The Crimson Sword's flaws are shown in stark relief when it is contrasted to some of the other recent epic fantasies that it was clearly inspired by. In Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule, for example, the characters were far more carefully defined, and the relationships between them well established. The protagonist's efforts to accomplish his quest were brutally deflected at every turn, his romantic urgings were seemingly thwarted by fate, and the progress of the quest didn't seem scripted in accordance with some sort of random role playing game. George R. R. Martin's books feature a strong set of characters and actually gives them depth that translates into the resulting conflict. The characters in The Crimson Sword seemed like cardboard cutouts in comparison. And what of the quest itself: for a sword with seemingly immense powers that is just lying around some ancient catacomb? At the very least, one would think the blade would be accompanied by some baggage, like the sword carried by Michael Moorcock's Elric, or like the magical powers wielded by Rand in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books.

In the end, The Crimson Sword is one of those books that has some interesting set pieces, some intriguing ideas, and can't quite put them all together. While Thompson tries to indicate that the battle isn't over, and foreshadows a looming conflict in which the "real" enemy is as of yet unknown, the overall story lurches from scene to scene and suffers from a lack of characterization. Even the notion of the meddling Entients who seem to be weaving lives together through dreams and other "promptings" isn't as well presented as say, the protective mages in Janny Wurts' War of Light and Shadow books. It's a decent epic fantasy, and the obvious start of a series that may yet develop into more. Unfortunately, it didn't start out with nearly as compelling a first volume as Goodkind, Martin, or Jordan.

For a somewhat contrary perspective from another Blogcritic, please read Kevin Holtsberry's review.