Book Review: Infinity Blade: Awakening (Infinity Blade #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Infinity Blade: Awakening(Infinity Blade #1) by Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: ChAIR Entertainment Group

Publication Date: October 3, 2011 (first published June 18, 2011)

Edition: ebook, 128 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Video Game, Novelette

Rating: 4/5

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I parried and slashed may way through this novelette in no time!

Backcover:

Trained from birth in swordplay and combat, a young knight named Siris has journeyed to the Dark Citadel with a single purpose: fight through the army of Titans to face the tyrannical God King in one-on-one combat. This was his father’s sacred mission, and his father’s before him, going back countless generations in an effort to free their people from enslavement. But when Siris somehow succeeds where all those from his bloodline previously have failed, he finds himself cast into a much larger world, filled with warriors and thieves, ancient feuds and shifting alliances, Deathless immortals and would-be kings. His quest for freedom will take him on an epic journey in search of the mythical figure known as the Worker of Secrets – the one being in the world who can unravel the secrets of the Infinity Blade.

Based on the bestselling video game from ChAIR Entertainment and Epic Games, this all-new adventure from acclaimed fantasy author Brandon Sanderson digs deeper into the fantastical world of Infinity Blade, a world of mystery and intrigue where magic and technology are indistinguishable, and even life and death are not what they seem.

I was looking for a new game to download and play on my phone a couple ago, when I suddenly had the urge to re-download and play through all the Infinity Blade games again. Then, as I was parrying and slashing my way through monsters, it suddenly dawned on me: Brandon Sanderson wrote two short-stories for these games! Sanderson, being on of my favorite authors, naturally meant that I had to buy them right away to read.

The God King has finally fallen. After countless attempts, across thousands of years, one man from the chosen bloodline won. Siris killed the God King. He is heading home now – the first Sacrifice to ever do so – and is ready to start his new life… except the people of his village don’t want him anymore.

While he has done the unthinkable, slaying the God King, now more of the Deathless will be after him to claim the item that was once The God King’s and is now his: Th Infinity Blade. Fearful fo their lives, those in charge of the town require Siris to leave, for the the safety of everyone.

Banished the only home he’s ever known, and completed the only goal he’s ever had, Siris decides to head back to where he defeated The God King to try to find the next path in his life…

Let’s start with and get this right out of the way: No, you do NOT need to have played the phone games at all to enjoy or understand the story. Being the phenomenal author that Sanderson is, he makes no assumptions that the reader will have previous knowledge or understanding because they may have played the game.

For those of you that have played the games though, the story takes place between Infinity Blade 1 (right after The God King is killed) and to a little after the start of Infinity Blade II.

What I enjoyed about the story was literally everything. Having played the game first, it was extremely enjoyable to actually see Siris’s character at a deeper level, and to be witness to how him and Isa first met. Also, the dynamic between them was spot on! It was one of those cases where I could have just read chapter after chapter with it only being them walking across the lands – because their chemistry was that enjoyable!

Actually, aside from their relationship, the whole story was something I wanted to keep going! This may have been the fastest I’ve ever read a novella before! The funny part is, even though I already knew where this story was going and how the game series ended, I couldn’t resist turning each page absolutely enthralled, dying to find out what happen next! Even after this novella ended, my reaction was,”What?! It can’t stop here! I want need to know what happens next!” And then it dawned on me that already did… XD

This, I believe, speaks to the power of Sanderson’s writing. I already knew 100%, the beginning, middle, and end of the Infinity Blade storyline, yet I was powerless to resist getting caught in Sanderson’s words and this unknown lore.

Obviously I am going to recommend this. It’s a no brainer! If you read this and haven’t played the games yet, you’re going to want to go pick up the games right after because you’ll want to know what happens before and after this novella; and if you have played the games before, you are going to love all this lore!

4/5 Rating

-DJ

Date Read: 12/11/2017 - 12/12/2017

Review Written: 12/12/2017 - 12/15/2017