When I started Demon's Reign， I had the same fear that I have before starting every very-long fantasy book I read: that it was going to be a slog。 I was really wrong。 Demon's Reign clips along at a great pace， keeping us invested in Tarko and Serisi's story at every twist and turn。 It admittedly takes a long time for things to happen in this book， yet the world and characters that Galley and Estes have conjured had me hooked。 At least a third of the book is spent solely on Tarko's daily life in When I started Demon's Reign， I had the same fear that I have before starting every very-long fantasy book I read: that it was going to be a slog。 I was really wrong。 Demon's Reign clips along at a great pace， keeping us invested in Tarko and Serisi's story at every twist and turn。 It admittedly takes a long time for things to happen in this book， yet the world and characters that Galley and Estes have conjured had me hooked。 At least a third of the book is spent solely on Tarko's daily life in the bloodwood called Shal Gara， following him interacting with its residents （many of whom dislike him to varying degrees and for varying reasons） and embarking on different jobs， given his rank as a Worker according to society's Bloodlaws。 This was probably my favorite section of the book， and I could've spent the entire rest of it just following life on a bloodwood。 I loved the world the authors created， with characters populating a forest-y world that has enormous trees in which humans have built bustling cities。 I know Tarko was mad about being relegated to the role of "worker，" but as a reader I was loving getting to learn about the jobs on the tree。 Seeing him as a sap-bringer for the warriors' giant birds was great fun， and I was super interested in the louse-mines， which I am disappointed we didn't get to read more about。 In addition to the worldbuilding， the other strong suit in the book was its characters。 While some of them do fit into some typical archetypes， I thought their personalities were well-rounded， and I enjoyed seeing the cast of characters interacting and seeing how they slotted into their world。 Galley and Estes have clearly put a ton of thought into the world the characters inhabit， the Swathe， and it's obvious they've put just as much consideration into its characters' histories。 Every single detail about them feels real and thought out， and it was a treat peeling back the layers as we get to know them and their backstories more。 As I mentioned before， the pacing of the book is great， which is a considerable feat considering just how long it is。 The only time I found my interest waning （although only the slightest bit） was during a string of huge battle scenes in the latter half of the book， but anyone who's read multiple reviews from me knows that it's hard to keep my attention in fight scenes anyway。 Even so， the sense of atmosphere and tension within these battles was great; I could perfectly imagine the smoke-filled air and the heat from the fire baking my skin like I was right there with Tarko trying my damnedest not to be struck down by demonfire atop the branches of a mile-high tree。 The climax of the book went to some unexpected places， considering this is just the first book of a trilogy， and I'm curious to see where the characters and the overall plot go from here。 This is a great start to a new series， one with a rich world brilliantly brought to life by Galley and Estes that sucks you into its conflicts and makes you feel the heat of a demon's breath on the back of your neck。 。。。more