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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
slow-paced
It took me a while to get into this, but about halfway through I got hooked. The author has created a very intriguing world and I can't wait to see where the story goes next.
Great characters, great plot, and a rich world that seems like it nearly has the depth of Malazan minus the confusion.
Enjoyable, violent, and compelling. Had trouble putting it down, and mostly in a good way. Strong world building, and interesting characters with plenty of twists and turns.
There are a few world and character inconsistencies I didn't love, but nothing major. Overall a good read.
There are a few world and character inconsistencies I didn't love, but nothing major. Overall a good read.
Incredibly unambitious, adding absolutely nothing to the fantasy genre. I'm tempted to make a special point about how weak the female characters were but the fact is that it's not like the male characters weren't also walking cardboard cutouts. , it seems to me that it's really that the story is packed with tropes rather than intentionally sexist. That said the book isn't unreadable. Nothing about it is absolutely terrible. It's just that nothing about it is particularly interesting either.
Spoiler
If Ha Lin got fridged to further the plot
I had seen this book crop up a number of times during my browsing of Audible and Amazon. So, I took a punt and bought it. Yes, I judged a book by its cover.
The story is fairly slow - the Emperor dies and his children (in different parts of the world) hear about this and need to survive their own assassination attempts. And that's basically it.
However, the way Brian tells the story draws you in. I would say the book concentrates of the 2 males of the family. The daughter was never sent away from the capital, but was instead taught in the ways of politics and promoted to a minister position. Her story is fairly brief, but I believe is setting the ground work for a future book.
The brothers take the bulk of the story telling. One was sent into the high mountains to learn from the Monks. He will be the next Emperor. His story is all about mastering some of the Monks skills ready for then he returns - hoping to make him a better leader. His story is fairly slow paced, with a fair amount of 'bullying' by the monks teaching him. It does speed up towards the end.
The second son is being trained as a warrior, and a leader of a small band. This is where the heart of the story for this book is. It is here that we learn about plots and where a lot of the action takes place.
This is the start of a series - and I have no idea how many books there will be. The pace looks like it could be a fair few, and will increase in pace as they continue. The second book (The Providence of Fire) is on my watch list.
The story is fairly slow - the Emperor dies and his children (in different parts of the world) hear about this and need to survive their own assassination attempts. And that's basically it.
However, the way Brian tells the story draws you in. I would say the book concentrates of the 2 males of the family. The daughter was never sent away from the capital, but was instead taught in the ways of politics and promoted to a minister position. Her story is fairly brief, but I believe is setting the ground work for a future book.
The brothers take the bulk of the story telling. One was sent into the high mountains to learn from the Monks. He will be the next Emperor. His story is all about mastering some of the Monks skills ready for then he returns - hoping to make him a better leader. His story is fairly slow paced, with a fair amount of 'bullying' by the monks teaching him. It does speed up towards the end.
The second son is being trained as a warrior, and a leader of a small band. This is where the heart of the story for this book is. It is here that we learn about plots and where a lot of the action takes place.
This is the start of a series - and I have no idea how many books there will be. The pace looks like it could be a fair few, and will increase in pace as they continue. The second book (The Providence of Fire) is on my watch list.
A creative and well-constructed world, but the underpinning philosophy is Nietzsche + Edgar Rice Burroughs. I don't enjoy Nietzsche or Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Lessons learned from this book:
1) Emotions make you weak. Your bodily needs makes you weak. To become anything other than a victim you need to deaden yourself. Be ruthless. Sacrifice the innocent for the greater good. Accept pain and be willing to torture your body to be a better fighter/monk. Be totally obedient to your teachers and accept their sadistic teaching techniques because it is all for the best really.
2) All women are sexy. Some are sexy and angry, some are sexy and have your back in a fight, some are sexy and dopey and a bit over their head. Most are unstable and need either actual rescuing or just someone to tell them what to do. On the rare occasion when a woman is encountered in a leadership role, she is only around for about two sentences, gets no backstory, and her physical description is not complementary. Definitely not even close to passing the Bechdel test.
Lessons learned from this book:
1) Emotions make you weak. Your bodily needs makes you weak. To become anything other than a victim you need to deaden yourself. Be ruthless. Sacrifice the innocent for the greater good. Accept pain and be willing to torture your body to be a better fighter/monk. Be totally obedient to your teachers and accept their sadistic teaching techniques because it is all for the best really.
2) All women are sexy. Some are sexy and angry, some are sexy and have your back in a fight, some are sexy and dopey and a bit over their head. Most are unstable and need either actual rescuing or just someone to tell them what to do. On the rare occasion when a woman is encountered in a leadership role, she is only around for about two sentences, gets no backstory, and her physical description is not complementary. Definitely not even close to passing the Bechdel test.
I started The Emperor's Blades soon after reading A Song of Ice and Fire. I was searching for something that held the same qualities; multiple protagonists, characters you can love and hate, a plot that is as wide as a world our favorite authors create. When I researched this book, which is something I do very often before attempting a series, I found mixed reviews, and to be honest, I almost didn't give it a shot.
Glad I did, because hot damn.
If you've ever read my reviews, which you absolutely should, because I'm as transparent as a glass of water, you'll notice that I fall in love with books that have strong characterization and plot. That, in my opinion, is what makes a great story. At least, that is for me. So, if you're also one of those readers, I think you'll find answers here.
The Characters are so diverse and distant from one another but are still wrapped up in the same plot. Valyn is training to be an officer in an elite mercenary group. Kaden is training with a group of monks in the Bone Mountains, trying to master Zen, an trance of becoming both emotionless and painless. Adare is our princess, held up in the Dawn Palace, investigating the murder of her father.
I'm trying not to stick on each individual character, because I could rant on for hours, and nobody wants that. I will say, however, that all of these characters are very well done. Politics are hard to master in a book, but the way Staveley does it with Adare was simple to follow, yet intriguing all the same. You really feel for her as she investigates the murder of her father, and you also get a nice "who done it" feel with her story-line as it continues.
Kaden and Valyn are fun to read because they are literally just getting their ass kicked into shape. However, where one is trying to be the best officer in an elite mercenary group, one that flies on the backs of giant hawks, the other is enduring endless amount of pain so that he can become, simply put, apathetic.
If it didn't say it plainly, you would never guess that these characters were siblings, and Staveley does an awesome job winding the same plot within all three protagonists even if they are, quite literally, on the other side of the world.
As for the plot, in the first book at least, it's a fantasy mystery. We don't know who murdered the king, but we do not that it doesn't stop there. Things start happening with our protagonists; Valyn sees many "accidents" happening during training, and some of those accidents involve him in bodily harm, as well as attempts at ending his life. Adare, as she is conducting her own investigation, doesn't know who to trust anymore, and we see a threat hiding in the shadows for her. Kaden gives us a good feel about he history of our world, and why it's important to train the way he is.
There are many great qualities of this book. It's easy to follow, yet it doesn't feel simple. The characters are fun to learn about, yet they don't feel invincible. We think we know what it's going to be about, but we really don't have any idea until the end. Ancient enemies, blood and monsters, complicated magic, giant birds, and adventure. Overall, well done.
Glad I did, because hot damn.
If you've ever read my reviews, which you absolutely should, because I'm as transparent as a glass of water, you'll notice that I fall in love with books that have strong characterization and plot. That, in my opinion, is what makes a great story. At least, that is for me. So, if you're also one of those readers, I think you'll find answers here.
The Characters are so diverse and distant from one another but are still wrapped up in the same plot. Valyn is training to be an officer in an elite mercenary group. Kaden is training with a group of monks in the Bone Mountains, trying to master Zen, an trance of becoming both emotionless and painless. Adare is our princess, held up in the Dawn Palace, investigating the murder of her father.
I'm trying not to stick on each individual character, because I could rant on for hours, and nobody wants that. I will say, however, that all of these characters are very well done. Politics are hard to master in a book, but the way Staveley does it with Adare was simple to follow, yet intriguing all the same. You really feel for her as she investigates the murder of her father, and you also get a nice "who done it" feel with her story-line as it continues.
Kaden and Valyn are fun to read because they are literally just getting their ass kicked into shape. However, where one is trying to be the best officer in an elite mercenary group, one that flies on the backs of giant hawks, the other is enduring endless amount of pain so that he can become, simply put, apathetic.
If it didn't say it plainly, you would never guess that these characters were siblings, and Staveley does an awesome job winding the same plot within all three protagonists even if they are, quite literally, on the other side of the world.
As for the plot, in the first book at least, it's a fantasy mystery. We don't know who murdered the king, but we do not that it doesn't stop there. Things start happening with our protagonists; Valyn sees many "accidents" happening during training, and some of those accidents involve him in bodily harm, as well as attempts at ending his life. Adare, as she is conducting her own investigation, doesn't know who to trust anymore, and we see a threat hiding in the shadows for her. Kaden gives us a good feel about he history of our world, and why it's important to train the way he is.
There are many great qualities of this book. It's easy to follow, yet it doesn't feel simple. The characters are fun to learn about, yet they don't feel invincible. We think we know what it's going to be about, but we really don't have any idea until the end. Ancient enemies, blood and monsters, complicated magic, giant birds, and adventure. Overall, well done.