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Sword Sisters: A Red Reaper Novel
Publisher Note: This Rogue Blades Entertainment edition is no longer in print. The current edition is published by Ragnarok Publications.
Cast aside by her mother, tormented (literally) by her father, feared by humans and despised by most of her own kind, Aella is determined not to care. Not to care what they think, not to care if they like her, not to care about anything or anyone. Just so long as no one tries to touch her or imprison her again, Aella couldn't care less. Until...he pulled an arrow from Aella's back and kissed her cheek. Until...she carried Aella home and stood between her and a giant spider. And a rioting mob. Until...they came to Aella looking for help. Aella, daughter of demon and witch, must find herself and forge her own route to a destiny she doesn't want to believe and others simply don't want. At first a heroine in name alone, Aella discovers she has the strength and the heart to control her demonic lineage and truly wear the title--hero. She also finds something even more valuable: friendship. Amelia, her Sword Sister, isn't just worth dying for. She's worth living for.
Cast aside by her mother, tormented (literally) by her father, feared by humans and despised by most of her own kind, Aella is determined not to care. Not to care what they think, not to care if they like her, not to care about anything or anyone. Just so long as no one tries to touch her or imprison her again, Aella couldn't care less. Until...he pulled an arrow from Aella's back and kissed her cheek. Until...she carried Aella home and stood between her and a giant spider. And a rioting mob. Until...they came to Aella looking for help. Aella, daughter of demon and witch, must find herself and forge her own route to a destiny she doesn't want to believe and others simply don't want. At first a heroine in name alone, Aella discovers she has the strength and the heart to control her demonic lineage and truly wear the title--hero. She also finds something even more valuable: friendship. Amelia, her Sword Sister, isn't just worth dying for. She's worth living for.
200 pages, Paperback
First published December 7, 2013
105 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 1, 2014
An entertaining and inspiring read of one woman's heroic search to find herself in a world she doesn't quite fit into and that isn't quite sure it wants her. For the daughter of a demon and a witch nothing is certain but anger and that the tip of a sword can solve most things. This is a story about learning self-confidence and self-control and earning friendship and trust. It's also a pretty darn good rip-snorting action adventure :)
August 3, 2016
'Coming of Age’ of a 'Chick-in-Chainmail’
This is a tale of Aella, a snarky, special teenager who starts exploring her independence. She may not wear chain mail, but her attitude fits that of the historical chick-in-chainmail. Her lineage grants her the ability to become superhuman (demonic). Aella resembles Tara Cardinal in appearance, which happens to reflect that of red-haired warriors of the Sword & Sorcery genre (Agnes de Chastillon, Red Sonja, Jirel of Joiry). Indeed Tara Cardinal is the key force behind a “Red Reaper” franchise, this novel Sword Sisters: A Red Reaper Novel serves a prequel to the Legend of the Red Reaper (video trailer link) movie which she directed, wrote, and acted as the major star.
Movie Sequel: The movie has opened in select markets as the book was released, but for most places people will have to wait to see the DVD (released next month, April 2014.) I have the movie on order, and will amend this review to discuss how well the media pair.
Other than featuring a belligerent, young heroine, this book sticks to many of the tropes & clichés of any coming-of-age fantasy novel. Conflict is consistently deflated with adolescent humor, juvenile idioms, or Aella’s giggles. There are hints of mature content that are never developed: the basis of Aella’s powers stems from demons raping human females, however, explicit sex or sexual violence never presents itself. The prose could be considered ‘mature,’ since copious cursing & cussing peppers the text (as a teenager learning the art of “adult” language would speak).
This book was co-authored by Alex Bledsoe, who contributed to another Rogue Blades Entertainment work:Writing Fantasy Heroes. Rogue Blades Entertainment’s library (i.e., Rage of the Behemoth, and Return of the Sword) had focused on anthologies tailored for an adult audience, so this novel presents a slight departure into a new market (Young Adult, not-anthology). Having read the aforementioned RBE works, I would not recommend this to their historic audience, unless they happened to also identify with & enjoy YA fare.
This is a tale of Aella, a snarky, special teenager who starts exploring her independence. She may not wear chain mail, but her attitude fits that of the historical chick-in-chainmail. Her lineage grants her the ability to become superhuman (demonic). Aella resembles Tara Cardinal in appearance, which happens to reflect that of red-haired warriors of the Sword & Sorcery genre (Agnes de Chastillon, Red Sonja, Jirel of Joiry). Indeed Tara Cardinal is the key force behind a “Red Reaper” franchise, this novel Sword Sisters: A Red Reaper Novel serves a prequel to the Legend of the Red Reaper (video trailer link) movie which she directed, wrote, and acted as the major star.
Movie Sequel: The movie has opened in select markets as the book was released, but for most places people will have to wait to see the DVD (released next month, April 2014.) I have the movie on order, and will amend this review to discuss how well the media pair.
Other than featuring a belligerent, young heroine, this book sticks to many of the tropes & clichés of any coming-of-age fantasy novel. Conflict is consistently deflated with adolescent humor, juvenile idioms, or Aella’s giggles. There are hints of mature content that are never developed: the basis of Aella’s powers stems from demons raping human females, however, explicit sex or sexual violence never presents itself. The prose could be considered ‘mature,’ since copious cursing & cussing peppers the text (as a teenager learning the art of “adult” language would speak).
This book was co-authored by Alex Bledsoe, who contributed to another Rogue Blades Entertainment work:Writing Fantasy Heroes. Rogue Blades Entertainment’s library (i.e., Rage of the Behemoth, and Return of the Sword) had focused on anthologies tailored for an adult audience, so this novel presents a slight departure into a new market (Young Adult, not-anthology). Having read the aforementioned RBE works, I would not recommend this to their historic audience, unless they happened to also identify with & enjoy YA fare.
February 11, 2015
This is a good sword-and-sorcery novel, the fun kind of book that Gardner Fox used to produce that you could zip through for an afternoon of fun. The young heroine, Aella, half-human and half-demon, is funny, flawed, and quite entertaining, and her sidekick, Amelia, is also well-drawn. It's a fine adventure set in a well-developed fantasy world with strong female characters that rock without being dogmatic about it. It's also a good story with some genuinely funny bits. For example:
Amelia looked down at me, concerned. "Wow. You're alive."
"Yes," I croaked. It felt like branding irons pressed against my shoulder, and the pain radiated down to my toes. I couldn't unclench my jaw, it hurt so much. "But...ow."
"How?"
"No, 'ow' as in, 'ow, this hurts like a squirrel."
"Does a squirrel hurt?"
"If it's thrown at you hard enough."
The book is the prequel to a film which I'll have to look for, The Legend of the Red Reaper.
Amelia looked down at me, concerned. "Wow. You're alive."
"Yes," I croaked. It felt like branding irons pressed against my shoulder, and the pain radiated down to my toes. I couldn't unclench my jaw, it hurt so much. "But...ow."
"How?"
"No, 'ow' as in, 'ow, this hurts like a squirrel."
"Does a squirrel hurt?"
"If it's thrown at you hard enough."
The book is the prequel to a film which I'll have to look for, The Legend of the Red Reaper.
April 19, 2018
My first two reviews were pretty scathing. I know. I was pretty harsh on them, and that’s because I was reading outside of my comfort zone in both cases. So let’s get back in the zone, and read something that I should like.
For more totally unjustified snark, check out my review blog here!
I picked up Sword Sisters on audible purely by chance. I was looking for something else, but noticed that Alex Bledsoe was a co-author, so couldn’t stop myself. I read and loved Alex’s Eddie LaCrosse series (starts with The Sword Edged Blonde, I highly recommend it!), so his name alone got my buy in. I will admit that the book length, at under six hours made it a bit of a tough sell on audible, as for the same credit I could easily have picked up a twenty hour fantasy that I had actually been looking for. But, here we are.
After picking it up, I realised it was not simply fantasy, but YA (young adult) fantasy. I keep trying YA books, and I’m not against them in theory, but I’m really starting to think that me not being the target audience is what’s tarring my opinion of them. Yeah, so my bad about letting you think I was getting “back in the zone” with this review. Still! I like one of the authors, I like half of the genre mix, I’m all about the strong female characters, so maybe it will be okay. (Spoiler: it really won't be. I go into these books blind without even reading the blurb. I am the opposite of the target audience for this book)
Tara Cardinal decided to narrate the audio version herself, and she did a good job, no complaints with her performance, and she has a good voice. As they co-wrote this, I am placing the blame on both shoulders, and won’t even try to guess at who wrote what, because ultimately they both would have checked it, and anything that got through had both of their hands in it.
Sarah Cardinal's view on working with others???
First critique? The name. Nothing wrong with the name, but just typing “Sword Sisters” into Amazon returned a whole load of other books. I had to type the title and the author to find it. Annoying, but, I suppose, not the author’s fault.
Let’s get to the real first critique. The Prologue. It’s rather in vogue these days to bash the very existence of a prologue, and I get why. I mean, surely it should just be Chapter 1? If it’s long enough, could it be its own short story? If it’s an exposition dump… what the hell are you doing starting your book with an exposition dump? All good points. Their prologue sits firmly in the realms of “exposition dump”. A fun quirk of mine is that, actually, I don’t really mind those. I’d rather have a few pages of upfront lore, than awkwardly weaving it throughout the story, giving me too much at time, and too little at others. So, exposition dump, no problem for me. If you don’t like them, feel free to skip it, because they actually do an okay job of giving the reader what they need to know as if the dump wasn’t there. I liked it, and yeah, the entire thing reads as very cliched, with no new elements coming to the fore, so possibly a weak start to a book, but it gives you the warm snuggly feeling that you know exactly what’s coming. No surprises here. Which isn’t a negative. The surprises come from the characters, so the known setting is fine.
So what’s the critique? Rape. I’m not a precious little flower that demands trigger warnings on all media. In fact, there isn’t any actual description of the act. But the entire premise of the book is “Demons raped women, bad stuff happened, now demons are trying to be good but rape woops”.
If only the demons had been given these!
Now, I don’t like hearing about rape in any form, but the beauty of writing is that I have a legitimate reason to say it’s bad. It’s bad because it’s lazy writing. If a female character’s only motivation is rape – you’ve written a shit character. Congrats.
If the only thing you can think of as something that would motivate a female character is rape? Shit author.
I am aware that rape happens, but I do not want it in my fucking relaxation time. What is this, the fucking news? I stopped reading that for their bullshit scare-mongering, so stop putting this fucking garbage into things that are meant to be fun!
Side-rant over. No character in here is motivated solely by rape, but instead rape defines the entire human race’s attitude towards demons. Let’s get into what the actual story is, instead of my highly condensed, not entirely fair, summary above.
Humans were hanging around doing human things. Demons came down and invaded. They raped all the women. These women died in childbirth, and gave birth to half demons called reapers. Turns out, reapers? Even worse than demons. What a shit, huh? So these reapers carry on a raping and a pillaging, as you do. This time, the rape leads to quarter demons, which, confusingly, are also called reapers. The difference this time? Well, the women still all die in childbirth, which for the standard fantasy period of medieval Europe is highly accurate at the sign of any complication (I mean, really. Back then, a stiff breeze during a contraction? You ded), so not knocking that, but this time, there was a difference. These new quarter demon reapers were human enough to feel guilt at the death of their mothers.
Don’t question it! Why were these reapers being raised by human fathers that would be teaching them about their mother? Were they able to remember childbirth and killing their mother? Were their demon parents taunting them about it? Don’t question it!
The these new reapers feel bad, and decide to help the humans, and they manage to fight back the demons, and the world is saved yay, and now the reapers all live with the humans, but also retain the eternal guilt of what “they” did, and so are subservient to humans. To make amends. Which is fucking weird, because they didn’t do anything, but okay.
Also, some human witch was raped by a demon, and managed to survive the childbirth, so there is one rape survivor. Great news, no?
And that brings us to our main character. A 12 year old reaper, the daughter of this survivor. In the first chapter it’s also stated pretty definitively (again, no actual description) that she was raised by demons for a time, and they raped her a lot, so she doesn’t like anyone touching her. Top notch.
If only they'd had this t-shirt!
Okay, so, with all of that out of the way, we get to what’s actually happening. A young boy, while out hunting, finds our protagonist, Aella, lying between some rocks with an arrow sticking out of her back. He assumes he shot her and drags her back to his hunting hide. She doesn’t want him to cut away her tunic, as it will then become obvious she’s a reaper, and humans treat them with mistrust, if not outright fear. He does it anyway, and doesn’t care she’s a reaper. He pushes the arrow through her, knowing that her self healing will save her life, and everything’s good. He kisses her on the cheek twice, because, I don’t know about you, but that’s what I’d do when a nearly dead girl is put in front of me!
She gets better, and is taken back to the reaper training castle by her mentor.
Six years, to be precise (Well... she's 18 now, so that's 6 years. BUT reapers age much slower than humans, so it might have actually been about 30 years. Unclear). We learn that, as the king’s future bodyguard (the king is in hiding), she has a servant, so that she can see how the king would feel. The servant is a human, and Aella is pretty sure this servant mistrusts her. A big point is made about how the servant has to leave the room while Aella changes, because of the whole uncomfortable rape thing.
Also, in the past six years, she’s totally idolised the kiss on the cheek from this unknown stranger, and has been trying to find him, but doesn’t even know his name.
We meet some of her peers, who all dislike her – apart from one guy, of course. One of them, who is much older, already famed for her martial prowess, and just generally better than Aella at everything, is jealous that Aella has been earmarked as the king’s bodyguard. And you know what? I agree. Really though. Why is Aella the– oh right, the prophecy. Aella, as the last of her kind, the Red Reaper, so to speak, is potentially the reaper of prophecy.
Side note here: good banter between Aella and the reapers she doesn’t like. Authors nailed that feeling of saying what you wished you’d said in an argument a few hours earlier. That’s the advantage of book-snark. Good stuff, and a few of the lines endeared me to Aella a bit more in this scene.
Next, when she’s out sitting on a tree that overlooks the forest that she met the mysterious boy in, her friend suggests that Aella looks for the rocks where he first found her. Fuck me, six years, and that’s the first time they considered looking for landmarks? Eighteen year olds are allowed to be naive, and not world-weary, but they can’t be fucking morons. Come on, authors, get with it.
A little bit more is said about the “king in hiding”, in the same breath as she’s searching for her mysterious kisser boy. I wonder if the two might be related at all? Hmmmm? Well, you know what? I hope they are. Damn right, that’s what I want. Hit those tropes for me!
Finally, we meet the sister. The sword sister, I mean. She’s being dragged around by men, and just to mix things up, they’re not actually trying to rape her. Shocker, I know! Instead, they’re tying her to a sacrificial altar for a God to consume. Of course, there are no Gods, and most likely it’s just a wild animal that kills of the local village’s offerings, but those silly men and their religion. They do enjoy hazing the local virgin women. Classic men.
Aella frees the woman, Amelia, and they are immediately set upon by a giant spider! When the human is threatened, Aella blacks out, and comes back after her reaper instincts took over and did the killing for her. Day = saved.
Just going to throw this out there: would have liked the two main characters to have different first letters of their names. Bit confusing. Onwards!
Aella is taken back to a human village after she passes out. When she wakes up, she realises she’s naked, and of course feels much shame at this fact.
Some stuff happens and we meet Amelia’s family. The father is a dick. The village elder is a dick. Every adult male is a dick, basically. Now, I’m starting to take issue with things at this point, but I’m conflicted. One could say...
So, the book’s entire premise is based on rape and men being misogynists, right? There’s no argument there, it’s obvious, and that’s part of the problem. I mean, this is some serious on-the-nose commentary of modern society. Social commentary is great, fantasy is a perfect medium for that, and I fully support it, but this is… it’s making caricatures of all the male roles. I can’t take that seriously, and it’s detracting from the story. However, not only is it detracting from the story, but it’s also detracting from the point the book is wanting to get across!
Frankly, at this point in the story, I was feeling like this was a particularly long tumblr post.
If there’s no subtlety, there’s no realism. THIS is the issue I take with MOST young adult books (sweeping generalisation, happy to discuss specifics when it’s not a side rant).
So why am I torn?
Well, because, despite my personal prejudice, we’ve got to accept that, the way the world is presented so far… these males are acting the way they probably should act. With everything that’s happened, the ye olde timey of the setting, the religious beliefs etc. I mean, yeah. These men are realistically portrayed.
But if we’re allowing that idea to ring true, then we have to ask are the women realistically portrayed, given the setting as presented? I mean, multiple generations of women were massacred via demon baby rape, so shouldn't the women actually be a highly sought after commodity, and they are protected and few in number, most likely leading to men revering them? Well… let’s move on, shall we. I’m trying to review a book, not launch a fucking social justice crusade.
Okay, FINAL point on the whole, at this point very annoying, men vs. women thing:
“Men always underestimate me because of my size and my gender.”
Now, because the authors are being SO on the nose here, I’m going to have to take this as a realistic thing. Let me hit you with a direct quote from the book: “In battle, size really doesn’t matter.” Of course, in the story, she’s a reaper and so has superhuman strength. But… I’m not going to actually go into why this is so wrong of a message to try and impart to young girls, but it’s very not helpful, and it’s triggering me.
Okay, rants and spoiler review over.
Moving forward, the SJW issues are only mentioned every other page instead of every page, and it becomes a touch more bearable (or Stockholm Syndrome set in, hard to tell). There’s still issues, like the different power levels between various people (an untrained swordsman lands a hit on a reaper, but this same reaper a few chapters later goes on to do some spinny crazy shit that would one shot a demon with perfect accuracy. Doesn’t make sense.)
Should you buy it?
I don’t like the rape thing, even when it’s never made graphic. Frankly, the theme and cast seem like a made to order “let’s cash in on the YA market while it’s booming” project, and that is exactly what gives YA a bad name.
I have read and enjoyed female-centric and female positive books in the past. Hell, I’ve written a YA urban fantasy with a female protagonist. I don’t just not mind it, I love it! I think they can be a great influence on people’s lives. Sword Sisters, sadly, is not. At least, it’s not for me.
Ignoring the annoying SJW overtones, this was a fun book, I liked the main characters, and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone that enjoys the YA fantasy genre, and is of a VERY specific demographic!
Unfortunately for me, there was nothing to elevate it beyond standard YA, and frankly almost had me joining #notallmen.
Alex Bledsoe has also written The Sword Edged Blonde in the Eddie Lacrosse series, which I highly recommend!
Tara Cardinal is an actress, filmmaker, and author. I can’t speak to the quality of her other media, but I for one won’t be holding my breath for further literary work from her. I will admit that I’m tempted to see her film, as I believe it is the sequel to this book!
Rating: 1/5 (15%)
Favourite Character: Amelia
Favourite Quote: “In battle, size really doesn’t matter.”
---------------------Andrew-------------------
Enjoy the review? Check out my review blog here!
For more totally unjustified snark, check out my review blog here!
I picked up Sword Sisters on audible purely by chance. I was looking for something else, but noticed that Alex Bledsoe was a co-author, so couldn’t stop myself. I read and loved Alex’s Eddie LaCrosse series (starts with The Sword Edged Blonde, I highly recommend it!), so his name alone got my buy in. I will admit that the book length, at under six hours made it a bit of a tough sell on audible, as for the same credit I could easily have picked up a twenty hour fantasy that I had actually been looking for. But, here we are.
After picking it up, I realised it was not simply fantasy, but YA (young adult) fantasy. I keep trying YA books, and I’m not against them in theory, but I’m really starting to think that me not being the target audience is what’s tarring my opinion of them. Yeah, so my bad about letting you think I was getting “back in the zone” with this review. Still! I like one of the authors, I like half of the genre mix, I’m all about the strong female characters, so maybe it will be okay. (Spoiler: it really won't be. I go into these books blind without even reading the blurb. I am the opposite of the target audience for this book)
Tara Cardinal decided to narrate the audio version herself, and she did a good job, no complaints with her performance, and she has a good voice. As they co-wrote this, I am placing the blame on both shoulders, and won’t even try to guess at who wrote what, because ultimately they both would have checked it, and anything that got through had both of their hands in it.
Sarah Cardinal's view on working with others???
First critique? The name. Nothing wrong with the name, but just typing “Sword Sisters” into Amazon returned a whole load of other books. I had to type the title and the author to find it. Annoying, but, I suppose, not the author’s fault.
Let’s get to the real first critique. The Prologue. It’s rather in vogue these days to bash the very existence of a prologue, and I get why. I mean, surely it should just be Chapter 1? If it’s long enough, could it be its own short story? If it’s an exposition dump… what the hell are you doing starting your book with an exposition dump? All good points. Their prologue sits firmly in the realms of “exposition dump”. A fun quirk of mine is that, actually, I don’t really mind those. I’d rather have a few pages of upfront lore, than awkwardly weaving it throughout the story, giving me too much at time, and too little at others. So, exposition dump, no problem for me. If you don’t like them, feel free to skip it, because they actually do an okay job of giving the reader what they need to know as if the dump wasn’t there. I liked it, and yeah, the entire thing reads as very cliched, with no new elements coming to the fore, so possibly a weak start to a book, but it gives you the warm snuggly feeling that you know exactly what’s coming. No surprises here. Which isn’t a negative. The surprises come from the characters, so the known setting is fine.
So what’s the critique? Rape. I’m not a precious little flower that demands trigger warnings on all media. In fact, there isn’t any actual description of the act. But the entire premise of the book is “Demons raped women, bad stuff happened, now demons are trying to be good but rape woops”.
If only the demons had been given these!
Now, I don’t like hearing about rape in any form, but the beauty of writing is that I have a legitimate reason to say it’s bad. It’s bad because it’s lazy writing. If a female character’s only motivation is rape – you’ve written a shit character. Congrats.
If the only thing you can think of as something that would motivate a female character is rape? Shit author.
I am aware that rape happens, but I do not want it in my fucking relaxation time. What is this, the fucking news? I stopped reading that for their bullshit scare-mongering, so stop putting this fucking garbage into things that are meant to be fun!
Side-rant over. No character in here is motivated solely by rape, but instead rape defines the entire human race’s attitude towards demons. Let’s get into what the actual story is, instead of my highly condensed, not entirely fair, summary above.
Humans were hanging around doing human things. Demons came down and invaded. They raped all the women. These women died in childbirth, and gave birth to half demons called reapers. Turns out, reapers? Even worse than demons. What a shit, huh? So these reapers carry on a raping and a pillaging, as you do. This time, the rape leads to quarter demons, which, confusingly, are also called reapers. The difference this time? Well, the women still all die in childbirth, which for the standard fantasy period of medieval Europe is highly accurate at the sign of any complication (I mean, really. Back then, a stiff breeze during a contraction? You ded), so not knocking that, but this time, there was a difference. These new quarter demon reapers were human enough to feel guilt at the death of their mothers.
Don’t question it! Why were these reapers being raised by human fathers that would be teaching them about their mother? Were they able to remember childbirth and killing their mother? Were their demon parents taunting them about it? Don’t question it!
The these new reapers feel bad, and decide to help the humans, and they manage to fight back the demons, and the world is saved yay, and now the reapers all live with the humans, but also retain the eternal guilt of what “they” did, and so are subservient to humans. To make amends. Which is fucking weird, because they didn’t do anything, but okay.
Also, some human witch was raped by a demon, and managed to survive the childbirth, so there is one rape survivor. Great news, no?
And that brings us to our main character. A 12 year old reaper, the daughter of this survivor. In the first chapter it’s also stated pretty definitively (again, no actual description) that she was raised by demons for a time, and they raped her a lot, so she doesn’t like anyone touching her. Top notch.
If only they'd had this t-shirt!
Okay, so, with all of that out of the way, we get to what’s actually happening. A young boy, while out hunting, finds our protagonist, Aella, lying between some rocks with an arrow sticking out of her back. He assumes he shot her and drags her back to his hunting hide. She doesn’t want him to cut away her tunic, as it will then become obvious she’s a reaper, and humans treat them with mistrust, if not outright fear. He does it anyway, and doesn’t care she’s a reaper. He pushes the arrow through her, knowing that her self healing will save her life, and everything’s good. He kisses her on the cheek twice, because, I don’t know about you, but that’s what I’d do when a nearly dead girl is put in front of me!
She gets better, and is taken back to the reaper training castle by her mentor.
Six years, to be precise (Well... she's 18 now, so that's 6 years. BUT reapers age much slower than humans, so it might have actually been about 30 years. Unclear). We learn that, as the king’s future bodyguard (the king is in hiding), she has a servant, so that she can see how the king would feel. The servant is a human, and Aella is pretty sure this servant mistrusts her. A big point is made about how the servant has to leave the room while Aella changes, because of the whole uncomfortable rape thing.
Also, in the past six years, she’s totally idolised the kiss on the cheek from this unknown stranger, and has been trying to find him, but doesn’t even know his name.
We meet some of her peers, who all dislike her – apart from one guy, of course. One of them, who is much older, already famed for her martial prowess, and just generally better than Aella at everything, is jealous that Aella has been earmarked as the king’s bodyguard. And you know what? I agree. Really though. Why is Aella the– oh right, the prophecy. Aella, as the last of her kind, the Red Reaper, so to speak, is potentially the reaper of prophecy.
Side note here: good banter between Aella and the reapers she doesn’t like. Authors nailed that feeling of saying what you wished you’d said in an argument a few hours earlier. That’s the advantage of book-snark. Good stuff, and a few of the lines endeared me to Aella a bit more in this scene.
Next, when she’s out sitting on a tree that overlooks the forest that she met the mysterious boy in, her friend suggests that Aella looks for the rocks where he first found her. Fuck me, six years, and that’s the first time they considered looking for landmarks? Eighteen year olds are allowed to be naive, and not world-weary, but they can’t be fucking morons. Come on, authors, get with it.
A little bit more is said about the “king in hiding”, in the same breath as she’s searching for her mysterious kisser boy. I wonder if the two might be related at all? Hmmmm? Well, you know what? I hope they are. Damn right, that’s what I want. Hit those tropes for me!
Finally, we meet the sister. The sword sister, I mean. She’s being dragged around by men, and just to mix things up, they’re not actually trying to rape her. Shocker, I know! Instead, they’re tying her to a sacrificial altar for a God to consume. Of course, there are no Gods, and most likely it’s just a wild animal that kills of the local village’s offerings, but those silly men and their religion. They do enjoy hazing the local virgin women. Classic men.
Aella frees the woman, Amelia, and they are immediately set upon by a giant spider! When the human is threatened, Aella blacks out, and comes back after her reaper instincts took over and did the killing for her. Day = saved.
Just going to throw this out there: would have liked the two main characters to have different first letters of their names. Bit confusing. Onwards!
Aella is taken back to a human village after she passes out. When she wakes up, she realises she’s naked, and of course feels much shame at this fact.
Some stuff happens and we meet Amelia’s family. The father is a dick. The village elder is a dick. Every adult male is a dick, basically. Now, I’m starting to take issue with things at this point, but I’m conflicted. One could say...
So, the book’s entire premise is based on rape and men being misogynists, right? There’s no argument there, it’s obvious, and that’s part of the problem. I mean, this is some serious on-the-nose commentary of modern society. Social commentary is great, fantasy is a perfect medium for that, and I fully support it, but this is… it’s making caricatures of all the male roles. I can’t take that seriously, and it’s detracting from the story. However, not only is it detracting from the story, but it’s also detracting from the point the book is wanting to get across!
Frankly, at this point in the story, I was feeling like this was a particularly long tumblr post.
If there’s no subtlety, there’s no realism. THIS is the issue I take with MOST young adult books (sweeping generalisation, happy to discuss specifics when it’s not a side rant).
So why am I torn?
Well, because, despite my personal prejudice, we’ve got to accept that, the way the world is presented so far… these males are acting the way they probably should act. With everything that’s happened, the ye olde timey of the setting, the religious beliefs etc. I mean, yeah. These men are realistically portrayed.
But if we’re allowing that idea to ring true, then we have to ask are the women realistically portrayed, given the setting as presented? I mean, multiple generations of women were massacred via demon baby rape, so shouldn't the women actually be a highly sought after commodity, and they are protected and few in number, most likely leading to men revering them? Well… let’s move on, shall we. I’m trying to review a book, not launch a fucking social justice crusade.
Okay, FINAL point on the whole, at this point very annoying, men vs. women thing:
“Men always underestimate me because of my size and my gender.”
Now, because the authors are being SO on the nose here, I’m going to have to take this as a realistic thing. Let me hit you with a direct quote from the book: “In battle, size really doesn’t matter.” Of course, in the story, she’s a reaper and so has superhuman strength. But… I’m not going to actually go into why this is so wrong of a message to try and impart to young girls, but it’s very not helpful, and it’s triggering me.
Okay, rants and spoiler review over.
Moving forward, the SJW issues are only mentioned every other page instead of every page, and it becomes a touch more bearable (or Stockholm Syndrome set in, hard to tell). There’s still issues, like the different power levels between various people (an untrained swordsman lands a hit on a reaper, but this same reaper a few chapters later goes on to do some spinny crazy shit that would one shot a demon with perfect accuracy. Doesn’t make sense.)
Should you buy it?
I don’t like the rape thing, even when it’s never made graphic. Frankly, the theme and cast seem like a made to order “let’s cash in on the YA market while it’s booming” project, and that is exactly what gives YA a bad name.
I have read and enjoyed female-centric and female positive books in the past. Hell, I’ve written a YA urban fantasy with a female protagonist. I don’t just not mind it, I love it! I think they can be a great influence on people’s lives. Sword Sisters, sadly, is not. At least, it’s not for me.
Ignoring the annoying SJW overtones, this was a fun book, I liked the main characters, and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone that enjoys the YA fantasy genre, and is of a VERY specific demographic!
Unfortunately for me, there was nothing to elevate it beyond standard YA, and frankly almost had me joining #notallmen.
Alex Bledsoe has also written The Sword Edged Blonde in the Eddie Lacrosse series, which I highly recommend!
Tara Cardinal is an actress, filmmaker, and author. I can’t speak to the quality of her other media, but I for one won’t be holding my breath for further literary work from her. I will admit that I’m tempted to see her film, as I believe it is the sequel to this book!
Rating: 1/5 (15%)
Favourite Character: Amelia
Favourite Quote: “In battle, size really doesn’t matter.”
---------------------Andrew-------------------
Enjoy the review? Check out my review blog here!
January 7, 2014
I enjoyed this book, but it had some issues.
Penned with established author Alex Bledsoe, this novel apparently serves as a prequel to actor/screenwriter Tara Cardinal's indie film The Red Reaper. I haven't seen the movie, and as a result when I finished the book I felt a bit like I has missed out on something. It wasn't that the setting and characters were poorly explained, it was rather the opposite; the first third of the book details a very interesting premise and, unfortunately, the main plot only ever engages with a fraction of that rich background.
Sword Sisters tells the story of Aella, a human-demon hybrid Reaper. In the novel world's past, demons invaded from beyond, preying on humanity. Products of forced interbreeding with human women, the second generation of Reapers turned against their progenitors, fighting back the demons and freeing humanity. Since then, the supernaturally resilient and semi-immortal Reapers act as humanity's guardians, remaining largely apart from mankind in an effort to let them control their own destiny.
Aella in particular is--wait for it--the Chosen One of prophecy. The product of the union between the leader of the demons and a gifted Teller Witch, she is fated to become the Red Reaper, last of her kind and the most powerful of all, destined to combine the Reapers' physicality with Teller Witch magic. As a child, Aella is betrayed by her mother in exchange for magical power, handed over to the demons to endure years of abuse and torture in their realm.
Despite the over-reliance of prophecy in the fantasy genre, this is all very interesting stuff. However, the story that follows is much smaller in scale. We meet Aella as a snotty teenager, rebelling against her mentors at the Reaper monastery at which she lives. Annoyed by one instructor in particular, she cuts class and heads off into the woods, where she encounters a human village girl about to sacrificed to a cave-dwelling god. Ambivalent about humanity, Aella is still compelled to come to the girl's aid, an impulsive act that has unforeseen consequences.
The story that follows is fun and action-packed, with an interesting twist near the end, but I kept expecting it to ramp up into something bigger, and it never did. Is Aella truly fated to become the Red Reaper? Will the demons return for a final confrontation? We don't find out in this book. Maybe the movie tells that story? The cover says that this is "A" Red Reaper Novel, perhaps there are more to follow? I can't help feeling that this book wouldn't have been better served if less emphasis and page count had been placed on Aella's destiny in the beginning of the book. As it stands we're left with a fun, fairly localized sword & sorcery adventure burdened with epic fantasy framing that turns out to be mostly irrelevant to the tale we're presented with.
I also wonder if the book couldn't have been better pitched as a Young Adult novel. Despite the mature and confident-looking swordswoman on the awesome cover art, the book is really a Coming of Age story with a 16 year old protagonist. Younger readers may find Aella a more relatable character than Rogue Blades Entertainment's usual audience of crusty Conan fans.
The prose is mostly well-written and evocative, and the story progresses at a fast clip. Dialogue and characterization were a little clunky, however. For someone who spent an eternity being molested and tortured by demons, Aella seems remarkably stable, exhibiting no real mental health problems beyond typical teenage rebelliousness and mild trust issues. The novel is written in the first person, and Aella's tone is flip and thoroughly modern. While I don't insist fantasy characters limit themselves to Ren Faire speech, it takes me out of the story a bit when one character is told not to "freak out" when confronted with a monster and when supposedly formidable opponents are labeled "Ass-Face Number One and Number Two." The most cringe-worthy is when Aella proclaims that she has "come to kick demon ass and chew gum tree leaves, and I'm all out of gum tree leaves." A They Live/Roddy Piper reference, really?
Editing was top-notch, with Rogue Blade Entertainment providing a higher quality ebook than many larger publishers. Again, the cover art is fantastic.
Some complaints aside, I would be interested in seeing more Red Reaper stories. Overlooking producer Uwe Boll's association, I'd be willing to give the movie a shot, and there is a lot of potential for future adventures starring Aella. I'd have no problem recommending this book to a teen Hunger Games fan, provided they can cope with the ("off-screen") rape-filled Reaper background.
(I was provided with a review copy of this book.)
Penned with established author Alex Bledsoe, this novel apparently serves as a prequel to actor/screenwriter Tara Cardinal's indie film The Red Reaper. I haven't seen the movie, and as a result when I finished the book I felt a bit like I has missed out on something. It wasn't that the setting and characters were poorly explained, it was rather the opposite; the first third of the book details a very interesting premise and, unfortunately, the main plot only ever engages with a fraction of that rich background.
Sword Sisters tells the story of Aella, a human-demon hybrid Reaper. In the novel world's past, demons invaded from beyond, preying on humanity. Products of forced interbreeding with human women, the second generation of Reapers turned against their progenitors, fighting back the demons and freeing humanity. Since then, the supernaturally resilient and semi-immortal Reapers act as humanity's guardians, remaining largely apart from mankind in an effort to let them control their own destiny.
Aella in particular is--wait for it--the Chosen One of prophecy. The product of the union between the leader of the demons and a gifted Teller Witch, she is fated to become the Red Reaper, last of her kind and the most powerful of all, destined to combine the Reapers' physicality with Teller Witch magic. As a child, Aella is betrayed by her mother in exchange for magical power, handed over to the demons to endure years of abuse and torture in their realm.
Despite the over-reliance of prophecy in the fantasy genre, this is all very interesting stuff. However, the story that follows is much smaller in scale. We meet Aella as a snotty teenager, rebelling against her mentors at the Reaper monastery at which she lives. Annoyed by one instructor in particular, she cuts class and heads off into the woods, where she encounters a human village girl about to sacrificed to a cave-dwelling god. Ambivalent about humanity, Aella is still compelled to come to the girl's aid, an impulsive act that has unforeseen consequences.
The story that follows is fun and action-packed, with an interesting twist near the end, but I kept expecting it to ramp up into something bigger, and it never did. Is Aella truly fated to become the Red Reaper? Will the demons return for a final confrontation? We don't find out in this book. Maybe the movie tells that story? The cover says that this is "A" Red Reaper Novel, perhaps there are more to follow? I can't help feeling that this book wouldn't have been better served if less emphasis and page count had been placed on Aella's destiny in the beginning of the book. As it stands we're left with a fun, fairly localized sword & sorcery adventure burdened with epic fantasy framing that turns out to be mostly irrelevant to the tale we're presented with.
I also wonder if the book couldn't have been better pitched as a Young Adult novel. Despite the mature and confident-looking swordswoman on the awesome cover art, the book is really a Coming of Age story with a 16 year old protagonist. Younger readers may find Aella a more relatable character than Rogue Blades Entertainment's usual audience of crusty Conan fans.
The prose is mostly well-written and evocative, and the story progresses at a fast clip. Dialogue and characterization were a little clunky, however. For someone who spent an eternity being molested and tortured by demons, Aella seems remarkably stable, exhibiting no real mental health problems beyond typical teenage rebelliousness and mild trust issues. The novel is written in the first person, and Aella's tone is flip and thoroughly modern. While I don't insist fantasy characters limit themselves to Ren Faire speech, it takes me out of the story a bit when one character is told not to "freak out" when confronted with a monster and when supposedly formidable opponents are labeled "Ass-Face Number One and Number Two." The most cringe-worthy is when Aella proclaims that she has "come to kick demon ass and chew gum tree leaves, and I'm all out of gum tree leaves." A They Live/Roddy Piper reference, really?
Editing was top-notch, with Rogue Blade Entertainment providing a higher quality ebook than many larger publishers. Again, the cover art is fantastic.
Some complaints aside, I would be interested in seeing more Red Reaper stories. Overlooking producer Uwe Boll's association, I'd be willing to give the movie a shot, and there is a lot of potential for future adventures starring Aella. I'd have no problem recommending this book to a teen Hunger Games fan, provided they can cope with the ("off-screen") rape-filled Reaper background.
(I was provided with a review copy of this book.)
March 24, 2014
Aella is the last of the Reapers—a race who are a hybrid of demon and human. All products of violence, Reapers stand together to protect humans from demons. Aella's job, according to prophecy, will be to protect the new king. Only thing is, he hasn't appeared yet! She spends her days in training, being chastised and bullied by the very people who should be nurturing her, the Reapers.
Growing up in the clutches of her demon father, Aella has known torture—both physical and emotional. Despite that, she is a good person with a strong sense of what's right. Unfortunately, her definition of justice and righteousness doesn't always jibe with the ideals of the Reapers.
Fed up with her lot, Aella leaves to find the one person who was ever kind to her—a human boy named Aaron. She finds the spot far from home, where he helped her. He isn't there, but Aella finds far more than she bargained for.
Not only does Aella help a small village, she discovers she is more capable and skilled than she thought. She faces adversity, battles a god and learns the value of friendship.
Aella is a marvelously complex character. Her confidence and doubt constantly war within her. She wants desperately to be loved, but isn't sure what to do with it when she finds it.
Cardinal and Bledsoe have woven a complex tapestry of a tale with Aella dashing about in the middle, alternately tearing it up and repairing it. She is a remarkable character and I can't wait to read more about her.
For more about Aella, look for the movie, The Legend of the Red Reaper, written, directed by and starring Tara Cardinal. It's an independent film with lots of action and swordplay.
I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who likes a ripping good tale of sword wielding adventure.
Five Golden Acorns
© Dellani Oakes 2014
Growing up in the clutches of her demon father, Aella has known torture—both physical and emotional. Despite that, she is a good person with a strong sense of what's right. Unfortunately, her definition of justice and righteousness doesn't always jibe with the ideals of the Reapers.
Fed up with her lot, Aella leaves to find the one person who was ever kind to her—a human boy named Aaron. She finds the spot far from home, where he helped her. He isn't there, but Aella finds far more than she bargained for.
Not only does Aella help a small village, she discovers she is more capable and skilled than she thought. She faces adversity, battles a god and learns the value of friendship.
Aella is a marvelously complex character. Her confidence and doubt constantly war within her. She wants desperately to be loved, but isn't sure what to do with it when she finds it.
Cardinal and Bledsoe have woven a complex tapestry of a tale with Aella dashing about in the middle, alternately tearing it up and repairing it. She is a remarkable character and I can't wait to read more about her.
For more about Aella, look for the movie, The Legend of the Red Reaper, written, directed by and starring Tara Cardinal. It's an independent film with lots of action and swordplay.
I greatly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who likes a ripping good tale of sword wielding adventure.
Five Golden Acorns
© Dellani Oakes 2014
August 13, 2016
I just finished Sword Sisters and loved it. It's a very fast read with great action and very fun dialogue.
The hero is a wonderfully strong, and flawed character. She's fragile as she is savage. I enjoyed it, immensely.
The hero is a wonderfully strong, and flawed character. She's fragile as she is savage. I enjoyed it, immensely.
December 12, 2014
I couldn't put this book down, and devoured it in two days. The characters were great, and my biggest qualm was that it was too short, which means there's not all that much to complain about. The world build is fantastic, so different from anything else I've read.
April 2, 2014
Fiction with a nice feminist twist. If you loved wonder woman as a kid, you will enjoy this interesting twist on humans vs celestial beings.
January 18, 2016
What if Red Sonja wore clothes?
This is an odd way to begin the review but it's what I thought about when I read this book. Red Sonja, for uncultured HEATHENS out there (or people who have just never heard of her), was an adaptation of a Robert E. Howard character to Conan the Barbarian's Hyborian Age created by Marvel comics.
The character is infamous for creating the chainmail bikini outfit while also, perversely, being one of the strongest female characters then in print. Her dichotomy of being a male fantasy character who is otherwise empowered would also extend to her sexual politics: infamously being a woman who would never be with a man who could not defeat her in battle.
Aella is basically Red Sonja without all that crap.
Well, sort of. Sword Sisters is more like Red Sonja: The Teenage Years. I understand this is a prequel to an indie fantasy movie starring and directed by one of the authors, Tara Cardinal. I haven't seen The Legend of the Red Reaper so I have to just this novel on its own merits. For that, the novel works pretty well.
The premise of the novel is, loosely, Demons (with a capital D) invaded the world a thousand years ago. They proceeded to engage in horrific war crimes, many of which resulted in half-demon hybrids called Reapers. The majority of these hybrids were just as bad as their parents. However, they also engaged in war crimes which resulted in quarter-demon hybrids who weren't nearly as horrible. These Reapers successfully drove off the demons and won the war. One last half-demon hybrid was born, however, and she was sent to live amongst her quarter-bloodlined brethren.
This is Aella. Aella is prophecized to be the last of the Reapers and someone who will change the world. Many of her brethren, who have formed a sort of samurai warrior-caste, are less than pleased their civilization is going to die with her. Despite this, they have chosen to adopt her and treat her as one of their own. They are attempting to mold her into the perfect Reaper and, bluntly, Aella is taking to this like a fish to desert.
So she rebels, goes out looking for trouble, and finds it.
Before I get into the rest of the review I should mention that while the book ditches Red Sonja's weird sexual hangups, it does maintain a strong gendered focus. In addition to the fact that the entire of the superheroic sword-swinging badasses being the product of sexual assault, the world of Red Reaper is strongly patriarchal.
Women do not fight outside of the Reapers and are expected to dutifully obey their husbands. They are also chattle to be used in the religious ceremonies of the people's oft-questionable deities. The titular sister gets introduced soon after Aella rescues her from being sacrificed to a giant spider. The novel got itself an automatic nine out of ten, there, just because the heroine fights a giant spider.
You can't get much more Sword and Sorcery than that.
I can't give Sword Sisters a ten out of ten despite how much I want to because of a few minor flaws. The introduction is an info-dump which could have been better told to us in the book itself. Aella's angst is rather annoying at times and more believable as a sixteen-year-old girl rather than a ninety-five-year-old-one-who-looks sixteen. I also am uncomfortable with the fact the heroic warrior caste of the novel are, literally, all the product of war crimes.
Despite this, though, I would recommend this novel strongly. It's nice to have old school Sword and Sorcery and if the novel is strongly gendered, it's gendered in the way which Red Sonja was good rather than bad. Many of her best stories were about kicking sexist pigs in the face and rescuing young women from human sacrifice before teaching them how to fight. The Reapers are an excellent group of heroes, origins aside, reminding me of the Witchers from the titular series.
The supporting cast is excellent too with Amelia, unsurprisingly, being my favorite of the group Aela picks up. She's a great take on the "clever peasant girl" archetype and reminds me of Belle from Beauty and the Beast if the latter was really angry at being dumped at the Beast's castle. I really bought Aella and Amelia's friendship and how it developed. I also became very fond of Damato after his introduction. Sort of a antihero version of Aragorn. Some of the characters I like won't make it through the book and others will, leading me to hope this will be a series.
As for Aella, herself, as mentioned she gets a little whiny herself but insecurities do not overwhelm her positive qualities. She's a strong character still finding her footing but who doesn't hesitate to get in the face of her tormentors. I also like that she's more interested in teaching others to stand up for themselves than be their rescuer. I find her atheism curious in this world (as I do in most fantasy worlds) but being raised by demons then demon hybrids will, undoubtedly, leave an impression.
In short, if you can look past its flaws, this is a great-great book. I recommend it for all Sword and Sorcery fans, men and women alike.
9/10
This is an odd way to begin the review but it's what I thought about when I read this book. Red Sonja, for uncultured HEATHENS out there (or people who have just never heard of her), was an adaptation of a Robert E. Howard character to Conan the Barbarian's Hyborian Age created by Marvel comics.
The character is infamous for creating the chainmail bikini outfit while also, perversely, being one of the strongest female characters then in print. Her dichotomy of being a male fantasy character who is otherwise empowered would also extend to her sexual politics: infamously being a woman who would never be with a man who could not defeat her in battle.
Aella is basically Red Sonja without all that crap.
Well, sort of. Sword Sisters is more like Red Sonja: The Teenage Years. I understand this is a prequel to an indie fantasy movie starring and directed by one of the authors, Tara Cardinal. I haven't seen The Legend of the Red Reaper so I have to just this novel on its own merits. For that, the novel works pretty well.
The premise of the novel is, loosely, Demons (with a capital D) invaded the world a thousand years ago. They proceeded to engage in horrific war crimes, many of which resulted in half-demon hybrids called Reapers. The majority of these hybrids were just as bad as their parents. However, they also engaged in war crimes which resulted in quarter-demon hybrids who weren't nearly as horrible. These Reapers successfully drove off the demons and won the war. One last half-demon hybrid was born, however, and she was sent to live amongst her quarter-bloodlined brethren.
This is Aella. Aella is prophecized to be the last of the Reapers and someone who will change the world. Many of her brethren, who have formed a sort of samurai warrior-caste, are less than pleased their civilization is going to die with her. Despite this, they have chosen to adopt her and treat her as one of their own. They are attempting to mold her into the perfect Reaper and, bluntly, Aella is taking to this like a fish to desert.
So she rebels, goes out looking for trouble, and finds it.
Before I get into the rest of the review I should mention that while the book ditches Red Sonja's weird sexual hangups, it does maintain a strong gendered focus. In addition to the fact that the entire of the superheroic sword-swinging badasses being the product of sexual assault, the world of Red Reaper is strongly patriarchal.
Women do not fight outside of the Reapers and are expected to dutifully obey their husbands. They are also chattle to be used in the religious ceremonies of the people's oft-questionable deities. The titular sister gets introduced soon after Aella rescues her from being sacrificed to a giant spider. The novel got itself an automatic nine out of ten, there, just because the heroine fights a giant spider.
You can't get much more Sword and Sorcery than that.
I can't give Sword Sisters a ten out of ten despite how much I want to because of a few minor flaws. The introduction is an info-dump which could have been better told to us in the book itself. Aella's angst is rather annoying at times and more believable as a sixteen-year-old girl rather than a ninety-five-year-old-one-who-looks sixteen. I also am uncomfortable with the fact the heroic warrior caste of the novel are, literally, all the product of war crimes.
Despite this, though, I would recommend this novel strongly. It's nice to have old school Sword and Sorcery and if the novel is strongly gendered, it's gendered in the way which Red Sonja was good rather than bad. Many of her best stories were about kicking sexist pigs in the face and rescuing young women from human sacrifice before teaching them how to fight. The Reapers are an excellent group of heroes, origins aside, reminding me of the Witchers from the titular series.
The supporting cast is excellent too with Amelia, unsurprisingly, being my favorite of the group Aela picks up. She's a great take on the "clever peasant girl" archetype and reminds me of Belle from Beauty and the Beast if the latter was really angry at being dumped at the Beast's castle. I really bought Aella and Amelia's friendship and how it developed. I also became very fond of Damato after his introduction. Sort of a antihero version of Aragorn. Some of the characters I like won't make it through the book and others will, leading me to hope this will be a series.
As for Aella, herself, as mentioned she gets a little whiny herself but insecurities do not overwhelm her positive qualities. She's a strong character still finding her footing but who doesn't hesitate to get in the face of her tormentors. I also like that she's more interested in teaching others to stand up for themselves than be their rescuer. I find her atheism curious in this world (as I do in most fantasy worlds) but being raised by demons then demon hybrids will, undoubtedly, leave an impression.
In short, if you can look past its flaws, this is a great-great book. I recommend it for all Sword and Sorcery fans, men and women alike.
9/10
February 12, 2014
Does the name Tara Cardinal sound familiar? If not, you may as well familiarize yourself with it. Her rise is inevitable. What does she do? Oh, just film, books, comics, everything we love. This fangirl is an indie everything, and she's quite good at it. Tara Cardinal is an actress, director, martial artist, sword master, and humanitarian. A saddening but also triumphant fact is that her work is based on her own childhood struggles, and her story delivers a strong message about female empowerment. She became one of the first women to write, produce, direct, and star in a fantasy action franchise—and she performs her own stunts. She's an actress actively seeking empowering roles in movies of all genres.
This young lady's first film, The Legend of the Red Reaper, written, directed and played by her, begins with our heroine, the daughter of a demon and a human witch. She's traded to the demon father for nothing more than a bottle of his evil enchanted blood, probably to be used as an aging deterrent. In this demon's care, she is beaten, used, and torn down every day for years until her rescue. Beyond her torment, she is groomed to become the female, medieval, demon version of Blade, the vampire slayer. The prophesying of her witch mother, a family talent, has foretold her future as Red Reaper, deliverer of the humans from the terrible demons. The question is, will she be able to live up to that fantasy? I'd love to divulge the answer, but will do my best not to.
In my opinion, it was mad fun—diabolically fantastic. Whenever I review an indie fantasy/dark fantasy film, I always like to compare it, quality wise, to Earth Sea, a small-budget favorite of mine, because I love the Earth Sea story and the filmmakers did quite well with what they had. My favorite thing about Tara Cardinal's film is that the music never stops, the action rarely stops, and the story never gets boring. If that isn't enough, Tara Cardinal seems like she's pretty skilled with the sword, and the film has, possibly, my favorite ending quote of all time.
That's not the end of it, though. Tara Cardinal is everywhere. Her debut novel, Sword Sisters: A Red Reaper Novel, is a fantastic read, packed with action. The book is set before the film and fills in all the details you might have felt like you were missing. My biggest question was, "What was Aella doing before she set herself on a warpath with the demons who were supposed to be dead?" The book answers that question, and it does it with an impossibly better story than the film offers.
Sword Sisters smacks our heroine between a rock and a hard place, fighting for room to breathe from her klan elders and her foretold responsibility as the last reaper—The Red Reaper—but longing for the freedom to choose. Retaliating against all the pressure and running from her responsibility, the young woman treks into the wilderness in hopes of finding a caring soul who once helped her out, perhaps someone she can trust and someone she might even love.
Instead of the man from her dreams, Aella runs into a young woman with a knack for insulting others and, soon enough you find, a knack for getting into trouble. Set in such an old time, these qualities in young independent women are not something of which local men are fond. However, Aella, being a strong feminist warrior, takes to the young woman, and they kindle a friendship bound in battle. They meet not a moment too soon, because Amelia, the young woman, is to be the village's next virgin sacrifice to the god who supposedly lives in a cavern nearby.
Upon further inspection, they find that someone or something is definitely living in the cave and definitely is not an average human; whether it is a god or not remains to be seen. This read is epic! The book is loaded with beasts and packed with action, and the heroine's inner dialogue is pretty funny and seemingly realistic as far as thoughts go. I give it an instant 5/5 stars.
Generally, at this point, I like to explain my grading and offer my two cents, if it's even worth that to anyone. As a matter of opinion, Tara Cardinal and her cowriter, Alex Bledsoe, should change nothing. I'm told it's difficult to improve upon perfection, and it's few and far between that I find books I wouldn't change for the world. So you must know I'm ecstatic to report that I think Sword Sisters is perfect, and I wouldn't change it for the world. The entire Red Reaper series will be gold, I'm sure, and I can't wait to read the next. Until then, it's on to the comic series.
A http://www.fanboysanonymous.com review
This young lady's first film, The Legend of the Red Reaper, written, directed and played by her, begins with our heroine, the daughter of a demon and a human witch. She's traded to the demon father for nothing more than a bottle of his evil enchanted blood, probably to be used as an aging deterrent. In this demon's care, she is beaten, used, and torn down every day for years until her rescue. Beyond her torment, she is groomed to become the female, medieval, demon version of Blade, the vampire slayer. The prophesying of her witch mother, a family talent, has foretold her future as Red Reaper, deliverer of the humans from the terrible demons. The question is, will she be able to live up to that fantasy? I'd love to divulge the answer, but will do my best not to.
In my opinion, it was mad fun—diabolically fantastic. Whenever I review an indie fantasy/dark fantasy film, I always like to compare it, quality wise, to Earth Sea, a small-budget favorite of mine, because I love the Earth Sea story and the filmmakers did quite well with what they had. My favorite thing about Tara Cardinal's film is that the music never stops, the action rarely stops, and the story never gets boring. If that isn't enough, Tara Cardinal seems like she's pretty skilled with the sword, and the film has, possibly, my favorite ending quote of all time.
That's not the end of it, though. Tara Cardinal is everywhere. Her debut novel, Sword Sisters: A Red Reaper Novel, is a fantastic read, packed with action. The book is set before the film and fills in all the details you might have felt like you were missing. My biggest question was, "What was Aella doing before she set herself on a warpath with the demons who were supposed to be dead?" The book answers that question, and it does it with an impossibly better story than the film offers.
Sword Sisters smacks our heroine between a rock and a hard place, fighting for room to breathe from her klan elders and her foretold responsibility as the last reaper—The Red Reaper—but longing for the freedom to choose. Retaliating against all the pressure and running from her responsibility, the young woman treks into the wilderness in hopes of finding a caring soul who once helped her out, perhaps someone she can trust and someone she might even love.
Instead of the man from her dreams, Aella runs into a young woman with a knack for insulting others and, soon enough you find, a knack for getting into trouble. Set in such an old time, these qualities in young independent women are not something of which local men are fond. However, Aella, being a strong feminist warrior, takes to the young woman, and they kindle a friendship bound in battle. They meet not a moment too soon, because Amelia, the young woman, is to be the village's next virgin sacrifice to the god who supposedly lives in a cavern nearby.
Upon further inspection, they find that someone or something is definitely living in the cave and definitely is not an average human; whether it is a god or not remains to be seen. This read is epic! The book is loaded with beasts and packed with action, and the heroine's inner dialogue is pretty funny and seemingly realistic as far as thoughts go. I give it an instant 5/5 stars.
Generally, at this point, I like to explain my grading and offer my two cents, if it's even worth that to anyone. As a matter of opinion, Tara Cardinal and her cowriter, Alex Bledsoe, should change nothing. I'm told it's difficult to improve upon perfection, and it's few and far between that I find books I wouldn't change for the world. So you must know I'm ecstatic to report that I think Sword Sisters is perfect, and I wouldn't change it for the world. The entire Red Reaper series will be gold, I'm sure, and I can't wait to read the next. Until then, it's on to the comic series.
A http://www.fanboysanonymous.com review
March 6, 2014
This review was originally posted on Fanboy Comics .
In a world where Demons previously roamed, a new species arose from the sexual assault of human women by the demon hoards. These demon-human hybrids combine the strength, ruthlessness, and rage of their Demon fathers with the soul and heart of their human mothers, but they can easily sink into the cruel nature of their Demon sides. They are known as Reapers, and those with only one-quarter demon blood have chosen to use their superior strength to defend humanity against all forces. Aella is the youngest Reaper and the result of the latest Teller Witch’s rape by the Demon Ganesh. With her Demon and magic user blood, she is predicted to be the last of the Reapers, the final hope for human kind, the powerful Red Reaper; however, Aella bears deep emotional scars from childhood abuse at the hands of her Demon father and his minions, and the Reapers do not fully trust her. When she flees their stronghold of Raggenborg in search of a mysterious boy from her past, Aella never suspects she may find what she craves most of all: a human who loves and accepts her even after seeing her dark side.
Tara Cardinal created Aella and the Legend of the Red Reaper initially as a screenplay, but, through support and inspiration from the creators she gathered to produce the film, the story grew into novel and comic book spin offs, as well. Sword Sisters holds no pretensions of being a sweeping fantasy epic on the scale of Game of Thrones or The Wheel of Time; it is a straight-up sword and sorcery novel that turns misogynistic conventions on their head through female characters who carry the story instead of existing solely as hook ups or eye candy for the male protagonist.
Aella is both physically strong and developed enough to fall fully into the “strong character” camp, but she also possesses many flaws. While I sometimes wanted to smack her when she daydreamed a little too much about the young human man from her past who gave her a chaste peck or the cheek or was easily swayed by Damato’s seduction, I easily saw that Aella’s romantic musings came from a deep desire for full acceptance instead of the grudging variety offered by the Reapers. She also has marginal hygiene, talks back even when holding her tongue might be safer, has a dangerous temper due to her Demon blood, and wallows in resentment better than most human teenagers. Refreshingly, Aella also finds random nudity traumatic due to her abuse, so there are no scenes of her acting as cheesecake for male characters.
Amelia, Aella’s human foil, and the other female characters, also break the sword and sorcery tradition by showing a variety of personality types, including feisty young women who seem destined to find a place in their world that is greater than wife, mother, and virgin sacrifice; however, the men aren’t treated as second-class citizens either. Cardinal peoples her story with men who are strong and weak, kind and cruel, heterosexual and homosexual, truthful and liars, and no human or Reaper is solely black or white.
I expected Sword Sisters to be a little more about Aella and Amelia meeting, bonding, and becoming sisters in arms from the copy I received, but the focus on Aella’s search for acceptance with both Reapers and humans still made an excellent story. The hearty dose of violence and monster whomping satisfied the well-buried blood thirsty side as well, and I almost whooped out loud when Aella gave a snotty teenage boy a dose of his own medicine. (Okay, so the Demon part of her made it a little overkill, but he totally deserved it.)
Overall, Sword Sisters wasn’t exactly the book I expected, but it was still a rollicking good ride. If you love the sword and sorcery genre but wish that the women didn’t feel so two dimensional, it’s an excellent read. If you just want a book where a young woman hacks and slashes, you’ll find satisfaction, as well. My only real nitpick is that it’s too short; I wanted to see more of Aella and Amelia’s story now that they’ve begun forging a bond.
4.5 Meticulously Cleaned Reaper Swords out of 5
In a world where Demons previously roamed, a new species arose from the sexual assault of human women by the demon hoards. These demon-human hybrids combine the strength, ruthlessness, and rage of their Demon fathers with the soul and heart of their human mothers, but they can easily sink into the cruel nature of their Demon sides. They are known as Reapers, and those with only one-quarter demon blood have chosen to use their superior strength to defend humanity against all forces. Aella is the youngest Reaper and the result of the latest Teller Witch’s rape by the Demon Ganesh. With her Demon and magic user blood, she is predicted to be the last of the Reapers, the final hope for human kind, the powerful Red Reaper; however, Aella bears deep emotional scars from childhood abuse at the hands of her Demon father and his minions, and the Reapers do not fully trust her. When she flees their stronghold of Raggenborg in search of a mysterious boy from her past, Aella never suspects she may find what she craves most of all: a human who loves and accepts her even after seeing her dark side.
Tara Cardinal created Aella and the Legend of the Red Reaper initially as a screenplay, but, through support and inspiration from the creators she gathered to produce the film, the story grew into novel and comic book spin offs, as well. Sword Sisters holds no pretensions of being a sweeping fantasy epic on the scale of Game of Thrones or The Wheel of Time; it is a straight-up sword and sorcery novel that turns misogynistic conventions on their head through female characters who carry the story instead of existing solely as hook ups or eye candy for the male protagonist.
Aella is both physically strong and developed enough to fall fully into the “strong character” camp, but she also possesses many flaws. While I sometimes wanted to smack her when she daydreamed a little too much about the young human man from her past who gave her a chaste peck or the cheek or was easily swayed by Damato’s seduction, I easily saw that Aella’s romantic musings came from a deep desire for full acceptance instead of the grudging variety offered by the Reapers. She also has marginal hygiene, talks back even when holding her tongue might be safer, has a dangerous temper due to her Demon blood, and wallows in resentment better than most human teenagers. Refreshingly, Aella also finds random nudity traumatic due to her abuse, so there are no scenes of her acting as cheesecake for male characters.
Amelia, Aella’s human foil, and the other female characters, also break the sword and sorcery tradition by showing a variety of personality types, including feisty young women who seem destined to find a place in their world that is greater than wife, mother, and virgin sacrifice; however, the men aren’t treated as second-class citizens either. Cardinal peoples her story with men who are strong and weak, kind and cruel, heterosexual and homosexual, truthful and liars, and no human or Reaper is solely black or white.
I expected Sword Sisters to be a little more about Aella and Amelia meeting, bonding, and becoming sisters in arms from the copy I received, but the focus on Aella’s search for acceptance with both Reapers and humans still made an excellent story. The hearty dose of violence and monster whomping satisfied the well-buried blood thirsty side as well, and I almost whooped out loud when Aella gave a snotty teenage boy a dose of his own medicine. (Okay, so the Demon part of her made it a little overkill, but he totally deserved it.)
Overall, Sword Sisters wasn’t exactly the book I expected, but it was still a rollicking good ride. If you love the sword and sorcery genre but wish that the women didn’t feel so two dimensional, it’s an excellent read. If you just want a book where a young woman hacks and slashes, you’ll find satisfaction, as well. My only real nitpick is that it’s too short; I wanted to see more of Aella and Amelia’s story now that they’ve begun forging a bond.
4.5 Meticulously Cleaned Reaper Swords out of 5
May 28, 2014
I have not read much in the area of fantasy lately, so I was not sure what to expect here. Suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this first effort from actress, director, producer, and now author, Tara Cardinal from the very first page. A well constructed story that serves as the prequel to Tara's current feature film, The Legend of the Red Reaper. A rousing good sword & sorcery tale that is heavy on the sword play and rather light on sorcery. That, for me, is a plus. Lots of tension builds throughout, as Aella, the eponymous Red Reaper, finds her calling. Add to that a liberal sprinkling of humor and feminist sentiments and the pieces are in place to deliver a boatload of fun. I found myself unable to put this one down for long. I sincerely hope that there will be more tales of the Reaper to come.
February 1, 2016
This fantasy book, which ties directly into the movie by the author, Tara Cardinal, "Legend Of The Red Reaper", is a fast (very much so) and well paced read. The world building is strong, and a very unique setting. The characters are all engaging and have arcs that we want to follow. The fact that Sells, or main character, is so complex and flawed, but still badass and tough is a wonderful and awesome thing- as she is quite different from a lot of fantasy female heroes, because there is so much to her. If you like fantasy and female empowerment, you owe it to yourself to read this amazing book.
March 7, 2014
I got this book as part of a prize pack and what a great surprise. I don't usually gravitate toward Sword & Sorcery books, but they won't be overlooked by me anymore. I thoroughly enjoyed the story of the Red Reaper, I loved the characters and the fun dialog, it was filled with action and emotional turmoil. I had a really hard time putting the book down and was disappointed when I reached the end of the book because I wanted more.
March 31, 2014
Aella, last of the Reapers (half-human and half-demon), is a witty, humorous, well-rounded character whom you can't help but love.
Told from the first-person point of view, you really get to see Aella's character and motivation. Being a teenager myself, I defiantly enjoyed this. Plan on having time to sit down and read the whole book in one sitting, because once you pick it up it's hard to put down.
I hope there's more to read in the future :)
Told from the first-person point of view, you really get to see Aella's character and motivation. Being a teenager myself, I defiantly enjoyed this. Plan on having time to sit down and read the whole book in one sitting, because once you pick it up it's hard to put down.
I hope there's more to read in the future :)
April 3, 2014
A pleasant, light read. I look forward to seeing more of Tara Cardinal's books in the future because I know these can only get better.
September 30, 2018
2 stars. Thin story and thin characters
December 31, 2025
Great tour de force with an amazing female lead character.
Wonderful story filled with great fights and colorful characters.
Hopefully there will be a sequel!
Wonderful story filled with great fights and colorful characters.
Hopefully there will be a sequel!
November 12, 2014
Sword Sisters is the first novel in the Red Reaper series by Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe. It’s a fast-paced and action-packed story of friendship, responsibility and growing up, which will definitely appeal to fans of young adult literature. The characters are sympathetic and well drawn out while remaining rebellious, angst-ridden teens. The plot twists and turns with thrills and surprises, and the villains are almost Lovecraftian.
Sword Sisters tells the story of Aella, a young girl whose fate has been determined by prophecy. Alas, after being cast aside by her mother, tormented (literally) by her father, and subjected to the fear and ridicule of her own kind, Aella is determined not to care. Not to care what they think, not to care if they like her, not to care about anything or anyone. Just so long as no one tries to touch her or imprison her again, Aella couldn't care less. Until...he pulled an arrow from Aella's back and kissed her cheek. Until...she carried Aella home and stood between her and a giant spider. And a rioting mob. Until...they came to Aella looking for help.
Aella, daughter of demon and witch, must find herself and forge her own route to a destiny she doesn't want to believe and others simply don't want. At first a heroine in name alone, Aella discovers she has the strength and the heart to control her demonic lineage and truly wear the title--hero. She also finds something even more valuable: friendship. Amelia, her Sword Sister, isn't just worth dying for. She's worth living for.
Sword Sisters starts off with a bang and pretty much continues the same way until the epic climax. The main protagonist, Aella, is a fun, charming heroine who has enough flows to be realistic, despite the fact she is anything but human. Her attitude towards authority figures, school and being told what to do would certainly feel familiar to anyone who grew up as a rebel. And to their suffering parents too.
The rest of the characters, Amelia, Damato, Sela, the almost mythical Aaron, and so on, are all memorable and fully realised, at times almost overshadowing Aella. In fact, I have to admit that I took an instant liking to Amelia, whose out-spoken nature and bravery in the face of danger were both inspiring and commendable. She was also the funniest character, as far as I'm concerned. Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe have given her some good one-liners, which would have you chuckling quietly while turning the pages.
Another high point of Sword Sisters was the plot. The story unfolds smoothly and fast, without ever being predictable or too heavy with violence, gore, or exposition. There are also some genuinely cool scenes that are sure to haunt your imagination. A particular favourite of mine involves a witch, a ‘magnificent snowy owl,’ and… Well, I’ll let you see and judge for yourselves. Personally, I read that chapter twice.
The villains of Sword Sisters, just like the protagonists, are well thought-through and distinguishable, offering scares that are certain to tickle young readers and make long-time fantasy and horror fans nod in approval. Also, on a personal note, how cool a name is Lurida Lumo? Seriously, in my book, it’s up there with the greats like Cthulhu and Ishamael…
All praise aside, not everything about Sword Sisters worked so well for me (personally). Firstly, the language of the novel at times felt too modern and, for lack of a better word, American. Sentences like ‘Dude, she’s a Reaper’ jumped off the page and disturbed the flow of the prose, sounding completely out of place. Or maybe I'm the only one bothered, who knows? I simply don’t think that contemporary slang has any place in an epic fantasy setting.
Secondly, there’s a certain gay character in the book who I found unforgivably cringeworthy. Both his story and characterisation felt generic, which is a shame as I know the authors could have done much, much better.
Third and last, and this is more of a quibble than a major point, at times Aella’s thoughts, actions, and personality felt like she was trying too hard to be cool. Something which was unnecessary and a touch annoying.
With all this in mind, Sword Sisters is a thoroughly enjoyable novel and will surely appeal to both teenage and adult readers alike. Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe are both excellent writers who've created a deep and complex world, and characters you can’t help but care for. Sure, the novel has its flaws, but that only means there’s room for growth and development in the next instalments of the Red Reaper saga. I, for one, am looking forward to whatever comes next for Aella and her friends.
Sword Sisters by Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe is published by Ragnarok Publications, and is a good addition to their diverse and growing catalogue.
Sword Sisters tells the story of Aella, a young girl whose fate has been determined by prophecy. Alas, after being cast aside by her mother, tormented (literally) by her father, and subjected to the fear and ridicule of her own kind, Aella is determined not to care. Not to care what they think, not to care if they like her, not to care about anything or anyone. Just so long as no one tries to touch her or imprison her again, Aella couldn't care less. Until...he pulled an arrow from Aella's back and kissed her cheek. Until...she carried Aella home and stood between her and a giant spider. And a rioting mob. Until...they came to Aella looking for help.
Aella, daughter of demon and witch, must find herself and forge her own route to a destiny she doesn't want to believe and others simply don't want. At first a heroine in name alone, Aella discovers she has the strength and the heart to control her demonic lineage and truly wear the title--hero. She also finds something even more valuable: friendship. Amelia, her Sword Sister, isn't just worth dying for. She's worth living for.
Sword Sisters starts off with a bang and pretty much continues the same way until the epic climax. The main protagonist, Aella, is a fun, charming heroine who has enough flows to be realistic, despite the fact she is anything but human. Her attitude towards authority figures, school and being told what to do would certainly feel familiar to anyone who grew up as a rebel. And to their suffering parents too.
The rest of the characters, Amelia, Damato, Sela, the almost mythical Aaron, and so on, are all memorable and fully realised, at times almost overshadowing Aella. In fact, I have to admit that I took an instant liking to Amelia, whose out-spoken nature and bravery in the face of danger were both inspiring and commendable. She was also the funniest character, as far as I'm concerned. Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe have given her some good one-liners, which would have you chuckling quietly while turning the pages.
Another high point of Sword Sisters was the plot. The story unfolds smoothly and fast, without ever being predictable or too heavy with violence, gore, or exposition. There are also some genuinely cool scenes that are sure to haunt your imagination. A particular favourite of mine involves a witch, a ‘magnificent snowy owl,’ and… Well, I’ll let you see and judge for yourselves. Personally, I read that chapter twice.
The villains of Sword Sisters, just like the protagonists, are well thought-through and distinguishable, offering scares that are certain to tickle young readers and make long-time fantasy and horror fans nod in approval. Also, on a personal note, how cool a name is Lurida Lumo? Seriously, in my book, it’s up there with the greats like Cthulhu and Ishamael…
All praise aside, not everything about Sword Sisters worked so well for me (personally). Firstly, the language of the novel at times felt too modern and, for lack of a better word, American. Sentences like ‘Dude, she’s a Reaper’ jumped off the page and disturbed the flow of the prose, sounding completely out of place. Or maybe I'm the only one bothered, who knows? I simply don’t think that contemporary slang has any place in an epic fantasy setting.
Secondly, there’s a certain gay character in the book who I found unforgivably cringeworthy. Both his story and characterisation felt generic, which is a shame as I know the authors could have done much, much better.
Third and last, and this is more of a quibble than a major point, at times Aella’s thoughts, actions, and personality felt like she was trying too hard to be cool. Something which was unnecessary and a touch annoying.
With all this in mind, Sword Sisters is a thoroughly enjoyable novel and will surely appeal to both teenage and adult readers alike. Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe are both excellent writers who've created a deep and complex world, and characters you can’t help but care for. Sure, the novel has its flaws, but that only means there’s room for growth and development in the next instalments of the Red Reaper saga. I, for one, am looking forward to whatever comes next for Aella and her friends.
Sword Sisters by Tara Cardinal and Alex Bledsoe is published by Ragnarok Publications, and is a good addition to their diverse and growing catalogue.
November 11, 2016
The 2 writers really need a good editor to catch all the errors, this is more like a rough draft. I loved the concept of the book but it fell flat.
The lead character has a miner case of haphephobia (dislike of being touched by people) unless she is horny then it all ok. She is a reaper (half human, half demon) with the stated age of 16 reaper years old and 96 in human years and looks like a 16 year old, in chapter 1 she has a flash back to when she was 12 (guessing in reaper years) and a human teen boy of 16 years saves her, this is a main part of the character it shapes her not only in this book but looks like in latter books. So now she in looking for a 20 year old man... wait she was 12 and ages 1 year every 6 years so if he saved her 4 years ago she should be about 13 not 16 or he is 40 not 20. and this is just looking at the lead character defining characteristics.
I will not be getting the next book. and far warning if you get the audiobook like i did the narrator is Tara Cardinal she did a good job until she sang she is so high pitched you cant understand her. But it will run your pets out of the room, thank the gods i did not have headphones on.
The lead character has a miner case of haphephobia (dislike of being touched by people) unless she is horny then it all ok. She is a reaper (half human, half demon) with the stated age of 16 reaper years old and 96 in human years and looks like a 16 year old, in chapter 1 she has a flash back to when she was 12 (guessing in reaper years) and a human teen boy of 16 years saves her, this is a main part of the character it shapes her not only in this book but looks like in latter books. So now she in looking for a 20 year old man... wait she was 12 and ages 1 year every 6 years so if he saved her 4 years ago she should be about 13 not 16 or he is 40 not 20. and this is just looking at the lead character defining characteristics.
I will not be getting the next book. and far warning if you get the audiobook like i did the narrator is Tara Cardinal she did a good job until she sang she is so high pitched you cant understand her. But it will run your pets out of the room, thank the gods i did not have headphones on.
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