Hanuvar steals the show as one of the best main characters ever: intelligent, resourceful, ruthless in battle, but not a young man anymore. His occasional brushes with the result of a life in the military make him just vulnerable enough to make you feel he could easily get in over his head if not for being cunning and careful. He’s good natured, even respectful of his enemies if he find them honorable. I have been interested in books from Baen for a while, particularly in their Science Fiction department. However, recently, I have tried out some of their Fantasy novels and series. Of those, this one by far is the best and strongest introduction to a new fantasy world from Baen. the premise of this book is one of my favourites: princess x witch enemies to lovers, and while in this book the romance is definitely not the focal point of the story, the parts with the romance absolutely shine. Howard Andrew Jones is a lover of classical sword and sorcery stories and here he applies all of its tenets to create a world and revenge story that feels like a season of episodes that keeps us on tenterhooks. Seriously, this would make a fantastic TV series but that’s a discussion for another time. He considers the Chronicles Of Hanuvar to be his magnum opus and after reading this opening volume I can heartily agree with that assessment. Within these stories, he combines heroic fantasy escapades with the grittiness of sword and sorcery and all throughout are displayed some glorious characters (of both the heroic and villainous bents).

While I do not feel the pell-mell rush of many Sword & Sorcery stories in these tales, I do feel the full scope of heroic adventure pulling me alongside Hanuvar through each chapter. The stories "The Second Death of Hanuvar" and "The Crypt of the Stars" are quite enjoyable tales that showcase important aspects of our hero. The final story, "Thread from a Golden Loom" (possibly the longest), shares the stage among a full set of characters and nicely sets the stage for what lies ahead in the following books (the next of which will be in my hands in mere weeks!). I really, really like "The Warrior's Way" - it is quite possibly my favorite - comes early and gives the readers great insight into Hanuvar. "The Eyes of the Reaper" and "The Missing Man" are two of the darkest tales in this Chronicle, with my two other favorites right behind, "An Accident of Blood" and "Snare of the Hunter." The story that makes the most impact on me, however, and I think also changes the tone of Hanuvar, at least for me, and adds a depth to the man far beyond those he already possesses of Hannibal, Kirk, and Conan, is "The Autumn Horse." characters whining that they do not want mystery. Yes, that's a thing readers probably said of the previous book. No. It should not come out of the mouths of the actual characters in the story every five minutes.What follows is a series of short, inter-connected stories that work well as stand alone tales, but together form a continuous overall story arc for the entire book. This sort of short story collection works well for the sword and sorcery genre; episodic chunks that read well on their own, but leave you wanting to see what happens in the next ‘episode’. And yes, this is genuine swords and sorcery fiction, complete with evil empires, foul sorcery, terrifying creatures, and flashing swords. Hanuvar is a great hero, with an emphasis on ‘hero’; he’s truly good man trying to do what he can to free his people from slavery. It’s not about personal gain or adventuring or exploring strange and wondrous lands. It’s about doing the right thing, no matter the cost. He’s more White Knight on a white charger than Conan with a blood-crusted broadsword, and I believe the genre needs a little bit of that now and then. I liked it, and I look forward to more. Recommended While this is the sort of blood-and-thunder, fast-paced sword & sorcery not seen from a major publisher in DECADES, LORD is also a carefully, chronologically consistent tale painted with an epic and deliberate brush. The style is reminiscent of the current trends in long-form, serial television, and like a good Netflix show, the reader can ‘binge read’ the collection, or more leisurely ‘visit’ Hanuvar for one or two adventures and then return. I loved her friendships with Evers and Kaian. They balanced out each other and helped the MC with some of her impulsivity.

So this book did take me Ten days to read which isn't too bad. I don't think this book is a bad book, but I also don't think it's the best. Howard Andrew Jones also breaks convention with his episodic story format. This is not a "fix up" novel but a deliberate attempt to hone and revolutionize this format. I will not be surprised if we suddenly see a proliferation of this as he crafts it to perfection. I see others copying this style in the future. This is an author on top of his game.

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There is still very little in the way of Sword & Sorcery sitting on the bookshelf of Barnes & Noble. A crying shame, of course. Grammar aside, the characters were basic, there wasn’t a lot of depth to their personalities nor their actions in the book. The world building … might have gone a long way if it was taken into consideration. And the plot of the book – wasn’t anything new. It’s been done before.

Against the might of a vast empire, he had only an aging sword arm, a lifetime of hard-won wisdom, and the greatest military mind in the world, set upon a single goal. No matter what the Empire musters against him, no matter what man or monster stands in his way, from the empire’s festering capital to its furthest outposts, Hanuvar would find his people, every last one of them.

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It's still as stilted as the previous one, but at least each voice is recognisable even without the speaker being called in the script. Note: I was sent an ARC copy of this book ahead of its publication by the publisher Baen books in exchange for an honest review. History, real or feigned’ was Tolkien’s recipe for a good story. Howard Jones’ new novel has deep roots in history, real and imaginary. It’s a heroic fantasy set in a deeply imagined, fantastical world, but its hero has a strong resemblance to Hannibal, especially in his tragic post-war years. The book is a riveting portrait of a hero trying to keep his civilization alive in the wake of a devastating military defeat; it’s a series of ripping yarns that collectively add up to a greater story with a deeper impact than any of its parts; it’s another triumph for Howard Andrew Jones, premier wielder of the new edge in sword-and-sorcery.”— James Enge, World Fantasy Award nominated author of Blood of Ambrose Howard Jones writes not-to-be-missed epic fantasy with immersive world building and the highest stakes for the characters, fighting for personal survival and the survival of their world.” —Martha Wells, Hugo, Nebula and Locus award-winning author of the Murderbot series Lots of describing of what voices sound like. In the first 2 chapters there are at least 10 examples of that.

In classic sword & sorcery style, this is a fix-up novel: Most or all of the individual chapters had previously appeared as short stories in Tales from the Magician's Skull and suchlike venues, and they've now been assembled, lightly edited & polished, and given a bit of connective tissue so that they lead one into the other, although by its nature it remains more of an episodic book rather than a single narrative.This book questions ruling legacies and the where the stories we are told come from. There is plenty of political conflict and intrigue, a cast of side characters that really round out the story, and an enemies to lovers romance to *die* for. The one error i have made when reading this book is reading it now. i don’t think i can wait an undecided amount of time for book two with that ending. i’m going to be ripping my hair follicles out by the time it is released. i cannot wait to see where this story goes next. ll start with grammar and wording then move on to problematic content (racism & kink content) and likenesses to existing works.✖️