New Book by Peter Grant

I'm spooling up for a post that will be a book list of Sword and Sorcery books. Feel free to nominate your favorite title (with author, pretty please) in the comments. Book lists posts take a lot of time, since I curate the list from social media recommendations, so that's definitely a weekend thing. Maybe I'll pair it with a Mad Genius post on what Sword and Sorcery is, since there seems to be some confusion. However, in the process of collecting titles, someone mentioned 'Sword and Sandals' which I hadn't heard before. Interesting, I thought. Reminds me of Peter's latest... And since it's newly released but I hadn't talked about it here, yet, that seemed like a good segue. 

Taghri's Prize is a fun romp through a Mediterranean, focused more on what would have been North Africa and Egypt, that isn't quite our own. In a world just transitioning from swords to gunpowder weapons, Taghri finds himself cut loose from the military and trying to establish himself as a trader. Until, that is, he impetuously takes part in fighting off bandits, and sees the opportunity to really make the small bandit force hurt. But in doing so, he's won himself trouble, in the shape of powerful enemies, and a girl who just happens to be a princess. 

Peter's work is, always, immaculately researched and thought-through. This isn't the tale of a barbarian relying on his sword (or newly acquired cannons) it's a shrewd man who relies on his wits to leverage everything - even the gods themselves meddling - to try and win what he wants. I'll leave that last for you to read and find out, because it's not what you'll think immediately, and Taghri plays a very long game. 

I very much enjoyed this. It's a pleasant read, even though there are a lot of details on ships, weapons, and tactics tucked into the action like garnishes in a well-rounded meal. The main characters are developed, you want to cheer them on, and if there are things you'd like to see more of, well, there's enough here you don't mind that a lot. Besides, knowing the minds of the gods isn't always safe. I think if I had to pick a book this reminded me of, I'd go with David Weber's Oath of Swords, although it's completely different.