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acorn192k's review
Just some dude's fetish content. I don't mean to imply that men in general shouldn't write lesbian main characters but I DO mean to imply that this particular man shouldn't.
biophile's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Some decent world-building, but ultimately a forgettable generic story with a weak 'Murder She Wrote' ending. Comparisons to Joe Abercrombie are wild exaggerations at best.
eh1736's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual content
posthumusly's review
2.0
Seconding other reviews that mention concerns about the poor writing of female perspective and the cringeness that comes from the "heat" plot.
siavahda's review against another edition
5.0
HIGHLIGHTS
~marriage-necklaces are awful
~twins are always gay, it’s a rule
~elite guard of post-menopausal women!
~never underestimate a nun
~masks, masks, masks
Pennyblade is a book that really shouldn’t have worked for me – because I do not read grimdark, and Pennyblade is, I think, grimdark.
But not very grimdark, in my opinion. Pennyblade is more crude than outright grim – I think it takes more than mud and shit and cursing to make a story grimdark, and the all-pervading sense of hopelessness and misery and people-are-awful,-always that is grimdark’s signature? Isn’t quite here. Pennyblade is sort of…sneaky-snarky-hopeful-maybe, under the mud and the blood. The ending, especially, left me grinning, and I don’t think grimdark really does that.
I don’t remember what convinced me to request a by-all-appearances-grimdark novel about a sapphic elf, but…probably it was the sapphic elf? Regardless, I’m so glad that I did, because Pennyblade is surprisingly awesome.
Pennyblade is narrated by Kyra Cal’Adra, a commrach (elf) who has fled the Isle of her people and now lives among humans on the mainland. The chapters alternate between two timelines; the events leading up to Kyra’s self-exile, and the mess she finds herself embroiled in while working as a ‘pennyblade’ – aka a sellsword or mercenary. The two storylines entwine in some very unexpected, clever ways, and although I was originally more interested in the earlier timeline set on the Isle, I ended up extremely invested in the ‘present’ timeline as well.
Reading about Kyra’s life on the Isle, it’s not at all clear why or how she left; the Cal’Adra’s are highbloods, nobility, and Kyra lives a very privileged life because of it. But those privileges come at a high price; namely, a complete lack of control over her own life. This isn’t because she’s a woman, but because she’s a highblood – one of those bloodlines that are being carefully cultivated by the unquestionable Explainers, with the goal being the Final Perfection – the ideal, perfected commrach.
Basically? Elves are eugenicists. Hardcore eugenicists. And obviously eugenicists are terrible, but it’s the total subversion of the Wise-Beautiful-Elevated Elves trope that delights me so freaking much! The commrach fit the trope in many ways – they’re faster and more graceful than humans, they have limited forms of magic, and their society doesn’t use money, has no homeless people, and are fully accepting of all flavours of queerness (Kyra herself is a lesbian, her brother Kyran is gay, and we meet or hear about bisexual, trans, nonbinary, and asexual characters). At first, they look so much better than humans (who are living in the squalor, violence and homophobia typical of Fantasy’s take on the Medieval period) that no comparison is possible…but bit by bit, that layer of gilding flakes away, revealing something much uglier underneath.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
~marriage-necklaces are awful
~twins are always gay, it’s a rule
~elite guard of post-menopausal women!
~never underestimate a nun
~masks, masks, masks
Pennyblade is a book that really shouldn’t have worked for me – because I do not read grimdark, and Pennyblade is, I think, grimdark.
But not very grimdark, in my opinion. Pennyblade is more crude than outright grim – I think it takes more than mud and shit and cursing to make a story grimdark, and the all-pervading sense of hopelessness and misery and people-are-awful,-always that is grimdark’s signature? Isn’t quite here. Pennyblade is sort of…sneaky-snarky-hopeful-maybe, under the mud and the blood. The ending, especially, left me grinning, and I don’t think grimdark really does that.
I don’t remember what convinced me to request a by-all-appearances-grimdark novel about a sapphic elf, but…probably it was the sapphic elf? Regardless, I’m so glad that I did, because Pennyblade is surprisingly awesome.
Pennyblade is narrated by Kyra Cal’Adra, a commrach (elf) who has fled the Isle of her people and now lives among humans on the mainland. The chapters alternate between two timelines; the events leading up to Kyra’s self-exile, and the mess she finds herself embroiled in while working as a ‘pennyblade’ – aka a sellsword or mercenary. The two storylines entwine in some very unexpected, clever ways, and although I was originally more interested in the earlier timeline set on the Isle, I ended up extremely invested in the ‘present’ timeline as well.
Whenever Kyran set out to acomplish something in life, life would step back and demur.
Reading about Kyra’s life on the Isle, it’s not at all clear why or how she left; the Cal’Adra’s are highbloods, nobility, and Kyra lives a very privileged life because of it. But those privileges come at a high price; namely, a complete lack of control over her own life. This isn’t because she’s a woman, but because she’s a highblood – one of those bloodlines that are being carefully cultivated by the unquestionable Explainers, with the goal being the Final Perfection – the ideal, perfected commrach.
‘You know, for all my people’s faults, not one commrach has starved or been without a roof in sixteen thousand years. And the emphasis there is sixteen thousand years. You creatures are lucky to make anything last a hundred.’
Basically? Elves are eugenicists. Hardcore eugenicists. And obviously eugenicists are terrible, but it’s the total subversion of the Wise-Beautiful-Elevated Elves trope that delights me so freaking much! The commrach fit the trope in many ways – they’re faster and more graceful than humans, they have limited forms of magic, and their society doesn’t use money, has no homeless people, and are fully accepting of all flavours of queerness (Kyra herself is a lesbian, her brother Kyran is gay, and we meet or hear about bisexual, trans, nonbinary, and asexual characters). At first, they look so much better than humans (who are living in the squalor, violence and homophobia typical of Fantasy’s take on the Medieval period) that no comparison is possible…but bit by bit, that layer of gilding flakes away, revealing something much uglier underneath.
Read the rest at Every Book a Doorway!
bongfullofpiss's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bibliophilicwitch's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pennyblade read like the male version of the current popular subgenre commonly referred to as "romantasy" - a grimdark fantasy with an unlikable crass lesbian anti-hero.
The culture of the main character features an elf-like people with a "progressive, cultured" society that looks down on "savage" human societies while also being so focused on the concept of the perfect specimen and bloodlines with an animalistic season of heat for both the men and women. This belief in the perfect specimen is such a focal point of their beliefs that individuals have no personal identity other than to continue the species with the best match which does lend itself to some interesting themes and plot point. Ultimately if you look too closely at the culture Worrad has built it starts to fall apart as a whole. There are certain elements from the characters' plots that also fall apart if you think through them too much. Definitely not the read I was hoping for though it was interesting.
The culture of the main character features an elf-like people with a "progressive, cultured" society that looks down on "savage" human societies while also being so focused on the concept of the perfect specimen and bloodlines with an animalistic season of heat for both the men and women. This belief in the perfect specimen is such a focal point of their beliefs that individuals have no personal identity other than to continue the species with the best match which does lend itself to some interesting themes and plot point. Ultimately if you look too closely at the culture Worrad has built it starts to fall apart as a whole. There are certain elements from the characters' plots that also fall apart if you think through them too much. Definitely not the read I was hoping for though it was interesting.
senqin's review
5.0
"Sometimes you have to throw it all away, Sister. Cast off your trappings and stand free."
★★★★½
Well this was certainly...different. Crude and violent but also captivating in its unflinching vulgarity and its lack of desire to fit into any preset fantasy molds. This book honestly could have easily ended up being a complete disaster but it all actually kind of works.
➺ Not your typical fantasy elves
Pennyblade is the story about the rise and fall of the commrach/elf named Kyra, whose exile from the esteemed Cal'Adra family currently sees her eking it out on the human mainland as a low class mercenary. Unfortunately, with the betrayal of a fellow Pennyblade after her most recent job, Kyra finds that the past that she's been running away from for so long might finally be catching up to her.
We follow two separate story threads in the book that are depicted in alternating chapters. The first is about present-day Kyra as she becomes increasingly entangled in the web of a church figure named Sister Benadetta and her secrets. The other is about past Kyra in the time leading up to her exile. Unfortunately, I was not as invested in these "flashback" sections, which seemed to be more about worldbuilding and setting up the horrible, hypocritical nature of the commrachs. J.L. Worrad has taken the usual concept of elves and completely turned it over its head. Despite how beautiful, sophisticated, and holier-than-thou they appear to be, these elves are no better, and in some ways are indeed much worse, than the humans they look down upon. The commrachs really do feel alien. It's actually pretty clever. However, sometimes it does seem like the story is trying to be a little...too clever. I am not so subtly rolling my eyes at the multiple depictions of these "seasons" that the commrach go through, complete with this cringy "mating call." I can see what the author was attempting to do with this but that doesn't change the fact that it was physically painful to read.
➺ Characters you love to hate
"You wretches are a compost heap of lies, arrogance, rapaciousness, and vanity. So much so..." She sighed. "It would be a sin if I did not keep an eye on you."
Part of the reason why I was wayyyy more interested in the present-day Kyra storyline was her interactions with this unusual bunch of people she's fallen in with. It's really this group dynamic that I absolutely loved the most about Pennyblade. We've got Sister Benadetta, a Perfecti aka a magical nun (?) with a mysterious past who is at war with her sexuality, Nails, a young half-commrach half-human who is quick with knives and quicker to stab you in the back, and Shortleg, who I believe is our token straight character. Honestly, they're all horrible people but there are these brief flickers of humanity that make them really interesting to read about. The banter among them is top notch. In fact, I wouldn't have minded at all if the entire book was just about them tearing at each other.
➺ The unsexy sex scenes
"You want their bodies, Cal'Adra. The sickness of a soulless thing." She paused. "But women - their minds, their choices - you detest. You fear their power over you. Whenever you talk of women you reduce them to...matter. Fodder."
Also, I disagree with the notion that Pennyblade was written to fulfill some sort of male fantasy on the part of the author. Pennyblade does feature a LOT of sex and sexual thoughts/language, but it seems to handle this in a unique way. Most of these scenes appear purposefully written to be over the top and mechanical and came across as satirical to me. In contrast, I don't think that any sort of sex that occurs between the central romantic relationship is actually ever depicted. Also, our main character Kyra, while being bitter, self-serving, haughty, and in no way the most morally upright or likable lesbian to ever exist, is still very complex, darkly humorous, and surprisingly "human" despite essentially being an elf. Her character grows and changes throughout the course of the story in such an organic way, which I always find to be an incredible feat for any author to accomplish. I absolutely adored the final closing sentences.
Be forewarned that this book will definitely try its best to disgust and disturb you. However, underneath the dirt and grime is a rollicking good story with multifaceted characters and some fresh concepts.
— ♩♫♩ ~ Act of Demon or Work of God