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A review by robinbridgefour
The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley
4.0
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Reread January 2015 Dropped 1 star from 5 to 4
Last year was a big fantasy year for me and my well of experience is bigger now. I still enjoyed this book, it well written with an engaging story, but not quite as much the second time through and I blame my love for Brandon Sanderson's high fantasy for this. There is also Patrick Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie to blame a little but mostly Sanderson.
See I found Sanderson, Rothfuss and Abercrombie books not long after reading The Emperor's Blades this year and they have made my fantasy well much deeper and I expect a little more. The problem I have is with the twist/big reveal toward the end. It is still a good twist I didn't see it coming and was really surprised....but that is part of the problem. The great thing about a Sanderson book is that when the twist happens and it always happens I can look back and see the clues leading to it. I can see how he was the magician who presented me droppings to lead me to one train of thought and then POW hit me with something else entirely. I have grown to love that bait and switch and that is what makes a good twist a Great twist. There isn't quite that subtle layer in the Emperor's Blade. There is the big reveal but even on the reread there really aren't any clues that I should have seen. It all still makes a lot of sense and I really liked it but it didn't have that extra umph at the very end.
This was Stavely's debut novel so I'm really excited to see what he follows up with and how much he has grown as a writer.
Original review January 2014
It is the hardest thing to write a review for a book you absolutely love. There is no way that I can get across how marveled by this story I am. The Emperor’s Blades is probably the best new High Fantasy book of the year. Okay so it’s only January but I’m just going to say that the bar has been set extremely high and I unless George RR Martin’s Winds of Winter the 6th book of the A Song of Ice and Fire makes it out this year (highly unlikely) then Brian Staveley’s debut novel might hold this spot in my head and heart all year. I couldn’t believe that this is a debut novel, I’m floored by the depth of the story and this is just the beginning. Brian Staveley will, in all probability, just improve as time goes on and I can’t wait to read anything else he writes.
Told from the perspective of the Emperor’s three children Kaden, Valyn and Adare so many different facets of the world were shown to the reader. Instead of telling us that Valyn is a remarkable soldier, like many other fantasy authors do, we are shown the hell of the Kettral training and fully believe after reading those pages that Valyn is a strong warrior. The same goes for Kaden, sent to a monastery for training to become Emperor. His trials are extremely difficult and he is not a pampered prince, I believed that through the years spent there he was able to accomplish the training he needed to be Emperor.
There are plots a foot against the empire and all three children of the Emperor, while facing different challenges, play an equally important role in the story. There are ancient enemies from the past, epic battles, trials and tribulations and each one has tempered each of the Emperor’s children into a honed blade against the enemies that are trying to take over the Empire and who murdered the Emperor. Every important facet of the world is explored and fleshed out. There was almost always something of importance happening.
There is some set up to this world and so I would say the first 20% runs a little slower than the rest of the story but after that between mysteries and events unfolding I couldn’t tear myself away from the story. No character is safe, there are surprises around every corner, some I guessed most I did not. The author gives plenty of leads, but then the result of the lead was often different and more complex than I originally thought.
The intricacy of the story is up there with Tolkien and George RR Martin weaving multiple story lines and plots into a larger grander scheme, but with a prose that is natural, beautiful and easy to read. Every part of the story seemed necessary all of the characters real. Not one character was perfect but all flawed and human. Staveley has created a unique world and really brought it to life in the pages of this story. The only thing I can even complain about is the fact that I started this before the next book was out, I wanted to jump into the next book right away.
As a female lover of fantasy the other thing I really liked about The Emperor’s Blades is how many strong female characters there are. Even though the majority of the book is told from Kaden and Valyn’s perspectives some of the strongest characters were female. They made difficult decisions and just because a woman was a warrior didn’t mean she couldn’t have emotions and complexity. He allowed his female characters to be strong without making them into a bitch, they come across as independent, not needing to be saved by a man or anyone else. I appreciate the intricacy that Mr. Staveley put into every one of them.
Brian Staveley has a new fan in me. If you only read one Fantasy book this year, this should be it. I look forward to reading it again before the next in the series comes out.
Jan 18,2014
Brain Stavelley has set the bar high for this series. The way everything in the story blended together, the reveals I didn't see coming (and there were some slap me in the face doozies), the feelings the book envoked, the intricate world created will be hard to match or beat.
I think Mr. Stevelley has the potential to be just as renowned has Tolkien or George R.R. Martin Full review to come...
Reread January 2015 Dropped 1 star from 5 to 4
Last year was a big fantasy year for me and my well of experience is bigger now. I still enjoyed this book, it well written with an engaging story, but not quite as much the second time through and I blame my love for Brandon Sanderson's high fantasy for this. There is also Patrick Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie to blame a little but mostly Sanderson.
See I found Sanderson, Rothfuss and Abercrombie books not long after reading The Emperor's Blades this year and they have made my fantasy well much deeper and I expect a little more. The problem I have is with the twist/big reveal toward the end. It is still a good twist I didn't see it coming and was really surprised....but that is part of the problem. The great thing about a Sanderson book is that when the twist happens and it always happens I can look back and see the clues leading to it. I can see how he was the magician who presented me droppings to lead me to one train of thought and then POW hit me with something else entirely. I have grown to love that bait and switch and that is what makes a good twist a Great twist. There isn't quite that subtle layer in the Emperor's Blade. There is the big reveal but even on the reread there really aren't any clues that I should have seen. It all still makes a lot of sense and I really liked it but it didn't have that extra umph at the very end.
This was Stavely's debut novel so I'm really excited to see what he follows up with and how much he has grown as a writer.
Original review January 2014
It is the hardest thing to write a review for a book you absolutely love. There is no way that I can get across how marveled by this story I am. The Emperor’s Blades is probably the best new High Fantasy book of the year. Okay so it’s only January but I’m just going to say that the bar has been set extremely high and I unless George RR Martin’s Winds of Winter the 6th book of the A Song of Ice and Fire makes it out this year (highly unlikely) then Brian Staveley’s debut novel might hold this spot in my head and heart all year. I couldn’t believe that this is a debut novel, I’m floored by the depth of the story and this is just the beginning. Brian Staveley will, in all probability, just improve as time goes on and I can’t wait to read anything else he writes.
Told from the perspective of the Emperor’s three children Kaden, Valyn and Adare so many different facets of the world were shown to the reader. Instead of telling us that Valyn is a remarkable soldier, like many other fantasy authors do, we are shown the hell of the Kettral training and fully believe after reading those pages that Valyn is a strong warrior. The same goes for Kaden, sent to a monastery for training to become Emperor. His trials are extremely difficult and he is not a pampered prince, I believed that through the years spent there he was able to accomplish the training he needed to be Emperor.
There are plots a foot against the empire and all three children of the Emperor, while facing different challenges, play an equally important role in the story. There are ancient enemies from the past, epic battles, trials and tribulations and each one has tempered each of the Emperor’s children into a honed blade against the enemies that are trying to take over the Empire and who murdered the Emperor. Every important facet of the world is explored and fleshed out. There was almost always something of importance happening.
There is some set up to this world and so I would say the first 20% runs a little slower than the rest of the story but after that between mysteries and events unfolding I couldn’t tear myself away from the story. No character is safe, there are surprises around every corner, some I guessed most I did not. The author gives plenty of leads, but then the result of the lead was often different and more complex than I originally thought.
The intricacy of the story is up there with Tolkien and George RR Martin weaving multiple story lines and plots into a larger grander scheme, but with a prose that is natural, beautiful and easy to read. Every part of the story seemed necessary all of the characters real. Not one character was perfect but all flawed and human. Staveley has created a unique world and really brought it to life in the pages of this story. The only thing I can even complain about is the fact that I started this before the next book was out, I wanted to jump into the next book right away.
As a female lover of fantasy the other thing I really liked about The Emperor’s Blades is how many strong female characters there are. Even though the majority of the book is told from Kaden and Valyn’s perspectives some of the strongest characters were female. They made difficult decisions and just because a woman was a warrior didn’t mean she couldn’t have emotions and complexity. He allowed his female characters to be strong without making them into a bitch, they come across as independent, not needing to be saved by a man or anyone else. I appreciate the intricacy that Mr. Staveley put into every one of them.
Brian Staveley has a new fan in me. If you only read one Fantasy book this year, this should be it. I look forward to reading it again before the next in the series comes out.
Jan 18,2014
Brain Stavelley has set the bar high for this series. The way everything in the story blended together, the reveals I didn't see coming (and there were some slap me in the face doozies), the feelings the book envoked, the intricate world created will be hard to match or beat.
I think Mr. Stevelley has the potential to be just as renowned has Tolkien or George R.R. Martin Full review to come...