The Wandering Sword

The Last Eternal, Book 1

By: Jacob Peppers

Narrated by: Michael Kramer

The hardest war is the one a man fights alone.

One hundred years ago, the Eternals, thirteen men and women of immense power, closer, many believed, to gods than mortals, stood against the greatest threat the world had ever faced.

And they lost.

They died.

All save for one, known as the Youngest, who managed to flee with the enemy leader's weapon, a cursed blade of incredible power.

He has traveled for a hundred years since, alone save for his companion, Veikr, the only remaining horse of a legendary breed.

The last, just as he is the last.

Hunted by creatures out of nightmare, he seeks only to survive, to keep the magical blade from the enemy's grasp.

Not to save the world, for the time for saving it is past. Instead, he seeks only to delay its ending.

It is a battle he fights alone, for after they defeated the Eternals, the enemy used their magic to pose as their conquered opponents, taking over the rule of the world in their stead.

For the last hundred years, the people have believed that the legendary Eternals triumphed, that they are safe. Only the wanderer knows the truth, that the world crouches with its head resting on the executioner's block, waiting for the axe to fall.

And the only thing keeping that axe at bay is him.

He had a name once, but he has it no longer.

He is simply the Last. The Youngest.

He is the Wandering Sword.

©2022 Jacob Nathaniel Peppers (P)2026 Podium Audio

pretty enjoyable

I liked this read, it's a good, more traditional, fantasy story. The main character was likeable, the world was pretty interesting without diving in too deep. The world felt a little like the wheel of time and the main character felt a little like a Clint Eastwood gunslinger character, but those aren't necessarily bad, the narrator did seem to lean into the Clint Eeastwood vibe so that certainly brought it to the forefront of my mind. The packing was good. The only nitpicking I really had was that the moral imperative was worked in pretty heavy handedly. I don't mind anywhere the concepts went, but it was a lot of dialogue and internal thought that seemed a little overdone at times. Still very enjoyable. 4.5 stars as a listen.