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The Queen's Blade #1
The Queen's Blade
A doomed kingdom, a young queen’s sacrifice and a killer who will bring an empire to its knees... In a world where men share kindred with beasts, the Idol of the Beasts predicts a child who will end the Endless War after centuries of strife, but first the enemy king must die and his son be brought to the Jashimari Queen in chains… After numerous failed attempts, killing King Shandor seems impossible, until an assassin offers to do the deed. His success places the Crown Prince at Queen Minna-Satu’s mercy, and Blade becomes the instrument of her wrath. Forged in the fires of fury, his heart died long ago in the desert kingdom. His glance is as icy as his smile is disarming, and the fires of passion will never stir his blood. He is the Master of the Dance in Jondar, the best to ever hold the title. Driven by hatred and with the skills of his trade, he will usher in a time of strife and pain that will live in legend, and forever bear his name. He is the instrument who can change fate. He is the Queen’s Blade.
242 pages, Paperback
First published December 18, 2010
89 people are currently reading
1472 people want to read
About the author
T.C. Southwell
37 books156 followersT. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa.
T. C. Southwell has written over thirty novels, ranging from fantasy and science fiction to romance and adventure, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she earns a living in the IT industry.
T. C. Southwell has written over thirty novels, ranging from fantasy and science fiction to romance and adventure, as well as five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art, and she earns a living in the IT industry.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
September 20, 2012
I started reading this book on a whim and fell head first into it immediately. Although the writing isn't the most scholarly, and the author over uses certain words and phrases too often, the writing still works. The story still flows and I am utterly convinced that I too, am secretly in love with Blade. The author created such lovable, respectable, and believable characters that you cry and laugh when they do. Or at least I did. I literally had tears rolling down my face on a few occasions. Blade is an utter work of art, a jaded and hate-filled Jesus figure, oddly enough. But you come to respect him and absolutely adore him. I highly and reverently recommend this series of books!! I finished the last one 2 weeks ago and I still think about them all the time. Blade is a billy bad ass and I would be honored to know him...
July 19, 2013
I picked this up as a free ebook. I was about to delete it during a library spring clean when I read a review "colour me surprised this book is good". The review took my fancy so i gave it a go. The review didn't lie. It did take me a couple if chapters to get into as the author uses made up words like 'ten-day' to indicate week. I was loving this book until the abrupt ending. I stupidly thought it was a stand alone book but it is a 6 part series. The curse of the free ebook!
September 5, 2012
The Queen’s Blade – a self-pubbed book dun good. But why such a disappointment? **Small spoiler lower down**
I really dislike the names. Oooh, the sound and feel of them just fills me with spite! Minna-Satu (don’t you just want to slap her with a name like that?). The ‘Cotti’ makes me think of cottaging and potties - always a good combo. Tashi-Mansa? Is that someone of the male persuasion with a moustache, or have I just stepped into a manga comic without realising? What about Jasham? Saying it is like trying to talk whilst chewing a toffee: Masham-washam-lasham-mmm-nom-nom. Kerrion is passable.
The writing’s not that bad though. It gets a bit over-adjectival at times, but really, it’s pretty accomplished. There’s some good vocabulary in there, good sentence structuring and a solid grip of grammar. Gold star.
But here’s where the nice prose falls down for me. There are quite a few examples of over-writing. What this means is that one of the characters will do something, and then a few lines later Southwell will restate what they’ve just done. I find this a bit infuriating as my memory really isn’t that bad. Also, I find this a bit infuriating as my memory really isn’t that bad etc.
The other thing, and this isn’t the style so much as the plotting, is all the sodding staring into the distance that they seem to do. Into the trees, into the fire, out of the window… What’s on the other side - a naked, three-testicled man swinging through the branches whilst singing, “I know where the chocolate is, and it’s in your bottom!”?? I think it’s supposed to convey drama, but I just found it a bit repetitive and lacking in either thought or imagination.
Further, the plot is pretty linear. It has some interesting elements, to be fair, but there’s no sub-plot to be seen. There’s no complexity or dog-legging or diversion. Worse, I’m pretty sure I know what’s going to happen in the next book.
I think the biggest disappointment is the characters. They are unbelievably devoid of thought, substance or emotion. If you opened Minna-Satu up, all you’d find would be a few cat hairs and a copy of the Health and Safety Handbook. It really irritates me, because surely it’s not that hard to give your characters a little flesh to their bones? She had a grand total of ONE goal in her life. Who in this world only has one goal? I learned nothing of what she liked or disliked, felt no frisson between her and the other male(ish) characters and she just seemed so… robotic! Every character in this book seemed to talk in a very straight, faux-archaic manner – no tone in their voices. Perhaps Blade added some variation because of his back story, but that was about it.
Oh yeah, and after she man-rapes Kerrion and gets herself knocked up, he – yes he - salutes her for deceiving him! Do you know a man who, after you secretly got yourself pregnant by him, would thank you for it? No. For some reason it’s totally acceptable for Minna-Satu to use him as a sperm donor. Reminds me of Jizz Jones.
I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of the animal friend/association/mate/familiars was. I mean, the animals that traipsed around after their owners never seemed to actually do anything of note. I suppose it’s a bit like owning a cat. They never do anything except laze around and ask for food. Much better to get a dog. At least he’ll fetch you a stick to chuck on the fire with your books.
Overall, I think my problem with this book is that it had quite a lot of potential, but I think it was too rushed for this to be realised.
Maybe the next ones get better, but to be honest I can’t be bothered with them. Bit of a shame.
I really dislike the names. Oooh, the sound and feel of them just fills me with spite! Minna-Satu (don’t you just want to slap her with a name like that?). The ‘Cotti’ makes me think of cottaging and potties - always a good combo. Tashi-Mansa? Is that someone of the male persuasion with a moustache, or have I just stepped into a manga comic without realising? What about Jasham? Saying it is like trying to talk whilst chewing a toffee: Masham-washam-lasham-mmm-nom-nom. Kerrion is passable.
The writing’s not that bad though. It gets a bit over-adjectival at times, but really, it’s pretty accomplished. There’s some good vocabulary in there, good sentence structuring and a solid grip of grammar. Gold star.
But here’s where the nice prose falls down for me. There are quite a few examples of over-writing. What this means is that one of the characters will do something, and then a few lines later Southwell will restate what they’ve just done. I find this a bit infuriating as my memory really isn’t that bad. Also, I find this a bit infuriating as my memory really isn’t that bad etc.
The other thing, and this isn’t the style so much as the plotting, is all the sodding staring into the distance that they seem to do. Into the trees, into the fire, out of the window… What’s on the other side - a naked, three-testicled man swinging through the branches whilst singing, “I know where the chocolate is, and it’s in your bottom!”?? I think it’s supposed to convey drama, but I just found it a bit repetitive and lacking in either thought or imagination.
Further, the plot is pretty linear. It has some interesting elements, to be fair, but there’s no sub-plot to be seen. There’s no complexity or dog-legging or diversion. Worse, I’m pretty sure I know what’s going to happen in the next book.
I think the biggest disappointment is the characters. They are unbelievably devoid of thought, substance or emotion. If you opened Minna-Satu up, all you’d find would be a few cat hairs and a copy of the Health and Safety Handbook. It really irritates me, because surely it’s not that hard to give your characters a little flesh to their bones? She had a grand total of ONE goal in her life. Who in this world only has one goal? I learned nothing of what she liked or disliked, felt no frisson between her and the other male(ish) characters and she just seemed so… robotic! Every character in this book seemed to talk in a very straight, faux-archaic manner – no tone in their voices. Perhaps Blade added some variation because of his back story, but that was about it.
Oh yeah, and after she man-rapes Kerrion and gets herself knocked up, he – yes he - salutes her for deceiving him! Do you know a man who, after you secretly got yourself pregnant by him, would thank you for it? No. For some reason it’s totally acceptable for Minna-Satu to use him as a sperm donor. Reminds me of Jizz Jones.
I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of the animal friend/association/mate/familiars was. I mean, the animals that traipsed around after their owners never seemed to actually do anything of note. I suppose it’s a bit like owning a cat. They never do anything except laze around and ask for food. Much better to get a dog. At least he’ll fetch you a stick to chuck on the fire with your books.
Overall, I think my problem with this book is that it had quite a lot of potential, but I think it was too rushed for this to be realised.
Maybe the next ones get better, but to be honest I can’t be bothered with them. Bit of a shame.
February 28, 2013
Well color me surprised. I wasn't expecting too much from this book as it hadn't been experiencing that much traffic on Goodreads, but it was a really good read.
In the world of this book, almost everyone has an animal familiar, and they have traits similar to that animal, and also they get along with other animals or not, or fall into certain jobs somewhat predictably.
When the Queen Minna-Satu takes power, she has one goal, and that's to end the war between her land and the neighboring kingdom. She seeks help from the Idol of Beasts, who tells her how to end the war. To accomplish what she wants, at first she sends brave and cunning soldiers, who fail at the task, and finally, a lone assassin comes to her and says that he would like a chance.
Blade is at once very interesting and very frustrating. It gave me a pause for thought, because I've often accused the male lead in books, of only pretending to be bad-ass, until they meet a girl and then they are whiny and insecure. Blade, is bad-ass. The right kind, he knows his limitations (he's an assasin, not a bar-brawler) he's very honest about where his loyalties lie (he likes money, could care less about politics) he's full of angst and bitterness (rough childhood) he incredibly selfish, yet, as the reader will find him, like the woman in his life, still a little hard to resist. Woman like to throw themselves at Blade, and Blade for reasons that will become apparent if you read the book, is a little "frankly my dear I don't give a" for the ladies.
And I did miss it, the romantic or sexual tension. While at the same time, it was nice to read a book without it, the plot couldn't depend on it, people had to go about their lives and make their decisions without any (well...not much anyway) secret trysts or forbidden love.
The way the book is written, it has an old style inflection, so that it sounds slightly like a non-King-James Version of the Bible, or stylized like the old texts and manuscripts they bring up from those times.
All in all, I thought it was really solid writing. It had a cohesive plot, well developed characters, and simple, but very effective world-building. I look forward to the sequel.
In the world of this book, almost everyone has an animal familiar, and they have traits similar to that animal, and also they get along with other animals or not, or fall into certain jobs somewhat predictably.
When the Queen Minna-Satu takes power, she has one goal, and that's to end the war between her land and the neighboring kingdom. She seeks help from the Idol of Beasts, who tells her how to end the war. To accomplish what she wants, at first she sends brave and cunning soldiers, who fail at the task, and finally, a lone assassin comes to her and says that he would like a chance.
Blade is at once very interesting and very frustrating. It gave me a pause for thought, because I've often accused the male lead in books, of only pretending to be bad-ass, until they meet a girl and then they are whiny and insecure. Blade, is bad-ass. The right kind, he knows his limitations (he's an assasin, not a bar-brawler) he's very honest about where his loyalties lie (he likes money, could care less about politics) he's full of angst and bitterness (rough childhood) he incredibly selfish, yet, as the reader will find him, like the woman in his life, still a little hard to resist. Woman like to throw themselves at Blade, and Blade for reasons that will become apparent if you read the book, is a little "frankly my dear I don't give a" for the ladies.
And I did miss it, the romantic or sexual tension. While at the same time, it was nice to read a book without it, the plot couldn't depend on it, people had to go about their lives and make their decisions without any (well...not much anyway) secret trysts or forbidden love.
The way the book is written, it has an old style inflection, so that it sounds slightly like a non-King-James Version of the Bible, or stylized like the old texts and manuscripts they bring up from those times.
All in all, I thought it was really solid writing. It had a cohesive plot, well developed characters, and simple, but very effective world-building. I look forward to the sequel.
March 2, 2011
This is from my B&N review: (I go by BecomingJenn there)
I was quite impressed with this work. Just to note, this is a piece of fantasy fiction, in which the world described is not the one in which we live... I originally picked this up as a free book, but I WILL be purchasing the others in the series. I was caught up in this believable world, and admired the way in which the characters were developed. They were believable, and multi-dimensional, and you felt connected to them. I felt that this world believable and that I could sense who the Cotti and the Jashimari, and what it must be like to live in this world...not only that, you felt a lot for both the Jashimari queen, Cotash, and Kerrion, and what history has led them to the points they are in their lives, and the difficult decisions and actions they must take...I'm sitting on the edge of my seat until I read the next, and will also read and re-read this book! TC Souuthwell, has delivered a great work of fantasy which will delight most fantasy lovers...and even those who love a fast paced adventure with assassins, courtly intrigue, and the struggles of nations to survive...
I was quite impressed with this work. Just to note, this is a piece of fantasy fiction, in which the world described is not the one in which we live... I originally picked this up as a free book, but I WILL be purchasing the others in the series. I was caught up in this believable world, and admired the way in which the characters were developed. They were believable, and multi-dimensional, and you felt connected to them. I felt that this world believable and that I could sense who the Cotti and the Jashimari, and what it must be like to live in this world...not only that, you felt a lot for both the Jashimari queen, Cotash, and Kerrion, and what history has led them to the points they are in their lives, and the difficult decisions and actions they must take...I'm sitting on the edge of my seat until I read the next, and will also read and re-read this book! TC Souuthwell, has delivered a great work of fantasy which will delight most fantasy lovers...and even those who love a fast paced adventure with assassins, courtly intrigue, and the struggles of nations to survive...
July 5, 2012
This is the first of a six-book collection, and I have read all of them. It took a liitle deeper reading to find out whether the main character (called Blade, oddly enough)was a "good guy" or not. There's no question that he is an excellent assassin. However, for all the things he does in order to do his job, he is a damaged soul. As you read, you can begin to understand why he is what he is. As you go further into the series, more of his personality and his personal demons come through.
It was an excellent series, and since many movies are based on books, I hope that the story in these books make it to the silver screen.
It was an excellent series, and since many movies are based on books, I hope that the story in these books make it to the silver screen.
August 17, 2021
Lovely writing. The plot is very engaging, and the characters are very intriguing. There might be a lot of triggering stuff, although, the story of revenge, determination, assassins, kings and powerful queens who know what needs to be done and who have the grit to do it, although they may lose heart.
August 3, 2011
I'm always up for a good book about an assassin and I do love my books where the main protagonist is a good guy . . . no wait . . . a bad guy . . . no wait, who cares because he's awesome. 4.5/5 Stars. This is the first book of a trilogy and I will definitely try to read the others. It's another books published through Smashwords.com by an Indie writer and it is free on Barne's and Noble on the Nook, although the next two are not.
It's about a war that had been going on for centuries between two kingdoms and a young queen who comes to power who vows to end the war. Truly though, it's about her pet assassin; the Queen's Blade.
It is not a difficult book to read and doesn't drag at any point throughout it. For me at least, this was a very fast, easy and enjoyable read.
It's about a war that had been going on for centuries between two kingdoms and a young queen who comes to power who vows to end the war. Truly though, it's about her pet assassin; the Queen's Blade.
It is not a difficult book to read and doesn't drag at any point throughout it. For me at least, this was a very fast, easy and enjoyable read.
February 26, 2023
A fantasy story of a very successful assassin who gets caught up in the political intrigue of two warring nation's.
Well written and enjoyable
Well written and enjoyable
July 10, 2012
I will admit, I was not impressed by the first couple of chapters of the Queen's Blade (Book One). They were uneventful and did more telling than showing (which happened more than I liked throughout the series). Maybe there was even too much back story, I don't know. But by the time Blade's character was introduced, I didn't care. I was in it 'till the end by that point.
Blade enthralled me with his cold-blooded nature from the jump. The assassin's lack of respect for those of a higher station entertained me and the pitiless way he dished out death impressed me. Yes, impressed. The reader (or I) gets an understanding from the first introduction that Blade is totally miserable and only a perfectly miserable soul could slip a dagger into someone's heart in the middle of the night...without waking the person that is lying beside them. Impressive stuff, that is.
Southwell drives the entire series using Blade's sadistic wit and humor, plus his total lack of give-a-damn. But he is not the only character that I enjoyed reading about. The author also did a good job creating complimentary characters who put forth an unrelenting effort to chip away the ice that surrounds Blade's heart, much to his annoyance and that of his peers. Though lacking true depth (which was balanced out by the complexity of Blade), I came to like the other main characters and wanted to see them triumph as much as I wanted Blade to.
The only fall back to this series was the predictability. At times, I felt like Blade was experiencing things he already had in previous books or chapters, and in a sense, he was. But when it comes down to it, assassins only have one path: survive or die. Southwell doesn't feed you some unrealistic narrative about an assassin who lives a glorious life free from drama and people wanting his head on a block. She gives you the real version, one where the main character Blade is hunted on a daily basis and literally has to sleep with one eye open and a dagger in his hand.
However, the predictability issues in this series are overshadowed by the witty dialogue, fun characters, and a few great moments of hilarity. I would recommend this book to lovers of fantastical worlds, scheming kings and queens, and characters that refuse to let themselves be defeated by fate.
Blade enthralled me with his cold-blooded nature from the jump. The assassin's lack of respect for those of a higher station entertained me and the pitiless way he dished out death impressed me. Yes, impressed. The reader (or I) gets an understanding from the first introduction that Blade is totally miserable and only a perfectly miserable soul could slip a dagger into someone's heart in the middle of the night...without waking the person that is lying beside them. Impressive stuff, that is.
Southwell drives the entire series using Blade's sadistic wit and humor, plus his total lack of give-a-damn. But he is not the only character that I enjoyed reading about. The author also did a good job creating complimentary characters who put forth an unrelenting effort to chip away the ice that surrounds Blade's heart, much to his annoyance and that of his peers. Though lacking true depth (which was balanced out by the complexity of Blade), I came to like the other main characters and wanted to see them triumph as much as I wanted Blade to.
The only fall back to this series was the predictability. At times, I felt like Blade was experiencing things he already had in previous books or chapters, and in a sense, he was. But when it comes down to it, assassins only have one path: survive or die. Southwell doesn't feed you some unrealistic narrative about an assassin who lives a glorious life free from drama and people wanting his head on a block. She gives you the real version, one where the main character Blade is hunted on a daily basis and literally has to sleep with one eye open and a dagger in his hand.
However, the predictability issues in this series are overshadowed by the witty dialogue, fun characters, and a few great moments of hilarity. I would recommend this book to lovers of fantastical worlds, scheming kings and queens, and characters that refuse to let themselves be defeated by fate.
January 17, 2017
They live in the land that has been at war for many more years that can be counted. One side ruled by Queens, the other by Kings. Queen Minna sets out to find how she can make peace to this seemingly endless war that no one even really knows why they are fighting anymore, but to have peace, would also cause many to be without a profession or a set future. After consulting a seer, she hires and then appoints a very successful assassin to kill the king and bring the prince next in line to her unharmed. She tries to come to a treaty of sorts but it is not agreeable to the prince, but he also wants the same thing. While she steals from him to try to make peace occur, they both don't really realize that they have true feelings for each other. The Queen makes the assassin called Blade part of her parliament, but this does not come without its own consequences from others in her court. This book has an interesting plot with a touch of romance. It really picks up towards the end, but this is the first in the series and thus I don't have a conclusion to see if the plan works for peace, or does it call out a full blown hate/hate war or even if the love story pans out. Overall book was ok and at some point may go back and finish to see what happens. In a realistic aspect this is far from reality in general I feel.
Read
November 17, 2014THE QUEEN’S BLADE is a tale of two kingdoms, forever at war, and the lengths to which the new queen will go to bring about peace for her people. The writing style is sharp and concise, the plot is intriguing, and the characters are interesting. I did feel the characters could have benefited from more growth over the course of the book. My favorite character was Conash (aka Blade), who is a highly skilled and sought after assassin. His character seems the strongest to me out of all the rest. He is, to me, well-defined and engaging. I thought the animal familiars, which only some of the characters have, were a somewhat unusual addition to the story. I wish they had been given more background as to why they exist and their role in this world. I also thought the ending was abrupt and hopefully the opening to book 2 will start right at where book 1 ended and not five months later, for example. THE QUEEN’S BLADE is the first book in what could grow into an epic high fantasy series.
October 9, 2012
What do I think ? I think I loved it. The characters, the story itself and how it is told, the improbable love stories that I can see coming...and the cliffhanger that has killed me.
I got attached to Lord Conash and to Kerrion...but Lord Conash is my favorite. He reminds me of Win (those who've read Harlan Coben will know who I'm talking about). A medieval Windsor Lockwood III who has suffered to an unimaginable extent and who, despite what he says and does, has a tender soul...unless he is sent to kill you...
I just need to buy the following books of the series now.
I got attached to Lord Conash and to Kerrion...but Lord Conash is my favorite. He reminds me of Win (those who've read Harlan Coben will know who I'm talking about). A medieval Windsor Lockwood III who has suffered to an unimaginable extent and who, despite what he says and does, has a tender soul...unless he is sent to kill you...
I just need to buy the following books of the series now.
May 20, 2019
I really liked this book.
It started off with some background and lots of strange names that I hoped I wouldn't have to remember.
But then the intrigue started and it was very easy reading. The Jashawarri and Cotti have been at war for generations. But Minna, the Queen of the Matriarchical people, wants peace - much to the disgust of her lords and merchants.
Blade's character, the title of the book, is well developed and has a great story if you want to read the next book.
Overall a good read.
It started off with some background and lots of strange names that I hoped I wouldn't have to remember.
But then the intrigue started and it was very easy reading. The Jashawarri and Cotti have been at war for generations. But Minna, the Queen of the Matriarchical people, wants peace - much to the disgust of her lords and merchants.
Blade's character, the title of the book, is well developed and has a great story if you want to read the next book.
Overall a good read.
dnf
May 7, 2016DNF at 50%- I figured if I haven't picked it back up to continue after almost a year then chances are I'm not going to. It wasn't bad. I actually kind of liked it. But I am just not very compelled to finish it I guess.
May 28, 2021
The Queen’s Blade, by Southwell hit a lot of the buttons on the “politically correct” console and, for that alone, it deserves to be panned. The fact that it was full of tropes and sluggish didn’t help.
August 31, 2013
So much potential. Such a flat landing for its face. The first half, anyway. The second half leaves a much better taste. Someday, this author might be up there with the rest of published authors. The author just isn't there yet. The part that caught my eye in the first place assassin protagonist. I have weakness for all things assassins. When done right, they can be some of the most memorable characters out there. Done like this assassin in the first half of the book, and..... Oh, dear.
The decent stuff content is ~50% of the first 30 pages. It goes up to ~60% up until pg. 50 or so. And up to pg. 90, the decent content is ~80%. The moments of brilliance become more frequent, as well. It's not a horrible book, it just has a lot of amatuer mistakes, which become fewer as the author writes more. Sure, the second half reached almost all of its potential, but reading it through the first time, I had no way of knowing that.
My impression after reading the first fifty or so pages was that it's a 3 out of 5 stars book. I wouldn't describe the book as mediocre. It swings between overdone and melodramatic to entertaining and riveting. Very different from Paolini and Meyer, with their consistent horror shows. I'd just like to mention that because this author is better than them. The reason I'm so dissappointed is because with heavy-duty editing, this could have been so much better. But it isn't. And it's heart-breaking because it could be.
The grammar and sentence structure is mistake-free, except for once. (As far as I can tell. But I'm no editor.) It does tell a story. But the melodrama Southwell wrings out of it is laugh-out-loud funny. Downright hilarious. (This is coming from someone who's ready to throw a sappy romance across the room two chapters into it. Put as much salt in this review as you want.)
The biggest problem is that Blade, an assassin, is a Gary Stu. Therefore, he is Special. Therefore, everyone else in the book knows how Special he is. Therefore, this fact is constantly drilled into the reader's head. Out of all the advisors, nobles, and servants in the entire castle, who does the queen take the most interest in? Why, Blade, of course. Who has the most angsty, tragic past? Blade. Who's the hottest in all the land? Blade. Who gets to get away with insulting the queen? Blade. Who got told how appropriate his name is? Blade. And since the author is head over heels for him, she makes him extra, extra special by devolving into purple prose/unnatural dialogue when his tragic past and he are involved.
Further problems include familiars. They are not animals or seperate entities. They are pre-packaged personalities for their owners. Someone has a snake for a familiar? They are going to be shifty and sneaky people. Also cold-hearted, because most assassins are snake people. Why? Because they have snakes. That means they're cold-hearted. Cow people are going to be big, calm, and strong. Crow people are going to be observant and clever. Ad nauseum.
This depedance on animals has too little impact on the world to be proper world-building. One of the nobles is a snake person. He carries his familiar with him wherever he goes. But what about the horse people? There's been no provisions for them to cart their familiars through the palace halls. The horses have to stay outside. And what happens when a wolf person runs into a sheep person? Do they hate each other? Nope. Not if plot requires them to get along, as illustrated by the cat queen and her dove advisor.
Blade is an assassin. But he's a cat person and cat people are rarely assassins, because they're not cold-hearted like snakes. The queen finds this interesting. And yes, he named himself Blade. That alone doesn't bother me. When a character names themselves, the kind of name they give themselves is a window into their personality. I'd say Blade is desperately trying to compensate for something. It's rather interesting. But when the author has other characters mention how appropriate that name is, I'm cringing because when that happens, I get the feeling the author thinks they are being dark and edgy and clever.
And he has an assassin tattoo. Like Captain Sparrow's P for pirate, this guy has a blade tattoo to mark him as an assassin. At least with Captain Sparrow, it wasn't voluntary, if I recall. Blade's tattoo is on his neck. Hopefully, these people have invented turtle necks or he's shit out of luck if he wants to walk around in public without his armour (which hides it).
Another huge fault is the Endless War. It's a war between the people in the nice, green countryside and the people living in the desert. There's mountains between them. And they've been fighting for many generations.
To be fair, it's said that rich people benefit from the war and that's why it hasn't stopped. That's reasonable. Mine owners, smiths, and such get rich from the war.
What's not reasonable is the scope that's hinted at. If that many battles with that many casualties really have been waged for that many generations, then both kingdoms should be pretty much out of poor people and have a men/women ratio of approximately 1 : 265 or mainly female armies. Either way, not enough is mentioned that I'm buying into the feasibility.
And the queen on the green, lush side has pledged to stop it. The nobles are in an uproar. That's reasonable. What's not reasonable is the queen, who was called intelligent by several characters, saying the pledge outloud and making herself a target like that. Especially since the only thing she's done about it is consult a seer and send seventeen people or so to go marching into the middle enemy camp to capture the prince, where the king can do this: "[he] gazed at the sea of armoured warriors that surrounded his desert camp." Good job, queen. It's not like they're going to die. Especially the part where you split them up into three groups, sending them one at a time. Brilliant plan. Why don't you send little girls to go kill dragons with man-sized spears? I bet they didn't make it past the sentries. But I won't know since we didn't get to see their efforts. And she's flabbergasted at the idea of sending in an assassin to sneak past the sentries because everyone knows that assassins don't know how to take prisoners.... Yeah....
I reviewed it in more detail here: http://antishurtugal.livejournal.com/...
Summary:
The whole book was ultimate proof that the best way to shut up a lot of the critics is to write better. The author's skills improved along the way, which provided less critique fodder for me.
At the end, I still can't tell if Blade was being a melodramatic liar and saying he is empty and he does not enjoy killing people, he meant the killing part wasn't enjoyable, not the succeeding part, or if he was meant to be that way and gave his creator the finger by turning into someone else. With the third option, my characters have done that to me often enough that I know it happens. “What? Be brave? Cheerful? Ha! Screw you, I'm hiding under the bed.” If it was the second one, then the distinction between killing and success should have been made.
*sigh* And just when the author had been doing so well, that if I saw a book on a store shelf of that quality, I wouldn't have blinked, the author goes and does something stupid. Blade is a freaking assassin with a tramatic childhood. You'd think he'd have a little more paranoia and you'd think he'd pay a little more attention to his intuition and surroundings. But instead, he notices the spy seems to hate him, and appears angry enough to kill, and is glaring at Blade's back, and lives in the enemy's country, is the enemy race, and is setting off Blade's alarm bells off left, right, and centre. Does he listen to the bad feeling he has? Does he excersize caution? Does he watch for a knife in the back? Does he use basic common sense and turn around and look behind him once in a while? Nope. And guess what? He gets ambushed.
And the book ends.
And the next one isn't free like this one was.
I've seen worse on bookstore shelves. *cough-TerryGoodkind-RobertJordan-DennisMcKeirnan-cough-* Despite the flaws early on, it told a coherent story and was quite enjoyable. By the end, I noticed more moments of sheer brilliance than head-scratching logic shortages. The beginning was quite rough. I never would have guessed that the author had written more than one book before. But the author stopped trying too hard and relaxed, the result was quite captivating.
So remember, don't force badassery onto a character. Give your characters abilities, a drive to do something, and a personality, and badassery will follow.
"I kill in many ways, I just have my favourites.”
-Blade
The decent stuff content is ~50% of the first 30 pages. It goes up to ~60% up until pg. 50 or so. And up to pg. 90, the decent content is ~80%. The moments of brilliance become more frequent, as well. It's not a horrible book, it just has a lot of amatuer mistakes, which become fewer as the author writes more. Sure, the second half reached almost all of its potential, but reading it through the first time, I had no way of knowing that.
My impression after reading the first fifty or so pages was that it's a 3 out of 5 stars book. I wouldn't describe the book as mediocre. It swings between overdone and melodramatic to entertaining and riveting. Very different from Paolini and Meyer, with their consistent horror shows. I'd just like to mention that because this author is better than them. The reason I'm so dissappointed is because with heavy-duty editing, this could have been so much better. But it isn't. And it's heart-breaking because it could be.
The grammar and sentence structure is mistake-free, except for once. (As far as I can tell. But I'm no editor.) It does tell a story. But the melodrama Southwell wrings out of it is laugh-out-loud funny. Downright hilarious. (This is coming from someone who's ready to throw a sappy romance across the room two chapters into it. Put as much salt in this review as you want.)
The biggest problem is that Blade, an assassin, is a Gary Stu. Therefore, he is Special. Therefore, everyone else in the book knows how Special he is. Therefore, this fact is constantly drilled into the reader's head. Out of all the advisors, nobles, and servants in the entire castle, who does the queen take the most interest in? Why, Blade, of course. Who has the most angsty, tragic past? Blade. Who's the hottest in all the land? Blade. Who gets to get away with insulting the queen? Blade. Who got told how appropriate his name is? Blade. And since the author is head over heels for him, she makes him extra, extra special by devolving into purple prose/unnatural dialogue when his tragic past and he are involved.
Further problems include familiars. They are not animals or seperate entities. They are pre-packaged personalities for their owners. Someone has a snake for a familiar? They are going to be shifty and sneaky people. Also cold-hearted, because most assassins are snake people. Why? Because they have snakes. That means they're cold-hearted. Cow people are going to be big, calm, and strong. Crow people are going to be observant and clever. Ad nauseum.
This depedance on animals has too little impact on the world to be proper world-building. One of the nobles is a snake person. He carries his familiar with him wherever he goes. But what about the horse people? There's been no provisions for them to cart their familiars through the palace halls. The horses have to stay outside. And what happens when a wolf person runs into a sheep person? Do they hate each other? Nope. Not if plot requires them to get along, as illustrated by the cat queen and her dove advisor.
Blade is an assassin. But he's a cat person and cat people are rarely assassins, because they're not cold-hearted like snakes. The queen finds this interesting. And yes, he named himself Blade. That alone doesn't bother me. When a character names themselves, the kind of name they give themselves is a window into their personality. I'd say Blade is desperately trying to compensate for something. It's rather interesting. But when the author has other characters mention how appropriate that name is, I'm cringing because when that happens, I get the feeling the author thinks they are being dark and edgy and clever.
And he has an assassin tattoo. Like Captain Sparrow's P for pirate, this guy has a blade tattoo to mark him as an assassin. At least with Captain Sparrow, it wasn't voluntary, if I recall. Blade's tattoo is on his neck. Hopefully, these people have invented turtle necks or he's shit out of luck if he wants to walk around in public without his armour (which hides it).
Another huge fault is the Endless War. It's a war between the people in the nice, green countryside and the people living in the desert. There's mountains between them. And they've been fighting for many generations.
To be fair, it's said that rich people benefit from the war and that's why it hasn't stopped. That's reasonable. Mine owners, smiths, and such get rich from the war.
What's not reasonable is the scope that's hinted at. If that many battles with that many casualties really have been waged for that many generations, then both kingdoms should be pretty much out of poor people and have a men/women ratio of approximately 1 : 265 or mainly female armies. Either way, not enough is mentioned that I'm buying into the feasibility.
And the queen on the green, lush side has pledged to stop it. The nobles are in an uproar. That's reasonable. What's not reasonable is the queen, who was called intelligent by several characters, saying the pledge outloud and making herself a target like that. Especially since the only thing she's done about it is consult a seer and send seventeen people or so to go marching into the middle enemy camp to capture the prince, where the king can do this: "[he] gazed at the sea of armoured warriors that surrounded his desert camp." Good job, queen. It's not like they're going to die. Especially the part where you split them up into three groups, sending them one at a time. Brilliant plan. Why don't you send little girls to go kill dragons with man-sized spears? I bet they didn't make it past the sentries. But I won't know since we didn't get to see their efforts. And she's flabbergasted at the idea of sending in an assassin to sneak past the sentries because everyone knows that assassins don't know how to take prisoners.... Yeah....
I reviewed it in more detail here: http://antishurtugal.livejournal.com/...
Summary:
The whole book was ultimate proof that the best way to shut up a lot of the critics is to write better. The author's skills improved along the way, which provided less critique fodder for me.
At the end, I still can't tell if Blade was being a melodramatic liar and saying he is empty and he does not enjoy killing people, he meant the killing part wasn't enjoyable, not the succeeding part, or if he was meant to be that way and gave his creator the finger by turning into someone else. With the third option, my characters have done that to me often enough that I know it happens. “What? Be brave? Cheerful? Ha! Screw you, I'm hiding under the bed.” If it was the second one, then the distinction between killing and success should have been made.
*sigh* And just when the author had been doing so well, that if I saw a book on a store shelf of that quality, I wouldn't have blinked, the author goes and does something stupid. Blade is a freaking assassin with a tramatic childhood. You'd think he'd have a little more paranoia and you'd think he'd pay a little more attention to his intuition and surroundings. But instead, he notices the spy seems to hate him, and appears angry enough to kill, and is glaring at Blade's back, and lives in the enemy's country, is the enemy race, and is setting off Blade's alarm bells off left, right, and centre. Does he listen to the bad feeling he has? Does he excersize caution? Does he watch for a knife in the back? Does he use basic common sense and turn around and look behind him once in a while? Nope. And guess what? He gets ambushed.
And the book ends.
And the next one isn't free like this one was.
I've seen worse on bookstore shelves. *cough-TerryGoodkind-RobertJordan-DennisMcKeirnan-cough-* Despite the flaws early on, it told a coherent story and was quite enjoyable. By the end, I noticed more moments of sheer brilliance than head-scratching logic shortages. The beginning was quite rough. I never would have guessed that the author had written more than one book before. But the author stopped trying too hard and relaxed, the result was quite captivating.
So remember, don't force badassery onto a character. Give your characters abilities, a drive to do something, and a personality, and badassery will follow.
"I kill in many ways, I just have my favourites.”
-Blade
July 15, 2019
This book was quite enjoyable.
I like the author’s writing style, and the ideas of the story themselves are nice.
Everything was well described. Because of that, I loved characters.. and strongly disliked others. I also managed to get a nice view of how things should be. We can clearly see the difference between the ‘Jashimari’ lands and the ‘Cotti’ ones, and of the people’s characteristics, alike.
Discovering this world was interesting. And all the weird stuff us humans do not and will probably never have.
The story can get slightly slow every now and then, but well.. all stories get that way when it comes to explanations.
And the cliffhanger we are forced to be left on is displeasing, leaving me curious for more.
I honestly would like to carry on in the series to figure what more problems the beloved characters will have to endure, and all their clever solutions.
I like the author’s writing style, and the ideas of the story themselves are nice.
Everything was well described. Because of that, I loved characters.. and strongly disliked others. I also managed to get a nice view of how things should be. We can clearly see the difference between the ‘Jashimari’ lands and the ‘Cotti’ ones, and of the people’s characteristics, alike.
Discovering this world was interesting. And all the weird stuff us humans do not and will probably never have.
The story can get slightly slow every now and then, but well.. all stories get that way when it comes to explanations.
And the cliffhanger we are forced to be left on is displeasing, leaving me curious for more.
I honestly would like to carry on in the series to figure what more problems the beloved characters will have to endure, and all their clever solutions.
July 24, 2023
I love the variety and depth of characters throughout the entirety of this series, I'm actually revisiting it for another read.
Blade manages to be cold yet alluring, harsh, intelligent, and deeply loyal... and so very lovable. (Yes, yes I feel in love with a fictional character again!😍😑🤦)
The world is intriguing, the conflicts and resolutions deeply human, and the host of character's growths refreshing.
Being an assassin's tale there is of course violence. However Southwell writes it pointedly, and with a measure of grace.
The story moves, speeding up and slowing down, with a natural cadence making it a good pace throughout.
This book and its series is a delightful uncomplicated read, and just a good story. I love it.
Blade manages to be cold yet alluring, harsh, intelligent, and deeply loyal... and so very lovable. (Yes, yes I feel in love with a fictional character again!😍😑🤦)
The world is intriguing, the conflicts and resolutions deeply human, and the host of character's growths refreshing.
Being an assassin's tale there is of course violence. However Southwell writes it pointedly, and with a measure of grace.
The story moves, speeding up and slowing down, with a natural cadence making it a good pace throughout.
This book and its series is a delightful uncomplicated read, and just a good story. I love it.
February 13, 2026
It was better than I expected, since it was just one of those books that I downloaded for free in my early Kindle days. The world building with the animal familiars was interesting, though I felt like there were things brought up that didn’t get explained well, like the dream silk. Maybe that’s done in a later book? It was a bit odd how drawn to Blade both of the main women seemed to be, since he’s clearly giving the back off vibes. TBD if I’m going to continue with this series, since I’ve got a thousand other books on my Kindle to wade through (that’s really not much exaggeration), but it kept me interested enough.
One note on formatting — maybe this has been updated since I picked it up, but I do wish there had been more of a visual break between character perspectives, since it was often switching mid-chapter and I found the abruptness of it rather jarring.
One note on formatting — maybe this has been updated since I picked it up, but I do wish there had been more of a visual break between character perspectives, since it was often switching mid-chapter and I found the abruptness of it rather jarring.
May 20, 2017
This book took me a few years to get through as it was one I downloaded for free for my kindle and I just never really used it much. After finding the Kindle App I managed to finish it and I was impressed with the way the politics and fantasy are well balanced. It reminded me a lot of a few other books I have read and I really enjoyed that. My only issues were that as an assassin the main character doesn't need to be an expert in everything but does need to be proficient in every skill of his trade. My other issue was that for not having much character presence the author is building up a romance with a side character that just feels slapped in.
April 23, 2018
Great read !!
The book started out with a never ending war .new queen that wants the death of her people to stop.this is where our main character the assassin comes into play the more the author made me feel the assassins pain,hate and rage ! I couldn't put the book down .the story line was beautifully written along with the details of a world in desperate need of someone to take a stand against a war that is killing thousands of people. The queen is desperate to come up with a plan and the assassin will do anything to change his lot in life.I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have God bless !!
The book started out with a never ending war .new queen that wants the death of her people to stop.this is where our main character the assassin comes into play the more the author made me feel the assassins pain,hate and rage ! I couldn't put the book down .the story line was beautifully written along with the details of a world in desperate need of someone to take a stand against a war that is killing thousands of people. The queen is desperate to come up with a plan and the assassin will do anything to change his lot in life.I really hope you enjoy it as much as I have God bless !!
May 12, 2022
Straight forward fantasy story,the first in a long series. Quite good.
This novel is really about three main characters, Queen Minna, Blade the assassin and Prince Kerrion of the Cotti. The endless war between Queen Minna’s realm and her Cotti desert neighbours is the basis for this tale and the three main protagonists appear to influence its fate. The characters are well-developed as are the secondary ones. The plot moves along at a reasonable pace and this volume ends on a cliffhanger. It’s quite good with the odd original idea but it’s standard fare, not particularly special.
This novel is really about three main characters, Queen Minna, Blade the assassin and Prince Kerrion of the Cotti. The endless war between Queen Minna’s realm and her Cotti desert neighbours is the basis for this tale and the three main protagonists appear to influence its fate. The characters are well-developed as are the secondary ones. The plot moves along at a reasonable pace and this volume ends on a cliffhanger. It’s quite good with the odd original idea but it’s standard fare, not particularly special.
January 13, 2019
Looking for something with new elements that no one has done before? Looking for skulking, action, love, hate, assassinations, dancing, animals, death, generations of war, loss, tragedy, redemption, revenge, faithfulness, survival, courage, queens, kings, prostitutes, nobles, shepherds, soldiers and a story that ultimately changes the face of this whole world? Try it. First book is free. The whole series is spectacular.
October 1, 2018
2 stars. For some reason just didn't hold my interest.
February 18, 2019
Fell in love with the characters. Couldn't wait to turn to the next chapter.
April 13, 2019
2.5
Just eh. I had to decide to read this just so I wouldn't forget to get back to it.
0419
Just eh. I had to decide to read this just so I wouldn't forget to get back to it.
0419
July 1, 2019
Amazing
July 11, 2021
Not for me
Three stars as its well written but just not for me. Good characters, good story line and I can see areas for develipment.
Three stars as its well written but just not for me. Good characters, good story line and I can see areas for develipment.
July 5, 2013
The world of this story is unique. Everyone born there has an affinity for an animal that they bond with for life—the animal’s life is bound up with theirs, so shorter-lived animals enjoy an extended lifespan. People’s natures are expressed by the animals they bond with and attributes they share with their bond animal are accentuated. There are cat-kin, bird-kin, snake-kin, even insect-kin. These bonded pairs communicate together and are so close that nothing is more traumatic than to survive the loss of one’s bond-animal.
The story is about an assassin who has no bond-animal. His horrific past has led him to claim that he doesn’t care about anything, least of all whether he lives or dies, which has made his reputation as an assassin because he takes on risky jobs. The law in this land is that the crime of the assassination is against the client who hires the assassin rather than the assassin himself, but that doesn’t make assassins respectable, though they have a guild and some rather rigid ethical restrictions to distinguish them from common murderers. Because assassins are forbidden to kill each other, they obtain status within their guild not by body counts, but by displaying their deadly skills in a “dance of death” that is judged on artistic merit by acclaim of the other assassins. The finest assassin in a city is called the Master of the Dance.
Blade is the Master of the Dance in Jashimara’s capital city. His country has been involved in the Endless War with the Cotti, fierce desert warriors, and the new queen is determined to bring it to an end and has consulted an oracle on how to stop the war. The answer she obtained will demand all her courage to see it through—and she needs someone to carry out the first step—infiltrating the Cotti lands and the Cotti army to kill the Cotti king and kidnap the king’s grown heir, and bring the prince back to her. There is no shortage of gallant and accomplished warriors who volunteer, but don’t return, with or without the prince.
Blade is twenty-eight, the age when most assassins are either dead or ready to retire because their skills are starting to slip, and the queen has offered the tantalizing reward of nobility and a rich estate. Blade persuades the queen to let him try to accomplish the mission, and in doing so, becomes entangled in the political intrigues of both countries—neither of whose political elite are the least bit interested in an unprofitable peace.
I enjoyed the plot, but the thing that made this book—and the series—hard to put down was the character development of Blade as he reclaims his humanity, and despite his claims to the contrary, becomes a true hero.
The series runs for six books, plus two prequels that do not need to be read first. I bought all of them. T. C. Southwell has several other series available, and all the first books are free. I bought two other series, The Demon Lord series and The Cyber Chronicles. I’ve reread all of them, but the Queen’s Blade series is one of the best I’ve read—and re-read—in recent memory.
The story is about an assassin who has no bond-animal. His horrific past has led him to claim that he doesn’t care about anything, least of all whether he lives or dies, which has made his reputation as an assassin because he takes on risky jobs. The law in this land is that the crime of the assassination is against the client who hires the assassin rather than the assassin himself, but that doesn’t make assassins respectable, though they have a guild and some rather rigid ethical restrictions to distinguish them from common murderers. Because assassins are forbidden to kill each other, they obtain status within their guild not by body counts, but by displaying their deadly skills in a “dance of death” that is judged on artistic merit by acclaim of the other assassins. The finest assassin in a city is called the Master of the Dance.
Blade is the Master of the Dance in Jashimara’s capital city. His country has been involved in the Endless War with the Cotti, fierce desert warriors, and the new queen is determined to bring it to an end and has consulted an oracle on how to stop the war. The answer she obtained will demand all her courage to see it through—and she needs someone to carry out the first step—infiltrating the Cotti lands and the Cotti army to kill the Cotti king and kidnap the king’s grown heir, and bring the prince back to her. There is no shortage of gallant and accomplished warriors who volunteer, but don’t return, with or without the prince.
Blade is twenty-eight, the age when most assassins are either dead or ready to retire because their skills are starting to slip, and the queen has offered the tantalizing reward of nobility and a rich estate. Blade persuades the queen to let him try to accomplish the mission, and in doing so, becomes entangled in the political intrigues of both countries—neither of whose political elite are the least bit interested in an unprofitable peace.
I enjoyed the plot, but the thing that made this book—and the series—hard to put down was the character development of Blade as he reclaims his humanity, and despite his claims to the contrary, becomes a true hero.
The series runs for six books, plus two prequels that do not need to be read first. I bought all of them. T. C. Southwell has several other series available, and all the first books are free. I bought two other series, The Demon Lord series and The Cyber Chronicles. I’ve reread all of them, but the Queen’s Blade series is one of the best I’ve read—and re-read—in recent memory.
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