[books 2016] Traitor's Blade
40. Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell
I became aware of Sebastien at last year's Nine Worlds on a random panel (when I the one I had intended to attend was full). He writes "swashbuckling fantasy" which intrigued me but not enough to buy his books, even though he's witty, charming and Canadian. I knew that he was attending Nine Worlds again this year and the last time I was at the library his first book was there, so I grabbed it.
Anyway, I loved it. Yes, there is a sword fight in almost every chapter. Yes, the main character is a smartass whose two companions can be equally charming and/or annoying. Yes, if you are a goth the aesthetics are spot on (the disgraced order our heroes belong to is called The Greatcoats). But there are also All The Feels, and when it gets dark it gets really, believably dark and visceral and just awful. Although there are times when I think he came up the visual first and built the world backwards from there, it holds together really well.
If I hadn't just read Guns of the Dawn, this would easily be the best book I read this year. I bought volumes two and three at Nine Worlds.
I became aware of Sebastien at last year's Nine Worlds on a random panel (when I the one I had intended to attend was full). He writes "swashbuckling fantasy" which intrigued me but not enough to buy his books, even though he's witty, charming and Canadian. I knew that he was attending Nine Worlds again this year and the last time I was at the library his first book was there, so I grabbed it.
Anyway, I loved it. Yes, there is a sword fight in almost every chapter. Yes, the main character is a smartass whose two companions can be equally charming and/or annoying. Yes, if you are a goth the aesthetics are spot on (the disgraced order our heroes belong to is called The Greatcoats). But there are also All The Feels, and when it gets dark it gets really, believably dark and visceral and just awful. Although there are times when I think he came up the visual first and built the world backwards from there, it holds together really well.
If I hadn't just read Guns of the Dawn, this would easily be the best book I read this year. I bought volumes two and three at Nine Worlds.