Last Sword in the West by Ryan Kirk [SPFBO]

The Blurb:

Never bring a gun to a sword fight

Years after the conclusion of a civil war, Tomas wanders the endless grasslands of the frontier, still searching for an elusive peace. He dreams of finding a quiet place, far beyond the ever-expanding reach of civilization, where he can sheath his sword for good.

But he can’t look the other way when he passes through a town caught in a duel between two powerful organizations. The graveyard outside of town is full, and innocents hide in their homes, hoping to survive the coming battle.

Before long, Tomas is caught within the web of the escalating conflict, a lone swordsman standing against two violent forces that seek to control the town and the unnatural power it contains. He quickly appears destined to join countless others in their unmarked graves.

But Tomas has a secret, too. And it would be a mistake to underestimate him.

His war isn’t over yet.

Jared’s Review

Note: Unfortunately, this is a cut.

I love a Western, and it sure looks like Ryan Kirk, author of The Last Sword in the West, does as well. 

The Last Sword in the West begins with a man on the run from his bloody past. He’s off to the frontier, to start anew. But it is never that simple, is it? Tomas is pressing west with determination. But a fluke of chance, and the desire for a solid meal, leads him to a small town. From there, his troubles begin.

Although he only intends to stay a short while, Tomas finds the town intriguing. It is a tense place, and he soon realises why. Representatives of two powerful factions, the Family and the Church, are both present. And in large numbers, no less. What brings them to a remote village? Tomas’ curiosity is piqued. On a more basic level, Tomas also builds a bond with the family that runs the town’s inn. The food is comforting and the innkeeper is brave and honest. The inn, by contrast to the two political powers, has a sense of purity and decency to it. It is a little oasis of humanity, caught between two ruthless powers.

Tomas makes a splash by saving the innkeeper’s granddaughter from the attentions of an unwanted suitor. He’s aware from the start that this involvement, however minor, is irreversible. The balance of power in the town means a warrior of Tomas’ prowess won’t be – can’t be – ignored. As soon as he makes his presence known, he’ll have to follow through until the end.

Although Tomas is a monster on the battlefield (oblique but kind of spoilery pun intended), even he can’t free the town from its occupiers single-handedly. Instead, he manipulates the Family and the Church, alternately aiding and betraying both, all in pursuit of freeing the town of their presence. This results in shenanigans – political, social, and supernatural – and bloodshed a-plenty. For fellow lovers of Westerns, think A Fistful of Dollars, and you’ll not be far off.

Although the town’s secret does play a part, Tomas’ motivation is ultimately that he’s a really good guy. His goodness is established early in the book, and stays consistent throughout. He’s a white knight; a somewhat rare archetype in this post-Grimdark genre. This clear and uncomplicated ‘alignment’ is, interestingly enough, the core difference between Last Sword and Dollars. In the latter, a scruffy and unscrupulous Eastwood was kept as enigmatic as possible for the full length of the film. Sergio Leone deliberately cultivated mystique: we famously never even learn the character’s name. The Man With No Name’s initial actions set our expectations: he seems wholly mercenary; someone working to his own self-interest. But, as the movie continues, he increasingly begins to act in contradictory, seemingly self-defeating, ways. The tension of the film is equally explicit and implicit: what are his plans? Will he succeed in them? And most importantly, should he? It is not until the final scene that his – to reuse an inappropriate earlier term – ‘alignment’ becomes clear. 

In The Last Sword in the West, there’s no mystery as to either Tomas’ intentions or his plans. He’s a nice boy, our Tomas. Likes: freedom, respects women, and home-made bread (METAPHOR ALERT). Dislikes: bullies, misogyny, and the high fantasy equivalent of mega-corporations. Part of this is down to the mechanics of storytelling: we’re privy to Tomas’ point of view and his ambitions. We know exactly what Tomas wants. Moreover, we also know Tomas should have it. The book’s tension is narrowed to a single dimension: will Tomas succeed? As a result, The Last Sword in the West has a fairly straightforward structure, as a series of escalating challenge/solution scenarios. Tomas faces a problem; he solves it. He then faces a bigger problem; he solves that too. Despite the revisionist Leone-style set-up, Last Sword harkens back to an earlier form of Western: the white hat/black hat pulps, which eschewed ambiguity in favour of presenting more straightforward dramatic scenarios. Executed credibly, this is a page-turning formula, and The Last Sword utilises it well.

Last Sword also embraces world-building in a sensible, stream-lined way. The key factions, the core historical notes, even more complicated elements like the technology level – these are all introduced naturally and with a minimum of fuss. Exposition rarely gets in the way of the narrative. The most important element of the world, and the most ‘fantastic’ element of the story, is the source of Tomas’ preternatural swordsmanship. It is teased, admirably, from the first page, and revealed in layers as the book continues. It eventually builds to the book’s bloody and emotional climax: a final showdown, with both sides giving their all.

The Last Sword in the West draws on the tropes and traditions of two genres, creates a complex world, introduces a character and his backstory, and, best of all, starts – and finishes! – a complete and self-contained story arc. That’s a lot, especially in a single slim volume. But that’s what good pulp fiction does: it prioritises the essential, focusing on what the reader needs to keep turning pages on the way to a satisfactory conclusion. 

This format does, however, mean that a lot of nuance is abandoned, some of which is quite important. With the exception of Tomas, there are no characters of significance or detail; they’re props to keep the plot moving. Nor is Tomas, as noted above, particularly complex in his own right. He’s likeable enough, but he is also far less interesting than the chaos he causes. Tomas’ simplicity also means that the book’s meta-conflict, the one linked to Tomas’ backstory and ‘unique’ condition results in a dramatic payoff less meaningful than desired. 

Still, The Last Sword does what it needs to do – and, presumably, what it sets out to do. It is a creative, if occasionally literal, interpretation of the Western in an intriguing fantasy setting, and a page-turning adventure in its own right. Potentially, and hopefully, the first of many.

To check out our other SPFBO 7 reviews and keep up to date on which books are still in the running, check out our SPFBO 7 Hub page here.