Son of the Black Sword
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Average rating3.9
#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, the 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. About Son of the Black Sword: "This book has everything I like in fantasy: intense action scenes, evil in horrifying array, good struggling against the darkness, and most of all people—gorgeously flawed human beings faced with horrible moral choices that force them to question and change and grow."—Jim Butcher, creator of the New York Times best-selling Dresden Files “I loved the book, it was great, fast paced, with wonderful characters, and also a lot of wonderful scenes that screamed to be painted.”—Larry Elmore, legendary, award-winning artist, and cover artist for Son of the Black Sword. About the Urban Fantasy of Larry Correia: “[A] no-holds-barred all-out page turner that is part science fiction, part horror, and an absolute blast to read.”—Bookreporter.com “If you love monsters and action, you’ll love this book. If you love guns, you’ll love this book. If you love fantasy, and especially horror fantasy, you’ll love this book.”—Knotclan.com “A gun person who likes science fiction—or, heck, anyone who likes science fiction—will enjoy [these books]. . . The plotting is excellent, and Correia makes you care about the characters…I read both books without putting them down except for work . . . so whaddaya waitin’ for? Go and buy some . . . for yourself and for stocking stuffers.”—Massad Ayoob “This lighthearted, testosterone-soaked sequel to 2009's Monster Hunter International will delight fans of action horror with elaborate weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, disgusting monsters, and an endless stream of blood and body parts.”—Publishers Weekly on Monster Hunter Vendetta
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3 primary books4 released booksSaga of the Forgotten Warrior
Saga of the Forgotten Warrior is a 4-book series with 5 primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by Larry Correia.
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I don't read a lot of fantasy, leaning more towards SF and crime fiction. However, I had been eyeing [b:Son of the Black Sword 25110977 Son of the Black Sword (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, #1) Larry Correia https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427260371s/25110977.jpg 44804710] as I had heard some good things about it. So, when my book club picked it as a monthly read, I decided to give it a go. I am glad I did; Larry Correia has written one kick-ass book. I quite enjoyed it.This is epic fantasy, but not the Euro-centric epic fantasy that is the norm. It has more Indian and African influence with perhaps a taste of Japanese culture thrown in. It is dark, and it is very violent. The level of violence reminded me of Joe Abercrombie's [b:The Blade Itself 944073 The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) Joe Abercrombie https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1284167912s/944073.jpg 929009].The main protagonist Ashok, a Protector, is a magically enhanced fighting machine. Using his ancestral black sword, Angruvada, he defeats demons and takes on entire armies of ordinary men. His implacable devotion to and merciless application of The Law has earned him the name Black Heart.Ashok's world is turned upside down when he learns a terrible truth. The perfect “Protector” that carries out orders without question has his life set on a different course.I won't get into details as that would involve spoilers. But, I'll just say that Larry Correia has created a world full of wonders. Demons, warriors, magic, shape-shifters, assassins, prophets, inquisitors, and ordinary people high and low all make their appearance. Action abounds and the plot twists under Correia's skillful writing. What's not to like?
In this we have an order of people who enforce the Law. Yes, with capital L. They are super trained people who go around keeping the population in line and also killing demons coming from the oceans. Among them the most hardcore one is Ashok, whose whole life is about his work, while he has no other hobbies, interests or connections.
But even when he thinks he knows everything.... can he really? The slaves are rebelling, the important people are scheming and things aren't as easy as he thought.
This book is something else. So many fantasy stories are relatively simple by structure without any that big surprises and twists. I'm not saying those are necessarily bad, I do love some of them a lot, but here the world building, the concepts and the rules are just different enough to make it unpredictable. I had no idea where the things were leading. Honestly, still no idea what is going to happen later on and I'm sure as hell going to read the sequel. (At this point in time only this and the second part of the series is released, which is something to note for many people who only read finished series. Larry Correia is pretty damn trustworthy among authors so I have no doubt about him going on and finishing it, just saying.)
First of all, the story is set in a huge kingdom (not that original) that is mostly similar to India (that kind of is). There are references to elephant-headed gods of a long forgotten culture, the society is built on castes and even the different landscapes are sounding similar to what you find in India in surrounding places. While the big themes of heroics and rebellions and such are pretty universal across cultures this story has some sort of a special flair that I actually really enjoyed. It also doesn't do the annoying thing that happen in many fantasy novels outside the European historic and cultural foundation; it doesn't make it so every other culture is magical and mystical and perfect. So many still can't get over the fact that every continent, culture and group is equally likely to have flaws.
Then we have the characters. Ashok is as black and white as you can get. Wait a minute, what? I don't like that! I don't like those kinds of people. But hey, the whole story is about him having to face that his beliefs and things he thought he knew were far more complicated than he assumed. He is not a nice person, not at all a fluffy kind of guy. Honestly, he is mostly just scary and unfeeling (for a reason, though), but then you see some things coming to the surface and him having to get used to... caring, I suppose. At one point he tries to smile, which horrifies the people with him. That was hilarious.
Lastly, the powers that are at work pull people in so many different directions and they all have their fully realised plans and goals. I sincerely believe things will turn out fine, though not necessarily without tragedies and losses, but at the same time the equations are complicated here. The culture and social structures are well-realised, which is an absolute must in a story that's about things being way too rigid and change coming. Which is appreciated.
It's still so badass. Must be hard to balance badassery and structure like this and I still appreciate when we get some action scenes of Ashok going all sorts of apeshit with his magical sword and superior military training against crazy odds. So there is that as well, gore is not over the top, but there is some nasty things. Closer to the end there is one specific scene where he has a crazy fight against someone monstrous. It made me go “oooooh, shit” audibly. Otherwise it's a fairly okay fantasy book, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Among standard fare fantasy this isn't even extremely long, which is a nice change of pace with all the doorstoppers around.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy. It's fun, action-packed, interesting and just generally a good read.
Have a nice day and don't take a gun to this knife fight! It's not going to be enough.
I'm so happy I read this despite the absolute horrendous cover. This may end up one of my favorite series of all time if the next books continue to get better. The world building and the lore is spectacular and I really enjoyed the action scenes. I have absolutely no negative comments on this book. It's just perfect.
Ashock is a Protector meaning he's basically a badass Cop. He makes sure that the law is followed and he is incredibly brain washed to the point that he thinks that the lower class aren't even people because the law says so. You can kill the Classless for any reason because it is legal. He also will kill Demons that have come to the land because the law states that Demons are for the water and humans for the land. He carries a magical sword that chose him and holds the instincts of the wielders before him.
He lives in an Oligarchy government of sorts. Ashock later realizes that the ruling class adjusts the laws and religion to fit their needs. There is a growing upheaval from the classless and Ashock must choose a side and faces death regardless.
