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per_fictionist's review against another edition
5.0
Extremely unpredictable and unputdownable Shadowblade by Anna Kashina has definitely own a spot on my top fantasies of 2019. Shadowblade has all the elements of a perfect fantasy betrayals, plot twists, strong characters, brilliant writing and a gripping storyline you name it.
Shadowblade centers around our protagonist Naia,the who is in the verge of to be expelled from her training academy on the pretext of attacking her mentor. But a visit from Dal Gassan,a honorary member of the Daljeer circle changes everything and Naia is deemed as one of the prospects eligible to be a Jaihar Blademaster,the top most position in her academy. The story then continues with Naia's training and later we get to see her impersonate princess Xarimet of Challimar. But for Naia, challenges donot cease and every step of the way she has to fight her way out of the mess her enemies create.
Anna Kashina has expectionally crafted the character of Naia, who luminescence as a fierce warrior who also doesn't hesitate in taking orders from her mentors when required. The camaraderie and respect she has for her seniors and her iron-will to always stand up for what is right is visible from the initial chapters. The chemistry between Naia and Jai Karim cannot be left without a mention because it was one thing that I lived for. The slowburn romance and the tug of love between the two warriors made the book every bit spicy.
As much as I loved the refreshing plot, at times I felt that it would have been better if we got a decent explanation or foundation course on how the Jaihar and Gassan society actually worked and the intricacies of their classes. But, I was also delighted to spot inclusions of various Indian elements like Shatranj ( chess) . It definitely has plenty of action and plotting with people changing sides often, a lot of court politics and unanswered questions.
I personally would have liked to experience more of Naia-Karim banter, of what happened in the three years of training(the author basically skips those years) and a more character driven plot rather than a plot that drives the characters.
But on the positive side: no cliched tropes, a relatable protagonist, intriguing court politics definitely stamps my four stars for this book.
Shadowblade centers around our protagonist Naia,the who is in the verge of to be expelled from her training academy on the pretext of attacking her mentor. But a visit from Dal Gassan,a honorary member of the Daljeer circle changes everything and Naia is deemed as one of the prospects eligible to be a Jaihar Blademaster,the top most position in her academy. The story then continues with Naia's training and later we get to see her impersonate princess Xarimet of Challimar. But for Naia, challenges donot cease and every step of the way she has to fight her way out of the mess her enemies create.
Anna Kashina has expectionally crafted the character of Naia, who luminescence as a fierce warrior who also doesn't hesitate in taking orders from her mentors when required. The camaraderie and respect she has for her seniors and her iron-will to always stand up for what is right is visible from the initial chapters. The chemistry between Naia and Jai Karim cannot be left without a mention because it was one thing that I lived for. The slowburn romance and the tug of love between the two warriors made the book every bit spicy.
As much as I loved the refreshing plot, at times I felt that it would have been better if we got a decent explanation or foundation course on how the Jaihar and Gassan society actually worked and the intricacies of their classes. But, I was also delighted to spot inclusions of various Indian elements like Shatranj ( chess) . It definitely has plenty of action and plotting with people changing sides often, a lot of court politics and unanswered questions.
I personally would have liked to experience more of Naia-Karim banter, of what happened in the three years of training(the author basically skips those years) and a more character driven plot rather than a plot that drives the characters.
But on the positive side: no cliched tropes, a relatable protagonist, intriguing court politics definitely stamps my four stars for this book.
nietzschesghost's review
3.0
Having enjoyed Kashina's previous offerings I was eager to read Shadowblade, however, it was an oddly disappointing tale. I felt feisty protagonist Naia was an interesting character, but I would've liked for there to be more background about her as she remains enigmatic the whole time.
I am not a fan of reading about romantic liaisons at the best of times and it was difficult to accept here because it came out of nowhere; I really don't like insta-love. On the other hand, it is a fun, fast-paced, clean young adult fantasy with some smart twists. Of course, the concept is a dime a dozen in the epic fantasy genre.
The ending leaves a lot to be desired too and felt rushed. I'm not sure whether this has been optioned as a series or is merely a standalone. I await either the follow-up or the authors next book. Many thanks to Angry Robot for an ARC.
I am not a fan of reading about romantic liaisons at the best of times and it was difficult to accept here because it came out of nowhere; I really don't like insta-love. On the other hand, it is a fun, fast-paced, clean young adult fantasy with some smart twists. Of course, the concept is a dime a dozen in the epic fantasy genre.
The ending leaves a lot to be desired too and felt rushed. I'm not sure whether this has been optioned as a series or is merely a standalone. I await either the follow-up or the authors next book. Many thanks to Angry Robot for an ARC.
tachyondecay's review
2.0
So you want to stage a soft-coup and manipulate the succession, but you have one problem: you need some kind of plausible heir. Fortunately for you, about 17 years ago you encountered a baby at the same time there was a royal massacre, and well, you know, one thing led to another, and you ended up stashing her with some super skilled warrior so she would grow up all big and strong. Also, you read this play called Anastasia you found lying around near that weird door that leads to another dimension, and it gave you some ideas….
This is basically the plot of Shadowblade (minus the multi-dimensional shenanigans, sorry to say). Anna Kashina tells the story of a young woman, Naia, manipulated by old, ambitious men (and one old, perhaps even more ambitious woman) to take over the empire—albeit temporarily. Along the way, she has to learn to be more confident in herself. Because as the overarching plan goes awry, Naia finds it necessary to step in and fill the gaps with her own ideas. That doesn’t make anyone happy! And there are fight scenes. And sex too. Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the eARC.
I’m going to jump right into the things I disliked about this book.
There’s way too much telling versus showing happening here. We’re told that the emperor is a bad dude and that his heir is also a bad dude—but we never actually meet the emperor. Conversely, we’re supposed to take Dal Gassan at his word that he has the empire’s best interests at heart—but aside from knowing that he’s a healer, we only really ever see him interacting with Naia, with some of the Jaihar, etc.
Kashina has created, frankly, an intriguing world here. I like how she weaves together the disparate cultural elements of Challimar, the Jaihar, the Daljeer, etc. It’s creative and fun and interesting, and I want to know more. Yet for all of these ideas, Shadowblade’s narrative scope is frustratingly shallow. The pacing and plot are almost so spare that we seldom get to see the characters do anything other than move the story forward by conversing about politics or having some cool battles. Perhaps the closest we get are some nice scenes between Naia and Karim near the beginning of the book where they spar and then go for dinner and he basically gives her a pep talk while he tries to figure out if she’s worth keeping in the order. For the most part, however, we move forward because a select few people tell us we need to move forward with this secret plot, without ever really giving us much reason to trust them other than the fact the book is following their point of view….
Content notice for somewhat graphic sex scenes as well. The romantic subplot here is predictable; however, Kashina at least makes its development gradual enough to feel more believable. Romance (and especially) sex don’t do much for me personally in these books, though, so I skimmed those parts. Just a heads-up if you’re not a fan of that stuff. I do like, however, that the older character at least attempts to consider the power imbalance created by their age and position (although the power imbalance created by position actually changes by the end of the book, interestingly enough).
Even with regards to that relationship, though, Kashina might have explored more deeply. That’s my overall critique of Shadowblade: it has so many opportunities to get deeper and even more interesting, but it never manages to take the plunge.
So why read this book? Well, Kashina knows how to write combat. She focuses both on what the characters do as well as what they’re feeling. Even though there’s a little bit of magic involved with “iron-sensing,” the characters with this ability also train tirelessly to become skilled fighters regardless of their innate senses. Kashina and her characters also have a keen sense of how storytelling is important to national identity and pride and to any good con. The plot, while predictable, is executed in an enjoyable way.
In other words, Shadowblade was a fine diversion for a holiday Monday afternoon. Alas, I was in the mood for fantasy that would ignite my senses and make me crave more, more, more … and it doesn’t quite go that far.
This is basically the plot of Shadowblade (minus the multi-dimensional shenanigans, sorry to say). Anna Kashina tells the story of a young woman, Naia, manipulated by old, ambitious men (and one old, perhaps even more ambitious woman) to take over the empire—albeit temporarily. Along the way, she has to learn to be more confident in herself. Because as the overarching plan goes awry, Naia finds it necessary to step in and fill the gaps with her own ideas. That doesn’t make anyone happy! And there are fight scenes. And sex too. Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the eARC.
I’m going to jump right into the things I disliked about this book.
There’s way too much telling versus showing happening here. We’re told that the emperor is a bad dude and that his heir is also a bad dude—but we never actually meet the emperor. Conversely, we’re supposed to take Dal Gassan at his word that he has the empire’s best interests at heart—but aside from knowing that he’s a healer, we only really ever see him interacting with Naia, with some of the Jaihar, etc.
Kashina has created, frankly, an intriguing world here. I like how she weaves together the disparate cultural elements of Challimar, the Jaihar, the Daljeer, etc. It’s creative and fun and interesting, and I want to know more. Yet for all of these ideas, Shadowblade’s narrative scope is frustratingly shallow. The pacing and plot are almost so spare that we seldom get to see the characters do anything other than move the story forward by conversing about politics or having some cool battles. Perhaps the closest we get are some nice scenes between Naia and Karim near the beginning of the book where they spar and then go for dinner and he basically gives her a pep talk while he tries to figure out if she’s worth keeping in the order. For the most part, however, we move forward because a select few people tell us we need to move forward with this secret plot, without ever really giving us much reason to trust them other than the fact the book is following their point of view….
Content notice for somewhat graphic sex scenes as well. The romantic subplot here is predictable; however, Kashina at least makes its development gradual enough to feel more believable. Romance (and especially) sex don’t do much for me personally in these books, though, so I skimmed those parts. Just a heads-up if you’re not a fan of that stuff. I do like, however, that the older character at least attempts to consider the power imbalance created by their age and position (although the power imbalance created by position actually changes by the end of the book, interestingly enough).
Even with regards to that relationship, though, Kashina might have explored more deeply. That’s my overall critique of Shadowblade: it has so many opportunities to get deeper and even more interesting, but it never manages to take the plunge.
So why read this book? Well, Kashina knows how to write combat. She focuses both on what the characters do as well as what they’re feeling. Even though there’s a little bit of magic involved with “iron-sensing,” the characters with this ability also train tirelessly to become skilled fighters regardless of their innate senses. Kashina and her characters also have a keen sense of how storytelling is important to national identity and pride and to any good con. The plot, while predictable, is executed in an enjoyable way.
In other words, Shadowblade was a fine diversion for a holiday Monday afternoon. Alas, I was in the mood for fantasy that would ignite my senses and make me crave more, more, more … and it doesn’t quite go that far.
arifel's review
4.0
An action packed lost heir story with a refreshing focus on autonomy and consent.
Another day, another book with a lady with a sword on the cover. In the case of Anna Kashina's new novel, we are treated to two swords! Winning a place in my heart over the "just a knife on its own (or maybe a snake)" cover trend, the promise of a lady with a sword, especially one striding so impactfully towards the reader, is one that's hard to resist even for an action-agnostic reader like me. Who is this lady in comfortable footwear and a practical haircut (and subtle but unmistakeable decorative boobplate, but let's gloss over that for a minute)? She's holding one of those swords like I would hold the one supermarket bag I'd accidentally put all the heavy tins into, but despite that she seems to know what she's doing, and I'm excited to learn exactly what she's got going on.
This, we soon learn, is Naia. Naia has been training to be a member of the Jaihar, a stratified order of elite warriors who are drawn from orphans and other children pledged to them at a young age, and trained from birth in various martial and mystical arts. Naia is uncannily good with a blade, but has apparently made a lot of enemies in the lower camp where she's been trained, and is on the verge of being kicked out for a mysterious insubordination incident: she's attacked an instructor and has curiously little defence for herself. Luckily, fate intervenes, as the head of the Daljeer, scholarly order shows up looking for a young woman at just the right age to impersonate a mythical princess from the murdered Challimar dynasty. After a few tests demonstrate that Naia's natural abilities significantly surpass the training she's been given so far, she's given a second chance in the upper camp with the Jai, and put on a path to engage in political machinations which, we note in an aside, she might actually be born to do...
Full review at Nerds of a Feather: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2019/05/microreview-book-shadowblade-by-anna.html
Another day, another book with a lady with a sword on the cover. In the case of Anna Kashina's new novel, we are treated to two swords! Winning a place in my heart over the "just a knife on its own (or maybe a snake)" cover trend, the promise of a lady with a sword, especially one striding so impactfully towards the reader, is one that's hard to resist even for an action-agnostic reader like me. Who is this lady in comfortable footwear and a practical haircut (and subtle but unmistakeable decorative boobplate, but let's gloss over that for a minute)? She's holding one of those swords like I would hold the one supermarket bag I'd accidentally put all the heavy tins into, but despite that she seems to know what she's doing, and I'm excited to learn exactly what she's got going on.
This, we soon learn, is Naia. Naia has been training to be a member of the Jaihar, a stratified order of elite warriors who are drawn from orphans and other children pledged to them at a young age, and trained from birth in various martial and mystical arts. Naia is uncannily good with a blade, but has apparently made a lot of enemies in the lower camp where she's been trained, and is on the verge of being kicked out for a mysterious insubordination incident: she's attacked an instructor and has curiously little defence for herself. Luckily, fate intervenes, as the head of the Daljeer, scholarly order shows up looking for a young woman at just the right age to impersonate a mythical princess from the murdered Challimar dynasty. After a few tests demonstrate that Naia's natural abilities significantly surpass the training she's been given so far, she's given a second chance in the upper camp with the Jai, and put on a path to engage in political machinations which, we note in an aside, she might actually be born to do...
Full review at Nerds of a Feather: http://www.nerds-feather.com/2019/05/microreview-book-shadowblade-by-anna.html
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