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Fallen Blade #1
Broken Blade
Once a fabled Blade of Namara, Aral Kingslayer fought for justice and his goddess alongside his familiar, a living shadow called Triss. Now with their goddess murdered and her temple destroyed, they are among the last of their kind. Surviving on the fringes of society, Aral becomes a drunken, broken, and wanted man, working whatever shadowy deal comes his way. Until a mysterious woman hires him to deliver a secret message-one that can either redeem him or doom him.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2011
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About the author
Kelly McCullough
39 books370 followersKelly McCullough was raised and educated by free-range hippies. Later he received a degree in theater and worked in improv. That combination was the perfect preparation for his current career as author and cat herder. He lives and writes in the Midwest with his physics-professor wife, Laura. He enjoys hiking and biking and his role as self-heating cat furniture. He is the author of the WebMage and Fallen Blade series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
January 1, 2013
I discovered Kelly McCullough's WebMage series a few years ago and found his unique interpretation of computers and mythology fascinating. With Broken Blade, the first book in a published trilogy, he has branched out into a more traditional assassin fantasy. Alas, while McCullough does bring inspired character development to a rather traditional story, I found it paled in comparison to the WebMage series.
Broken Blade opens in a tavern, where a former religious master is struggling with the loss of his order, sinking himself in drink and taking jobs of dubious ethics to finance his subsistence lifestyle. A clandestine meeting with a mystery woman (in a red dress, no less) provides an opportunity for some coin, and to introduce the reader to Aral's over-active shadow-familiar. To absolutely no one's surprise, the woman's errand lures him out of the taverns and into deeper currents of kingdom politics and his former identity. Partway through the job, Aral discovers
While the overarching story is not particularly unusual, McCullough always has a fascinating spin on his world building. As Aral argues with his Shadow, Triss, we learn Aral's backstory, a master assassin in a religious order who served a goddess of justice. Although certainly the concept of 'justice' could lend itself to an ambiguous morality, nearly all the wrongs mentioned are egregious and lend a particularly ethical bent to a potential anti-hero. Unfortunately, after the goddess used Aral to punish a king, retaliation by the king's successor wipes out the order, and presumably kills the goddess; Aral is one of the few devotees remaining and has a price on his head.
Characterization is where McCullough shines. Creatively taking the standard fantasy mage-familiar bond, he gives it an unusual dimension by pairing the assassins with a 'Shade' from another realm. The Shade Triss occupies Aral's shadow, and the permanent bond that results is one of the only things left holding Aral to life. I like the relationship between Aral and Triss, the shadow. Both stretch their limits, developing new skills and understanding of each other. There are other branches of mages working with other types of familiars, and if it perhaps seems cutesy at times--looking at you gryphinx--it's still an interesting relationship. Similar themes resides within the Webmage works as well, along with the evolution of the dependent into independent, so I look forward to seeing what he does here.
Much of the emotion of the story centers around Aral's notion of identity and justice. When with the order, he was young and unquestioning in his devotion. Now that the order is gone, he's lost his faith, but with his latest job, finds himself finally asking the hard questions. How can one believe in a dead god? Where does identity come from? If the order was about justice for the wronged or dead, what does that imply about justice now? It's an interesting character struggle that actually shows development over time, rather than wallowing in self-pity and depression.
Pacing is perhaps a tad uneven, vacillating between world-building and fight scenes. A romantic storyline is awkwardly inserted and somewhat trope-burdened, leading me to feel it would have been better to have skipped it altogether. World-building was standard medieval fantasy with vague Asian overtones, and except for a few memories with the order, insufficiently fleshed out and not particularly unique. Plotting was unremarkable. I get the feeling that someone was checking necessary plot-points on the current fantasy success list (fight scenes--check; kingkiller--check; gypsies--check; smart but tough woman who challenges hero--check).
Despite my criticisms, however, it was a far more pleasant read than many assassin stories, especially The Way of Shadows, largely because of more coherent storytelling, stronger female characterization and more robust character development. I'll check the next book out.
Three Shadowed stars.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2012/1...
Broken Blade opens in a tavern, where a former religious master is struggling with the loss of his order, sinking himself in drink and taking jobs of dubious ethics to finance his subsistence lifestyle. A clandestine meeting with a mystery woman (in a red dress, no less) provides an opportunity for some coin, and to introduce the reader to Aral's over-active shadow-familiar. To absolutely no one's surprise, the woman's errand lures him out of the taverns and into deeper currents of kingdom politics and his former identity. Partway through the job, Aral discovers
While the overarching story is not particularly unusual, McCullough always has a fascinating spin on his world building. As Aral argues with his Shadow, Triss, we learn Aral's backstory, a master assassin in a religious order who served a goddess of justice. Although certainly the concept of 'justice' could lend itself to an ambiguous morality, nearly all the wrongs mentioned are egregious and lend a particularly ethical bent to a potential anti-hero. Unfortunately, after the goddess used Aral to punish a king, retaliation by the king's successor wipes out the order, and presumably kills the goddess; Aral is one of the few devotees remaining and has a price on his head.
Characterization is where McCullough shines. Creatively taking the standard fantasy mage-familiar bond, he gives it an unusual dimension by pairing the assassins with a 'Shade' from another realm. The Shade Triss occupies Aral's shadow, and the permanent bond that results is one of the only things left holding Aral to life. I like the relationship between Aral and Triss, the shadow. Both stretch their limits, developing new skills and understanding of each other. There are other branches of mages working with other types of familiars, and if it perhaps seems cutesy at times--looking at you gryphinx--it's still an interesting relationship. Similar themes resides within the Webmage works as well, along with the evolution of the dependent into independent, so I look forward to seeing what he does here.
Much of the emotion of the story centers around Aral's notion of identity and justice. When with the order, he was young and unquestioning in his devotion. Now that the order is gone, he's lost his faith, but with his latest job, finds himself finally asking the hard questions. How can one believe in a dead god? Where does identity come from? If the order was about justice for the wronged or dead, what does that imply about justice now? It's an interesting character struggle that actually shows development over time, rather than wallowing in self-pity and depression.
Pacing is perhaps a tad uneven, vacillating between world-building and fight scenes. A romantic storyline is awkwardly inserted and somewhat trope-burdened, leading me to feel it would have been better to have skipped it altogether. World-building was standard medieval fantasy with vague Asian overtones, and except for a few memories with the order, insufficiently fleshed out and not particularly unique. Plotting was unremarkable. I get the feeling that someone was checking necessary plot-points on the current fantasy success list (fight scenes--check; kingkiller--check; gypsies--check; smart but tough woman who challenges hero--check).
Despite my criticisms, however, it was a far more pleasant read than many assassin stories, especially The Way of Shadows, largely because of more coherent storytelling, stronger female characterization and more robust character development. I'll check the next book out.
Three Shadowed stars.
Cross posted at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2012/1...
October 30, 2021
This was excellent. Aral is a complexly broken character. He has been trained as an assassin for the goddess of Justice—a role he found great joy and satisfaction in. Then the other gods ganged up and killed her. Justice is dead, Aral is not only out of a job, but the bedrock of his identity is gone. We pick up five years later as he's just about hit rock bottom. He and all his fellows are under a death sentence, so he's working odd jobs under the table and drinking himself silly every night.
It's always uncomfortable with a self-destructive hero. For me, at any rate. So I was relieved to see this become something of a turn-around story. It's not a quick one. Or easy. But when a job spirals out of control and old friends show up wanting to either recruit or kill him he has some tough choices to make. And the toughest choice is trying to figure out what he actually believes and who he wants to be. And I particularly liked Mylien as a catalyst. She was perfect for the role and her involvement as a good-hearted noble in need of help in a world where abuse of power is the norm was fantastic. And no damsel in distress, either, as she has her own competencies and strength enough to match his (though in different ways).
I loved being along with Aral through some great action, staying one step ahead of the bad guys. Most of the time. The flavor is a bit like a noir detective but without the legitimacy of being a detective. Think Glen Cook's Garrett meets Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos. And it was every bit as good as that comparison indicates. Okay, if you twist my arm, I'll admit that McCullough isn't the master those two are. But he's good enough that the tale was engaging, the pace fast and the plot held together very well, indeed.
I particularly liked the ending and the unresolved resolution. It was perfect for what it needed to be and it let me close the story eager for the next. It's five stars, is what I'm saying, and I'm eager to see what's next.
A note about Chaste: There's sex in the story, but nothing explicit on the page. Well, some snuggling. So it's borderline, but on the chaste side of the border for me. McCullough could easily have gone there, but I'm kind of glad he didn't as I don't think it was necessary.
It's always uncomfortable with a self-destructive hero. For me, at any rate. So I was relieved to see this become something of a turn-around story. It's not a quick one. Or easy. But when a job spirals out of control and old friends show up wanting to either recruit or kill him he has some tough choices to make. And the toughest choice is trying to figure out what he actually believes and who he wants to be. And I particularly liked Mylien as a catalyst. She was perfect for the role and her involvement as a good-hearted noble in need of help in a world where abuse of power is the norm was fantastic. And no damsel in distress, either, as she has her own competencies and strength enough to match his (though in different ways).
I loved being along with Aral through some great action, staying one step ahead of the bad guys. Most of the time. The flavor is a bit like a noir detective but without the legitimacy of being a detective. Think Glen Cook's Garrett meets Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos. And it was every bit as good as that comparison indicates. Okay, if you twist my arm, I'll admit that McCullough isn't the master those two are. But he's good enough that the tale was engaging, the pace fast and the plot held together very well, indeed.
I particularly liked the ending and the unresolved resolution. It was perfect for what it needed to be and it let me close the story eager for the next. It's five stars, is what I'm saying, and I'm eager to see what's next.
A note about Chaste: There's sex in the story, but nothing explicit on the page. Well, some snuggling. So it's borderline, but on the chaste side of the border for me. McCullough could easily have gone there, but I'm kind of glad he didn't as I don't think it was necessary.
May 18, 2016
An extremely fun sword and sorcery book with cool magic, kick-ass fight scenes, and characters that are easy to get invested in.
There were a couple parts/moments that frustrates me, like the author continuously repeating certain themes and issues, but other than that I really enjoyed this.
It's a pretty interesting world, and I loved the journey and evolution Aral went through. Looking forward to continuing the series
There were a couple parts/moments that frustrates me, like the author continuously repeating certain themes and issues, but other than that I really enjoyed this.
It's a pretty interesting world, and I loved the journey and evolution Aral went through. Looking forward to continuing the series
April 13, 2023
*** 3.35 ***
Not bad. It was engaging and interesting, but I have read quite a few books with similar stories and it felt a bit predictable... There were a couple of twists towards the end and that kept things interesting. If you are new to Fantasy - Adventure, this is a great entry choice. I think even younger readers, 13+, can enjoy it. I personally plan on continuing with the series and hope for more adventures 😃👍
Not bad. It was engaging and interesting, but I have read quite a few books with similar stories and it felt a bit predictable... There were a couple of twists towards the end and that kept things interesting. If you are new to Fantasy - Adventure, this is a great entry choice. I think even younger readers, 13+, can enjoy it. I personally plan on continuing with the series and hope for more adventures 😃👍
December 22, 2021
This was an OK action/adventure fantasy. It was nothing special but it was enough to hold my attention. The world, characters, and story were not overly memorable or exciting but they were good enough to combine for a readable enough fantasy story.
The premise was fun enough. Aral “kingslayer” was once one of the most respected Blade’s of the Goddess of Justice. Now he is a down on your luck “shadow jack” for hire. Aral’s life went awry when his Goddess, and his purpose in life, got murdered! With all his order on the death list he needs to keep a low profile.
The tale was decent. Aral was no regular spy/assassin/thieve. He had magic and a cool dragon shadow companion. I quite liked this aspect of the story. The shadow familiar was interesting and seemed a fun enough character in its own right.
The world was fine. All the action took place in a single fantasy city but that city was well drawn over the course of the book and we got hints of a few things going on in the larger scale of the world.
The story focused on Aral taking a simple delivery job that went quickly awry when he ran into some old faces he was not expecting to see again. He was soon sucked into a bit of intrigue!
All in all this was a readable and enjoyable story. Aral was not overly memorable but he was easy enough to root for. The world and magic were fun. The secondary characters did not make much of an impact but hopefully that changes in the second instalment.
I’ll get to the second book for sure since I bought the whole series on a Graphic Audio sale!
Rating: 3.5 Stars. A solid fantasy tale. Small in scale but interesting enough.
Audio Note: As always the Graphic Audio production was excellent. Like a regular audio but with full cast, dramatic music, and sound effects.
The premise was fun enough. Aral “kingslayer” was once one of the most respected Blade’s of the Goddess of Justice. Now he is a down on your luck “shadow jack” for hire. Aral’s life went awry when his Goddess, and his purpose in life, got murdered! With all his order on the death list he needs to keep a low profile.
The tale was decent. Aral was no regular spy/assassin/thieve. He had magic and a cool dragon shadow companion. I quite liked this aspect of the story. The shadow familiar was interesting and seemed a fun enough character in its own right.
The world was fine. All the action took place in a single fantasy city but that city was well drawn over the course of the book and we got hints of a few things going on in the larger scale of the world.
The story focused on Aral taking a simple delivery job that went quickly awry when he ran into some old faces he was not expecting to see again. He was soon sucked into a bit of intrigue!
All in all this was a readable and enjoyable story. Aral was not overly memorable but he was easy enough to root for. The world and magic were fun. The secondary characters did not make much of an impact but hopefully that changes in the second instalment.
I’ll get to the second book for sure since I bought the whole series on a Graphic Audio sale!
Rating: 3.5 Stars. A solid fantasy tale. Small in scale but interesting enough.
Audio Note: As always the Graphic Audio production was excellent. Like a regular audio but with full cast, dramatic music, and sound effects.
August 3, 2015
A great book that I am surprised not to see on more TBR lists.
Only 300 pages long, but packed with action, fun characters, cool ideas and a solid story.
What are you waiting for? Buy it!
Only 300 pages long, but packed with action, fun characters, cool ideas and a solid story.
“Are you the jack?” she asked when she reached my table. She leaned down toward me as she spoke, silhouetting herself against the only light in the room—a dim and badly scarred magelight chandelier.
“I’m a jack, and open to hire if you’re looking for one.” A jack of shadows, the underworld’s all-purpose freelancer—how very far I’d fallen from the old days. I’m a shadow jack, of course, but never a black one. I’ll take risks if the money looks right and I’m not fussed about the law, but I won’t ghost anyone for you. Not for anyone else either, for that matter.” I was done with the blood trade. Triss and I had long since sent our share of souls to the lords of judgment and their great wheel of rebirth. More than our share. It was her turn to nod though the frown stayed. “I’m not looking for contract murder, just a bit of sensitive delivery service.”
Courier work and its close cousin, smuggling, provided the bulk of my income these days. Shadowside, but not the deep dark. Few jacks anywhere could boast a better reputation for quiet deliveries, but then, I had Triss. And that was the sort of advantage that not more than a score of people in the whole wide world could boast. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my shadow shifting slowly leftward as if seeking a better view of the young woman. I leaned that way as well, to cover the shadow’s movements, and accidentally elbowed my whiskey bottle off the table. It thudded into the straw but didn’t break. Not that it mattered. I’d finished the last of the contents twenty minutes ago. Which, in all honesty, might have had something to do with my knocking it over.
“Hang on a tick,” I said, and bent to pick the bottle out of the moldering straw.I took the opportunity offered by the cover of the table to make a sharp “no” signal to Triss with my left hand.
“Back as soon as ever I am able, my lady.” A couple of lanterns filled with the cheapest oil money could buy guttered and sputtered in the yard.
On nights like this, with the moon near her nadir, even night-trained eyes like mine had trouble, and Jerik’s lamps provided just enough illumination to find the privies. I closed the door behind me and wedged it shut with a thin knife pulled from the sheath on my left wrist.
I turned a stern eye on my now much-clearer shadow, and demanded, “What are you trying to pull?”
Though my arms remained tight to my sides, the shadow’s arms lifted and broadened into wings at the same time its legs fused themselves together into something much longer and narrower. Combine that with the way the head and neck respectively flattened and lengthened, and you no longer had a shape that looked even remotely human. In fact, were you to go by the form and movement of my shadow alone, you could be forgiven for making the assumption that I had become a rather small and agitated dragon.
My shadow, or rather the Shade that inhabited it, tilted his head to one side and shot out a long slender shadow of a forked tongue to touch my cheek. And that was Triss.
What are you waiting for? Buy it!
May 12, 2021
This book has been sitting on my Kindle for quite a while now and I finally decided to give it a try. I was intrigued by the assassin plot and the living shadow companion. Overall this book delivered what I was hoping for. It's a pretty standard fantasy, but it had some elements that felt urban fantasy. I like the main character a lot and I liked the plot.
There ends up being a romance between Aral and another character that I thought was a little bland. While I liked the love interest as a character, I would have preferred more chemistry between the two of them, and a slower build up of the romance over more than one book, but I don't think the author really wanted to focus too much on that aspect of the story anyway.
There are six books in this series and I'm planning on continuing.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.
There ends up being a romance between Aral and another character that I thought was a little bland. While I liked the love interest as a character, I would have preferred more chemistry between the two of them, and a slower build up of the romance over more than one book, but I don't think the author really wanted to focus too much on that aspect of the story anyway.
There are six books in this series and I'm planning on continuing.
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.
April 2, 2015
I can't say this was amazing, but it was damn close to five stars for me. I had a lot of fun with this story, and I cant wait to read book two to see how Aral grows.
October 23, 2020
This was good, but didn't blow me away.
I loved the idea with the shadow companions, and liked the idea of the main character being an ex assassin.
The main male and female characters ending up having sex was just so predictable.
Some parts felt a bit slow, and at other times a bit rushed, so I'd have prefered a more balanced pace throughout the book.
There were quite some typos (missing words) in the last third - in a traditionally published book that is annoying.
Overall it was still an entertaining read, that you can consider when you're looking for something while waiting for the next installment of your favorite authors.
I loved the idea with the shadow companions, and liked the idea of the main character being an ex assassin.
The main male and female characters ending up having sex was just so predictable.
Some parts felt a bit slow, and at other times a bit rushed, so I'd have prefered a more balanced pace throughout the book.
There were quite some typos (missing words) in the last third - in a traditionally published book that is annoying.
Overall it was still an entertaining read, that you can consider when you're looking for something while waiting for the next installment of your favorite authors.
June 9, 2020
Zu Beginn war ich wirklich angetan von diesem Buch, aber später kam, was natürlich kommen musste..
Was ich mochte:
- Die Idee der Finsterlinge und des Immerfinsters
- Das Verhältnis zwischen Aral und Triss
- Der ab und zu holprige Schreibstil hat in meinen Augen sehr gut zu der Stimmung von Aral gepasst
- Aral spricht am Anfang des Buches direkt zum Leser
Was ich weniger mochte:
- Die Beschreibung (versoffener Krieger, der die besten Jahre schon hinter sich hat) und die Art Arals (er nennt Maylien zu Beginn z.B. auch immer "das Mädchen" weil sie noch so jung ist) hat mich ihn auf mind. 40 schätzen lassen, später kommt jedoch heraus, dass er Ende 20 ist, das passt, in meinen Augen, überhaupt nicht ins Bild
Ab der Mitte des Buches ändert sich die ganze Art des Buches:
- Schon von Seite 1 an hatte ich es befürchtet -
- Maylien: So ein Verhalten finde ich einfach nervig und ätzend und hat mir die Freude an dem Buch ziemlich verdorben
- Nachdem Maylien mehr in den Vordergrund rückt, geht die grummelige und etwas düstere Stimmung des Buches (und Arals) so ziemlich verloren
- Triss verkommt zwischenzeitlich zur Nebenfigur
Was ich mochte:
- Die Idee der Finsterlinge und des Immerfinsters
- Das Verhältnis zwischen Aral und Triss
- Der ab und zu holprige Schreibstil hat in meinen Augen sehr gut zu der Stimmung von Aral gepasst
- Aral spricht am Anfang des Buches direkt zum Leser
Was ich weniger mochte:
- Die Beschreibung (versoffener Krieger, der die besten Jahre schon hinter sich hat) und die Art Arals (er nennt Maylien zu Beginn z.B. auch immer "das Mädchen" weil sie noch so jung ist) hat mich ihn auf mind. 40 schätzen lassen, später kommt jedoch heraus, dass er Ende 20 ist, das passt, in meinen Augen, überhaupt nicht ins Bild
Ab der Mitte des Buches ändert sich die ganze Art des Buches:
- Schon von Seite 1 an hatte ich es befürchtet -
- Maylien: So ein Verhalten finde ich einfach nervig und ätzend und hat mir die Freude an dem Buch ziemlich verdorben
- Nachdem Maylien mehr in den Vordergrund rückt, geht die grummelige und etwas düstere Stimmung des Buches (und Arals) so ziemlich verloren
- Triss verkommt zwischenzeitlich zur Nebenfigur
October 31, 2021
So I found this novel because my sweet husband read it and went...hey, you'd probably enjoy this.
He was right.
With this book we get a very conflicted, very broken hero who has to drag himself off of the bottom of...well...everything. And I'm loving that journey. It's a very honest look at this kind of rising and you don't see that often, but this great internal journey goes with a fun political situation, and a world with a great magic system that I can't wait to see continue to unfold.
Also, I love Triss.
Really, I enjoy a lot of the characters, though the author does a really good job of keeping the MC central even with really great side characters.
Yes, there are some holes I could poke in this, but the author pulls me along so well that I don't care. And that's something I can totally give a hat tip to.
Little language warning: So many fbombs...so many of them...
He was right.
With this book we get a very conflicted, very broken hero who has to drag himself off of the bottom of...well...everything. And I'm loving that journey. It's a very honest look at this kind of rising and you don't see that often, but this great internal journey goes with a fun political situation, and a world with a great magic system that I can't wait to see continue to unfold.
Also, I love Triss.
Really, I enjoy a lot of the characters, though the author does a really good job of keeping the MC central even with really great side characters.
Yes, there are some holes I could poke in this, but the author pulls me along so well that I don't care. And that's something I can totally give a hat tip to.
Little language warning: So many fbombs...so many of them...
May 2, 2017
Meh.
I always, always stubbornly finish books no matter how little I'm enjoying them, but I had the strongest urge to DNF this one while reading -- not because it was aggressively terrible, but because it's an underwhelming & dull squandering of a really good premise, which is almost worse. It's a medieval fantasy-noir, which should have been great; the first few pages were promising, too, correctly evoking the noir vibe right on down to the femme fatale in a red dress, sauntering in and handing the protagonist payment for a mysterious job. But then it all goes downhill from there.
The worldbuilding was fascinating -- I love dead and dying gods, well-trained orders of assassins, and animal companions -- but it's delivered through tell-don't-show infodumps that became more aggravating as time went on. One of the most egregious examples was how the backstory flashback was handled; instead of just delivering those scenes straight-up, McCullough felt the need to bracket it with a totally unnecessary frame narrative of Aral mentally diving into his own history and trying to ~*sift out secrets about his past self~*, which was a little ridiculous. (Like, to the extent of him being described as struggling to pull himself back to the present. Is he just sitting there for an hour staring into space and imagining his past? Ugh. This might've been less silly if it was a particular type of memory magic that the Blades can employ, but it definitely wasn't.)
I also just never felt any of the emotions in the narrative. Aral's overloaded with man-pain and angst and fear, but I never empathised with them and it just left me cold. Fight scenes grew tedious to read too, since there were so damn many of them yet they never left me on the edge of my seat. Broken-down alcoholic men who are husks of their former selves are usually my jam, but I just found Aral grating and annoying. The antagonist is probably the most interesting person here, but even he's written with a bit of moustache-twirling tryhard sassiness.
This book wound up on my to-read because of a shelf called "strong female characters", feat. recs from this blog post -- which means I'm extra-aggravated by how poorly-written the female character was. She doesn't even come into full play in the narrative until around the 2/3 mark, and despite supposedly being a badass swordswoman, spends too much of her limited screentime being rescued, crying, or propositioning the main character. The core conflict actually revolves around her arc, her story, so it could've been so much better. Aral and Maylien's dialogue together was also supposed to be sassy and bantery, but wound up pretty cringe-worthy and I felt zero chemistry between them -- by the end of the book, when they inevitably declare love for one other despite only having adventured together for like two days, I felt like throwing the book across the room.
I also 100% thought that Kelly McCullough was a woman, so in retrospect, I probably should've looked that up and girded myself accordingly for Male-Written Medieval Fantasy Handles Women Poorly.
1.5 stars, rounded down because that blog recommendation led me so damn astray and has me extra-grumpy. It's technically proficient, it's fine enough, it's not dreadful... but having just come off the heels of my previous book (Merchanter's Luck!!!) and how great it was wrt subtle exposition/worldbuilding, tense and anxiety-inducing action, wonderful character chemistry, and heartache, my tolerance for tropey garbage is currently way lower than usual.
I always, always stubbornly finish books no matter how little I'm enjoying them, but I had the strongest urge to DNF this one while reading -- not because it was aggressively terrible, but because it's an underwhelming & dull squandering of a really good premise, which is almost worse. It's a medieval fantasy-noir, which should have been great; the first few pages were promising, too, correctly evoking the noir vibe right on down to the femme fatale in a red dress, sauntering in and handing the protagonist payment for a mysterious job. But then it all goes downhill from there.
The worldbuilding was fascinating -- I love dead and dying gods, well-trained orders of assassins, and animal companions -- but it's delivered through tell-don't-show infodumps that became more aggravating as time went on. One of the most egregious examples was how the backstory flashback was handled; instead of just delivering those scenes straight-up, McCullough felt the need to bracket it with a totally unnecessary frame narrative of Aral mentally diving into his own history and trying to ~*sift out secrets about his past self~*, which was a little ridiculous. (Like, to the extent of him being described as struggling to pull himself back to the present. Is he just sitting there for an hour staring into space and imagining his past? Ugh. This might've been less silly if it was a particular type of memory magic that the Blades can employ, but it definitely wasn't.)
I also just never felt any of the emotions in the narrative. Aral's overloaded with man-pain and angst and fear, but I never empathised with them and it just left me cold. Fight scenes grew tedious to read too, since there were so damn many of them yet they never left me on the edge of my seat. Broken-down alcoholic men who are husks of their former selves are usually my jam, but I just found Aral grating and annoying. The antagonist is probably the most interesting person here, but even he's written with a bit of moustache-twirling tryhard sassiness.
This book wound up on my to-read because of a shelf called "strong female characters", feat. recs from this blog post -- which means I'm extra-aggravated by how poorly-written the female character was. She doesn't even come into full play in the narrative until around the 2/3 mark, and despite supposedly being a badass swordswoman, spends too much of her limited screentime being rescued, crying, or propositioning the main character. The core conflict actually revolves around her arc, her story, so it could've been so much better. Aral and Maylien's dialogue together was also supposed to be sassy and bantery, but wound up pretty cringe-worthy and I felt zero chemistry between them -- by the end of the book, when they inevitably declare love for one other despite only having adventured together for like two days, I felt like throwing the book across the room.
I also 100% thought that Kelly McCullough was a woman, so in retrospect, I probably should've looked that up and girded myself accordingly for Male-Written Medieval Fantasy Handles Women Poorly.
1.5 stars, rounded down because that blog recommendation led me so damn astray and has me extra-grumpy. It's technically proficient, it's fine enough, it's not dreadful... but having just come off the heels of my previous book (Merchanter's Luck!!!) and how great it was wrt subtle exposition/worldbuilding, tense and anxiety-inducing action, wonderful character chemistry, and heartache, my tolerance for tropey garbage is currently way lower than usual.
September 15, 2024
While “Broken Blade” has an intriguing premise and a well-detailed world, it ultimately falls short due to a lack of a compelling story question.
I just couldn’t get myself to care for Aral and his goals, even after he received his mission from the mysterious woman. Without a strong central conflict or a story question that drives the plot, the story felt meandering.
I just couldn’t get myself to care for Aral and his goals, even after he received his mission from the mysterious woman. Without a strong central conflict or a story question that drives the plot, the story felt meandering.
October 7, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. My favorite part is the main character Aral. Poor Aral is haunted by his actions in the past when he was young, certain and invulnerable while the world has moved on to debase him of those ideals. It really resonates with me remembering my own follies.
And like many of us Aral did not choose a healthy coping mechanism which has only added to his problems. So when he becomes involved in what seems to be a simple courier job that evolves into a desperate race to save his own life and the life of his client that past and those bad choices come back to haunt him. He is not as alone as he thought he was, others from his past survived the destruction of his previous life and now Aral stands in their way.
The action scenes are well written and even better paced between introspective moments, and character development moments with both Aral and the other characters, Triss and Mylien mostly. Triss is a loveable little scamp, and it becomes clear that Aral has held on to his principles as much as he has for Triss' sake.
By the end of the story we see Aral having made some definite improvements to his life and a realization that what he was doing wasn't working for him. He now stands at the threshold of the rest of his life facing a decision of how he is going to live in it and what place does he really want to find there.
All in all I'm fascinated by the arc Aral took and I hope he continues to grow. It should be a fun ride. The world building was slow and steady in this first book which helped to involve the reader in Aral first and the world second. I will definitely be reading more.
And like many of us Aral did not choose a healthy coping mechanism which has only added to his problems. So when he becomes involved in what seems to be a simple courier job that evolves into a desperate race to save his own life and the life of his client that past and those bad choices come back to haunt him. He is not as alone as he thought he was, others from his past survived the destruction of his previous life and now Aral stands in their way.
The action scenes are well written and even better paced between introspective moments, and character development moments with both Aral and the other characters, Triss and Mylien mostly. Triss is a loveable little scamp, and it becomes clear that Aral has held on to his principles as much as he has for Triss' sake.
By the end of the story we see Aral having made some definite improvements to his life and a realization that what he was doing wasn't working for him. He now stands at the threshold of the rest of his life facing a decision of how he is going to live in it and what place does he really want to find there.
All in all I'm fascinated by the arc Aral took and I hope he continues to grow. It should be a fun ride. The world building was slow and steady in this first book which helped to involve the reader in Aral first and the world second. I will definitely be reading more.
September 24, 2013
Tricky, this one. It didn't really do anything wrong, but damned if it really did much great. There's lots of interesting stuff about the world, but it never really delves into it deeply enough, and there's a faint sense that the world is sort of Asian-inspired without ever actually showing us enough to pull it out of generic-urban-world-fantasy description.
It's that sort of thief-hero fantasy noir - except Aral's dead dame is a goddess, so clearly he trumps your man-pain and he's actually a rogue/cleric, so there. Somehow the first-person narration still doesn't manage to really get into him, possibly because he's an extremely conscious narrator, but never in a way that feels like the author and the reader are sharing things that the character isn't aware of. There's a vaguely interesting love-interest who likes sex, but clearly the author doesn't because it fades to black quite firmly and abruptly. Twice. (Possibly realising that it was going to be a bit hinky having a first-person sex scene with a guy who overtalks everything he's experiencing, so possibly wise move there.)
I dunno, it's just thin. I don't even feel like it's setting up a huge and thrilling series, because there are very few indications of the story from here on.
Two and a half stars because there really isn't anything wrong, like I said, but rounded down because eh.
It's that sort of thief-hero fantasy noir - except Aral's dead dame is a goddess, so clearly he trumps your man-pain and he's actually a rogue/cleric, so there. Somehow the first-person narration still doesn't manage to really get into him, possibly because he's an extremely conscious narrator, but never in a way that feels like the author and the reader are sharing things that the character isn't aware of. There's a vaguely interesting love-interest who likes sex, but clearly the author doesn't because it fades to black quite firmly and abruptly. Twice. (Possibly realising that it was going to be a bit hinky having a first-person sex scene with a guy who overtalks everything he's experiencing, so possibly wise move there.)
I dunno, it's just thin. I don't even feel like it's setting up a huge and thrilling series, because there are very few indications of the story from here on.
Two and a half stars because there really isn't anything wrong, like I said, but rounded down because eh.
July 29, 2016
I went into this book basically unaware of the premise and with no prior knowledge of the author (who I thought was a chick.) Actually, I don't know what originally led me to put this in my to-read category. And after reading it, I still don't know.
The first few pages intrigued me enough to keep me reading, but honestly, after that it was a steady progression toward dullness. One of the faults, I believe, was the narrative. The first few pages were rather clear even while hinting at unknowns, later on it became a difficult jumble. And the plot, seriously? The romance was flat, all but unbelievable, and felt rather forced. This is a definitely an occasion where I would have preferred none to a poorly done romance. Oh, and the "dead travel fast" and the "restless dead?" Really? We're that creative? That chapter made me want to cast the book from mine sight.
The ending wasn't so bad, I guess, not as bad as the middle. Although, it did seem about a hundred pages longer than it was. I guess what I really mean is that there was who pretty much became my favorite character because at least he seemed more than one-dimensional, and because I kind of like bastards in fiction.
Overall, this was a chore. I finished it to see if I could still finish books that bored me. I highly doubt I'll give the next book a chance, because I hardly wanted to finish this one.
The first few pages intrigued me enough to keep me reading, but honestly, after that it was a steady progression toward dullness. One of the faults, I believe, was the narrative. The first few pages were rather clear even while hinting at unknowns, later on it became a difficult jumble. And the plot, seriously? The romance was flat, all but unbelievable, and felt rather forced. This is a definitely an occasion where I would have preferred none to a poorly done romance. Oh, and the "dead travel fast" and the "restless dead?" Really? We're that creative? That chapter made me want to cast the book from mine sight.
The ending wasn't so bad, I guess, not as bad as the middle. Although, it did seem about a hundred pages longer than it was. I guess what I really mean is that there was who pretty much became my favorite character because at least he seemed more than one-dimensional, and because I kind of like bastards in fiction.
Overall, this was a chore. I finished it to see if I could still finish books that bored me. I highly doubt I'll give the next book a chance, because I hardly wanted to finish this one.
July 11, 2012
In the end, this was a fun little book, but it has its flaws. There is an awful lot of "telling" in it, and I found the protagonist and his sidekick a bit too likeable (adorable, in the latter case) to buy them as ruthless killers. That's not necessarily a bad thing, right? Likeable characters? But it did cut into my ability to suspend disbelief.
The action in the middle-to-latter-half of the book is what makes this novel worth reading. There, the story gets pretty enjoyable. In contrast, I found the first part of the book hard to get into and confusing in terms of logic. While the characters' motivations don't ever become particularly believable, the action gets fast-paced and exciting, and the writing is clean and easy to follow.
I'd say this is a good beach read--not the greatest thing you've ever read, but likeable enough to while away a bit of time with it.
The action in the middle-to-latter-half of the book is what makes this novel worth reading. There, the story gets pretty enjoyable. In contrast, I found the first part of the book hard to get into and confusing in terms of logic. While the characters' motivations don't ever become particularly believable, the action gets fast-paced and exciting, and the writing is clean and easy to follow.
I'd say this is a good beach read--not the greatest thing you've ever read, but likeable enough to while away a bit of time with it.
November 26, 2025
Finally, an assassin doing assassin things.
This is a fun plot, with a compelling pair of protagonists. Aral's development was well done, though a little on-the-nose at times.
It could've used another round of editing. The prose was rough in places, and the plot was a little jumbled.
But I look forward to the next book! I've heard that they get better.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in a complete 6-book series of sub-300-page assassin page-turners.
This is a fun plot, with a compelling pair of protagonists. Aral's development was well done, though a little on-the-nose at times.
It could've used another round of editing. The prose was rough in places, and the plot was a little jumbled.
But I look forward to the next book! I've heard that they get better.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in a complete 6-book series of sub-300-page assassin page-turners.
April 12, 2020
Another series I am re-reading as we are going through COVID19. Aral and Triss are an interesting pair, neat twist on magic and familiars. The whole series is about the redemption of Aral, looking forward to going through it again.
November 8, 2017
Taka śmiszna
May 2, 2018
Not something I see myself reading again. I don't see myself finishing this series. Not a story line I enjoy. The magic system interesting but that's all.
October 19, 2018
An action packed blend of noir and gritty fantasy adventure. Excellent world building woven deftly into the narrative.
July 16, 2021
DNF 70%. It always seems like the story is about to begin… l like the MC, but too much introduction ( or the telling of a memory of the MC).
February 7, 2023
This was the book that made me realize I don't like first person perspectives. Additionally, I don't know why this allegedly cold-blooded, hyper-efficent assassin gets consistently beaten by enemies, nature, and his own emotions, but it didn't work for me
September 17, 2018
A few years back, Aral had it pretty good. He was a Blade of Namara, the goddess of Justice, who meted out her punishment to the powerful wealthy and upper-class people who abused their position and oppressed those below them. He even had a cool moniker, Aral Kingslayer, after his most famous judgement. But then the other gods turned on Namara, killing her, and her followers were outlawed.
Now the Blades are dead or hiding. Aral returned his magic swords from whence they came, and must hide his connection to the shadow creature Triss since it’s a dead giveaway to his former career. Aral is a “shadow jack” now, smuggling and stealing on contract, and between jobs he drinks a lot. When we meet him, Aral has a new client. One that’s clearly wearing someone else’s clothing–but then a jack’s clients always lie about something.
The client claims she wants Aral to deliver a message in the dead of night. When he attempts to do so, Aral discovers that his old colleague Devin is not, as reported, dead, but alive and working for the enemy. Turns out the message was for Aral!
Now Aral and Triss must stay alive against a foe that knows all their strengths and weaknesses, as well as a hostile government and other criminals, and accomplish the real mission their client had in mind.
This is the first in the “Fallen Blade” series of fantasy novels. Mr. McCullough is also known for his popular “WebMage” series.
Broken Blade is very much in the “hardboiled detective” tradition of lying clients, corrupt officials and violent action. Not much mystery, but there are secrets here, not all of which are uncovered in this volume. Especially left unanswered are the real motives behind the death of Namara–it’s no secret who killed her, or his stated motives, but they don’t add up.
The good: I liked that it was established that Aral was not the best Blade ever, though he was top of the field for a time, and that there are other surviving Blades who had not (when last seen) betrayed their principles. Aral is working without some of his best tools, such as the magic swords and the performance-enhancing drug the Blades were addicted to (it’s made obvious that the drinking is just substituting one addiction for another) and his resources steadily dwindle during the course of the story.
The magic system is interesting, if inherently unbalanced. Pick the wrong bond-creature, and you’re stuck with minimal powers to work with.
Aral and Triss make a good pair of personalities to move the characterization along.
Less good: There’s an extended flashback set-piece to establish how Aral got the name “Kingslayer.” While exciting in itself, it kind of kills the momentum of the main story for a bit.
Also, I found the plot a little forgettable; during the writing of this review I had to go back several times to remember which events happened when.
Content note: Aral is tortured at one point.
Overall, a competently written book that should be of interest to fans of the author, and of hard-boiled fantasy protagonists.
Now the Blades are dead or hiding. Aral returned his magic swords from whence they came, and must hide his connection to the shadow creature Triss since it’s a dead giveaway to his former career. Aral is a “shadow jack” now, smuggling and stealing on contract, and between jobs he drinks a lot. When we meet him, Aral has a new client. One that’s clearly wearing someone else’s clothing–but then a jack’s clients always lie about something.
The client claims she wants Aral to deliver a message in the dead of night. When he attempts to do so, Aral discovers that his old colleague Devin is not, as reported, dead, but alive and working for the enemy. Turns out the message was for Aral!
Now Aral and Triss must stay alive against a foe that knows all their strengths and weaknesses, as well as a hostile government and other criminals, and accomplish the real mission their client had in mind.
This is the first in the “Fallen Blade” series of fantasy novels. Mr. McCullough is also known for his popular “WebMage” series.
Broken Blade is very much in the “hardboiled detective” tradition of lying clients, corrupt officials and violent action. Not much mystery, but there are secrets here, not all of which are uncovered in this volume. Especially left unanswered are the real motives behind the death of Namara–it’s no secret who killed her, or his stated motives, but they don’t add up.
The good: I liked that it was established that Aral was not the best Blade ever, though he was top of the field for a time, and that there are other surviving Blades who had not (when last seen) betrayed their principles. Aral is working without some of his best tools, such as the magic swords and the performance-enhancing drug the Blades were addicted to (it’s made obvious that the drinking is just substituting one addiction for another) and his resources steadily dwindle during the course of the story.
The magic system is interesting, if inherently unbalanced. Pick the wrong bond-creature, and you’re stuck with minimal powers to work with.
Aral and Triss make a good pair of personalities to move the characterization along.
Less good: There’s an extended flashback set-piece to establish how Aral got the name “Kingslayer.” While exciting in itself, it kind of kills the momentum of the main story for a bit.
Also, I found the plot a little forgettable; during the writing of this review I had to go back several times to remember which events happened when.
Content note: Aral is tortured at one point.
Overall, a competently written book that should be of interest to fans of the author, and of hard-boiled fantasy protagonists.
February 3, 2016
Nur eines vorweg: Ich finde das Buch genial! Endlich einmal wieder ein High Fantasy Roman, der mich wirklich von der ersten Seite an fesselte. Aufmerksam geworden bin ich durch das Cover, die Leseprobe hat mich gefangen. Tja und dann war es um mich geschehen. Die Hauptperson(en) sind Aral, der Schattenlöhner, ehemals Königsmörder und sein magisches Pendant, Triss. Sie sind auf Leben und Tod verbunden, ergänzen einander im Kampf und im normalen Leben. Das nicht mehr so einfach ist, seitdem der Orden, der Aral als Assasinen ausgebildet hat, nicht mehr existiert. Ich möchte hier nicht mehr zur Handlung erzählen, die spannend und oft witzig ist. Besonders gefallen hat mir wie gesagt, die Idee, dass ein Kämpfer mit einem Schattenwesen verbunden ist. Außerdem die zügig erzählte Handlung, verbunden mit der Tatsache, dass man sich wirklich von der ersten Zeile an zum Beispiel in die Taverne "Greifen" versetzt fühlt. Eine Liebesgeschichte, die jedoch nicht im Vordergrund steht, rundete die Erzählung ab. Fazit: Eine klare Leseempfehlung für jeden, der High Fantasy liebt. Ich habe schon mit dem zweiten Teil "Die Klinge von Namara" begonnen.
January 19, 2019
There were parts that I got interested in, but then they would be ruined by tacky situations, cliche outcomes, bumbled writing or just odd choices.
This dude is a highly trained assassin. One of the best in the world...and you're telling me a few years of alcohol made him so bad at his lifelong profession that he lost 2 magical swords and fumbled a third by getting it stuck in a zombie's arm? That seems ridiculous to me.
The ending was silly to me too. Like...what is Aral trying to find? He's a trained assassin, who doesn't want to kill anymore because his Goddess is dead. Ok, fine. But, what does he want to explore outside of that? The world of being a sneak thief? Huh?? He turns down purpose, his training, and some semblance of love....weird love mind you, but some kind of love... Just to pursue... Sneaking around and trying his damn hardest not to be a raging alcoholic? But, not giving up alcohol of course. I don't know....I didn't enjoy this book.
The best part of the book is just the existence of Triss, Zass and Bontrang.
This dude is a highly trained assassin. One of the best in the world...and you're telling me a few years of alcohol made him so bad at his lifelong profession that he lost 2 magical swords and fumbled a third by getting it stuck in a zombie's arm? That seems ridiculous to me.
The ending was silly to me too. Like...what is Aral trying to find? He's a trained assassin, who doesn't want to kill anymore because his Goddess is dead. Ok, fine. But, what does he want to explore outside of that? The world of being a sneak thief? Huh?? He turns down purpose, his training, and some semblance of love....weird love mind you, but some kind of love... Just to pursue... Sneaking around and trying his damn hardest not to be a raging alcoholic? But, not giving up alcohol of course. I don't know....I didn't enjoy this book.
The best part of the book is just the existence of Triss, Zass and Bontrang.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2017
This was a very good book. The concept isn't entirely original - a former assassin for justice (in this case, for a goddess of justice), finds themselves no longer within the organization that raised them and trained them and guided them. In this case, due to the goddess herself being killed, and her priesthood disbanded. Left to loose ended Aral isn't sure what to do with himself, and falls to drink and petty thuggery.
The main character is interesting. I enjoyed the back and forth between him and his familiar - and how neither of them was right 100% of the time. I enjoyed following Aral through self-discovery and growth. The plot was a little weak, but entertaining enough despite that. There were some threads laid out for plots of future books.
This book moved a bit slowly at times, and suffered from a little too much info dumping, but overall was a good read. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
The main character is interesting. I enjoyed the back and forth between him and his familiar - and how neither of them was right 100% of the time. I enjoyed following Aral through self-discovery and growth. The plot was a little weak, but entertaining enough despite that. There were some threads laid out for plots of future books.
This book moved a bit slowly at times, and suffered from a little too much info dumping, but overall was a good read. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
December 26, 2023
I went back-and-forth about putting this on my favorites list. It seems like a good enough book as an introduction to a series, but would feel incomplete as a standalone. This is a small scale personal story, that I anticipate will become more epic as the series progresses. Some of the foul language was a bit much for my taste. The two main characters were the deciding factor for me putting this on my favorites list. The author’s prose and description style were good as well. Broken Blade was a fast, easy read. I hope the rest of the series lived up to my expectations, and the first book proves to be just an introduction to the world. I enjoyed reading the Terms and Characters section at the end of the book. It was insightful for things that happened in Broken Blade, and gave a small preview for things to come.
I revised this book rating down to 3.5 stars and put it on my average-to-good list after thinking about it for a while. Still entertaining though.
I revised this book rating down to 3.5 stars and put it on my average-to-good list after thinking about it for a while. Still entertaining though.
July 8, 2013
The detailed setting and little descriptive touches were really enjoyable. I was less fond of the protagonist, though I loved his shadow familiar. The romance angle was limp enough to take me right out of the story, it would have been more believable (and more refreshing) to have kept characters with so little chemistry as friends.
Those issues aside, I wanted to like the book better than I did. The pacing just kept throwing me off. A multiple-chapter flashback struck just as things were getting really interesting, and it held little suspense since we already knew the end result. Tense scenes were derailed with repetitive moral struggles, while transitions were sometimes swept past quickly enough to be confusing.
I'll probably try a follow up, in hopes that it gains a little more focus.
Those issues aside, I wanted to like the book better than I did. The pacing just kept throwing me off. A multiple-chapter flashback struck just as things were getting really interesting, and it held little suspense since we already knew the end result. Tense scenes were derailed with repetitive moral struggles, while transitions were sometimes swept past quickly enough to be confusing.
I'll probably try a follow up, in hopes that it gains a little more focus.
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