have some ground to cover before our end-of-the-year wrap-up, so I am saving some space by talking about two great stories by the same author in a single review. It has been a big fall for Ryan, which means a great season for readers. Today’s books are both phenomenal, but are each a little difficult to talk about due to where they lie in Ryan’s giant narrative web. Up first is A Tide Of Black Steel, the first book in Ryan’s brand new epic fantasy story (Age of Wrath) about the Viking-like people in the land of Ascarlia. The second piece I will dive into is The Road of Storms, the sixth novella in Ryan’s The Seven Swords series.

A Tide Of Black Steel is an interesting new entry to the Ryan-verse because it reads as a new standalone epic but takes place in the same world as his Covenant of Steel series 20 years after its end. While Tide can be read as a standalone if you are overwhelmed by the number of Ryan’s books, I recommend reading the Covenant series first because this book explores events set up in the series finale and repeatedly talks about the first series’ ending. Putting all that aside, Tide is the story of four interlinked individuals in the Northern Nordic lands of Ryan’s world. Ascarlia, a fabled realm of bloodied steel and epic sagas, has been ruled by the Sister Queens for centuries. No one dared question their rule until strange boats began to show up on their shores and steal away people in mass. Whispers speak of longships of mysterious tattooed warriors sailing under the banners of a murderous cult of oath-breakers long thought extinct. A tide of black steel that threatens to vanquish all in its path.

In the face of these turbulent times, we find ourselves following four perspectives, each representing some of Ryan’s best character work to date. First is a captured warrior with a lycanthrope-like curse that is stolen away from Ascarlia, which gives us a view into the tide of steel. Next is a scribe researching the winding sagas and legends of the people in order to understand who this new threat is and what tools the ancients hid to fight them. Finally, there is a pair of siblings who despise each other. Thera of the Blackspear, favored servant of the Sister Queens, is a paragon of honor and duty. She is charged with investigating the Tide. As Thera sails north, her reviled brother, Felnir, sets out on his own adventure. He hopes to find the legendary Vault of the Altvar – the treasure room of the gods – and win the Sister Queens’ favor at his sister’s expense.

Tide is a book of setup carried on the back of an intense family drama. We have a richly written pair of siblings with tension so palpable you could cut it with a knife, and because their rivalry is so compelling, you will barely notice that almost nothing happens in this first book. Multiple PoVs never overlap, several plot points make little progress, and the book generally has a strange lack of direction. The pacing is very fast and the action is very intense, but we are mostly watching our colorful cast react to terrifying and bizarre situations. Thera and Felnir steal the show as we watch them move through troubled currents, both literal and metaphorical. Their different approaches to their trials, combined with their equally flawed yet charming personalities, means that I was fine with letting the details ride for now and simply enjoying the Viking fun.

On the other side of the coin, we have The Road of Storms. With The Seven Swords novella series coming to a close with its next installment, Storms had the always difficult job of setting up the final stakes in the series to bring everything together. In its job as herald of the end, the short is a sweeping success. The Seven Swords is shaping up to be my top-shelf pick when it comes to novella recommendations and one of the few novella series I unabashedly promote.

That being said, one of the defining characteristics of this novella series has been the personalities of its cast. Each new installment of the series has been a micro examination of a new cursed individual and their relationship with a powerful demonic sword. The formula has worked wonders for the five first entries, but Storms switches things up to look at a larger macro picture in preparation for the finale. While I really enjoyed Storms I do think it felt like the weakest of the series so far. It lacked the succinct, punchy character elements I have come to equate with the rest of the series. Some variation is absolutely not a bad thing, but I find myself constantly craving more of what I got in the first 5 novellas.

Taking a step back I would love to congratulate Ryan again on a fabulous fall and the publication of two wonderful new stories. Every year Ryan’s work seems to get more polished and he has managed to simultaneously explore more expansive and more focused stories in the same year.

Rating:
A Tide Of Black Steel – 8.0/10
The Road of Storms – 9.0/10
-Andrew

Amazon review pending system approval
Youtube video review to come
Blog post scheduled for the 25th of Oct

**TL;DR**: I loved the last half of this. The first felt just a bit slow, but I loved that last half.
**Source**: NetGalley! Thank you so, so much!

**Plot**: We’re getting so close, SO close to the end here and the battle scenes keep getting more wild.
**Characters**: We actually got a bit more of our two newest characters in this which I liked but we still got plenty of our favorites.
**Setting**: Yet another new setting, this one was a plains type of kingdom with a cursed road and some rebel forces to track down.
**Fantasy:** We didn’t get as much as far as setup for the world but we saw a lot of great magic swords being magical. That was the huge win for me.

**Thoughts**:

Anthony Ryan continues his Seven Swords series with The Road of Storms which is going to lead us to our final confrontation. There isn’t a whole lot I can say about this particular volume without spoilers but let’s see what we can do.

This one has our band of not-so-merry adventurers crossing a haunted and cursed mountain range in pursuit of one of the two last swords they need to complete the Seven Swords and banish the demons that are trapped within back to hell (and the one that is attempting to bring hell to earth). I can’t say the creepy factor was exceptionally strong by Mr. Ryan continues to dazzle with his use of battle scenes. They continue to get bigger and badder in the best way, especially considering the power and abilities of our swords and friends.

If you’re following the series this is just as strong as the rest. We get a lot more character involvement from some favorites and our newest sword bearer from last book gets some shaping out which I enjoyed. I continue to say this is one of my favorite series currently running and I’m pumped for the last book!

For something so short of story to read it packed a punch. Didn't read any of the ones before this one and that left me wondering about so much of the journey these characters have taken so far. Should probably read those as well if they are as entertaining as this was to read.

The Road of Storms is a series of Novelettes telling a story that leads readers to a fantasy world where magic tends to be looked to as evil. The main characters are forced into a Delima where they think they are going to lose only to do just enough to survive. I've read all six of Ryan's books and I think I would give it a solid rating of three out of five stars. I think that Ryan's larger Novels tend to do a better job of character development then this series.

My favorite series from Anthony Ryan continues with this sixth novella in the series. It looks to draw near the conclusion.

Story: Our increasing fellowship is ever closer to finding Ekiri, and have a firm fix on her. However, she has taken charge of a false king with an army and who also bears one of the swords. After acquiring an army of their own, our protagonists march across an inhospitable land to catch her before she can open up a portal to Infernus.

This book has all the tropes of an Anthony Ryan series when it nears the end - we go from small character interactions to massive army battles, and invariably one or the other side is filled with crazy/brainless/zombie fodder that can be plowed through. All those elements are here as well, but perhaps because of the tightness of the story I found it much more appealing here. The larger group of our 'heroes' still makes it hard to get enough time for everyone but I think the author does well here and I don't think we're totally given to the world-changing-battle that I don't really enjoy. Each character gets something interesting to do and my favorite character, Seeker, has a good arc here. While we're obviously leading up to the end of the series I feel like the original theme and feel that I fell in love with book one is still present.

Highly recommended to everyone following the series - this one is a bit better than the last two installments, if not quite as strong as the first three. Very enjoyable, and I can't wait to pick up what will likely be the last when it comes out.

Great addition to the Seven Swords series so far. Anthony Ryan is definitely a master wordsmith and amazing story teller, and I always wonder where the story was heading. Each of the novella were unique in their ways, and I can't wait for the next installment in the series.

9.5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2024/08/29/the-road-of-storms-by-anthony-ryan-review/

One of the best current high fantasy series out there keeps getting better. Standing just short of 900 pages in full, this series of novellas has finally built itself into a true epic. I’m a big fan of the series: from its exotic locations to its episodic format, from its contained stories to its continual advancement of the overarching plot, from its characters to its deep lore, from… pretty much everything back to everything else.

What is probably the penultimate entry in the series delivers in a big, big way. The ending is a bit sudden, but everything else is—well, if you liked any of the books thus far, it’s—more of the same, only better. The characters and their interactions. The contained and overarching plots both. The places and people and backstory and lore. Even the pacing is good, which is unusual for a novella.

TL;DR

Pretty much: if you’ve read any of the previous books in the series AND liked them, you should like this. It’s the strongest tale in the series, and comes (likely) right before the end. The characters, lore, plot, pacing—all are great. The ending is a tad clipped, but otherwise there’s nothing to fault about it. Another great episodic story, but one out of a miniseries that knows the end is nigh; already some loose ends have been tied up, and more are coming together. Will you be there to watch when they do?

This seems to be the penultimate book in the series (Seven swords = seven books, I think?) and a lot of things come to a head here.

In the previous book, we discovered the purpose of the seven blades. Well, of the six blades that are destined to stop the first blade ever forged. In this book, Guyime and his companions are trying to do just that, and if they have to cut through twenty thousand people to do so, then so be it.

I love that we visit yet another new place in this intricately created world... and wreak havoc to it per usual. As one of the other characters in this book mentions, death and destruction follow the cursed blades, wherever they go. It is sad that their target manages to slip through their fingers in the end, but this makes me want to read the last book in the series even more. Also glad that Seeker is finally free of the Morningstar. She was becoming rather one-dimensional while she owned it.

My only complaint is that even thought this book is about the same length as the others in the series, it feels longer. The middle part dragged a little, at least in my opinion. But don't get me wrong, it's still a fast and enjoyable read to spend a weekend with.

PS: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Anthony Ryan, and Subterranean Press for an eARC!

Once finished with the last two books (To Blackfyre Keep and Across the Sorrow Sea), I was getting a little worried Ryan was becoming unable to write them with the same grace and effectiveness as the two that came before.

To put it simply, it definitely returns to the best aspects of this series. Where Blackfyre Keep and Sorrow Sea faltered at including an exciting plot and characters on par with other adventures, The Road of Storms once again proves how effective characters can be implemented in this series of novellas. While introducing the antagonist & new associate helping the band of sword-wielders, everyone actually gets appropriate amounts of time devoted to their characters making for wonderful dynamics present. Princess Lyntia may be one of my favorite characters Ryan included in this series and I wish that I could read a story based simply on where she goes next..

All praise aside, I was a bit disappointed at the level of cliffhanger this one leaves on. While each story has possessed a sense of continuation necessary for this story, this penultimate tale is the most abrupt in the ending. I was hoping for meaningful conversation, reflection, or growth from characters due to the ordeals they'd just experienced and unfortunately this was exchanged for a tease. I've been a bit disappointed in how Seeker's character has developed but the progression here was very interesting at least.

The Road of Storms will satisfy any reader of this series as it showcases the best aspects these novellas have to offer. It utilizes all the buildup and excitement from previous adventures while also telling a compelling narrative by itself that is effectively original and thoroughly developed. Ryan showcases building tension with a precise timing in the overall story that pays off to a splendid degree as well as utilizing the band of mighty characters to perfection in this short epic of war. I found myself unable to stop after the halfway point and this one results in a climax that truly thrills. Besides the fact that this one stops with a clipped ending, I’m very excited to see how this series concludes in the final story!

THE ROAD OF STORMS is the sixth installment  a fantasy series that uses evil to fight evil. At times, it reminded me of Lord of the Rings, but mostly, I found myself thinking of Dungeons&Dragons. I found it to be good, solid writing, but to me, the story had little originality to it. I have not read any of the previous stories and at times felt I should have to fully appreciate some of the relationships, such as between Ekiri and her mother.

The Road of Storms by Anthony Ryan(Seven Swords #6)- Guyime and his ragtag followers arrive in Alcedon, a beautiful country now ravaged by an Arch-Demon, Kalthraxis, who is there to get the seventh demon sword. To stop him and retrieve the cursed sword, Guyime and company must join the King of Alcedon and travel the Road of Storms to meet their foe and save the world or die trying. Anthony Ryan pulls out all the stops here for a tense and bloody conflict. Don’t miss it! Thanks NetGalley for this exciting ARC.

The Road of Storms follows the continuing story of Guyime and the other sword bearers on their continued quest to bring all the swords together. Like the previous entries in the series, it's a fast paced, action filled romp, with fun characters that you want to see more of. With one book left in the series, The Road of Storms has left me excited for the conclusion of this epic story.

THE ANCIENT KINGDOM OF ALCEDON, THE SUN-BLESSED REALM WHICH HAS KNOWN ONLY PEACE FOR GENERATIONS, NOW BESET BY BLOODY REBELLION SPARKED BY THE EMERGENCE OF AN ANCIENT EVIL…

Another great fast paced, action packed installment in what is now going to be a seven book series. These shorter novellas are a great way to dive into Anthony Ryans style of writing and a great story to read through, if you can find physical copies that is.....

As usual, Ryan hits the mark, and his sophmore book in the series that is a strong follow up, masterfully pulling the characters' story together and furthering the collective narrative.

The Road of StorMS is a thrilling fantasy novel that delivers a captivating mix of adventure, intrigue, and magic. Set in a world on the brink of war, the story follows the journey of a group of unlikely heroes as they navigate treacherous landscapes and face formidable foes.

Follow the demon swords in intense action and take my word, you won't regret it...