Book Review - LEGACY OF STEEL by Matthew Ward

 

(Title: Legacy of Steel / Author: Matthew Ward / Publisher: Orbit / Publication Date: November 5, 2020 / Pages: 768)

Matthew Ward is the kind of author I dream about (don't mean to make you uncomfortable Matthew).  Let me explain.  He writes doorstopper epic fantasy books that play through your mind as you are reading them like Lawrence of Arabia or Ben-Hur on a giant movie screen.  The cast of characters is vast, the world is deep and well thought out, the battle scenes are well, bloody impactful, and the plot is heartbreakingly compelling as all hell.  The first book in this series, Legacy of Ash, wowed me beyond belief and after reading it I knew we had a brilliant new author on the scene.  But after finishing LEGACY OF STEEL, I have to say that Matthew Ward is building to a crescendo that could make this series one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

LEGACY OF STEEL takes place a year after the events that culminated book one.  So much has taken place and the political maneuvering is at a fever pitch.  The Tressian Republic is still vulnerable to attack and invasion from the Hadari and we pick up this story with that possibility very much in play and about to boil over at any moment.  Add to all of this that the Tressian champion Viktor Akadra is missing in action with no clue as to his whereabouts, and it seems almost certain that bad things may be on the horizon for the Republic.  Is Viktor dead?  Or is he simply biding his time gathering forces that can throw back an attempted attack when it finally comes?  The mystery and suspense is palpable throughout this wonderful second installment and you won't want to miss the ending of this truly remarkable reading experience.

Lately I've been saying that middle books of trilogies have started to shed that stigma of "bridge book" where nothing really happens and it just serves to set up the final book extravaganza of battles and action.  I'm so elated to be able to say that LEGACY OF STEEL is in no way a placeholder volume to get to book three.  I found the excitement level ratcheted up considerably in this book and the surprises along the way kept me invested throughout this monster of a page turner. 

The cool thing about this book and series is that you are dealing with conflict among human combatants, but throw in the amazing twist that gods are also meddling in these affairs and it really puts the fantastic in this fantasy series.  That's really where this book shines and gives an added dimension and depth that book one hinted at so tantalizingly.  You just know that a titanic struggle is taking place and Ward reveals what is going on behind the scenes beautifully but never outright tells you how it will play out.  That I'm sure is where the final book in this series will take us and if LEGACY OF STEEL is any indication of what we have in store for the finale, then the next year is going to be painful to have to sit and wait through for that concluding resolution.

I also have to mention the characters in this book/series (of which there are many).  There were times when I was reading this book where I actually almost felt the loss and heartbreak personally.  Every one of these characters feels like someone that you know.  I think part of that is the length of these books and we feel connected because we spend so much time with them.  But I think more so it has to do with the fact that Matthew Ward just has a knack for writing diverse characters who behave in non-conventional ways.  Their emotions and motivations may change on a dime as happens to many of us in real life.  They are relatable, at times contemptible, but always magnificently drawn and realized.  I simply can't get enough of Viktor, Josiri, Sevaka, Rosa, Melanna, and all the rest.  

I sometimes feel tempted to compare certain books that I loved to others that I have loved in the past.  I am going to refrain from that here because while I get a lot of the same feels with this series as some other legendary series in the genre, I don't think it's fair to Matthew Ward to even hint that this series doesn't stand on its own as an original epic fantasy of colossal proportions.  

What I will say is that if you don't have this series on your TBR, and I mean NOW, you are absolutely missing out on a hell of an escape into the mind of one of the finest storytellers out there right now.  I already knew I liked this series, but LEGACY OF STEEL has elevated my feelings tenfold and had me alternately in tears, biting my lip in anger, chuckling at some witty piece of dialogue, and holding my head in my hands in disbelief at the ever-shifting circumstances that many of these characters are faced with.  Only the best kinds of books can make you feel all these things at once and LEGACY OF STEEL is the best kind of book.  I recommend this series to anyone who loves a story that fully engulfs you into its world and people.  I'm stupefied at the prospect that Ward can deliver a final book that rivals his first two, but I'm certainly not betting against him.  I will wait with an enormous amount of anticipation for the final chapter and I really cannot wait to see how it all ends.

Rating: 9.5/10