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Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #1
The Emperor's Blades
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Fantasy (2014), Nominee for Best Debut Goodreads Author (2014)The circle is closing. The stakes are high. And old truths will live again...
The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy.
His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.
Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to an empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?
The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy.
His son Valyn, training for the empire’s deadliest fighting force, hears the news an ocean away. He expected a challenge, but after several ‘accidents’ and a dying soldier’s warning, he realizes his life is also in danger. Yet before Valyn can take action, he must survive the mercenaries’ brutal final initiation.
Meanwhile, the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father’s murderer in the capital itself. Court politics can be fatal, but she needs justice. And Kaden, heir to an empire, studies in a remote monastery. Here, the Blank God’s disciples teach their harsh ways – which Kaden must master to unlock their ancient powers. When an imperial delegation arrives, he’s learnt enough to perceive evil intent. But will this keep him alive, as long-hidden powers make their move?
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 14, 2014
About the author
Brian Staveley
21 books4,172 followersI live on a long dirt road in rural Vermont where I divide my time between mountain biking with my son, trying to play piano music that is far too difficult for me, running trails, doing laundry, splitting wood, thinking I really ought to wash the kitchen floor and then not, cursing at the pie crust for sticking to the surface, drinking beers with friends out by the firepit, and sometimes trying to write books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,920 reviews
March 5, 2017
welp.
1. hella anachronisms. like "concrete" used as a metaphor for "solid." as though they have industrial chemical engineering in this universe? (see the thoughtful comments for how i'm wrong and how i'm right for being annoyed about this) but the funniest was "the smart money," like there's a las vegas betting-line in this universe also.
2. repetition. a book this big, they're bound to miss some, but sometimes it was the same hundred-word thing explained in the exact same terms two chapters later because the chapter in between was in a different POV and what if we forget?
3. how are you gonna write these fucking gigantic, militarized birds that define this particular military order we spend most of the book following, but not properly describe them until, like, 68 percent into the book? (it's the beaky smudge in the misty background of the cover, in case you were wondering.)
4. this one's hardly a surprise, given the recent history of the great american doorstopper—but man, what a disappointingly het male gaze. every woman's body is lavishly described (unlike those bigassed birds). also, they're always either hysterical or cold as ice—from princesses to assassins to whores, i shit you not, if they are female, they are either super-upset or frigid—but either way, an aaaaaaawful lot of words go into speculating about their bodies. as a result, i swear i know what every titty in this book looks like.
5. all three heroes spent the majority of the story as dumb as cows despite having things explained to them at length by people with a conversational grasp of three millennia of world history, for pages and pages at a time. this one scene, a thing one of them had eight years to wonder about didn't even occur to him until right before it became a big ol' plot point.
6. there's a badass gay person in it, but the way they're written... sorry, it reads like this author thought he was doing somebody a favor. when other characters find out, they're like WAIT WUT IDGI WHAT IS GAY OMG IS LIKE ANCIENT SORCERY??? also, The Gay is female, so of course i am exquisitely aware of her lovely, slim, girlish figure and COLD AS ICE demeanor. and 'm telling you there's no way she doesn't totally still want the D—fistbump, brah!*
7. speaking of slim: dude—whaaaaaaaaaat is with the fatphobia? why is every chubby fuck in the book a repulsive villain or gleeful apparatchik of corruption? well—to be fair—there was this one fat kid who seemed pretty nice and not that disgusting at all, except we didn't get to know him very well on account of
8. no—literally, u gaiz—i do not exaggerate. that was literally and actually a thing written in this literal and actual book.
9. if a crucial plot point requires a person to be "knocked-out" by a single blow to the head like in an Indiana Jones movie, you have failed.
if a crucial plot point requires several persons be thusly concussed all in a row, and then conveniently revived by firm slaps to the face a minute later, you should probablynever write anything else again write several sequels because my people at Tom Doherty and Associates love that shit, apparently.
nice try. some fun bits.
but i spent most of this book hissing in irritation or rolling my eyes so hard i could see my own visual cortex.
finally, if you think i'm just a crab paerson with a catastrophic limbic disorder, feel free to have a look to to see what some completely separate and no doubt chaaaaaaarming reviewer not named Julio The Terrible had to say (in fewer snarky words and with concrete excerpts from the text, natch) in a far more accomplished review clearly penned by a person who has far more patience, far fewer anger issues, and faaaaaaar more dignity than i.
__________
* and lest you think me unnecessarily vicious in my characterization of that scene:
1. hella anachronisms. like "concrete" used as a metaphor for "solid." as though they have industrial chemical engineering in this universe? (see the thoughtful comments for how i'm wrong and how i'm right for being annoyed about this) but the funniest was "the smart money," like there's a las vegas betting-line in this universe also.
2. repetition. a book this big, they're bound to miss some, but sometimes it was the same hundred-word thing explained in the exact same terms two chapters later because the chapter in between was in a different POV and what if we forget?
3. how are you gonna write these fucking gigantic, militarized birds that define this particular military order we spend most of the book following, but not properly describe them until, like, 68 percent into the book? (it's the beaky smudge in the misty background of the cover, in case you were wondering.)
4. this one's hardly a surprise, given the recent history of the great american doorstopper—but man, what a disappointingly het male gaze. every woman's body is lavishly described (unlike those bigassed birds). also, they're always either hysterical or cold as ice—from princesses to assassins to whores, i shit you not, if they are female, they are either super-upset or frigid—but either way, an aaaaaaawful lot of words go into speculating about their bodies. as a result, i swear i know what every titty in this book looks like.
5. all three heroes spent the majority of the story as dumb as cows despite having things explained to them at length by people with a conversational grasp of three millennia of world history, for pages and pages at a time. this one scene, a thing one of them had eight years to wonder about didn't even occur to him until right before it became a big ol' plot point.
6. there's a badass gay person in it, but the way they're written... sorry, it reads like this author thought he was doing somebody a favor. when other characters find out, they're like WAIT WUT IDGI WHAT IS GAY OMG IS LIKE ANCIENT SORCERY??? also, The Gay is female, so of course i am exquisitely aware of her lovely, slim, girlish figure and COLD AS ICE demeanor. and 'm telling you there's no way she doesn't totally still want the D—fistbump, brah!*
7. speaking of slim: dude—whaaaaaaaaaat is with the fatphobia? why is every chubby fuck in the book a repulsive villain or gleeful apparatchik of corruption? well—to be fair—there was this one fat kid who seemed pretty nice and not that disgusting at all, except we didn't get to know him very well on account of
8. no—literally, u gaiz—i do not exaggerate. that was literally and actually a thing written in this literal and actual book.
9. if a crucial plot point requires a person to be "knocked-out" by a single blow to the head like in an Indiana Jones movie, you have failed.
if a crucial plot point requires several persons be thusly concussed all in a row, and then conveniently revived by firm slaps to the face a minute later, you should probably
nice try. some fun bits.
but i spent most of this book hissing in irritation or rolling my eyes so hard i could see my own visual cortex.
finally, if you think i'm just a crab paerson with a catastrophic limbic disorder, feel free to have a look to to see what some completely separate and no doubt chaaaaaaarming reviewer not named Julio The Terrible had to say (in fewer snarky words and with concrete excerpts from the text, natch) in a far more accomplished review clearly penned by a person who has far more patience, far fewer anger issues, and faaaaaaar more dignity than i.
__________
* and lest you think me unnecessarily vicious in my characterization of that scene:
April 15, 2018
Rabid Fangirl Mode: ACTIVATED
Have you ever read a book that’s so far above all others that it makes you want to go change your ratings for everything else you’ve ever read in that genre? Yeah, that.
I had a huge review for this written and ready to go. I talked about the incredible characterization, the complexity of the plot, the gorgeous writing, and the mind blowing way that they were all executed. And you know what? I can’t post it. It doesn’t do this book justice. So for now, I’ll say this:
Some authors are simply writers; they take words and put them down on the page. Some authors are poets; they take those words and twist them around into beautiful prose. Then some authors, like this author, are weavers. They take those words and that beautiful prose and work them into immensely complicated storylines. These lines become the thread with which they knit their books into creation. They stitch them to and fro as they weave a literary tapestry and while reading, you get mere glimpses of the pattern they’re creating. Only at the end is the grand design revealed, and when it is, you can do nothing but sit back and wonder at the beauty in front of you. Thank you, Mr. Staveley, for reminding me of ALL the reasons that I love to read.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. This book gave me actual adrenaline rushes. This book was unputdownable. This book blew my fucking mind. Favorite Fantasy book of the year...maybe even ever.
More to come if I can figure out some way to do this justice.
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Have you ever read a book that’s so far above all others that it makes you want to go change your ratings for everything else you’ve ever read in that genre? Yeah, that.
I had a huge review for this written and ready to go. I talked about the incredible characterization, the complexity of the plot, the gorgeous writing, and the mind blowing way that they were all executed. And you know what? I can’t post it. It doesn’t do this book justice. So for now, I’ll say this:
Some authors are simply writers; they take words and put them down on the page. Some authors are poets; they take those words and twist them around into beautiful prose. Then some authors, like this author, are weavers. They take those words and that beautiful prose and work them into immensely complicated storylines. These lines become the thread with which they knit their books into creation. They stitch them to and fro as they weave a literary tapestry and while reading, you get mere glimpses of the pattern they’re creating. Only at the end is the grand design revealed, and when it is, you can do nothing but sit back and wonder at the beauty in front of you. Thank you, Mr. Staveley, for reminding me of ALL the reasons that I love to read.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat. This book gave me actual adrenaline rushes. This book was unputdownable. This book blew my fucking mind. Favorite Fantasy book of the year...maybe even ever.
More to come if I can figure out some way to do this justice.
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July 19, 2020
Buddy read with The Queen of the Unhewn Throne, Melanie. Thank you, Mel, for such an amazing BR; you made my reading experience much better! :)
Before I start my review, feast your eyes upon the gorgeous cover arts of the books in this trilogy!
To be honest, I knew next to nothing about the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne when I started reading it. The series has gorgeous cover arts (both US & UK editions), and I’ve heard some terrific praises from my trusted friends on Goodreads. That was enough to make me enthusiastic about the trilogy, and it suffices to say that The Emperor’s Blades, Brian Staveley’s debut, managed to meet my expectation superbly. Staveley used to teach history, religion, and philosophy for ten years before writing this debut novel, and it’s evident from the narrative that Staveley knows his material strongly before he implemented them.
The story—like a place in the book called Hook—managed to hooked (see what I did there?) me into immediately from the first three chapters. Written in multi third-person limited narration, the plot in this debut starts out simple; The Emperor’s Blades—the emperor’s three offsprings—are sent away to train in different areas of the world by the Emperor himself for the sake of securing the future of the Annurian Empire. Of course, an unforeseen event (it’s written in the blurb if you want to know) occurred, and things spiraled out of control quickly from there. This is where the story begins, and I’ll leave the rest for you to find out for yourself. The Emperor’s Blades is an adult military-fantasy filled with philosophy, faith, politics, conspiracies, mystery, and coming-of-age aspects depending on whose perspective you’re reading from, and most importantly, they’re all incredibly well-written.
While it’s true that the plot for me was intriguing, the pacing can be a bit too slow at times. This didn’t bother me at all because I found the main character’s—especially Kaden and Valyn—storyline to be captivating. The Emperor’s Blades do, however, reminded me of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie in terms of pacing and structure; what I meant by this is that this first book felt more like a buildup for the sequels.
The Emperor’s Blades, as I mentioned earlier, are The Emperor’s three offspring which is also the three main characters of the novel. In my opinion, the world-building, the characterizations, and the writing were the most important points of this book, and whether or not you’re going to enjoy reading this novel will be decided heavily based on how much you love them. The Emperor’s Blades is a definitively character-driven story; throughout the whole book, we’ll be following the story exclusively from the POV of the three main characters: Kaden, Valyn & Adare.
Kaden—at 17 years old—is the youngest son, and also the Heir to the Unhewn Throne, of the Emperor sent away to train with the Shin monks in the mountains. Frankly speaking, this marked the first time I read a monk main character’s POV in a fantasy novel, and I found it to be such a refreshing experience. It’s often encountered in a high-fantasy novel that the heir to the throne will either be someone well-learned in politics or skillful in combats, usually accompanied by a charismatic presence; Kaden is none of these. Kaden’s POV is where most of the religious philosophical discussion shines. The teaching of the monks seems to be inspired by Buddhism, but Staveley added a few twists to it, especially in their methods of training and punishments. However, above all, the Shin monks value discipline, calmness, and vaniate— a state of emptiness—the most. I highly enjoyed reading Kaden’s story in this volume, and I have a feeling he will shine further in the sequel.
Valyn—at 18 years old—is the second son of the Emperor who was sent away to train with the Kettral—the deadliest fighting force in the Annurian Empire. Personally speaking, Valyn was hands down my favorite POV character in the book.
Picture: The front cover to the Hungarian edition of The Emperor’s Blades featuring Valyn hui’Malkeenian and a kettral at the back
I totally loved Valyn’s POV; he’s the best out of the three main characters. His story was engaging, full of mysteries, wonderfully- paced, and the focus on his training to become a Kettral was thoroughly engrossing. The military fantasy element of the novel was highlighted from Valyn’s POV chapters, and there was also a huge amount of relatable philosophical passages. Not only Valyn and his companions in Kettral rides a flying gigantic bird called kettral for war and transportation, but the implementation of magic, the realistic and believable military training, the conspiracies, the assassinations, the forming a team called Wings, and also the wonderfully well-written side female characters—Gwenna, Ha Lin, Annick—to care for do exist in his chapters; everything in Valyn’s POV just worked for me. Additionally, Valyn also has the most spotlight, and it understandably made his character more developed comparatively.
Finally, we have Adare—at 21 years old—as the first daughter and the only one who remains in Annur to control the politics of the Empire. Unfortunately, I have to say that Adare’s POV fell short for me, and it wasn’t because I didn’t care for her—after all, the politics were thrilling— character, but it was her lack of appearances—she has only five short chapters out of a total of fifty chapters—that bothered me. Her lack of spotlight made her an underdeveloped character, especially when she’s supposed to be one of the main characters. The female side characters in Valyn’s POV actually have more development and distinction compared to Adare. Speaking of minor issues with the book, and this is probably just a small pet peeve of mine, I did find the naming choices of Kettral and kettral to be a bit odd and confusing at first. I mentioned earlier that Valyn is training to become a Kettral, the deadliest force of the Annurian Empire and yes, Kettral is a memorable name, but the fact that the giant bird the Kettral ride is called kettral—without the capital letter—as well took some time for me to get used to.
Fortunately, these were the only minor issues I had with the book, and overall they didn’t diminish my enjoyment too much. Brian Staveley’s prose—although there were a few repetitive phrases—was terrific, and the world-building felt immersive and vivid. The world-building has a flavor of Asian culture, and I loved how the lore, culture, and setting of the world was implemented gradually together with the plot. There’s no info dump; we learn more about the world and characters with each chapter progressed. The Emperor’s Blades is a ‘Kent-kissing’ awesome debut. I’m so excited to be diving into the sequel, The Providence of Fire, as soon as possible. A lot of necessary foundation has been laid out for the sequel, and it’s safe to say that the quality of the narrative lives up to the quality of the gorgeous cover arts.
You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Devin, Hamad, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Zoe.
Before I start my review, feast your eyes upon the gorgeous cover arts of the books in this trilogy!
To be honest, I knew next to nothing about the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne when I started reading it. The series has gorgeous cover arts (both US & UK editions), and I’ve heard some terrific praises from my trusted friends on Goodreads. That was enough to make me enthusiastic about the trilogy, and it suffices to say that The Emperor’s Blades, Brian Staveley’s debut, managed to meet my expectation superbly. Staveley used to teach history, religion, and philosophy for ten years before writing this debut novel, and it’s evident from the narrative that Staveley knows his material strongly before he implemented them.
The story—like a place in the book called Hook—managed to hooked (see what I did there?) me into immediately from the first three chapters. Written in multi third-person limited narration, the plot in this debut starts out simple; The Emperor’s Blades—the emperor’s three offsprings—are sent away to train in different areas of the world by the Emperor himself for the sake of securing the future of the Annurian Empire. Of course, an unforeseen event (it’s written in the blurb if you want to know) occurred, and things spiraled out of control quickly from there. This is where the story begins, and I’ll leave the rest for you to find out for yourself. The Emperor’s Blades is an adult military-fantasy filled with philosophy, faith, politics, conspiracies, mystery, and coming-of-age aspects depending on whose perspective you’re reading from, and most importantly, they’re all incredibly well-written.
While it’s true that the plot for me was intriguing, the pacing can be a bit too slow at times. This didn’t bother me at all because I found the main character’s—especially Kaden and Valyn—storyline to be captivating. The Emperor’s Blades do, however, reminded me of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie in terms of pacing and structure; what I meant by this is that this first book felt more like a buildup for the sequels.
The Emperor’s Blades, as I mentioned earlier, are The Emperor’s three offspring which is also the three main characters of the novel. In my opinion, the world-building, the characterizations, and the writing were the most important points of this book, and whether or not you’re going to enjoy reading this novel will be decided heavily based on how much you love them. The Emperor’s Blades is a definitively character-driven story; throughout the whole book, we’ll be following the story exclusively from the POV of the three main characters: Kaden, Valyn & Adare.
Kaden—at 17 years old—is the youngest son, and also the Heir to the Unhewn Throne, of the Emperor sent away to train with the Shin monks in the mountains. Frankly speaking, this marked the first time I read a monk main character’s POV in a fantasy novel, and I found it to be such a refreshing experience. It’s often encountered in a high-fantasy novel that the heir to the throne will either be someone well-learned in politics or skillful in combats, usually accompanied by a charismatic presence; Kaden is none of these. Kaden’s POV is where most of the religious philosophical discussion shines. The teaching of the monks seems to be inspired by Buddhism, but Staveley added a few twists to it, especially in their methods of training and punishments. However, above all, the Shin monks value discipline, calmness, and vaniate— a state of emptiness—the most. I highly enjoyed reading Kaden’s story in this volume, and I have a feeling he will shine further in the sequel.
“Fear is blindness, calmness is sight.”
Valyn—at 18 years old—is the second son of the Emperor who was sent away to train with the Kettral—the deadliest fighting force in the Annurian Empire. Personally speaking, Valyn was hands down my favorite POV character in the book.
Picture: The front cover to the Hungarian edition of The Emperor’s Blades featuring Valyn hui’Malkeenian and a kettral at the back
I totally loved Valyn’s POV; he’s the best out of the three main characters. His story was engaging, full of mysteries, wonderfully- paced, and the focus on his training to become a Kettral was thoroughly engrossing. The military fantasy element of the novel was highlighted from Valyn’s POV chapters, and there was also a huge amount of relatable philosophical passages. Not only Valyn and his companions in Kettral rides a flying gigantic bird called kettral for war and transportation, but the implementation of magic, the realistic and believable military training, the conspiracies, the assassinations, the forming a team called Wings, and also the wonderfully well-written side female characters—Gwenna, Ha Lin, Annick—to care for do exist in his chapters; everything in Valyn’s POV just worked for me. Additionally, Valyn also has the most spotlight, and it understandably made his character more developed comparatively.
“Leadership isn't just about giving orders. A fool can give orders. A leader listens. He changes his mind. He acknowledges mistakes.”
Finally, we have Adare—at 21 years old—as the first daughter and the only one who remains in Annur to control the politics of the Empire. Unfortunately, I have to say that Adare’s POV fell short for me, and it wasn’t because I didn’t care for her—after all, the politics were thrilling— character, but it was her lack of appearances—she has only five short chapters out of a total of fifty chapters—that bothered me. Her lack of spotlight made her an underdeveloped character, especially when she’s supposed to be one of the main characters. The female side characters in Valyn’s POV actually have more development and distinction compared to Adare. Speaking of minor issues with the book, and this is probably just a small pet peeve of mine, I did find the naming choices of Kettral and kettral to be a bit odd and confusing at first. I mentioned earlier that Valyn is training to become a Kettral, the deadliest force of the Annurian Empire and yes, Kettral is a memorable name, but the fact that the giant bird the Kettral ride is called kettral—without the capital letter—as well took some time for me to get used to.
Fortunately, these were the only minor issues I had with the book, and overall they didn’t diminish my enjoyment too much. Brian Staveley’s prose—although there were a few repetitive phrases—was terrific, and the world-building felt immersive and vivid. The world-building has a flavor of Asian culture, and I loved how the lore, culture, and setting of the world was implemented gradually together with the plot. There’s no info dump; we learn more about the world and characters with each chapter progressed. The Emperor’s Blades is a ‘Kent-kissing’ awesome debut. I’m so excited to be diving into the sequel, The Providence of Fire, as soon as possible. A lot of necessary foundation has been laid out for the sequel, and it’s safe to say that the quality of the narrative lives up to the quality of the gorgeous cover arts.
You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Devin, Hamad, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Zoe.
February 27, 2017
Alright I want to get some minor quibbles out of the way before I go into a detailed analysis of the major problems I had with this book and a lot of grimdark in general.
- Book is slow and boring. One storyline dominates the others. I dreaded picking it up.
- Author hates fat people and small eyes. It was a weird compulsive quirk! He also had a serious case of Disney Eyes in regard to “good” characters.
- Considering this is meant to be morally grey “grimdark” fantasy there are clearly drawn lines between the “good” and “bad” guys.
But what I really want to speak about is the representations of women in Blades particularly, and grimdark fantasy generally. I’m also going to touch on how the book handles POC and LGBTQ characters.
Bitches and Whores
I had so many problems with the way this book handled female characters. I’m going to highlight a few examples. These aren’t meant to be all- encompassing but they do provide textual evidence for my complaints. I want to be really clear that I’m not just talking about characterization. I’m talking about unconscious bias in the writing that routinely reveals itself in the way female characters relate to one another and the world, and in how they are internally described by POV characters. I’m also talking about the amount of time they get on the page, and the way their character arcs are handled. These are separate issues from just “the story”. It was these aspects of the writing that rankled me the most.
Physical Descriptions
Women are described by their breasts, physical attractiveness and Disney eyes. I wouldn’t mind this if men were likewise described but the only men who get detailed descriptions are the “fat, disgusting” ones. In Valyn’s first scene, surrounded by blood, gore and murder victims and in the middle of a training exercise Valyn spends time monologueing about how sexy Lin is. A few chapters later here is how Valyn describes Gwenna:
“… tempted by the bright green eyes and flaming red hair, by the supple, curvaceous body that she did her best to hide…”
Argh! It is gratuitous and constant.
Their personalities are also problematic. Girls are either dangerous like Gwenna with her terrible temper, or pathetic, like Rianne, or hopelessly inept like Lin and Adare.
Characterisation
Adare
Adare is one of the siblings but is only given about 6 chapters in the whole novel. She is constantly compared to others and her difficultly as a women in a man’s world is obsessed over. The author sets up a hyper-sexist world.
“It is no slight to you, Baxter Pane had argued, staring at her with those rheumy eyes of his, (eye obsession strikes again!) but women are not suited to the Ministry. They are too … fickle, too easily transported by their emotions.”
Ok, I can understand that. But then he unconsciously characterised her in sexist way that confirms the bias.
She bit into a fingernail, then remembered her post, the hundreds watching, and returned the hand forcefully to her lap. Adare let the words trail off, retaking her seat with as much dignity as she could muster. Adare swallowed a curse. And here I am, allowing myself to be transported by my emotions.
She pretty much confirms all the criticisms and concerns people have about her and I'm not even sure the author realises this.
Lin
I have a real issue with love interests who are sexually assaulted and then fridged to provide impetus for a male POV character. It is so disrespectful.
Consider this scenario:
Your brave hero is a warrior. She comes home to discover her loving husband has been raped and killed by her enemy. Furious and grief stricken she swears to punish the people who did this to her husband. And if she flirts with a few sexy young men along the way, well that doesn’t diminish her cause, a girl has needs you know…
Or how bout this one:
Your James Bond stand- in is captured by the enemy. He is ruthlessly tortured and raped until he manages to escape. He swears vengeance. He will bring forth unholy terror on the people who hurt him. But to succeed he will need the help of a sexy female friend. Can he learn to love again? Can he trust her to touch his body with kindness after suffering with this isolating trauma for so long?
Do you find these laughable? Possibly offensive? How would you have felt if the scenario in Blades had looked like this:
“I should be focusing on my bladework, and all I can think about is ripping the pants off this boy.”
Yurl had straddled Valyn, and instead of ending the struggle with a blow to the back of the neck, he was reaching down between his legs, trying to force his thighs apart as he thrashed and writhed.”
Would you be defending “realism” and the need to “set the tone” if the male protagonist was casually sexually assaulted while everyone- trainers, friends and fellow students- looked on, jeering when Yurl managed to wrap a hand around Valyn’s limp dick or rub a few fingers along his crack?
If you are uncomfortable with the image I’m painting you need to ask yourself why you were ok with Staveley doing it to Lin.
Amie
And that brings me to another thing- the murdered prostitute Amie. When Lin criticizes another character for soliciting sex from a thirteen year old girl she is shamed. I'm including the lot so no one can argue I've ignored context.
The smile froze on Laith’s face. “She wasn’t my whore.”
“Of course not. That’s the nice thing about borrowed gear—if it gets busted, it’s no skin off your nose. If Amie had been yours, maybe you would have taken better care of her.”
Valyn raised a hand to stop the words, but Laith stepped in close before he could speak. The flier’s normal genial humor had burned off like the oil from the sputtering lamp.
“I don’t know how I became the villain in this little tale,” he said, eyes bright, voice soft, “but don’t drag me into your guilt.”“My guilt?” Lin sputtered.“Oh, right,” the flier shot back. “I forgot. You only bought fruit from her. You never bought sex.” He held up his palms in mock surrender. “What’d you pay her? A few copper flames? Enough to put a decent meal on her table? Enough so she could stop whoring?”
Lin refused to respond, her face closed like a book.
“Before you come pointing your finger at me, why don’t you ask yourself what you did to make Amie’s life any better,” Laith demanded, eyes ablaze. Before Valyn could say anything to calm things down, the flier turned on his heel and stalked out.
What is so strange about this is that the author seems to be making the suggestion that these two things are somehow equivalent. Like fucking a 13 year old shows the same degree of concern as purchasing produce from said 13 year old. Even if Lin had done nothing for Amie, she still was dead to rights to call out another character for paying for sex with the 13 year old.
What most infuriated me about this was that Lin is left feeling guilty and no one ever questions Laith's position. Somehow he won that round? How???? It is accepted as fair and correct by all the characters and thus I can only conclude that it is also meant to be accepted as such by the reader. What the fuck?
POC and LGBTQ characters
Balendin looked like a savage straight out of the Hannan jungles. The feathers of seabirds hung among his long, dark braids, rings of ivory and iron pierced his ears, and blue ink snaked up his arms.
“And you wonder why everyone wants to string you bastards up,” Gent grumbled. “No offense meant, Talal, but the whole thing is sick, filthy…”
So just a regular POC by fantasy standards then. He is “treacherous” and “frightening”. He is a filthy savage. He is also a magical savage who probably should have been lynched. The POV characters also make much of his background. He is from a colonized backwater, possibly one of the ones, “pressing back against the ‘foreign oppressors,’ never mind that our oppression is what brings law courts and foreign trade, military protection and technological advancement”.
I mean... for fucks sake... how many times do we have to keep talking about how shitty it is to constantly frame fantasy stories in terms of colonization and marginalization? The three POV characters are obviously from an extremely privelegded background so I’m not saying they should have better awareness of their own place in society but the novel never challenges these perspectives. These sort of comments are just thrown out into the narrative to swim around unchallenged.
It makes it really hard to understand what Staveley’s intentions are because in his own words he seems to think it is really easy to break tropes, and that he is more interested in exploring traditional frameworks. Consider his understanding of what fantasy tropes are:
“Within the fantasy genre, however, breakage is actually pretty easy. See that nice wizard over there? He has a pointy hat and a white beard. He mutters querulously to himself. He’s forgetful. He likes to read. He feeds nuts to an owl that perches on his shoulder. Now, let’s watch as he pries the eyeball from the skull of an innocent child while that child’s parents, whom our wizard has nailed (non-fatally) to a wall, watch in horror. Trope: broken. Honestly, I’m always a little surprised when people describe my books as dark or violent.”
I mean what the hell? In that interview he seemed to be giving himself a pat on the back for his trope-breaking plot points. This suggests he isn’t aware of the tropes he is reinforcing- which also means that even if he manages to redeem some aspects of his story in the next two books- it will likely be as accidental and unconscious as his reinforcement of them was in this novel.
I’m not even going to deal with Annick the magical unicorn lesbian. Suffice to say Staveley isn’t providing any nuance to that aspect of characterization either.
I can handle books that deal with difficult issues or exist in grimdark universes. But if you are going to explore issues of gender, sexual assault, and colonization at least do it with conscious fucking awareness.
I was so angry reading this book. The issues were so overt that it would have been impossible for me to enjoy this even if the story had been more engaging/ better paced.
This is the end of the review. The other stuff deals with grimdark fantasy more generally.
Some criticisms I suspect this review will garner after my experience with a similar critique I did of Axe and the Throne:
“This is grimdark, if you can’t handle the genre don’t read it.”
Fuck you. I’m not being raped every other day in real life so why the fuck should every god-damn women in grimdark fantasy? If this is so fucking inevitable to the genre why does Best Served Cold manage to incorporate fully fleshed out female characters without constantly resorting to gendered violence. Why is Joe Abercrombie able to have a character who is a loving, single parent and a vicious torturer? Why is he able to have a female character that fucks and chucks a bloke and ends up better off for it?
“Grimdark is just being honest. This is reality.”
Grimdark is a subgenre that describes a particular the tone, style or setting of speculative fiction (especially fantasy) that is, depending on the definition used, markedly dystopian or amoral, or particularly violent or realistic.
Here’s the thing- grimdark does not have to equal sexism. N.K. Jemison’s Broken Earth series (The Fifth Season) is dystopian, amoral, violent and realistic. However, shockingly, characters don’t suffer because they are women or because they are POC. It is possible to write a grim dark novel and include harrowing, realistic scenes without resorting automatically to gendered and racial violence.
When you say, “well this is realistic” or “this is historically accurate” you are saying that realistic worldbuilding requires the inclusion of certain specific inequalities in order to count as realistic – that a story cannot be honest, or characters believably human, if women and POC aren’t oppressed or villainous. You are assuming that current expressions of bigotry, sexism and racism are universal truths.
You are saying that there is no other possible reality that could be believable and then wonder why we get pissed off. Novels like Blades reinforce specific inequalities as inevitable, thereby further perpetuating those perspectives.
The thing is grimdark doesn’t accurately reflect the historical period it is trying to mimic or even current reality. Where is the male rape? Where are the soldiers dying, not in an epic battle, but from infected scratches? Where are the people going insane from syphilis, which hero has a dick full of pus as a result of his philandering? Why aren’t the sexually active women pregnant? Why can so many characters read? I think you understand what I am getting at.
The real problem is that grimdark as a genre has developed an aesthetic that readers have become familiar with. As a result it feels realistic and right . Hardboiled pulp noir mysteries felt realistic in the 1950’s but we look back on them now and see them as a product of the author's time period, not as an accurate depiction of any sort of reality. The same is true for grimdark. It appeals to modern cynicism and we are so used to seeing gendered violence and oppressed POC that we think this is realistic. But it isn’t. And I strenuously reject any claims to the contrary.
“The real world is not the same as a fictional world, authors shouldn’t have to be PC, fuck you and all the other SJW’s out to ruin everything.”
Firstly, why are you so invested in seeing women raped and POC victimised in your fiction? I think this says more about you then me.
Secondly, fiction has real- world consequences. Negative and positive. The Birth of a Nation inspired the formation of the second era of the Klu Klux Klan. 12 Years a Slave and other true accounts were essential in the political fight against slavery.
Fiction is not created or read in a vacuum.
It is no coincidence that the MRA movement evolved out of the gaming community. There is a reason women read and write “feminist” fiction.
On one level or another we all acknowledge the very real and important ways stories permeate and shape our experience of the world.
That said this is a subjective review. No one is preventing Staveley from publishing his work or you from reading it. I can say I don't like it and his fans can keep reading it. My dislike for something does not prevent you from enjoying it. I'm not lurking behind Staveley's writing desk with a butcher's knife telling him to write better fiction…or else…
“Not every woman has to be a superhero who rescues kitties and knows karate.”
Yep. I’m well- aware of that, thanks.
Women do not have to fall into a handful of archetypes. They do not have to be the hero every time or to always succeed. A Mary Sue is just as infuriating as a trophy vagina. What is necessary is that female characters are as multi-faceted and flawed as male characters. They need to have their own motivations and goals. If they suffer it should be part of their character arc not their love interests.
Lin was not a real person. Every decision she made aimed at pushing Valyn along his path to character growth. Consider that in one scene she ruthlessly kills a girl to teach Valyn the importance of recognizing the greater good. A few scenes later she teaches him the importance of compassion. Lin loses her temper, which leads him to play the hero and also teaches him the lesson that he should not let his emotions rule him. It also helps inspire sympathy in the reader for Valyn and increases our desire to see him succeed over the assholes.
I don’t think it is too much to ask of authors that they ensure their female characters are fully-fleshed out.
“Later in the series xyz character does xyz which proves it’s not sexist at all.”
Firstly, the other books don’t matter because I’m reviewing this book.
Secondly, from some of the synopsis’ I’ve read of the other books I’m almost certain I would have similar complaints.
Thirdly, in terms of literary merit, I found the book boring and have no interest in reading the rest of the series.
- Book is slow and boring. One storyline dominates the others. I dreaded picking it up.
- Author hates fat people and small eyes. It was a weird compulsive quirk! He also had a serious case of Disney Eyes in regard to “good” characters.
- Considering this is meant to be morally grey “grimdark” fantasy there are clearly drawn lines between the “good” and “bad” guys.
But what I really want to speak about is the representations of women in Blades particularly, and grimdark fantasy generally. I’m also going to touch on how the book handles POC and LGBTQ characters.
Bitches and Whores
I had so many problems with the way this book handled female characters. I’m going to highlight a few examples. These aren’t meant to be all- encompassing but they do provide textual evidence for my complaints. I want to be really clear that I’m not just talking about characterization. I’m talking about unconscious bias in the writing that routinely reveals itself in the way female characters relate to one another and the world, and in how they are internally described by POV characters. I’m also talking about the amount of time they get on the page, and the way their character arcs are handled. These are separate issues from just “the story”. It was these aspects of the writing that rankled me the most.
Physical Descriptions
Women are described by their breasts, physical attractiveness and Disney eyes. I wouldn’t mind this if men were likewise described but the only men who get detailed descriptions are the “fat, disgusting” ones. In Valyn’s first scene, surrounded by blood, gore and murder victims and in the middle of a training exercise Valyn spends time monologueing about how sexy Lin is. A few chapters later here is how Valyn describes Gwenna:
“… tempted by the bright green eyes and flaming red hair, by the supple, curvaceous body that she did her best to hide…”
Argh! It is gratuitous and constant.
Their personalities are also problematic. Girls are either dangerous like Gwenna with her terrible temper, or pathetic, like Rianne, or hopelessly inept like Lin and Adare.
Characterisation
Adare
Adare is one of the siblings but is only given about 6 chapters in the whole novel. She is constantly compared to others and her difficultly as a women in a man’s world is obsessed over. The author sets up a hyper-sexist world.
“It is no slight to you, Baxter Pane had argued, staring at her with those rheumy eyes of his, (eye obsession strikes again!) but women are not suited to the Ministry. They are too … fickle, too easily transported by their emotions.”
Ok, I can understand that. But then he unconsciously characterised her in sexist way that confirms the bias.
She bit into a fingernail, then remembered her post, the hundreds watching, and returned the hand forcefully to her lap. Adare let the words trail off, retaking her seat with as much dignity as she could muster. Adare swallowed a curse. And here I am, allowing myself to be transported by my emotions.
She pretty much confirms all the criticisms and concerns people have about her and I'm not even sure the author realises this.
Lin
I have a real issue with love interests who are sexually assaulted and then fridged to provide impetus for a male POV character. It is so disrespectful.
Consider this scenario:
Your brave hero is a warrior. She comes home to discover her loving husband has been raped and killed by her enemy. Furious and grief stricken she swears to punish the people who did this to her husband. And if she flirts with a few sexy young men along the way, well that doesn’t diminish her cause, a girl has needs you know…
Or how bout this one:
Your James Bond stand- in is captured by the enemy. He is ruthlessly tortured and raped until he manages to escape. He swears vengeance. He will bring forth unholy terror on the people who hurt him. But to succeed he will need the help of a sexy female friend. Can he learn to love again? Can he trust her to touch his body with kindness after suffering with this isolating trauma for so long?
Do you find these laughable? Possibly offensive? How would you have felt if the scenario in Blades had looked like this:
“I should be focusing on my bladework, and all I can think about is ripping the pants off this boy.”
Yurl had straddled Valyn, and instead of ending the struggle with a blow to the back of the neck, he was reaching down between his legs, trying to force his thighs apart as he thrashed and writhed.”
Would you be defending “realism” and the need to “set the tone” if the male protagonist was casually sexually assaulted while everyone- trainers, friends and fellow students- looked on, jeering when Yurl managed to wrap a hand around Valyn’s limp dick or rub a few fingers along his crack?
If you are uncomfortable with the image I’m painting you need to ask yourself why you were ok with Staveley doing it to Lin.
Amie
And that brings me to another thing- the murdered prostitute Amie. When Lin criticizes another character for soliciting sex from a thirteen year old girl she is shamed. I'm including the lot so no one can argue I've ignored context.
The smile froze on Laith’s face. “She wasn’t my whore.”
“Of course not. That’s the nice thing about borrowed gear—if it gets busted, it’s no skin off your nose. If Amie had been yours, maybe you would have taken better care of her.”
Valyn raised a hand to stop the words, but Laith stepped in close before he could speak. The flier’s normal genial humor had burned off like the oil from the sputtering lamp.
“I don’t know how I became the villain in this little tale,” he said, eyes bright, voice soft, “but don’t drag me into your guilt.”“My guilt?” Lin sputtered.“Oh, right,” the flier shot back. “I forgot. You only bought fruit from her. You never bought sex.” He held up his palms in mock surrender. “What’d you pay her? A few copper flames? Enough to put a decent meal on her table? Enough so she could stop whoring?”
Lin refused to respond, her face closed like a book.
“Before you come pointing your finger at me, why don’t you ask yourself what you did to make Amie’s life any better,” Laith demanded, eyes ablaze. Before Valyn could say anything to calm things down, the flier turned on his heel and stalked out.
What is so strange about this is that the author seems to be making the suggestion that these two things are somehow equivalent. Like fucking a 13 year old shows the same degree of concern as purchasing produce from said 13 year old. Even if Lin had done nothing for Amie, she still was dead to rights to call out another character for paying for sex with the 13 year old.
What most infuriated me about this was that Lin is left feeling guilty and no one ever questions Laith's position. Somehow he won that round? How???? It is accepted as fair and correct by all the characters and thus I can only conclude that it is also meant to be accepted as such by the reader. What the fuck?
POC and LGBTQ characters
Balendin looked like a savage straight out of the Hannan jungles. The feathers of seabirds hung among his long, dark braids, rings of ivory and iron pierced his ears, and blue ink snaked up his arms.
“And you wonder why everyone wants to string you bastards up,” Gent grumbled. “No offense meant, Talal, but the whole thing is sick, filthy…”
So just a regular POC by fantasy standards then. He is “treacherous” and “frightening”. He is a filthy savage. He is also a magical savage who probably should have been lynched. The POV characters also make much of his background. He is from a colonized backwater, possibly one of the ones, “pressing back against the ‘foreign oppressors,’ never mind that our oppression is what brings law courts and foreign trade, military protection and technological advancement”.
I mean... for fucks sake... how many times do we have to keep talking about how shitty it is to constantly frame fantasy stories in terms of colonization and marginalization? The three POV characters are obviously from an extremely privelegded background so I’m not saying they should have better awareness of their own place in society but the novel never challenges these perspectives. These sort of comments are just thrown out into the narrative to swim around unchallenged.
It makes it really hard to understand what Staveley’s intentions are because in his own words he seems to think it is really easy to break tropes, and that he is more interested in exploring traditional frameworks. Consider his understanding of what fantasy tropes are:
“Within the fantasy genre, however, breakage is actually pretty easy. See that nice wizard over there? He has a pointy hat and a white beard. He mutters querulously to himself. He’s forgetful. He likes to read. He feeds nuts to an owl that perches on his shoulder. Now, let’s watch as he pries the eyeball from the skull of an innocent child while that child’s parents, whom our wizard has nailed (non-fatally) to a wall, watch in horror. Trope: broken. Honestly, I’m always a little surprised when people describe my books as dark or violent.”
I mean what the hell? In that interview he seemed to be giving himself a pat on the back for his trope-breaking plot points. This suggests he isn’t aware of the tropes he is reinforcing- which also means that even if he manages to redeem some aspects of his story in the next two books- it will likely be as accidental and unconscious as his reinforcement of them was in this novel.
I’m not even going to deal with Annick the magical unicorn lesbian. Suffice to say Staveley isn’t providing any nuance to that aspect of characterization either.
I can handle books that deal with difficult issues or exist in grimdark universes. But if you are going to explore issues of gender, sexual assault, and colonization at least do it with conscious fucking awareness.
I was so angry reading this book. The issues were so overt that it would have been impossible for me to enjoy this even if the story had been more engaging/ better paced.
This is the end of the review. The other stuff deals with grimdark fantasy more generally.
Some criticisms I suspect this review will garner after my experience with a similar critique I did of Axe and the Throne:
“This is grimdark, if you can’t handle the genre don’t read it.”
Fuck you. I’m not being raped every other day in real life so why the fuck should every god-damn women in grimdark fantasy? If this is so fucking inevitable to the genre why does Best Served Cold manage to incorporate fully fleshed out female characters without constantly resorting to gendered violence. Why is Joe Abercrombie able to have a character who is a loving, single parent and a vicious torturer? Why is he able to have a female character that fucks and chucks a bloke and ends up better off for it?
“Grimdark is just being honest. This is reality.”
Grimdark is a subgenre that describes a particular the tone, style or setting of speculative fiction (especially fantasy) that is, depending on the definition used, markedly dystopian or amoral, or particularly violent or realistic.
Here’s the thing- grimdark does not have to equal sexism. N.K. Jemison’s Broken Earth series (The Fifth Season) is dystopian, amoral, violent and realistic. However, shockingly, characters don’t suffer because they are women or because they are POC. It is possible to write a grim dark novel and include harrowing, realistic scenes without resorting automatically to gendered and racial violence.
When you say, “well this is realistic” or “this is historically accurate” you are saying that realistic worldbuilding requires the inclusion of certain specific inequalities in order to count as realistic – that a story cannot be honest, or characters believably human, if women and POC aren’t oppressed or villainous. You are assuming that current expressions of bigotry, sexism and racism are universal truths.
You are saying that there is no other possible reality that could be believable and then wonder why we get pissed off. Novels like Blades reinforce specific inequalities as inevitable, thereby further perpetuating those perspectives.
The thing is grimdark doesn’t accurately reflect the historical period it is trying to mimic or even current reality. Where is the male rape? Where are the soldiers dying, not in an epic battle, but from infected scratches? Where are the people going insane from syphilis, which hero has a dick full of pus as a result of his philandering? Why aren’t the sexually active women pregnant? Why can so many characters read? I think you understand what I am getting at.
The real problem is that grimdark as a genre has developed an aesthetic that readers have become familiar with. As a result it feels realistic and right . Hardboiled pulp noir mysteries felt realistic in the 1950’s but we look back on them now and see them as a product of the author's time period, not as an accurate depiction of any sort of reality. The same is true for grimdark. It appeals to modern cynicism and we are so used to seeing gendered violence and oppressed POC that we think this is realistic. But it isn’t. And I strenuously reject any claims to the contrary.
“The real world is not the same as a fictional world, authors shouldn’t have to be PC, fuck you and all the other SJW’s out to ruin everything.”
Firstly, why are you so invested in seeing women raped and POC victimised in your fiction? I think this says more about you then me.
Secondly, fiction has real- world consequences. Negative and positive. The Birth of a Nation inspired the formation of the second era of the Klu Klux Klan. 12 Years a Slave and other true accounts were essential in the political fight against slavery.
Fiction is not created or read in a vacuum.
It is no coincidence that the MRA movement evolved out of the gaming community. There is a reason women read and write “feminist” fiction.
On one level or another we all acknowledge the very real and important ways stories permeate and shape our experience of the world.
That said this is a subjective review. No one is preventing Staveley from publishing his work or you from reading it. I can say I don't like it and his fans can keep reading it. My dislike for something does not prevent you from enjoying it. I'm not lurking behind Staveley's writing desk with a butcher's knife telling him to write better fiction…or else…
“Not every woman has to be a superhero who rescues kitties and knows karate.”
Yep. I’m well- aware of that, thanks.
Women do not have to fall into a handful of archetypes. They do not have to be the hero every time or to always succeed. A Mary Sue is just as infuriating as a trophy vagina. What is necessary is that female characters are as multi-faceted and flawed as male characters. They need to have their own motivations and goals. If they suffer it should be part of their character arc not their love interests.
Lin was not a real person. Every decision she made aimed at pushing Valyn along his path to character growth. Consider that in one scene she ruthlessly kills a girl to teach Valyn the importance of recognizing the greater good. A few scenes later she teaches him the importance of compassion. Lin loses her temper, which leads him to play the hero and also teaches him the lesson that he should not let his emotions rule him. It also helps inspire sympathy in the reader for Valyn and increases our desire to see him succeed over the assholes.
I don’t think it is too much to ask of authors that they ensure their female characters are fully-fleshed out.
“Later in the series xyz character does xyz which proves it’s not sexist at all.”
Firstly, the other books don’t matter because I’m reviewing this book.
Secondly, from some of the synopsis’ I’ve read of the other books I’m almost certain I would have similar complaints.
Thirdly, in terms of literary merit, I found the book boring and have no interest in reading the rest of the series.
November 25, 2017
I better love this because my dad bought it for me and girls of all ages want to love a book their dad bought! ❤️
**
Okay, so it wasn't a 5 start review but I still liked the book. I will admit the book is full of a lot of arseholes that are evil!
I really hope I will enjoy the next two books in the trilogy! I want to see what's going to happen with this family!! And I'm sure the books will be full of more evil arseholes. Oh, and I want to have my own bird to ride 😄Just sayin'
Mel ❤️
September 1, 2014
I'm sorry to my co-blogger, Brandi, and all my other friends and non-friends who gave this book five stars. Which is basically everyone.
I won't play stupid. I can see why fans of epic fantasy might like this book and I admit to being picky when it comes to the traditional fantasy genre. And I'll also say that I can see on some level that this book is well-written. I say "on some level" because I judge quality of writing not only by the author's ability to spin a nice phrase, but also by their ability to write a compelling and engaging plot.
That was missing for me.
I suppose I should also mention that I didn't read the last quarter and I'd already started skim-reading by the third quarter. So maybe... just maybe... the last part of the story takes a turn for the epic and would have kicked my indifference for this book right where it hurts. But I don't have the patience or the reading time to waste on finding out. What I did read was - and I'm sorry again to all the book's fans - so so fucking boring.
Actually no, I'll give credit where it's due - the prologue was fantastic. It was a short, brutal and horrifying opening that had me feeling glad I'd taken a chance on the book. It was all downhill from there. So, as I said, I am so so picky when it comes to “epic fantasy” - my attention span isn’t a great partner for the generally slow pacing of these kinds of books. But I've found ones to love like The Name of the Wind and Half a King, so there's always some hope left for me.
Part of me wants to say this book is slow because hell, did it feel like it! But stuff was constantly happening. Action scenes were frequent and bloody. People died. Others were betrayed. Secret feelings of love are revealed. Everything is at stake... and I just didn't care. The action scenes were so dry and lacking in suspense. Sure, they had gory descriptions; but there was zero investment in the story or characters on my part.
The three protagonists all have their own stories to tell and, despite the differences between their individual experiences and situations, I could hardly tell them apart. They never moved me, never got me to care. I'm already forgetting about them. And, even though the book is made up of constant scenes of action, the actual main plotline had made hardly any progress by the halfway point of the novel. The new emperor was still stuck in the same place he was at the beginning. I felt like I was trying to wade through thick mud while reading this book.
With such a high average rating and a million dazzling reviews from my trusted friends, it seems it must just be me. But I couldn't stop my eyes from running ahead on the page and wanting it to just be over.
Oh well *shrugs*
I won't play stupid. I can see why fans of epic fantasy might like this book and I admit to being picky when it comes to the traditional fantasy genre. And I'll also say that I can see on some level that this book is well-written. I say "on some level" because I judge quality of writing not only by the author's ability to spin a nice phrase, but also by their ability to write a compelling and engaging plot.
That was missing for me.
I suppose I should also mention that I didn't read the last quarter and I'd already started skim-reading by the third quarter. So maybe... just maybe... the last part of the story takes a turn for the epic and would have kicked my indifference for this book right where it hurts. But I don't have the patience or the reading time to waste on finding out. What I did read was - and I'm sorry again to all the book's fans - so so fucking boring.
Actually no, I'll give credit where it's due - the prologue was fantastic. It was a short, brutal and horrifying opening that had me feeling glad I'd taken a chance on the book. It was all downhill from there. So, as I said, I am so so picky when it comes to “epic fantasy” - my attention span isn’t a great partner for the generally slow pacing of these kinds of books. But I've found ones to love like The Name of the Wind and Half a King, so there's always some hope left for me.
Part of me wants to say this book is slow because hell, did it feel like it! But stuff was constantly happening. Action scenes were frequent and bloody. People died. Others were betrayed. Secret feelings of love are revealed. Everything is at stake... and I just didn't care. The action scenes were so dry and lacking in suspense. Sure, they had gory descriptions; but there was zero investment in the story or characters on my part.
The three protagonists all have their own stories to tell and, despite the differences between their individual experiences and situations, I could hardly tell them apart. They never moved me, never got me to care. I'm already forgetting about them. And, even though the book is made up of constant scenes of action, the actual main plotline had made hardly any progress by the halfway point of the novel. The new emperor was still stuck in the same place he was at the beginning. I felt like I was trying to wade through thick mud while reading this book.
With such a high average rating and a million dazzling reviews from my trusted friends, it seems it must just be me. But I couldn't stop my eyes from running ahead on the page and wanting it to just be over.
Oh well *shrugs*
September 8, 2017
Reviewed by: Rabid Reads
Apologies in advance for the length, but it couldn't be helped. I loved and hated parts of this book equally . . . and that means long. *shrugs awkwardly*
Our story opens with a horrific prologue in which a bunch of immortal Vulcans-on-steroids (meaning they don't respect other lifeforms) are exterminating their "diseased" children b/c they're:
1. Afflicted with the physical "rot" of age.
2. Brains are likewise rotting b/c FEELINGS.
Basically, b/c they're human.
Fast forward a few thousand years (far enough that the unaging race of logic monsters is nothing more than a myth), and our story is mostly told from the alternating perspectives of two brothers, both the sons of the Emperor, both sent away as boys to train, but to different places, for entirely different purposes.
Kaden, the heir, is sent to live with a bunch of monks. Presumably to learn discipline, humility, etc.
When we meet him, he's on year eight of the ten assigned, and b/c I'm a fool of a Took, I didn't immediately make the connection between the "emptiness," taught by the monks and the aforementioned logic monsters . . .
Suffice it to say, I was more than a little bit disturbed that our future leader was being groomed by a bunch of religiousCRAZIES zealots, whose main goal was to achieve a twisted version of Enlightenment. (As it turned out, there was a good reason, but I didn't know that then.)
And that was on top of the brain-eating monster SPIDERS that had recently begun to plague the livestock.
Now would be a could time to discuss a couple of my PEEVES:
1. I hate structured religious orders in fantasy.
They're boring.
Warrior Priests, Paladins, etc. are bad enough, but these guys don't even fight.
It's like being stuck in some Buddhist monastery, but without the childlike simplicity and joy of the Dalai Lama, b/c these monks are all about the corporeal punishment.
2. I HATE SPIDERS.
ALL spiders. Even the ordinary teeny, tiny brown ones. How do I feel about giant (maybe INTELLIGENT) brain-eating spiders?
SO. A lot of personal hurdles for me (more later).
Fortunately, Valyn's POV seemed more my style . . .
It started well enough--I do love my assassins, so being stuck on the Assassin Island of Training (which just happens to be right next to Outlaw/Pirate Island) was an excellent break from themonotony monastery.
And as frustrating as it was, I appreciated that Valyn wasn't the BEST.
He's been beaten bloody "dozens of times" by Yurl, the superior fighter and Bad Guy. He was soundly defeated in his pre-Trial match. He's resigned to lose to Annick in his sniper test, b/c he recognizes that she's better than he is.
Such obstacles should allow his intelligence, his ability to strategize, the "leadership" potential we keep hearing about shine . . . BUT. Instead, he seems emotional and prone to drawing rash conclusions.
Which brings me to my next peeve . . .
There are two main schools of thought in regard to character development:
1. Begin with flawed characters who make mistakes but learn from them, thus developing through (shared) experiences.
2. Begin with competent characters and develop them by slowly revealing key details about their past, so the reader feels like she's getting to know them.
I infinitely prefer the second option.
I have no patience for characters making stupid decisions and (slooooooowly) learning the hard way. Give me insight into whatever made them who they currently are, b/c this kind of thing:
Oh, hello, Adare, impulsive firstborn daughter of Emperor. Nice to meet you. Maybe we'll see you again in another dozen POV changes, and you can do some other fool thing to make me not like you.
But as irritating as it was to watch Adare do the thing she knew she shouldn't be doing (b/c just couldn't help it?), Valyn was who really made me lose my mind:
Except there WAS.
Then he laments his reckless behavior:
YEP. He did all those things. But did he learn his lesson?
NOPE:
So you see . . . Not only does he not learn his lesson, he forgets there's a lesson to learn. He even convinces himself that he's exercised caution in the past, which, I can assure you, he hasn't.
And that last quote? It's from 91%.
Other problems:
1. 50(ish)% of the plot "twists" were obvious as soon as the foundation was laid. Of the remaining 50(ish)%, most took the next most obvious path. There were only one or two things I didn't guess by the second try.
2. Despite the obviousness of what was going on, the characters kept right on scratching their heads. At times, these obvious things were even stated OUT LOUD:
3. HUMANS DON'T HAVE PURPLE EYES.
4.
5.
Funnily enough, I felt the same way, and without the benefit of having achievedEnlightenment the vaniate. <------there's actually two problems in there.
BUT.
As irksome as all of those things were, it's clear that Staveley has unrealized potential.
His writing can be alternately hilarious:
Or beautiful:
And while I didn't connect with many of the secondary characters, there were glimpses of brilliance:
SO. Will I be reading the next book? Probably not any time in the near future. But eventually . . .? I could see it happening. And LOTS of other people absolutely loved it (including book bff). It's possible this was a case of it's-not-you-it's-me. B/c monks. And SPIDERS. And purple eyes. (Among other things.) Your call.
Apologies in advance for the length, but it couldn't be helped. I loved and hated parts of this book equally . . . and that means long. *shrugs awkwardly*
Our story opens with a horrific prologue in which a bunch of immortal Vulcans-on-steroids (meaning they don't respect other lifeforms) are exterminating their "diseased" children b/c they're:
1. Afflicted with the physical "rot" of age.
2. Brains are likewise rotting b/c FEELINGS.
Basically, b/c they're human.
Fast forward a few thousand years (far enough that the unaging race of logic monsters is nothing more than a myth), and our story is mostly told from the alternating perspectives of two brothers, both the sons of the Emperor, both sent away as boys to train, but to different places, for entirely different purposes.
Kaden, the heir, is sent to live with a bunch of monks. Presumably to learn discipline, humility, etc.
When we meet him, he's on year eight of the ten assigned, and b/c I'm a fool of a Took, I didn't immediately make the connection between the "emptiness," taught by the monks and the aforementioned logic monsters . . .
Suffice it to say, I was more than a little bit disturbed that our future leader was being groomed by a bunch of religious
And that was on top of the brain-eating monster SPIDERS that had recently begun to plague the livestock.
Now would be a could time to discuss a couple of my PEEVES:
1. I hate structured religious orders in fantasy.
They're boring.
Warrior Priests, Paladins, etc. are bad enough, but these guys don't even fight.
It's like being stuck in some Buddhist monastery, but without the childlike simplicity and joy of the Dalai Lama, b/c these monks are all about the corporeal punishment.
2. I HATE SPIDERS.
ALL spiders. Even the ordinary teeny, tiny brown ones. How do I feel about giant (maybe INTELLIGENT) brain-eating spiders?
SO. A lot of personal hurdles for me (more later).
Fortunately, Valyn's POV seemed more my style . . .
It started well enough--I do love my assassins, so being stuck on the Assassin Island of Training (which just happens to be right next to Outlaw/Pirate Island) was an excellent break from the
And as frustrating as it was, I appreciated that Valyn wasn't the BEST.
He's been beaten bloody "dozens of times" by Yurl, the superior fighter and Bad Guy. He was soundly defeated in his pre-Trial match. He's resigned to lose to Annick in his sniper test, b/c he recognizes that she's better than he is.
Such obstacles should allow his intelligence, his ability to strategize, the "leadership" potential we keep hearing about shine . . . BUT. Instead, he seems emotional and prone to drawing rash conclusions.
Which brings me to my next peeve . . .
There are two main schools of thought in regard to character development:
1. Begin with flawed characters who make mistakes but learn from them, thus developing through (shared) experiences.
2. Begin with competent characters and develop them by slowly revealing key details about their past, so the reader feels like she's getting to know them.
I infinitely prefer the second option.
I have no patience for characters making stupid decisions and (slooooooowly) learning the hard way. Give me insight into whatever made them who they currently are, b/c this kind of thing:
It is no slight to you, Baxter Pane had argued, staring at her with those rheumy eyes of his, but women are not suited to the Ministry. They are too…fickle, too easily transported by their emotions.
Adare swallowed a curse. And here I am, allowing myself to be transported by my emotions.
Oh, hello, Adare, impulsive firstborn daughter of Emperor. Nice to meet you. Maybe we'll see you again in another dozen POV changes, and you can do some other fool thing to make me not like you.
But as irritating as it was to watch Adare do the thing she knew she shouldn't be doing (b/c just couldn't help it?), Valyn was who really made me lose my mind:
“Off the bird, Laith,” Valyn snapped. “Now.”
He wasn’t angry at his Wing. They were playing by the book, playing it safe, but there was no benefit to a pointless standoff with a dozen Aedolians.
Except there WAS.
Then he laments his reckless behavior:
In his eagerness to save his brother, he had led his Wing directly into harm’s way, had ignored the signs, spurned sensible caution, and now, unless he figured some way to cut them all loose, they were going to die here in the shadow of an unnamed mountain at the end of the world.
YEP. He did all those things. But did he learn his lesson?
NOPE:
For as long as he could remember, he’d tried to weigh his options, to think before acting, to make the wise choice. It had all ended in ashes...
So you see . . . Not only does he not learn his lesson, he forgets there's a lesson to learn. He even convinces himself that he's exercised caution in the past, which, I can assure you, he hasn't.
And that last quote? It's from 91%.
Other problems:
1. 50(ish)% of the plot "twists" were obvious as soon as the foundation was laid. Of the remaining 50(ish)%, most took the next most obvious path. There were only one or two things I didn't guess by the second try.
2. Despite the obviousness of what was going on, the characters kept right on scratching their heads. At times, these obvious things were even stated OUT LOUD:
3. HUMANS DON'T HAVE PURPLE EYES.
...caught up in the spell of those violet eyes, that cascading black hair...
4.
5.
Tan would live, or he would die.
Funnily enough, I felt the same way, and without the benefit of having achieved
BUT.
As irksome as all of those things were, it's clear that Staveley has unrealized potential.
His writing can be alternately hilarious:
Gwenna had tied her last would-be suitor to a dock piling and left him there for the tide. When his friends finally found him, he was sobbing like a baby as the waves washed over his face.
Or beautiful:
Maybe this is what they want us to learn, he thought to himself blearily. There are two worlds, one of life and one of darkness, and you cannot inhabit both. It seemed like a good lesson for a Kettral, a lesson that could never be learned on the earth itself, not in a thousand days of swordplay and barrel drops, the kind of lesson that had to be bleached into the bone.
And while I didn't connect with many of the secondary characters, there were glimpses of brilliance:
“Hey, Sharpe,” one of the men bellowed down at Gwenna. It was Plenchen Zee—thick as a barrel but damned near impossible to kill, if the stories were true. Someone had sliced out one of his eyes, and he’d taken to filling the cavity with all sorts of unsettling things: stones, radishes, eggs. Today a ruby bulged jauntily from the socket.
SO. Will I be reading the next book? Probably not any time in the near future. But eventually . . .? I could see it happening. And LOTS of other people absolutely loved it (including book bff). It's possible this was a case of it's-not-you-it's-me. B/c monks. And SPIDERS. And purple eyes. (Among other things.) Your call.
March 20, 2017
This reading experience was something that I'll never forget. This world truly is a unique take on epic fantasy, and quickly became one of my favorite immersions. Among all the action, twists, and turns, this book somehow became one of the most addicting things I've read in a long time. I never wanted to put it down, and I'm currently deciding if I'm going to ignore my TBR and pick up The Providence of Fire immediately after I post this review.
This is a story about the Emperor's three children, all living very different lives, and all having very different points of view:
Kaden - The Emperor in waiting, training with monks that are secluded in the far off mountains.
Adare - Minister of Finance, living in the capitol and not knowing who to trust.
Valyn - Cadet, training to become a Kettral, which is a very high rank and a very prestigious title in their military that flies with a group on a giant bird. Yes, you read that right.
I'll admit, I was a little biased towards Adare's point of view, because her storyline has such a strong feministic undertone. Unfortunately, Adare also gets a considerably less amount of chapters than her brothers, but I was enthralled each time we got a glimpse of her story in Annur. I have very high hopes for her in The Providence of Fire, especially with the impact of that cliffhanger. Like, I'm here for Adare, and I'm rooting for whatever she has to do for her kingdom.
Kaden was my favorite of the two brothers, but that was probably because I felt so bad for him all the time. Not only was he the last to know important information, he was also being abused constantly by Tan. I mean, obviously Tan ended up stepping up his game later on, but it was giving me Severus Snape vibes throughout the entire first half; just because you do something good in the end doesn't erase all the bad shit you did earlier.
Valyn's chapters for sure grew on me. At first, I thought he was the reason the book felt a little slow, but then, once his story starting going, his chapters ended up being the most addicting. Even with Kaden being borderline tortured, Valyn was the one that broke my heart and evoked so much emotion from me, while I was reading. Also, he is sitting on a pretty big secret that is for sure showing the power of the side effects, so I am probably most excited for his part in The Providence of Fire.
There is also an awesome mystery surrounding the Csestriim and the Nevariim, both of which predate humans. We find out very little about them in this book, but you can easily tell that they will be the focal point moving forward, and I'm so excited.
This world felt so magical and new, the writing is suburb, the side characters are battling the main characters for space in my heart, the mystery is all consuming and makes this book impossible to put down, and the story was just downright good. Seriously, I don't have anything negative to say about this book. The only thing I can possibly think of is that Adare didn't get enough chapters.
Oh wait, no, I do have one major complaint about this book: I hated "kent-kissing" being used constantly! Like, I actually fucking despised it. At first it was fine, but it became so redundant I just couldn't deal. In general, 99% of the time I will dislike when authors make up their own swear words, but this was even worse because "kent-kissing" was used constantly.
But besides that, this was such an amazing reading experience. Mostly because I was able to personally buddy read this with three of my favorite people on Goodreads! Please read Petrik (King of the Unhewn Throne), Gelisvb (My favorite person to fangirl with on Goodreads), and Cory's (The best Holy Paladin in the entire world of Azeroth) reviews if you have some spare time. They are nothing short of perfect, and I am so thankful to have been able to buddy read this beautiful story alongside them. Plus, they are all really great humans who will make your feed better in general.
Now, is it time for me to ignore all my ARCs and responsibilities and read The Providence of Fire? I think so! Seriously, I need more of this world. I whole heartedly recommend you giving this series a shot, because I think very few will walk away disappointed.
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This is a story about the Emperor's three children, all living very different lives, and all having very different points of view:
Kaden - The Emperor in waiting, training with monks that are secluded in the far off mountains.
“Believe what you see with your eyes, trust what you hear with your ears; know what you feel with your flesh. The rest is dream and delusion.”
Adare - Minister of Finance, living in the capitol and not knowing who to trust.
“Men tend to die when you slide steel beneath their skin and wiggle it around. Even priests.”
Valyn - Cadet, training to become a Kettral, which is a very high rank and a very prestigious title in their military that flies with a group on a giant bird. Yes, you read that right.
“Put a man’s back to the wall, and he’s got no choice but to fight; offer him a comfortable retirement before the age of twenty, and you learn who’s committed to the cause.”
I'll admit, I was a little biased towards Adare's point of view, because her storyline has such a strong feministic undertone. Unfortunately, Adare also gets a considerably less amount of chapters than her brothers, but I was enthralled each time we got a glimpse of her story in Annur. I have very high hopes for her in The Providence of Fire, especially with the impact of that cliffhanger. Like, I'm here for Adare, and I'm rooting for whatever she has to do for her kingdom.
Kaden was my favorite of the two brothers, but that was probably because I felt so bad for him all the time. Not only was he the last to know important information, he was also being abused constantly by Tan. I mean, obviously Tan ended up stepping up his game later on, but it was giving me Severus Snape vibes throughout the entire first half; just because you do something good in the end doesn't erase all the bad shit you did earlier.
Valyn's chapters for sure grew on me. At first, I thought he was the reason the book felt a little slow, but then, once his story starting going, his chapters ended up being the most addicting. Even with Kaden being borderline tortured, Valyn was the one that broke my heart and evoked so much emotion from me, while I was reading. Also, he is sitting on a pretty big secret that is for sure showing the power of the side effects, so I am probably most excited for his part in The Providence of Fire.
There is also an awesome mystery surrounding the Csestriim and the Nevariim, both of which predate humans. We find out very little about them in this book, but you can easily tell that they will be the focal point moving forward, and I'm so excited.
This world felt so magical and new, the writing is suburb, the side characters are battling the main characters for space in my heart, the mystery is all consuming and makes this book impossible to put down, and the story was just downright good. Seriously, I don't have anything negative to say about this book. The only thing I can possibly think of is that Adare didn't get enough chapters.
Oh wait, no, I do have one major complaint about this book: I hated "kent-kissing" being used constantly! Like, I actually fucking despised it. At first it was fine, but it became so redundant I just couldn't deal. In general, 99% of the time I will dislike when authors make up their own swear words, but this was even worse because "kent-kissing" was used constantly.
But besides that, this was such an amazing reading experience. Mostly because I was able to personally buddy read this with three of my favorite people on Goodreads! Please read Petrik (King of the Unhewn Throne), Gelisvb (My favorite person to fangirl with on Goodreads), and Cory's (The best Holy Paladin in the entire world of Azeroth) reviews if you have some spare time. They are nothing short of perfect, and I am so thankful to have been able to buddy read this beautiful story alongside them. Plus, they are all really great humans who will make your feed better in general.
Now, is it time for me to ignore all my ARCs and responsibilities and read The Providence of Fire? I think so! Seriously, I need more of this world. I whole heartedly recommend you giving this series a shot, because I think very few will walk away disappointed.
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July 21, 2018
This review has been a long time coming, as Emperor’s Blades is still one of the best books I’ve read this year (actual Goodreads update: “5/5 stars! And a new addition to my small shelf of favorites!”). But for some reason I’ve been stalling on writing the review. Maybe because I know logically the book had a few problems and won’t work for everyone, but I tell you, every single aspect of the story worked for me. So I’m going to proceed fangirling as if I was unaware of of the things others found fault in. ;P
To start it off, y’all know how much I love books that have training sequences and competition, and Emperor’s Blades had both in abundance! These Kettral warriors train endlessly in a really brutal regiment to become deadly strike force… and I ate up every single moment. What’s more, the giant birds (badass mofos (cover image background) that for all intents and purposes are feathered dragons), were the cherry on top of what was an already riveting segment. I found this POV (Valyn) the most compelling through the series, made even better by all the great side characters around him.
And then we move into another POV (Kaden) who is going through training for a religious order and brings with him a whole host of skill-honing (more along the lines of mind-over-body and minor magic-wielding). While Valyn’s POV was fast paced action and excitement, Kaden’s provided a slow burn to break it up. Both were equally interesting to me at this point in the series (this is the problem I get into with waiting too long to review – reading the rest of the series inevitably affects my overall impressions).
And then we have the final POV, Adare. I really liked the political intrigue this perspective offered, and spent most of the book fascinated with this character. I sincerely couldn’t figure out if she was that painfully nieve, or if there was a grander plan in place I’d yet to discover (you’ll have to tell me what you think – I won’t spoil anything here). What I saw in this first book was the potential for some really great character growth with Adare, and that prospect enticed me.
This book also contained a mini murder mystery that had me actively trying to narrow down “whodunnit.” I absolutely love when a book gets me analyzing things about it when I’m not actively reading it, so you can see why Emperor’s Blades was such a success for me. I’m just going to try my hardest to forget that someone spilled the beans on whodunnit before I got that far… I’m not bitter.
Overall, Emperor’s Blades had all of the things that excite me about reading fantasy – in abundance! I won’t endorse it as the perfect read, but it was a perfect match for me and I loved every single gut-wrenching moment.
Series status: I’ve since finished the entire series and enjoyed it as a whole. The last two are perhaps not quite as good as this first book, but they’re still very much worth reading (mere 4/5 stars ;P). I’ll definitely be picking up anything else Brian Staveley chooses to write.
Recommendations: if you glance at that cover and are even mildly interested in what you see – give the book a go! It’s a well-done trilogy that offers lots of action and excitement. I would feel comfortable handing this to both seasoned fantasy readers and those new to the genre. A great pick! :)
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
To start it off, y’all know how much I love books that have training sequences and competition, and Emperor’s Blades had both in abundance! These Kettral warriors train endlessly in a really brutal regiment to become deadly strike force… and I ate up every single moment. What’s more, the giant birds (badass mofos (cover image background) that for all intents and purposes are feathered dragons), were the cherry on top of what was an already riveting segment. I found this POV (Valyn) the most compelling through the series, made even better by all the great side characters around him.
And then we move into another POV (Kaden) who is going through training for a religious order and brings with him a whole host of skill-honing (more along the lines of mind-over-body and minor magic-wielding). While Valyn’s POV was fast paced action and excitement, Kaden’s provided a slow burn to break it up. Both were equally interesting to me at this point in the series (this is the problem I get into with waiting too long to review – reading the rest of the series inevitably affects my overall impressions).
And then we have the final POV, Adare. I really liked the political intrigue this perspective offered, and spent most of the book fascinated with this character. I sincerely couldn’t figure out if she was that painfully nieve, or if there was a grander plan in place I’d yet to discover (you’ll have to tell me what you think – I won’t spoil anything here). What I saw in this first book was the potential for some really great character growth with Adare, and that prospect enticed me.
This book also contained a mini murder mystery that had me actively trying to narrow down “whodunnit.” I absolutely love when a book gets me analyzing things about it when I’m not actively reading it, so you can see why Emperor’s Blades was such a success for me. I’m just going to try my hardest to forget that someone spilled the beans on whodunnit before I got that far… I’m not bitter.
Overall, Emperor’s Blades had all of the things that excite me about reading fantasy – in abundance! I won’t endorse it as the perfect read, but it was a perfect match for me and I loved every single gut-wrenching moment.
Series status: I’ve since finished the entire series and enjoyed it as a whole. The last two are perhaps not quite as good as this first book, but they’re still very much worth reading (mere 4/5 stars ;P). I’ll definitely be picking up anything else Brian Staveley chooses to write.
Recommendations: if you glance at that cover and are even mildly interested in what you see – give the book a go! It’s a well-done trilogy that offers lots of action and excitement. I would feel comfortable handing this to both seasoned fantasy readers and those new to the genre. A great pick! :)
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
December 21, 2018
3.75⭐️
This is one of those books that I really liked but find it difficult to review. I’ve very mixed feelings so bear with me here. I'd also like to add that this is after all the first book in the series and when have I ever been blown away by first books, save for some few exceptions here and there? Can’t win ‘em all now, can we?
Don’t get me wrong, I loved it and I found the world and magic system to be especially thrilling and fascinating that invite reader investment but that's not to say it wasn’t without its problems.
Characters:
The book kicks off with the emperor assassinated and his heirs, Kaden, Valyn and their sister Adare are all scattered across the globe, each set upon a path by their father.
Valyn is on a remote island training to become a Kettral, the Empire’s special/elite forces.
Imperial heir, Kaden is cloistered in a mountain abbey, training in the secrets of mental discipline to clear the mind and protect from attack, and seeking to understand the world from a different perspective.
And only the eldest daughter, Adare who is suited to rule in all forms but her gender is the only one in Annur, having assumed the role of Minister of Finance. Although she cannot claim the throne, she intently seeks the murderer of her father.
I think what I really loved most was the characters and their utter practicality rather than the plot, at least, in the first half of the book. They're royal children who spent their lives taking orders and raised to understand that being a royal comes with a lot of burden, expectations and complications.
Expectation vs. reality:
So, here's what I expected: An epic struggle for the throne (after all, the narrative starts out with the death of the emperor, so, you do the math), some sibling rivalry of sorts, a heavy dose of court and political intrigue and a boatload of conspiracies & plot twists surrounding the mystery behind the death of the emperor.
Here's what I actually got: A kind of, coming of age story of the siblings - each going through their own struggles and inner conflicts as they try to deal and come to terms with their new reality.
The fact that they are related didn’t really play much of a part until the last few pages, and even then it felt somewhat contrived and forced.
plot:
All in all, the overarching plot was (or had the potential to be) a brilliant one – separate the three leads but have them be intrinsically linked and in danger, in a world that’s both intriguing and interesting, with mythology and mystery. Sounds great right? Well yes, except for the issues that played a big part in hindering me from fully enjoying the story.
And though I genuinely liked all three of the protagonists, I had a problem with each and every one of their perspective storylines.
Issue #1:
For starters, Adare was given only a fraction of the page time that her brothers received and I would’ve loved to have seen more of her, particularly given the fact that among the three points of view, her story arc is arguably the one that holds the entire story together and is the most significant in relation to the coming of epic confrontation.
It is also through her story that we get a greater sense of the world in which they inhabit, and where we discover that the plot that took down her and her brother's father was much greater and far more complicated. So, I fail to see the reason behind the decision in only giving her (the most important protagonist) less page time than, say, the one whose POV contributes nothing to the story until the very end (more on that below).
- The other problem I had with her was that she’s supposed to be highly trained in the intricacies of politics but not much of it was evident in here and there were lots of inconsistencies in her actions. Her capability was often impeached by committing impetuous and, occasionally, stupid acts for, I'm presuming, no other reason than furthering Staveley’s plot.
Issue #2:
For the first three quarters of the book, Kaden’s storyline contributed little to nothing to the overarching plot and was simply unnecessary. Him getting tested on series of metal endurances by the elder monks or him simply running around with his buddy and getting beat up took up the bulk of his page time until that is, the very last few chapters when things finally started to get… wild.
Issue #3:
Out of the three, it was, of course, Valyn’s storyline that I was continuously captivated by. However, not so fast there, because, his arc too isn’t without its problems.
Given his background and the length of time he’d spent training in the elite forces, I expected so much more competency from him. Furthermore, for someone who's also supposed to have been training for years as a team leader, there was not firmness nor toughness in him and his abilities in making executive decisions and leading a team or understanding teamwork, for that matter, left a lot to be desired. I still loved him despite his shortcomings and he was my favourite of the three.
That being said, I will definitely continue on with the series and something tells me book #2 will knock my socks right off.
It may not sound like I enjoyed it but that couldn't be further from the truth. Putting aside the unnecessary storyline, misshapen characters, and mediocre / inconsistent pacing, there's so much promise and a huge potential in this series and I'm very much looking forward to seeing where the story will go next.
⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗
Got a feeling about this one, folks. 😎
So, an Empire on a brink of collapse (I think?), treachery & deceit, a conspiracy, and siblings right in the centre.
I don’t know about you but to me, that sounds like a recipe for a badass narrative. 🤞 Well... it’s also a recipe for half the fantasy books out there but... we’re not gonna dwell on that. Girl’s tryin’ to make a point here.
Also, I’ve been putting it off for far too long until I was in the right state of mind to read it and it’s only fair that I get compensated for my hard-exercised patience.
This is one of those books that I really liked but find it difficult to review. I’ve very mixed feelings so bear with me here. I'd also like to add that this is after all the first book in the series and when have I ever been blown away by first books, save for some few exceptions here and there? Can’t win ‘em all now, can we?
Don’t get me wrong, I loved it and I found the world and magic system to be especially thrilling and fascinating that invite reader investment but that's not to say it wasn’t without its problems.
Characters:
The book kicks off with the emperor assassinated and his heirs, Kaden, Valyn and their sister Adare are all scattered across the globe, each set upon a path by their father.
Valyn is on a remote island training to become a Kettral, the Empire’s special/elite forces.
Imperial heir, Kaden is cloistered in a mountain abbey, training in the secrets of mental discipline to clear the mind and protect from attack, and seeking to understand the world from a different perspective.
And only the eldest daughter, Adare who is suited to rule in all forms but her gender is the only one in Annur, having assumed the role of Minister of Finance. Although she cannot claim the throne, she intently seeks the murderer of her father.
I think what I really loved most was the characters and their utter practicality rather than the plot, at least, in the first half of the book. They're royal children who spent their lives taking orders and raised to understand that being a royal comes with a lot of burden, expectations and complications.
Expectation vs. reality:
So, here's what I expected: An epic struggle for the throne (after all, the narrative starts out with the death of the emperor, so, you do the math), some sibling rivalry of sorts, a heavy dose of court and political intrigue and a boatload of conspiracies & plot twists surrounding the mystery behind the death of the emperor.
Here's what I actually got: A kind of, coming of age story of the siblings - each going through their own struggles and inner conflicts as they try to deal and come to terms with their new reality.
The fact that they are related didn’t really play much of a part until the last few pages, and even then it felt somewhat contrived and forced.
plot:
All in all, the overarching plot was (or had the potential to be) a brilliant one – separate the three leads but have them be intrinsically linked and in danger, in a world that’s both intriguing and interesting, with mythology and mystery. Sounds great right? Well yes, except for the issues that played a big part in hindering me from fully enjoying the story.
And though I genuinely liked all three of the protagonists, I had a problem with each and every one of their perspective storylines.
Issue #1:
For starters, Adare was given only a fraction of the page time that her brothers received and I would’ve loved to have seen more of her, particularly given the fact that among the three points of view, her story arc is arguably the one that holds the entire story together and is the most significant in relation to the coming of epic confrontation.
It is also through her story that we get a greater sense of the world in which they inhabit, and where we discover that the plot that took down her and her brother's father was much greater and far more complicated. So, I fail to see the reason behind the decision in only giving her (the most important protagonist) less page time than, say, the one whose POV contributes nothing to the story until the very end (more on that below).
- The other problem I had with her was that she’s supposed to be highly trained in the intricacies of politics but not much of it was evident in here and there were lots of inconsistencies in her actions. Her capability was often impeached by committing impetuous and, occasionally, stupid acts for, I'm presuming, no other reason than furthering Staveley’s plot.
Issue #2:
For the first three quarters of the book, Kaden’s storyline contributed little to nothing to the overarching plot and was simply unnecessary. Him getting tested on series of metal endurances by the elder monks or him simply running around with his buddy and getting beat up took up the bulk of his page time until that is, the very last few chapters when things finally started to get… wild.
Issue #3:
Out of the three, it was, of course, Valyn’s storyline that I was continuously captivated by. However, not so fast there, because, his arc too isn’t without its problems.
Given his background and the length of time he’d spent training in the elite forces, I expected so much more competency from him. Furthermore, for someone who's also supposed to have been training for years as a team leader, there was not firmness nor toughness in him and his abilities in making executive decisions and leading a team or understanding teamwork, for that matter, left a lot to be desired. I still loved him despite his shortcomings and he was my favourite of the three.
That being said, I will definitely continue on with the series and something tells me book #2 will knock my socks right off.
It may not sound like I enjoyed it but that couldn't be further from the truth. Putting aside the unnecessary storyline, misshapen characters, and mediocre / inconsistent pacing, there's so much promise and a huge potential in this series and I'm very much looking forward to seeing where the story will go next.
⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗⤗
Got a feeling about this one, folks. 😎
So, an Empire on a brink of collapse (I think?), treachery & deceit, a conspiracy, and siblings right in the centre.
I don’t know about you but to me, that sounds like a recipe for a badass narrative. 🤞 Well... it’s also a recipe for half the fantasy books out there but... we’re not gonna dwell on that. Girl’s tryin’ to make a point here.
Also, I’ve been putting it off for far too long until I was in the right state of mind to read it and it’s only fair that I get compensated for my hard-exercised patience.
May 19, 2019
Sale Alert 19May19 Kindle Deal $2.99
Reread January 2015 Dropped 1 star from 5 to 4
Last year was a big fantasy year for me and my well of experience is bigger now. I still enjoyed this book, it well written with an engaging story, but not quite as much the second time through and I blame my love for Brandon Sanderson's high fantasy for this. There is also Patrick Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie to blame a little but mostly Sanderson.
See I found Sanderson, Rothfuss and Abercrombie books not long after reading The Emperor's Blades this year and they have made my fantasy well much deeper and I expect a little more. The problem I have is with the twist/big reveal toward the end. It is still a good twist I didn't see it coming and was really surprised....but that is part of the problem. The great thing about a Sanderson book is that when the twist happens and it always happens I can look back and see the clues leading to it. I can see how he was the magician who presented me droppings to lead me to one train of thought and then POW hit me with something else entirely. I have grown to love that bait and switch and that is what makes a good twist a Great twist. There isn't quite that subtle layer in the Emperor's Blade. There is the big reveal but even on the reread there really aren't any clues that I should have seen. It all still makes a lot of sense and I really liked it but it didn't have that extra umph at the very end.
This was Stavely's debut novel so I'm really excited to see what he follows up with and how much he has grown as a writer.
Original review January 2014
It is the hardest thing to write a review for a book you absolutely love. There is no way that I can get across how marveled by this story I am. The Emperor’s Blades is probably the best new High Fantasy book of the year. Okay so it’s only January but I’m just going to say that the bar has been set extremely high and I unless George RR Martin’s Winds of Winter the 6th book of the A Song of Ice and Fire makes it out this year (highly unlikely) then Brian Staveley’s debut novel might hold this spot in my head and heart all year. I couldn’t believe that this is a debut novel, I’m floored by the depth of the story and this is just the beginning. Brian Staveley will, in all probability, just improve as time goes on and I can’t wait to read anything else he writes.
Told from the perspective of the Emperor’s three children Kaden, Valyn and Adare so many different facets of the world were shown to the reader. Instead of telling us that Valyn is a remarkable soldier, like many other fantasy authors do, we are shown the hell of the Kettral training and fully believe after reading those pages that Valyn is a strong warrior. The same goes for Kaden, sent to a monastery for training to become Emperor. His trials are extremely difficult and he is not a pampered prince, I believed that through the years spent there he was able to accomplish the training he needed to be Emperor.
There are plots a foot against the empire and all three children of the Emperor, while facing different challenges, play an equally important role in the story. There are ancient enemies from the past, epic battles, trials and tribulations and each one has tempered each of the Emperor’s children into a honed blade against the enemies that are trying to take over the Empire and who murdered the Emperor. Every important facet of the world is explored and fleshed out. There was almost always something of importance happening.
There is some set up to this world and so I would say the first 20% runs a little slower than the rest of the story but after that between mysteries and events unfolding I couldn’t tear myself away from the story. No character is safe, there are surprises around every corner, some I guessed most I did not. The author gives plenty of leads, but then the result of the lead was often different and more complex than I originally thought.
The intricacy of the story is up there with Tolkien and George RR Martin weaving multiple story lines and plots into a larger grander scheme, but with a prose that is natural, beautiful and easy to read. Every part of the story seemed necessary all of the characters real. Not one character was perfect but all flawed and human. Staveley has created a unique world and really brought it to life in the pages of this story. The only thing I can even complain about is the fact that I started this before the next book was out, I wanted to jump into the next book right away.
As a female lover of fantasy the other thing I really liked about The Emperor’s Blades is how many strong female characters there are. Even though the majority of the book is told from Kaden and Valyn’s perspectives some of the strongest characters were female. They made difficult decisions and just because a woman was a warrior didn’t mean she couldn’t have emotions and complexity. He allowed his female characters to be strong without making them into a bitch, they come across as independent, not needing to be saved by a man or anyone else. I appreciate the intricacy that Mr. Staveley put into every one of them.
Brian Staveley has a new fan in me. If you only read one Fantasy book this year, this should be it. I look forward to reading it again before the next in the series comes out.
Jan 18,2014
Brain Stavelley has set the bar high for this series. The way everything in the story blended together, the reveals I didn't see coming (and there were some slap me in the face doozies), the feelings the book envoked, the intricate world created will be hard to match or beat.
I think Mr. Stevelley has the potential to be just as renowned has Tolkien or George R.R. Martin Full review to come...
Reread January 2015 Dropped 1 star from 5 to 4
Last year was a big fantasy year for me and my well of experience is bigger now. I still enjoyed this book, it well written with an engaging story, but not quite as much the second time through and I blame my love for Brandon Sanderson's high fantasy for this. There is also Patrick Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie to blame a little but mostly Sanderson.
See I found Sanderson, Rothfuss and Abercrombie books not long after reading The Emperor's Blades this year and they have made my fantasy well much deeper and I expect a little more. The problem I have is with the twist/big reveal toward the end. It is still a good twist I didn't see it coming and was really surprised....but that is part of the problem. The great thing about a Sanderson book is that when the twist happens and it always happens I can look back and see the clues leading to it. I can see how he was the magician who presented me droppings to lead me to one train of thought and then POW hit me with something else entirely. I have grown to love that bait and switch and that is what makes a good twist a Great twist. There isn't quite that subtle layer in the Emperor's Blade. There is the big reveal but even on the reread there really aren't any clues that I should have seen. It all still makes a lot of sense and I really liked it but it didn't have that extra umph at the very end.
This was Stavely's debut novel so I'm really excited to see what he follows up with and how much he has grown as a writer.
Original review January 2014
It is the hardest thing to write a review for a book you absolutely love. There is no way that I can get across how marveled by this story I am. The Emperor’s Blades is probably the best new High Fantasy book of the year. Okay so it’s only January but I’m just going to say that the bar has been set extremely high and I unless George RR Martin’s Winds of Winter the 6th book of the A Song of Ice and Fire makes it out this year (highly unlikely) then Brian Staveley’s debut novel might hold this spot in my head and heart all year. I couldn’t believe that this is a debut novel, I’m floored by the depth of the story and this is just the beginning. Brian Staveley will, in all probability, just improve as time goes on and I can’t wait to read anything else he writes.
Told from the perspective of the Emperor’s three children Kaden, Valyn and Adare so many different facets of the world were shown to the reader. Instead of telling us that Valyn is a remarkable soldier, like many other fantasy authors do, we are shown the hell of the Kettral training and fully believe after reading those pages that Valyn is a strong warrior. The same goes for Kaden, sent to a monastery for training to become Emperor. His trials are extremely difficult and he is not a pampered prince, I believed that through the years spent there he was able to accomplish the training he needed to be Emperor.
There are plots a foot against the empire and all three children of the Emperor, while facing different challenges, play an equally important role in the story. There are ancient enemies from the past, epic battles, trials and tribulations and each one has tempered each of the Emperor’s children into a honed blade against the enemies that are trying to take over the Empire and who murdered the Emperor. Every important facet of the world is explored and fleshed out. There was almost always something of importance happening.
There is some set up to this world and so I would say the first 20% runs a little slower than the rest of the story but after that between mysteries and events unfolding I couldn’t tear myself away from the story. No character is safe, there are surprises around every corner, some I guessed most I did not. The author gives plenty of leads, but then the result of the lead was often different and more complex than I originally thought.
The intricacy of the story is up there with Tolkien and George RR Martin weaving multiple story lines and plots into a larger grander scheme, but with a prose that is natural, beautiful and easy to read. Every part of the story seemed necessary all of the characters real. Not one character was perfect but all flawed and human. Staveley has created a unique world and really brought it to life in the pages of this story. The only thing I can even complain about is the fact that I started this before the next book was out, I wanted to jump into the next book right away.
As a female lover of fantasy the other thing I really liked about The Emperor’s Blades is how many strong female characters there are. Even though the majority of the book is told from Kaden and Valyn’s perspectives some of the strongest characters were female. They made difficult decisions and just because a woman was a warrior didn’t mean she couldn’t have emotions and complexity. He allowed his female characters to be strong without making them into a bitch, they come across as independent, not needing to be saved by a man or anyone else. I appreciate the intricacy that Mr. Staveley put into every one of them.
Brian Staveley has a new fan in me. If you only read one Fantasy book this year, this should be it. I look forward to reading it again before the next in the series comes out.
Jan 18,2014
Brain Stavelley has set the bar high for this series. The way everything in the story blended together, the reveals I didn't see coming (and there were some slap me in the face doozies), the feelings the book envoked, the intricate world created will be hard to match or beat.
I think Mr. Stevelley has the potential to be just as renowned has Tolkien or George R.R. Martin Full review to come...
July 16, 2016
Here is a (not really) spoiler summary for the first 75% of The Emperor’s Blades: An emperor, dead; a plot to kill his three children, underway; breakneck action to match those high-stakes…completely missing.
We start the book with the death of an emperor—as auspicious a premise as there ever was—but until the final quarter, nothing of importance happens. It’s quite shocking actually: a book that is going to be published could stand to lose its first 300 pages. All that happens in those 300 pages is an extended montage scene. The two princes—one training to be an elite soldier, the other serving as a monastic acolyte—get into various unimportant scrapes that are described in painstaking detail. (Literally ‘painstaking’: the pain of these unnecessary details is comparable to the pain of impalement by a stake.) Now I can never resist a good montage scene. Upbeat music coupled with characters getting ready to chase their goals is a perfect combination. But after a while I was hoping for, then praying for, then sacrificing cows at a homemade altar for a conflict to maybe kinda sorta sometime soon appear. Please Zeus?
As I waited very patiently, I was subjected to simplistic and forced dialogue that merely served to push the plot along. I also had to suffer dumb characters. Get ready to scoff and eyeroll when a character neglects to notice a big fat whopping clue slapping him on the side of his face! It happens quite a lot, especially with soldier prince. It’s even worse because the story is so emotionally simplistic, it is impossible to connect with the characters.
But what bothered me most about this novel was its treatment of female characters. Now this rant does not entirely belong to The Emperor’s Blades. Rather it is the result of hundreds of fantasy books, normally written by male authors, committing the same error. There are three POV characters in this novel, but I’ve only mentioned the two princes. That’s because the princess’s chapters are very few. What’s worse, in each of her chapters we are constantly reminded that this girl cannot be emperor, that she has no role in this man’s fantasy world. I don’t like “strong” female characters who are constantly told that they’re a rarity, that sexism does not want them where they currently have fought to be. Because honestly this just reinforces the idea that it is unnatural for women to be in positions of power. It suggests, quite unconsciously but regardless, that ambitious and successful women are an aberration. Give me a fantasy novel where men and women are equal and absolutely nothing has to be said about it because it’s normal!
Despite all these gripes, The Emperor’s Blades is a mildly entertaining novel that will be appreciated by those who like their fantasy more popcorny and less meaty. Do know that this is a series beginner and there is absolutely zero resolution here. Will I be back for book two? Possibly, since the mythology of this world seems interesting and I didn’t learn enough about it for my taste (instead I was treated to another knife fight or something). But I’m going to read reviews carefully before coming back for more to make sure that all of the significant action isn’t stuffed into the final 100 pages.
We start the book with the death of an emperor—as auspicious a premise as there ever was—but until the final quarter, nothing of importance happens. It’s quite shocking actually: a book that is going to be published could stand to lose its first 300 pages. All that happens in those 300 pages is an extended montage scene. The two princes—one training to be an elite soldier, the other serving as a monastic acolyte—get into various unimportant scrapes that are described in painstaking detail. (Literally ‘painstaking’: the pain of these unnecessary details is comparable to the pain of impalement by a stake.) Now I can never resist a good montage scene. Upbeat music coupled with characters getting ready to chase their goals is a perfect combination. But after a while I was hoping for, then praying for, then sacrificing cows at a homemade altar for a conflict to maybe kinda sorta sometime soon appear. Please Zeus?
As I waited very patiently, I was subjected to simplistic and forced dialogue that merely served to push the plot along. I also had to suffer dumb characters. Get ready to scoff and eyeroll when a character neglects to notice a big fat whopping clue slapping him on the side of his face! It happens quite a lot, especially with soldier prince. It’s even worse because the story is so emotionally simplistic, it is impossible to connect with the characters.
But what bothered me most about this novel was its treatment of female characters. Now this rant does not entirely belong to The Emperor’s Blades. Rather it is the result of hundreds of fantasy books, normally written by male authors, committing the same error. There are three POV characters in this novel, but I’ve only mentioned the two princes. That’s because the princess’s chapters are very few. What’s worse, in each of her chapters we are constantly reminded that this girl cannot be emperor, that she has no role in this man’s fantasy world. I don’t like “strong” female characters who are constantly told that they’re a rarity, that sexism does not want them where they currently have fought to be. Because honestly this just reinforces the idea that it is unnatural for women to be in positions of power. It suggests, quite unconsciously but regardless, that ambitious and successful women are an aberration. Give me a fantasy novel where men and women are equal and absolutely nothing has to be said about it because it’s normal!
Despite all these gripes, The Emperor’s Blades is a mildly entertaining novel that will be appreciated by those who like their fantasy more popcorny and less meaty. Do know that this is a series beginner and there is absolutely zero resolution here. Will I be back for book two? Possibly, since the mythology of this world seems interesting and I didn’t learn enough about it for my taste (instead I was treated to another knife fight or something). But I’m going to read reviews carefully before coming back for more to make sure that all of the significant action isn’t stuffed into the final 100 pages.
September 12, 2018
This was the good shit 👀🙌🏽
December 10, 2015
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.
After reading fantasy for most of my life, I’ve seen more than a few “Next Big Thing” come along. Some of those hyped novels and series have lived up to the tile, but more than a few have crumbled under the expectations. At least, in my eyes they did. And so when I kept seeing people rave about Brian Staveley’s The Emperor’s Blades, I was a bit skeptical, fearing another letdown if I let myself get sucked into the frenzy. Well, after finally breaking down and reading it, I now realize all that waiting and doubting was a huge mistake, because this is the real deal in epic fantasy; the Next Big Thing in the genre; the series I can see myself eagerly following for years to come!
The Emperor’s Blades follows along behind three of the Emperor’s children: Kaden (the heir), Valyn (the soldier), and Adare (the politician). Each chapters shining the spotlight on one or the other in turn, highlighting their unique struggles, as they are on the edge of maturity yet still trapped in their childhood roles. Sure, there is a bit of resentment of their duties and future roles as their father’s heirs, but their stories are definitely not young adult angst-fests or full-fledged “coming-of-age” tales, but rather a situation where the protagonists just happen to be young adults.
As the heir, one would expect Kaden’s story to be centered on court life and political machinations, but Mr. Staveley sidesteps that tired narrative device – instead placing the future Emperor in a monastery on the fringes of civilization. His thoughts and concerns more on news from the outside world and not being beaten by his master for yet another failure in his monastic training than royal ambitions.
Valyn, on the other hand, leads an exciting life as a “special forces”-type warrior. His training and the infighting of his fellow cadets turns ugly early and often, as he attempts to become one of the most feared soldiers in the world. If there is truly a “coming-of-age” narrative in the book, I’d point at Valyn’s chapters, because there is a love interest, tough choices, and some emotional turmoil from an unexpected lose; all of which means Valyn displays more angst than his siblings.
The final “Blade” in this trio is Adare. This tough, intelligent young woman is knee-deep in political turmoil. As the only child of the Emperor still in the capital, she is quickly engulfed by an upheaval in the government, using her position as a member of the royal cabinet to not only weather the storm but dish out her own punishment to those who have done her wrong. This embroils her in an ugly and very compelling showdown with a powerful religious leader and an alliance with a seemingly friendly politician.
All in all, every one of these siblings is a likable, strong, intelligent, and interesting character; each well-rounded, complex and fully capable of carrying their part of the story. Valyn definitely gets more page time, followed closely by Kaden, but even Adare, in her limited appearances, is very interesting, making a reader long for more time to spend tagging along behind her. So, while many times multiple points of view are distracting in an epic fantasy or have interesting and uninteresting parts, all three of these hold their own, making the story a pleasure to read from beginning to end.
Naturally, the other character in any epic fantasy is the world building, and Brian Staveley unveils a vibrant, living, and breathing fantasy wonderland in this book. Asian-tinged with sizable dollops of magic, the Annurain world is slowly revealed through the organic teachings of the older characters in the narrative, not through massive info dumps or long “Council of Elrond” like dialogue. And while the depth and breadth of the history and lore are substantial and the magic palpable, Mr. Staveley does a wonderful job of keeping it all just beyond reach, hinting at even more amazing things waiting right around the corner, promising to let you in on the next big secret if you merely stay the course and follow along behind these three characters, who are themselves slowly untangling the mysteries which you yourself long to know.
As for the villains, they are numerous and unexpected. No all powerful and completely obvious Sauron-like caricatures here. Nope, each of our young stars deal with their own very different enemies. Whether that be arrogant fellow cadets for Valyn or mysterious creatures for Kaden or powerful high priests for Adare, Mr. Staveley crafts each one differently, shading them in unique ways, so that our Blades are never confronted with the same situation as their sibling a few chapters before. And when the conclusion to the novel finally rolls around, the unveiling of exactly who and what the real villains are and what they are doing might just surprise you.
Like I said, this is a book I really fell in love with. Once I became engrossed in the story, I could not stop reading. The characters, the world, the grittiness, and the fast-paced plots held my attention, causing me to stop looking at the clock as I desperately mined this narrative for the answers to all the questions my mind kept creating. Nope, I didn’t get on this bandwagon at the beginning, but now I intend to ride it as far as Mr. Staveley will take me, because Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne is the Next Big Thing out there in my opinion, one which has room for a few more fans if you’d like to jump on next to me and take a fantastic ride.
I received this book for free from Tor Books in return for a fair and unbiased review. The thoughts you have read are mine alone.
After reading fantasy for most of my life, I’ve seen more than a few “Next Big Thing” come along. Some of those hyped novels and series have lived up to the tile, but more than a few have crumbled under the expectations. At least, in my eyes they did. And so when I kept seeing people rave about Brian Staveley’s The Emperor’s Blades, I was a bit skeptical, fearing another letdown if I let myself get sucked into the frenzy. Well, after finally breaking down and reading it, I now realize all that waiting and doubting was a huge mistake, because this is the real deal in epic fantasy; the Next Big Thing in the genre; the series I can see myself eagerly following for years to come!
The Emperor’s Blades follows along behind three of the Emperor’s children: Kaden (the heir), Valyn (the soldier), and Adare (the politician). Each chapters shining the spotlight on one or the other in turn, highlighting their unique struggles, as they are on the edge of maturity yet still trapped in their childhood roles. Sure, there is a bit of resentment of their duties and future roles as their father’s heirs, but their stories are definitely not young adult angst-fests or full-fledged “coming-of-age” tales, but rather a situation where the protagonists just happen to be young adults.
As the heir, one would expect Kaden’s story to be centered on court life and political machinations, but Mr. Staveley sidesteps that tired narrative device – instead placing the future Emperor in a monastery on the fringes of civilization. His thoughts and concerns more on news from the outside world and not being beaten by his master for yet another failure in his monastic training than royal ambitions.
Valyn, on the other hand, leads an exciting life as a “special forces”-type warrior. His training and the infighting of his fellow cadets turns ugly early and often, as he attempts to become one of the most feared soldiers in the world. If there is truly a “coming-of-age” narrative in the book, I’d point at Valyn’s chapters, because there is a love interest, tough choices, and some emotional turmoil from an unexpected lose; all of which means Valyn displays more angst than his siblings.
The final “Blade” in this trio is Adare. This tough, intelligent young woman is knee-deep in political turmoil. As the only child of the Emperor still in the capital, she is quickly engulfed by an upheaval in the government, using her position as a member of the royal cabinet to not only weather the storm but dish out her own punishment to those who have done her wrong. This embroils her in an ugly and very compelling showdown with a powerful religious leader and an alliance with a seemingly friendly politician.
All in all, every one of these siblings is a likable, strong, intelligent, and interesting character; each well-rounded, complex and fully capable of carrying their part of the story. Valyn definitely gets more page time, followed closely by Kaden, but even Adare, in her limited appearances, is very interesting, making a reader long for more time to spend tagging along behind her. So, while many times multiple points of view are distracting in an epic fantasy or have interesting and uninteresting parts, all three of these hold their own, making the story a pleasure to read from beginning to end.
Naturally, the other character in any epic fantasy is the world building, and Brian Staveley unveils a vibrant, living, and breathing fantasy wonderland in this book. Asian-tinged with sizable dollops of magic, the Annurain world is slowly revealed through the organic teachings of the older characters in the narrative, not through massive info dumps or long “Council of Elrond” like dialogue. And while the depth and breadth of the history and lore are substantial and the magic palpable, Mr. Staveley does a wonderful job of keeping it all just beyond reach, hinting at even more amazing things waiting right around the corner, promising to let you in on the next big secret if you merely stay the course and follow along behind these three characters, who are themselves slowly untangling the mysteries which you yourself long to know.
As for the villains, they are numerous and unexpected. No all powerful and completely obvious Sauron-like caricatures here. Nope, each of our young stars deal with their own very different enemies. Whether that be arrogant fellow cadets for Valyn or mysterious creatures for Kaden or powerful high priests for Adare, Mr. Staveley crafts each one differently, shading them in unique ways, so that our Blades are never confronted with the same situation as their sibling a few chapters before. And when the conclusion to the novel finally rolls around, the unveiling of exactly who and what the real villains are and what they are doing might just surprise you.
Like I said, this is a book I really fell in love with. Once I became engrossed in the story, I could not stop reading. The characters, the world, the grittiness, and the fast-paced plots held my attention, causing me to stop looking at the clock as I desperately mined this narrative for the answers to all the questions my mind kept creating. Nope, I didn’t get on this bandwagon at the beginning, but now I intend to ride it as far as Mr. Staveley will take me, because Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne is the Next Big Thing out there in my opinion, one which has room for a few more fans if you’d like to jump on next to me and take a fantastic ride.
I received this book for free from Tor Books in return for a fair and unbiased review. The thoughts you have read are mine alone.
January 2, 2018
'Kent kissing awesome.
Read
December 14, 2022· They Deceived Me Again and Failed to Mention this was YA in Disguise Buddy Read (TDMAaFtMtwYiDBR™) with my Duplicitous MacHalos ·
💀 DNF at 18%.
✘ Because the last thing I need right now is to read about a bunch of boring teenagers, their undoubtedly fascinating journey into adulthood, and their juvenile struggles/conflicts/trials/whatever.
✘ Because I don't give a damn about this story and the characters in it. They could all die for all I care.
✘ And because, no matter how violent this book is supposed to be, it doesn't change the fact that it is Freaking YA. And please don't start arguing over this in the comments section. I'm in one of the foulest moods EVER, and this is a discussion you do not want to have with me right now.
THE END.
PS: I won't even bother rating this one, that's how much I care about it.
✉ A very personal, very private message to Ange: I will always love you, no matter how many crappy books you recommend I read. Just try not to overdo it, okay?
💀 DNF at 18%.
✘ Because the last thing I need right now is to read about a bunch of boring teenagers, their undoubtedly fascinating journey into adulthood, and their juvenile struggles/conflicts/trials/whatever.
✘ Because I don't give a damn about this story and the characters in it. They could all die for all I care.
✘ And because, no matter how violent this book is supposed to be, it doesn't change the fact that it is Freaking YA. And please don't start arguing over this in the comments section. I'm in one of the foulest moods EVER, and this is a discussion you do not want to have with me right now.
THE END.
PS: I won't even bother rating this one, that's how much I care about it.
✉ A very personal, very private message to Ange: I will always love you, no matter how many crappy books you recommend I read. Just try not to overdo it, okay?
January 15, 2018
“Obedience is a knife that cuts the cord of bondage.
Silence is a hammer that shatters the walls of speech.
Stillness is strength; pain a soft bed.
Put down your basin; emptiness is the only vessel.”
Four Stars: ✰✰✰✰
This book, shockingly, was actually better than I was expecting it to be, just from the blurbs and little snippets I've seen on Goodreads and Audible. I was expecting more or less just another typical modern fantasy book - that wasn't especially interesting or original; but this book surprised me with it's highly original world building and story. It's one of those books that I found myself really enjoying, in spite of the fact that I had a few issues.
I have a complaint that I'm going to voice right at the beginning though:
The prologue for this book was too good.
I'm serious. It really was WAY too good. Everything about the prologue in this book appealed to me. It carried a sense of weight and reality. The writing was compelling and mysterious. And it introduced a conflict that seemed so new and original and cool. I was thoroughly convinced of this book's merit by the time I got to the end of the prologue.
And then I got to chapter one, and never heard anything about the contents of the prologue until I was more than halfway through the book. The majority of the book had absolutely nothing to do with the conflict that the prologue introduces. By the time I got to the end of the book I started to understand why the author did this, but it was still frustrating, because I got all excited about a story I would never actually get to read.
It took me a little while to get into it because of that, but once this book got going, it was really quite good.
The worldbuilding and story, in particular, I found to be especially unique. The author took concepts that we are all relatively familiar with and used them in a way that added a unique spin onto these familiar ideas. It's light on the magic content, and this was both a good and a bad thing. Good, because I don't think that the story required a lot of magic content to keep it interesting. Bad, because the magic that *is* in the book I felt could have been better explained, especially regarding the people they call "Leaches".
The story is told from the perspective of three siblings - Kaden, Valyn, and Adare.
It was the characters that kept me from giving this more than four stars. I found them all to be more than a little bland, and just not very interesting. It felt like they all lacked any real personality, and especially after finishing Wrath and The Faithful and the Fallen, I had a really hard time relating to any of the characters in this book. Valyn was BY FAR the most interesting character in the book, but even his character didn't really draw me in until more than halfway through the book. Kaden's *story* kept me interested, but there was literally nothing interesting about him as a person. Neither of them were bad characters, I just really wasn't personally drawn to them.
And then there was Adare, who was about as painfully, annoyingly stupid as any character you could read about. She didn't get a lot of airtime in this book, and thank God for that, because I don't think I could have handled more of her than I got.
However, in spite of that, the overarching story in the book was seriously excellent, and it's the story and plot of this book that I think sets it apart from other fantasy series in the market today. It felt fresh. We're presented with totally original ideas, combined with familiar elements, that gave this book a really new feeling. So much of today's fantasy feels recycled, but Stavely really did something unique with the story in this book, and I'll definitely be finishing this series because of that.
Overall, if you're looking for something different, I really recommend checking this series out. Keep in mind that you might not fall in love with the characters, but if you can get into the story that's being told, it will be well worth your time.
Happy reading =].
For this review and more, check out my blog: Thoughts of a Thousand Lives.
March 21, 2014
I have read a lot of mediocre reviews on this book. In fact, many of the review sites that I respect the most posited that this book was highly overrated, and they had no idea why Tor had pushed the book so hard. So, I went into this book thinking that it would be an enjoyable read, but nothing too special. Perhaps because of this bias it took me a few chapters to get into the rhythm of the novel, but once I did I was blown away. This is a wonderful debut novel and the start to a new series that I am sure I will read over and over again.
Once I became engrossed in this book, I found it almost impossible to put down. I love the characters, I love the world, and I love the fast paced and exciting plot. This is one of those novels that I have a hard time finding anything to criticize. If you are a fan of speculative fiction, this book should be on your MUST read now list.
Once I became engrossed in this book, I found it almost impossible to put down. I love the characters, I love the world, and I love the fast paced and exciting plot. This is one of those novels that I have a hard time finding anything to criticize. If you are a fan of speculative fiction, this book should be on your MUST read now list.
March 26, 2021
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I have wanted to read Staveley’s series ever since I got into the adult fantasy world, the book cover definitely played a huge role in that and because it just sounded like something I would enjoy. My friend Mike recommended it for my 10 readers, 10 recommendations challenge which made me read it this year.
Mike mentioned that this book has his most favorite prologue and because Mike wrote one of my most favorite prologues in Wisdom Lost, my expectations went higher, I mean if the prologue is good, the rest of the book has to be even better, right?
I did think the prologue was good but it did not dethrone my favorite prologues and unfortunately I found the book hard to get into.
The story takes place when The Emperor of The Annurian Empire is murdered leaving 3 kids behind him. His three kids are Kaden who is being trained under monks far away somewhere to be more disciplined, Valyn who is also away training as a part of the empire’s deadliest fighting force and Adare who is now the finance minister and is investigating her father’s death.
My main problem with the writing is that it was over descriptive and the book is long for no good reason to be honest, I see many adult fantasy authors trying to write huge tomes and boasting about it which may sometimes be doing more bad than good. I don’t understand why the book was almost 600 Pages long (depending on the copy and font) where the events could happen in 300! I think there was a lot of info-dumping at first which was remedied later when things started to get more clear later.
The three POVs were not equally engaging too, I did not have strong feelings regarding the characters and to be honest, I wanted more. Valyn for me was the most engaging and I just like schools and training in fantasy so his training and relations with his friend was the most entertaining part. Kaden was also not bad, I found myself enjoying some of his chapters but thought some of them were unnecessary. Adare got the least chapters so she was the least fleshed out although I can’t deny I enjoyed her last two chapters pretty much. I also thought the female representation in this book not to be the best since we have the stereotypical male author writing fantasy.
The story is slow paced and I was bored at many points, to be fair, I enjoyed a few parts quite a lot and thought these were the reason this book got hyped for. I think that I will think of these few scenes when I think of the book. The problem is that I am not sure if I am ready to read the next 2 books which are even longer (book 3 is almost 900 pages) for just a few good scenes?!
Summary: I thought the book was average when I actually wanted more from the writing and from the characters. I think the plot is not bad but it was too long and could have been definitely better if some parts were cut out. There are a few good scenes and plot twists but I am not sure if I can read the rest of the series which is longer for those. I may try Skullsworn since it is shorter before I take a final decision with this series.
“Believe what you see with your eyes; trust what you hear with your ears; know what you feel with your flesh. The rest is dream and delusion.”
I have wanted to read Staveley’s series ever since I got into the adult fantasy world, the book cover definitely played a huge role in that and because it just sounded like something I would enjoy. My friend Mike recommended it for my 10 readers, 10 recommendations challenge which made me read it this year.
Mike mentioned that this book has his most favorite prologue and because Mike wrote one of my most favorite prologues in Wisdom Lost, my expectations went higher, I mean if the prologue is good, the rest of the book has to be even better, right?
I did think the prologue was good but it did not dethrone my favorite prologues and unfortunately I found the book hard to get into.
The story takes place when The Emperor of The Annurian Empire is murdered leaving 3 kids behind him. His three kids are Kaden who is being trained under monks far away somewhere to be more disciplined, Valyn who is also away training as a part of the empire’s deadliest fighting force and Adare who is now the finance minister and is investigating her father’s death.
My main problem with the writing is that it was over descriptive and the book is long for no good reason to be honest, I see many adult fantasy authors trying to write huge tomes and boasting about it which may sometimes be doing more bad than good. I don’t understand why the book was almost 600 Pages long (depending on the copy and font) where the events could happen in 300! I think there was a lot of info-dumping at first which was remedied later when things started to get more clear later.
“Resist faith. Resist trust. Believe only in what you touch with your hands. The rest is error and air.”
The three POVs were not equally engaging too, I did not have strong feelings regarding the characters and to be honest, I wanted more. Valyn for me was the most engaging and I just like schools and training in fantasy so his training and relations with his friend was the most entertaining part. Kaden was also not bad, I found myself enjoying some of his chapters but thought some of them were unnecessary. Adare got the least chapters so she was the least fleshed out although I can’t deny I enjoyed her last two chapters pretty much. I also thought the female representation in this book not to be the best since we have the stereotypical male author writing fantasy.
The story is slow paced and I was bored at many points, to be fair, I enjoyed a few parts quite a lot and thought these were the reason this book got hyped for. I think that I will think of these few scenes when I think of the book. The problem is that I am not sure if I am ready to read the next 2 books which are even longer (book 3 is almost 900 pages) for just a few good scenes?!
“You squint hard enough, and everything starts to look suspicious.”
Summary: I thought the book was average when I actually wanted more from the writing and from the characters. I think the plot is not bad but it was too long and could have been definitely better if some parts were cut out. There are a few good scenes and plot twists but I am not sure if I can read the rest of the series which is longer for those. I may try Skullsworn since it is shorter before I take a final decision with this series.
March 16, 2016
6 January 2016: $4.99 on Kindle
17 November 2015: $4.99 on Kindle
25 September 2014: $2.99 on Kindle - What a fantastic deal!! Highly, highly recommended.
1/6/2014 Edit: This book comes out next week (I'm ridiculously excited to get my hardcover of it) and I read this interesting blog by Brian Staveley about the inspiration for the Kettral training scenes here
12/24/2013 Edit:
I've just found the map of Annur on Brian Staveley's website! I was hoping to have one of these. Click on the map for a bigger picture
Review:
Best fantasy book I've read in a long time, quite possibly ever.
I requested this book without even reading the book-blurb because a friend (Thank You Cory!!) told me, while still in the middle of reading it, that it was the best fantasy book she'd read in a long time. Fantasy is my home in genre novels, I come back to it time and time again because it's comfortable, exciting, interesting, detailed and emotional. So I started The Emperor's Blades with incredibly high expectations and excitement.
I was absolutely and thoroughly Blown.Away. This book is amazing. I highlighted dozens of moments throughout this book, was on the edge of my seat for most of it, and was absolutely enthralled the entire journey.
The intricate, sweeping story that follows the Malkeenian royal line - two brothers and a sister maneuvering between, around and through plots to take the Unhewn Throne from them - is full of intrigue and twists, danger and valor, despair and determination. I can't even do this justice, but I will say it's only the second book to surprise me so completely and throw twists at me I didn't even see coming. After I spent a good portion of the book detailing theories in my head, only to be wrong most of the time, the final twist absolutely blew my mind.
Kaden, Valyn, and Adare are some of my favorite characters - I was utterly and completely on their side from the very first moments we met each of them. Though I admit Valyn, the warrior, is my favorite, I love all three of them. As I was reading I was eager to see them succeed, to beat the insurmountable odds stacked against them, and terrified that they wouldn't. They aren't infalliable. They aren't perfect. They are, however, absolutely loyal, strong, intelligent, and full of determination. Thank goodness, because this war is going to test the depths of their resolve. Additionally, there are more than a few other characters that I'm dying to know more about. Those for, and against, the emperor both.
I can't end this review without speaking of the writing itself in The Emperor's Blades. I primarily read for characters, then world, then plot. Prose is important, the way the words are strung together can make or break a story, but it's often the last thing I consider when I decide how much I like a story or not. And if the story here hadn't been so utterly fantastic, if the characters hadn't been so completely intriguing, the world so fascinating - then the words that formed it wouldn't have delighted me so much. But Brian Staveley did something amazing here. He weaved words together in beautiful sentences, gorgeous paragraphs, and painted me a picture that I couldn't look away from. As engrossed as I was in the story, as much as I had to know what was going to happen next, I still stopped and had to re-read a section that was so arresting, so gorgeous, that I couldn't go on without appreciating it for a second, or third, time.
Part of the journey is complete in The Emperor's Blades, but it's clear there's a lot left to be told. And I, for one, couldn't be happier.
Review also available on my blog and booklikes
17 November 2015: $4.99 on Kindle
25 September 2014: $2.99 on Kindle - What a fantastic deal!! Highly, highly recommended.
1/6/2014 Edit: This book comes out next week (I'm ridiculously excited to get my hardcover of it) and I read this interesting blog by Brian Staveley about the inspiration for the Kettral training scenes here
There’s a scene near the middle of The Emperor’s Blades in which a class of Kettral cadets, ultra-elite warriors who fly massive hawks into battle, are undergoing their final test: Hull’s Trial. People who have read the book ask about this scene a lot, and about Kettral training more generally. They want to know if I’ve served in the military – I haven’t – and then they want to know where in the hell all the training material comes from. The answer (aside from lots and lots of reading about military training) is adventure racing.
12/24/2013 Edit:
I've just found the map of Annur on Brian Staveley's website! I was hoping to have one of these. Click on the map for a bigger picture
Review:
Best fantasy book I've read in a long time, quite possibly ever.
I requested this book without even reading the book-blurb because a friend (Thank You Cory!!) told me, while still in the middle of reading it, that it was the best fantasy book she'd read in a long time. Fantasy is my home in genre novels, I come back to it time and time again because it's comfortable, exciting, interesting, detailed and emotional. So I started The Emperor's Blades with incredibly high expectations and excitement.
I was absolutely and thoroughly Blown.Away. This book is amazing. I highlighted dozens of moments throughout this book, was on the edge of my seat for most of it, and was absolutely enthralled the entire journey.
The intricate, sweeping story that follows the Malkeenian royal line - two brothers and a sister maneuvering between, around and through plots to take the Unhewn Throne from them - is full of intrigue and twists, danger and valor, despair and determination. I can't even do this justice, but I will say it's only the second book to surprise me so completely and throw twists at me I didn't even see coming. After I spent a good portion of the book detailing theories in my head, only to be wrong most of the time, the final twist absolutely blew my mind.
Kaden, Valyn, and Adare are some of my favorite characters - I was utterly and completely on their side from the very first moments we met each of them. Though I admit Valyn, the warrior, is my favorite, I love all three of them. As I was reading I was eager to see them succeed, to beat the insurmountable odds stacked against them, and terrified that they wouldn't. They aren't infalliable. They aren't perfect. They are, however, absolutely loyal, strong, intelligent, and full of determination. Thank goodness, because this war is going to test the depths of their resolve. Additionally, there are more than a few other characters that I'm dying to know more about. Those for, and against, the emperor both.
I can't end this review without speaking of the writing itself in The Emperor's Blades. I primarily read for characters, then world, then plot. Prose is important, the way the words are strung together can make or break a story, but it's often the last thing I consider when I decide how much I like a story or not. And if the story here hadn't been so utterly fantastic, if the characters hadn't been so completely intriguing, the world so fascinating - then the words that formed it wouldn't have delighted me so much. But Brian Staveley did something amazing here. He weaved words together in beautiful sentences, gorgeous paragraphs, and painted me a picture that I couldn't look away from. As engrossed as I was in the story, as much as I had to know what was going to happen next, I still stopped and had to re-read a section that was so arresting, so gorgeous, that I couldn't go on without appreciating it for a second, or third, time.
Part of the journey is complete in The Emperor's Blades, but it's clear there's a lot left to be told. And I, for one, couldn't be happier.
Review also available on my blog and booklikes
March 10, 2022
Oof. This books starts 30 chapters too early for me. Straddling the edge between 2.5 and 3 considering how much I didn't enjoy the beginning and did enjoy the end. Full review to come.
February 3, 2015
Buddy read with Athena, Lee and Michael.
I HATE being the only one that doesn't like a book everyone loves.
But I'm not going to lie: I didn't like this book. In the strict sense of goodreads rating I should have given it 1 single lonely star, I'm giving it that second one because the last 15% of the book was actually pretty good.
So, let's tally what I thought were this book's sins:
BOOK SIN #1. So from the blurb we know that"Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God."
We learn that this is really REALLY important for the heir to know, which prompts the interesting question: what happens if Kaden dies? Because you know, accidents do happen. People die all the time.
Does Valyn suddenly needs to go spend 8 years learning this too? Wouldn't it have been easier to just send both of them to learn the very important thing?
BOOK SIN #2 As stated Kaden has been learning stuff for eight years.
Well... "learning", he's been doing a lot of random crap that are supposed to be important in the end.
Can you say Karate Kid? Wax on, wax off, wax on...
The problem is, Kaden doesn't seem to have learned ANYTHING AT ALL. For Hull's sake it's been 8 freaking years. Did all the lessons just go in one ear and out the other? The guy acts like an idiot for 85% of the book!
BOOK SIN #3 Actually I think stupidity runs in the family. Valyn has been training for the same amount of time with the super awesome black ops elite force. Yet he seems always to be on the verge of dying, doesn't see the OBVIOUS clues around the "mystery" and is a TERRIBLE team leader.
BOOK SIN #4 Also, why the training they endure has to be so violent?! I'm not sure about this idea that beating your apprentice bloody is actually going to make him learn better. It definitely didn't work with these two.
BOOK SIN #5 The only smart one in the family is the daughter. Hurray! Of course, she only gets like 5 chapters out of the 50 in the book.
BOOK SIN #6 The depiction of the other two important female characters in the book is terrible.
So, exactly what does a soldier woman looks like?
BOOK SIN #7 Valyn is being thrown off a ship by his most hated antagonist, and we get this gem:
First, I'm tired of the repetitive descriptions. How many times are you going to tell me Yurl is blond? I got it the first 10000 times.
Second, seriously? "The blond youth grinned down at him"? This is a person Valyn hates! The "blond youth"? More like "The fucking bastard!" Get your fucking adjectives right!
BOOK SIN #8 Obvious romance plot going wrong is obvious.
BOOK SIN #9 If the Kettral have to fight in groups, wouldn't it have been a good idea to include some group training in all those years? These guys are all a bunch of lone wolfs. Also, for an elite force they seem TERRIBLE at knowing stuff. Shouldn't they be very good at espionage and information?
BOOK SIN #10 WHY DIDN'T THIS BOOK DELIVER ON THE AWESOME PROLOGUE!!
To be honest there was one thing I loved from the book. It has awesome curses, swearwords and phrases. :D
Also, the worlbuilding seems nice, if overly convoluted at times, and the writing is really good.
Will I read the second one? Maaaaaybe. If someone promises me Adare gets more page time.
Would I recommend this? Actually yes. Give it a try. Make me feel even more lonely in my lonely dislike.
I HATE being the only one that doesn't like a book everyone loves.
But I'm not going to lie: I didn't like this book. In the strict sense of goodreads rating I should have given it 1 single lonely star, I'm giving it that second one because the last 15% of the book was actually pretty good.
So, let's tally what I thought were this book's sins:
BOOK SIN #1. So from the blurb we know that"Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God."
We learn that this is really REALLY important for the heir to know, which prompts the interesting question: what happens if Kaden dies? Because you know, accidents do happen. People die all the time.
Does Valyn suddenly needs to go spend 8 years learning this too? Wouldn't it have been easier to just send both of them to learn the very important thing?
BOOK SIN #2 As stated Kaden has been learning stuff for eight years.
Well... "learning", he's been doing a lot of random crap that are supposed to be important in the end.
Can you say Karate Kid? Wax on, wax off, wax on...
The problem is, Kaden doesn't seem to have learned ANYTHING AT ALL. For Hull's sake it's been 8 freaking years. Did all the lessons just go in one ear and out the other? The guy acts like an idiot for 85% of the book!
BOOK SIN #3 Actually I think stupidity runs in the family. Valyn has been training for the same amount of time with the super awesome black ops elite force. Yet he seems always to be on the verge of dying, doesn't see the OBVIOUS clues around the "mystery" and is a TERRIBLE team leader.
BOOK SIN #4 Also, why the training they endure has to be so violent?! I'm not sure about this idea that beating your apprentice bloody is actually going to make him learn better. It definitely didn't work with these two.
BOOK SIN #5 The only smart one in the family is the daughter. Hurray! Of course, she only gets like 5 chapters out of the 50 in the book.
BOOK SIN #6 The depiction of the other two important female characters in the book is terrible.
"She didn't look like a flint-hearted killer. At first glance, she actually looked more like a farmer's daughter than a soldier"
So, exactly what does a soldier woman looks like?
BOOK SIN #7 Valyn is being thrown off a ship by his most hated antagonist, and we get this gem:
"the blond youth grinned down at him..."
First, I'm tired of the repetitive descriptions. How many times are you going to tell me Yurl is blond? I got it the first 10000 times.
Second, seriously? "The blond youth grinned down at him"? This is a person Valyn hates! The "blond youth"? More like "The fucking bastard!" Get your fucking adjectives right!
BOOK SIN #8 Obvious romance plot going wrong is obvious.
BOOK SIN #9 If the Kettral have to fight in groups, wouldn't it have been a good idea to include some group training in all those years? These guys are all a bunch of lone wolfs. Also, for an elite force they seem TERRIBLE at knowing stuff. Shouldn't they be very good at espionage and information?
BOOK SIN #10 WHY DIDN'T THIS BOOK DELIVER ON THE AWESOME PROLOGUE!!
To be honest there was one thing I loved from the book. It has awesome curses, swearwords and phrases. :D
Also, the worlbuilding seems nice, if overly convoluted at times, and the writing is really good.
Will I read the second one? Maaaaaybe. If someone promises me Adare gets more page time.
Would I recommend this? Actually yes. Give it a try. Make me feel even more lonely in my lonely dislike.
January 12, 2015
This was a fairly standard fantasy story. It was decent without being anything special.
The Emperor has just been assassinated and this book follows the story of his three children as they seek to avoid the same fate. All three of the siblings are in different locations. The eldest, Adare, remained at court with her father and learned the ways of government. The youngest sibling, Kaden, is the heir to the throne and is training in a far flung monastery. The middle sibling, Valyn, is training to be a warrior with the legendary Kettral. All three were likable enough characters.
I liked Valyn's story the most. The Kettral training was interesting and the secondary characters were the most developed. Kaden's story was fairly interesting. Mainly because it eventually lead to us learning who was behind the plot to kill the Imperial family. The mythical, and not human, Csestriim. Adare seemed likable enough. We spent the least amount of time with her. She was focused on discovering who assassinated her father.
Despite having a few flaws this book recovered from a slow start to become a fun read. The Csestriim were suitably creepy and villainous, and the various hints of magic we glimpsed were pretty cool.
Rating: 4 stars. I'm being kind as the ending was quite good.
Audio Note: Simon Vance is a competent narrator, but he will never be a favorite of mine.
The Emperor has just been assassinated and this book follows the story of his three children as they seek to avoid the same fate. All three of the siblings are in different locations. The eldest, Adare, remained at court with her father and learned the ways of government. The youngest sibling, Kaden, is the heir to the throne and is training in a far flung monastery. The middle sibling, Valyn, is training to be a warrior with the legendary Kettral. All three were likable enough characters.
I liked Valyn's story the most. The Kettral training was interesting and the secondary characters were the most developed. Kaden's story was fairly interesting. Mainly because it eventually lead to us learning who was behind the plot to kill the Imperial family. The mythical, and not human, Csestriim. Adare seemed likable enough. We spent the least amount of time with her. She was focused on discovering who assassinated her father.
Despite having a few flaws this book recovered from a slow start to become a fun read. The Csestriim were suitably creepy and villainous, and the various hints of magic we glimpsed were pretty cool.
Rating: 4 stars. I'm being kind as the ending was quite good.
Audio Note: Simon Vance is a competent narrator, but he will never be a favorite of mine.
April 4, 2023
Why 5 stars, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. First off, look at that cover. I don't know precisely what it is that makes a good cover for me, but Richard Anderson—the artist for this series, Kings of the Wyld, and The Dinosaur Lords—he's just got it, man. I love the composition and story being told here almost as much as I loved the actual book.
It's the perfect recipe for a series I'll love. Kaden's story was one of perseverance through hardship. The mental techniques used by the Shin are super interesting. And the mental and physical torture subjected to Kaden was simultaneously terrible, but also weirdly interesting to watch. You somehow know that everything he goes through is helping him in some way. His relationship with Tan was a complete turn on the master/apprentice dynamic and one that I've never seen accomplished quite this well. Also, I loved his friendship with Akiil.
Valyn's story had the makeup of that found family mix of vagabonds and killers that I love so much. The fight scenes were well written. The kettral were so damn cool. The trials were outrageous. And the tragedies were endless.
If I had one complaint, it was that while I feel that Adare's story was totally necessary and super interesting to read, it could've used more time and attention. Was she a throwaway character? She certainly doesn't have the same depth as her brothers. But what we got of her story, I really liked, so idk.
This book also had a quality that I love in multiple perspective novels, and that's the sheer anticipation and dread and slight annoyance that comes from a chapter ending and starting the next one only to find a different perspective. Then subsequently having that same experience the very next chapter. It' amazing and, when done correctly, makes a book virtually unputdownable.
That's how I felt about this one. It was a great book, and I'm super stoked to read the next one!
It's the perfect recipe for a series I'll love. Kaden's story was one of perseverance through hardship. The mental techniques used by the Shin are super interesting. And the mental and physical torture subjected to Kaden was simultaneously terrible, but also weirdly interesting to watch. You somehow know that everything he goes through is helping him in some way. His relationship with Tan was a complete turn on the master/apprentice dynamic and one that I've never seen accomplished quite this well. Also, I loved his friendship with Akiil.
Valyn's story had the makeup of that found family mix of vagabonds and killers that I love so much. The fight scenes were well written. The kettral were so damn cool. The trials were outrageous. And the tragedies were endless.
If I had one complaint, it was that while I feel that Adare's story was totally necessary and super interesting to read, it could've used more time and attention. Was she a throwaway character? She certainly doesn't have the same depth as her brothers. But what we got of her story, I really liked, so idk.
This book also had a quality that I love in multiple perspective novels, and that's the sheer anticipation and dread and slight annoyance that comes from a chapter ending and starting the next one only to find a different perspective. Then subsequently having that same experience the very next chapter. It' amazing and, when done correctly, makes a book virtually unputdownable.
That's how I felt about this one. It was a great book, and I'm super stoked to read the next one!
February 25, 2019
4 Stars
Look at me, reading and enjoying adult fantasy! This one starts with the death of an Emperor and follows his three children attempt to navigate the dangerous empire form three separate ends of it. And also uncover the plot that killed their father. Overall, this world was a lot of fun, with a complex and interesting magic system. The world-building was gradual so everything made sense, without being too 'dumbed' down or slow. I loved the way it came together in the end and the plot-twists perfectly.
I loved how this contained morally gray characters who actually make tough decisions. This genre is filled with narrators who claim to be hardened and tough...without any evidence. This took the opposite approach—focusing on the likeable, relatable qualities of our narrators, before showing them make some awful, gut-wrenching decisions.
At its core, this book is about people pushed to their limits. All three siblings are tested in unique, difficult ways. Kaden is next in line for the throne, but the monks he trains under barely seem to consider that as they try to break his mind and spirit. Valyn trains to become a member of the empire’s elite fighting force, but the intensity of it pits him against his fellow trainees, his friends and himself. Meanwhile, Adare fights to secure a place in a misogynistic government. Narratively, I found all three voices very similar, but their stories incredibly separate and interesting.
As much as I enjoyed this story, I didn’t enjoy the abundance of violence against women. Of course, this universe is very violent and it’s not just restricted to the female characters—but only with the female characters did the violence contain overt sexual overtones. Paired with the way the author chose to describe every single female character’s boobs when introducing them...it felt kind of gross. While Adare’s perspective seems to contradict this objectification, she has so few chapters and it felt unbalanced.
In Conclusion:
A smart, gritty story set in an interesting world, filled with it’s well-executed plot-twists. Falls into typical genre pitfalls regarding female characters.
“If we figure everyone might be a murderer, we’re less likely to be disappointed.”
Look at me, reading and enjoying adult fantasy! This one starts with the death of an Emperor and follows his three children attempt to navigate the dangerous empire form three separate ends of it. And also uncover the plot that killed their father. Overall, this world was a lot of fun, with a complex and interesting magic system. The world-building was gradual so everything made sense, without being too 'dumbed' down or slow. I loved the way it came together in the end and the plot-twists perfectly.
I loved how this contained morally gray characters who actually make tough decisions. This genre is filled with narrators who claim to be hardened and tough...without any evidence. This took the opposite approach—focusing on the likeable, relatable qualities of our narrators, before showing them make some awful, gut-wrenching decisions.
At its core, this book is about people pushed to their limits. All three siblings are tested in unique, difficult ways. Kaden is next in line for the throne, but the monks he trains under barely seem to consider that as they try to break his mind and spirit. Valyn trains to become a member of the empire’s elite fighting force, but the intensity of it pits him against his fellow trainees, his friends and himself. Meanwhile, Adare fights to secure a place in a misogynistic government. Narratively, I found all three voices very similar, but their stories incredibly separate and interesting.
As much as I enjoyed this story, I didn’t enjoy the abundance of violence against women. Of course, this universe is very violent and it’s not just restricted to the female characters—but only with the female characters did the violence contain overt sexual overtones. Paired with the way the author chose to describe every single female character’s boobs when introducing them...it felt kind of gross. While Adare’s perspective seems to contradict this objectification, she has so few chapters and it felt unbalanced.
In Conclusion:
A smart, gritty story set in an interesting world, filled with it’s well-executed plot-twists. Falls into typical genre pitfalls regarding female characters.
March 3, 2016
*** 4.25 ***
A buddy read with my assassins at BB&B!
I think I have had the greatest luck in choosing books this new year! I feel lucky:) How can I not? The book I read just before this one was the first book of the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima and I was enchanted, now I read this one and I am in love all over again with what I consider to be the King of all genres, Fantasy!!! (In my opinion, the Queen is Historical Romance, but this is just me:):):)
So, I had never heard of this author before, but the gorgeous cover sold me immediately, as well as the glowing reviews my GR friends gave this series. I was a bit slow to worm to the story, but in the moment we met the monks and their teachings, I was hooked!!!
The Emperor of the land has been assassinated and we are introduced to his three children, who happen to be young adults, separated 8 years ago and all devoted into training supposed to help them with their future responsibilities. We get to meet Valyn, training for the empire’s Special Forces and having to deal with some co-cadets who like to show him he is not special, despite of his high birth. He learns of the death of his father and makes it his mission to discover what is going on. But first, he has to get through the training and the final test, which could prove deadly even for the best of them.
The second sibling we meet, and he happens to have become my favorite, is the hair to the throne, young Kaden. I lovingly nicknamed him goat boy, because most of the time he is running in the heals of a mountain at the end of civilization, where he tends to and often looses goats (or sheep, honestly, I have not a clue) and has all together been treated like a village lad by the Blank God’s disciple monks. This is highly unusual, since when he was sent to the monastery, his father had told him that the monks are going to teach him something imperative to being a ruler and only they have the know-how to do it. He had expected education, but all they had given him were domestic chores, fixing roofs, hanging out with other accalates, even more distant from court life than him, and never-ending climes and runs around the mountains, mostly after escaped animals:) When it came to being prepared for court, politics and ruling, Kaden was anything but! However, he gets a new instructor, who despite beating him close to death, seems to be trying to brake not only his body, but his mind as well...
The third, although oldest of the siblings, is the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare. Out of the three, she is best suited, trained and adapt for the throne, but she is a woman, and in this patriarchal society, she is blatantly overlooked. But she is smart, her father has honed her in the machinations of the aristocracy and she is going to do anything in her power to avenge his death.
The action builds up slowly, the tension grows with every page, and I could not put it down, returning to the book every free moment I had free. Having the 3 POV's made the book feel a bit more textured than the standard classical Fantasy, so it had a fresher, newer feel to it. The writing was flawless, the characters flashed out, and there was plenty of world building and atmospherics. The secondary characters, particularly the female cadets, were wonderful and made the book even better. I loved every moment of it!
Well, with all that love, why only 4.25 stars??? Because, despite being very aware of how much space authors have to give the characters of long series to grow, the two boys drove me insane at times with their less than stellar mind power!!! I know, I know, whatever happened to me claiming not to lower ratings because of artistic/author choices, since the books are their babies and they know what they are doing... It is not that I do not accept the "I started off a simple lad and grew to be a hero" model, the opposite - one of my always favorites. But I feel the same when I read the new testament and see the apostles asking questions from Jesus that a 4 year old would have the answers to - I feel like the reader's intelligence is being insulted, not only that of the characters... Young man should not always equal a borderline idiot, that is all I am saying:) Also, the couple of bad guys which we get to deal with, a bit shallow, not enough debt, but still good and making a point:)
I am very happy to have discovered this series and will forever have this author on my radar now:)
Thanks to all my buddy readers at BB&B and wish all of you happy reading!!!
A buddy read with my assassins at BB&B!
I think I have had the greatest luck in choosing books this new year! I feel lucky:) How can I not? The book I read just before this one was the first book of the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima and I was enchanted, now I read this one and I am in love all over again with what I consider to be the King of all genres, Fantasy!!! (In my opinion, the Queen is Historical Romance, but this is just me:):):)
So, I had never heard of this author before, but the gorgeous cover sold me immediately, as well as the glowing reviews my GR friends gave this series. I was a bit slow to worm to the story, but in the moment we met the monks and their teachings, I was hooked!!!
The Emperor of the land has been assassinated and we are introduced to his three children, who happen to be young adults, separated 8 years ago and all devoted into training supposed to help them with their future responsibilities. We get to meet Valyn, training for the empire’s Special Forces and having to deal with some co-cadets who like to show him he is not special, despite of his high birth. He learns of the death of his father and makes it his mission to discover what is going on. But first, he has to get through the training and the final test, which could prove deadly even for the best of them.
The second sibling we meet, and he happens to have become my favorite, is the hair to the throne, young Kaden. I lovingly nicknamed him goat boy, because most of the time he is running in the heals of a mountain at the end of civilization, where he tends to and often looses goats (or sheep, honestly, I have not a clue) and has all together been treated like a village lad by the Blank God’s disciple monks. This is highly unusual, since when he was sent to the monastery, his father had told him that the monks are going to teach him something imperative to being a ruler and only they have the know-how to do it. He had expected education, but all they had given him were domestic chores, fixing roofs, hanging out with other accalates, even more distant from court life than him, and never-ending climes and runs around the mountains, mostly after escaped animals:) When it came to being prepared for court, politics and ruling, Kaden was anything but! However, he gets a new instructor, who despite beating him close to death, seems to be trying to brake not only his body, but his mind as well...
The third, although oldest of the siblings, is the Emperor’s daughter, Minister Adare. Out of the three, she is best suited, trained and adapt for the throne, but she is a woman, and in this patriarchal society, she is blatantly overlooked. But she is smart, her father has honed her in the machinations of the aristocracy and she is going to do anything in her power to avenge his death.
The action builds up slowly, the tension grows with every page, and I could not put it down, returning to the book every free moment I had free. Having the 3 POV's made the book feel a bit more textured than the standard classical Fantasy, so it had a fresher, newer feel to it. The writing was flawless, the characters flashed out, and there was plenty of world building and atmospherics. The secondary characters, particularly the female cadets, were wonderful and made the book even better. I loved every moment of it!
Well, with all that love, why only 4.25 stars??? Because, despite being very aware of how much space authors have to give the characters of long series to grow, the two boys drove me insane at times with their less than stellar mind power!!! I know, I know, whatever happened to me claiming not to lower ratings because of artistic/author choices, since the books are their babies and they know what they are doing... It is not that I do not accept the "I started off a simple lad and grew to be a hero" model, the opposite - one of my always favorites. But I feel the same when I read the new testament and see the apostles asking questions from Jesus that a 4 year old would have the answers to - I feel like the reader's intelligence is being insulted, not only that of the characters... Young man should not always equal a borderline idiot, that is all I am saying:) Also, the couple of bad guys which we get to deal with, a bit shallow, not enough debt, but still good and making a point:)
I am very happy to have discovered this series and will forever have this author on my radar now:)
Thanks to all my buddy readers at BB&B and wish all of you happy reading!!!
January 19, 2015
This is a great fantasy book. It surprised me a lot because I did not expect to fall for this book. Initially, I gave this book 5 stars but after my January 2015 re-read, I'm dropping a star because well, to be honest, certain parts bored me a little.
The story is adventurous and extremely twisty. You cannot trust anyone. The world building was complex and so were the characters. I find it hard to believe that this was Staveley's debut novel because the writing style, the intricate world we're introduced to, the highly complex characters, et cetera seems like something an author whose had a lot of practice in writing high fantasy novels would provide. So, excellent work, Mr.Staveley! Just excellent!
“There’s no blade as keen as surprise.”
The story follows the life of the Emperor's three children. Kaden is sent to the monastery to train to be the next Emperor, Valyn is training to be a Kettral soldier and Adare is completely into politics. The story is told from their perspectives and it is definitely very enjoyable to switch between their stories. However, at times, I was a little bored by the pacing of this book. It would eventually pick up and I would slowly get sucked in by the numerous ploys the Empire faces and the several complications the main characters have to undergo.
The story is not extremely vast and confusing and it focuses mainly on the Emperor's three children. It has a point, you know. It does not introduce a lot of concepts, just dumping it on the reader and then going back to where we left off in the beginning. It was executed very neatly with three goals in mind, one for each of the Emperor's children.
I personally loved Adare's point of view because she was like a breath of fresh air. She was strong and bold and never weak like most of the female characters in high fantasy novels are portrayed as. Even though her appearance in this novel is not as much as I would have wanted to, I loved reading her views. I also immensely enjoyed Kaden's point of view because his training in the monastery was interesting! The concepts the Shin taught were very, very intriguing. Valyn's point of view was interesting and fun as well but I found myself dozing off at times.
This book can sit right next to Game of Thrones on your shelf because it's as amazing as that! Fantasy readers out there would immensely enjoy this epic novel of adventure.
To find out if this is going to be your next read or not let me direct you through a set of questions.
Are you a high fantasy lover?
Do you like complex world building?
Do you like alternating point of views?
Do you like rich writing?
Do you like flawed yet amazing characters?
Are you a fan of Game of thrones and Tolkien's works?
If the answers are a resounding 'Yes', then you know what to do. If some of them are a sad 'No', well, I still suggest you pick this book up when you're in the mood for some fantasy.
The story is adventurous and extremely twisty. You cannot trust anyone. The world building was complex and so were the characters. I find it hard to believe that this was Staveley's debut novel because the writing style, the intricate world we're introduced to, the highly complex characters, et cetera seems like something an author whose had a lot of practice in writing high fantasy novels would provide. So, excellent work, Mr.Staveley! Just excellent!
“There’s no blade as keen as surprise.”
The story follows the life of the Emperor's three children. Kaden is sent to the monastery to train to be the next Emperor, Valyn is training to be a Kettral soldier and Adare is completely into politics. The story is told from their perspectives and it is definitely very enjoyable to switch between their stories. However, at times, I was a little bored by the pacing of this book. It would eventually pick up and I would slowly get sucked in by the numerous ploys the Empire faces and the several complications the main characters have to undergo.
The story is not extremely vast and confusing and it focuses mainly on the Emperor's three children. It has a point, you know. It does not introduce a lot of concepts, just dumping it on the reader and then going back to where we left off in the beginning. It was executed very neatly with three goals in mind, one for each of the Emperor's children.
I personally loved Adare's point of view because she was like a breath of fresh air. She was strong and bold and never weak like most of the female characters in high fantasy novels are portrayed as. Even though her appearance in this novel is not as much as I would have wanted to, I loved reading her views. I also immensely enjoyed Kaden's point of view because his training in the monastery was interesting! The concepts the Shin taught were very, very intriguing. Valyn's point of view was interesting and fun as well but I found myself dozing off at times.
This book can sit right next to Game of Thrones on your shelf because it's as amazing as that! Fantasy readers out there would immensely enjoy this epic novel of adventure.
To find out if this is going to be your next read or not let me direct you through a set of questions.
Are you a high fantasy lover?
Do you like complex world building?
Do you like alternating point of views?
Do you like rich writing?
Do you like flawed yet amazing characters?
Are you a fan of Game of thrones and Tolkien's works?
If the answers are a resounding 'Yes', then you know what to do. If some of them are a sad 'No', well, I still suggest you pick this book up when you're in the mood for some fantasy.
November 9, 2014
When the goodreads choice award nominees were finally presented last Nov.3, I checked out the Fantasy section right away. I realized then that I haven't read a single Fantasy novel that was published in 2014. I decided to read at least 2, and The Emperor's Blade caught my attention the most. It had an interesting blurb and I was really expecting to love this. I even saw that most of my friends rated this 5 stars. All I want to ask now is, why?
I really didn't like this novel as a whole. The writing was tedious and the plot could've been executed better. Let me rephrase that, with better characters, the plot would've been better. The plot was quite simple, but with simplicity should come competent execution. If you're going to give us something we might've read about before, make sure to add in some elements that would be noteworthy.
Valyn, Kaden and Adare are the main characters of the novel. Evidently, Valyn had the most chapters of the three. That being said, his story should've been the most interesting. The thing is, his story was boring as hell. It was dragging and full of nonsense. At first I really liked what was happening to him, but as the novel progressed, boredom prevailed. Kaden should've been the star of the novel. His story was the most interesting of the three. All of the attention was given to Valyn, and that for me was the reason why I didn't like this novel. Kaden being the right heir to the throne, why wouldn't the readers want to know more of him instead of Valyn? I'm really hoping the next book wouldn't be about Valyn anymore. Adare was really interesting too. Her story was even more interesting than Valyn, and she only had a few chapters. Her parts showed the politics side of the novel. Her chapters gave me a feeling of reading about Greek/Roman mythology, and she was Athena with the wisdom and all. Not much action but still better than Valyn.
Did I hate this novel?
Almost.
Am I planning on reading the sequel?
I guess so. The ending was good anyway.
Am I voting for this?
Sorry, but no.
This is one of the few novels wherein everybody loved it, and I didn't. I can pair this with The Name of The Wind as some of the most disappointing Fantasy novels I've read. Huge potential but terrible execution.
I really didn't like this novel as a whole. The writing was tedious and the plot could've been executed better. Let me rephrase that, with better characters, the plot would've been better. The plot was quite simple, but with simplicity should come competent execution. If you're going to give us something we might've read about before, make sure to add in some elements that would be noteworthy.
Valyn, Kaden and Adare are the main characters of the novel. Evidently, Valyn had the most chapters of the three. That being said, his story should've been the most interesting. The thing is, his story was boring as hell. It was dragging and full of nonsense. At first I really liked what was happening to him, but as the novel progressed, boredom prevailed. Kaden should've been the star of the novel. His story was the most interesting of the three. All of the attention was given to Valyn, and that for me was the reason why I didn't like this novel. Kaden being the right heir to the throne, why wouldn't the readers want to know more of him instead of Valyn? I'm really hoping the next book wouldn't be about Valyn anymore. Adare was really interesting too. Her story was even more interesting than Valyn, and she only had a few chapters. Her parts showed the politics side of the novel. Her chapters gave me a feeling of reading about Greek/Roman mythology, and she was Athena with the wisdom and all. Not much action but still better than Valyn.
Did I hate this novel?
Almost.
Am I planning on reading the sequel?
I guess so. The ending was good anyway.
Am I voting for this?
Sorry, but no.
This is one of the few novels wherein everybody loved it, and I didn't. I can pair this with The Name of The Wind as some of the most disappointing Fantasy novels I've read. Huge potential but terrible execution.
January 3, 2019
Full Review
Fear is blindness, Calmness is sight
💕💕💕💕💕 Where has this book been all my life??? I loved every single moment of it!!
I started reading this awhile back but didn't even finish the prologue because I wasn't in the mood. Well, I was definitely in the mood this time.
What is this about? The emperor has been murdered and it looks like it was an inside job. Meaning that someone or some people are traitors. This book is told from 3 povs which are all from the Emperor's children.
We have Kaden, who is the Heir. There is Valyn who is Kaden's older brother, and there is Adare who is the eldest and their sister. Kaden is the Heir even though he is the youngest of the two brothers because he has 'the eyes' which is special in colour and brightness, and is seen as a sign of divinity or something like that. Only the Male child with the eyes can become emperor.
Kaden and Valyn were sent away when they were younger. Kaden to a monastery and Valyn to the most skillful fighters in the world, The kettral. For the past 8 years, they were being trained in their specific fields.
Valyn is aware of the Emperor's death while Kaden isn't because the monastery is secluded. Valyn is also aware that there might be a threat to him and his siblings and that someone amongst him might be trying to kill him. His chapters are pretty much about trying to find the traitor.
Kaden is pretty much learning about the self and how to control his emotions. His chapters are the most innocent because he still thinks that his father is alive and that all is well.
Adare is the only sibling in the Capital and being a girl in a place where girls aren't supposed to have power, she finds herself in a challenging situation.
The fighters who frighten you are not the fighters to fear. The man you barely notice will be the one to bury a blade in your back
This book is filled with plot twists, and you would never know who to trust because everyone seems like a suspect. It's also intense and brutal sometimes but I liked it anyway.
Fear is blindness, Calmness is sight
💕💕💕💕💕 Where has this book been all my life??? I loved every single moment of it!!
I started reading this awhile back but didn't even finish the prologue because I wasn't in the mood. Well, I was definitely in the mood this time.
What is this about? The emperor has been murdered and it looks like it was an inside job. Meaning that someone or some people are traitors. This book is told from 3 povs which are all from the Emperor's children.
We have Kaden, who is the Heir. There is Valyn who is Kaden's older brother, and there is Adare who is the eldest and their sister. Kaden is the Heir even though he is the youngest of the two brothers because he has 'the eyes' which is special in colour and brightness, and is seen as a sign of divinity or something like that. Only the Male child with the eyes can become emperor.
Kaden and Valyn were sent away when they were younger. Kaden to a monastery and Valyn to the most skillful fighters in the world, The kettral. For the past 8 years, they were being trained in their specific fields.
Valyn is aware of the Emperor's death while Kaden isn't because the monastery is secluded. Valyn is also aware that there might be a threat to him and his siblings and that someone amongst him might be trying to kill him. His chapters are pretty much about trying to find the traitor.
Kaden is pretty much learning about the self and how to control his emotions. His chapters are the most innocent because he still thinks that his father is alive and that all is well.
Adare is the only sibling in the Capital and being a girl in a place where girls aren't supposed to have power, she finds herself in a challenging situation.
The fighters who frighten you are not the fighters to fear. The man you barely notice will be the one to bury a blade in your back
This book is filled with plot twists, and you would never know who to trust because everyone seems like a suspect. It's also intense and brutal sometimes but I liked it anyway.
February 4, 2015
This book had languished on my "to be read" list for a fairly long time, as a LOT of books still are. They set there staring at me accusingly as I read other books. The reason is often that I bought the book and now it waits as I read library books. That said in the midst of a sort of reading slump, wishing for an involving read that I could sink into yes a book I could escape into I decided to read this book, relieve it's waiting.
Lo and behold, this is an excellent read. I'm assuming you have read the synopsis. The Emperor is assassinated. His three children are separated. The the heir to the thrown is away living and being trained by a monastery of hard ascetic monks. The second son is away far from both the capitol and his older brother training to become a super elite soldier. The older sister lives at the capitol with her parents learning about taxes, food distribution, dealing with the day to day of the empire. And also dealing with the idea that even if she's the oldest a woman can't rule....
The split point of view is not at all an unusual way to write a novel. It can be a tricky approach. I just finished a novel that (in my opinion) flubbed that way of writing a book badly. here however it works and it works well. I was interested in each and every one of them. the story grows naturally. The characters react as they most likely would react. That can of course be frustrating at time...as people are frustrating.
I can recommend this one. I think most who like fantasy will be drawn into it. It's neither wholly plot driven nor character driven but a good balance of both. As I said recommended, enjoy.
Lo and behold, this is an excellent read. I'm assuming you have read the synopsis. The Emperor is assassinated. His three children are separated. The the heir to the thrown is away living and being trained by a monastery of hard ascetic monks. The second son is away far from both the capitol and his older brother training to become a super elite soldier. The older sister lives at the capitol with her parents learning about taxes, food distribution, dealing with the day to day of the empire. And also dealing with the idea that even if she's the oldest a woman can't rule....
The split point of view is not at all an unusual way to write a novel. It can be a tricky approach. I just finished a novel that (in my opinion) flubbed that way of writing a book badly. here however it works and it works well. I was interested in each and every one of them. the story grows naturally. The characters react as they most likely would react. That can of course be frustrating at time...as people are frustrating.
I can recommend this one. I think most who like fantasy will be drawn into it. It's neither wholly plot driven nor character driven but a good balance of both. As I said recommended, enjoy.
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