The Wandering Sword

The Last Eternal, Book 1

By: Jacob Peppers

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

The hardest war is the one a man fights alone.

One hundred years ago, the Eternals, 13 men and women of immense power, closer, many believed, to gods than mortals, stood against the greatest threat the world had ever faced.

And they lost.

They died.

All save for one, known as the Youngest, who managed to flee with the enemy leader’s weapon, a cursed blade of incredible power.

He has traveled for 100 years since, alone save for his companion Veikr, the only remaining horse of a legendary breed.

The last just as he is the last.

Hunted by creatures made out of nightmares, he seeks only to survive, to keep the magical blade from the enemy’s grasp.

Not to save the world, for the time for saving it is past. Instead, he seeks only to delay its ending.

It is a battle he fights alone, for after they defeated the Eternals, the enemy used their magic to pose as their conquered opponents, taking over rule of the world in their stead.

For the last 100 years, the people have believed that the legendary Eternals triumphed, that they are safe. Only the wanderer knows the truth that the world crouches with its head resting on the executioner’s block, waiting for the axe to fall.

And the only thing keeping that axe at bay is him.

He had a name once, but he has it no longer.

He is simply the Last. The Youngest.

He is the Wandering Sword.

©2022 Jacob Peppers (P)2022 Jacob Peppers

Great rhythm of the story

Great story, a good amount of character development, to keep you engaged with the start and characters

too slow

the book too long to get started and spent a lot of time with the characters making vague threats and suggestions instead of just getting through that part quickly.

Very frustrating!

Don’t force a written review to leave the page! I won’t leave another review in the future.

A little tough read but different

The book combines some relatively unused ideas (lost war, eternal figures, dead spirit advisors on demand) with tropes (lone wandering hero, imposter on the throne). Finishing the book in two days was a good sign that the story doesn't drag and the brisk pace is in the end what makes the book enjoyable. Whenever the brooding hero would get annoying, we have another fight scene and whenever the internal logic seems questionable the world opens up a bit more revealing a new shiny feature. The whole is not necessarily consistent and logical enough to survive nit picking but interesting enough that I didn't mind.
At the end of the book I was motivated to pick up the next one without actually buying it so I hope there will be some improvent once I get to it.

Meh

I’m not gonna thrash the author, I just didn’t think the story had as much depth as I was hoping for… the motivations progressing the story are a bit thin

Grabbed because listening to Michael Kramer is always lovely.