The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan – Review

Published: May 2, 2023

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: Lands of the Firstborn #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 608 (Paperback)

My Rating: 4.25 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Many years ago, Sir Aelfric and his nine companions saved the world, seizing the Dark Lord’s cursed weapons, along with his dread city of Necrad. That was the easy part.

Now, when Aelfric – keeper of the cursed sword Spellbreaker – learns of a new and terrifying threat, he seeks the nine heroes once again. But they are wandering adventurers no longer. Yesterday’s eager heroes are today’s weary leaders – and some have turned to the darkness, becoming monsters themselves.

If there’s one thing Aelfric knows, it’s slaying monsters. Even if they used to be his friends.

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After finishing Gareth Hanrahan’s Black Iron Legacy trilogy I knew I would pick up just about anything else he wrote afterwards. His latest novel, The Sword Defiant is an epic tale of the events after a great evil is defeated. I love that this type of plot is becoming a little more readily available now because I can’t get enough of it and The Sword Defiant is a fine addition to my collection.

Sir Aelfric Lammergeier was one of the Nine who slew the necromancer Lord Bone, routed the forces of darkness, and took the dread city of Necrad and claimed it as their own. Now, twenty years later, he’s haunted by old wounds and lost friends and after receiving a warning from Jan the priestess he returns to Necrad. A new evil is rising and the Lammergeier is determined to meet it before it can threaten the world. On the flip side, we have Olva, Aelfric’s younger sister and only remaining sibling who has just received a message and money from her long estranged brother. Olva’s son Derwyn, just learning of his uncle’s existence and fame, is determined to go to Necrad and runs off into danger. Cue Olva, her dog Cu, and Bor the message bringer setting off to rescue Derwyn from his own stupidity. 

Aelfric and Olva make an interesting counterpoint to one another and it gives the reader two points of view on both current and past events. For instance, Olva was quite young when Aelfric and the rest of the Nine were battling Lord Bone and all she remembers is them hiding out in her barn one night and then eventually witch elves murdering her husband. She holds thoughts of her brother at a distance and predictably, feels resentment toward him. Aelfric however, is crushed by haunting memories and almost hates the reverence people show toward him. He sees himself as nothing more than a swordsman and frequently laments the loss of Peir the paladin, who he saw as the true hero and the best among the Nine. While his physical wounds may have healed, the spiritual ones have not and that’s only exacerbated by Spellbreaker, the sentient sword beholden to Lord Bone that Aelfric now wields. 

This book is full of fantastical creatures, complicated relationships, and unknown quantities. By that I mean you never know who’s good or bad or possibly playing both sides. Aelfric and Olva both had interesting journeys overall, though both also had some slower paced segments that felt a bit tedious. Olva’s time with the elves in particular was a little boring, but provided valuable insight into how the wood elves live and introduced Prince Maedos. The ending had a great set up for the sequel because it introduced the next foe that must be brought down. Overall, this was a great start to a new series and seems like it would be perfect for fans of Dungeons & Dragons and Kings of the Wyld (though this is less humorous).