Scan barcode
lyakimov's review
5.0
Second read: 3/31/2024
4.5 stars.
On my first read of Sword Catcher, I rated it a 3 stars, but after I read it, I kept thinking about it. Retrospectively, I connected things that I was impressed by, and started to think that I read the book too fast to get everything in real time. I decided to purchase the book and reread it at a snail’s pace, and wow, I was not expecting this to be so good. I think this book has to be read twice to fully catch everything, because it is so meticulous. Reading this the second time was almost like reading it for the first time because there was SO MUCH I missed, and so much that I could connect. I absolutely loved reading this book slowly and being able to analyze everything. Yes, I did discover inconsistencies with the timeline in some places, as well as editing mistakes/contradictions. Some of my complaints in my original review are absolutely still valid and I agree with them still. However, I don’t care much because they didn’t have a big impact on the story and I still enjoyed the book so much. The potential this series has is incredible.
A big issue I originally had with the book was that it was so slow, and was mostly setting up the series, and typically I don’t mind this, but was very confused because this has originally been marketed as a duology, and that structure makes no sense for a duology - typically this kind of first-book structure occurs in longer high fantasy series. Luckily, I recently found out before my reread that the series (unofficially) is supposed to have four books, so that makes much more sense and that issue can be completely disregarded now. I could fully immerse myself in the slightly slower pace of the book (well, it really picks up around 60% through).
WORLD BUILDING
I think the world building explanations were slightly clunky in the beginning but it was still so interesting. It took me a bit to understand, but it all makes perfect sense and I think it is a pretty unique world. I felt Castellane pop off the page, rich and vibrant and colorful. The city felt REAL to me. I love the imagery of the city being built on the ruins of the old Empire, the new and the old mingling together to form the city as it is currently. I also really enjoyed learning about the lost magic of the world, and the impact that the Sorcerer-Kings left on the world even hundreds of years after the Sundering. It leads me to think…do we even want magic to come back to the world?? It caused mass destruction, so it might be best to leave it untouched but I just know Lin isn’t going to let that happen. I can see the disaster on the horizon.
The Charter Families having an enormous say in what happens in the city, second only to the royal family, is a genius move. The royal family and Charter Families’ dynamic results in absolute chaos all the time. They are so wild, so camp, so insane, that it’s constant entertainment for me. Learning about their antics had me rolling on the floor.
One of my favorite things about Castellane culture is the Story-Spinners. They were SO FUNNY every time they were mentioned. I love how they are used as a plot device for comedic relief AND foreshadowing.
PLOT
The main plots are slow-moving, and don’t fully seem to connect in Sword Catcher, but the seeds are planted for the plot threads to converge in later books.
King Markus is the biggest mystery to me. I am so curious about what is going on with him - this absolutely has to connect with the murders, in my opinion. Also, the Gray Serpent being introduced at the end??? Book two is going to be insane with all the mysteries that need to be uncovered.
Overall, I liked the plot structure and think that everything in Sword Catcher is building up to some pretty insane stuff later in the series. I’m all for the drama, I love it!
CHARACTERS & THEMES
The structure of character introductions was impressively done. In the prologue, we are introduced to Kel, Conor, and Antonetta, and see how they interact for the first time when they are all ten. Then, in chapter three/four, we have the (extremely long) brothel sequence, which introduces us to important the characters of the Hill & City and re-introduces us to Antonetta. We see Antonetta’s behavior directly contradict her character in the prologue. It was expertly done, so damn good. I changed my mind on the brothel sequence because yes, it is extremely long like I previously complained about, but now I understand the reason it is so long is because it’s introducing us to nearly the ENTIRE main cast of characters, minus Lin and Mariam. The character dynamics are so meticulously built and it’s so juicy, so exciting to read. I have rarely felt such delight reading another book’s characters develop.
Kel and Lin’s character development are centered by the main theme of the book: class divides. This is one of my favorite themes to be explored, and when it’s done well like in Sword Catcher, it is riveting. The exploration of social class is so present in everything that Kel and Lin do. They are both incredibly strong protagonists and they both work so well to provide different perspectives on Castellane, and mirror each other in many ways.
Kel is one of the most complex characters I have read in a long time. He has been trained to want nothing, to expect to die at any moment, to essentially be an object with no autonomy (a suit of armor for Conor), and above all, he is supposed to be endlessly grateful to House Aurelian from saving him from poverty (even though it is a CRIME that they stole him away). Kel has a constant internal battle of needing to be endlessly loyal, putting Conor above all else, no matter if it is against his conscience. Kel’s been conditioned to believe his life does not matter, that he is property of House Aurelian, servant of Conor, and overall doesn’t DESERVE anything. It’s horrific. It’s also brilliant, though, to see the way his character develops through the book. It seems a natural progression and not rushed - we can see Kel go through this internal struggle and start changing the way he thinks, finally allowing himself to feel emotions that he trained himself not to feel, somewhat acknowledging that he wants certain things (that may not align with House Aurelian’s wishes), and even going against his duty by withholding information from House Aurelian because he is following his conscience, especially when it comes to protecting Antonetta. I am so excited to see how his character further progresses in future books.
Lin also goes through a lot of development. She has so much anger about the unfairness of her situation - being discriminated against because she is an Ashkar, but also not being welcome as a physician in the Sault because she is a woman. The things she has to go through are infuriating and I can feel her rage pop off the page. She really will say anything, and it is admirable. I love the way she refuses to bend to others’ standards and always stays strong no matter what.
Conor is such a wild character. He really has so much room for development because he is such an asshole. I think it’s so interesting that we see a different side of Conor in Kel’s POV and in Lin’s POV. With Kel, we see a more flawed, human side to him, while Lin sees him as someone of the city might - overwhelming in all his power.
Antonetta is my FAVORITE character!!! She is so fascinating and she subtly disobeys her mother and the other Charter Families, which is so cool. She has developed this persona that, at first, appears that she is appeasing the misogynistic societal ideals, but in reality is going against them. She was forced to be creative in her situation, and I just know she is up to some real criminal activity. I think that she is Prosper Beck - a man is someone who garners respect, so she made up this male persona and created all of Beck’s enterprises, and is the least likely to get caught because of her naive, shallow facade that she dons on the Hill. She WANTS to be underestimated. I love how everything she says is so measured and so calculated. I love a complex female character.
Who do I NOT love?? Conor’s frat boy friend group. TRASH TRASH TRASH!!!!! Hate them, they can choke!! They are so disgusting and misogynistic - the way they talked about Antonetta and Lin…ugh it was horrible. I was so happy when the Roverge fleet was blown up because screw those assholes.
FRIENDSHIPS
One thing I really love about this book is that everything is centered around the two main friendships. The friendships catalyze an enormous amount of the plot, character development, etc. I think it’s so great that this book focuses more on friendships than romantic relationships.
Conor and Kel: These two are SO complicated. I don’t think I have read a more complicated platonic friendship. Their relationship is low-key toxic because of the power imbalance. They are literary foils - Kel is inherently loyal, while Conor is inherently selfish. Every responsibility that Conor ignores, he knows that Kel is then responsible for it - he relies on Kel so much. Kel is fully responsible for Conor, while Conor feels responsible for Kel because he knows that Kel is supposed to die for him. And Kel doesn’t want to tell him about things that he wants - like his own room - because he knows it would hurt Conor; but at the same time, if he asked, Conor would for sure give him whatever he wanted, but he cannot bear to hurt Conor. They are unable to confront the real issues in their relationship because then their bond really starts to fray at the edges. It is so emotional and complicated and sad. I feel so bad for Kel, but then at the same time have empathy for Conor. I am so interested in the progression of their relationship as the series goes on. They are definitely going to have to break apart and separate for a while because this is so unhealthy for both of them.
Lin and Mariam: I love a girl friendship, and I am so happy that this book passed the Bechdel test. I like how Lin’s entire decision to become a physician is so that she can cure Mariam. They are like sisters, they are family. I could see how strong their bond was, and how different it was from Kel and Conor. It’s a stark difference, and it’s so cool to see all these parallels, and how everything is mirrored.
ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
Kel x Antonetta: They are my favorite couple. The angst, the pain, the class divide. It is so juicy and I loved the slow development of their relationship over this book. I love how they had a friendship that dried up, and now are starting to find out new secrets about each other that makes them see each other in a different way, introducing a possible relationship.
Lin x Conor: Conor is SUCH an asshole it’s wild. I think he has to grow so much as a person before their relationship could be possible. I love how Lin always puts him in his place and I know she won’t make things easy for him. The enemies to lovers is JUICY. To Lin, he is a symbol of overwhelming power that he never worked for, someone selfish and narcissistic and cruel. She’s starting to realize he’s more of a real flawed human being but still she doesn’t like him (understandable!!!). They have a lot of development to go, and even if they COULD get to the point of having a relationship, it’s forbidden because Lin is Ashkar. (Side note: I love how the Story-Spinner tale “Taming the Tyrant” was mirroring Lin and Conor’s relationship LOL)
FINAL THOUGHTS
There were issues I had with the book, but I had such an amazing time reading the second time around, and thought it deserved a higher rating than I previously gave. I'm optimistic for book two and so thrilled to see where it will go!!
---------------
First read: 10/29/2023
3 stars.
This book was definitely better than Chain of Thorns, that's for sure! This was enjoyable but there was definitely room for improvement.
NO SIMILARITIES W/ SHADES OF MAGIC!!!
One thing I am surprised about is how many people think that this is like the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab. I LOVE that series, but I have seen zero similarities besides the main character having the same first name. I think the general format of the book is pretty basic (non-royal in the Royal Palace having to pretend to be a royal to protect a member of the royal family) that is not exclusive to neither this book nor the Shades of Magic series, so I think people are being dramatic. There is no similarities between any main characters, no similarities in plot, and so I think people are being overdramatic and pre-judging the book instead of actually reading and seeing for themselves. V.E. Schwab does not own the name Kell nor own the basic tropes used by both these series.
SPARSE PLOT & OVERWRITING
I enjoyed reading this book for the most part, but the entire book felt like set-up for the actual main plot that is going to happen in the second book. Since this is a duology, it kind of felt weird having the entire first book being setup because there is only one more book to actually showcase this plot.
One of the main reasons why this is three stars is because it DRAGGED. Reading the first 30% of this book was like wading through quicksand. The amount of information dumping that happened early on in the book almost made me DNF. I had to heavily skim all of that stuff because I felt like I was getting bogged down in all these little details, but I still got the gist of the world building and how the world works, so I felt like I didn't lose anything by skimming.
Something about Cassandra Clare is that she likes to overwrite things. She cannot just allow a character to walk into a building without a description of every single window, door, scripture, painting, floorboard, light fixture, etc. These insanely detailed descriptions took up so much time in this book that it almost ended up feeling empty for the first 30% because there was nothing going on. While I am complaining about the first 30%, I might as well talk about the brothel scene. There was absolutely no reason for that scene to be that long. In Clare fashion, she of course decides to describe every single light fixture, couch, curtain, and explicit paintings lining the walls. Too many paragraphs-long descriptions of explicit paintings!! We get it, this place is a brothel! The whole brothel sequence was ridiculously long and so unnecessary because I felt like it literally did nothing for the story. Things only happened once Kel left the brothel, and then he just went back! Don't go back there, it is boring as hell in that place!
The book definitely starts picking up once there is a hint of a plot. The plot is weird because we still don't really know that much of what is going on, everything is a mystery which is fine, but sometimes it felt like random meetings with Andreyen and Ji-An were actually useless because nothing comes out of some of these meetings. It's almost like taking up page time with filler material instead of making these random scenes have a point. Hopefully the second book goes into these exciting action moments more instead of having them extremely sparse like this book. I am definitely interested in reading the next book after how the last two chapters ended. I have a weakness for quirky criminal hijinks and dramatic reveals so I am strongly hoping the second book will deliver. I think Sword Catcher provides a platform for the second book to be fantastic, plot-wise and character-wise.
CHARACTERS - SOME STATIC & SOME DYNAMIC
I did like Kel and Lin both as main characters. I liked Lin's point of view much more in the first 50% of the book but then began to like Kel's POV in the last half of the book because he got more interesting. I liked Kel and Lin's friendship because they seem like they understand each other. I wish that they had more page-time together because that was when things happened.
I thought that Kel was super dry and boring early in the book but then he started developing a personality. I am not sure if this was on purpose because he is supposed to be the body double of Conor, so he is focused on mimicking his personality, or that Kel was just a static character. I like the idea of him having two personas - his one persona as a lazy, bland noble that is the cousin of the prince, and the other persona being this crazy, reckless person who is mingling with criminals. I like this because it always has so much tension and anticipation, and always leads to a "when worlds collide" dramatic reveal and that is what I desperately want in book two.
My favorite characters are definitely Antonetta and Ji-An. Antonetta has such an interesting personality and I want to learn more about her and why she is the way that she is. I think she is a good love interest for Kel because they both have these alternate personas and I am eagerly awaiting that dramatic reveal of Kel not being who she thinks she is. Ji-An is entertaining and seems fun, I was very disappointed when she suggested that she and Kel break into the houses of some nobles and that was never followed up on. I wanted that scene! That would have been exciting, and fun, albeit reckless (matches their personalities though). I think that Kel and Ji-An could have a good friendship because they seem pretty similar. I think that everything Ji-An suggests should happen in the story because she is fun and cool.
Conor is kind of likable but also pretty annoying a lot of the time because he is so spoiled and so dramatic over everything. He treated Lin badly for the whole book, he was so hot and cold and I felt bad for her because he had such a temper with her.
EMERGING RELATIONSHIPS
I think that Conor and Lin are obviously interested in each other, but as I already stated, Conor is too hot and cold and she doesn't deserve the way that he treats her. He needs to deal with his own emotional baggage and issues before they get in a relationship because he is clearly not well and not able to digest his emotions. Obviously there's also that forbidden love because of Lin's status which I enjoy.
While I enjoyed Conor and Lin's relationship, I enjoyed Kel and Antonetta's relationship much more. I think they are an interesting match because they both have alternate personas and they kind of have this forbidden aspect with them too because Antonetta is super wealthy and a noble, while he is a commoner and meant to die for the prince. I think that, with further relationship development, they could have a good thing together. I like that slow burn that is going on and it makes me more interested in their relationship.
Overall, the book was entertaining after 50% and I am invested enough in the characters and the setup of the plot to continue the series.
4.5 stars.
On my first read of Sword Catcher, I rated it a 3 stars, but after I read it, I kept thinking about it. Retrospectively, I connected things that I was impressed by, and started to think that I read the book too fast to get everything in real time. I decided to purchase the book and reread it at a snail’s pace, and wow, I was not expecting this to be so good. I think this book has to be read twice to fully catch everything, because it is so meticulous. Reading this the second time was almost like reading it for the first time because there was SO MUCH I missed, and so much that I could connect. I absolutely loved reading this book slowly and being able to analyze everything. Yes, I did discover inconsistencies with the timeline in some places, as well as editing mistakes/contradictions. Some of my complaints in my original review are absolutely still valid and I agree with them still. However, I don’t care much because they didn’t have a big impact on the story and I still enjoyed the book so much. The potential this series has is incredible.
A big issue I originally had with the book was that it was so slow, and was mostly setting up the series, and typically I don’t mind this, but was very confused because this has originally been marketed as a duology, and that structure makes no sense for a duology - typically this kind of first-book structure occurs in longer high fantasy series. Luckily, I recently found out before my reread that the series (unofficially) is supposed to have four books, so that makes much more sense and that issue can be completely disregarded now. I could fully immerse myself in the slightly slower pace of the book (well, it really picks up around 60% through).
WORLD BUILDING
I think the world building explanations were slightly clunky in the beginning but it was still so interesting. It took me a bit to understand, but it all makes perfect sense and I think it is a pretty unique world. I felt Castellane pop off the page, rich and vibrant and colorful. The city felt REAL to me. I love the imagery of the city being built on the ruins of the old Empire, the new and the old mingling together to form the city as it is currently. I also really enjoyed learning about the lost magic of the world, and the impact that the Sorcerer-Kings left on the world even hundreds of years after the Sundering. It leads me to think…do we even want magic to come back to the world?? It caused mass destruction, so it might be best to leave it untouched but I just know Lin isn’t going to let that happen. I can see the disaster on the horizon.
The Charter Families having an enormous say in what happens in the city, second only to the royal family, is a genius move. The royal family and Charter Families’ dynamic results in absolute chaos all the time. They are so wild, so camp, so insane, that it’s constant entertainment for me. Learning about their antics had me rolling on the floor.
One of my favorite things about Castellane culture is the Story-Spinners. They were SO FUNNY every time they were mentioned. I love how they are used as a plot device for comedic relief AND foreshadowing.
PLOT
The main plots are slow-moving, and don’t fully seem to connect in Sword Catcher, but the seeds are planted for the plot threads to converge in later books.
King Markus is the biggest mystery to me. I am so curious about what is going on with him - this absolutely has to connect with the murders, in my opinion. Also, the Gray Serpent being introduced at the end??? Book two is going to be insane with all the mysteries that need to be uncovered.
Overall, I liked the plot structure and think that everything in Sword Catcher is building up to some pretty insane stuff later in the series. I’m all for the drama, I love it!
CHARACTERS & THEMES
The structure of character introductions was impressively done. In the prologue, we are introduced to Kel, Conor, and Antonetta, and see how they interact for the first time when they are all ten. Then, in chapter three/four, we have the (extremely long) brothel sequence, which introduces us to important the characters of the Hill & City and re-introduces us to Antonetta. We see Antonetta’s behavior directly contradict her character in the prologue. It was expertly done, so damn good. I changed my mind on the brothel sequence because yes, it is extremely long like I previously complained about, but now I understand the reason it is so long is because it’s introducing us to nearly the ENTIRE main cast of characters, minus Lin and Mariam. The character dynamics are so meticulously built and it’s so juicy, so exciting to read. I have rarely felt such delight reading another book’s characters develop.
Kel and Lin’s character development are centered by the main theme of the book: class divides. This is one of my favorite themes to be explored, and when it’s done well like in Sword Catcher, it is riveting. The exploration of social class is so present in everything that Kel and Lin do. They are both incredibly strong protagonists and they both work so well to provide different perspectives on Castellane, and mirror each other in many ways.
Kel is one of the most complex characters I have read in a long time. He has been trained to want nothing, to expect to die at any moment, to essentially be an object with no autonomy (a suit of armor for Conor), and above all, he is supposed to be endlessly grateful to House Aurelian from saving him from poverty (even though it is a CRIME that they stole him away). Kel has a constant internal battle of needing to be endlessly loyal, putting Conor above all else, no matter if it is against his conscience. Kel’s been conditioned to believe his life does not matter, that he is property of House Aurelian, servant of Conor, and overall doesn’t DESERVE anything. It’s horrific. It’s also brilliant, though, to see the way his character develops through the book. It seems a natural progression and not rushed - we can see Kel go through this internal struggle and start changing the way he thinks, finally allowing himself to feel emotions that he trained himself not to feel, somewhat acknowledging that he wants certain things (that may not align with House Aurelian’s wishes), and even going against his duty by withholding information from House Aurelian because he is following his conscience, especially when it comes to protecting Antonetta. I am so excited to see how his character further progresses in future books.
Lin also goes through a lot of development. She has so much anger about the unfairness of her situation - being discriminated against because she is an Ashkar, but also not being welcome as a physician in the Sault because she is a woman. The things she has to go through are infuriating and I can feel her rage pop off the page. She really will say anything, and it is admirable. I love the way she refuses to bend to others’ standards and always stays strong no matter what.
Conor is such a wild character. He really has so much room for development because he is such an asshole. I think it’s so interesting that we see a different side of Conor in Kel’s POV and in Lin’s POV. With Kel, we see a more flawed, human side to him, while Lin sees him as someone of the city might - overwhelming in all his power.
Antonetta is my FAVORITE character!!! She is so fascinating and she subtly disobeys her mother and the other Charter Families, which is so cool. She has developed this persona that, at first, appears that she is appeasing the misogynistic societal ideals, but in reality is going against them. She was forced to be creative in her situation, and I just know she is up to some real criminal activity. I think that she is Prosper Beck - a man is someone who garners respect, so she made up this male persona and created all of Beck’s enterprises, and is the least likely to get caught because of her naive, shallow facade that she dons on the Hill. She WANTS to be underestimated. I love how everything she says is so measured and so calculated. I love a complex female character.
Who do I NOT love?? Conor’s frat boy friend group. TRASH TRASH TRASH!!!!! Hate them, they can choke!! They are so disgusting and misogynistic - the way they talked about Antonetta and Lin…ugh it was horrible. I was so happy when the Roverge fleet was blown up because screw those assholes.
FRIENDSHIPS
One thing I really love about this book is that everything is centered around the two main friendships. The friendships catalyze an enormous amount of the plot, character development, etc. I think it’s so great that this book focuses more on friendships than romantic relationships.
Conor and Kel: These two are SO complicated. I don’t think I have read a more complicated platonic friendship. Their relationship is low-key toxic because of the power imbalance. They are literary foils - Kel is inherently loyal, while Conor is inherently selfish. Every responsibility that Conor ignores, he knows that Kel is then responsible for it - he relies on Kel so much. Kel is fully responsible for Conor, while Conor feels responsible for Kel because he knows that Kel is supposed to die for him. And Kel doesn’t want to tell him about things that he wants - like his own room - because he knows it would hurt Conor; but at the same time, if he asked, Conor would for sure give him whatever he wanted, but he cannot bear to hurt Conor. They are unable to confront the real issues in their relationship because then their bond really starts to fray at the edges. It is so emotional and complicated and sad. I feel so bad for Kel, but then at the same time have empathy for Conor. I am so interested in the progression of their relationship as the series goes on. They are definitely going to have to break apart and separate for a while because this is so unhealthy for both of them.
Lin and Mariam: I love a girl friendship, and I am so happy that this book passed the Bechdel test. I like how Lin’s entire decision to become a physician is so that she can cure Mariam. They are like sisters, they are family. I could see how strong their bond was, and how different it was from Kel and Conor. It’s a stark difference, and it’s so cool to see all these parallels, and how everything is mirrored.
ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS
Kel x Antonetta: They are my favorite couple. The angst, the pain, the class divide. It is so juicy and I loved the slow development of their relationship over this book. I love how they had a friendship that dried up, and now are starting to find out new secrets about each other that makes them see each other in a different way, introducing a possible relationship.
Lin x Conor: Conor is SUCH an asshole it’s wild. I think he has to grow so much as a person before their relationship could be possible. I love how Lin always puts him in his place and I know she won’t make things easy for him. The enemies to lovers is JUICY. To Lin, he is a symbol of overwhelming power that he never worked for, someone selfish and narcissistic and cruel. She’s starting to realize he’s more of a real flawed human being but still she doesn’t like him (understandable!!!). They have a lot of development to go, and even if they COULD get to the point of having a relationship, it’s forbidden because Lin is Ashkar. (Side note: I love how the Story-Spinner tale “Taming the Tyrant” was mirroring Lin and Conor’s relationship LOL)
FINAL THOUGHTS
There were issues I had with the book, but I had such an amazing time reading the second time around, and thought it deserved a higher rating than I previously gave. I'm optimistic for book two and so thrilled to see where it will go!!
---------------
First read: 10/29/2023
3 stars.
This book was definitely better than Chain of Thorns, that's for sure! This was enjoyable but there was definitely room for improvement.
NO SIMILARITIES W/ SHADES OF MAGIC!!!
One thing I am surprised about is how many people think that this is like the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab. I LOVE that series, but I have seen zero similarities besides the main character having the same first name. I think the general format of the book is pretty basic (non-royal in the Royal Palace having to pretend to be a royal to protect a member of the royal family) that is not exclusive to neither this book nor the Shades of Magic series, so I think people are being dramatic. There is no similarities between any main characters, no similarities in plot, and so I think people are being overdramatic and pre-judging the book instead of actually reading and seeing for themselves. V.E. Schwab does not own the name Kell nor own the basic tropes used by both these series.
SPARSE PLOT & OVERWRITING
I enjoyed reading this book for the most part, but the entire book felt like set-up for the actual main plot that is going to happen in the second book. Since this is a duology, it kind of felt weird having the entire first book being setup because there is only one more book to actually showcase this plot.
One of the main reasons why this is three stars is because it DRAGGED. Reading the first 30% of this book was like wading through quicksand. The amount of information dumping that happened early on in the book almost made me DNF. I had to heavily skim all of that stuff because I felt like I was getting bogged down in all these little details, but I still got the gist of the world building and how the world works, so I felt like I didn't lose anything by skimming.
Something about Cassandra Clare is that she likes to overwrite things. She cannot just allow a character to walk into a building without a description of every single window, door, scripture, painting, floorboard, light fixture, etc. These insanely detailed descriptions took up so much time in this book that it almost ended up feeling empty for the first 30% because there was nothing going on. While I am complaining about the first 30%, I might as well talk about the brothel scene. There was absolutely no reason for that scene to be that long. In Clare fashion, she of course decides to describe every single light fixture, couch, curtain, and explicit paintings lining the walls. Too many paragraphs-long descriptions of explicit paintings!! We get it, this place is a brothel! The whole brothel sequence was ridiculously long and so unnecessary because I felt like it literally did nothing for the story. Things only happened once Kel left the brothel, and then he just went back! Don't go back there, it is boring as hell in that place!
The book definitely starts picking up once there is a hint of a plot. The plot is weird because we still don't really know that much of what is going on, everything is a mystery which is fine, but sometimes it felt like random meetings with Andreyen and Ji-An were actually useless because nothing comes out of some of these meetings. It's almost like taking up page time with filler material instead of making these random scenes have a point. Hopefully the second book goes into these exciting action moments more instead of having them extremely sparse like this book. I am definitely interested in reading the next book after how the last two chapters ended. I have a weakness for quirky criminal hijinks and dramatic reveals so I am strongly hoping the second book will deliver. I think Sword Catcher provides a platform for the second book to be fantastic, plot-wise and character-wise.
CHARACTERS - SOME STATIC & SOME DYNAMIC
I did like Kel and Lin both as main characters. I liked Lin's point of view much more in the first 50% of the book but then began to like Kel's POV in the last half of the book because he got more interesting. I liked Kel and Lin's friendship because they seem like they understand each other. I wish that they had more page-time together because that was when things happened.
I thought that Kel was super dry and boring early in the book but then he started developing a personality. I am not sure if this was on purpose because he is supposed to be the body double of Conor, so he is focused on mimicking his personality, or that Kel was just a static character. I like the idea of him having two personas - his one persona as a lazy, bland noble that is the cousin of the prince, and the other persona being this crazy, reckless person who is mingling with criminals. I like this because it always has so much tension and anticipation, and always leads to a "when worlds collide" dramatic reveal and that is what I desperately want in book two.
My favorite characters are definitely Antonetta and Ji-An. Antonetta has such an interesting personality and I want to learn more about her and why she is the way that she is. I think she is a good love interest for Kel because they both have these alternate personas and I am eagerly awaiting that dramatic reveal of Kel not being who she thinks she is. Ji-An is entertaining and seems fun, I was very disappointed when she suggested that she and Kel break into the houses of some nobles and that was never followed up on. I wanted that scene! That would have been exciting, and fun, albeit reckless (matches their personalities though). I think that Kel and Ji-An could have a good friendship because they seem pretty similar. I think that everything Ji-An suggests should happen in the story because she is fun and cool.
Conor is kind of likable but also pretty annoying a lot of the time because he is so spoiled and so dramatic over everything. He treated Lin badly for the whole book, he was so hot and cold and I felt bad for her because he had such a temper with her.
EMERGING RELATIONSHIPS
I think that Conor and Lin are obviously interested in each other, but as I already stated, Conor is too hot and cold and she doesn't deserve the way that he treats her. He needs to deal with his own emotional baggage and issues before they get in a relationship because he is clearly not well and not able to digest his emotions. Obviously there's also that forbidden love because of Lin's status which I enjoy.
While I enjoyed Conor and Lin's relationship, I enjoyed Kel and Antonetta's relationship much more. I think they are an interesting match because they both have alternate personas and they kind of have this forbidden aspect with them too because Antonetta is super wealthy and a noble, while he is a commoner and meant to die for the prince. I think that, with further relationship development, they could have a good thing together. I like that slow burn that is going on and it makes me more interested in their relationship.
Overall, the book was entertaining after 50% and I am invested enough in the characters and the setup of the plot to continue the series.
regsicat's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
ruth_r's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mrskicklighter's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
murphey_kloey's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was an EXPERIENCE! The amount of first names, last names, official titles, kingdoms, languages, etc etc could be its own book. I’m glad I took my time reading this one and annotated it along the way because there was so much information packed into these pages. However, the detail provided helped paint this vivid, cruel world to me as a reader. I am so interested in this world that was robbed of its magic and gods, and how it has resulted in the current circumstances our main characters. If you like morally grey characters, then pick this book up because every character has secrets and is constantly scheming in favor of their personal agendas. I wanted to love these characters more, and I did have a few favorites, but a lot of these characters are honestly bad people. I was a little disappointed that this book didn’t contain more romance, but there is a chance this could pick up later in the series. This book was filled with so many twists and turns, with every chapter uncovering a new secret. I enjoyed reading this book, and I am hoping the next one in the series is a little less information heavy now that the world and its history has been established. I definitely plan to continue this story and see where it takes us next!
lauraei's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
phoenix2's review
1.0
Sword Catcher is a new fantasy series by Cassandra Clare, and that alone is enough for someone to check out this book. And true, there are elements that are compelling and interesting. The world that it introduces feels complex and alluring, with a nice atmosphere that brings to mind medieval castles and Eastern empires. The two main characters are too interesting to follow at first.
However, the book fails to flesh out any story. Halfway through and nothing had happened, with the two main characters finally meeting that underworld King 200 plus pages in. The characters also stopped being interesting and seemed more like shells that can be found in many other books, even though the criminal King sounded tempting, but he didn't have too much time on page.
So, halfway through, it felt like the story was too thinly stretched throughout a wast length, therefore, it didn't make sense for me to continue with this book.
However, the book fails to flesh out any story. Halfway through and nothing had happened, with the two main characters finally meeting that underworld King 200 plus pages in. The characters also stopped being interesting and seemed more like shells that can be found in many other books, even though the criminal King sounded tempting, but he didn't have too much time on page.
So, halfway through, it felt like the story was too thinly stretched throughout a wast length, therefore, it didn't make sense for me to continue with this book.
daizie's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Better than I expected from Clare, but still wasn't amazing.
The worldbuilding was pretty clumsy most of the time. Pretty much all we learned about the surrounding countries/places were their main exports. And Clare reminded us of those exports every time the place was brought up. Along these lines, a lot of the worldbuilding is just told through dialogue that didn't need to be said. For example, (not a spoiler but just some background info about the Ashkar): "We--the Ashkar alone--have magic. We have gematry. We have talismans. They are what we are allowed to use, and they assist us greatly. Lin, you know that." and then Lin says, "I do know that." Ok, why did anyone even say anything?
And this telling instead of showing is constant. "Lin, this is the most important festival of the year." "Lin, this guy is bad because he does bad things A, B, and C in places X, Y, and Z." "Conor, you have to do these duties that you've already been doing for a decade." It felt like Clare's audience was media-illiterate thirteen year olds rather than an mature high-fantasy reader... Maybe the Shadowhunters writing style is subconscious, or something.
That said, it was a really interesting and unique read. None of the shitty writing made me frustrated enough to stop reading. The prologue was ridiculously long and unnecessary, and it took a long time for the story to get going even after that. However, once stuff actually started happening, it was pretty engaging. As a bi person, I don't think the bisexuality of some of the characters (if we could call it that) was handled well, but it was literally so minor that I can barely call that a problem.
I don't know. I'll probably pick up the next book, but I'll keep my expectations measured. If Clare actually dives into the interesting world she created and trusts the reader with that information, I would definitely be more interested.
The worldbuilding was pretty clumsy most of the time. Pretty much all we learned about the surrounding countries/places were their main exports. And Clare reminded us of those exports every time the place was brought up. Along these lines, a lot of the worldbuilding is just told through dialogue that didn't need to be said. For example, (not a spoiler but just some background info about the Ashkar): "
And this telling instead of showing is constant. "Lin, this is the most important festival of the year." "Lin, this guy is bad because he does bad things A, B, and C in places X, Y, and Z." "Conor, you have to do these duties that you've already been doing for a decade." It felt like Clare's audience was media-illiterate thirteen year olds rather than an mature high-fantasy reader... Maybe the Shadowhunters writing style is subconscious, or something.
That said, it was a really interesting and unique read. None of the shitty writing made me frustrated enough to stop reading. The prologue was ridiculously long and unnecessary, and it took a long time for the story to get going even after that. However, once stuff actually started happening, it was pretty engaging. As a bi person, I don't think the bisexuality of some of the characters (if we could call it that) was handled well, but it was literally so minor that I can barely call that a problem.
I don't know. I'll probably pick up the next book, but I'll keep my expectations measured. If Clare actually dives into the interesting world she created and trusts the reader with that information, I would definitely be more interested.