I really enjoyed this first book in this series. I haven't kept reading the series, mostly due to life but Gareth is able to bring characters to life in a way that most authors cannot. I still preferred his first series but very fun read.

Full review and links to social will be posted as soon as possible.

I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Epic Fantasy at is finest! This is the first in a series and I will be excited to see it!

The world building is exceptional - but some may find that it is a bit slow in the beginning because of this. However, this makes all the difference in the book!! The story is immersive, the characters are well developed. Over all this is a great read.

Awarded an ARC from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The epic battles!! The Sword Defiant is far from perfect, but the battles are fantastic. Well placed and has a great sense of where you are when the battles are happening. Plot isn't the best, but there some interesting characters and really cool battle scenes. Not as epic as some but worth diving into for some fun reading.

Gareth Hanrahan’s The Sword Defiant is a strong opening book in a new series. Great world-building and characters, and an intriguing mystery — I enjoyed this novel.

The novel hits the ground running, which I very much appreciated — in recent years, I’ve been rather disinclined to start new (epic) fantasy series, because of my waning patience for hundreds of pages of world-building. It was therefore interesting that Hanrahan, who is widely praised for his world-building, has done such a good job of just dropping readers into the world, and then building our impression of the world and its various factions as the novel progressed.

I very much enjoyed the premise: the Big Bad has already been vanquished, and the vanquishers have grown older, dispersed, and mostly moved on from their brutal campaign against the dark lord. Aelfric, however, is struggling a bit in this new reality — he’s never fully moved on from the fight, and has spent the years continuing to clear out the beasts and monsters that continue to live in Necrad’s caverns and sewers. He’s also now the wielder of Lord Bone’s sword, which keeps up a running, critical commentary for a lot of the novel. After a surprising, troubling discovery at Bone’s tomb, events for Aelfric — and, unbeknownst to him for much of the novel, his family — start to get out of control. The various alliances that created a modicum of peace after Bone’s defeat start to fray, and a new, dark force rises in the wilds, threatening everything.

Despite finding a lot that I liked in The Sword Defiant, there were also moments when I thought the novel was being drawn out a little bit. Your mileage may vary, here, if you are a devoted fan of the genre — for me, though, I wish there had been a bit more focus on the plot, and fewer pauses. When the plot is advanced, I found myself easily swept up in the narrative; so it was frustrating when the momentum dipped. Nevertheless, Hanrahan’s prose and characters pulled me through, and I finished the novel still wanting to read the sequel (The Sword Unbound, which is out next week).

Despite this niggle, The Sword Defiant is a strong start to a new fantasy series, and I think a lot of fantasy fans will find plenty to enjoy here. I hope to get to book two very soon, and I’ll post that review as soon as I can

The Sword Defiant is a thrilling read and a grand first entry to Gareth Hanrahan's new fantasy series. With wonderful world-building and charismatic characters, this book is one you'll want to check out if you're looking for a new fantasy to read.

This is my second book I've read by this author, and he keeps getting better. If you want good world building, characters that grow and remain relatable, this is a book to check out.

What an awesome ride! This book felt like a DnD campaign come to life. I love the way the characters history is revealed throughout the story. This group has been through hell, and seeing them reunite was a joy. Can't wait for the next book in the series!

Thank you so much for the ARC of this book. I had a great time reading it and am excited to read the next one when it comes out. I love a story that happens after the teenagers save the world. This takes place 20+ years after the big bad was defeated by the 9 heroes and now we have another threat and they must basically get back together and save the world again. These are some of my favorite types of stories and I would really recommend checking this one out.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was such a good read I loved it and was completely hooked from the first page. Definitely recommend

This book gripped me from the beginning. I love a good post-hero’s-journey story & this one did not disappoint.

The book is told from two perspectives: Aelfric’s, and his estranged younger sister who lives an ordinary life.

In my experience it’s rare that a post-hero’s-journey story shows the point of view of those the hero left behind & how it affected them. That closing the gap those years left isn’t easy, and some things can’t go back to the way they were.

I really enjoyed the myriad of characters and how complex and fleshed out they all are. How certain characters changed drastically from when Aelfric knew them back in his glory days, or from before then. This book really showed that even heroes can become true villains, when hurt in the ‘right’ way.

I’m really looking forward to the sequel.

20 years ago, 9 warriors defeated Dark Lord Bone and took his city and his sword Spellbreaker. The council entrusted Spellbreaker to Sir Aelfric “Alf”. And for the last 20 years, Alf has been the caretaker of this sentient, bloodthirsty sword that truly has a mind of its own. The banter that played out between Alf and Spellbreaker was very entertaining. The Sword was truly another character in the story.

One type of story that I have been really liking lately is when our main cast of characters are older. I like getting their backstories and I find that I get very invested in them. I also really appreciate when they decide to make some decisions that they shouldn’t, and they discuss why they shouldn’t and acknowledge the possible outcomes. I just like the fact that they are not so naive all the time. There is nothing wrong with younger characters, I am just finding that I really appreciate the older ones. This could have a lot to do with the fact that I’m not so young anymore, but who knows.

I enjoyed watching Alf try to convince his old band to come back together to fight again. The fact that 20 years have passed and a good number of them were like been there done that, I’m good made it all the more enjoyable. These characters were not in this for glory they wanted nothing to do with it again. Honestly, can you blame them? I can definitely say that after 20 years I wouldn’t want anything to do with going to war again if I was them. Waging war at 20 is very different than doing it at 40.

I know that this is going to sound very strange but the way the story is laid out was like a comforting read. It gave the feel of classic fantasy but not the same old story. This story really does stand on its own.

I just don't think I jive with this author. This is the second series I've tried by Hanrahan and I have DNF'd both. Definitely a "its not you it's me" kind of situation.

I initially chose to read this book because of some combination of striking cover, intriguing blurb, and the allure of reading about a sentient sword. I hadn't realized I'd already read something by Gareth Hanrahan, that being "The Gutter Prayer". Having absolutely loved that book with its well written characters and imaginative creature designs, I found this book just so much more bland in comparison.

The characters didn't really resonate with me at all, as I found most of them to be standard fantasy fare. The main character, Aelfric, receives the vast majority of the focus obviously, but I still just couldn't connect with him.

Overall, the book was a pretty enjoyable, but forgettable fantasy experience. While I won't be continuing with the series, comparing it to his The Black Iron Legacy series has rekindled my desire to finish that trilogy!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was given the eARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

DNF at 37%. The writing was extremely slow and I didn't enjoy the storyline.

I'd like to thank the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this book!

I was really excited to read it. I like stories about reluctant heroes, or heroes who are past their prime. They did what they did and now deal with the consequences. I made it 25% through the book and realized, well, did I miss something?

The main character has an enchanted sword that can talk, that the tale takes 20 years after he vanquished (or one of the members of his party) a foe, and he is now dealing with the life post fame. Yet... I felt like I missed out on a story, or that the author didn't really give me much time or character development to connect with the characters in the now. Everything felt too glossy and too under-explained that gave little to no character development for me.

So if I cannot connect with a character or a situation that I am told about (but given no flashbacks of) how in the world can I follow this?

While I am 1 starring the book here, out of respect for the author I am refusing to rate it on goodreads.

Alright, it has a talking sword. Which, is exactly what I want in my fantasy. Talking inanimate objects that have a vendetta. It's a DEMON sword. Its the most powerful magical artifact this world has to offer, and it SPEAKS.

Ok, glad we got that out of the way.

I enjoyed this. I liked the layers they put on by the main, big, epic battle that happened was a while back, and the folks that were part of that party have all gone thier separate ways and have left what is probably not the most ideal person for whatever job is left in charge. It was kind of like having a group of friends back in the day, and sure you talk to them occasionally, but you just found out there was a bunch of shit that happened afterwards that you didn't know about, so now you're here for the tea, and to try and clean up whatever mess they left, because somehow its all of your responsability.

I liked the variety of races that this book had (gimme a quick to anger dwarf any day). And I appreciated that Alf kinda had Geralt sense to him. Where he was the guy you sent in when shit got sticky and blood followed behind him, but at the same time, he feels old, so he grunts a lot. I liked that his sister was a main character, because I know my mom 100% would be chasing after me in the woods if I got some weird noble idea that I was going to help some unknown uncle.

I will say, I wish the sword had been funnier. I know, its a serious high fantasy, the Lord of Bones sounds like a motherfucker. But since this series does fall into a similar vain to the Withcer, I do wish it had a few more humorous bits in it, or if it would have taken things futher with the sword (I realize that this is a me thing, because I adore talking weapons). I will be continuing on, because I will need more of this evil sword nonsense.

This book i enjoyed I think that it was done well, but I don’t think that it was wanted when I pick this arc. But that does not mean that I did not find it enjoyable or others might find it fun. So yes this book I will give a 3 stars to this, and I think that this book had great world building. And that this book also had great characters, and great dialogue.

If you are looking for a book that has a lord of the rings vibe to it, is super classic old school fantasy then I think I can recommend this because it really felt that way. It’s one of those stories that takes place after the main villain has been defeated and what happens after. It very much took a video game approach too. There's your typical DnD fantasy races like dwarves, ogres changelings, elves but I personally find this stuff comforting, I love reading books like this from time to time. Very traditional, it’s very much the opposite of this authors previous series which I found to be leaps and bounds more unique, sure this one felt safer but I didn’t mind that and you can argue it’s packed full of detail when it comes to all the history this world has. I think it’s fun, I got completely immersed in it. Full review on YouTube