ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher Orbit in exchange for my honest review.

As with the first novel of the series, this was an entertaining read. It was a pleasure to re-enter this dark fantasy world again.
The author is applauded for building on the first book by developing some of the characters that did not have the chance to truly shine in the first novel. While this book became as enjoyable as the first novel of the series and has me looking forward to the next novel in the series, there was disappointment with the first part of the novel. The main characters of the first novel are absent for the first twenty percent of the novel, Alf and Spellbreaker, a sentient black sword that was one of my favorite fantasy characters I discovered last year. My main reason for reading this second book is that I was eager to continue the tale of the reluctant hero, Alf and his bloodthirsty companion, Spellbreaker. While I feel a responsibility to complete every ARC I receive, it was difficult to keep reading this novel early as I was getting continually frustrated with the delay of Alf's and Spellbreaker's entrance.

After completing the novel, it would have been a different novel if it was just the continuing adventures of Alf and Spellbreaker, but to hold back the main characters for a fifth of the novel can frustrate your reader. It is admirable when authors experiment with different story structures, but sometimes it can be an annoyance when you are expecting one thing and you get something else to begin a novel.

The author, unlike many several second novels of series, is credited with not finishing the novel on a cliffhanger. While I like a good cliffhanger ending, it can be frustrating when we must wait a year or more for the next book in series to find out what happened to characters that we had become invested in.

Still, with these criticisms, I recommend this novel for those that like traditional fantasy mixed with the macabre and some dark humor from a talking sword I cannot seem to get enough of.

This book was better than the first book In this series. I don’t remember a lot from the first book but i loved the first book and I rated it 4 starts I think which is good and I rate this one 4.5 stars it’s a great book. I would say that this book is fast paced. As much as the fantasy books go. I would say if you want to read a great book this it is!!!

So glad I was finally able to read this!
When I started reading this, I didn't think I would like it as much as the first one because it wasn't following any of the main characters. I was so invested in the Nine, and I just wanted more of them.
After continuing on, I get why it started that way and it's brilliant! Now I'm just sad that I have to wait for the next one.

I enjoyed this sequel to The Sword Defiant. I felt like the first half of the book was a little slow for me. I struggled through it and then about halfway in, I was able to immerse myself in the story. I do like that I got to know Alf’s personality a little more in this book. It was enjoyable and I will definitely continue the series. It is a 3.5/5 for me but I would rather round up to 4 than lowering my rating to a 3.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I can't believe I read this book so quick. I picked up the first one some time ago and read it shortly before this. All I can say is wow....I didn't think I'd finish this book so quick. Picks right where left off with great character, plot, and world building. Highly recommend.

9.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2024/05/04/the-sword-unbound-by-gareth-hanrahan-review/

I was slightly conflicted on the Sword Defiant, there was none of that here as the Sword came Unbound. The world-building and setting were excellent; the Lands of the Firstborn beautiful in their imperfection. Carved out of a wilderness that would see them dead, overrun with monsters that would eat them, the mortals of the lands across the sea still have more than enough time to quibble amongst themselves, spilling blood and picking fights. While there is arguable evil in the lands, they would sooner war with one another than face the rising threat. Between the unraveling lore and events of the story, I was well immersed such that I had no trouble passing hours without noticing. And here, a week or two removed from the tale, I still have no problem diving back into it in my dreams.

I found the characters of Sword Defiant a mixed bag; in Sword Unbound they are much better. Same characters, but deeper and better built. Bor’s story constantly evolves from renegade to anti-hero to a possible redemption arc. Olva would see her son safe, or perhaps lose him to shadow. Alf just wants to hit things, but is forced to think them through; he may even be forced to resolve the fate of the land himself. The supporting and side characters were equally strong, unique, and just as entertaining. The story was immersive, as I’ve said, and there were no real drawbacks that I would dwell on.

TL;DR

All in all, I don’t have too much to say about the Sword Unbound. While I was torn on the concept at first, by the end of Book #2, I am in love with it. A great read, and an intricate and thoroughly enjoyable series. I can’t wait to see where it goes next!

This is the sequel to The Sword Defiant which is a book that I loved last year. I almost consider this series to be a Lord of the rings retelling in a way. It’s set in a world of the very classic trope good vs. evil but written in a unique in my opinion, we get to see the aftermath of the world that was destroyed basically and this is the continuation to that. The cleanup, the trials, this is dark fantasy at it’s finest and this sequel expands on everything that I loved in it’s predecessor.

I can't help but feel like most of the events of this book wouldn't have happened if people would get over things. Like Alf constantly comparing things to being in the Nine or wishing things were as they used to be. Or Bor wallowing in self-pity constantly. Those things got on my nerves so bad that it made me take a lot longer to get through this book because I would just get so angry at the characters. I found myself losing interest around 60% because it seemed like that's all there was. Alf living in the past, Bor living in self pity. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I was happy to see Bor die. I'm glad he got the heroic ending he hoped for, but I was just so tired of his self-pity. I liked the changes we saw in Olva. Gaining earth power and finally being able to rescue Derwyn from Necrad. I love Spellbreaker and seeing the actual growth of this sword compared to the others. I honestly found myself thinking several times that I wish Alf would shut up and listen to the sword, and things would work out better. I'm excited for book three and seeing Alf FINALLY moving on with his life as well as seeing what happens with the rest of the world now. I'm left slightly confused with where things stand with Derwyn/ Pierre/ Lord Bone, and I hope it's quickly explained in the next installment. Overall, this was a solid read, and I enjoyed it for the most part. It definitely helps that the pacing of this one was far better than the first, and I really enjoyed the POVs from all the main characters.

This is a solid sequel in this epic fantasy series. I enjoyed the first book, but I will acknowledge that it was very traditional. As someone who prefers more unique or innovative stories, this one just felt safe and perhaps a bit predictable. The second book is quite similar.

That being said, I think this author has good prose with solid character and worldbuilding. I just wish this series had the uniqueness that made me fall in love with the Gutter Prayer. This series is good but I still prefer the author's first series.

If you are interested in this epic fantasy series, I strongly recommend going back to the beginning with The Sword Defiant.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

The first book was a top book of mine from last year, and this one is the top I've read this year. Gareth Hanrahan took everything good in free first book and expanded it is this volume. This is a fun read, while being a complete high fantasy story, and this series is approachable for beginner fantasy readers as well. Amazing story and just a good time in the pages.

How to start? For one thing I enjoyed the first book in the series and wanted to continue reading this series. I wasn't disappointed but was it as the first book. I think in some ways it was and some not so much. This perspective may be different for those who read it though. Alf is still an enjoyable character to read about as his sister Olva. Thought there would be more from others in the Nine as well but not in the way story continued in this one. Bor is not the most interesting to me but had his role to play it seems. The story and writing were pretty well done I thought and found myself turning the pages eagerly and when I stopped, I found it was easy to continue from where I left off. The action and intrigue are there but it seemed more intrigue and thought this book. With the ending I will avoid talking about in specifics as I don't want to be a spoiler, but this didn't end in the way I expected for sure. There will be a conclusion and can't even to begin to see what will happen at the end of this series. Thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the chance to read another great book.

The Sword Unbound is a dark tale of the cyclic nature of good and evil. A unique take on classic fantasy trope, the book is sadly held back by uneven pacing and meandering plotlines concluding in a confusing conclusion leaving readers scratching their heads, wondering about the future of the final book in the Lands of the Firstborn series.

The Lands of the Firstborn series is a Dark Fantasy retelling of the classic Tolkenian epic fantasy tale, with a unique twist. The first book in the series, The Sword Defiant creates a fantasy world all too familiar to most of us steeped in classic epic fantasy, a tale of Good Vs. Evil. However, the Dark Lord was defeated by our gang of stereotypical, DnD-esque protagonists before the series' events. The series revolves around the aftermath of the fortress of the Dark Lord Bone, Necrad, which has now fallen into the hands of the victorious Nine who must try to pick up the pieces. 

But our protagonists are not protagonists in the classic sense. 

This is after all, dark fantasy. This is after all, grimdark. 

The Sword Unbound continues the trials of our two major POV characters, the warrior, Aelfric "Alf", renowned as the Laggermeir (Vulture), one of the fabled Nine along with his "trusty" cursed sentient blade Spellbreaker, and his sister, the widowed Olva Forester, as they continue to navigate the murky labyrinth of deceit and evil, both from forces without, and within. In an inversion of epic fantasy tropes, this book further paints the elves as further away from the luminous bastions of virtue and casts them with more sinister motives. In classic epic fantasy fashion, the hearts of men are ever-corruptible as they fight for control over the city of Necrad, the epicenter of dark magicks in the land. Add some healthy amounts of treachery, violent bloodthirsty action, under the ominous cloud of prophesy and resurrection, and you've got yourself a solid slab of Dark Fantasy novel! 

The premise of Lands of the Firstborn intrigued me enough to pick up the first book, and I enjoyed the trope subversion, even though I found the plot and setting itself to be quite middling. Unfortunately, my issues with the Defiant are only exacerbated in Unbound. The pacing and chapter structure in both books rely on a few chapters following either Alf or Olva, and then a switch to the other. The constraints of having only two main narrators hindered the more expansive and detailed storytelling that this genre begs for. 
The characterization of Alf also wears down the reader mighty quickly as he straddles the line between the gruff nobility of Aragorn and the violent and brooding hyper-competence of Logen Ninefingers (The First Law series) yet does justice to neither of the two archetypes. Mostly his character comes off as overly whiny and grinds the already shaky pacing to a halt with his incessant wool-gathering about glories and miseries past. His word SpellBreaker continues to be a plucky, sardonic sidekick and feels more like an audience-insert/fourth wall breaker in this book. In fact, Spellbreaker feels more like an "active" protagonist driving the plot forward as Alf, his wielder holds the plot back. 

In contrast, Olva had a far more interesting storyline in the first book and continued to expand as a character as she enters the violent political intrigue of The Sword Unbound as she finally enters Necrad and wrestles with her place in a supernatural battle with her son, Derwyn who is suddenly pivotal to the plot (spoilers from The Sword Defiant). It will be interesting to see where her plot finally concludes in the third novel.

There is a smattering of other characters, including other members of the Nine who survived the first book, who delve deeper into their self-serving schemes, further subverting the classic fantasy protagonist trope. The Sword Unbound introduces a slew of other characters, wood elf (think Legolas, but kind of evil?!), witch elf (vampires), and a few others, none of whom are particularly memorable. The notable exceptions are Bor (the pinnacle of TheHeartsOfMenAreEasilyDeceived archetype), and the elf ranger Agyla, who is serving the major antagonist. I did enjoy the character of the Bard who is the creator of The Tale of the Nine, the central in-universe tale of the defeat of Lord Bone, but is a self-serving fame-chasing, cowardly, narcissist, who weaves new tales of middling truth and blatant lies to serve his own ends. An example of a trope subversion done right! 

My major issue with both books, and more grievously with Unbound is that very little "actually happens" in the book. If you take away all the brooding, and the whining, and the whinging, and the woolgathering, there are very few plot checkpoints that the book goes through. Hanrahan's prose is passable, even competent, but lacks that flair that would be needed to breathe life into his unique premise, and his narratives are severely damaged by jerky pacing.

The climax of The Sword Unbound was also so abruptly jarring, with very little buildup, and very little converging of plotlines, that I was nearly confused, and had to confirm that this series was a trilogy and not a duology. Perhaps yet another case of expectation subversion, one cannot help but wonder where the plot would go next, as most of the major plotlines "seem" to be tied up. 

If this is another case of Somehow the Dark Lord Bone returned, I am going to throw a chair across the room! 

The Sword Unbound (and the Lands of the Firstborn series) is so hellbent on inverting fantasy tropes, that the process of telling a compelling narrative, with interesting characters (beyond inversions) with solid pacing, is sadly left wanting.

4.5 stars. This is a fantastic continuation of the series and Hanrahan is shaping up to be a favourite author. Amazing stuff.

This was a long read for me. I enjoyed the first book in this series, but for some reason, I just could not get into the characters for this one. It may have been the time in between from reading the first book, or it could be that my interest just wasn't completely into it. I do enjoy Hanrahan's writing style, and have liked his previous books. I am hoping to go back to this one once it is published, and try to get into the groove of it again.

The world of The Sword Defiant expands in THE SWORD UNBOUND, in which Alf must answer the question of what is good, what is evil, and whether one can be used for the other.

Gareth Hanrahan has done it once again. Created a uniquely dark fantasy with so much depth it feels as though you are in the world. The storytelling is written with such depth that the characters, atmosphere, and magic system are something you can grasp and be a part of. This is why this book is a 5 star review. This series is a 5 star review as well. I did have a harder time getting into this book but after the first 5 chapters I was hooked. Hanrahan's world building is so intricate that some readers might have to reread some parts, I know I did.

Hanrahan bring new depth to Alf, Spellbreaker, The Nine, Necrad, and the magic sytem that it really does put him at the top of the genre. The world class dark atmoshpere of this book gives you images unlike anything else.
The character work is written as though even the smallest characters have depth. This helps you understand the storytelling and actions even more than in The Sword Defiant. If you want a book and series that will grab your emotions as well as captivate you by his prose, pick up any of Hanrahans books. Especially this series.

5 stars, I can't change my mind on this. I will continue to purchase all of Hanrahans books and support this author.
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for this opportunity.

Review: The first chapter paints a dismal picture of the writing that is to follow. Stilted exchanges, continuity errors and bad characterization frame what may come to pass. BUT, if you just hang on and get to Bor and Company, the story line takes off like a rocket with great world building and plenty of questing type movement.

I liked the character builds throughout. Very well done with Berys, Bor, Rhuel and Co. Some bizarre world building keeps you glued to the scenes that develop around it. Necrad is never abandoned yet should be and it is no surprise what continues to spawn from there.

This is a really long novel and well worth the money. It is nice to settle in for the night with assured entertainment.

Rating: 4.5/5

Gareth Hanrahan writes big idea fantasy. By that I mean that he isn't satisfied with merely telling an entertaining fantasy story that follows the popular formula. Rather, he mixes in crazy elements like inanimate objects that can think, talk, and act. His settings aren't your standard fantasy locales either, they usually have a life of their own and are almost living breathing characters themselves, as we see so magnificently in his ongoing Black Iron Legacy series (a must read by the way). Getting back to his current series though, THE SWORD UNBOUND continues the Lands of the Firstborn story that began with the awesome opener The Sword Defiant. And it continues it in fascinating fashion I might add.

Diving into this sequel after being absolutely blown away by its predecessor was a little unnerving to be honest. The first book was so good that I hoped I would be just as dazzled by this one. I needn't have worried because THE SWORD UNBOUND expands the scope of the overall story and delivers some of the best and darkest fantasy I've experienced in a while. It's hard not to enjoy a book that includes the dead city Necrad, cloaked in secrets and malicious magic, zombies risen from the dead to terrorize the populace, past/present heroes of legend like The NINE who are each individually flawed causing them to at times engage in a power struggle that could threaten the future for everyone, and a pain in the ass sword that although as powerful as any weapon ever crafted, isn't always the most pleasant or cooperative most of the time.

Does any of this make you want to read this series? Because it sure as hell should! And that's what I mean when I say that Hanrahan doesn't settle for writing "standard" or "safe" fantasy. You are always going to be challenged, made uncomfortable, experience things that you almost never see in a fantasy novel, and oh have an incredible amount of fun along the way. I had an absolute blast reading THE SWORD UNBOUND and at times I just couldn't be bothered to do anything else but read this book. It's tough to get better when you are already writing some of the best fantasy stories out there, but if it is possible than I believe Gareth Hanrahan is doing just that. Sometimes I can't believe the risks he takes and the boundaries he pushes, but it always finishes like a masterpiece painting or a brilliant concerto.

Ultimately though my favorite part of this book, as with any Hanrahan book, is his crazy inventive and atmospheric settings. I mentioned that they are almost characters in their own right and I truly mean that. I'm amazed at how vividly both Necrad and its surrounding cities and forests are portrayed. There's an ominous feel to everyone and everything who populate them, whether they be humans, dwarves, witch elves, vampires or goblins. And those are just a sampling of the types of characters you will come across. Honestly there's just so many things to keep you engaged in this book and series and if you don't have it on your to-read shelf, you are missing out on such a magical journey.

Ultimately I really enjoyed this sequel so much. It's a fast-paced read for a book of its 600+ page length and continues to wow with a story that is second to none. This is everything you could ever want in an engrossing fantasy novel that hits you with one mind-blowing scene after another. Come for the cranky sentient talking sword and legendary heroes of old, stay for the next level worldbuilding, dark magic, and intense scheming/treachery. A one of a kind fantasy and another stunning achievement from Gareth Hanrahan that will leave you wanting that next book in your hands yesterday.

Excellent sequel to a very good book. This story continues with Alf an aged warrior hero trying to hold his world together when he is just not very equipped to think the deep thoughts about how to go about doing so. The demon sword Spellbreaker continues to be the foremost personality in this story. But we also follow Olva's story as well as Bor's. The characters remain detailed and deep, the world well thought out and written and the plot twists back and forth in an Epic way. This is just plain an enjoyable read. It has a great magic system, fascinating places and a fascinating main character who didn't put enough points into his intelligence and perception stats. Very fun book, thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for letting me read this book.

With GREAT thanks to Gareth & Netgalley for allowing to thoroughly enjoy another book in this series simply to give my opinion....

To say I was looking forward to book 2 after the first is an understatement. I waited with bated breathe and when I seen it was released, I checked several times daily to ensure I was approved ASAP.

I just fell in love with the story of the 9 and how their standard tropes that have been revitalized. I say this because elves , dwarves, trolls are the stories that started me on my fantasy Journey but have been over done by many in the meantime. Not Gareth, he creates unique variations & gives them life with depth and personality.

The verbiage brings the characters & the world to a new level & the twisty cloak and dagger 🗡 makes this story a true page turner.

The story itself brings what I thought was a secondary character to the forefront and engaged them in the pivotal dynamics of the story.

With Alf, the sarcastic sword, and many others of the 9 taking different paths with, and against one another adds a truly unique twist.

I relishes the different magic styles and the creations that have come from them.

Keep reading this series...it continues to evolve and this is even better than the last.