Originally posted as part of Queen’s Book Asylum’s SPFBO X reviews.

At its core, The Oathsworn Legacy is the story of two brothers, Baelin & Rawley Terricaut. Orphaned at a young age, they take to hiring themselves out as monster killers; both as a means of supporting themselves and of taking some measure of revenge for their loss. Told in an episodic fashion, each chapter adds to the world and the overarching plot the brothers gradually uncover.

The Oathsworn Legacy feels like a book in three parts. The first, and simplest, follows the brothers on some of their earlier hunts. While there are both characters and events that reappear or take on greater significance later, these first few adventures could easily work as stand-alone short stories; something which the author acknowledges is how the book started out. The downside of that is that there is a fair bit of repetition between chapters, something that might have benefited from a tighter edit.

The second section deals with the brothers, settling into their new roles as they prepare for the events to come. Several of the stories here deal with them making alliances and do a great deal to expand their, and the reader’s worldview. We also get a chance to see the brothers from the outside, as some of the supporting characters take over as the main POV. Here there tends to be a little less repetition but there is a great deal of telling, as opposed to showing, leaving some sections exposition-heavy and stilted as a result.

Finally, the third section deals with the overarching plot coming to a head. This was the section that worked best for me, especially since I often enjoy siege narratives. There are some great battle descriptions here, seen through various eyes as the POV shifts from 1st person to 3rd and back again, as the characters fight for survival.

There is a deal to recommend about this book; the world-building, the fight scenes, the central relationship. However, I was left unsatisfied. The format, barring the repetition that plagued the earlier chapters, wasn’t an issue in itself, but it did make the story feel uneven, with too much time spent on some adventures while others felt rushed, with some events skipped over or seeming to come from nowhere. Perhaps it would have been a benefit to expand this beyond a single book and give the latter sections and their characters a chance to truly shine.

3 out of 5