When an intricately bejeweled sword imbued with magic is willingly gifted, a fantasy reader cannot help but wonder whether the characters before them are about to be blessed or cursed. In approximately 927 AD, the Sword of Isidores was given to King Harald of Norway by King Athelstan of England: an historically accurate moment that inspired David Thomas Kay's fantastical world of Vikings, raids, Norse gods, witchcraft, curses, family bonds, friendship, and chosen family.
In THE SWORD OF ISIDORES: Circles of Time (Book One), the reader follows a series of characters influenced by fame, revenge, rage, war, and love. All connected in some way, by family or otherwise, each of them is haunted and overshadowed by the possibility of renewed conflict. While some linger on what has been taken from them in raids and war, others willingly sacrifice parts of themselves to serve a greater agenda for revenge. Calculating, self-serving, bereaved, displaced, and enraged, each of these characters carries a plan that might seem unpredictable but which lays a path to redemption—no matter how violent.
The most interesting character, of course, is the main character. This is actually the Sword itself, clearly sentient and with a looming presence throughout the novel. Though it’s not always on the page, its embodiment lingers both in references to it and in how it obviously influences the choices and motivations of the surrounding characters—including who they want, what they want, and what they’re willing to do to get it.
While this fantastical action-adventure is immersive and entertaining, the work also sometimes struggles with an overuse of expositional writing. There is a need to stage so many different characters, belief systems, and legends. Though this is important information for the novel’s world-building, it plausibly could have been woven differently into the fabric of the novel to preserve its momentum and keep the reader locked in the story. In a novel of this length, and in the context of a series no less, it’s important to remain as propulsive as possible.
THE SWORD OF ISIDORES is an interesting first glimpse into the world of Circles of Time, and it will keep fantasy readers with an inclination for Vikings and Norse Mythology eager for more.
THE SWORD OF SAINT ISIDORES: Circles of Time (Book One) by David Thomas Kay skillfully walks the line between historical fiction and fantasy, drawing inspiration from Viking battles while compellingly weaving in a complex magical system, cursed objects, and Norse Mythology.
~ McKenzie Lynn Tozan for IndieReader