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Title: Son of the Black Sword
Series: Saga of the Forgotten Warrior #1
Author: Larry Correia
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 396
Words: 140K
Publish: 2015
I bought this book in hardcover back in 2015 when it came out. Correia had come out to a book signing at a local bookstore (that sadly is no more) and I had pre-ordered a book for him to sign. I got sick that weekend so Mrs B went in my place and she ended up having a blast. She enjoyed the stories Correia told and thought he was quite the character. I read this book but never read any more of the series. I wanted Correia to finish the series and not crap out on me like other authors had done. I didn’t think Correia would do that, as his steady output of the Monster Hunter International books was a testament to his staying power and his Grimnoir trilogy showed he could wrap a storyline up well, but I wasn’t going take a chance. Now, I still bought the books as they came out, I just didn’t read them. I wanted to support Corriea and make sure he was financially incentivized to finish things up. Well, in February Correia released the final book in this Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series, which meant it was time for me to start the ball rolling. I did hesitate, as I am currently re-reading Correia’s Monster Hunter International series and I wondered if it would be better to not start Forgotten Warrior until that re-read was over. Correia as an author hits all my high points though, so I decided to get a double helping, help offset some of the bad books I’ve read this year.
And THAT is all the history of how I arrived at this point, with this review. Some books don’t have a story behind them, but some do. Truly, I must be the Chosen One ;-)
This is Correia’s first real foray into the Epic Fantasy world and I wondered how he’d handle things. I needn’t have feared. Everything I have loved about his writing in other books was here. But he made things interesting by giving the world a very Indian oriented culture. With a caste system that is as unyielding and terrible as India’s own, to the name of the main character, Ashok (if any of you are Dilbert fans, maybe you remember Ashok the Indian intern?), this was not steeped in Medieval European fantasy. I quite enjoyed the change.
I also enjoyed the whole “false identity” reveal about Ashok. That can always go either way for me, but it worked here. It helped show just how terrible the world was that we were reading about that something like this could happen. I know I’m not going into details, but just in case there is some schlub who cares about spoilers but hasn’t read the story yet, I’m being deliberately vague. Don’t worry, I won’t be this way for the rest of the books. Needless to say, what we learn about Ashok changes everything and is the fulcrum upon which this story hangs.
The reason this isn’t getting 5stars is two-fold. First, I almost never give out 5stars on an initial read anymore. I’m an experienced enough reader now to understand that the “new factor” plays a huge part and a 5star read should take that completely out of the equation. See my PS below in regards to Point One. Second, Ashok isn’t so much a “character” as he is a force of nature. Now, that is deliberate on Correia’s part, as it plays to the whole Identity reveal that I mentioned before, but I still didn’t care for it. I trust that Ashok will become his own persona over the next five books.
And that wraps things up. I had a lot of fun with this book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series as the year progresses.
Ps,
I didn’t even remember reading this book initially. It wasn’t until I wrote this review and was about to put it into Calibre that I found I had read and reviewed it back in 2015. Thankfully, I only had to rewrite a few sentences and add a tag to bring this into line with reality.
★★★★☆
From the Publisher
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. Yet as centuries passed, Gods and demons became myth and legend, and the people no longer believed. 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.
