4 out of 4 stars
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I am so sad that this book is finished. It has given me a book hangover that I feel will last a while. What an amazing ride Mr Bobbe has taken me on with this tremendous story. Immortals’ Requiem is a book that I enthusiastically recommend to fantasy readers.
Two thousand years ago, an evil existed in the world. Known to some as the miracle child, Cú Roí was the product of two different fairy races. He was a blight on the world, existing only to destroy. He was finally defeated by the fairy Grímnir, who was tasked solely for the purpose of slaying him, and whose lifeblood was tied to Cú Roí’s. Fast forward to modern day Manchester. A man walking home at night is brutally attacked in the street. While lying on the ground waiting for death to claim him, he witnesses the resurrection of the monster slayer, Grímnir. His coming back to life means only one thing... that Cú Roí has returned.
Camhlaidh is an Elf who, more times than not, is inebriated. On an evening out at his favourite pub, Cam’s drinking marathon is interrupted by an enormous man covered in dragon tattoos. The man introduces himself as Grímnir. Cam, being a disgraced Elf, has no idea the magnitude of what Grímnir’s presence means. The two set out on a journey to find the answers that Grímnir seeks. Along the way, they encounter every type of creature imaginable, and some that are completely inconceivable. Between Cam, Grímnir and a host of humans, Elves, immortal men and Ifrit, they need to come together to vanquish Cú Roí one last time. But can all these races band together to accomplish this mammoth task?
Firstly, a warning: do not read this book if you have a problem with a lot of people dying. There is serious collateral damage throughout the story, and I would not recommend this book to anyone who is violence-averse. Although, I felt that the carnage and bloodshed were a crucial part of what made this story authentic. A lot of authors throw violence into their books because they think they need to, but I felt the agony with every inflicted blow throughout this story.
It helps that Vincent Bobbe is a gifted storyteller - the ease with which he explains events is flawless. His descriptions of different scenes are exceptionally vivid, and his world-building ability is remarkable. I pictured the settings with absolute clarity, and it has been a long time since I have felt so involved in an original world. Bobbe has a great way of personifying objects in order to bring the reader right into the story. One such example is, “The swollen sun was making its lazy dip towards the horizon, and its golden face held a blush that coloured the world.” How lovely?
Although the prologue is set in 500 BC, I love that the story actually only spans over five present days. The chapters are all told from perspectives of characters in the book. This type of narration can be so tricky. I often find that when a book is written this way, I have trouble remembering who the chapter belongs to. But that was definitely not the case here. Toward the end of the book, it wasn’t even necessary to look at the chapter heading. The characters were so intricately designed that I felt no trouble knowing which perspective each chapter was written from. And the characters were vast. Bobbe has introduced every kind of fantasy creature to his tale. This includes Elves, Ifrit, zombies, vampires and weird tentacled dog-like creatures called Barghest. What I really enjoyed, though, was that none of these creatures was conventional. They all belong in Vincent Bobbe’s magnificently created realm.
Enough gushing. I am unashamedly a fangirl. I happily give Immortals' Requiem 4 out of 4 stars. The editing of this book is superb, and I found almost no errors at all. I tried to come up with aspects that I would have improved on. There were none. In fact, I could have written a few more paragraphs on other features that I loved! I would, however, not recommend this book to a younger audience. The language is colourful and the violence is extreme. It is very clearly meant for adults. But otherwise, every fantasy reader should get into this one. You’ll thank me for the recommendation.
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Immortal' Requiem
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