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Iron Angel #3
Kingsbane
The forgotten magic of the past is again leashed upon the world after Brodin sets out to retrieve the sacred talisman of the Iron Mage stolen from him by the evil Lord Halssa.
- GenresFantasySword and Sorcery
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 17, 2019
More of the same as the previous 2 books. It takes place generations after the events of Ironbrand & features 2 descendants of Ambescand's family. Interesting with quite a few references to the previous stories, it's not as engaging, though. The ending was disappointing, too.
So I found this a bit disappointing, but still pretty good. I'm going to start the final book The Time of the Annihilator now. It's another quick easy read & I do want to read all the books in order this time.
So I found this a bit disappointing, but still pretty good. I'm going to start the final book The Time of the Annihilator now. It's another quick easy read & I do want to read all the books in order this time.
November 19, 2025
Actual score 3.5
Didn’t even realize this book was part of a series when I started it. It does reference past events but doesn’t feel like you absolutely need to know those events because it usually provides enough context to not feel totally meaningless. Either way, it seems to be a generational gap between this book and the one before it, so it’s not like entering in at the middle part of a character’s adventures. Kingsbane seemingly tells the ebtire tale of Brondin, a somewhat crippled young ruler who is the son of a great warrior.
Some of the main plot is kind of funny, revolving around the theft of an old magical cloak pin which is mostly forgotten but also tied to having a claim to rule. As the story goes on you learn a bit about the importance of this cloak pin and who had it stolen, but I kind of had a hard time accepting that an unassuming cloak pin of all things could be that important to keeping the loyalty of his subjects. Eventually you do find out that there’s more to it though, I just think something that seemed more obviously import would have made more sense for the stolen magical item.
The escape and pursuit journey that follows the theft isn’t always super riveting, but I enjoyed the exploration of the world and thought the reasonably grounded approach to fantasy where magic has more or less been lost in the realm was reasonably well done. It’s definitely not the most extensively done world building, but it felt like a decent attempt and I thought the party of main characters was a kind of unique mix for a fantasy story of this sort.
The final stretch gets into some more classic feeling sword and sorcery stuff that I would be thrilled to stumble upon while watching an old forgotten fantasy movie on Tubi. While there’s definitely traces of familiar stuff going on with the climax scenes, it never feels super cheap or derivative, but like an honest effort at making some good medieval fantasy.
While it’s definitely not a book I would call a must read, I was pleasantly surprised with it for something I got at a “fill a box of books for 20 bucks” book sale based 110% off of having cool painted cover art. Maybe the lesson here is that sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.
Didn’t even realize this book was part of a series when I started it. It does reference past events but doesn’t feel like you absolutely need to know those events because it usually provides enough context to not feel totally meaningless. Either way, it seems to be a generational gap between this book and the one before it, so it’s not like entering in at the middle part of a character’s adventures. Kingsbane seemingly tells the ebtire tale of Brondin, a somewhat crippled young ruler who is the son of a great warrior.
Some of the main plot is kind of funny, revolving around the theft of an old magical cloak pin which is mostly forgotten but also tied to having a claim to rule. As the story goes on you learn a bit about the importance of this cloak pin and who had it stolen, but I kind of had a hard time accepting that an unassuming cloak pin of all things could be that important to keeping the loyalty of his subjects. Eventually you do find out that there’s more to it though, I just think something that seemed more obviously import would have made more sense for the stolen magical item.
The escape and pursuit journey that follows the theft isn’t always super riveting, but I enjoyed the exploration of the world and thought the reasonably grounded approach to fantasy where magic has more or less been lost in the realm was reasonably well done. It’s definitely not the most extensively done world building, but it felt like a decent attempt and I thought the party of main characters was a kind of unique mix for a fantasy story of this sort.
The final stretch gets into some more classic feeling sword and sorcery stuff that I would be thrilled to stumble upon while watching an old forgotten fantasy movie on Tubi. While there’s definitely traces of familiar stuff going on with the climax scenes, it never feels super cheap or derivative, but like an honest effort at making some good medieval fantasy.
While it’s definitely not a book I would call a must read, I was pleasantly surprised with it for something I got at a “fill a box of books for 20 bucks” book sale based 110% off of having cool painted cover art. Maybe the lesson here is that sometimes you can judge a book by its cover.
April 10, 2021
It's pretty straight forward magic fantasy. All the elements are there: journeys, magic swords, old wizards, etc.
The fantasy isn't terribly well done, though. The map doesn't have most of the important locations. The items are glossed over. Characters rush in and out without deep explanation. The author beats you with the exposition stick.
Towards the end of the book:
Old wizard: "You must go here, to a place you've never heard of before, and fight the bad guy in a way not established yet. Do it quickly, because there's only 20% of the book left."
Characters: "Okay." They do.
It's not bad. It's meh pulp fantasy and fine. It's also fairly short. But outside that there isn't much to recommend it. The characters aren't interesting or fleshed out, the romance is bland, the magic is amorphous and unimpressive, and the climax is too wordy, built on a foundation too thin. Some of the fights were decent. Solid 2/5 in GR scale, probably one thumbs up out of two.
The fantasy isn't terribly well done, though. The map doesn't have most of the important locations. The items are glossed over. Characters rush in and out without deep explanation. The author beats you with the exposition stick.
Towards the end of the book:
Old wizard: "You must go here, to a place you've never heard of before, and fight the bad guy in a way not established yet. Do it quickly, because there's only 20% of the book left."
Characters: "Okay." They do.
It's not bad. It's meh pulp fantasy and fine. It's also fairly short. But outside that there isn't much to recommend it. The characters aren't interesting or fleshed out, the romance is bland, the magic is amorphous and unimpressive, and the climax is too wordy, built on a foundation too thin. Some of the fights were decent. Solid 2/5 in GR scale, probably one thumbs up out of two.
October 7, 2014
Also a quick wrap.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews