Lara Croft and the Blade of Gwynnever

Tomb Raider Universe

by Dan Abnett, Nik Vincent

This stand-alone novel is an epic Lara Croft adventure, featuring enough dual-pistol wielding action and sharp wit to please nostalgic fans of the franchise.

After a ruthless competitor beats her in a race to recover a priceless antiquity in Sri Lanka, Lara Croft returns home to London. Nursing her bruises, she gets a call from an old friend in desperate need of help and learns that something truly strange has been discovered during an excavation beneath the City of London. Investigating, Lara witnesses something so spectacular it could rewrite the history of the British Isles - and perhaps even the world - but is drawn into a dangerous shadow world of espionage, conspiracy and black market trafficking. There’s too much at stake. Lara sets off on a globe-trotting mission to recover a precious antiquity that links the modern world to ancient myths and legends, as old foes and new threats gather to stop her finding the truth. What is the true secret of the blade, who can she really trust, and is this the one mission even she can’t survive?

Storyline written in conjunction with the game developers at Crystal Dynamics, and penned by Dan Abnett, a bestselling British novelist and comic book writer.

Genres: Adventure, Video Games, Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Action

352 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2016

Reviews

[Kelsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have known this was going to be a trash fire, but I’m a glutton for punishment apparently. I can’t even list all the things I hated about this wasted hunk of garbage, but the whole villain who was a feminist who wanted a matriarchy has to be up there. Hello, have you seen the news? Give me aliens, give me a matriarchy, give me anything but old white dudes who run their mouths.

And after 350 pages, I still can’t say who Gwynnever is. Or why people randomly turned into bears and boars. Or why we had to be told continually how attractive Lara was. Or why I lost my mind and 15 dollars and bought this book. Ugh.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the beginning I thought this one was going to be better thn its predecessor, but by the time I ended it I no longer thought so. The ending seemed anti climatic to me, like sth was missing... I don't know.
I guess Tomb Raider hardcore fans or fans will enjoy it as an easy read.

[Hannah Frye · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't tell you a single thing that happened if Lara Croft's gun was to my head.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out as a four-star read, later demoted to three. I really enjoyed the authors' characterisation of Lara, which rang true to the classic Tomb Raider series. The supporting characters, particularly her archaeologist friend, Carter Bell, were also well drawn and interesting. I really appreciated the authenticity of the London scenes. The authors have clearly been there and know enough to create a plausible situation for the finding of an archaeological site during the construction of the Crossrail. The use of vocabulary that I had to look up also impressed me considering this is a glorified fanfiction. The mythology of Gwynnever and the sword is really where the book fell flat for me. Unlike the other warrior queens mentioned, Gwynnever is not a real historical figure. Instead of creating a story for her and explaining the powers of her sword, the book mentions her as if the readers already know who she is. The scenes where Lara is transported to primordial England are never really explained. I wasn't sure if she was really there or if she was having some sort of vision quest. The book needed some serious editing as well. There were no breaks in the paragraphs when the scene shifted from one set of characters to another or to mark the passage of time. Overall, I'm not sorry I read it, but it could have been so much more.

[Stella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not great but *much* better than the previous TR novel, The Ten Thousand Immortals. Still, I would not recommend this to anyone but the most die-hard Tomb Raider fans. There's much higher caliber fan fiction out there. Save time and money and seek out some of that.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this. It's Lara Croft in the original, classic timeline. However, she's just not a character that works in prose. Lara Croft and Tomb Raider need to be visual, it's why she works as a video game and as comics. But written out it was just convulted. It was crammed and not as exciting. Lara written here too was a bit to slow on the uptake for the Lara of this timeline.

[Gabriella Crivilare · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new Tomb Raider fan, this was exactly the kind of thing I needed (even though I have no attachment to any of the classic games). The premise was great; I just wish a bit more time had been spent on the reveal of the main plot point at the end. Then again, Lara'd probably say some things are best left to the imagination. (My real gripe is that it could have used much better formatting.)

[April B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book much more the second time around!

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

My overriding thought about this book is that the writing was often too on-the-nose; for instance, anyone reading this already knows Lara is Not Like Other Girls Archaeologists, so why bring it up every other paragraph? Other reviewers have noted most of the other issues I have with the book (the formatting, the lack of explanation for the supernatural elements), but I'll add that the part about "women like Florence" hating men kind of came out of nowhere - like something was meant to be added in earlier, but wasn't. I do hope it wasn't a reference to Denny's earlier suggestion that Florence was gay, because I am sick to death of the man-hating lesbian trope. Speaking of Denny, I'll also add that I wish his story had gotten some resolution (unless it did and it happened so fast I missed it - which is possible), because I actually really enjoyed him.

Despite its flaws, this is a nice enough diversion if you need more Lara away from the game console. The story itself is great, though it's left kind of half-explored. I just wish we'd gotten something better-written. Lara deserves it.

[Lizzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never give 1 star reviews but damn if this doesn't suck I'm not sure what does. The formatting is awful, there's absolutely zero transition between characters/scenes, and the pace can't decide if it's going to be fast or slow. I didn't even finish this book because frankly, I didn't wanna spend any more time or energy on it. It's really sad too because I was really looking forward to reading this. I've loved Tomb Raider all my life and was super excited to find this book...only to be severely disappointed. From now on if I wanna read something with Lara Croft, I'll look to fanfiction because honestly it's 1000% better.

[Aylın · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it was a solid (Lara Croft like) story. The editing was awful, though, and the switch of povs was absolutely not evident. But other than that, I liked the depiction of Lara and Carter, but their dynamics could have been a bit more 'friends' like. Ofttimes, Lara seemed to be a bit too arrogant, also towards Carter and I wished Carter would've had a more active part in the story. The villain was pretty flat as a character, as it is often the case.
However, a solid story that gave me Tomb Raider vibes which I really enjoyed.

[Mark Ford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well disappointed.
Mr Abnett can do so much better than this childish drivel.
What age group was this aimed at? Teenage potheads?
The story just got more and more surreal and totally bonkers even for a fantasy adventure heroine like Lara Croft.
Not a good starting point, if this is your first read of a Tombraider novel, will put you right off of the franchise.
Stick to the Warhammer universe Dan.

[Donavon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "Lara Croft and the __" games and comic mini-series are over-the-top supernatural action. I was expecting this to follow suit, instead the only supernatural stuff is chalked up to dreams and the great action on the cover never appears. Dissapointing, might stick to comics and games...

[Zoe LeCraw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Tomb Raider novel; authors do a great job at bringing Lara to written life.

[fay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute read. The last battle might’ve felt a bit sloppy but that’s fine cause I got to see Lara Croft use a sword <33

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Tomb Raider books. Not perfect but fun. Classic Lara of a classic adventure. Worth a read

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Dan Abnett, Please Write More TR Novels' Challenge 2025

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I think his previous one (The Ten Thousand Immortals) was better, but that's my honest opinion. If you would like to read a unique story using the old style Lara Croft, this would be your book.

[Keri Honea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, action-filled fast-read that ultimately suffers because it moves so quickly.

[ShingetsuMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I was curious to read this book I won't say that I had vast expectations for it either. While it did have better writing and story development then the previous novel it also has some colonialist undertones and comments in the story that I've seen another reader point out and that I feel can't be ignored. So for that I revise my rating down to a 3.

It also would have been nice to see Sam again along adventuring with an older Lara Croft.

The story opens with Lara once again out on an expedition gone awry. When she returns to London a little worse for wear she gets a call about a dig site beneath the city. What she finds could rewrite the history of the city, the country and the world. Problem is that something has been stolen from the dig site and Lara takes it upon herself to get it back.

It's a decent story with an experienced and confident Lara Croft, but the new characters around her can be admittedly less interesting or simply annoying which doesn't help the book.

The transitions between character points of view aren't that clearly marked either. This was a step up from the previous books but I still hope to one day read a book with an older Lara Croft along with previous friends partners like Jonah and Sam alongside her as well.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series since the mid 90's.
Played through all of the games and read all of the novels (except Ten Thousand Immortals) and many of the comics.
This novel is better than most video game based adaptations, and it's much better than some of the earlier Tomb Raider novels. It's fast-paced, it's fun, there's plenty of action and espionage, and overall it flows well and reads like a movie.
It kept me up waaaaay past my bedtime because I HAD to finish it.
Abnett has done an excellent job capturing and portraying the Lara Croft that I grew up with, as opposed to what I think of as 'reboot Lara'; old-school Lara was saucy, sarcastic and aristocratic, and that personality is what you get here.
If you're a Tomb Raider fan or need something fun to read so you can turn your brain off and just go with the narrative flow, give this book a shot. The Kindle edition is only $4.99; and it will keep you entertained for a few hours.
Happy raiding!

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was ok, there wasn't much to let you know you were changing characters. You were reading about Lara then the next paragraph you were with another character. A bit different.