Many tales are told of the Syldoon Empire and its fearsome soldiers, who
are known throughout the world for their treachery and atrocities. Some say
that the Syldoon eat virgins and babies – or perhaps their own mothers.
Arkamondos, a bookish young scribe, suspects that the Syldoon’s dire reputation
may have grown in the retelling, but he’s about to find out for himself. Hired
to chronicle the exploits of a band of rugged Syldoon warriors, Arki finds
himself both frightened and fascinated by the men’s enigmatic leader, Captain
Braylar Killcoin. A secretive, mercurial figure haunted by the memories of
those he’s killed with his deadly flail, Braylar has already disposed of at
least one impertinent scribe… and Arki might be next. Archiving the mundane
doings of millers and merchants was tedious, but at least it was safe. As Arki
heads off on a mysterious mission into parts unknown, in the company of the
coarse, bloody-minded Syldoon, he is promised a chance to finally record an
historic adventure well worth the telling, but first he must survive the
experience!
Scourge of the Betrayer is Jeff Salyards debut fantasy book. In his day job
Jeff Salyards is a book editor for the American Bar Association and the first
thing that came to me while reading Scourge of the Betrayer was the level of
writing. I have read a fair share of debut novels and some of them are, based
on writing style, a bit of a struggle to get through. I must admit that I did
not have any trouble with Scourge of the Betrayer. It reads as it is presented
to you – on a platter. The story does not yet cover a lot of ground with
regards to the world, but what is being told is very engaging and a sound basis
for this first book. It is very, very interesting.
In Scourge of the Betrayer you are first introduced to Arkamondos –
shortened to Arki for the remainder of the story. He is young, naïve, and
tasked with recording the tale of the (in)famous Syldoon soldiers. Arki is
enlisted, or rather picked out of necessity, by a group of Syldoon soldiers
lead by Captain Braylar Killcoin, however, Arki’s introduction to this
“barbarian group” is not without its own hackles. Like I mentioned, Arki is
pretty naïve and he shows a display of young boy innocence in his doings. His
previous work has included, among others, a job as a baker so writing up war
efforts in the company of Captain Killcoin is, let’s say, “new” for him. Arki’s
world is changing by the minute. He goes on exploring, asking questions to get
to know more about the Syldoon and their customs, but as he learns he starts to
realize that he might be getting much more than he first bargained for. For
Arki there is no way back, and though he accepts this fact readily, he does not
stop contemplating it.
Next to Arki, Captain Braylar Killcoin is the other lead character of the
story. He is brutal, vicious, ruthless, and, when time allows, quite funny too.
Braylar is a Syldoon, and the reputation associated with being a Syldoon
directly influences his character. He is set with a task for the Emperor and
does not waste one moment in achieving this. Though he is loyal to the Syldoon
Empire, he does some unexpected things that do go against his nature. There was
also a nice feature about Braylar nearing the ending of the book revolving
around his relationship with Lloi. Now I do not know if this was intended to
turn out that way but for me these scenes truly completed Braylar’s character
for me.
In the beginning there are several things that happen that raise a few
questions about several of the characters, mainly Braylar, that leave you
thinking ‘hmmm’. When the answers to these questions are finally revealed it
was an “oh yes!” moment. I do not have them that often, but it happened it
brought a big smile to my face.
There are a lot of things that I like in fantasy and Braylar’s flail Bloodsounder
just got added to my list. Now it does stands to question, what more is there
to Bloodsounder that we don’t know? We get to learn about its past and
the things it does – which is to say the least is quite impressive – but there
has to be more! With the series called Bloodsounder’s Arc I do hope so.
What was great about the writing of the book itself was the narration. The
majority of the story is being told through the eyes of Arki himself and how he
perceives the world and the events that occur. Next to this you have the
dialogue between Arki and the other members of the team. I really enjoy a good
story being told from the first person perspective – it just adds so much more
depth and produces a truly engaging story. This is something that Jeff Salyards
nails spot on.
Scourge of the Betrayer is a rather short read with only 253 pages. In these
pages Jeff Salyards does manage to put down a great story. The story of Scourge
of the Betrayer goes about sowing discord, and although I haven’t yet seen much
of the political influences in the world surrounding Scourge of the Betrayer, I
do get the feeling that it is slowly building up towards a clash between
kingdoms. As a whole this first book feels really like an introduction to the
characters Braylar and Arki, along with a bit of the Syldoon empire and their
goals. I think that Jeff Salyards has created a solid first entry in a new
series. There is much richness hidden within this book that I am not going to tell
you about – you will have to experience it for yourself.