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A review by marklpotter
The Boy with the Porcelain Blade by Den Patrick
3.0
Before you jump in to this book I think it's fair that you be warned that is a rather dark book and that sexual assault plays a key role in the plot. This warning is a spoiler, which is why I've hidden the entire review. It's not discussed in detail but the entire story does hinge on it.
The format of the story was a bit off-putting at the beginning as it is laid out with one chapter in the present and one chapter in the past. It was easy to get used to and there was some added tension with the two story lines headed for a collision near the end. By the end of the book the use of this story layout was a good method of exposition without actually taking a foray in to the dreaded morass of the info dump. The use of this device took some careful crafting on the part of Den Patrick and he handled it very well, using it for character development, back story, and to create tension. I have seen similar devices fail and make books unenjoyable and I was glad to see it employed properly here.
The story revolves around a rather small central cast of characters with Lucien being at the forefront as the protagonist. He is Orfano, a small protected class, all of whom are deformed in some manner. It is not evident why the Orfani are protected, educated, and trained and it is clear that they do not know either. Lucien is a rather stereotypical rebellious teenager and even though the trope is obvious he is written well enough to be engaging and interesting.
The world building is interesting as it is limited to a single castle like entity and some very small range of land beyond it. The factions are, from a high level, multiple houses with varying degrees of influence, a king who is never seen by his people and his majordomo, the staff, and the Orfani. These factions provide a nice backdrop for a story that's all about intrigue to begin with. While some of the intrigue doesn't become apparent until about halfway through the book it's easy to look back and see that it was there before it was noticed and I really liked that.
I am glad the cast was kept relatively small because the relationship development between the characters was rather important to the overall story and a larger cast would have most likely led to bogged down slog of a read, which this wasn't. There are some chapters that are a little bit of a slog but that's only because you want to get back to whichever story line was more interesting. I suppose this might be a downside of using that device as I found myself skimming to get back to one or the other more often than I'd like. Of course I forced myself to slow down and in the end it was worth it.
The ending, while satisfying, felt a little rushed as the alternating chapter device came to its inevitable slamming both storylines together. I really like how the story ended but I wish it had been handled with a little more care. It's not often I say this but I would have liked an extra chapter or two giving a little more detail at the end just so it didn't feel as forced.
While The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is the first of a series it does not end in a cliff hanger. I appreciate this because I fell that the cliffhanger is used all too often and it's become rather trite in most instances. There is plenty more that could be told about this world and I expect that I will enjoy the rest of the series as much as I enjoyed the first installment. If you like a lot of intrigue and don't mind the subject matter then I would recommend this book.
The format of the story was a bit off-putting at the beginning as it is laid out with one chapter in the present and one chapter in the past. It was easy to get used to and there was some added tension with the two story lines headed for a collision near the end. By the end of the book the use of this story layout was a good method of exposition without actually taking a foray in to the dreaded morass of the info dump. The use of this device took some careful crafting on the part of Den Patrick and he handled it very well, using it for character development, back story, and to create tension. I have seen similar devices fail and make books unenjoyable and I was glad to see it employed properly here.
The story revolves around a rather small central cast of characters with Lucien being at the forefront as the protagonist. He is Orfano, a small protected class, all of whom are deformed in some manner. It is not evident why the Orfani are protected, educated, and trained and it is clear that they do not know either. Lucien is a rather stereotypical rebellious teenager and even though the trope is obvious he is written well enough to be engaging and interesting.
The world building is interesting as it is limited to a single castle like entity and some very small range of land beyond it. The factions are, from a high level, multiple houses with varying degrees of influence, a king who is never seen by his people and his majordomo, the staff, and the Orfani. These factions provide a nice backdrop for a story that's all about intrigue to begin with. While some of the intrigue doesn't become apparent until about halfway through the book it's easy to look back and see that it was there before it was noticed and I really liked that.
I am glad the cast was kept relatively small because the relationship development between the characters was rather important to the overall story and a larger cast would have most likely led to bogged down slog of a read, which this wasn't. There are some chapters that are a little bit of a slog but that's only because you want to get back to whichever story line was more interesting. I suppose this might be a downside of using that device as I found myself skimming to get back to one or the other more often than I'd like. Of course I forced myself to slow down and in the end it was worth it.
The ending, while satisfying, felt a little rushed as the alternating chapter device came to its inevitable slamming both storylines together. I really like how the story ended but I wish it had been handled with a little more care. It's not often I say this but I would have liked an extra chapter or two giving a little more detail at the end just so it didn't feel as forced.
While The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is the first of a series it does not end in a cliff hanger. I appreciate this because I fell that the cliffhanger is used all too often and it's become rather trite in most instances. There is plenty more that could be told about this world and I expect that I will enjoy the rest of the series as much as I enjoyed the first installment. If you like a lot of intrigue and don't mind the subject matter then I would recommend this book.