The Bard's Blade by Brian D Anderson

The Bard's Blade (The Sorcerer's Song, #1)

by Brian D. Anderson

The Bard's Blade is the start of the new Sorcerer's Song fantasy adventure series from Brian D. Anderson, bestselling author of The Godling Chronicles and Dragonvein.

Mariyah enjoys a simple life in Vylari, a land magically sealed off from the outside world, where fear and hatred are all but unknown. There she's a renowned wine maker and her betrothed, Lem, is a musician of rare talent. Their destiny has never been in question. Whatever life brings, they will face it together.

Then a stranger crosses the wards into Vylari for the first time in centuries, bringing a dark prophecy that forces Lem and Mariyah down separate paths. How far will they have to go to stop a rising darkness and save their home? And how much of themselves will they have to give up along the way?

Reviewed by annieb123 on

4 of 5 stars

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Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Bard's Blade is the first book in a new fantasy series by Brian D. Anderson. Released 28th Jan 2020 from Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 432 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

This is a coming of age fantasy set in two disparate worlds with enough page content to explore its themes against a much larger background of ethnicity, religion/zealotry, magic, xenophobia, propaganda, politics, and philosophy. If that seems like a very large (overwhelming) list, it is, and the characters do tend to get a little lost in the tumult.

The writing is nearly flawless. The scenes are technically well put together with a number of interwoven plot threads which are intertwining more and more as the book progresses toward a richly drawn central plot theme. The world building is exceptionally detailed with the almost Brigadoon-like Vylari being literally veiled magically from the Lamorians on the other side of the barrier.

The story is told from the two alternating storyline PoVs of the main characters whose lives take very different paths when they leave Vylaria and enter Lamoria. About 30% of the first book is used to segue into the second (and further) books. The plot is all about the long game. For fans of strictly battle based epic fantasy, this one might not fit the bill. There are no chapter-long war descriptions or campaigns as such, at least not in this first book.

Four stars. I was impressed with the plotting and writing. I'm looking forward to the next book(s) to find out what comes next.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 March, 2020: Finished reading
  • 1 March, 2020: Reviewed