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A review by booksandlemonsquash
Play of Shadows by Sebastien de Castell
5.0
I will admit that I was thrown at the start with the setting and it being a little slow, with so many characters. But as always, I was soon swept into the joy that Sebastien’s books bring me, and loving the concept of an actor having the power to speak from the past. This is a love letter to theatre as much as it is a swashbuckling fantasy, and in that sense it is utter perfection. It is also, as Sebastien’s books often are, full of politics and intrigue. This is possibly less so than the Greatcoats series, but mostly just done in a more subtle way that sneaks in and by the end is hitting you full force.
Damelas is a hilarious nightmare of a main character, and I love him to pieces. This whole book is him finding who he really is, and I love that for him. I’m also super looking forward to getting to see more of that person in the next book!
I would die for Beretto, Ornella and Zina (and maybe even Abarstrini 😂). Campaign for Beretto to find a nice man to put up with him in Lady of Blades starts here 💙
Also looking forward to seeing how this interacts with the events in the prequel, Crucible of Chaos, and what is obviously happening in the wider Greatcoats world. I have the strongest urge to start rereading all four Greatcoats now… *stares balefully at TBR shelves*
I listened to this, as I end up doing with all Sebastien’s books and it would be remiss of me to not mention the frankly AMAZING job Joe Jameson does with narration. He continues to be my favourite for a reason. It is mind blowing how many different voices and emotions he can convey and that you can tell characters apart just from how he portrays them. Truly an actor worthy of the title Veristor.
5 stars.
Damelas is a hilarious nightmare of a main character, and I love him to pieces. This whole book is him finding who he really is, and I love that for him. I’m also super looking forward to getting to see more of that person in the next book!
I would die for Beretto, Ornella and Zina (and maybe even Abarstrini 😂). Campaign for Beretto to find a nice man to put up with him in Lady of Blades starts here 💙
Also looking forward to seeing how this interacts with the events in the prequel, Crucible of Chaos, and what is obviously happening in the wider Greatcoats world. I have the strongest urge to start rereading all four Greatcoats now… *stares balefully at TBR shelves*
I listened to this, as I end up doing with all Sebastien’s books and it would be remiss of me to not mention the frankly AMAZING job Joe Jameson does with narration. He continues to be my favourite for a reason. It is mind blowing how many different voices and emotions he can convey and that you can tell characters apart just from how he portrays them. Truly an actor worthy of the title Veristor.
5 stars.