I love this series for two reasons: first, Ryan tells a complete story in each volume while still leaving enough questions to make you want to read the next book; and second, it proves that excellent epic fantasy doesn't need to be 1,000+ pages per volume.

Received via NetGalley.

The books in this series are pretty short and easily completed in a short time frame which is a huge plus for an avid reader. There is a good mix of mystery and combat. The characters are compelling as well, including the demon haunted swords. Looking forward to whatever Ryan writes honestly!
Full review on YouTube

This wasn't the first book in the series and I had not read the first two books. I didn't really have a problem understanding the actual story, but I really didn't have any background to understand the full scope of how everything fit together.

Stars: 4 out of 5

This book is the best in the series so far. I think it's because we got the exposition and character background out of the way in the first two books, so the author is free to just tell his story. And it is a compelling story, no doubt about that.

I think what I like the most about this series the fascinating and complex world our characters inhabit. It feels complex and interesting. There are hints at deeper events and history there that the reader has yet to discover. It feels real. It feels like something I wouldn't mind exploring further. I think this is the reason I keep coming back to these books. The characters are okay, but I don't feel a deep connection to them. But they places they travel to are unique and worth exploring.

On a different note, this is the third city our characters destroyed so far... that's an alarming trend, I would say. Yes, this time they weren't directly responsible for the mass murder and mayhem, but they were still there and maybe served as a catalyst for the events. I'm a little afraid that by the time they finally collect all seven swords, there will be nothing left of the world to save.

I admit that I like the companions Pilgrim is assembling around himself, though I would still love Seeker to have a more layered role than the hunter with arrows that kills bad things. Heck, even the new member to join the team at the end of this book is more complex than her. I think that does a disservice to the story, because we are supposed to care about her search for her daughter, but we simply... don't. I just hope that the author will give her a chance to shine in the next book.

PS: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm loving this series. Each of these short novels is tightly plotted, exciting, and also advances the overall story arc. In this one Guyime and Seeker travel to Atheria in their quest to find the seven swords as well as Seeker's daughter. They are drawn into a murder investigation, where of course, everything is not as it seems.

The original characters are great, and the new ones add interesting aspects to the group. I highly recommend this to fantasy lovers. And I commend the author for telling such compelling stories in such a short number of pages - that is unusual in fantasy!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this. I can't wait for the next one.

City of Songs
by Anthony Ryan
a beautiful story of rpg fame, The characters crossing impossible oceans, and fighting many amazing challenges. I found it a great compliment to the audio books I have read by this author. The story shows the development of the characters as they face the political and cultural differences that challenge them.

4.5 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/09/28/city-of-songs-by-anthony-ryan-review/

The third entry in the Seven Swords begins much as the one before it did. Fresh off the decimation of Carthula, Pilgrim (Guyime) and Seeker are fleeing the destruction of their wake while also traveling toward their hearts’ truest desire. In his case another of the seven demon blades, while in hers a daughter long lost. In this they have been joined by another pair: former slave Lexius, now wielder of another of the Seven Swords, inhabited by his wife—he seeks her freedom; and Mareth druid sellsword Lorweth, whose motives and secrets are entirely his own.

They travel to Atheria, the fabled City of Songs. The Shining Jewel of the Third Sea. Governed by a Council, the city is truly ruled by the Exultia Caste—the obscenely wealthy who wear masks to convey their godly status to the rest of the unwashed of the city. Here, Guyime hopes to find another of the demon blades, while Seeker hopes to find her daughter. Instead, they will find nothing but plots, lies, blood and chaos. For Ultrius Domiano—the very man the need to see—lies freshly slain, and it’s up to the Wanderers to find his killer.

Only then will they find the answers they seek.

The Seven Swords have been consistently entertaining, despite their short format. Three outstanding novellas, each telling a complete story while deferring to the next in the sequence to continue the overarching tale. As much as I’d like a full-length Seven Swords story, I honestly think it works perfectly in novella format. The obvious comparison is Murderbot; something great in short form that may or may not work as well in a longer one (Network Effect was good, but I’d say not nearly as good as any of the novellas).

As for the story of City of Songs—it’s a good one. Who doesn’t love a murder mystery? Especially one where the stakes are high. To get the answers they seek, Guyime and Seeker must solve the mystery, which is properly mysterious and immersive. After I finally figured out what was going on, one main mystery still remained. Well, two, I suppose. The why of it was an interesting point, but the main mystery was more than enough motivation to keep reading. A mystery that persisted up until the very end.

Very good tale. And it continues the overarching plot very nicely. I don’t really have any notes or criticisms. Just that while this is a contained adventure, knowledge of the first two books is really helpful to reading it. Luckily Subterranean Press has two hardbacks with your name on them (or ebooks, if you’d prefer). I’d definitely recommend this series, and hope it continues to deliver!

Another year, another slamming sword and sorcery novella from Anthony Ryan. Welcome back to the newest installment of “novellas that are killing it that you have never heard of,” starring City of Songs. This is the third installment of The Seven Swords, a novella series published by the independent company Subterranean Press who are famous for their highly sought after and expensive illustrated editions of famous genre books. SP was kind enough to send me a digital ARC of this story so that I could tell you to go buy it; because just like its predecessors, it is a banger.

Each of these novellas exists as a vignette where our eclectic adventuring party arrives at a new magical city/location and must hunt down a legendary sword that is causing terror. The party is led by our rascally protagonist Pilgrim, a powerful warrior with a lot of baggage, including an enchanted sword. Our romp location this time is a city of unparalleled wealth, aristocracy, and art. Upon arriving to search for the next sword, our group finds themselves pulled into a murder mystery with many twists and turns. Can the party figure out whodunit and make off with the next sword in the set?

City of Songs has been my favorite in this series so far. It feels very distinctly different from the previous two installments, while also keeping extremely on theme. All of these stories have been very dark, surrounded by madness and horror. What I loved about City of Songs is that it starts somewhat lighthearted and quickly starts to descend into a pit of madness. This series is starting to remind me of the famous Hyperion by Dan Simmons - a series of somewhat disconnected stories that begin to form a web linking disparate threads together over time. 

What was particularly cool about City of Songs is I got to see Ryan flex a number of lesser-used muscles when it came to his writing topics and focus. Ryan is a proven versatile writer, but previously I would have said that his greatest strength was always his action. But, in City of Sings his prose and mystery skills steal the show. The artistic pieces on display in the city defy imagination and leap off the page into the mind. His use of limited information and clever foreshadowing result in a very satisfying mystery that sticks around the perfect amount of time. Finally, there is some fantastic character growth which is not an easy task when writing a novella series.

Although I have nothing but praise for the content of City of Songs, I do want to observe that it feels slightly strange that these stories are novellas. This is the second serial novella series I have gotten extremely invested in (with the first being Murderbot), and there comes a point where the price point starts to hurt and I wish the stories were collected into a novel. I certainly don’t think any of these authors are trying to nickel and dime the reader, and there are definite advantages to splitting up the story into pieces (especially Seven Swords, the novellas have rich art depicting pivotal scenes). I just wish the series was slightly more accessible so that it could get into the hands of more readers because this series deserves to be read.

Rating: City of Songs - 10/10
-Andrew

Thank you Netgalley and Subterranean Press for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

City of Songs is book three in the Seven Swords series and with each installment I keep getting more and more interested in the direction that it is going in. This story is full of so many fantastical elements, and I mean that in regards to the whole series. Talking swords, druids, krakens, and now this installment brought even more fantastical elements into play.

City of Songs picks up right after the last book and its all action in the beginning. A boat ride gone awry and everyone trying to survive. It took me a few minutes to understand what was going on but once I did, I was hooked, the action immediately sucks you in and keeps a hold of you. After that the story goes right into the next adventure of gathering the next sword, and it doesn't slow down. This is actually my favorite aspect of this series, with it being short there is no time to over glamorize the world so the story has to continue at a relatively quick pace, but Ryan still manages to give you just enough that you can envision what each location is like. He found that sweet spot that allows you to feel like your getting a full story without all the length but also not feel like your being cheated by the short length.

Ryan does not skip out on bringing the fantasy into this series and I absolutely love it. This installment has a mystery murder that Guyime is contracted to solve so he can acquire the whereabouts of another sword. This allows us to get more of Lakorath involved because he takes part in "helping" solve the mystery because he has an insight that the others don't have. Of course this doesn't stop him from trying to convince Guyime to kill everyone as they go along. The murder mystery revolves around a few very rich people in this city and the way Ryan wrote their complete disconnect to the real world was so believable. These people are so ridiculously rich that they don't understand the world outside of their own bubble and quite literally keep themselves apart from it all, it was fascinating honestly. Each one was portrayed differently from the next so they each stood out apart from one another.

Now just because this is a murder mystery that doesn't mean the beginning is the only bit of action you get, there are 3 heavy actions scenes in this story and each one was engaging and exciting, and were written into the story right when they were needed, they each last long enough to get you hyped up and keep you entertained.

We also got more backstory on Guyime which is great, each book we get a little more but this one really dove in and gave us quite a lot and the way it was presented was quite unique, and it so far as lived up to the vague mentions of bloody and wild. Also the revelations at the end have me very excited for the next installment because it leads me to believe we are about to really learn about Guyime's past.

The part that threw me though off was in regards to the title City of Songs, I was expecting a city that was heavily influenced by music and thus the theme of the story resonating that idea but instead it focused on an artist who did painting and sculpting, and while Ryan did explain why the city was referred to as the City of Songs, it wasn't enough to make me fully connect the title with what was going on in the story. I'm not hating on what we got because what we got was very interesting, I mean magic paintings, statues coming to life, murder and so much more. I was even blown away by the truth that was revealed at the end, it was way out of what I was thinking it was going to be. It was all so exciting and loved it, I was just expecting music to be the focus..

Lakorath the talking sword, who is my favorite character, is getting more and more moments of talking and his personality is hilarious. I just love watching him annoy Guyime because he won't answer questions that he knows the answer to because he wants Guyime to figure it out. But I also loved getting the chance to see him throw in his opinion or his intelligence when it was needed. I also loved that Ryan managed to connect a character from the first book back to this installment.

Seeker does fall to wayside in this story but Ryan still managed to make her connect to the overall story and made sure to continue connecting her daughter to the overall story as well and I am very interested in where that portion of the story will go.

Guyime's little group is slowly growing and I'm interested to see how Ryan is going to pull this off, if in each book he is going to gain another companion. His group is already at 4 (maybe 5 if you count Lorweth I'm not really sure if he is a permanent part of the party or not) I'm concerned with how Ryan will pull off a large cast if it keeps growing because these are shorter stories, and sometimes that can be difficult. So I'm both equally looking forward to potentiality getting more party members but also not wanting more because I worry about execution.

City of Songs is another fast paced and lively addition to the Seven Swords series with so much fantasy throw into it, but not enough to make you hate it. Ryan's imagination is pretty solid and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one.

Anthony Ryan provides a short story that is both intriguing but also leaves enough to want you to read the next story. I enjoyed the story I like the fantasy themes and I love Ryan's writing.

City of Songs by Anthony Ryan(The Seven Swords #3)- Third short novel in this series finds our group of seekers traveling to a city with a elite ruling class lording over a down-trodden land of peasants, crooks and thieves. It's turned into a mystery when a wealthy noble dies under, well, mysterious circumstances and they must solve this mystery before they can proceed further. There is subterfuge and magic afoot. This one has some good moments but is rather tedious in the setup to the really good action and danger ahead. Looking forward to number four out next year or sooner, I hope.

Seeing how this is book three in what appears to be a series in progress, I had to go out and read the first two books prior to picking this one up. Definitely worth it! "City of Songs" continues the story of traveling Guyime, who is on his own personal mission to collect the "mythical" seven demon-cursed blades. As legend has it, combining all seven swords will cause the destruction of them, thus releasing Guyime, who is in possession of one of these blades. In each book, another blade is found, and a companion seems to join our main character on his quest. Lead by a 'magical' map created especially for his quest, it leads them in search of the swords.

I found each of these books to be fairly quick reads. There isn't much of world-building, but we discover more of the land as the group travels. Character background is added throughout the storyline, just enough detail to quench either the reader's desire for more personal info, or more for a facet of the story about to take place. The pace is smooth, and moves along fairly rapidly. Large amounts of traveling distances are shortened by lack of content occurring, which is nice. I look forward to reading the additional books in the series if they get written (possibly 4 more) and would definitely recommend for readers YA and up.

Thanks to NetGalley.com and the publisher for the ARC to read! #NetGalley #CityofSongs

This third installment of Anthony Ryan's The Seven Swords novella series continues on from where the second one left off - our protagonist is following the map obtained from the Cartographer to find the Seeker daughter, Ekiri - and of course the next Sword. Our group has grown by one with the addition of Lexius, the former slave with perfect memory, who also carries his own demon sword housing the soul of his wife, the sorceress Calandra.

As with previous entries in this series, what follows is a combination of exploration and discovery though disguised as a whodunnit. As they reach the wondrous city of Atheria, where Ekiri is known to have been bought as a slave, our group is entangled into a murder mystery with the Exultia, the ruling caste of the city. Through the following investigation we learn of the city, the Exultia themselves and more of the world itself and the history of our characters.

I really love this series and this book in particular. It feels like reading a fantasy novel of old (sans the misogyny and -isms). The story is simple and well told - just following a single man on his quest. When we arrive at new places we get world building but only to the extent required for the story. To me, this keeps up the wonder of discovery where every new location can be unique and new without really spending time thinking of whether this type of world could function. We are given enough information to make it feel real, but not enough to start poking holes in it. While I do enjoy the epic fantasy novels with huge political and military setups thought out, it is refreshing to leave all that aside and just read a story happening in fantastic locations.

I'm a big fan of Anthony Ryan's writing. He's one of the few writers where I find myself not skimming at all as he does not waste words. There's a certain gravitas in the way he writes that makes me take the book slower than most of what I read - even when action is high.

Our main character, Guyime, gets a bit more background and I like that the other characters are still very much unknown.

Highly recommended for all fantasy readers. For Anthony Ryan fans; his books are best in the beginning, up until we get to the inevitable point where massive armies start clashing against together. This series is all about that first awesome part, and here's hoping that we never get to the end part. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.