Brown, Simon
FIRE AND SWORD
Keys of Power #2
Simon Brown
DAW 2001
Pb 420 pages
ISBN#
0-7564-0175-5
In Book One, INHERITANCE, Prince Lynan nearly did not make it to sanctuary in
the Oceans of Grass province of Grenda Lear. One of Lynan’s companions brought
him back from the brink of death with magic and a bit of vampire blood. Now
Lynan is . . . changed.
The keys of power have a subtle magic. As FIRE AND SWORD follows all four keys,
Lynan’s Key of Union shows no overt magic in aiding Lynan as he builds his army
of Chetts, yet uniting people is what Lynan does best. His brother’s Key of the
Heart is the most demonstrative of magic as Prince Olio spends his time healing
unfortunates in the capital, a usage that taxes Olio body and soul. The Key of
the Sword, originally given to Areava, now finds its way onto the battlefield
around the neck of her foreign lover because Areava now also holds the Key of
the Scepter, the Monarch’s Key. And these two keys do not revel themselves until
the end of this volume, in a horrible but very powerful way. The kingdom of
Grenda Lear is tearing itself apart as the heirs of Queen Usharna jockey for
power. Behind them, however, are age-old hatreds and political plots that weave
a complex web of court intrigue that consumes all it touches.
FIRE AND SWORD is recommended for world-building enthusiasts who love to wade
through “preparations for war”. There is good action in this volume as the plot
moves ever deeper into the mire of troubled circumstance. My chief complaint was
the lack of maps that are sorely needed when so many provinces are involved and
four armies are moving in different directions. FIRE AND SWORD is not a
stand-alone: I do recommend it, but only in sequence with books One and Three
[INHERITANCE and SOVEREIGN].
Queen Usharna’s heirs work against each other, yet none are evil: circumstance just pulls them to opposing sides. Though the plotting is not original and the world-building has a flaw or two, still this is a worthy read because of the excellent characterization. There’s enough action, too, to keep this adventure-hound happy. I’ll buy the next in the trilogy.
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