Book Review: The Sword Saint by C.F Iggulden

Author: C.F Iggulden

Title: The Sword Saint (Empire of Salt #3)

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Date: 2019

Plot: Cities have been broken. Empires have fallen. And darkness is coming. 

Success has drawn a cold gaze. A false king seeks dominion. His soldiers will bring desolation and despair to Darien. With treachery on all sides, the ancient capital looks set to fall.

Yet within the walls of that great city, a small team gathers. Tellius knows each one: a hunter, a gambler, a dead man, a wielder of threads – and the sword saint of Shiang. When Darien herself is threatened, Tellius will ask them to stand.

A city is worth more than the lives of those within. Darien’s streets and courts and homes and taverns are a bonfire on the hill, a beacon of life and light in the world. That is why they will die to save her.

I received The Sword Saint from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Darien | Shiang

The Sword Saint is the third in the Empire of Salt trilogy by C.F Iggulden and is an excellent end to a gripping series. I’ll definitely look out for more fantasy from Iggulden, but also will try out his historical fiction.

Although I was looking forward to this one, I tried not to get my hopes too high. Shiang had a slow start and it took time for the pacing to establish itself; I wasn’t certain if the same would be true here.

Thankfully, it wasn’t. The Sword Saint goes straight into the drama as a trade treaty is brokered despite characters’ misgivings and we quickly learn that the treaty is just a front: war is coming to Darien and the odds, more than ever, seem impossible.

It’s made clear early on that the stakes are going to be high and this enemy will show no mercy. Unlike book two, this is an entire army marching on Darien, led by a man that has sorcerery at his fingertips that protects him from harm.

Despite the gripping plot, the tension and the action-packed scenes, what made this book for me were the characters. Tellius has been a favourite from the beginning and he shows the perfect balance between a shrewd man determined to protect his city, and an old man in love, wanting to find some peace and quiet.

“Hold your fire!” Deeds yelled as he ran. “Darien man coming back in. Don’t shoot your heroes, you bastards!”

Tellius takes centre stage from the start. But this final book brings back all the heroes from before: the swordsmen from book two (Hondo, Bosin and Taeshin) but also those from book one: Elias Post with his knack to see the future, Nancy and her ability to drain magic and Vic Deeds, in way over his head as per usual but with his guns in his hands and a will to live.

The characters come in a full circle; Elias realises he almost met Nancy that night, so many years ago, that dragged him into this. There is a strong dynamic between them all and the conflicting personalities work. Deeds acts as light relief; he plays his part, but nearly all of the others threaten to kill him just for being annoying. Taeshin is in awe of Hondo and Bosin struggles to find his humanity again.

I couldn’t put this book down. Iggulden handles the tension with masterful suspense – you grab a few seconds here and there to catch your breath before you are plunged back into the drama. It’s violent, but not in an explicit way, and you sense the determination and drive of all the characters: they have their reasons for wanting to survive the night. There’s large-scale battles, one-to-one fights, swords, guns, explosions… everything you’d expect to find.

But not everyone you love can survive. There are heartfelt and emotional moments scattered throughout, complementing with the fast-pace fights erupting all over Darien.

A fantastic series, with the third book being the strongest of them all. If you’re looking for a new fantasy series, I can’t recommend this enough!

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