Bolivar's Sword

The Weapon Takers Saga #2

by Jamie Edmundson

Bolivar’s Sword is the fabled weapon of the greatest hero of the Krykker race—and Rabigar needs it. There’s just one problem. Rabigar has been exiled from his homeland, never to return, on pain of death.

Belwynn has escaped from the clutches of Ishari. But her brother Soren, and her friends, have not been so lucky. Who will help her in a rescue attempt that seems certain to fail?

Meanwhile, the armies of Ishari are on the march, aiming to smash the resistance of the Brasingian Empire. Will the fragile coalition hold? Or will the dark forces that have been unleashed destroy their world? As war comes to Dalriya, the stakes couldn’t get any higher...

Bolivar’s Sword continues the action-packed series, the Weapon Takers Saga. If you like multiple character storylines, set in a rich and detailed world, you’ll find this Epic Fantasy tale hard to put down.

Genres: Fantasy, Ebooks

308 pages, Paperback

Published February 7, 2018

About the author

Jamie has always loved a good story, whether real or imagined. He grew up in the south of England before moving to the north, where he worked as a history teacher. He still lives there with his wonderful family, but now spends his time writing, mainly about people hitting each other with swords.
You can connect with him at his website, jamieedmundson.com

Join his newsletter and download the short story collection, Mercs & Magi, for free: https://subscribe.jamieedmundson.com

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle & Sorcery Action!

Small backstory:

During a skirmish Soren was separated from his twin sister, Belwynn and some of the companions were split to the point that a handful of them were captured and handful of them escaped! This time there is another weapon that they are searching for (Bolivar's Sword) when things go to hell in a handbasket and all of them are in a fight for their lives!

Though some of them are separated from each other they end up with allies willing to help them out of their situations, but trying to find each other again is going to be hard as the friend group that was captured are being led far away to another city and rescuing them will take more than a miracle to get them all back together!

War is still brewing in the country of Dalriya and the friends are caught up in the war when it finally erupts which sends all them trying to decide what they are going to need to do in the midst of war and a possible rescue!

That is about all I can give on a small backstory without giving away spoilers, so if this book sounds intriguing then go grab it and step into this world!

Thoughts:

I have to add a "Wow" here as once again stepping back into this book I was caught up in the story of the twins and their companions. There are tons of factions, soldiers, kingdoms, creatures, and wizards along with tons of characters that are spread out within this story and the previous book as well.

I was once again consumed by this story as the first book ends on a cliff hanger and I had to jump into this second book to not lose momentum within the story. There are some cool battle fights that happen in this book when the war starts including more magical sorcery that really erupts in this book as the visuals of the fights just come alive on the pages. The action is superb and fast paced as through most of the book I could not catch my breath with staying up some nights to the wee hours of the morning as I barreled along within this story!

Looking forward to reading book three which I have already started as this book ended on cliff hanger and I am eager to find out what happens next! Giving this book five "Awesome Action" stars!

For images/gifs of this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/...

[ShannaBanana✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really freaking good! My only complaint is there wasn’t enough Soren. We heard about him once I believe until the very end of the book. At this point in the series, I’m still worried for several of our characters. A couple of them were left behind at the end and I can only hope they are reunited with the others soon. I’m also really loving Pentas. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lisa Maughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Weapons Takers Saga. It’s a darker read. It has twists and turns, swords, battles, magic, friendships. Great story

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bolivar's Sword takes an epic turn in this second book of The Weapon Takers Saga. With huge pitched battles, many POVs and important characters that are scattered throughout the land, and numerous high stakes situations, the scope of this book becomes even more massive than before.
Jamie Edmundson has a knack for world building and characterization, this book serves to add more detail to an already vivid setting. The largest improvement in this book, however, is that it has a far more satisfying conclusion and story arc.

Finally, while this could be argued as one of the books strengths, it was also by far the biggest frustration for me while listening to the audiobook. It took me the better part of the book to figure out who was who, particularly as it has been some time since I read the first installment. I am not sure if a character guide is included with the hard copy but it would be great if it was added as a PDF to the audiobook.

Bolivar's Sword remains a creative and complex fantasy story that may take a second read to truly appreciate.
I received this book free, in exchange for an honest review.

Morality rating- There is violence , death, murder, homosexuality, slavery, sex, and sexuality.

[Alan Behan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic follow up to Toric's Dagger, the worldbuilding has just got bigger, plot and setting is even more brilliant, Jamie Edmundson brings us on a new adventure in the search of a new magical weapon Bolivar’s Sword that Rabigar must find that will be integral to the mission, a fabled weapon of the greatest hero of the Krykker race, we have lots of new characters and some new awesome creatures, Dogmen and Bearmen that will keep you intrigued from start to finish, my new favourite duo, Twins Bewynn and Soren and their companions have been separated and flung across Dalriya, they must find each other very soon because the armies of Ishari are on the march, aiming to smash the resistance of the Brasingian Empire, or will the dark forces that have been unleashed destroy their world, war is coming to Dalriya and you all best best be ready, we find out more on Rabigar and Moneva's amazing backgrounds, if your a fan of fantasy, this series it all, politics, magic, a fast paced action packed battles, you won't be disappointed, the narration by Greg Patmore and Brigid Thomas is just great, they bring excellent story to the next level with their brilliant arrange of voices for the characters, three weapons down, one to go, highly recommend...⚔🗡😁

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The war is full blown in this book and it seems that the whole of Dalryia is fighting against the Isharites. The evil Lord of Ishar, Erkindrix has vowed to destroy all the people who stand against him and he sends out all his forces to fight, many of whom are wizards of the highest order. So far our heroes had only acquired two of the weapons they needed to try and defeat their foe and they had been separated from one another. In this story a 3rd weapon is reclaimed, the sword of Bolivar, but at what cost? I loved this 2nd book even better than the first as it had continuous action and the fighting scenes were tremendous, as the magic wielders use all kinds of sorcery. Had my heart in my mouth most of the time because our heroes were in dire straits for most of the book, yet their courage and loyalty to one another gave them the strength needed to fight till the bitter end! The ending is amazing and I do hope the 3rd book is due out soon as I know I cannot wait to see how this is going to unfold and whether our heroes manage to acquire the rest of the needed weapons!

[Laure · Rating 4 out of 5]

The epic quest continues as a group of adventurers search for legendary weapons that will help defeat the armies of a evil creature determined to rule the world.
Wow, a fantastic read with an action packed, magical adventure and a fascinating, well written cast of characters.

I am voluntarily leaving an honest and non-incentivized review of this book.

[Chrissi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! The storyline marched along nicely and the with different POVs we were able to stay in touch with all the characters as they went about their quests. Interested to see what happens in the following books.

[Patricia Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adventure, magic, friendships, epic quests, heroic deeds, battling evil...great stuff. No slow spots in these books so far. An excellent series. Warning, these books may be addictive. I was given a free review copy of the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book about Bolivar’s Sword. Fantastic fantasy that keeps you intrigued.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline

There is a lot of suspense and a lot of action in this book. The author weaves magic with hard soldiering. I’m reading the next book now.

[Charles Dillon · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This series is addictive.

Talk about being swept up by a story, this one will do it to you. And there's more to come. You've definitely got to read these.

[Korra II Allison Baskerville · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will have to be a review from a unique point of view, I guess. I got this as a review copy, but I didn’t get the first book as well. I didn’t even know there was a first book until I began listening.

I’ve picked up books in the middle of a series before and have been able to figure out (more or less) what was going on, but this is definitely not one of those books. The entire time, I felt like I was missing a LOT of context. I never really knew who was who, what they were referring to, etc. I could tell that some scenes were likely references to the previous book, but it didn’t help fill in the gaps.

Despite my confusion and lack of understanding of the story, I never found myself any less invested. While I can’t say my usual “If you liked the first book, this is more of the same.” or “This is what I liked and disliked about the changes; bla bla bla.” I will say, this book was interesting enough that I want to find out for myself. It just made me want to get the first book, listen to it, or read it, and then return to this one with that beautiful context in mind.

As for the audiobook narration, where do I even begin? The narrator was one of the 4 best narrators I’ve ever heard. His narration was full of incredible accents, emotion, inflections, and tone that gave life to every character. He really takes his job seriously and I for one am grateful for it.

As for his co-narrator; She has a beautiful singing voice. I wish I could have heard it more. She didn’t have many speaking roles, but the ones she did were pretty good. However, there were at least 2 instances where female characters were talking to each other and it sounded like an insane woman talking to herself, which was a blotch on an otherwise perfect audiobook.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

[Julia Sarene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bolivar’s Sword by Jamie Edmundson

This second book leans hard into scale. The story opens up with large battles, high stakes, and important characters scattered across the land. In theory, that should have raised my engagement, but in practice it mostly amplified the same issues I already had with book one.

While the scope is bigger, the characters themselves still feel a bit too familiar and interchangeable to me. Especially in audio form, I struggled at times to keep track of who was who. I often relied on names rather than voice or personality to orient myself in a scene. For me, that is a real problem. In books I love, I always know whose head I’m in without having to think about it.

There is plenty happening here, wars, danger, and high-stakes moments, but it rarely landed with the emotional weight it was clearly aiming for. Many of the characters still feel built from recognizable fantasy templates, which made it harder for me to care deeply about their individual fates. The story wants urgency and tension, but I never quite felt fully pulled along by it.

Bolivar’s Sword will likely work well for readers who enjoy classic epic fantasy beats, lots of action, and a wide, sweeping story told through familiar archetypes. For me, though, the expanded scope mostly highlighted how much I was missing a stronger sense of character and identity. Ambitious and busy, but not a series that managed to hold my interest beyond this point.

[Jordan Encee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as this book is, it was better than before. However, it's not by much. I do think that the book was overall paced better, but as for the war, I'm a bit unsure how I feel about it. Though the fight sense is much better and fun. One thing I like the most in this series is the creatures of the land. They are elves and dwarfs, as you would think from fantasy; they are pretty unquie from rock people to dog and bear men and my personal favorites, the Drobax. I liked these creatures because they felt unique to this world and like they had their own identity. Good stuff, but sadly I was still left underwhelmed by the book. But I can see how it can be better, so hopefully, the next book will keep its momentum and stick to the landing.

[Mary T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping
The battle scenes are terrific.