Son of the Black Sword, by Larry Correia fantasy book reviewsSon of the Black Sword, by Larry CorreiaSon of the Black Sword by Larry Correia

J.R.R. Tolkien. Michael Moorcock. Lloyd Alexander. Brandon Sanderson. Steven Erikson. Terry Brooks. What do all of these authors have in common? Well, all of them wrote about The Black Sword™. Ah, but what, you ask, is The Black Sword™? Well, The Black Sword™ is a double-edged weapon which happens to be jet black and very magical. Generally, it is also a good bit chattier and/or more judgmental than one might expect out of the average inanimate object, and the wielder tends to be some sort of tragic badass type. The sword will also inevitably have a cool-sounding name and chop through lesser weapons like they’re made of wood (or soft cheese, if it’s a particularly powerful example). So yes, Son of the Black Sword is drawing from a loooooong literary tradition, and doesn’t really do anything to deconstruct it. But on the other hand, it’s about a lot more than that, and though The Black Sword™ may be an old, old trope, Larry Correia managed to convince me that there was still some fun to be had with the concept.

The plot is as follows: in a world where demons haunt the seas and the ancient gods have been forgotten, a group of noble houses controls a land by an ironclad law and a rigorous caste system. The Order of Protectors is charged with upholding the law of the land, and the greatest of their number is Ashok Vadal, a man with an inhuman sense of duty and a magic black sword(™) which endows him with all the skill of the previous wielders of the blade and makes him nigh-undefeatable in battle. Ashok has won glory for his Order and for himself, and seems poised to take over as the next commander of the Protectors, but unexpected connections to the “casteless” slaves is revealed in his past, Ashok’s faith in the system he serves is shattered. With the world’s most dangerous man left abruptly outside the system he worked so long and hard to protect, the very foundations of society are shaken.

First off, the world-building is good, and even manages to feel fresh, though a lot of it is Correia taking old tropes and putting a new spin on them. He has warring Great Houses, but (refreshingly) draws cultural inspiration from Southern Asia rather than Western Europe. There haven’t been many epic fantasies set in a quasi-India, but Son of the Black Sword makes me wish for more of them. Likewise, Correia uses monastic-style Orders (even an Inquisition) to hunt down the faithless, but flips the usual paradigm to make these Inquisitors atheists who hunt down the heretical religious types. The supporting cast feels similarly vibrant, as what originally seems like traditional archetypes fly off in unexpected directions. We get The Rival, The Scholarly Girl, and The Roguish Soldier-of-Fortune, but all of them develop in surprising and welcome ways that invigorate the story. In fact, the supporting cast is often so engaging that the protagonist suffers a bit by comparison. Ashok is a solid, serviceable lead, the stern and dutiful paladin type, but I couldn’t help feeling that the book was more fun when Jagdish the Prison Warden was on the page.

The dialogue is clever, the prose adept, and there was enough narrative urgency that I never wanted to stop reading. The pacing, however, is a bit wonky. The book starts with a thrilling battle sequence and quickly develops into a fun premise, but after that, things trail off into a lot of world-building and prep work for the story to come, finishing with a finale that is both too dire to be a simple hook into the rest of the SAGA OF THE FORGOTTEN WARRIOR series but also not weighty enough to feel like the end to an adventure in and of itself. I realize this is just the first book in what may be a long series, but even given that fact, relatively little actually happens. The novel is consistently entertaining, but it feels as though Correia spent 75% of the book setting up the gameboard, leaving little time for the actual game. As an example, imagine if J.K. Rowling had devoted twenty chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to Harry Potter learning he’s a wizard, and then ended the book right as he arrived in Hogwarts. The novel still would have had a good premise and ended on an exciting moment, but it wouldn’t have felt complete. That’s the problem with Son of the Black Sword. It’s a big, fun idea with a likeable cast of characters, but it feels like we just got to the end of the prologue.

Published in 2016. #1 IN A NEW EPIC FANTASY SERIES from Monster Hunter series creator and New York Times best-selling author, Larry Correia! After the War of the Gods, the demons were cast out and fell to the world. Mankind was nearly eradicated by the seemingly unstoppable beasts, until the gods sent the great hero, Ramrowan, to save them. He united the tribes, gave them magic, and drove the demons into the sea. Ever since the land has belonged to man and the oceans have remained an uncrossable hell, leaving the continent of Lok isolated. It was prophesized that someday the demons would return, and only the descendants of Ramrowan would be able to defeat them. They became the first kings, and all men served those who were their only hope for survival. As centuries passed, the descendants of the great hero grew in number and power. They became tyrannical and cruel, and their religion nothing but an excuse for greed. Gods and demons became myth and legend, and the people no longer believed. The castes created to serve the Sons of Ramrowan rose up and destroyed their rulers. All religion was banned and replaced by a code of unflinching law. The surviving royalty and their priests were made casteless, condemned to live as untouchables, and the Age of Law began. Ashok Vadal has been chosen by a powerful ancient weapon to be its bearer. He is a Protector, member of an elite militant order of roving law enforcers. No one is more merciless in rooting out those who secretly practice the old ways. Everything is black or white, good or evil, until he discovers his entire life is a fraud. Ashok isn’t who he thinks he is, and when he finds himself on the wrong side of the law, the consequences lead to rebellion, war—and destruction.

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  • Tim Scheidler

    TIM SCHEIDLER, who's been with us since June 2011, holds a Master's Degree in Popular Literature from Trinity College Dublin. Tim enjoys many authors, but particularly loves J.R.R. Tolkien, Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Susanna Clarke. When he’s not reading, Tim enjoys traveling, playing music, writing in any shape or form, and pretending he's an athlete.

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