Hello Fellow Journeyers,
I had the pleasure of reading The Mercenary Code, a self-published book by Emmet Moss, as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription, and it did not disappoint.
What's the story about: The Mercenary Code is a multiple POV story told primarily from four perspectives. Alessan, an untraditional coming of age story of a cripple who seeks to be more than he is intended to be. Leoric, a prisoner of war seeking freedom and happiness apart from the life he once knew. Gavin, a man in leadership of a mercenary company who finds that there is more going on between the companies than appears. And Coren, a man in Gavin's company looking to make a new life from his past.
After previously reading another self-published fantasy adventure so cringey and underwhelming, it was a pleasant relief to find that The Mercenary Code was far better! The Mercenary Code is a fantastic story that was thoroughly enjoyable. While not being perfect editing-wise, I can say that the 10 or less errors I noticed were about the same as anything published traditionally.
Something interesting I realized while reading was how the middle 30-80% was the best writing/storytelling of the book, which is rare, but definitely welcome. The beginning introduces characters and world-building at a pleasantly slow pace. Like many reviews, the story takes its time moving along, though I never felt like it began dragging or being filler; once each storyline picked up, I was deeply hooked.
And the level of detail is a little overwhelming, but also vivid and wonderful. Alessan's chapters were my favorite in the beginning. But the middle is where the truly good writing, pacing, and character development goes from standard, to deeply emotional, interesting, and compelling.
That being said, the last 25% really left me confused more than satisfied. I felt that Alessan's journey ended with far too much hinting at things to come and not enough climax or resolve (for his storyline in this book). Leoric's arc seemed like it should've ended earlier than it did, though it was fascinating if not a little confusing.
All in all, what made The Mercenary Code a very satisfying read was due to the constant emotional connections to the main characters, Alessan, Leoric, and Gavin. I really wanted to know how Alessan was getting along, if Leoric's plans and wants would succeed, and how Gavin and his men would survive the perils they were constantly in. I tend to gloss over all the "political intrigue" because I feel it slows many stories down in the fantasy genre and I was pleased that I didn't need to keep it all straight to enjoy each character's journey.
Alessan's chapters were delightfully intriguing as a coming of age arc but with realistic depth and wonder. Leoric's story was heartfelt, exciting, and straightforward--I was quite surprised at how invested I became with his storyline. And even though Gavin's story was harder to keep track of the what's and why's, it was always interesting to know what was going on with him and his company. I love a good Aragorn-type protagonist that just succeeds, but the nuanced parts of Gavin's character added a nice touch.
★★★★★ 4.5 Stars - Definitely a notch above most other self-published stories out there. I'm very excited to see where the story goes in this series! Definitely Essential Reading here!
Let me hear from you! If you like what you read, want to hear more thoughts on this book, other reviews, or talk book recommendations and Essential Reading, leave a comment below.
Rating system:
★★★★★ 5 Stars: It was amazing; I loved it. Read this book; it is definitely Essential Reading!
★★★★★* 4.5 Stars: It was fantastic, I really loved almost every aspect of it.
★★★★ 4 Stars: It was very good and worth reading; highly recommend.
★★★★* 3.5 Stars: I enjoyed a lot of aspects of this story, but it was lacking in certain areas.
★★★ 3 Stars: It was good, but could've been better or improved upon significantly.
★★★* 2.5 Stars: I wanted to enjoy it. Certain aspects were good, it was worth finishing, but many issues.
★★ 2 Stars: It was okay, I didn't feel strongly about it.
★ 1 Star: I did not like it. It was not worth finishing or I did not finish it.
*I round up based on the system on Goodreads. Also, there is no 1.5 Stars because it does not seem to have enough differentiation.