The Maleficent Seven is an entertaining and grimdark take on the classic film – The Magnificent Seven.
When I heard about this book, my initial reactions were a bit contemptuous, since it felt like a 12-year-old's version of a classic. But, after being hit on the head by numerous posts on social media, I decided to try it out – after all, how bad could it be?
The good news is that while it starts a bit slow (and quite gory), the rest of the book is fast-paced and draws the reader in. Cameron Johnston’s writing is excellent – his well-fleshed out characters, sometimes witty dialogues and well-thought-out scenes that keep the story moving forward – and it goes a long way in building the immersion.
Though The team composition reads like a D&D who's who, (come on – a demonologist, a necromancer, a Brian Lumley like Vampire, a War God, a Pirate Queen, an Orc (Warcraft, not LOTR) and an alchemist – is a bit gratuitous), the characters have unique personalities that make us have a love-hate relationship with them. The fact that I still remember the characters (even after three books and a week), showcases their vividness. The internal conflicts and machinations between them add to the spiciness of the story. That said, I did find the demonization of one of the characters a bit over the top and forced.
The book is not perfect, though. There is that forced demonization of that character that I spoke about – it seems weird picking that one person out from a team of monsters. But, oh well, even the monsters need a monster that they can hate. The other problem is the lack of an explanation as to how an important character became so powerful. The story feels a bit incomplete and a trifle unsatisfying at the end, due to this missing piece of information.
Overall, I loved The Maleficent Seven. Would I read it again? Probably not. But it is worth the price and a single reading, definitely, for sure.
If you would like to support the author (and me), you could buy the book through this affiliate link on Amazon
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