Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Sword Catcher

Sword Catcher feels different to other high fantasy books I’ve read as its main focus is on the characters and the world’s precarious political situation. While it inevitably does have the shadow of a potential war lingering over the story - something I’m sure we will see more of in the coming books - I really enjoyed the less grandiose elements of the plot and I feel they make it stand apart from others in the genre. At many points, it felt like more of a mystery story than your typical fantasy, which for my tastes, worked really well.

The main issue I had with this book is that sadly, the first half of it is far too bogged down by world building. I do love how Cassandra Clare can create such vivid and fantasy worlds, and it is really important in a politically focused story to have its history be fully fleshed out, but the level of detail felt unnecessary at times and too dense for the first half of the book. I personally think that the first half of the book needed to be edited down about 80 ish pages as it was quite slow going at first. However, once I hit the 300 page mark, the pace really picked up and I absolutely flew through the rest of book.

While I did find Lin’s character annoying at times, overall the character’s were interesting, nuanced, and likeable. I really enjoyed my time reading it and I look forward to seeing how the story progresses in future books.

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jla's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The book was a little long and slower paced. Lots of parallels between Europe, Israel, Palestine, and Judaism. TW racism, misogyny, prejudice, war, and genocide. This is a book mainly about political machinations with a little magic and lore.

I loved Connor, Kel, the ragpicker king, and Maesh. Lin I was torn on. She was strong and smart, but her parts were a bit boring. I wish she had more depth than stubbornness. The first 60% was easy to get through. Towards three end it was just waiting for stuff to happen.

I'm not she how I feel about Antoinetta and Kel. I would prefer him with Marin. She seems very clever and ambitious. Hopefully she's not a traitor.

One part that really pissed me off was when Marcus punished Connor. He was such a hypocrite. He had been neglecting his duties, his son, and go duped by a charlatan!

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laurenleigh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I wasn’t sure about this one at times, but once I separated the (not great) female narrator from the text, I realized there was a lot I loved here! Lots of secrets, political intrigue, and double crossing. Kudos to Clare for getting a GRRM blurb on the cover. There’s definitely some GoT vibes here, but without three pages dedicated to every plate of food at a feast. There’s also some overlap with Shadow & Bone, where the countries and ethnic groups somewhat match our own world’s, which I think is an interesting way to quickly situate a reader in a fictional universe. Also a weirdly specific overlap with Schwab’s DSoM, with the main character Kel living at the palace, protecting his price BFF who’s basically family??

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arrr's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

It took me a few chapters to get into this book. A lot of initial setting up of characters and world building. But it's very worth it! Hope I get to read more about these characters.

Physician confronts systemic inequity and bigotry inside and outside her own culture on order to learn what she needs to save as life.

This struggle is cast against the wasteful leisurely wonderfully queer lives of the royals and the guards tasked with keeping them alive.

The magic is powerful. I want to explore more of this huge world.

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caelinsullivan's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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rhi_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kimmy0__0's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed this high fantasy book. I was glad I listened to it or I wouldn't have been able to pronounce most of the names. The Ashgar religious parts are almost a fanfic of the Bible. The pacing was slow at the begi ning but there was a lot of world building to do, so I have high hopes for the rest of the series. I need a chart with all the people and their names to keep track!

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elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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