I would like to thank the author for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Twin Star Press

Published - Out Now

Price - £3.99 Kindle eBook £12.99 paperback

Lost in a foreign city. Assassins around every corner. No allies in sight.

Survival is key, when enemies are all around.

Belasko, the Royal Champion, war hero, legendary swordsman, has distanced himself from the trappings of court life and toils at his academy. Searching for his successor.

When a general Belasko defeated long ago stages a coup to place himself upon the Baskan throne, Queen Lilliana’s desire to negotiate a permanent peace takes them into a vipers nest of intrigue, suspicion, and betrayal.

When blades are drawn, and all seems lost, can Belasko save the lives of those he loves the most?

In a world of Fantasy often being dominated by trilogies the continuing series where we re-visit characters having different adventures gets forgotten about. There is a lot to be said for having complete single volume stories and then watching in a later book how characters and worlds develop without world ending events to always navigate. In G M White’s The Swordsman’s Descent we revisit the world of Belasko The Royal Champion an unusual hero who is about to face his past in unexpected ways and face the future of the Kingdom he is sworn to protect.

Belasko the hero who single-handedly defended a key Pass that helped win a ar now serves as the Royal Champion to a New Queen he helped put on the throne after her father’s betrayal. Increasingly he avoids the Royal Court, focuses on his students’ all learning the art of sword-fighting and pondering that he is nearer the end of his career and for a duellist that often ends in death. However a revolution within the enemy kingdom of Bas leads to a new offer of peace and to move things forward Queen Lilliana and her key councillors make the journey to negotiate the accords and asks Belasko to accompany her. Belasko finds himself returning to a land he has avoided for years; facing old memories and fears while also becoming aware that danger is getting closer as they enter enemy territory.

I really really enjoyed this low fantasy tale that delivers old-school adventure and sword-fighting with a refreshingly modern sensibility. In particular the ongoing development of character and allowing their world to be a little different to the default medieval setting so many stories have tread a path to. Following the aftermath of the great The Swordsman's Lament by G. M. White — Runalong The Shelves what strikes me the most is Belasko has changed and become yet more introverted and showing his age, His body is reacting after countless duels; he feels a little lost and out of time. A complex mix of duty, loyalty, honour and also internalised resentment against nobles and always a stigma that as a gay man he feels looked down in society however much he does for his Kingdom despite being an honoured veteran who has saved it many times. White in this story really works hard to show us all the facets of Belasko’s character and not have his friends be afraid to pull him up when his worse instincts take over. One theme that develops throughout is Belasko having to face his own fears and doubts and rise around them. Again, quite refreshing when the main character is often fighting themselves just as much as their enemies; be it finally meeting their parents after many years away or facing down the Kingdom they fought for many years in the search for peace. All give strong emotional depth to the tale

This leads to the second strand I enjoyed which is that this Kingdom is changing itself. Peace is being sought rather than war is such an unusual idea for a series when so often it is war is always the answer. We have in the new Queen Lilliana a bookish Queen yet one who hates being praised for looks and decorum and would rather visit a library or learn how to use weapons in self-defence. The wider world is changing too as the prejudice against people who are gay is being slowly overturned in society and this is also a world where women fight in the army. A strong reminder to us that a fantasy world can happily absorb modern perspectives and still work very easily for readers -progress is not a dirty word. Interestingly this story also introduces magic for the first time in the series that I spotted and perhaps starts to suggest more adventures that could come.

Lastly, we have a hugely enjoyable plot. Prepare for assassins, cults, political intrigue; and most of all action. White has a very enjoyable flowing style to the story throwing in so many classic ideas such as underworld crime bosses and escape through dark tunnels that this feels enjoyably traditional in approach but also works because and I cannot stress this enough it is FUN! Trying to work out what or who is behind all these misadventures is key and we get a host of potential candidates. Lastly prepare to enjoy a lot of swordfights and as well as capturing pace and style in the descriptions of these encounters White knows how to give each one an emotional punch as well – you care for those whose lives are at stake.

A fine addition to this this series and also importantly a story showing White developing strongly as a writer too. In terms of scale, character and worldbuilding all are subtly improved in this story and suggest a wider canvas that stories can take place in too. I hope we meet the Royal Champion again one day, but I will be very interested in what White delivers for us next.