A review of Bringer of the Scourge
When the end of ages comes for the empire, the princess must rescue herself.
Bringer of the Scourge by M. Daniel McDowell
When the end of ages comes for the empire, the princess must rescue herself.
Vierrelyne du Talorr, the last living daughter of the tyrant king, waits locked in a tower cell for the prophesied apocalypse only she can prevent. An army of three brittle allegiances, united under a rival prince, aims for the throne and lays siege to the castle in search of the princess and the fabled weaponry of the empire.
With the aid of her mentor in music and swords, and a desperate cultist sent to find her before before the mercenaries do, Vierrelyne steals that formidable ancient weapon from her family crypt: a holy suit of armor and a diadem infused with the soul of a demon prince--the Bringer of the Scourge. With it, Vierrelyne discovers an unstoppable power, but the demon within is corrosive, hungry, and dangerously persuasive.
Vierrelyne is haunted by what it means to tame this power bequeathed to her, and by what means she might conquer it. When that rival prince finds her, it will take all the strength she can muster, for, if the prophecy she dreads is true, the very weapons she wields might destroy everything she holds dear.
Genre: Dark fantasy
Length: 255 pages
Tropes: prophecy and destiny, mentor figure, powerful FMC
Representation: queer MCs
Publish date: 25 Sep, 2023
Bringer of the Scourge by M. Daniel McDowell is for fans of old-school fantasy like the Black Company novels and characters like Grey Mouser, but still want something that plays with those common narratives and twists things around for you. McDowell does an absolutely amazing job at pulling you into this epic world of magic, demons, armours, and war princesses, while giving you the feeling of flipping through the pages of a well-worn Dungeon Master's guide.