(short story) Review - Sword of Kings by Matthew Iden

“My sword is dying.”

King Andreas was confident, bold, courageous…until his sword–the living symbol of his power–began to crumble in his hands.With his brother Jon by his side, Andreas has little time to find out why the sword, passed down through a hundred generations, is failing now.The answer he finds may save his kingdom, but at a terrible price.

Sword of Kings is a 4,100 word short story of high fantasy. Included in this volume is a Story Notes essay detailing the thought process and background behind the writing of the work.

This short story was recommended to me by an avowed "dislike[r]" of fantasy. I am always extremely wary when this happens.

And that's for one BIG reason.

I'm a HUGE fan (and I mean HUGE, the all CAPS doesn't even do it justice) of fantasy. Therefore, if someone doesn't like fantasy and says they like a certain fantasy... I should HATE it, right?

Well, I'm happy to say this logic, while usually spot-on (of course), did not win the day in this instance. Sword of Kings [US] [UK] was a great story with a great ending. One of those endings where you go, I really should have seen that coming, the author was pretty much beating me over the head with it and yet I DIDN'T SEE IT COMING.

Well worth the thirty minutes it would take to read and the $.99 for the eBook.

4 out of 5 Stars (Loved it)