Devlin's Luck (The Sword of Change #1) by Patricia Bray (spoilers)

This year has been a tough one for reading fantasy. I've spent most of 2017 in a slump that for some strange reason, only dulled my interest in fantasy fiction with almost every attempt to jump back into it turned into a route. Thankfully, I've finally managed to break the slump, thanks in no small part to Devlin's Luck, the first book in Patricia Bray's The Sword of Change trilogy. I'd seen the book on the shelf at the local public library several times, but always ignored it because of the slump. Then about two weeks ago, I had the sudden impulse to take it home and damn near devoured it I would have torn through it like dysentery in a medieval army camp if not for the fact that I was reading a Jules Verne book at the same time, but once I was finished with that, I turned my full attention to this tome and finished it off in double time.

So what is Devlin's Luck about? It's a story of a man broken by tragedy who desires nothing more than to make amends for a past tragedy and die with dignity. At the beginning of the book, Devlin arrives in Kingsholm, the capital of the Kingdom of Jorsk, to take the office of Chosen One. It's a bit hard to explain what the Chosen One is, but essentially, they're the kingdom's official problem solver. If something needs to be investigated, for example, the Chosen One could be dispatched to do it. The same goes with quests and any situation that may require their services. The position itself was quite prestigious in days past, being equal to King's Champion and subservient only to the ruling monarch.

But those days are long gone. By the time Devlin arrives to take the oath, the office has declined into largely a ceremonial position so undesirable that the kingdom has to offer ten gold disks¹ in order to get anyone to take the job. Why? The office is seen as certain death because all of Devlin's immediate predecessors have lasted less than a year, each typically dying during or after their first quest.

And that's exactly why Devlin wants the job. As I said, Devlin is a man broken by tragedy. I don't count it as a spoiler since you find it out pretty early, but Dev's grief stems from his wife, their daughter, his brother and his son being killed by creatures called banecats. Even though he avenged them by hunting down and killing the banecats, he still blames himself both for their deaths and not being there to defend them. By the time he recovered from fighting the banecats and returned to civilization, he found himself named kinslayer by his sister-in-law and forsaken by all of his kin, a major thing in his people's culture. He goes into exile shortly thereafter and literally walks all the way to Kingsholm to become the Chosen One.


It's safe to assume that he gets the job, which involves having a spell - called the geas - cast that binds him to the job until he dies or is released from his duties by the king. Devlin prefers the latter, but discovers that seeking death isn't as easy as it seems. Aside from a one-off, grief-fueled attempt at suicide (which the geas prevents), Devlin's own sense of justice and duty compels him to fulfill his duties as Chosen One regardless of his desires. An example of this is when he discovers that the ceremonial sword he's to carry is shoddily made and shatters on impact. He orders that all the weapons used by the city guard be inspected and replaced.

Devlin's Luck is a very apropos title because luck is exactly what seems to pull him through one danger after another. His first quest takes him on the road to investigate bandits and he survives being murdered by the true culprits because of the Caerfolk's natural intolerance to leaf that the villains use to knock out their victims. Likewise, his second quest sees him going after a lake monster (think the Loch Ness Monster) and slaying it in large part because of his refusal to surrender his battle-axe (which he considers cursed and to blame for his tragedy). His luck saves him again when he nearly succumbs to the monster's poisoned blood and his traveling companion, Stephen the minstrel is forced to reveal that he's the son of the local baron in order to save his friend's life.

This near death is a major turning point. After his recovery, Devlin becomes fully dedicated to being the Chosen One instead of just seeking a quick and honorable death. He also mellows a little. Before, he was closed off and aloof from the other characters. After, he accepts Stephen and the others as companions and eventually embraces their friendship.

I'm not going recite everything that happens in the book, save that Devlin's new dedication is a thorn in the side of the unseen antagonists, especially after he uncovers a plot to both facilitate a foreign invasion and usurp the Jorskian throne. The revelation of the traitor's identity is shocking in that they've been right there the whole time and nobody suspected a thing until the end.

I feel like Devlin's Luck and The Sword of Change trilogy as a whole would actually make a great entry point for anybody looking to get into fantasy fiction, while at the same time being a solid, entertaining book that even veterans of the genre would enjoy. If I were to rate Devlin's Luck, I'd give it an 8 out of 10. It only loses points in that I wish that there had been more details about Jorskian society than what we get.

¹That's what they're called in the book. I have no idea if they're coins or small disks that are still larger than coins.