I had no one to root for. I didn’t really like a single character. I don’t actually require likable characters (I’ve loved plenty of books with strong antiheroes, and books like Gone Girl, with no likable protagonists at all) but I just didn’t give a damn about any of the characters in BESIEGED.

I think a big part of the problem is that the first hundred or so pages would have been better summed up as backstory. Very little actually happens, and what does only serves to set up what comes later; it never quite feels like part of the book’s plot. Then we meander through three decades of political machinations, backstabbing, and scheming only to end up at a cliffhanger ending. Sure, I get that this book is clearly the first in a series, and meant to sell more books, but I invested a lot of time and energy into this particular book for it to go absolutely nowhere. So, yeah... I will not be continuing with this series.… (meer)