The Fell Sword is the second book in The Traitor Son Cycle, coming after the rip-roaring and dragon-slaying beginning in The Red Knight. We head back to the Red Knight and his company and are quickly ensued in an exciting, political and high-medieval tale.
“The Red Knight sighed. ‘Sometimes I think you all take me for granted,’ he said and went off to wash the blood off his hands.”
We follow familiar faces in the Red Knight’s company as they descend from Alba to lands faraway, paid to put down a local rebellion – in true Miles Cameron style it is not that simple! The Red Knight was the perfect beginning of this intriguing fantastical world with knights and irks aplenty. The Fell Sword is a different beast, veering (slightly) away from the bloody and blood-pumpingly epic battles in favour of a deeply political tale, that still contains an almighty battle.
There is a distinct change of pace from the unstoppable The Red Knight which is welcome as it is written masterfully. The Red Knight’s company takes a slight back-pedal as we are introduced to much more than just a company being paid to protect others. We meet new POVs and return to old ones. The Queen of Alba is facing political unrest, The Wilde are once-again plotting, and other minor-plots interweave this story.
“Sauce grinned. ‘Anytime, baby,’ she said.
‘We could make that our motto,’ allowed the Captain.”
As I am a massive fan of Cameron’s historical medieval series, I loved the setting of The Fell Sword and all of its bright, shiny, polished medieval-doings. The jousts, the ‘white-armour’, the ghiavarina – I have one of those, (a beautiful type of Italian spear). I really enjoyed reading about the clothing and the little details. The Fell Sword is dedicated by Miles Cameron ‘to the re-enactors’ and I can say for certain re-enactors will love to read of this world in its fantasy setting.
Although the battles were few, they were glorious and as always wonderfully written. Cameron has a way of writing battles that makes them feel so authentic, details really helping you as the reader to feel as if you are there in the midst of it all, listening to the blood-curdling screams and the clamour of weapons.
“It should come as no surprise that they are threatened by those who make war a profession. We don’t need to be manly or brave. All we have to do is win. There is no second place, and we get paid just as well whether we lose half our men or lose no men.”
The middle of the book contained a lot more politics than I predicted but I enjoyed discovering more about the world of Alba, Morea and Thrake. The characters were fleshed out and each story-arc was interesting. There was a feeling of preparing the reader for the next book, which hinted to me at an even bigger and more intense plot coming and I’m sure it will be completely worth the slower pace in this one.
“Dariusz felt something like admiration for the Red Knight. They clearly read the same books.”
5/5 – Another romping success in the world of the Traitor Son Cycle. The Fell Sword had intense battles and a good dose of world-building and political intrigue, setting up the next book nicely. Stay tuned!
Buy The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron
