I received an ARC copy from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book in the series.
Rise of Knight and Sword is the first instalment of the One Sword Saga. It reimagines Arthurian legend in a steampunk fantasy world at the height of the 1920’s. Follow Guinevere and crew as they face off against smugglers, wild dinosaurs, hidden motives and mistrust.
Avalon, city of kings. Sky towers and airships dominate its skyline, dinosaurs roam freely throughout its parklands, and bounty hunters lurk in its shadows.
Guinevere has always lived on the outskirts of Avalon, working as an archivist in the central library. While corruption runs rampant throughout the city, her life is fairly mundane and predictable. That is, until she discovers the map of Excalibur and uncovers a plot to usurp the throne.
Finding herself on the run from these would-be-king-slayers, Guinevere sets out to find the mythical sword. But with no one to trust and no where to hide, she must form an uneasy alliance with a pair of notorious bounty hunters.
‘My future, and the future of Avalon are forward.’
Rise of Knight and Sword is a debut book for author Miriam Wade. This take on Arthurian legend is an interesting one, one that I haven’t really seen before.
I really enjoyed seeing Guinevere as an archivist and being the main focus of the story. I loved how in all instances she is a normal girl, working in a library, trying to earn enough money to get by and is suddenly going on a massive adventure. It was interesting to see Guinevere go on the adventure of finding Excalibur and meeting Arthur and other known people in the Arthurian legend along the way.
The world in Rise of Knight and Sword was definitely an interesting one. It is set in a modern day world but has dinosaurs with steampunk interwoven throughout. However there is no magic system in the world which is a big part for me in a fantasy book. Even though you have Merlin he is a fortune teller and doesn’t hold any of his amazing powers.
Arthur in this story is a smuggler and I loved different portrayal of the King as well as the way we are introduced to him. Mordred was a character that you loved to hate. He was a gruff bounty hunter and switched between being nice and mean to Guinevere.
The story is fast paced with not a lot of time passing with everything is happening. With this being the first book in the series it will be interesting to see where the story goes from here.
It did take me awhile to get used to the writing style which slowed my reading down. I am the type of reader that I can either read a book very quickly or very slowly and this book was one I read slowly.
Overall I found the story interesting and I do love an Arthurian retelling. I am interested to how the series progresses.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lara Jane Reviews 