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azrah786's review
3.75
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was gifted a copy by Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, body horror, war, death, murder, kidnapping
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Now this book wasn’t initially on my radar, though I have been wanting to pick up Hanrahan’s Black Iron Legacy series, but it was a surprising read and mostly in a good way.
The Sword Defiant is unique as the fundamentals of the book are that we are returning to a fantasy world where the key players are war veterans and the grand conflict that they were victorious in is of the past. This is the book for anyone who has ever wanted to know more of the aftermath of the big events in their favourite fantasy stories, of how the heroes or really the people overall fare after evil has been vanquished.
There are 2 key storylines that we follow. That of Alf, one of the Nine heroes who defeated Lord Bone who years on has the duty of guarding the cursed sentient sword – Spelbreaker – which used to belong to the big baddie, in order to keep it out of the hands of anyone who would use it to cause chaos. After receiving word of darkness rising again he sets of to “get the band back together” in order to face the potential new threat that lurks. The other point of view is that of Alf’s sister, Olva who finds herself stepping outside of everything she is familiar with on a quest of her own when her son gets kidnapped, and all roads seem to lead to Necrad – the dreaded city that was Lord Bone’s former stronghold.
**I was gifted a copy by Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, gore, injury, self harm, body horror, war, death, murder, kidnapping
--
Now this book wasn’t initially on my radar, though I have been wanting to pick up Hanrahan’s Black Iron Legacy series, but it was a surprising read and mostly in a good way.
The Sword Defiant is unique as the fundamentals of the book are that we are returning to a fantasy world where the key players are war veterans and the grand conflict that they were victorious in is of the past. This is the book for anyone who has ever wanted to know more of the aftermath of the big events in their favourite fantasy stories, of how the heroes or really the people overall fare after evil has been vanquished.
There are 2 key storylines that we follow. That of Alf, one of the Nine heroes who defeated Lord Bone who years on has the duty of guarding the cursed sentient sword – Spelbreaker – which used to belong to the big baddie, in order to keep it out of the hands of anyone who would use it to cause chaos. After receiving word of darkness rising again he sets of to “get the band back together” in order to face the potential new threat that lurks. The other point of view is that of Alf’s sister, Olva who finds herself stepping outside of everything she is familiar with on a quest of her own when her son gets kidnapped, and all roads seem to lead to Necrad – the dreaded city that was Lord Bone’s former stronghold.
“Fortune’s wheel turns ever on, my friend. It exalts the humble and brings low the mighty – and if you hang on long enough, then you can go around for a second turn.”
The synopsis mentioning former heroes turning dark, bloodthirsty vengeance and monster slaying had me thinking that it was going to fall a lot more into Grimdark territory but that isn’t exactly the case. Sure it has its fair share of blood and gore but it also has the feel of a classic fantasy epic with a dash of mystery and that sense of foreboding surrounding it all.
The worldbuilding is explored predominantly through the characters on their journeys recalling moments of history or being told stories from the past or through memories found at the places revisited. This was all really thorough, with the descriptions and narrative being quite immersive and will be a real treat for anyone who enjoys D&D.
Though despite really enjoying all the depth and detail, the amount that there was effected the overall flow of the main plot. Hanrahan is without a doubt a great writer and all the tensions that were simmering and being built up in the background were great. However, the slow pacing meant that when the big reveals came they fell flat for me and I also easily guessed some of the twists. The moments of action too, though well written when they were on the page, felt subdued for the most part since a lot of the time they were skimmed over or when they were occurring we were in the perspective of the character that wasn’t involved.
“For all the horrors of the war, for all they’d suffered, those years had defined him. He hadn’t been happy – there’d been little time for joy, although maybe that only made the snatches of merriment all the sweater – but he had been complete. He’d known his purpose then with perfect clarity. Now he was adrift.”
Whilst on the topic of characters though what I did really like was that we got a really good portrayal of the not so-rose tinted aftermath of war and victory for people of all different backgrounds, even the actual heroes that won. Alf expressing survivor’s guilt as well as a sort of restlessness as he was trying to find a purpose away from his past was really interesting to see. Yet my favourite character was actually Spellbreaker because the banter it had with Alf was hilarious! (Yes the sword talks!)
All in all my feelings on the book are a little conflicting. It felt very much like a prequel setting up the bigger story that is to come even though there were so many key moving parts in this first book. The last 100 pages were when the ball really got rolling and was when I was most engaged with the story so I am definitely interested in checking out the sequel to see where it all goes next!
Final Rating – 3.75/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, War, Kidnapping, Death, and Body horror
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