A Few Thoughts On: Legacy of Steel by Matthew Ward

I’m delighted to have another review live on the British Fantasy Society website, this time for Legacy of Steel by Matthew Ward – the sequel to Legacy of Ash, and the second book in the epic (in every sense of the word) Legacy Trilogy. I’m not going to just reprint the review – here’s the link to the BFS website so you can read it in full – but I feel like this article should be more than just a paragraph and a link. As such, I thought I would use this space to talk a bit about the series (so far) as a whole, and my experience of reading Legacy of Steel, which was a little unusual for me.

If you haven’t come across this series before, or you maybe need a recap on what to expect, I would begin by saying that this is very much ‘epic fantasy’ with emphasis on the EPIC. We’re talking seriously big books (240k+ words per volume) with huge casts of strong, engaging characters, fabulous world building and pretty much everything you might want from a powerful, character-driven fantasy trilogy. I read Legacy of Ash without knowing much about it and was blown away, and as you’ll see from my review of Legacy of Steel I thought the second volume was a fantastic companion piece and a brilliant second novel, setting things up perfectly for the series finale.

For a little bit more detail, here’s Matthew (from when I interviewed him about Legacy of Steel) talking about the trilogy as a whole:

The Legacy Trilogy concerns a new generation wrestling with the consequences of decisions made by their forebears. It’s about the weight of tradition, and the burden of taking responsibility for the mistakes of old – whether your own, those of your kin, or those of your nation.

How far will you go to claim what you believe to be yours? How much will you risk to correct the injustices of the past?

If you haven’t already, check out my review of Legacy of Ash, the first book in the trilogy. You can also check out my interview with Matthew talking about Legacy of Ash.

As for Legacy of Steel, it’s another chunky volume which sees the cast list growing yet further, introducing more in the way of gods and magic, and upping the stakes (if you can believe that) beyond what the first book showed. Again, check out the full review for more detail, but suffice to say this is more of a war story than its predecessor, while at the same time it offers a deeper exploration of the key characters and the setting as a whole. If you enjoyed Legacy of Ash then I’m pretty sure (like me) you’ll have a blast reading Legacy of Steel too.

From the same interview as before, here’s Matthew again with a little bit about Legacy of Steel:

War is coming, on a scale far grander than we saw before…and it’s one that transcends the mortal world. Gods are waking. Old injustices are coming home to roost. It’s going to get bloody.

Here’s a link to that full interview, if you would like to read the whole thing.

Lastly, I want to talk briefly about what it was like for me reading Legacy of Steel, as the experience was a bit different to usual. I normally read pretty quickly, so even a doorstop of a book like this wouldn’t generally take me very long, but I read Legacy of Steel while recovering from a kidney stone (a painful experience I would not wish on anyone!). As you can probably imagine it wasn’t a particularly fun time, and at first I really struggled to concentrate on anything (painkillers and lack of sleep will do that). I needed something immersive and engaging, and even though I read this much more slowly than I would otherwise, it was the perfect book to keep me occupied.

You might think that a short, easy read would be the best option when not feeling well, and I would normally be inclined to agree. In this instance though, I think the combination of great characters with whom I was already familiar, and a wonderfully drawn world with endless possibilities that I was really keen to learn more about, provided the perfect combination of elements to keep my attention. Because there’s so much going on in each of these books, I felt like I could just dive into this epic story, put the real world to one side and enjoy spending time in Aradane. I’m deeply grateful to have had a book that I could really lose myself in, and reading Legacy of Steel was an enormous help in terms of keeping my spirits up!

To finish off, suffice to say I’m very much looking forward to reading Legacy of Light and finishing the Legacy Trilogy. It’s another hefty tome, but I know I’m going to enjoy it! Until such time as I can read and review it, I’ll leave you with a reminder to read my full review on the British Fantasy Society website, and links to two fantastic guest posts that Matthew has contributed to Track of Words as part of the blog tours for Legacy of Steel – The Power of the Past – and Legacy of Light – An End of an Era.

Many thanks to Matthew Ward and Orbit for providing me with a review copy of Legacy of Steel in exchange for my honest opinion, and to the British Fantasy Society for hosting my review.

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