Review: Covenant of the Faceless Knights

Title: Covenant of the Faceless Knights
Author: Gary F. Vanucci
Genre: Fantasy

When a dangerous artifact goes missing from a temple, the elderly high priest in charge requests the aid of a one-time apprentice. Garius Forge, who is now an Inquisitor among the Order of the Faceless Knights, assembles a small team of heroes and sets out on his quest. He is aided by the wise-cracking Rose, a rogue among rogues, by the stoic and battle-hungry Saeunn, and by a naïve elf named Elec, who reluctantly agrees to accompany them at the behest of the persuasive Inquisitor. The eclectic group sets out to recover the artifact before it falls into the hands of the lich who once held it. Not only do the heroes have to overcome numerous foes, but they must also conquer their own shortcomings in order to ensure the safety of the Realm of Ashenclaw!

Set in an original fantasy setting entitled the Realm of Ashenclaw, Covenant of the Faceless Knights: Beginnings, is an epic fantasy tale wherein a group of unconventional heroes are charged with recovering an ancient and deadly artifact. --Goodreads


I don’t normally read “epic fantasy” or “high fantasy” or whatever it’s called. You know, Lord of the Rings style type stuff, with sword and sorcery, and imaginary lands and all that if that makes sense. I guess you can say I’m more into the modern fantasy worlds and characters. I love taking those creatures and putting them into our own world settings and the like moreso. But, on a side note, I did and do love The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, so I’m not making jabs at that--I just don’t usually read and review in this genre because it’s not my style.

It even says so in my review policy.

I took a great risk picking up Covenant of the Faceless Knights though, knowing there was a chance I probably wouldn’t enjoy it since it was outside my “realm” of usual reading tastes. It’s funny that I post today’s review on this day, because Parajunkee posted her BB101 post just earlier about authors not following a blogger’s review policy, and I found it very insightful, helpful, and completely agreed with everything she said. I did warn the author ahead of time before reading this that it was out of my zone, so with that said, I hope there’s no offense. I was nice enough to still take it on at least either way--but it’s just not me. And I’m absolutely done taking on anymore work from now on outside of my genres--see my review policy. It’s very simple.


Covenant of the Faceless Knights does have an appeal to an audience that I see. There’s action and adventure and a lot of detail. It took me quite awhile to read it because there are a lot of characters and many creatures I had to try and wrap my head around--it got a bit confusing at times. I couldn’t enjoy it personally, but I know people who like this genre that might find this book just suitable for them. That’s the reason for my 2 star rating--it means I found things I liked somewhat (detail, action, adventure), but didn’t like it enough personally…However, I’d recommend it to those who read in this particular genre. In fact, I plan on passing it on to a friend I know who might enjoy it more than I did.


I was provided a copy by the author in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you very much and I appreciate it.


2 stars.