Legacy of Lord Regret by Sam Bowring

Legacy of Lord Regret cover

a review by Nalini Haynes

The Legacy of Lord Regret by Sam Bowring (whom I interviewed) is high fantasy with black and white characters who are almost caricatures.  While I prefer characters who are shades of grey (as in Sam’s first trilogy, apparently) these characters are interesting because when they kill one another they absorb the victim’s power – and part of their personality.  Thus Sam’s characters are changing, and those changes aren’t just incidental as a result of the plot, they are instrumental and will, I expect, cause shifts in the plot.   This is book one of a duology (two book story arc).  The second book is the Lord of Lies, which is also out, so no waiting on the conclusion to this story – unless you’re a reviewer/interviewer trying to keep up.  My copy is in my TBR pile.

The nature of this novel is such that I need to read the conclusion to decide how enthusiastic I am about it: I really want surprises, twists and more greyness, but in its present form it’d make a popular comic book or movie.

If you’re trying to decide whether to give this one a go, I recommend listening to Sam’s interview.  (Note: Sam had the flu so his energy levels were low.)  Sam talked about how his favourite character was the guy who tortures people, and that’s played for comedic value.