The Mortal Blade starts off very promisingly, with a well-plotted assassination scene, carried out by a character who immediately grabs your attention.
As the book moves on, we are introduced to the other main characters, whose stories are told in separate chapters. There is a lot of well-constructed world-building, and the four people we follow slowly reveal themselves and their history.
I found the pace rather slow in the beginning, as none of the stories seemed to have any bearing on the others, and I wondered if they ever would. Needless to say, they did, but it took a very long time.
The world of the book is complicated, with a whole family of gods and demi-gods at its apex. Their relationships and history form a large part of this story, along with their relationship with the mortals they rule. They do seem to be surprisingly feeble, however!
When the pace finally increases, there is plenty of action, as old enmities are stoked by unseen hands, and long-standing rules and laws are swept aside.
Although I enjoyed the book, I had one or two issues. In any book with four main characters, they have to be of roughly equal strength. For me, they were not. Two drew me in convincingly, and I wanted to know what would happen to them next. The other two left me cold, and I have little interest in their fate.
Unfortunately for me, this is the first of a sixteen-part series, and looking at the descriptions, it is the latter characters who fill much of the remaining fifteen volumes, which makes me less inclined to continue.
The other issue for me is that the end is no ending. The final scenes feel rather rushed, nothing is resolved, and you’re left with the feeling that the whole book is just a scene-setter for the rest of the series. It left me somewhat deflated. If you like cliffhangers, you’ll be happy!
In conclusion, The Mortal Blade is a good, easy read. The world-building is excellent, some of the characters are very well drawn (including the dragons), and the premise is a promising one. On the other hand, for me, two of the main characters were disappointing, and the end was too abrupt and unsatisfying.
I probably will read the second book, both to see what happens to the two characters I’ve grown to like, and as I know it’s difficult to judge a series by one book. But at the moment, I doubt I will finish the series.
This is a review of the Brigdomin Books 2020 Kindle edition.
