While I really love Hayes’ Best Laid Plans pirate duology, and enjoyed his most recent standalone, City of Kings, set in the same world, all three of these books went to very dark places that made me a bit uncomfortable. Again, I very much enjoyed them, but I had to distance myself from them a bit in my mind because of their content. Not so with Never Die. While still very much in keeping with Hayes’ signature violent action scenes that I came to love in Where Loyalties Lie, this book was remarkably clean in other respects. There was no real romance, which resulted in no sex scenes. There was very little vulgarity as compared to the other work I’ve read from Hayes. And best of all, there was no rape! Yay! The difference between the rich and the powerful was always made so much clearer by walls. The rich hide behind them, the powerful tore them down.” The book’s title was a silly phrase my friends and I used to say to each other in South Africa, but now it is more relevant than ever.” The writing style did not disappoint and it was everything I wanted and more! It was funny, emotional, deep, relatable and easy to follow.

And how. Even on Zoom, Toby is a magnetic figure, breathing through a ventilator in his chair – an iconic sight now after his story has made it into the national consciousness – and of course being your basic no-bullshit ex-Marine too. His very existence, his every moment now as the same old him, is in fact an ongoing triumph. The book then, is the story of Toby’s life leading to that point but is mostly about what followed. How he used quite unbelievable strength of mind to rebuild his life, with a spirit summed up by his motto as a gung-ho kid, which provides the title of the book, ‘Never Will I Die’. Itami is another good character, she believes herself a failure which is sad because she is an honourable and good person. Never Die is hands down the best book Rob Hayes has written to date, and this is coming from someone who has really enjoyed everything I’ve read from him. It’s been a while since a book was so addictive that it kept me up late into the night because I needed to read just one more chapter, and it was an experience I relished with this book. It’s undoubtedly one of the best Asian-inspired fantasies I’ve read, as well as one of the best self-published works I’ve come across. His title as winner of SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off) 2017 is well deserved.Speaking of characters, Hayes did a phenomenal job crafting this ragtag crew. We introduced to these heroes one by one, as they are unwillingly drafted into a seemingly impossible quest. As they don’t really know each other, we learn about them as they reveal things to the group. Very rarely is a team assembled like this where there are no core relationships already developed that are brought to the table, so I thought it was an interesting decision. I enjoyed how varied these characters were, in personality and physicality and fighting style. And the names! I love the titles awarded to each character based on some tactical strength they had developed and were famous for harnessing. We have characters with names like The Whispering Blade and The Emerald Breeze and Iron Gut and Death’s Echo. They’re such rich, evocative titles, and say such deep things about those who carry them. While I found all of the characters enjoyable, my absolute favorite was Itami Cho, the Whispering Blade. She was stoic but caring, badass but kind, and you could tell that she knew or suspected far more than she let on about their mission, their physical state, and the boy who had drafted them for this endeavor. She’s an incredibly strong female character and in my opinion was the shining star of the story. Overall, I think it’s safe to say that I LOVED this book. Wonderful array of characters, brilliant plot, fantastic core idea and themes. I’m definitely going to read some more Hayes! The world is very reminiscent of a parallel earth and steeped in Japanese mythology. The author liberally uses terms and creatures like Yokai, Oni, Jikininki, etc. which mean the same as they do on our Earth. But he also uses terms like Shintei and Thopters which correspond to specific things on our Earth (which the readers can RAFO). This world is a very deep one as snippets of its geography, history and peculiarities are sprinkled throughout the story. Nothing is particularly spelled out but you will have to pay attention as there are a lot of clues, nods and hints interspersed throughout. In international rugby we speak about putting your body on the line for your mates. Toby's inspirational story gives an unforgettable insight into the men who do that for real, in life or death situations. A remarkable book. Dylan Hartley

Focusing on four characters, Itami Cho the Whispering Blade from Ipia, Zhihao Cheng the Emerald Wind, Iron Gut Chen Lu, & Bingwei Ma the undefeated wushu master of Sun Valley. Joining them in this mission in an enigmatic assassin called Roi Astara a.k.a. Death's Echo, his loyalties are unknown as are his motivations. But the only constant is that he's dying of a particular disease that forces him to wrap himself in bandages and hope that his body is able to survive till the end. Rounding out the cast is young Ein whose intention is singular and powered with death magic, he will do everything in his power to kill the emperor for reasons only shared between him and the Shinigami. The prologue of the story is short, dark and reads "Itami Cho woke to the screams of her own death. She remembered it all!" The strong execution of the plot was only possible because the main characters were so distinctive from each other and each POV was compelling to read. Itami Cho, Ein, Zhihao, Chen Lu, Bingwei Ma, and Roi Astara were a group of misfits and unlikely heroes that shouldn’t even be able to work together but somehow, in these characters, I found heartwarming friendship and inspiring heroism. It didn’t take long for me to warm up to them. Each character's personality really came to life and every new character’s introduction immediately made me care about them and curious to learn more about them. Seeing the gradual bonding of the main characters was unexpected and quite wholesome to read. I also loved how the relationship between Cho and Ein reminded me of Nanashi and Kotaro from Sword of the Stranger. Plus, same as Nanashi, Cho has also vowed to never unsheathe her other katana—War—and in my opinion, her conviction greatly enhanced the compelling narrative of her character. My personal favorite characters from the book were definitely Itami Cho and Zhihao. Cho’s determination to uphold her Oath was so honorable; she really tried her best to do what’s right even though she has regrets regarding her unfulfilled oath in her past. As for Zhihao, out of all the characters, he fits the unlikely and reluctant hero bill the best. Out of every character he created, Hayes developed these two characters the most and he did a spectacular job with it.

Speaking to The Book of Man on Zoom today, Toby is still amazed by this. “I have no idea how they kept me alive,” he says, “It even astounded them that I made it through. The other guys told me afterwards, ‘We all said our goodbyes when they took you off in the helo.’ There was no chance. But somehow through the darkness and chaos of it, they kept me alive long enough for me to have a chance. I don’t know what happened in that 20 minute period straight after I was shot. I don’t know, I can’t tell you. But here I am.” Now quadriplegic, capable of movement only with his head, Toby has rebuilt his life. His is an extraordinary story of survival against overwhelming odds, and of the power of the human spirit to overcome extreme adversity. Brutally honest and authentic, he builds a compelling picture of the type of person produced by the Special Forces system, and tells of how one split second changed the course of his life forever. Hayes has two things that really bring color to his dark fantasy: humor and an Asian influence. Much like Joe Abercrombie and Michael R. Fletcher, the grittiness of the violence in this story is offset by humorous interactions between the characters. I found myself laughing as the banter between The Emerald Wind and Iron Gut Chen, in particular. Also, the Asian flavor to the worldbuilding made this one stand out from the rest of the genre. Besides the intriguing world setting, the characters are the strongest component of the story. Beginning with Itami Cho, the troubled Shintei warrior, then Zhihao Cheng a bandit whose moral qualms are shakier than most. Iron gut Chen Lu is a boastful glutton whose powers and most striking physical characteristic start and end with his gargantuan stomach. Then there's also Bingwei Ma, the most heroic character of them all but also the one that might be the hardest to bend to Ein's strategy. All these characters along with Ein and Roi Astara, give the readers plenty to ponder about. These POV characters are multi-faceted and come in all shades. We have outright heroic characters, we have those who strive to achieve good but are more opportunistic. Plus there are those who are cruel and evil so to speak but they have their reasons and while they might not be palatable to most common folks, those reasons are their own.

There is excellent pacing that also had moments of reflection where we discovered the world and more about the characters. The last third of Never Die really was on full-throttle and the action was glorious. Awesome fight sequences that were fantastical and bloody, intimidating and fascinating creatures, such as the spirit-world yokai. More than ten years later, and following bouts of depression, Toby has penned a book about his life. It is tragic and horrible story but I hope it can help inspire others who find themselves in a bad place. I had a genuinely positive time throughout the majority of this book, however, for about 20% I was worried if it was going to be too formulaic with the team walking, fighting a demon, meeting someone to have a dual with, repeat - which did happen a couple of times. A few of the set-pieces are as if they've been taken from a level of Mortal Kombat, an end of act fight from Streets of Rage, a boss fight from The Legend of Zelda, and colourful fight scenes straight out of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is an interesting mix. Although all of the above are frequent throughout, Hayes doesn't forget how to write battles, sieges, and final confrontations. An assassin who's dirty to his inner core, a killer of woman and children- but who finds himself in the right side battle for once.

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After 3 years of reviewing books, I developed a hunch for the books I will like. It is like the clinical sense in medicine, something that is gained with experience and trial. I sometimes try to give books chances even if I feel I won’t like them. They mostly end up being disappointing so I learned to follow my gut even more. My main criticism of this book is not the story, or the characters, or the world building, or even the action sequences. I honestly loved the book. It’s something I would recommend to anyone who loves anime or Asian inspired fantasy. And that twist at the end made my jaw drop. If you really enjoyed Kings of the Wyld there's a 100% chance you'll probably love this book too. They have the same vibe really. He was evacuated by helicopter and patched up in the make-shift hospital, but refused the opportunity to return to the UK or recuperate properly.

Toby has overcome more obstacle than anyone I know. His is a story of life triumphing over death, and shows the strength of the human spirit.' Nims PurjaPowerful and inspiring, Never Will I Die is a universal story about our search for purpose, and explores what extreme experience teaches us about what truly matters. Toby wrote: “I discharged myself, headed for the airfield, told them who I was and where I needed to go.” For some, a sword is an extension of themselves, and thus any sword will do. For others the sword and wielder are one, two halves of one soul, and neither will ever be complete without the other.” There's no pain, no theatrical agony. No screaming, no shouting. The kill shot is catastrophic, yet surgically precise. I slumped silently on to my knees and toppled forward, head first, into the dirt. The lads had seen enough death to assume mine was instantaneous. The lights were out. That's him gone. The book is a peculiar one because alongside Ein's quest to find heroes the chapters begin with The Whispering Blade vs Master of Sun Valley (or something similar) and they are kind of like mini battles within each chapter. The majority of the book can be broken down into these smaller scenes, and it almost felt a bit pokemon/robot wars because Ein summons one Hero to kill another so that new Hero can join his team. I think maybe this is the aim of the author, but it felt a little unusual to me at first and I think I took a little longer to get into this than I have with some of Hayes' other stories.