Review: A Sword of Bronze and Ashes, by  Anna Smith Spark

Blurb

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes combines the fierce beauty of Celtic myth with grimdark battle violence. It’s a lyrical, folk horror high fantasy.

Kanda has a good life until shadows from her past return threatening everything she loves. And Kanda, like any parent, has things in her past she does not want her children to know. Red war is coming: pursued by an ancient evil, Kanda must call upon all her strength to protect her family. But how can she keep her children safe, if they want to stand as warriors beside her when the light fades and darkness rises?

My Review

Thanks to Anna at Random Things Tours for organising this tour and to Flame Tree Press for sending me a copy of this book.

I met the author at FantasyCon last weekend. She signed my copy of this book and one I’d bought there. It was very exciting.  I’ve been reading it over the last few days, starting Sunday, but I must admit I haven’t finished it yet. I was exhausted on Monday and slept most of the day so I didn’t read much, and I read a little while travelling home on Tuesday. I read some on Wednesday before and during my trip to the hospital to see my Mum.  I wish I’d had more time before today to get more read. I will finish it as soon as possible, so there might be an update.

The theme is the protective urges of a mother for her children, while the children are at an age where they push back and try to protect themselves. The author has been exploring this in recent novels.

The story is one of a farming family escaping from a raiding party while being pursued by the same party. At the same time, it’s a fairy-tale about the birth of the world, a fairy court and the adventures of six knights. The knights go on adventures and fight the newly arrived monsters. The two stories are intertwined and connected by Kanda, who is the farmer’s wife, and also the greatest of the fairy knights.

The character of Kanda is strongly developed, she has a real presence. Her daughters slowly develop into themselves over the course of the story (so far). The monsters from the raiding party/Kanda’s past are creepy.

The plot is both simple and complex at the same time. It definitely kept me interested and wanting to read the book when I had other things to do.

The storytelling feels mythological, like reading the Mabinogian at the same time as reading an historical novel about Welsh hillfarmers being raided by Irish-Norse raiders. Smith Spark draws on traditional folklore, like the use of iron to fight fairies, and the danger of straying from a path across the moors. There’s also a version of the hobby horse. I love it when authors use myth and folklore to tell a story about something else entirely. I enjoy reading myths and folklore anyway.

The descriptions of the landscape and characters are vivid and clear. The description of the humble, rural farm contrasts with the glory of the Court of Rovan, mirroring the different lives Kanda has lived. They are both destroyed by an incipient evil thats embodied in thd form of a horse, a unnamed silent man

I’m enjoying the story immensely. I highly recommend it. I came wait to see what happens next.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ANNA SMITH SPARK is a critically acclaimed, multi-award short-listed grimdark epic fantasy novelist. She writes lyrical prose-poetry about war, love, landscapes, and war. Her writing has been described as ‘a masterwork’ by Nightmarish Conjurings, ‘an experience like no other series in fantasy’ by Grimdark Magazine, ‘literary Game of Thrones’ by the Sunday Times, and ‘howls like early Moorcock, converses like the best of Le Guin’ by the Daily Mail. Her favourite authors are Mary Renault, R Scott Bakker and M. John Harrison. Previous jobs include English teacher, petty bureaucrat and fetish model. You may know her by the heels of her shoes.

Anna has a BA in Ancient World Studies, an MA in Cultural and Social History and a PhD in English Literature. Her particular areas of historical interest are ancient Greece, early Medieval England, and ancient and medieval Central Asia, with a particular focus on women’s lives in ancient and medieval societies. Her writing is very influenced by her studies, with many references to the literature and culture of these periods.

Anna is Autistic, dyslexic and dyspraxic, all only diagnosed in adulthood, and was one of the last children in her class to learn to read and write. She only developed the confidence to write fiction after her diagnoses. One of the things she now loves most about being an author is visiting schools to encourage children to express themselves through writing.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing independent Flame Tree Publishing dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the

award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at http://www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress