It is two hundred years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors. For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God’s favour, their fate always unknown. 

Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration. Allied with a youthful priest, a beast-charmer, a duplicitous scholar, an effete actor and two exiled lovers, Pilgrim must survive madness, malevolent spirits, unnatural monsters and the ever-present risk of treachery, all so that the Mad God might hear his prayer and, perhaps, grant redemption. But can sins such as his ever be forgiven? Ah, novellas. That sweet spot between a short story & a novel (or maybe a novelette, I’m not even sure I know what that is). I’m a big fan, for sure. But it seems like with a few exceptions (like Myke Cole’s brutal Sacred Throne series, or the rollicking Riven Realm series by Deck Matthews), most of the novellas I read seem to skew more towards sci-fi than fantasy.

So it’s pretty awesome that Anthony Ryan seems to be taking to the format. He recently self-published a Raven’s Shadow prequel novella called Many Are The Dead, and it was a goddamn blast! And now he’s working on this new series, The Seven Swords, published by Subterranean Press. A Pilgrimage of Swords is the first volume, and it introduces us to an absolutely brutal new fantasy world.

I devoured this in one sitting, and found it to be an absolutely addictive read! Ryan does a great job giving us just enough background on these characters to make the action that much more compelling. And the world he’s created is just incredibly dark & foreboding.

The story takes place in The Execration, a kingdom that was destroyed by the Mad God over two hundred years ago. What remains is a hostile landscape, filled with all manner of demons and monsters. A group of travelers follow a priest on a dangerous journey, as each of them seeks an audience with the Mad God…they all have one wish so important to them, they are willing to risk it all to see it granted.

They choose their own names at the beginning of the journey, as it’s unwise to use your own name. Pilgrim is the main POV of the story, but he’s also joined/tormented by a mythical sword that he carries…the blade contains the soul of a demon, one who knows just the right words to say to get under Pilgrim’s skin. But that said…there’s an interesting relationship between these two, and I think Ryan carried this off quite well.

Seeker is another great character. She’s a beast-charmer with a fierce hyena under her command! She has an incredibly tragic past, and her reasons for making this pilgrimage are super gut-punchy.

This is far and away the darkest thing I’ve ever read from Anthony Ryan. This is a haunted, grim landscape these characters are trying to survive, and that’s before considering whether or not they can even trust one another.

I loved A Pilgrimage of Swords, a lot. Anthony Ryan’s writing is always so incredibly solid…he’s just such a great storyteller. As I mentioned, this is quite a bit darker than the Raven’s Shadow books, but fans of those books will love this as well. Just an all-around badass start to a new series!!

Also…the cover by Didier Graffet has me feeling feelings! The closer I look at it, the more I love it!

Big thanks to Anthony Ryan and Subterranean Press for sending a copy my way! A Pilgrimage of Swords releases September 30th!