The Fell Sword

The Fell Sword is the second book in Miles Cameron's Traitor Son cycle and I thought it was similar in style to, but a better read than, the first book (The Red Knight).If you are into maps, there is one in this book (I had the Kindle edition). I did not refer to it, and when you start reading the Kindle edition, you start on page 1 of the text (i.e., after the map). But the map *is* there and probably is useful if you want to follow the geography of the thing.I thought the first book was rather difficult to get into (especially the first 50 pages or so), but this one had a much stronger start. Also in the first book, there were more than 150 pages of constant siege. While there are battles in this book, as well, they are spaced/arranged better -- I didn't experience the same weariness as I did with the first book. Also, yeah, there are still tons of descriptions of armor, horses, weapons, and fighting like there were in the last book. So be prepared for that.While the main (military) conflict of the book was resolved, there were definitely a number of loose ends. There's one storyline with Bill Redmede (a man to whom the "Jacks" -- a group of men who prefer to live free instead of under the yoke of a monarch -- look up) and an irk leader that takes up a fair amount of the early part of the book and then just gets dropped (although I think it will come back later). There's another storyline with Peter (also known as Nita Kwan, a tribesman and former slave) that also stops fairly early on. I have to believe something else is going to come of these two or the author wouldn't have spent so much time on them.Side note: I liked the glimpse into irk life here. Irks were rather like faceless villains in the previous book (sort of like Tolkien's orcs) but they turned out to be much more interesting and complex in this book, and more elf- and fairy-like than I'd previously imagined. I also liked how they interacted with men; they weren't just enemies to be defeated in this book.Another side conflict is happening in the kingdom of Alba, where the King's and Queen's relationship is not as sunny as it once was, even though circumstances *should* have been good. Galle (foreign) knights are terrorizing the female members of the court and the townspeople without being checked. Also, the King has appointed a bishop who is prejudiced against workers of magic. However, this, also, is not resolved by the end of the book. I suspect, though, that it will be resolved in the next book, when many of the various important figures will be traveling back to Alba for a tournament staged by the Queen.Yet another side conflict involves someone calling himself the Black Knight who has been hired by the King of Galle to take territory in Alba. He is built up to be this horrible bad guy -- and he is -- but he doesn't get a lot of time on the page, either. I don't yet see how he fits in, and his situation, too, is not resolved.So anyway, there are a lot of loose ends that have been left hanging in this book. I hope the author can (and remembers to) bring everything together in the next book. I think he can, and I'm not sure how many books he has planned for this series, because there is a larger conflict (world-wide) brewing that has to be finished up, too.I had been hoping, when I started reading this, that we would get some answers about the Red Knight's background, and we did. After reading the previous book, I really had a bad image of his mother in my mind. But we understand her antagonism against the King of Alba by the end of this book, and her motivation for revenge casts her in an entirely more believable and sympathetic light. I was not expecting that, and I think it was a great turn for the author to take. I still don't necessarily *like* her, but I feel like I understand her now.I was a little disappointed that the weapon from the title didn't amount to much on the page. It turned the tide of battle, perhaps, but it was only briefly mentioned. Space on the page did not equal importance, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. I sort of feel like I'm writing off something I shouldn't be writing off, here.In a way, this was a bit of a placeholder book. Things were clearly being set up for the future. So it's good that there was a mainline story with a resolution, here. It made this much more satisfying as the second book in a series (often, second books suffer in quality).Regarding the writing, it was similar in tone to the first book. I noted a lot of misused homophones in the first book. Here, I just noticed some typos and then some words used that are not actually words. On one page, the author said "probiscus" (meaning mouth parts). Only, the word is "proboscis." So then the plural he came up with a few lines later was also a non-word. Also, he kept talking about making a "lamda" sign, but the spelling (assuming the Greek letter is meant) is "lambda." These are the sorts of things an editor should have caught. However, I think the writing was, overall, improved compared to volume 1, with fewer errors. Nothing broke immersion for me and the words mostly just functioned to get the job of telling the story done. (I'll admit to not being able to keep straight all the different groups of soldiers under the Red Knight's command. It didn't matter that much with respect to my enjoyment of the story, though.)I've mentioned a few characters already. A number of people from the previous book are back, but we meet new characters as well. A mix of new and old characters make the difference in the final battle, and I like that. As far as character development goes, most of the members of the Red Knight's company are pretty static. Some of the newcomers are more interesting and multifaceted than the soldiers -- in particular, Mortirmir, Kronmir, and Ghause (the Red Knight's mother). Despite knowing more about the Red Knight's past by the end of the book, he's a bit of an enigma -- he seemed to have more emotions and complexity in the first book.My favorite parts of the book to read were, like last time, the scenes with the Red Knight's company (much of the last 1/3 of the book featured them, luckily). I had little patience for the Sossag scenes (in general, I don't care for the depiction of "native" peoples in a lot of fantasy novels). Although a lot of time was spent on armies and/or other groups of men traveling, it was balanced well with other content and didn't seem excessive (can't stand hearing about every time a group makes camp!).So, in the end, there were a lot of loose ends and I found that frustrating. However, I think I like the direction this is going, and I definitely found this to be a better read than book one.

First of all I did enjoy the book enough to write a review and most likely will buy the next book. Starting with the positives- the overall story is becoming apparent and seems more interesting with the reveal of the actual antagonist in this book though the constant references to how much the odds are stacked against the heroes only to be met by a series of relatively easy (except for 1 instance) victories seems anticlimactic and hopefully the author manages to bring his hero down a few pegs before any ultimate triumph.{spoiler}There are actual dragons which will need to die as the taglines in some of the marketing for this series has implied but whose presence lacked in the first book.{/end spoiler}I did enjoy how the author puts his knowledge of history in service to the story most of the time though I agree with some other reviews that the details on donning armor are a bit too repetitive. Once, twice, or even thrice is ok- but not a long description for nearly every battle sequence. The numerous Latin phrases and other bits of medieval words scattered about are interesting but sometimes a detriment when I can't figure out what the phrase means from context and even Google fails to translate it.The Red Knight himself seems to achieve some small character development in this book but no other characters seem to advance in self awareness or depth which is disappointing. I don't expect every single character to develop but at least throw some hints of contemplation or learning from events in more than a merely intellectual way for a few key characters.The single biggest problem I have with this book is also something I enjoyed concurrently and thus I find it very difficult to review. The parts lifted from real history applied in alternate form in this book are both captivating and distracting. There is a mishmash of chivalric codes, alchemy, historical personalities, events, places, and cultures with the author's opinions that sometimes works for me but just as often does not. I am not sure if that is a reflection of my own knowledge (or lack) of history but I think the disconnect comes in when the author displays a great knowledge of some actual historical details followed directly by inaccurate details based on very outdated conjectures.Particularly the seeming remake of the 'Noble Savage' caricature of Native Americans applied to the people living in the 'Wild' and the mix of northern American colonization from this historical gunpowder era with medieval sword and sorcery chronological era in the story. I appreciate the author's attempt to speculate on what would happen if late medieval/early renaissance people encountered a new continent with a native population which did not die en mass from foreign diseases. Basically the author concludes that the natives would die rather quickly without the protection of powerful and 'mostly' benevolent magical beings in the face of heavy cavalry and plate armor forgetting perhaps that Cortez conquered the Aztecs only with the aid of rebellion of the subject peoples throwing off oppression of the Aztecs and Moscow conquered the steppes only with the aid of guns and rail.The harsh 'chivalric' and misogynistic code of the 'French' stand ins also bothers me where the 'English' kingdom is supposedly much freer and more modern because the author picks and choose which history he represents faithfully and what is twisted not only to fit the story but to explain cultural differences which historically were quite different than represented in the book.It is fantasy fiction only loosely based on history one can argue but in most of the broad details the fiction is actually as tightly built on historical facts so it is jarring to go from accurate if speculative historical accuracy to complete distortions or fabrications in things that have little to do with the overt fantasy elements of the story.I rad some other reviews which complained about the lack of detail in the magic system and called it laziness... the magic system is actually based on alchemical and spiritual ideas that some medieval people believed in as the science of their day. The memory palace is actually one of the better presentations of magical practice I've read in fantasy and I hope people are inspired to do a little historical research if they are so bothered by the magical system presented in the book but I can definitely say the author was not lazy in how he created the system presented in the books (unless you call researching and adopting historical beliefs lazy compared to just making up a system based on imagination that lacks any fundamental principles).I could say more about this book but would rather say simply that despite some issues the book is still a good read but for serious fantasy readers the historical 'borrowing' is perhaps so heavy as to be obnoxious and fits more alternative history genre that has magic and dragons if there is such a genre.

I only discovered this series of books recently, this being the second one, and have been so pleased that I did. The story is gripping and complex, so many characters, so many plot lines that at first it's quite hard to take in. Stick with it and the reward is worth it. You should read the first book before this as it will make it so much easier to follow the many characters. The author has researched his subject amazingly well, the detail and accuracy of the weapons, armour and warfare techniques complement the inventiveness and originality of the magic and magical characters beautifully. These are properly grown up books blending fact and fantasy which don't flinch from the horror of medieval warfare with deep characterisation and superb descriptive passages that put you right in the middle of the action.A thoroughly brilliant series of books that I would strongly recommend. Don't be put off by the slightly higher price either, there is a lot of content to these books, very long and complex stories that are excellent value for money.

This book sees an interesting change of pace as The Red Knight takes his force overseas to intervene in a coup against The Emperor. Embroiled in politicking, seduction, magical battles & good, old fashioned, hit-‘em-with-sharp-objects style warfare, Gabriel feels the pressure of juggling too many balls at once. This keeps him thoroughly distracted while enemies old & new gather power in the shadows. And hints of a larger conspiracy surface.It was an interesting contrast to see the mercenaries going up against an organised human army. The denizens of The Wild have the mindset of predators, so each faction in Thorn’s army took individual action on the battlefield, as they virtually ignored the big picture in favour of pursuing their own interests. But this time around, the Red Knight faces an opponent well versed in strategy, battle-hardened & trained for cohesive action.Events off the battlefield are equally compelling. The narrative becomes increasingly character-driven, with a larger cast & plots aplenty inviting parallels with Game of Thrones (although this is a very different beast). And once again, the authors’ surprisingly down-to-earth magical system made interactions between magic users within the ethereal as compelling as before.Nevertheless, this book has the overall feel of an in-between volume, which mostly serves to build towards a greater conflict to come in Book 3. There are some fascinating – albeit lengthy - scenes replete with historical details, which make the fantastical elements more credible. These made for interesting reading but ultimately came across as filler. Likewise, some of the characters who receive lots of page inches seem puzzling in that they do not seem particularly relevant to the main story. But perhaps these are seeds being sown for the future.Overall, a great addition to the series which fleshes out this fascinating world further but one which is mostly about setting the scene for the third book. So as compelling as it is, it’s not as dramatic as the first or the third one.Incidentally, the first book was replete with irritating spelling mistakes & grammatical errors. Some creep into this book too, but nowhere near as many.

The Red Knight was so good I bought all the other books in the series immediately.This 2nd book had a lot to live up to and while it didn't hit the peaks of the Red Knight it was still a brilliant book.This series is a variation on the Fantasy genre to some extent. Yes it has unlikely odds for your hero's and heroine's, but being set in a medieval time, which feels like Western Europe, but obviously is very different makes it really interesting.The author must be insane, as wearing Armour and tramping around Canada using 14th century equipment is what he does for fun, however, it makes his use of language and "feel" for what he is describing wonderfulCannot recommend these books highly enough. Better, in my opinion than George R. R. Martin and on a par with Steven Erikson.Genuinely, haven't been able to put the books down.

This is another good book, it builds from where the first book leaves off.The characters are mostly the same as before with some new ones added in, nice and not so nice, crazy and slightly less crazy, there is very little character building here with the exception of Nita Qwan who is changing due to his new role and culture and gives us a window in the actions of The Green.There is very little action here, the battles are simple and largely anti-climactic; there is a feeling of building pressure and glimpses of the bigger game being played but this feels like a middle book, entertaining but doesn't really stand strongly in its own right.The pace is decent, a lot happens and we are continuously swapping between different characters and sub plots, it is nice to see that not everything The Red Knight tries succeeds, sometimes luck intervenes.A good sequel, leaves you wanting more.

This is the second book of the series. The violence has spread to the creatures of the wild, the Empire, the Albens and now the Galles become involved. The hard won peace expected at the culmination of the first book cannot be maintained as unexpected forces manipulate powerful magics to bend men and creatures to their will.It's a vast story, well written, plots and counter plots, heroics, individual combat and medieval battles beautifully and excitingly described. So much so I'm going to take a break before I read the next one, to get my strength back.Great stuff!