If I've said it once, I'll say it again: I love a strong female protagonist. Whether it's Ellen Ripley, Honor Harrington or Kathryn Janeway, if there's a woman at the heart of the story that kicks ass, I want to read (watch?) the story. It's no different here. Inga Ivanova is such an amazingly badass female that I'm wondering if Blake Carpenter intentionally gave his main character of his novel Deathbringer: The Spellsword Saga: Book One the same last name as the second Most Badass Woman In All of Science Fiction and Fantasy (as decided by me) intentionally. Inga Ivanova certainly does remind me of one Susan Ivanova in all of the important ways that I love in a female lead. If she's a little obsessed and maybe a bit bloody-minded, so be it; She has her reasons.
Seriously, Ivanova's Call to Action is particularly grisly, high stakes and jarring, but it's enough to make anyone want to get revenge. I mean, if your story started up with someone showing up at your town, slaughtering everyone there, and you only escaping because of some serious weirdness, you'd want to take the person who did it down, wouldn't you? I sure would...
Then again, I'm a McCoy and that thing is kind of genetic for me. Just ask a Hatfield.
Anyway...
Hopefully, it's not revealing too much to state that Deathbringer is not just the title of a book, it's also the name of a sword. The reason for the name will be painfully obvious to anyone reading the book, and if you still miss it, the name of the series is The Spellsword Saga. I'm guessing that should make it obvious.
The use of spellswords in the book/series (although I haven't read any of the other books yet. I'm honestly not sure if anymore have been released, though I'll be finding out soon.) was cool for me on a couple of different levels. One is just that spellswords are sentient, linked to a particular individual, and capable of awesome feats of magic. I mean, you would think that would be cool enough on its own, right? But no, I have to go and make it cooler.
Seriously. I can do you one better. Having played both Dungeons & Dragons and the Palladium Fantasy RPG, spellswords felt like the weapon you spent your entire career questing for. Whether you're referring to a rune weapon in the PFRPG or an artifact in D&D, you're talking about the real deal. These spellswords are on that level. You do not want to cross paths with an unfriendly spellsword wielder, I promise you. What these things can do will amaze you.
But that brings up an interesting point. Inga's grandmother, who was the last one to wield the sword in battle, had something of a bad reputation. I'm wondering if these swords don't have a corrupting effect like a D&D artifact. I'm wondering how Carpenter is going to make Inga a sympathetic figure going forward if she slides too far down that path. This is going to be a delicate balancing act, for sure.
In a way, Deathbringer almost feels like reading a fantasy book by Stephen King or Dean Koontz. There is a lot of action here. There is plenty of excitement. There is also more than just a bit of horror. It's a good mix that definitely stays interesting for the entire story. If you're offended by blood and gore though, maybe you'd best stick with my boy Albus and his favorite knitting patterns. Deathbringer is obviously intended for an audience that can handle the rough stuff. I loved that about it. Carpenter is not afraid to let us see the consequences of the violence in the books. And, if I was reminded of something terrible I read about as part of my degree well, it happened and it's believable.
The antagonist of the piece, Yenda Avard is a sick, twisted, evil, power-seeking wannabe-tyrant who makes Delores Umbridge look like the little old lady down the street who used to bake you cookies when you were a kid. She is a flat out mass-murderer. I don't like this chick AT ALL. Of course, that makes her an ideal villain. Her motivations are crystal clear and unyielding. They make sense and are the same motivations (personal profit and power) that have motivated everyone from Karl Marx to Adolph Hitler to Mao Zedong to Barack Obama and FDR. The only possible difference is that Avard doesn't pretend she's in it to help others the way the rest of them did.
This leads to a strong desire on the part of the reader to see said wench get precisely what is coming to her. At least I know I did. I love to hate an antagonist and Avard fits the bill. This is almost an obsession with me. I love Anne McCaffrey's work in general but, having read the entire series up to Dragonflight, I never really liked her Dragonriders of Pern series because thread is a boring enemy. I mean, I get the fact that the stories are about the riders themselves, but ugh...
I need something for the hero that has a brain and an attitude problem. Avard fits that bill. I hate that chick. At some point, you actually want Avard dead. Whether that happens or not is something I won't reveal, but if you get into the story at all (and I'm sure you will) you'll be rooting for all of the bad things to happen to this woman.
The world building here is superb. There's so much going on against the backdrop that Carpenter built that it's hard to focus on the world where it all takes place, but its wonderfully rendered. The kingdom is a matriarchy, but it is not a peaceful, calm matriarchy envisioned by many of the people who promote the idea of a matriarchy. There is scheming, feuding and outright conflict. Deathbringer reads like a realistic depiction of what would happen if the mean girls from your old high school ran things.
All in all, I loved Deathbringer and I can't wait to get the sequel once it gets here.
Bottom Line: 5.0 out of 5 Massacred Villagers
Deathbringer: The Spellsword Saga: Book One
Blake Carpenter
Livro Publishing, 2023
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