A folk element to high fantasy is my favourite. It wasn’t up there with the greats of fantasy but did not try to be. The prose was beautiful and I have no idea how this isn’t talked about more!

To be honest, this was a slog for me almost all the way through. Initially this held a lot of promise for me, I was getting Hellboy 2 Ireland vibes from it, and it got great reviews from authors I really enjoy, but it just all fell flat for me.

I mean, yes it's certainly artsy and hard to pin down, which is probably what Anna wanted, but it just came off as wishy washy to me at least.

A lot of people seemed to enjoy this, and I've certainly enjoyed my fair share of grimdark, Erikson, Abercrombie, Ardalan, etc, and this just didn't scratch that itch for me, take it as you will.

DNF @ 10%

May come back to this another time but found the prose to be too slow moving for my personal reading taste at the moment.

There are no words. This was incredible! I couldn't shut up about how many beautiful lines there are in this one. I desperately need to re-read this on a physical copy.

3 Stars!

A Sword of Bronze and Ash by Anna Smith Spark was a mystery to me when I picked it up. The book was said to be a combination of fantasy and horror and that, along with the fact that it was published by Flame Tree Press, was enough for me to dive in.



Kanda lived a simple life, but it was a good one. She was content with her family and the life that she had built. She did not want excitement. She did not seek adventure. She had her share of that in the past and did not need any more of that. But her past was destined to catch up with her, and all that she had worked to build could come crashing down.



Kanda had once been a legendary warrior, the best of the famed Six Swords of Roven. She gave that life up for her family and they have no idea of her violent past. The evil she had battled now returns to the land and puts Kanda in its sights. Kanda, however, is no longer the fit warrior woman but a mother who had grown softer due to years and lack of battle. She has grown stronger in other ways, though, and in ways that may prove even more powerful than battle-tested muscle. As she runs for her life and the life of her family, Kanda must dig deep and find the strength to once more face the ancient evil and defeat it once and for all before it destroys everything she holds dear.



A Sword of Bronze and Ash is an interesting novel and Spark’s talent is evident from page 1. There is an almost poetic feel to the prose so that it almost feels like this is not just a novel but more of an ancient tale sung around a campfire. It is easy to get lost in the passages of the novel as they seem to come alive around the reader. The novel is so well written that even the horrific passages of the story have a certain sort of beauty to them. The book can be read just for the enjoyment of the way in which the words flow together to create something that lingers on the sublime. While this is good, it is a detriment to the story at times as it is almost too easy to get lost in the words and lose track of the story. There were times when I would read a chapter and get so caught up in the writing that I would have to backtrack to keep up with the story. It is a case of Spark’s writing talent surpassing her storytelling and distracting from the final goal of telling the tale.



As for the story, A Sword of Bronze and Ash is an interesting tale although one that I felt could have so much more. The setup to the story was a bit along the tried and true although I did enjoy the way in which Sparks focused on the motherhood aspect of Kanda’s character throughout the story. This gave the story a bit of a different perspective that helped keep it fresh. I was also expecting more horror in the story than I found as there are some dark passages but nothing that I would truly term horror. Overall, Sparks crafts an interesting novel but one that does not rise too high above the pack. Her talent is obvious, though, and I am interested to see what the future holds for her. The writing is excellent and once her skills as a storyteller catch up to her writing, there will be some amazing books to come. As it stands, A Sword of Bronze and Ash is a strong fantasy novel that should appeal to fans of the genre. Recommended for fantasy fans and for those who want an interesting read that will serve as a good jumping on point to watch the growth of a writer of considerable talent. 3 stars, but probably more of a 3.5 star rating.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. A Sword of Bronze and Ash is available now.

What's the last book that shook you with its style? "A Sword of Bronze and Ashes" by Anna Smith Spark slapped me in the face with it's unique writing. Once my brain got it I was in.

It was a pretty nice day for Kanda. Coming home from a nice walk, ready to get after some of that good food when she finds a body. Unfortunately this heralds her past catching up with her. Now she has to wrangle her 3 kids and husband who know nothing of war when they come for her hope. This lyrical story kept subverting what I expected and painted fantastical settings with twisted context. Now I have another author to read the backlog of!

Thank you Flame Tree Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Reasons to read:
-Celtic inflected twisted fantasy with a heart
-Once you have context, dayum
-Good lessons
-Tired parents
-The horrors of endless conflict
-Well behaved livestock, this one is important and the least believable
-Intent and promises
-The way certain words are capitalized

Cons:
-Kids not listening...
-Now I'm a fan of another author and added to the tbr more books

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes is the latest novel by the Queen of Grimdark, Anna Smith Spark, a blend of folk horror (partly inspired by Celtic myths) with epic fantasy, published by Flame Tree Press. A story that is also an ode to the power of motherhood and the bonds that tie families told in the characteristic lyrical prose that is usual in Smith Spark's writing.

A mother with a wonderful husband and three kids (Calian, Morna and Sal), Kanda was once the most powerful warrior of the Six Swords of Roven; a past that she has kept hidden from her family. However, an ancient evil is threatening to interrupt her peaceful agrarian life, the monotony is broken and she will have to embrace that past she wanted to abandon in order to protect those she loves, even if that means putting in risk her family.

Told using both, first and third person POVs, it evokes the oral aspects that folk stories tend to have, especially when Kanda remembers her past; a past that progressively passes from being heroic to a dark moment of her life. Moments when Kanda got taken by the bloodlust and made her show her the worst aspects.
Alternating past and present, Smith Spark weaves a multilayered story, showing the different nuances a woman, and most importantly, a mother can experience, always with her family as the center of her life.

If there's an element you can expect to see in any Smith Spark's book, is how the prose is used in a masterful way, with a style that could be called an analogue to the Greek epic poems; there's a special cadence in her words (despite I can understand this not being a book liked by everybody).

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes is a highly emotional story, using the epicness of grimdark to tell the story of a woman, a mother. Another excellent book by the Queen of Grimdark.

What did I just read?

I picked up this book since it was marketed as a lyrical, folk horror high fantasy. That alone sounds unique enough for me to want to read it. Also, the cover is gorgeous!!

Let me start by saying I enjoyed many aspects of this novel. I loved the unique take on the chosen one trope since we follow Kanda, a legendary warrior who used to be one of the fiercest warriors in the world. However, now Kanda is retired and old, and her body is in bad shape compared to her young days. I found it refreshing and unique to follow a mother who used to be fierce but now struggles with her self-image. Secondly, this book reads like nothing I’ve ever read, so if you want something unique, then this book is for you.

However, certain aspects of the book might not resonate with all readers. While poetic and reflective, the stream-of-consciousness writing style can be challenging to follow, especially when coupled with a narrative that shifts between two distinct timelines—one in the past and one in the present. I didn’t even realise that this book had two plotlines until I was 25% into this book, leading to a very confusing reading experience. This duality can lead to confusion as the reader attempts to navigate the intricate interplay of these parallel storylines.

Overall, while innovative, I didn’t really enjoy this book. It was just too strange and confusing. If I am to judge this book on enjoyment, I will give it 2.5 stars, albeit I can appreciate that Spark is incredibly creative and innovative. Read this book if you want something new to the fantasy genre.

2.5 / 5 stars

Excellent fantasy story, great world building and storytelling
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

https://lynns-books.com/2023/10/10/a-sword-of-bronze-and-ashes-by-anna-smith-spark/
3.5 of 5 stars (rounded to 4)
My Five Word TL:DR Review : A Refreshingly Unique Fantasy Voice

You know what, I’ve really been struggling with this review. When I was reading this book I didn’t totally gel with the story, BUT, I love Anna Smith Spark’s writing style. She has the most refreshingly unique voice that I can recall reading for a long time. It’s like a stream of consciousness that encompasses everything from the mundaneness of ordinary day life to the fantastical ghost children that worked and died in a former mine. I mean, literally, I love her prose and I can’t say enough good things about it. This is an author that should be soaring over the stars and moon, her writing makes my eyes fill with tears and even when I’m not exactly loving the story she still fills me with emotion. The pen is truly mightier than the sword.

Having said that I didn’t totally get along with the story, now that I’ve been wringing my hands, and over thinking things, as I generally tend to do, this has given me a new appreciation for the content. I think, on reflection, this is a story that I probably need to revisit – and this of course is the conundrum of the book reviewer – how often do we return to a good book? It’s criminal really. But, to get to the point, I have found myself a whole new appreciation for some of the concepts at play here. We have a female MC who totally steps out of the norm. A middle age farmer’s wife, and mother to three children. Gravity has started to take it’s toll on her body, she isn’t superfit or drop dead gorgeous, sometimes she breaks wind! Oh the horror. Anyway, Kandra has put her past behind her and this is something that will slowly be revealed during the course of the story, because Kandra has a totally unexpected past, especially given the way she now lives. She’s striven to forget the past and as you read you’ll discover why. Unfortunately, the past refuses to lay buried forever and soon enough evil seeks her out.

This story feels like it’s seeped in folklore, the type of story that would have been told around a campfire and passed down from one generation to the next growing in strength and becoming more fantastical as the years pass. There are great warriors who ride out to vanquish untold foes, armour shining, swords blazing, horses racing gloriously into the fray.

Speaking of beautiful prose, don’t let this lull you into the false notion that this story is all rainbows and unicorns because it is DARK this author is not known as the Queen of Grimdark without reason. And this is dark in a heart wrenching way – so be warned. No hand holding here.

I realise I haven’t really said very much about the story. To be fair I think readers need to discover this with fresh eyes and without preconceived ideas. All I can say, with this author in mind, is expect the unexpected.

In short, whilst this story maybe didn’t quite hypnotise me the way I initially wanted (and I will say that I had unreasonably high expectations given my love for Empires of Dust), it was fascinating nonetheless, beautifully written and quite frankly groundbreaking in the way it puts tropes on their heads and basically says ‘like it or do not’. An auto read author for me.

I received a copy through the publisher courtesy of Netgalley, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 3.5 of 5 stars (rounded to 4 stars because the style is simply stunning, words that I want to gobble up)

Once upon a time there was Roven , a great hall of gold and silver. Its lord created six warriors who were unbeatable. When the hall fell, Ikandra Thygethyn settled down in a small farm where she had three children and a loving husband. But her old enemies found her and now she has to recover her armor and A Sword of Bronze and Ashes (hard from Flame Tree Press). Life is not so simple, because there is g uilt from her past and the main enemy wants to marry her oldest daughter rather than fighting her. Anna Smith Spark tells a dark fairy tale that is difficult to put down. Recommended.

Nobody can deliver grimdark like Anna Smith Spark can. Her poetic prose and her skillfulness at presenting the darkness inside, brings so much depth to her story telling. I absolutely adore everything she writes.

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes brings to life a Celtic myth in Anna Smith Spark style. Dark, twisted and full of nail biting moments as Kanda tries to save her family from her past. Kanda's past is brought forward in pieces, and each moment is hair-raising.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you like epic fantasy, folk horror, grimdark and complex female protagonists, you might like:

🗡️ A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith Spark 🗡️

In this grimdark fantasy novel inspired by Celtic mythology Kanda must save her husband and children from a rising evil that kills everyone in its wake. But her family doesn't know that Kanda recognises this evil all too well from her past - a very different past in which she was an important warrior...

🌲

DNF @20%

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me because of the writing style. Anna Smith Spark has a very lyrical, descriptive, complex writing style which sadly didn't seem to work for me. I often had difficulty figuring out what was said and had to keep rereading the same sentences. This made it hard to concentrate on the content itself, and it didn't seem to get better by the 20% mark.

However, this is a very personal matter and doesn't say anything about the quality of the book itself. It was immediately very clear how skilled a storyteller Anna Smith Spark is. I was very intrigued by the premise: the combination of epic fantasy, Celtic mythology, grimdark and folk horror sounded very unique and engaging. And up until the point I stopped reading, I definitely got a glimpse of all those aspects. The world-building and character development seemed really interesting, nuanced and well-paced so far.

If you love dark fantasy novels with strong female leads and enjoy complex, poetic writing, I definitely think this book might be something for you.

🌲

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (I don't like to rate books I haven't finished, but since it is required to do so, I chose four stars based on the content alone of the first 20% of the book.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the eARC!

The writing here is truly beautiful. Spark has created a unique story, peopled with interesting and flawed characters. The structure and events felt very true to the feeling of a Celtic fairytale, while the themes were wholly modern. As a main character, Kanda is a compelling depiction of motherhood and aging as a woman. As expected from the vaunted “Queen of grimdark,” there’s also an unflinching examination of what it means to be a hero and whether anyone engaged in war can ever walk away with clean hands. I greatly enjoyed these elements.

My one issue is that the archaic fairytale style felt a bit dense for a story of this length. The language is dense, and the surreal tone made it difficult at times to stay engaged in reading. It took me some time to work through this, particularly the middle, needing to take a step back and read other things before diving back in. The experience was worth the work, but it is not the most accessible work for any new readers of grimdark or fantasy. I would consider this a worthy read for a connoisseur of the genre or feminist works of fantasy, and I will definitely pick up more books by the author.

I am really sorry but I couldn’t get into the narrative style. I really liked the characters and the themes but I kept struggling to follow the story so I am not going to be able to finish this work.

At the same time, I cannot score it too low because the writing is beautiful. It is a very lyrical book and I al certain there is a readership for it. I am just not one of them, unfortunately.

This is a beautifully written book. It's grimdark, but it also has some wonderful folklore.

This is the story of Kanda. She's a wife, mother, farmer. But that's not who she used to be.

One day while she's taking a walk on her land, she sees something in the water and knows her past has found her.

I loved this. It's lyrical yet brutal. If you're looking for a standalone fantasy to lose yourself in, you need to read this!

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes is a stand-alone novel that crosses genres from grimdark fantasy, folklore, Celtic mythology, horror and literary fiction. It tells a story about a mother called Kanda and her family. The book has two story lines, Kanda's past and her present, and we follow how Kanda's forgotten and hidden past as a mighty warrior caughts up with her present family life when a dead body is found in a nearby river. Kanda and her family have to flee from the danger and leave their home to find safety.


Spark's prose is purple ie. it's lyrical, poetic, repetitive, has a lot of adjectives, allegories, and very long and short sentences. It's Spark's trademark that can either make you love her books or dislike them, but for me, it's a style that makes me absolutely love her books. In this book, the world, the setting and the beautiful descriptions of nature pulled me into the story every time I opened the book. It was vivid and easy to imagine. The dialogue was also something I really appreciated, because it was realistic with all the repetitiveness that we do in real life.


The story itself felt old, but in the fantasy genre it's fresh and different. The story doesn't embellish motherhood, aging or familylife, and it doesn't shy away from all the deprecated feelings and actions that one can have in the mundane familylife. The story was unrefined and I appreciated this so much because quite few authors are willing to say things as straightforward as Spark does! The characters were deeply flawed and realistic which makes Spark so good in the grimdark genre. There were some really good plot twists that I didn't see coming, because they were so well tied up to the flaws of the characters.


I loved this book. I was in constant awe of Spark's prose, which made me immerse myself in the story and understand the characters despite their flaws. The ending made me cry, because I saw it as an allegory for keeping going in life and building something new and beautiful even if you have lost loved ones and had to change in the process. Five stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very intricate look into Celtic myth with a very interesting protagonist at the forefront of the plot. I'm a sucker for mother protagonists, and Kanda's determination should protect her children came out in every page. Also, the prose is so tight and delicately written, like each word was carefully chosen by the author. I felt like I was thoroughly enveloped into every single sentence, and it was almost frustrating having to finish reading!

This is my first work by this author - it will not be my last. Anna weaves an intricate tale rooted in lore, bringing to life with a lyrical and creepy style.
Kanda left The Six - married and had children. But her past is haunting her. Will she be able to protect her family?
Told in dual narrative - present and her time with The Six, Anna does an amazing job weaving this story.
Very well done!

A Sword of Bronze and Ashes by Anna Smith Spark is a story that contains both beautiful and captivating language, more so, than any other fantasy writer in recent memory.

The story is both very dark in scope and gruesome in detail and not for the faint of heart. The themes throughout the story are of, motherhood, family, and love, in realising what you have and what you want to keep hold of. Regret and shame for past acts that come back to haunt you. Womanhood, grief, and hope, for both what you have lost and what you might gain in the future by realising your own inner mental strength. Above all, the strength in womanhood and family.

The story of Kanda who embraces one of the most realistic depictions of womanhood in the fantasy genre. Kanda is a mother and wife to a farmer trying to raise three daughters in a respectable but quiet life. When Kanda’s violent past catches up with her, one that she has tried to bury deep from her family but herself as well. When the violence she left behind burns her village, she decides to make her family go on the run. Embracing the violence, she has hidden from herself all those years ago. Kanda now realises that the hardest part is not the violence, no, that comes far too easy, what is perhaps harder to face are the questions from her family, as they begin to discover just who she really is. Whilst at the same time keeping her family safe.

There is a mix of both horror, folklore, and a mythical quality to the world as the world-building lore is gradually revealed through twin storylines. In these dual storylines we discover past Kanda and present Kanda, two wholly different views of the same person, just like flipping a coin. There is a lot of tension and highly evocative and emotive moments throughout the story. It was a slow read for me but because of the beautiful and lush prose, I became invested in dual storylines. This book is so different from the recent run of fantasy stories, Anna Smith Spark is such an amazing writer this book is thought provoking and my favourite book of the year.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Flame Tree press for a e-arc and an honest opinion.