Talon Cour-Vermane is not only the sole inheritor of his House’s lands, titles, and political power, but also of the pact his family has forged with darkness through countless generations. From birth, Talon’s father tethered his son’s life to the family’s bloodline and his own ambitions of power, but everything changes when a new blacksmith and his young apprentice, Richen, join the staff at the Cour-Vermane estate. With their fateful meeting, Talon’s life changes course forever, derailing the meticulously laid out existence planned for him. From his family’s estates and the countryside of Eleryon to the extents of the Xallian Empire and the dwarven kingdom of Lymehold, Talon discovers the different aspects of love, true family, and himself as he battles his cursed blood and the shackles to darkness his father bound him with.
"Sometimes all you had in life was blind faith". Jay Tallsquall's Legacy of the Vermillion Blade trudges on as we follow the life of the main character, a lord's son who was possessed by powers bigger than him and attempts to free himself from them, while looking for his lost love and making connections along the way.
It's a lovely exploration of asexuality (especially towards the middle of the novel, as an older Talon explores his boundaries) but it's not a good fantasy novel. The narration jumps from one year to another to decades later with no real effort to make a cohesive story, only painting vignettes and telling us to trust that things are advancing. When it takes its time to breathe and explore the characters and situations, it's good, but that happens rarely.
The worldbuilding is confusing, not really clear, and the main character's father is almost cartoonish in the depiction of his villainy. This could have been a great novel, with some editing; it's rare we get a homoromantic asexual protagonist, so I was very excited for it, but it didn't deliver on the speculative fiction side.
Legacy of the Vermillion Blade is a book with a good premise and some great representation.
✨ 3.5 stars
📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:
* The Perfect Assassin, by K.A. Doore
for: sword fights, asexual protagonist
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