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A review by clendorie
The Sword in the Street by C.M. Caplan
adventurous
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Sword in the Street reminds me of Swordspoint, Ellen Kushner's masterpiece and one of my favorite books ever. It may not quite live up to its predecessor but it's an interesting novel by a promising author.
The Sword in the Street features John, a duelist who scrapes every coin he can find in hopes of escaping the slums he was born into. While he is not working for his patron, Lordess Triumph, he spends time with his boyfriend Edwin, an autistic student disowned by his family. It's easy to be invested because the conflicts mirror real-world problems. Most of the story is about their daily struggles to escape poverty while the nobles families use power, money and the law to maintain a status quo that only benefit them. They both want to better their lives but they have different perspectives on it: John is fixed on short-term goals (gain more money to rent a better room) while Edwin is more idealistic and wants to change the law to help everyone.
The relationship between John and Edwin is the emotional core of the book. They clearly love each other but don't know how to communicate. Even though he is working hard on it, Edwin is incapable to read social cues and needs people to express themselves clearly. John is set in his ways and emotionally stunted (in the first draft, I wrote 'selfish bastard' but that's because I can't stand him).
Edwin is a wonderful character. He is earnest and wants nothing more than be a better friend a better partner for John. He may come as pushy and needy sometimes but it's something he's working on.
Meanwhile, John... I hate him. He had a rude upbringing (rampant poverty, abusive father) but most of his actions are selfish and he never, never considers others' opinions. Everything is about him and he fools himself thinking that he's helping. His relationship with Edwin was infuriating. Since the book alternates viewpoints, we see that Edwin cares about him but not so much from John. He spends more time complaining that Edwin is needy and doesn't know when to stop asking, even though he knows that words need to be spoken clearly. I really wanted to help Edwin realize that he doesn't have to stay with John because he might become a better man in the future. John may start to redeem himself in the last pages but real change take time and I'm not sure he is up to the task.
I hope the author plan to write a sequel because I want to see how this city will handle the changes with free work and a disarrayed nobility. Also, more Edwin and Aubrey please, they're great characters and I love their friendship.
The Sword in the Street features John, a duelist who scrapes every coin he can find in hopes of escaping the slums he was born into. While he is not working for his patron, Lordess Triumph, he spends time with his boyfriend Edwin, an autistic student disowned by his family. It's easy to be invested because the conflicts mirror real-world problems. Most of the story is about their daily struggles to escape poverty while the nobles families use power, money and the law to maintain a status quo that only benefit them. They both want to better their lives but they have different perspectives on it: John is fixed on short-term goals (gain more money to rent a better room) while Edwin is more idealistic and wants to change the law to help everyone.
The relationship between John and Edwin is the emotional core of the book. They clearly love each other but don't know how to communicate. Even though he is working hard on it, Edwin is incapable to read social cues and needs people to express themselves clearly. John is set in his ways and emotionally stunted (in the first draft, I wrote 'selfish bastard' but that's because I can't stand him).
Edwin is a wonderful character. He is earnest and wants nothing more than be a better friend a better partner for John. He may come as pushy and needy sometimes but it's something he's working on.
Meanwhile, John... I hate him. He had a rude upbringing (rampant poverty, abusive father) but most of his actions are selfish and he never, never considers others' opinions. Everything is about him and he fools himself thinking that he's helping. His relationship with Edwin was infuriating. Since the book alternates viewpoints, we see that Edwin cares about him but not so much from John. He spends more time complaining that Edwin is needy and doesn't know when to stop asking, even though he knows that words need to be spoken clearly. I really wanted to help Edwin realize that he doesn't have to stay with John because he might become a better man in the future. John may start to redeem himself in the last pages but real change take time and I'm not sure he is up to the task.
I hope the author plan to write a sequel because I want to see how this city will handle the changes with free work and a disarrayed nobility. Also, more Edwin and Aubrey please, they're great characters and I love their friendship.