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The Sundered Crown Saga #0.5
The Nightblade
When darkness rises, the Nightblade is never far behind.It came from the forest. A creature not seen in the peaceful lands of Mid-lake for millennia. A Fell Beast. A farmer disappears and strange sounds are heard in the nearby forest prompting Alther, an old man with a mysterious past to investigate.Meanwhile, on the BlackMoor, the Nightblade Ferran stumbles upon a mystery of his own, one that reveals a sinister plot that could threaten the entire Kingdom of Delfinnia.The Nightblade is a tale of adventure, mystery and magic that casts light on the events leading up to the Sundered Crown Saga.
- GenresFantasy
127 pages, Paperback
Published January 5, 2017
8 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
M.S. Olney
26 books135 followersMatthew Olney lives in Worcester with his wife Chloe. By day, he works as a copywriter, but at night he writes novels.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 12, 2019
The Nightblade by Matthew Olney is the first book in The Sundered Crown Saga, I believe, though, I could be wrong.
This story gives some insight to the Nightblades and their mission. This is such an interesting story with great characters. The only problem I had with the story was that I feel as if the ending was rushed a bit, but I would still recommend this book.
This story gives some insight to the Nightblades and their mission. This is such an interesting story with great characters. The only problem I had with the story was that I feel as if the ending was rushed a bit, but I would still recommend this book.
March 7, 2025
The Nightblade is a prequel to the Sundered Crown saga.
While the cover gives vibes of rogue/assassin fantasy and the series is classified as Epic fantasy, I would describe this book as firmly in Sword and Sorcery territory.
It tells the tale of a pair of experienced, adult heroes as they try to figure out and then thwart the plans of a shadowy group that has been raising the dead. Soon in the book a female heroine and love interest is introduced, who later gets a couple of pov scenes.
All in all, the characters are well fleshed out and likable. They have nice dynamics between them. The titular Nightblades bring to mind a medieval fantasy version of the Jedi Order. They are clearly heroes among men yet never do they feel invincible. There are other factions in the world but the focus is not on them, which is just as well; far too many fantasy books get bogged in excessive world building. This one gives you what you need to understand the story at hand while making it clear that there is much more to discover in later books.
Magic and monsters seem fairly common in this world; people accept their existence, though most seem suitably shaken when faced with them. It reminds me of the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms books, and the licensed Magic the Gathering and Warcraft novels.
The focus is on the action, with plenty of fast-paced and sharply written battle scenes. These are intimate skirmishes; even in the couple of occasions where the books veers into larger scale battles, there’s no birds-eye view; in fact, it gets done with them quite fast, reinforcing the Sword & Sorcery slant over what’s typically the bread & butter of Epic Fantasy.
Although the story is character-driven, the overall plot is solid and wrapped up satisfactorily. There’s a small bump in the final chapter that I won’t dive into because I consider it a minor spoiler, but nothing as glaring as a plot hole—just an odd lapse on the part of an enemy that had been established as extremely competent. There are also a handful of typos in the latter half of the book, but they are minor and did not affect my enjoyment.
All in all, this was a great, short fantasy tale that locked me in for at least the next book in the series!
While the cover gives vibes of rogue/assassin fantasy and the series is classified as Epic fantasy, I would describe this book as firmly in Sword and Sorcery territory.
It tells the tale of a pair of experienced, adult heroes as they try to figure out and then thwart the plans of a shadowy group that has been raising the dead. Soon in the book a female heroine and love interest is introduced, who later gets a couple of pov scenes.
All in all, the characters are well fleshed out and likable. They have nice dynamics between them. The titular Nightblades bring to mind a medieval fantasy version of the Jedi Order. They are clearly heroes among men yet never do they feel invincible. There are other factions in the world but the focus is not on them, which is just as well; far too many fantasy books get bogged in excessive world building. This one gives you what you need to understand the story at hand while making it clear that there is much more to discover in later books.
Magic and monsters seem fairly common in this world; people accept their existence, though most seem suitably shaken when faced with them. It reminds me of the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms books, and the licensed Magic the Gathering and Warcraft novels.
The focus is on the action, with plenty of fast-paced and sharply written battle scenes. These are intimate skirmishes; even in the couple of occasions where the books veers into larger scale battles, there’s no birds-eye view; in fact, it gets done with them quite fast, reinforcing the Sword & Sorcery slant over what’s typically the bread & butter of Epic Fantasy.
Although the story is character-driven, the overall plot is solid and wrapped up satisfactorily. There’s a small bump in the final chapter that I won’t dive into because I consider it a minor spoiler, but nothing as glaring as a plot hole—just an odd lapse on the part of an enemy that had been established as extremely competent. There are also a handful of typos in the latter half of the book, but they are minor and did not affect my enjoyment.
All in all, this was a great, short fantasy tale that locked me in for at least the next book in the series!
July 20, 2020
A Terrific story!
Nightblades, sworn to protect the King and the Realm! This book is a lead in to the the Sundered Crown saga. Extremely well written. A thrilling edge of your seat page turner. With complex characters, bravery, suspense and conspiracy s. A story steeped in magic. Fell Beasts are running amok in the Realm and it's up to Nightblades Ferran and Alther to figure out why and how to stop them. I truly enjoyed this book and I will be reading the series now!
Nightblades, sworn to protect the King and the Realm! This book is a lead in to the the Sundered Crown saga. Extremely well written. A thrilling edge of your seat page turner. With complex characters, bravery, suspense and conspiracy s. A story steeped in magic. Fell Beasts are running amok in the Realm and it's up to Nightblades Ferran and Alther to figure out why and how to stop them. I truly enjoyed this book and I will be reading the series now!
March 31, 2019
Good story, lots of action and a great ending to lead into the next book.
Overall it was an enjoyable read
Overall it was an enjoyable read
March 7, 2022
As I have not read this author before and had the chance to read this for free I gave it a go.
I really liked the concept of it, with the fell beasts and the story behind them. I also really liked one of the main characters being older.
I found Sophia ironic. Watching Ferran kill her father and her getting upset by it as she thought custody would be better. She killed innocent people because of their magic, while her father was actually guilty. Would those she killed not appreciate custody too? Granted it was her father and they needed answers but at least Ferran dealt with someone guilty.
I liked this scene as it was one of those moments you could understand Ferran's reaction but also Sophia's reaction.
The Nightblades sound really cool, the story flowed well. Overall an interesting read and I would read more.
I really liked the concept of it, with the fell beasts and the story behind them. I also really liked one of the main characters being older.
I found Sophia ironic. Watching Ferran kill her father and her getting upset by it as she thought custody would be better. She killed innocent people because of their magic, while her father was actually guilty. Would those she killed not appreciate custody too? Granted it was her father and they needed answers but at least Ferran dealt with someone guilty.
I liked this scene as it was one of those moments you could understand Ferran's reaction but also Sophia's reaction.
The Nightblades sound really cool, the story flowed well. Overall an interesting read and I would read more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2021
A good read. A retired Nightblade tries to find peace in a village but but evil awaits . Another young Nightblade and a young female Witch Hunter meet under strange circumstances. All three must join forces in order to try and say the town people and perhaps humanity. However this is not a normal time and evil forces are gathering. Well worth reading.
January 31, 2020
Thoroughly enjoyable.
A good story, well written with strong characters. Can't wait for the next book in the series. Very enjoyable and the world behind the story is slowly being revealed.
A good story, well written with strong characters. Can't wait for the next book in the series. Very enjoyable and the world behind the story is slowly being revealed.
March 10, 2020
This is an interesting read which gives the reader deeper insight to the world that Matthew is building.
Some fascinating characters in this and I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
Some fascinating characters in this and I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
August 20, 2023
A good S&S story. Alther is enjoying a well-deserved retirement, but evil never retires.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews