The Blackfire Blade (The Last Legacy book 2) by James Logan (book review).
‘The Blackfire Blade’ is a sequel to ‘The Silverblood Promise’, James Logan’s debut novel, which introduced Lukan Gardova, Flea and Ashra, aka Lady Midnight. Lukan was a drunk and a card sharp until his father was murdered, when he made a silverblood promise to find the killer. Having inherited the title, he is now Lord Lukan, a little joke for British readers, perhaps. Flea, a street thief, was his companion for the first book of adventures in Saphrona, the most southerly port of the old empire. He also fell in with Ashra, aka Lady Midnight, Saphrona’s most able thief. At the conclusion of that adventure, they set sail with him to Korslakov to discover his inheritance, something locked in a vault in the Blackfire Bank.
For new readers, the plot of ‘The Silverblood Promise’ is succinctly summed up in the first eleven pages of this book, but I recommend reading it. Much more fun. Anyway, Lukan now has a key to the safety deposit box in the Blackfire Bank, which may reveal his inheritance. Loads of money? Perhaps.
Or not, because he arrives at Korslakov in the evening and, while waiting for the bank to open, goes out for a drink and then gets drunk. In the street, he’s mugged by the Rook, a thief notorious in the city, and loses the key. This act of monumental stupidity launches him into a series of adventures trying to get the key back, which involves him with the various power groups in Korslakov: alchemists, aristocracy, artificers, a general, ghouls and golems. Some Korslakovian characters who featured in the first book have returned home from Saphrona, and Lukan makes their acquaintance again, not always pleasantly. The plot is well-engineered to keep rolling along with Lukan and his pals chasing a series of MacGuffins.
There’s a lot to like. The setting is intriguing, and the fantasy elements are imaginative. Korslakov is a cold northerly port surrounded by the Wolfclaw mountains, beyond which lie the Clanholds inhabited by warlike tribes of beastmen. The city is ruled by the Frostfire Council, a small group of the richest aristocrats who meet in the throne room of the last king. His skeleton is still on the throne with the dagger that killed him lodged between his ribs.
Below the Frostfire Council in status are the other folk of the city. Artificers are engineers and mechanics, always seeking to come up with new inventions in the industrial section of Korslakov, Emberfall, a place of foundries and furnaces. They have a parade of inventions annually in which they show off their wares to the aristocracy in the hope of getting investors. This reminded me somewhat of the TV programme ‘Dragon’s Den’ and showed Lukan’s low opinion of his fellow aristocrats. Alchemists work in the Tower of Sanctified Flame to design their concoctions and supply a workforce of golems to the city, artificial constructs with glowing amber eyes who obey orders and have no will of their own. Golems are different from ghouls. The battle with ghouls in the abandoned district of Ashgrove is the highlight of the book.
Lurking behind the current events, about a thousand years behind, is the ancient Phaeron civilisation. They were a society of sorcerers who destroyed themselves in a great war long ago but left behind several magical artefacts which are keenly sought by power-mad individuals across the old empire. Phaeron wares play a large part in this adventure.
‘The Blackfire Blade’ is a better sequel because some minor irritations from ‘The Silverblood Promise’ are absent. Lukan’s refrain of ‘No pressure then’ didn’t sit well in a fantasy novel and is not missed. One character here says, ‘I’m getting too old for this shit’, which really should be banned from any script or novel by now, but maybe it’s ironic. The banter with Flea, which was more annoying than amusing, is also gone. In general, Lukan is not as flippant here and even has some serious musings about his own failings and the worth of aristocrats in general. In ‘The Silverblood Promise’, he was, to be fair, an irresponsible ne’er-do-well given a serious task, so his old ways stayed with him a while. Now he’s maturing, as he should.
That said, I slightly preferred the few chapters told from Ashra’s point of view, a skilled lady with a strong backstory who may get a book of her own someday. Ashra has her own rules of thievery, which she passes on to Flea: calmness is the key to success. Never give fear a share of the spoils. Distraction invites disaster. Obviously, these rules cover life in general, and you don’t have to be a thief to see their merit. In addition to Ashra and Flea, there are several other strong female characters in a society that appears to have achieved sexual equality, but not all of them are nice.
‘The Blackfire Blade’ is a charming epic fantasy romp which I thoroughly enjoyed. In some ways, it reminded me of works by Kevin Anderson, a master of tie-in novels who has also written several blockbusters of his own. Seekers of deep thoughts, rarefied philosophies and spiritual enlightenment will have to look elsewhere, but for solid, knockabout, imaginative entertainment, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Eamonn Murphy
November 2025
(pub: Arcadia/Quercus, 2025. 583 page hardback. Price: £22.00 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-52943-283-1. Ebook price: £ 9.99(UK)).
check out websites: www.quercusbooks.co.uk and www.jamesloganauthor.com
