Synopsis
A gender-flipped Die Hard set in a mysterious castle, Cameron Johnston’s The Last Shield is an engaging fantasy read, perfect for fans of John Gwynne and Mark Lawrence.
The ancient forest realm of Sunweald is bordered on two sides by far mightier nations – a precarious situation. At its centre, the Sunweald Palace is home to the Lord Regent and the heir to the throne, together with numerous precious and powerful artefacts. The Palace is protected by the realm’s elite Shields, dedicated to guarding the royal line against all foes.
A group of vicious brigands called the Wildwood Reivers have been stealing arcane artefacts and smuggling them across the borders, out of Sunweald. And the objects they most desire are stored in the mystical Wyrm Vault, hidden away deep in the bones of the earth, within the walls of the Palace itself.
As political and religious tensions mount, Sunweald’s druids prepare to enact rituals for the Summer Solstice – but the Wildwood Reivers and their treacherous allies have other plans. It falls to Briar, the commander of the Shields, to defend the ancient corridors and secret tunnels of the Palace. The odds may be against her, but she’ll see every enemy head adorning a spike or she’ll die trying…
Review
Boom, Cameron Johnston is back with a bang, and damn this book has just left me with the biggest grin after that beautiful brutal bloody ending. After reading his amazing duolgy, The Age of Tyranny and his standalone Maleficent Seven, I knew I was in for a treat with this new trail blazer of read, and oh my it did not disappoint, it was shield bashingly epic.
The Last Shield is also a standalone novel. For such a short book, it is action-packed throughout the book, and it is relentless and wildly entertaining. It’s grim, gruesome, and extremely violent, and the plot is just exquisitely wonderful. Cameron Johnston is a master of his craft, and The Last Shield just left me in awe of his literary brilliance.
When reading this book, it brought me back and left me all nostalgic thinking of all my favourite 80s action hero movies, with the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Silvester Stalone or Bruce Willis, a one man army against all the odds and in this book the author beautifully switches it up introducing me to one of my favourite protagonist of the year a middle aged woman, Briar shield commander of the ancient forest realm of Sunweald and she is an absolute beast.
What I absolutely loved was the camaraderie between Briar and the Lord Regent Alaric, and soon to be king Kester. It was a good humoured fun read in a bloody grimalicious setting, and I just could not get enough.
If you are a fan of grimdark books in the vain of Mark Lawrence, John Gwynne, Anna Smith Spark or Michael R Fletcher, then Cameron Johnston’s, The Last Shield will be right up your street, lots of unsavoury characters that you can’t wait to see their heads graciously stuck at the end of a pike.
In this classic, our main protagonist, Briar, is left badly injured after taking a poisoned arrow in the leg, protecting the Lord Regent at summer solstice when set upon by assassins. On the brink of death, Briars injury has left her a shell of her former self, who was strong, hard, fast, and brutal with her shield and sword, is now bed ridden and needs a walking stick.
Briar is pig headed and determined to get back to who she is and loves the Shield Commander of Sunweald. Her second in command, Hardgrim, is pulling all the strings while in recovery. The castle is over run with assassins, brigands and treachery. Can Briar become the killer she once was and bring retribution to those who would attack her home, her lord Regent, and the people of Sunweald. Let the games begin, swing swing, bash bash.
That was one of my favourite books of year, hands down, just brilliant and one of those tales that will stay with me for a very long time. If you haven’t read any of Cameron Johnston books yet, I very highly recommend that you do….😁🗡🏹🪓🛡
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