Relics of War

Ethshar #13

by Lawrence Watt-Evans

Young Ishta found it in the forest, buried beneath dead a rounded, flattened stone as black as onyx. One side held a golden oval that glowed with a unnatural light. Of course, it had to be magic. But what did farmers know of magic? It could be dangerous, or it could be some harmless toy. They had to find out.

Since Ishta was too young to bring her discovery to the Baron of Varag's stronghold, her older brother, Garander, went instead. Once there, Azlia, a beautiful wizard, recognized the stone immediately as Northern sorcery. She had to call Sammel, the local sorcerer, to find out its nature . . . a relic of the last great war.

When the Baron takes the stone for himself, that should have ended things. But it was just the beginning for Garander. Because that magical stone wasn't the only relic left in the woods...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2014

About the author

Also publishes as Nathan Archer

Reviews

[Dani]

The story of this Ethshar installment veered off in another direction than I'd expected and admittedly, there could have been way more complexity (plot and/or events) added in, but ultimately, this still was an enjoyable read for me.
This was mostly because of Watt-Evans' writing style. He writes in such a way that it not only made me feel a part of the world he painted but also 'at home' in it. I'm not sure yet if that's a good thing, given the fact that this world included heaps of magicians, wizards and also dangerous creatures..

But I believe the fact that the main characters are common, hardworking people, who approach the magical problems that Tesk brings to their lives with the same honesty and straightforwardness that they approach their every-day chores, was the most interesting thing about this story and made it memorable for me.

[Eric Mcelveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Story

[Lyle Blosser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very entertaining installment in the Legends of Ethshar series!

[John Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read

Like his other work, this was a fun, light read with well developed characters. It fits in well with the other books set in this world.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

When one of your favorite authors puts out another book, you have high expectations. They were met, with great building upon his world and legends, and putting an interesting spin on one of them.

[Joel Flank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This tale of Ethshar focuses on the time 20 years after the Great Northern War. The war is over, and all notherners have been destroyed by the gods, leaving behind only occisional relics of their sorcerery. When Garander's little sister finds one of these, he begins an adventure to find out what it is, going to the Baron and his wizards to find out more. What should have ended with finding a strange but harmless oddity becomes much more serious after what else his sister finds. That sets off a chain of events which could plunge the independent baronies into war with the city states of the three Ethshars.

Like most Ethshar stories, the characters behave just like regular people who completely take for granted that their world contains over a dozen types of magic. Garander and his family are just simple common farmers, but approach their situation with straight forward logic, despite being involved with wizards, witches, and the leaders of their land. It's by far my favorite part of Watt-Evan's writing that his characters take things so matter of factly, and there's no pretenses of being heroes, but just regular people dealing with the every day oddities of their lives and world.

[Stephen Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nicely executed look at a different time and place in Ethshar. Sensible protagonists facing an interesting problem make for an enjoyable read. We haven't looked as closely at the immediate post-war period or Sardiron while it's being established, which adds to the enjoyment. Ithanalin's Restoration is more fun, while looking at an unusual place. But this ranks up there among my most favorite of this series.

[Allen McDonnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine addition to Ethshar

This is a fine book, but it seemed shorter than I expected it to be. I had shelved this when it came out, but am glad I finally took time to read it. This one gives us a return to the period not long after the Great War we see in The Misenchanted Sword.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the other ethshar novels but I am happy lee is still writing about ethshar!

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable read from Lawrence Watt-Evans. I particularly enjoyed when the penny dropped about Tesk.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most Ethshar it's an enjoyable easy read. But like most it's not a change to your life.

Wanted a bit more out of it...

[Vader · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish