I am not one to usually grab for Fantasy, but I had this one on my shelf and decided to give it a try. When this started I thought it would be an instant DNF. However; I was done with Part 1 pretty quickly and was wanting to keep going.

This does have several triggers for death and murder of innocent people, women, and children. It also deals with rape and other horrible things to these same groups.

I really enjoyed part 1, but then this started to slow down for me. I was not loving part 2 or 3 as it was very repetitive with nothing new really happening. However; I also could not put it down. I ended up skimming some of these sections though to move along.

Overall, I did enjoy this more than I thought. It is more a 2 star overall, but since I am not a fantasy person and it kept me wanting to read I am bumping it up a star. ( )

What an ending, I was not expecting that at all! I cannot wait for Son of the Poison Rose, book #2 in the Kagen the Damned series. The good news is I don't have to wait long because it is set to release in January.
I love that Jonathan jumps right into the story and builds the world throughout the book. Kagen is an interesting character; you start off disliking him because he is full of self-loathing, he is always drunk, and he is kind of a jerk. Then his character is pulled out of his drunken stupor and he starts becoming the hero you want him to be. I love the supporting cast of characters and the kick in the butt they provided Kagen so that he could do what was needed. ( )

Kagen the Damned is one of those books that I am really glad I pushed through to the end. (I am a huge fan of his Rot & Ruin series, so I was happy to see him venture into fantasy.) I wasn't a huge fan of Kagen in the beginning however, and his whining definitely rubbed me the wrong way, but when I reflected on his character development throughout the book, it made sense. The story certainly started with a bang and the battle at the beginning was epic, with the imperial city being destroyed and Kagen fighting to save the royal family as well as his own family.

Turns out that Kagen is actually a strong character despite his many character flaws, though he isn't very likeable. He is consumed with guilt and anger and turns to alcohol and petulance to stem his guilt, behaving in such a way you just want to slap him. He is supposed to be the most feared captain of the palace guards, but his behaviour just turns you right off his character. Personally, I think the author was trying to show his privilege and what happens to that privilege when everything is taken from you. You can be the best of whatever, but it is through your actions when things are tough that you show your merit, and Kaden needed to learn this lesson. Naturally, he quits drinking, decides to kill the Witch-King, and the reader is supposed to be understanding of his behaviours up to this point. Uh, no. And for a captain of the guard, he seems to be overly trusting, especially when an entire empire is destroyed so quickly, whereas I would be looking for who betrayed what and whom when something like this happens so quickly and would trust no one.

There are also a couple of secondary story lines that being developed as well involved a couple of nuns named Miri and Ryssa as well as a woman named Mother Frey who seems to be more of a spy than a leader of a religious house. I wasn't a big fan of the story line between Miri and Ryssa for a variety of reasons, but I think if I heard the word 'sweetheart' one more time, I thought I would scream as it sounded so condescending. I did feel overall that the character development for most of the characters was a bit more one-dimensional than I would have liked as the author did tend to focus more on the plot and world-building. It's not than the characters are forgettable, it's just that they are not that complex so I am hoping to dig more into their personalities in future books as we get to know more of the world.

I thought the writing was strong and enjoyed the world-building. It was not hard to understand the culture and history of the world and the historical glimpses of some events from the past made me want to learn more as they were tantalizing. Although there wasn't as much magic as I thought there would be, this was an empire that did suppress it so I am curious as to how it will play a role in the next book as people develop their skills once again or as people no longer keep it hidden. It should be interesting to see the development. The story could be bloody and grim, fast-paced at times with a lot happening in a short period of time, and pretty gritty. Yup, I flinched quite a few times. And whhile the ending was satisfying, it did end on a cliffhanger and a lot of threads developed in this book have yet to be resolved.

Verdict
Kagen the Damned was an action-packed first entry into what I think will be an interesting series. While I wasn't a fan of Kagen at the beginning, he did grow on me as I learned more about him and his past and his character development was one of the themes of the book, strength is not given, it is earned through one's actions, not privilege. Turns out this was a dark and twisty story, with many interesting elements, and while I was not a fan of all of them, as in the relationship between Mira and Ryssa, there was definitely enough that I am looking forward to the ARC I received of book 2, Son of the Poison Rose. ( )

Kagen the Damned is an exciting first book in a new series by Jonathan Maberry. I've been a longtime fan of his zombie series and the premise of this book sounded amazing.
Kagen is the royal protector of the "Seedlings" the royal children of the empress of The Silver Empire. His mother is the infamous "Poison Rose", a deadly soldier of world renown. When he wakes up in an inn on his off duty night to the sounds of battle outside his window, he finds that his city has been invaded overnight by the almost forgotten enemy of the Hakkians led by the Witch-King, whom was overthrown by The Silver Empire and forbidden to use magic thousands of years ago. With this overnight defeat magic has also been re-released into the world. He then finds that the royal family has been slaughtered and after barely escaping with his life he makes his way down a dark well of self pity and self damning for failing in his duty.
I truly enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
If you enjoy a fast past mix of fantasy, action, mythology and romance with lots of violence then this book is for you. It does start a bit slow and Kagen was seriously getting on my nerves with his self pitying drunkenness' in the beginning but just persevere! I also really enjoyed the chapters that had nothing to do with Kagen that described how random citizens stumbled across magic that they were able to use themselves. I wished there were more of those little side quests of stories.
Anyways, the banter is hilarious in parts and the world building is absolutely fascinating. Cthulhu even makes an appearance!
I'm highly recommending this to readers of George RR Martin, but want something faster paced and Jay Kristoff's "Empire of the Vampire." ( )

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.*

The Silver Empire lasted for one thousand years.
- first line
A beautifully written epic dark fantasy by one of my favorite authors.
This book is fantastic, but it is not my usual fare. It starts off with violence and never really lets up. The world-building is superb and the characters are all beautifully detailed. There are several different arcs occurring at the same time but you never really lose the thread. Maberry writes with his usual flair using detailed imagery to tell a tale of bloody violence, ancient gods, powerful evil, and the people who try to stand against it. If you like epic dark fantasies, then this book will not disappoint you. There is even an unexpected twist at the end that will leave you wanting more. ( )