Swords And Scoundrels by Julia Knight
The Blurb On The Back:
Two siblings.
Vocho and Kacha are champion duellists: a brother and sister known for the finest swordplay in the city of Reyes. Or at least they used to be - until they were thrown out of the Duellist’s Guild.
Outcasts for life … together.
As a last resort, they turn reluctant highwaymen. But when they pick the wrong carriage to rob and make off with an immense locked chest, the contents will bring them more than they’ve bargained for. Because they soon find themselves embroiled in a dangerous plot to return an angry king to power …
This can only mean trouble.
Born into poverty in the clockwork city of Reyes, Vocho and Kacha escaped their dock rat future thanks to the Duellist’s Guild, which offered them each a future after spotting their talent on Apprentice Day. There they excelled (driven mainly by sibling rivalry) and seemed set for glittering careers, with Kacha in particular tipped to become a future master of the Guild. But everything goes wrong when Vocho is accused of killing a priest that he and Kacha were hired to protect. Thrown out of the Guild and with a price on their heads, they head out to the countryside where they scrape a living as reluctant farmers by day and highwaymen by night.
One night they pick the wrong carriage to rob and get away with a magically locked chest being transported by Kacha’s former lover, Petri. It’s not long before they find themselves in the middle of a dangerous plot to return a deposed king to power, whose conspirators will do anything to get the chest and its contents back again …
Julia Knight’s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) is an entertaining romp set in a post-revolution world that’s failed to achieve the social equality it promised and where there’s a tension between emerging clockwork technology (including clockwork weaponry) and the traditional sword skills used by people like Vocho and Kacha. The emotional heart of the story though lies in the sibling rivalry between Vocho and Kacha and how the envy that Vocho (who has spent his life being compared unfavourably to his sister) feels sometimes overwhelms his loyalty to her. Knight does particularly well at showing how this affects both of them while also using it as a way to drive the plot on and I particularly believed in how this makes them reluctant to confide in each other. Also well handled is Petri (Kacha’s love interest), a revolutionary who has lost faith in his revolution and is desperate for revenge against the Guild’s master but who also loves Kacha for who she is and I loved Knight’s take on blood magic and her sinister and manipulative magicians. Although the plot is largely driven by contrivance (characters being in the right place at the right time) the pacing is so exuberant that you don’t really notice it until you’ve finished it and certainly there’s more than enough here to make me read the second book.
The Verdict:
Julia Knight’s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) is an entertaining romp set in a post-revolution world that’s failed to achieve the social equality it promised and where there’s a tension between emerging clockwork technology (including clockwork weaponry) and the traditional sword skills used by people like Vocho and Kacha. The emotional heart of the story though lies in the sibling rivalry between Vocho and Kacha and how the envy that Vocho (who has spent his life being compared unfavourably to his sister) feels sometimes overwhelms his loyalty to her. Knight does particularly well at showing how this affects both of them while also using it as a way to drive the plot on and I particularly believed in how this makes them reluctant to confide in each other. Also well handled is Petri (Kacha’s love interest), a revolutionary who has lost faith in his revolution and is desperate for revenge against the Guild’s master but who also loves Kacha for who she is and I loved Knight’s take on blood magic and her sinister and manipulative magicians. Although the plot is largely driven by contrivance (characters being in the right place at the right time) the pacing is so exuberant that you don’t really notice it until you’ve finished it and certainly there’s more than enough here to make me read the second book.
Two siblings.
Vocho and Kacha are champion duellists: a brother and sister known for the finest swordplay in the city of Reyes. Or at least they used to be - until they were thrown out of the Duellist’s Guild.
Outcasts for life … together.
As a last resort, they turn reluctant highwaymen. But when they pick the wrong carriage to rob and make off with an immense locked chest, the contents will bring them more than they’ve bargained for. Because they soon find themselves embroiled in a dangerous plot to return an angry king to power …
This can only mean trouble.
Born into poverty in the clockwork city of Reyes, Vocho and Kacha escaped their dock rat future thanks to the Duellist’s Guild, which offered them each a future after spotting their talent on Apprentice Day. There they excelled (driven mainly by sibling rivalry) and seemed set for glittering careers, with Kacha in particular tipped to become a future master of the Guild. But everything goes wrong when Vocho is accused of killing a priest that he and Kacha were hired to protect. Thrown out of the Guild and with a price on their heads, they head out to the countryside where they scrape a living as reluctant farmers by day and highwaymen by night.
One night they pick the wrong carriage to rob and get away with a magically locked chest being transported by Kacha’s former lover, Petri. It’s not long before they find themselves in the middle of a dangerous plot to return a deposed king to power, whose conspirators will do anything to get the chest and its contents back again …
Julia Knight’s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) is an entertaining romp set in a post-revolution world that’s failed to achieve the social equality it promised and where there’s a tension between emerging clockwork technology (including clockwork weaponry) and the traditional sword skills used by people like Vocho and Kacha. The emotional heart of the story though lies in the sibling rivalry between Vocho and Kacha and how the envy that Vocho (who has spent his life being compared unfavourably to his sister) feels sometimes overwhelms his loyalty to her. Knight does particularly well at showing how this affects both of them while also using it as a way to drive the plot on and I particularly believed in how this makes them reluctant to confide in each other. Also well handled is Petri (Kacha’s love interest), a revolutionary who has lost faith in his revolution and is desperate for revenge against the Guild’s master but who also loves Kacha for who she is and I loved Knight’s take on blood magic and her sinister and manipulative magicians. Although the plot is largely driven by contrivance (characters being in the right place at the right time) the pacing is so exuberant that you don’t really notice it until you’ve finished it and certainly there’s more than enough here to make me read the second book.
The Verdict:
Julia Knight’s fantasy novel (the first in a trilogy) is an entertaining romp set in a post-revolution world that’s failed to achieve the social equality it promised and where there’s a tension between emerging clockwork technology (including clockwork weaponry) and the traditional sword skills used by people like Vocho and Kacha. The emotional heart of the story though lies in the sibling rivalry between Vocho and Kacha and how the envy that Vocho (who has spent his life being compared unfavourably to his sister) feels sometimes overwhelms his loyalty to her. Knight does particularly well at showing how this affects both of them while also using it as a way to drive the plot on and I particularly believed in how this makes them reluctant to confide in each other. Also well handled is Petri (Kacha’s love interest), a revolutionary who has lost faith in his revolution and is desperate for revenge against the Guild’s master but who also loves Kacha for who she is and I loved Knight’s take on blood magic and her sinister and manipulative magicians. Although the plot is largely driven by contrivance (characters being in the right place at the right time) the pacing is so exuberant that you don’t really notice it until you’ve finished it and certainly there’s more than enough here to make me read the second book.