I don’t use that word frivolously. This is a sublime novel, many layered, full of emotional depth and insight. Heart-breaking and brilliant. Utterly unforgettable.

Christopher Buehlman doesn't write fantasy or horror. Not truly. He writes people who happen to experience (or cause) horror and sometimes live in realms we consider fantastical. But his great gift, which he kindly, lovingly shares with us, is to create real-seeming people and breathe life into them so that we can watch them struggle and learn and commit great deeds or terrible crimes or simply make the mistakes that people make. They grow as we watch them, the greatest of these people becoming very different by the time they leave us. This is true of Christopher's other great works and of The Daughters' War. If there is such a thing as high fantasy, filled with brightness, beauty, and song, then surely this is low fantasy, as it is comprised largely of blood, death, and suffering. Galva dom Braga is awash in all three as she slogs through the latest war between mankind and the vicious, distinctly inhuman goblins who have invaded her world. We watch her grow from unblooded, untested soldier to a warrior of note, but more importantly we journey alongside her as she deals also with the very human, very relatable topics of love, family, religion, mortality, social class, loss, fear, and hopelessness. It's a powerful journey, well crafted and expertly told. It speaks to our shared experience as humans as deeply as any other great work of storytelling. It's not always a comforting, easy read, but that's part of its lesson. There's much more to life than comfort and ease, and when we are challenged, as we all are at times, we can learn a lot about dealing with those challenges by considering the journey of Galva dom Braga in The Daughters' War and beyond.

Ahoy there mateys! This book is the prequel to The Blacktongue Thief.  This is the story of the Daughters' War and Galva the Knight's part in it.  It is a book I very much enjoyed even if I didn't necessarily need it.  I had enjoyed Galva as a bit of an enigma.  However, the opening of the book has such a great set-up that I was immediately pulled in: "I was under sail, on my way to war. On my way to fall in love with death, and with a queen. On my way to lose all of my friends, and two of my brothers. I would see a great city fall in blood and fire, betrayed by a false god. Later, I would be commanded to die on a high stone bridge, but I would fail in this." The tone of this novel is very different from book one.  It is very dark and grim with not a lot of the humor.  Galva takes her responsibilities very seriously.  The plot deals with Galva's actions in the war while reminiscing about her upbringing and relationship with her three brothers.  The best part of this book, of course, are the war Corvids.  I loved learning how they were made, trained, and used to kill the Goblins.  I also enjoyed seeing Galva's inexperience turn into skill and also learning how Galva came to find her life's purpose.  Hearing her story from her own point-of-view did enrich my respect for the character and was an interesting counterpoint to how Kinch Na Shannack views her in book one. I am very glad that I read them in publishing order.  I recommend that other readers do the same.  Arrr!

This is a prequel to The blacktounge thief, which is also a awesome book! I really enjoyed the world that was created, and the people you feel you know from the words used to create them. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

I’m not typically a fan of prequels, but this is the rare exception. The minute I finished it, I dove right back to the first book. It broadens and expands this amazing world. I’m also so impressed with the author’s ability to write a completely different book in terms of style, themes, and emotions. His decision to push himself (and us) into new ground paid off handsomely. I love this book as much as the first but for completely different reasons. Ultimately, this is one of the most exciting and interesting fantasy series of the last twenty years. I can’t wait to see where we go next.

I was already a fan of this world thanks to his earlier book, The Blacktongue Thief, but this book is, in my opinion, his finest work to date. It’s just a snapshot of a time in the world that he has masterfully created, but it is so full and has such depth. He does a great job with the horrors and brutality of war - it reads like an actual memoir at times, despite being set in a medieval fantasy world. It’s a moving, emotional story as well, one that I had to absorb slowly, taking my time reading it. After some chapters, I’d need to put it down to let it sink in. I’ll be coming back to it for another read, but not before I dive back into Blacktongue Thief! A must read.

Probably my least favorite book of his if I'm honest. It is a good backstory on Galva and the great wars of this brutal, but compelling world. The story is solely from Galva's perspective and I think that is my main gripe with it. The use of letters to fill in the blanks is clever and well done. I just don't think Galva was entertaining enough of a character to carry the entire tale. She is very dry and guarded. Her ability to keep the story entertaining was lacking compared to Kinch from the first book. I also don't really dig prequels. It was still well written and the world itself was compelling enough to help me see the story through to the end. It was very brutal and heartbreaking as any tale of war probably should be. I'm still excited for the next book in the series, but this is probably not a story I will revisit.

Beautiful writing, deep characters, great story, action, tragedy, and imaginative fantasy elements. Enjoyed the hell out of Daughter’s War, can’t wait until the sequel to Black Tongue Thief is out!