Sword of Fire by Katharine Kerr : Review

This first novel of an epic fantasy trilogy reintroduces readers to the beloved and bestselling world of Deverry, blending magic, politics, and adventure in an unforgettable setting.

The bards are the people’s voice–and their sword.

All over the kingdom of Deverry, the common people are demanding reform of the corrupt law courts. In Aberwyn, the situation catches fire when Gwerbret Ladoic, second in authority only to the High King, allows a bard to starve to death rather than hear their grievances.

Guildwoman Alyssa, a student at the local scholars’ collegium, and Lady Dovina, the gwerbret’s own daughter, know that evidence exists to overthrow the so-called traditional legal system, if they can only get it into the right hands. The powerful lords will kill anyone who threatens their privileges.

To retrieve the proof, Alyssa must make a dangerous journey that will either change her life forever–or end it.

I have been a fan of Katharine Kerr’s books since I first discovered my love of reading science fiction and fantasy, and while I like all of her books, The Deverry Cycle will always be my favorite series of hers. Since it’s been over 10 years since The Silver Mage released I thought we had seen the end of The Deverry Cycle, so I was pretty excited to find out we were getting a new book this year. I started reading Sword Of Fire the moment I got home from work the day I received my copy in the mail a few weeks ago and don’t think I stopped reading it for more than five minutes until I was finished with it.

Usually, when it’s been this long between releases from one of my favorite authors, I’m always a little bit worried the new book won’t be as good as its predecessors, but I honestly wasn’t worried about this one at all. Sword Of Fire was everything you’d expect in a new Deverry Cycle book and so much more. Katharine Kerr has always been a fantastic author and I feel like she really upped her game with this book and went back to the roots of what makes the Deverry Cycle such a great series.

One of the great things about this book is that even though it’s the 16th book in the series, it takes place around 300 years after the first four acts of the Deverry Cycle and acts as a great place for new readers to jump into the story with, or for us veterans to dive back into the series. It’s been way too long since I’ve read any of the rest of the books in the series and I had no problem at all jumping right in and enjoy it without any sort of refresher. I’m so glad that the author wasn’t done with the Deverry Cycle like many of us thought she was and I can’t wait to see where she takes us with the rest of the books in this series!

I only finished reading Sword Of Fire a couple of days ago and I’m already thinking of buying the audiobook just so I can sit down and enjoy it all over again before jumping into a complete reread of the series. I think anyone who is a fan of Katharine Kerr’s books or of fantasy in general will enjoy this book and I can’t recommend it to people enough!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.