On September 1st of 2025, the conclusion to one of my favorite recent fantasy series is releasing. With seven installments, this novella saga is criminally underread, and the final entry sticks a ten-point landing. I am talking about The Infernus Gate, novella seven of The Seven Swords by Anthony Ryan.
I don’t know what I want from a novella series. On one hand, I prefer my novellas to be punchy and not overstay their welcome. I worry that the increasing trend of novella series represents a new angle from publishers to milk as much money out of readers as possible by cutting up books. But, there has been a small selection of novella series that feel like their design and execution are thoughtful enough to keep me happy from start to finish. The Seven Swords is one of those series.
This series of novellas works because each entry feels like a standalone dive into an interesting question or topic. By being a series of independent shorts, the series avoids feeling like a chopped-up novel. Yet, despite this, The Seven Swords somehow manages to feel bigger than its page count. I attribute this to Ryan’s years of epic fantasy, which have allowed him to write a story that is extremely efficient in its execution. Ryan knows exactly how to craft a gripping atmosphere and a compelling party of adventurers with minimal setup and exposition. No theme or idea lingers over long, and you are left with a story that feels full of big ideas, epic magical moments, and memorable characters using a fraction of the usual page space.
But how do you end something like this? As I mentioned, the pieces work because they feel so nicely self-contained. Should Ryan simply stop and let the momentum peter out? Instead, he presents us with The Infernus Gate, a culmination that takes every idea from the other six novellas and smashes them together in a climactic finale. The layering of each party member’s story comes together into an epic conclusion that closes each of their arcs and puts a bow on the entire thing. The ending is brilliant. It’s ambiguous to the point where the story feels very complete, but could also fully serve as a prequel to an even bigger novel series. Ryan mentioned he is finished with the story for now, but I can only hope that he feels inspired to revisit this world because I am not done with it.
The Infernus Gate and The Seven Swords are setting the standard for what I want a novella series to be in modern publishing. If you like classic quest fantasy, epic worlds, and cool demon swords, then you absolutely must check this series out. It’s short, but it packs an enormous punch.
Rating:
The Infernus Gate – 9.5/10
The Seven Swords – 9.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
