It took me quite a long time to read this book. It's not that there is anything wrong with it, just that I am so short of free time these days and this is the kind of book where you just have to read it in one go. It should give you an idea of how fun and action packed the story is.

The book stars Ketram, a kind dragonherder from an impoverished village in Shoane whose life forever changes when he discovers his wife Rabiniak just gave birth to triplets. Delighted by the good news that his children are not only healthy but blessed with long lives from a talented Span Seer and her new assistant the mysterious Danak (who is a supporting character in the previous book The Blood King), Kertram feels disgusted that people from his village are pondering if he was going to proxy one of his children for a steep price or live with the prospect he is going to struggle economically.

Ketram's money woes don't last very long when he returns from a cancelled business trip to discover everyone in his village was murdered including Rabiniak and his children were stolen to be sold at a high price. With a heavy heart, Ketram decides to honor Rabiniak's dying wish to save his children at all costs and teams up with Danak to discover where the babies are and save them before they are sacrificied when they turn 99 days old.

Keith is indeed an outstanding buddling new author that has created an amazing society where ritualistic transfer of life spans is not only possible, but socially acceptable to allow rulers to stay alive and a ticket out of poverty for peasants that are willing to sell their babies to the highest bidder. It also ponders the morality of it all where Danak wonders if she really wants to continue having this ability to transfer life to other people. I also find it to be refreashing that Danak isn't accompanying Kertram because she's falling in love with him. When they discover Rabiniak was having triplets instead of twins, Danak hastily tested the lifespan of one of the babies and thinks she made a mistake. She sorts of accompanies Kertram out of initial guilt, but it seems like a spark might appear in the oddest of places. She was already an interesting character in the first novel and her character grows even more here.

The supporting characters are also interesting. Melchor is awesome albeit he appears very little in the story and I personally liked the mentally unstable travel guide who helps Kertram's group pass through the dangerous mountains to Desnu. The powerful Span Seer of Tierson is a troubling character that sadly appears very little. I personally enjoy the villains in this story, you never know who is a bad guy.

I think the ending was a bit rushed. While I was excited to finally reach Day 99, the ending was slightly anticlimatic. The two dragonherders that befriend Kertram seem interesting but they weren't fully fleshed out which I found to be a huge letdown given the really strong buildup from the rest of the novel.

All in all, it's an excellent story and I'll be really excited to read the third novel when it comes out. ( )

I’ve put off this review because I just didn’t know if I could do the book justice. Have you ever read a book that you just enjoyed so much it was hard to put words to? That was 99 Days for me. It was the best book I read in 2017 and here I am 3 years later still trying to review it.

The world building of this book is an utterly unique idea. That life, the days and years left to a person can be transferred to another person via a ritual done by someone called a Span Seer. The Span Seers can not only transfer life they can see the days allotted to a person, thus each newborn’s days are read and entered into a ledger.

This sets up a economy, of sorts, based of life, quality of life and privilege. This economy is accepted by most of the world, even our main character has had some Transfers. However after the kidnapping of his newborns he begins to question the practice and so does the Span Seer Danak who journeys with him to save his children.

The action and twists keep the book a fast read, and it left me thinking for a long time. Few books really get down to the nitty gritty of the meaning and worth of life (Unwind is the other book that comes to mind.)

Bottom Line:

I loved the idea of the world in 99 Days, and it was well done all around. I highly recommend it. ( )

It took me quite a long time to read this book. It's not that there is anything wrong with it, just that I am so short of free time these days and this is the kind of book where you just have to read it in one go. It should give you an idea of how fun and action packed the story is.

The book stars Ketram, a kind dragonherder from an impoverished village in Shoane whose life forever changes when he discovers his wife Rabiniak just gave birth to triplets. Delighted by the good news that his children are not only healthy but blessed with long lives from a talented Span Seer and her new assistant the mysterious Danak (who is a supporting character in the previous book The Blood King), Kertram feels disgusted that people from his village are pondering if he was going to proxy one of his children for a steep price or live with the prospect he is going to struggle economically.

Ketram's money woes don't last very long when he returns from a cancelled business trip to discover everyone in his village was murdered including Rabiniak and his children were stolen to be sold at a high price. With a heavy heart, Ketram decides to honor Rabiniak's dying wish to save his children at all costs and teams up with Danak to discover where the babies are and save them before they are sacrificied when they turn 99 days old.

Keith is indeed an outstanding buddling new author that has created an amazing society where ritualistic transfer of life spans is not only possible, but socially acceptable to allow rulers to stay alive and a ticket out of poverty for peasants that are willing to sell their babies to the highest bidder. It also ponders the morality of it all where Danak wonders if she really wants to continue having this ability to transfer life to other people. I also find it to be refreashing that Danak isn't accompanying Kertram because she's falling in love with him. When they discover Rabiniak was having triplets instead of twins, Danak hastily tested the lifespan of one of the babies and thinks she made a mistake. She sorts of accompanies Kertram out of initial guilt, but it seems like a spark might appear in the oddest of places. She was already an interesting character in the first novel and her character grows even more here.

The supporting characters are also interesting. Melchor is awesome albeit he appears very little in the story and I personally liked the mentally unstable travel guide who helps Kertram's group pass through the dangerous mountains to Desnu. The powerful Span Seer of Tierson is a troubling character that sadly appears very little. I personally enjoy the villains in this story, you never know who is a bad guy.

I think the ending was a bit rushed. While I was excited to finally reach Day 99, the ending was slightly anticlimatic. The two dragonherders that befriend Kertram seem interesting but they weren't fully fleshed out which I found to be a huge letdown given the really strong buildup from the rest of the novel.

All in all, it's an excellent story and I'll be really excited to read the third novel when it comes out. ( )