A review by mels_reading_rook
The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan

3.0

There were elements that I enjoyed about this story, and some that prevented me from getting fully immersed. I'll start with the good.

I loved the premise of analyzing a fantasy story from the perspective of heroes and a world twenty years after the quest is completed. Just because the evil has been slain, that doesn't mean everything else will immediately fall into place; there is still work to be done to put things back to right.

I also loved the worldbuilding and conflicts surrounding the elves. It was well-thought-out, and I found myself interested in learning their histories and how they move through the world compared to the other denizens of the world.

Now onto what didn't work for me.

Much of The Nine's past - mostly regarding their deeds and relationships - was told to me instead of shown in the narration. As a result, I didn't have much emotional attachment to them because I found most of their choices in the present-day distasteful. Tangentially, because I didn't know The Nine the way Alf did, I had a hard time understanding why he went along with some of the not so great things they did, even when it seemed to go against his moral compass.

The other non-spoiler issue I had with the book was with the pacing. It felt too slow for the amount of "action" that occurred (not just fighting action, but also worldbuilding and character development). It seemed the main plot was spread across too many pages, so while I enjoyed the story, I felt like I was waiting several pages for the next development to happen.

My last section will include spoilers from the story.

Spoiler

I didn't fully understand the motives of the antagonizing forces, especially regarding Lath and Thurn. The mystery surrounding them was intentional, but I felt mostly confused about why they were aligned with Death. I didn't feel like I had gotten enough of a hint for their motives for me to guess at it, which is why I felt confused.

And then there was the ending.

Spoiler

In the final chapter, Olva goes on a quest to the Grey Lands. I loved the interaction she had with Gundan as he reminisces over the good ol' days in his final moments until he passed on. After that, I was unsure of the meaning of the giants and her offering of Spellbreaker to them. And then the narration changes to a retelling of that moment from a future storyteller, and it broke me out of that moment. I wanted to continue to be in the moment with the characters, but instead, I was pulled out of it. Also, I was confused at the sudden shift in the characters' positions in Necrad. The story-within-the-story alluded to it a little, but there were a lot of specifics left out for why it happened, especially considering all the animosity Alf et al. generated from the rest of the council members before the final fight. I would like to see more explanation of this in the next installment.