The Sword of Angels

The Bronze Knight #3

by John Marco

Armed with a magic amulet which bestows eternal life on the wearer, a powerful knight protects the fortress of Grimhold, where the magical people of his world reside. But when his closest friend is pulled into the evil sway of the Devil's Armor, only the Sword of Angels can defeat it.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, High Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy

992 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Hello. Thanks for visiting my author page here on Goodreads. In case you don't know me, I'm John Marco and I'm a fantasy writer. My work includes the Tyrants and Kings trilogy and the books of the Bronze Knight Lukien.

My latest book, THE BLOODY CHORUS is now available at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRTHJ768

Reviews

[John Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an outstanding end to a wonderful trilogy. Definitely the most underrated author behind Brian Lee Durfee. I give this series a 4.25 ⭐️.

This series is a very simple epic fantasy that I think is perfect for someone wanting to get into fantasy or just wants an easy read with great character development.

The first book in the series is wildly different than books 2-3, to the point where it could be it’s own story. The main gist of the series is that Lukien, The Bronze Knight, has lost his best friend, Akeela and the love his life, Cassandra. He is very unhappy and wants to die but he’s being kept alive by an amulet, The Eye of God. He uses his powers to protect Jador, who are settled by “Inhumans”. The Inhumans are just people with disabilities who’s bodies are inhabited by the Akar, who give them special powers.

There is an ancient evil Akar who inhabited “The Devils Armor”. He possesses the person who puts it on and makes him do his evil deeds. The armor is impenetrable to all damage except by The Sword of Angels. Lukien must find it and destroy The Devils Armor!

[seak · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's pretty safe to say that epic fantasy is my favorite genre reading preference and the more epic the better. I like to change it up, but I always come back to it. I love series that push the boundaries of what is epic, take The Malazan Book of the Fallen, but I will always love the traditional epics.

The Bronze Knight or Lukien trilogy is just that kind of fantasy. Traditional fantasy done right. And even while it is great traditional fantasy, the Lukien trilogy plays with plenty of tropes of the genre.

In this series, we have the typical warring kingdoms vying for power when a peace-loving king, Akeela, decides peace is more valuable than rights to a disputed river. The only problem is that his best friend and highest-ranking officer, Lukien, betrays him by falling in love with the king's wife.

This is the last straw in Akeela's increasingly stressful and frustrating world and he snaps. He goes mad and even though this is high treason, Lukien isn't beheaded, but banished.

I love how Marco plays with madness in his works. Usually in traditional fantasy, it's the big bad guy has his bad reasons for being so bad and it's not so in this trilogy. Marco makes you second-guess your gut feelings because these are still good people who may not be responsible for their actions. Akeela is still someone who Lukien considers his friend even through all the terrible events.

These events all occurred in the first book, The Eyes of God, and Marco goes even further with this idea of madness in this final book of the trilogy, The Sword of Angels. Here, another of Lukien's (and Gilwyn's and many others') best friends makes a decision that leads him on the path of madness. They've all been warned of the dangers of the Devil's Armor, but Baron Glass ignored the warnings, thinking he could overcome any problem. However, the Devil's Armor begins to change him nonetheless.

In this final volume, the Devil's Armor, and really the Akari inside the armor, has really had an effect on Glass. It makes him kill when he never would and even though everyone else sees the signs of his growing madness, he remains willfully blind.

Lukien learned at the end of the prior book that he was no match for the Devil's Armor even with his Eye of God which makes him immortal. In The Sword of Angels, Lukien must go on a quest to find this elusive sword, which is the only way to defeat the Devil's Armor.

It all seems so straight-forward, but you'll never guess how this ends. It was both a comfortable read with a great quest story, but also surprising in ways I never imagined to be lead. The Lukien trilogy is at the height of the game, it's traditional fantasy with just enough to challenge you while excelling in all the ways that make this genre great. I'm looking forward to reading the stand-alone book, The Forever Knight, that just came out this year.

4.5 out of 5 Stars (very highly recommended)

Lukien Trilogy
1) The Eyes of God (review)
2) The Devil's Armor (review)
3) The Sword of Angels

Stand-alone:
The Forever Knight (up next!)

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the whole 3-book Lukien cycle, even though it was occasionally slow. There's plenty of betrayal and intrigue and shifting allegiances, and characters whose moral compasses tend to hover in the grey. I like all that stuff. Plus there were giant man-eating cobras!

[Anneliese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed the John Marco trilogy. A fantasy trilogy, similar in style to Tad Williams and George R.R. Martin. The characters are multi-faceted in ways that make them easy to relate to; the heroes have flaws and the villains have good streaks. The trilogy ultimately follows The Bronze Knight, Lukien, and where his decisions lead him. There's princesses and bravery, and sometimes the wrong people die; people try to do what's right and fail, good people become corrupted, and evil people display an unexpected courage.

[Hazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book by Mr. Marco!

Some very nice twists in the plot at the end of the book. I am always thrilled when an author has no problem killing off characters either, even though some you are sad to see go, but others you are cheering loudly because they are gone.

Thanks for the great read, getting lost in the adventure and spending time with "friends". Eagerly awaiting the next book The Forever Knight, and going on another adventure!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book i had ever read and anyone who likes action, fantasy, and a good storyline they will love this book

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great conclusion to the series. Starts off kind of slow, but the end is very fast paced, and ties off everything pretty well. Great series to read!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final part of this series. I can't wait for his next. Marco effectively moves the story, creating an entire world and believable characters. Loved it.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started the Bronze Knight Trilogy back in 2010 when I was a senior in high school, and was obsessed with the Eyes of God - so good! However, when I started college, I had little to no energy to ready for enjoyment with all of the text books I was bombarded with. But now that I’m settled into a career and have more free time, I figured now was a better time than ever to wrap up the trilogy.

What a masterful way to end these books. The Sword of Angels was an epic conclusion to, in my opinion, one of the most creative and well-thought-out fantasy worlds ever written. John Marco knows how to execute dialogue and not get lost in details that have derailed me from reading other fantasy books over the years. I wish the series never ended, but this is definitely something that I’ll go back and read later on in my life when the time is right. Now onto The Forever Knight!

[Carina Gonzalez]

I was enjoying the series but the way women are portrayed finally got to me. I kept waiting for a female character that didn't make me wince and after three books in I gave up and never finished the third one. A shame because otherwise the writing is very good and the story was intriguing.

[Hermano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say this is a 3.5. There are some wonderful characters in this book he most times behave like humans would, but at other times, they can be wooden. This book has some decent surprises, but there are some story lines that are just boring. The series is worth the read.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twist at the end was completely unexpected and helped alleviate the fact that the final battle was slightly anticlimactic.

[Robin and Michael St Pierre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't put it down.Addicting and so well written. This is a series so read it in order.

[RussEF · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story continued from before, with ever expanding fascination. Deep stories and well rounded characters.

[Jordan Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting twist in the last 100 pages, villain swapping is always a fun concept I wasn't prepared for and loved it

[Peter Murwa Wanjala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly entertained

A stroy well told. I have been on the edge all through, damn!

I can't wait to start on the last book.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

All in all this was a good book. My favorite thing about this series is the author did not hesitate to kill main characters. I really liked that. The worst was the length. I didn't feel that the books needed to be 600-700 pages, and the third one almost 1000. Enough happened to keep me interested but I was anxious to be done about halfway through. The ending was pretty disappointing, especially given the extensive build up.

I had a few problems with the book in terms of plot. There are spoilers in the next few paragraphs.


1. Kahana White-Eye becomes this supposedly great leader, but mainly you only see her being stubborn and foolish. For example, one of the examples given of how great she was was how she went out into the battle against Atzar. She accomplished nothing, all her presence did was distract her soldiers and make them focus on protecting her instead of fighting the enemy. All she did was whine to Lorn and beg him to tell him what was happening.

2. For having a name like King Lorn the Wicked, Lorn didn't seem wicked at all to me. I'm sure there were a few things he did while he was the King of Norvor, but once he entered the storyline he seemed all in all selfless. But everybody talks to him and treats him like he is the devil.

3. Lukien's hypocrisy at the end when he kills Lorn. When Thorin is possessed by the Devil's Armor, everybody's goal is to free him and get him back. It doesn't matter how many deaths he is accountable for, he is worthy of being redeemed. After the spirit of Khaldris abandons the armor and it is clear the armor no longer has any power, why is it ok for Lukien to still kill Lorn. He was responsible for a handful of deaths and is beyond redemption. Thorin was responsible for many thousand deaths, but all they cared about was getting their friend back. To me, this was a major flaw in logic.

4. Khaldris just gives up? And he gives up because his people disapprove of him? I'm pretty sure he had gotten used to the idea in the thousands of years he has waited for a host. It was hardly a surprise how his people felt about him, but suddenly in the end he cares. I thought that this was ridiculous.

[Aimee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had the premise of a really epic story, but for me it was ruined by the multitude of typo's, spelling mistakes and general errors littered throughout.
I generally find at least one error in nearly everything I read and when its just one or two I can let it go, but this story had 58 seperate mistakes in it, which for me is like tripping over my own feet every chapter. If it were my story I would be incredibly disappointed with whomever the copy-editor was, although the publishing co. fills a lot of space on my bookshelves and they do seem to be the worst for errors in there published works.
The story itself was good but there was a huge chunk that to me seemed superfluous. The chapters of story about Princess Salina and Baralosus were unnecessary to the story in any real way that I could tell as I am pretty sure if they had never been mentioned it would not have made a blind bit of difference to the overall outcome of the story. (sort of like Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Despite all of this however, I would like to read some of this authors other works and it was good enough to keep me reading.

[Tim Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sword of Angels by John Marco was an amazing book. It was the final one in the Bronze Knight Trilogy, with an ending that will shock many. Lukien, the Bronze Knight of Liiria is still on his rigorous journey to defeat Red Baron after he has become possessed by the Devils Armor. The ever-changing, beautifully descriptive scenery immerses your mind and body into the land of these characters. Many hard decisions were made and challenges to overcome on Lukens quest to retrieve the Sword of Angels, the only weapon capable of piercing the Devils Armor. I would highly recommend this book to people who enjoy medieval fantasy and a sophisticated read.

[Cal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent Epic Fantasy. If only GRRM (and others) could finish. Marco's trilogy killed off an exorbitant number of main characters, so I guess it qualifies as "dark"; however, he imbues the characters with all shades of honor, valor, deceit, and goodness. The battle scenes are very well done. The one problem I have with his story is the relationship and actions taken by Salina and her father (King Baralosus). It's hard to imagine the strange things that Salina does - and, the lives that she knowingly puts in peril. Still an outstanding trilogy. Deserves to be read. Now for the Forever Knight.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is an epic, the story is well crafted but I felt that the end was rushed and lacked dramatic punch. It all concluded to neatly and the death count was rather high for the main characters and of course this meant that many story lines did not get resolved. Here are few unanswered questions:
1 King Raxor and his son is dead who takes over their land?
2 The Norovian's have no leader at the end of this story so what happens?
I appreciate the rich detail of the book but really felt cheated by the quick closure.

[Anthony · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the last book in a series, and it took me a while to finish it. It wasn't a bad read, it was just sort of like light, "popcorn" fantasy fiction, but it was almost 1000 pages long! If it were a much better book (say, one written by George R.R. Martin) then those 1000 pages would have taken much less time to get through. But, as it was, I found myself longing to read other things in between readings of this book, just to be able to finish something shorter! All in all, not a bad book/series, but just a really long one. I'm very glad to be finally done this one!

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

c2005: I.Just.Could.Not.Finish. This. Book. I knew going in to it that this was old-school fantasy. Good characters vs Bad with the requisite journey and magic swords and ghosts etc etc. 792 pages of it. Obvious questions of morality etc etc. Just could not be doing it....Damn! I think I have finally grown up. Ew!

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable end to this part of the Bronze Knight saga with some unexpected twists and saddening ironies. A few character flaws became repetitive, but I didn't feel like it took too much away from the novel. Another richly imaginative and deeply moving story from John Marco.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the conclusion to the series. It was frustrating to me since it is almost like they started over with this book. Definitely worth reading to catch the end of the storyline though.

[Nickolas Chaplin · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok end little twist (desperatly needed)

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt a little of from the other two. Over all the series is great.

[Echo]

Book won in Goodreads First Reads giveaway contest. Received copy on Thu, Jan 03 2013.

[Carlos Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sounds cool. Devil armor vs. Angel sword, something I would sink my teeth into.

[Bruce Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ending to the series