Of Blood and Fire wears its influences on its sleeve, and it's not shy about. This is one of the most trope-filled modern books I've ever read.We've got traditional dwarves that live underground and carve stone, elves hidden in their forests, Orcs, dragons, and a resistance group going up against an Evil Empire led by a Really Bad Dude.That said, it's a really fun read, fast-paced and full of action. The book is over 500 pages long and it feels like 200. Cahill doesn't waste any time with a ton of worldbuilding and instead moves the plot forward constantly. The world is given some coloring, but just a little; this is a really bog-standard fantasy world.

A lot of this sounds negative, but this book was a nice palate cleanser. This style of fantasy has fallen out of favor recently and while it's unashamedly full of classic tropes, they aren't tropes you see very often nowadays. Some of the dialogue can be a little stilted, and there's quite a bit of telling instead of showing, but I'm willing to chalk that up to a new author's debut having some rough patches.

Check this series out if you're looking for something a little more popcorny if you've been reading more literary stuff. It's an easy, fun, somewhat predictable read, and sometimes that's needed.