Dreamer and Daydreamer

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

The Holtur Curse was a pretty fun read. I enjoyed the characters, their motivations, and their relationships and the development thereof. While I haven’t read a lot of old pulp fantasy, this is what I imagine reading a Sword and Sorcery tale would be like. The book is the second in a trilogy but can be read as a stand-alone. I haven’t read the first one and the story held up well.

The world building pretty much does its job. It’s set in a place where people called slayers protect their home, Holtur, from beasts. That is, until they had to kill men like them. That conflict was very interesting because I can really see how reluctant the slayers are to kill people. Reading from Sonja’s point of view shows how conflicted she was and how she ultimately decided that she had to do it.

The writing is also functional being a bit jarring in places and it does have some moments where the dialogue felt a bit modern. While it was noticeable, it didn’t really hinder my enjoyment too much. The pacing can also a bit off, sometimes going too fast that I can get a bit confused as to what was happening.

I also liked how the book starts alternating between the present and the past. It was a neat presentation and I liked how it was handled.

Sonja was a great protagonist. She cares about her family, her friends, and her home and I can really see her determination in fighting to preserve it. She’s also human and can make some decisions she regrets. Mostly, she’s portrayed as a strong, female protagonist and I enjoyed her POV.

The only real problem I have would be the villains. They were introduced a bit late and I felt like they could be better developed. One of them did have an interesting motivation which could have been expounded upon more.

Overall, I liked The Holtur Curse. Its Sword and Sorcery feel sets it apart from the other books I’ve read so far and it’s highly entertaining.