2 out of 4 stars
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Cayneian by Aaron Dennis is a dark fantasy that is not for the weak of heart. Dysart of the Cayne (Cayneian) is the blood-drinker, the demon-slayer. Seeking revenge on the demon Salamandrus for the destruction of all Dysart held dear, he travels to Salamandrus’s island home, where the sun never shines and demons stalk the land. The only way to defeat a demon, though, is to undergo a ritual and drink the blood of demons, a process that brings Dysart dangerously close to the very thing he wishes to destroy. Can he defeat Salamandrus and avenge his family before his blood runs more demon than man?
I said this book is not for the weak of heart. This is true, but this book is also not for the weak of stomach. Much of this book is battles between humans and grotesque demons. Some of the demons are less strange—similar to wolves or frogs. Then there are the others that are stuff of nightmares. The battles are many and long, and there is a decent amount of gore. There are also scenes of depravity and torture that I won’t give details of here. Suffice to say that if you get grossed out at all easily, you may wish to steer clear of this book. For me, the amount of violence and gore ranged over the line and felt a bit gratuitous at times. I felt it upstaged the plots in places, which made connecting to the story tough.
For those who don’t mind copious amounts of violence or gore, Cayneian offers a dark adventure through a withering landscape. The island is exactly what I would expect. With no sunlight, dead trees, and dried-out dirt, the place has a dreary and hopeless feel to it. The battles, while graphic, have a certain poetry to them. Dennis does very well in weaving battle details in with emotions. Dysart’s anguish and anger come across when he is fighting. Off the battlefield, there is determination and resolve in the face of the worst things. He is not a character I could ever accuse of faltering. Dysart is bent on seeing his mission through, even if he dies in the effort.
Aside from Dysart, though, I had a difficult time connecting with the characters. This is due in part to the fact that hardly any of them stuck around very long. Whether the story took them in different directions or because they died, Dysart’s early companions came and went from the story quickly. He did get a second set after the halfway mark, but I had similar trouble connecting with them. The same went for some story details. It felt like important information wasn’t revealed until later. If the information had come in sooner, I feel I might have understood parts of the story better. And then there were just things that came in late that I don’t understand why they weren’t at least hinted at earlier. Long story short, the main arc of the story was complete, but the pieces of the journey sometimes felt disjointed.
There were errors throughout the text. I noticed many misplaced or missing commas, as well as misused and missing words. This combined with my difficulty connecting with the characters and too much gore for my tastes leads me to rate Cayneian 2 out of 4 stars. The setting, the poetic nature of the battles, and a solid foundation bring my rating up from 1 star, but there were just too many errors and confusing aspects for me to give this 3. Fans of dark fantasy who don’t mind violence would enjoy this book. Also, those fond of antiheroes would probably find Dysart an excellent protagonist. As I’ve said, those with weak hearts and stomachs should sit this one out. Otherwise, have at it. Dysart did.
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Cayneian
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