Kingmaker's Sword - Ann Marston

[goodreads]

Title: Kingmaker's Sword
Author: Ann Marston
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 336
Date read: March, 2012

The Skai and the Tyr were one people long ago. But that day is lost in the mists of time. And now the Skai have sent a warrior to find the Rune Blade that could slice through the darkness of blood and violence that had fallen across their land.

I received this series via a Christmas book exchange, and picked it up knowing absolutely nothing about it, but it very quickly caught my attention. Set in a fantastical version of Scotland (very obvious, as the men wear kilts, say "ken" for "know" and even call outlanders a word very similar to sassenach) I fell in love with both the universe and the main characters. It's the first book in a trilogy, but unlike many first novels, I didn't feel like most of the page-time was spent establishing the universe and setting the scene for the future novels. It was fast-paced and action-filled and though the author didn't pull any punches, it didn't seem heartlessly so.

I'll be looking forward to seeing where she takes it from here, even though this book is so nicely contained that I don't feel like I absolutely have to read the next to get the full benefit from it.