His Own Good Sword

Book I of The Cymeriad

Column

19-year-old Tyren Risto is a second son, bound by long tradition to serve in the Imperial military. Normally that would mean filling some stuffy ceremonial post in the capital city, but one rash misdeed has earned Tyren the enmity of the powerful Marro family and the promise he’ll regret it. Now, instead of the capital, Tyren’s first commission relegates him to a backwater garrison on the fringe of the rugged and hostile Outland, where a fiery young native leader is busy rousing his people to rebellion against the Empire.

Soon, the flames of war are spreading all through the mountain country. Unprepared, rapidly outnumbered, Tyren is forced to weigh his devotion to duty against his growing doubts about the justice of his own cause. Victory isn’t out of the question, but it will come at a steep price—and Tyren is no longer sure he’s willing to pay.

“[A] terrific and thoughtful adventure story with one of the most original interpretations of the Arthurian legend this reviewer has ever read.”

Historical Novel Society
[full review]

“Amanda McCrina is an author with a lot of potential and with her understated but smooth writing style marks herself out as a writer to look out for….I’m eagerly waiting to see where the author takes the story next.”

Fantasy Book Critic
[full review]

“[McCrina's writing] runs like a river carrying you gently to the mouth of the ocean—swift, determined, calm. It’s a style that lends itself well to the kinds of ethical dilemmas posed in the book.  . . .[H]ighly recommended.”

Amira Makansi, co-author of THE SOWING
[full review]

“By the time the story reaches the final chapter, everything is cascading forward in a whitewater rapid of plot twists and small details snapping together with fine precision.”

Anonymous Legacy (5-star review)
[full review]

“[T]he writing [is] smooth and in some places beautifully descriptive.”

By Singing Light
[full review]