I’d chatted to Brian on Google+, so when I saw an ARC of his first novel as one of the giveaways at World Fantasy Con, I snapped it up. It took me longer to get to reading it than I’d hoped, but it still means that I’ve finished it within a week of its release, which isn’t bad.

This isn’t an in-depth review, but it’s what I’ve posted on Amazon and Goodreads, with a few changes to the last paragraph, because I can give half stars here.

***

The Emperor’s Blades is good old-fashioned epic fantasy. Which is not to say that it’s derivative. Sure, there are tropes here that will be recognisable to fantasy readers, most notably the “something happens which gives a character a special power” thing, but honestly, that doesn’t matter. It’s well-written and well-paced, keeps you turning the pages, and there weren’t any parts when I was flicking ahead.

When the emperor is murdered, his three children are left to secure his throne for the heir, Kaden. Their father has chosen different ways to harden his children for the task ahead: Kaden, the heir, has been sent to study with monks in a Tibetan-type setting; Adare, the only daughter, is trained politically within the court; Valyn has been sent to become a Kettral–one of an elite fighting force. Their stories seem destined to meet and part at intervals during the story, and for much of this first book, we see the three youngsters individually, learning what they will need to know.

There are fights in this. There are murders, battles, and so on, but without the glorying in blood and gore which has become so prevalent in fantasy of late. I’m not a grimdark fan, and this for me was a clearing breeze, blowing away some of the despair and torture I’ve been reading of late.

I’ll certainly be reading the rest of the series, and it’s worthy of a sound 4.5 stars out of 5.