Book Review: Half Sword by Christopher Matson

The synopsis

Simon the fool, Simon the halfwit, Simon the lost is pursued across medieval Europe by a sinister league of conjurers, the Apostles of Light. Having erased his past, they will stop at nothing to steal his future as well. On the way, he joins the Knights of Palermo, a dubious band of wandering rogues, and attracts a mysterious young woman whose fate is somehow interwoven with his own.
Simon finds himself caught in a struggle for power between the shadowy Apostles, his adopted Knights, and a cabal of powerful women known to a select few as the Weavers. With only a broken sword and his own shattered memories, Simon must thread this maze of warring factions to discover who he was and why he is inexorably drawn to the haunted ruins of twelfth century Rome.

The Review

This is an excellent stand alone, though there may be sequels to come.

 It's very strong on character and realistic skills among knights of a magical Order. There are echoes of actual history, rather like Tolkien's nod to Norse mythology, only this is more the Knights Templar.

 The MC, Simon, has lost his memory of where he came from and why there's an unusual tattoo on his chest. Apprenticed to a fur trader, they are attacked by bandits and Simon only escapes because he chose to sleep away from their cart and was overlooked.

 He is left with half a sword that belonged to his master and follows the tracks of the stolen cart, only to find the bandits killed by the Knights of Palermo.

The mysteries surrounding Simon and his adventures in attempting to join the knights, some of whom don't want him, make for a good story with a fair bit of action. It's very well written and I think Matson is an author to watch.