Reviews

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan

lorelei_reads's review against another edition

4.0

 This is one of those books you see all over everyone’s feeds, for good reason. It took me a few months to get around to it, and it’s really lived up to the promise. And pretty damn impressive for a debut novel! 

 

Our main character Lukan is a disgraced son of the nobility, a rogue who spends his days gambling and drinking. Not an uncommon trope in fantasy, but it’s a classic for a reason. Likewise the plucky street-urchin-turned-sidekick and the mysterious master thief. The author pulls all these elements in a way that feels familiar in the best possible way. 

 

Lukan is pretentious and over the top in a way that manages to be amusing instead of annoying, and there’s enough depth to the character that you can see room for him to grow. He keeps saying the wrong things and turning a situation from bad to worse, but I just found myself fondly shaking my head and waiting to see how he was going to climb out of each hole he’d dig for himself. 

 

At its core it’s a mystery story, as Lukan tries to uncover who murdered his father and decipher his cryptic last message. One quest spins into another, until Lukan has to basically confront an epic conspiracy, just to get to that first clue. 

 

The magic system seems interesting, but we’re only given tantalizing clues in this one, with magic wielders called gleamers and mysterious, godlike figures. Hopefully we’ll get to explore this and the implications further in the next book. I’m personally a huge fan of the ‘lost, advanced civilization that left powerful relics behind’, whether it’s sci-fi with alien tech, or fantasy with sorcerous artifacts. So the concept of the Phaeron is one that I really hope we dig further into, and it does look like Logan is setting us up for that, since Lukan’s murdered father was a scholar of Phaeron artifacts. 

 

booksforscee's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Something I absolutely adore about this is that our protagonist, is completely out of his depth and honestly a bit useless. Its an amazing adventure with the supporting characters actually taking the lime light, and rightfully so. I honestly wish we could get a story for Fleas point of view ( I am never going to shut up about how amazing flea is )

A disgraced lords son, haunted by the mistakes of his past, follows his fathers dying wish to the vibrant city of Saphrona - and he finds way more than he bargains for. 

alana_readsbooks's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

fritch0715's review

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

amberleev's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Silverblood Promise, the first book in The Last Legacy series, is the debut novel from author James Logan. This book tells the story of a young man named Lukan Gardova. The son of a wealthy family, Lukan walked away in disgrace after a duel left another son of a wealthy family dead. He has been estranged from his family ever since. Until one day he learns that his father has been murdered. Naturally, Lukan swears to find out who killed his father and why. This promise sets Lukan off on a quest to the bustling merchant city of Saphrona where he soon finds himself caught up in a conspiracy more involved than he could have ever imagined. 

Set in a world full of familiar fantasy tropes and characters, The Silverblood Promise treads a well-worn path. Readers are introduced to the city of Saphrona through Lukan’s eyes as he’s guided on his quest by a lovable young street urchin named Flea. Flea is an orphan girl who makes her living as a thief. She knows the ins and outs of Saphrona as only someone of her occupation can. She’s also desperately in need of someone to look out for her, just as Lukan is desperately in need of someone to look out for. On their quest, Lukan and Flea cross paths with fabled characters of legend, vicious beasts, and magical relics of an ancient civilization.  

The Silverblood Promise is a plot-driven narrative. The pacing is brisk, moving readers from one set piece to another quite quickly. As such, the characters in the book do have a tendency to be a bit one-dimensional. Lukan is obnoxious and immature at times. He is infected with the sort of entitlement and unearned self-confidence only possessed by those born to some amount of power and privilege. Somehow always expecting things to go a certain way and then being shocked when they don’t, Lukan’s first forays into Saphrona go about as well as could be expected. One would think that his approach would change significantly over the course of the novel, but it turns out that he’s a rather slow learner. 

Those who read a lot of fantasy aren’t going to find anything new here. But that’s okay, because The Silverblood Promise is still a good time. It’s a fast-paced, plot-driven story set against a familiar fantasy backdrop. Not every book needs to, or should, reinvent the wheel. What matters most is execution, and James Logan clearly accomplishes what he set out to do with this book by employing time-tested elements of the fantasy genre to create a new story. 

lorddagon2022's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sea_uh_dahmay's review against another edition

4.0

this was good! nothing revolutionary but i love a fantasy murder mystery moment

mdominiak3's review

adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

katieo156's review

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I liked the heist-y feel and some of the side characters, especially those in the underworld. It was entertaining, and I did want to know how it all worked out in the end. I really liked the way the relics were represented- the pyramid scene was one of my favorites in the book because of the tension it built (and the chance to see Lukan actually show some of his charm, which we are told about but don't really see throughout). Flea is a sweetie and I want to see more from her!
I was not a fan of the ham-handed exposition and the tell-don't-show with Lukan's italicized thoughts, especially about his connection with Flea. Lukan is fairly entertaining, but he isn't a genuis- the connections he's making throughout the book are not clever enough that they need to be spelled out for us. It would have been a lot stronger if we were shown how Lukan and Flea's relationship grew, instead of having it forcefed through their POVs. Ashra's character was also, I'm sad to say, SO boring after all the buildup. Her dialogue was melodramatic and full of clichés, and I don't believe for a second that a character who grew up the way she did would be waxing melodic about the nature of thieves. I am not thrilled at the prospect of her in the next book, especially as we've been told that

they can't stand each other, which is just asking for an enemies to lovers setup that won't be super convincing since they started out helping each other.

Still a three because I know it's a debut, and it was entertaining despite my issues with the prose and character development.

shesreadingagain_'s review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5