Book Review: The Last Five Swords by John De Búrca
John De Búrca has written a stand-alone tale comparable in tone and feel to John Gwynne’s The Faithful and The Fallen series.
Review of The Last Five Swords by John De Búrca
(ARC kindly provided by the author.)
*Minor Spoilers Ahead*
Scene Setting
The Last Five Swords is a fantasy novel set in dark age Ireland. The heroes of old have died out and the would-be heroes of the day long for the age of chivalry encapsulated by the legendary warrior band, the Fianna led by the fierce Fionn Mac Cumhal. But Fionn is dead and the few that remain of his glorious order are decrepit. But when Rúadhan and Eoghan climb a tree to hide from pursuers they find a mysterious young girl, Rhíona. Unable to return home they must venture onward, fleeing their pursuers every step of the way…
The story follows the adventures of the two boys, Rúadhan and Eoghan, as they are led by Rhíona on a quest to find the legends of old. As they are the only ones who can save the world from impending doom from the Fae.
Helpfully John De Búrca includes a cast and language section at the start of the book with a guide for pronunciation. A tremendous aid through the book that adds to the richness of the tale he has weaved.
Plot and Story
The story opens with two boys, Rúadhan and Eoghan, visiting the nearby town of Ros Cam. Sent to apologise after a fight broke out between two hurling teams, Rúadhan and Eoghan’s own of Clochbeag and that of Ros Cam. Quick to temper and wishing to get home the two boys make a pigs ear of the whole thing and end up in a fight with some Ros Cam lads. Outnumbered they run into the farms and orchards nearby but are tracked through the night. The pair climb a tree to hide and stumble upon Rhíona, also fleeing someone and hiding. The trio see a band of black clad warriors on horseback appear just as the boys from Ros Cam are traipsing through the dark. The warriors slay the lads searching for Rúadhan and Eoghan. Rúadhan wants to go home, Eoghan doesn’t, and Rhíona can’t — for reasons she refuses to elaborate on. All Rhíona does share is the need to reach Uisneach, a large town to the east, where Eine Mac Eine will help her. Or so she thinks.
At this point the boys are rightfully confused and worried. Neither can fight, neither have been so far from home, and Rhíona is closed lipped about the whole thing. When passing through a forest the girl speaks to a pack of deer. Rúadhan and Eoghan are as confused as the reader is until the trio are set upon by the black clad warriors again. As the warriors set upon our protagonists the deer stampede through, crushing and killing, the warriors. Rhíona reveals she has Draiocht — magic. A thing from drinking hut stories told by wandering scealai — storytellers. The trio continue onto Uisneach. They visit a town on the road to Uisneach where they are attacked again but saved by out fourth protagonst Donnacha, an expert bowman. He claims Fionn is dead having wished to join the Fianna but suffering from living at the wrong time to do so.
Uisneach is a large, busy town with pubs and stalls and crowds but our trio conviniently stumble across Eine Mac Eine telling tales of Fionn Mac Cumhal and the Fianna in the first drinking house they search. Yes it is the largest of the houses but it is a convenience to have the plot continue. I found it irksome because it comes so close to others used to get the ball rolling. Stumbling upon Rhíona in a tree, deer happen to be close by, Donnacha fortunately close enough to the village to rescue our heroes. A couple are fine but the drinking house in a large town, with a castle and King, felt like a stretch. However, this is the last contrivance that tore me out of the story and from Uisneach is mostly character driven.
During the latter half of the book there was travelling that felt like they should have taken longer to complete. Characters appeared in the places they needed to be regardless of the time taken to travel there and other characters where held in stasis, mid-conversation sometimes, in order to achieve this. It didn’t disrupt my immersion but it was unnecessary corner cutting.
Later on in the book we have the character of Cónán Mac Morna who is described as stinking to the point that other characters have to walk away or hold their breath as they pass him. The reason is funny and fantastical and I won’t spoil it but there is a scene between Cónán and Eoghan that jars with this description. The pair leave camp to go to a nearby village to find a drinking hut. At no point during this scene does anyone remark on Cónán’s stench. He has not bathed, in fact later on it is noted that he still smells even after bathing, and the drinking hut is rammed with people jostling for space and ale. The scene itself is fantastic but the selective use of his stench sours it.
Worldbuilding
Rich, vibrant, and powerful. John De Búrca manages to weave a deep and believable tapestry of ancient Ireland. A great deal of this is accomplished through language and landscape. Character dialogue is staked in the past and the use of Gaelic peppered throughout feels natural and adds to the richness of ancient Éire that Búrca has invoked.
While at first I found myself flipping back and forth to check what certain words meant there was rarely a moment where I didn’t understand what was happening or being conveyed. The use of Gaelic and colloquialisms is enough to build the world but not so much as to obstruct your view of it.
The land of The Last Five Swords is full of rolling plains, thick forests, rivers, waterfalls, towering stone castles, wooden forts, marshes, and mountain ranges richly and uniquely described to give the feel of a cold, damp, yet fertile land. One used to peace and tight knit families living well but threatened by black clad mercenaries under the command of a foreign invader. This foreboding menace to the east, and beyond, can be felt through the writing. The desperation of our protagonists in finding the Fianna even more so.
Characters
Every character, even those that appear briefly, stand on their own. There are no cardboard cutouts in Éire. Eoghan and Rúadhan are from the same village, are similar ages, and seem to have a similar life in Clochbeag yet there is never confusion of whose point of view you are reading. We see the world from Eoghan, Rúadhan, Rhíona, Donnacha, Eimear, and more perspectives all with a distinct sense of self, purpose, goals, and desires. Some wish to fight, others wish to avoid it, some want to go home, others want to wander the land, yet all are unified in their decision to save the land and people from its enemies.
Conflict between characters, such as Caoilte and Cónán, are suspenseful and well established. Different desires, different past actions, are written naturally and portrayed deeply. In the interest of avoiding spoilers I will just say this: the characters are the books greatest asset.
Writing
I read the 400 pages in 4 sessions. Fast and enjoyable read with varied writing that kept me hooked in the story. The style leant towards the passive voice and more telling than showing, which for contemporary readers can appear irksome but I rarely found it to be an issue. There were a few fight scenes which happened so quickly I had to re-read them to double check what happened. An active showing of the action would have assisted in painting the story more vividly. [EDIT 2/11/22: The author has informed me many instances of passive voice were addressed in late edits.]
Each chapter is introduced with a small illustration, a description of events, and a quote. I found the illustration and quote to aid in the richness of the story a great deal. Deepening and widening an already luscious world. At times the short description of events, such as Chapter 1,
‘Of Eoghan and Rúadhan, two boys who leave their home to make amends for causing trouble. They find themselves getting into more serious bother than they are accustomed to.’
hints but does not spoil the story. However, some of the later descriptions did contain spoilers, pretty big ones a couple of times, that drained the energy of the story by sapping the mystery of it all. I’d recommend avoiding the temptation to read them to maintain the mystery of the tale.
Occasionally through the book there is an element of dialogue or a description that feels totally out of place. For instance, from p116:
‘It was made more unusual by the fact that Donnacha’s energy levels seemed to perk up immediately.’
The sentence is clunky and the word choice does not belong in the historical-fantasy setting being portrayed. The phrase ‘energy levels’ seems so alien to the rest of it. According to etymonline.com both words started to be used in this way in the 1600s. The Last Five Swords is set in a world a thousand years before that. This is a nitpick but descriptors alter how the world appears, how it is built, and using out of place language grinds up against the suspension of disbelief.
Other examples of this are the use of the word ‘methodology’ on p241 and ‘noncommittal’ on p250. Words so utterly out of place as to break my immersion for a moment. I’m sure there are plenty of other words and phrases used throughout that are out of time but there is a certain technical element to ‘methodology’ and ‘energy levels’ that feels out of place for a group of warriors and village boys in dark age Ireland.
This is in contrast to the stellar descriptions found elsewhere in the book such as the following on p280:
‘The waterfall was beautiful as the witch foretold; framed by the spring forest, blossoms, green leaves and the cloudless morning sky. Ribbons of icy water blurred the sheen rock face and noisily entered a darkened pool below; deep and ageless. The metallic smell of silt and minerals invaded nostrils and made efforts to mask the thick and heavy scent of the bloomed flowers, coloured foliage and thick growth around the valley floor. The busy sounds of flourishing wildlife were washed away by the constant watery chorus that was equal parts soothing and overawing. The waterfall raged amid unblemished natural serenity, and was utterly one with its surroundings.’
Here we get a wonderfully picturesque description setting the location for the chapter and drawing us into the magical world of Éire. The glaring contrast of the description of the waterfall to the use of ‘energy levels’ and ‘methodology’ hints at a book that could have been. Don’t get me wrong John De Búrca has written a great book but it could have been even better with a few tweaks in wording and more active voice throughout.
4/5
As with any star rating it never feels quite right. But Goodreads and Amazon like them so there you go.
John De Búrca has written a brilliant tale inspired by two chronically underused settings, Ireland and the dark ages. The story will have you guessing as to what happens next and getting it right half the time while unexpected but juicy twists make you wrong the other half. The characters slow reveal of themselves to strangers is realistic and intriguing. Unique in the fantasy genre The Last Five Swords is a stand-alone. The story completes in the 400 pages and you are left with a satisfying ending. I recommend this book to fans of John Gwynne. 4 out of 5.
(ARC kindly provided by the author.)
Good review. One thing I found a little surprising was reference to language. If John wrote The Last Five Swords with contemporary wording, no one would be able to read it, because it would be in Ancient Gwailge.