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The Executioner's Blade
Unteholz is a city built on the backs of dying monsters.
When Lena Sturm, the city executioner, learns that she executed an innocent priest, she sets out to find the real killer and bring them to justice.
But her quest for truth drags her into a web of conflict and conspiracy, with everyone from a zealous bishop to a mad alchemist as potential suspects.
As Lena pursues justice, an army marches on the city, intent on bringing it to its knees. With the pressure mounting and the city’s future in danger, Lena must not only fight to uncover the truth but also to keep her adopted home safe.
When Lena Sturm, the city executioner, learns that she executed an innocent priest, she sets out to find the real killer and bring them to justice.
But her quest for truth drags her into a web of conflict and conspiracy, with everyone from a zealous bishop to a mad alchemist as potential suspects.
As Lena pursues justice, an army marches on the city, intent on bringing it to its knees. With the pressure mounting and the city’s future in danger, Lena must not only fight to uncover the truth but also to keep her adopted home safe.
- GenresFantasy
402 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2024
1 person is currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Knighton
117 books41 followersAndrew Knighton is a British author, comics scribe, and freelance writer. His works include steampunk adventure story The Epiphany Club and alternate history thriller The Bear’s Claws. He lives in Yorkshire with a savage black cat and a huge heap of unread books.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 12, 2025
My rating : 4.5 of 5 stars
Okay, that one took me by surprise. To be fair, I didn't have any expectations going in, but this is one hell of a good book. The main character, Lena, isn't what you'd call overly likeable, but she's not entirely unlikeable either, and I think that's one of the things that makes this such an engaging read.
It's also not your usual fantasy. Part detective story, part war story, part political mystery, the narrative's so nicely layered that you just want to keep on reading. And while the culprit of the whodunnit part does kind of jump out at you roughly halfway through, the protagonist's inability to spot the clues makes the story all the more enjoyable. Though I do have to admit there were a few times where I wanted to slap Lena up the side of the head and tell her to stop being such an idiot.
But yeah, definitely a good book to introduce yourself to Knighton's writing. Grimdark that's not too grim, and not too dark. Goldilocks would love it.
Okay, that one took me by surprise. To be fair, I didn't have any expectations going in, but this is one hell of a good book. The main character, Lena, isn't what you'd call overly likeable, but she's not entirely unlikeable either, and I think that's one of the things that makes this such an engaging read.
It's also not your usual fantasy. Part detective story, part war story, part political mystery, the narrative's so nicely layered that you just want to keep on reading. And while the culprit of the whodunnit part does kind of jump out at you roughly halfway through, the protagonist's inability to spot the clues makes the story all the more enjoyable. Though I do have to admit there were a few times where I wanted to slap Lena up the side of the head and tell her to stop being such an idiot.
But yeah, definitely a good book to introduce yourself to Knighton's writing. Grimdark that's not too grim, and not too dark. Goldilocks would love it.
September 4, 2025
Andrew Knighton and Northodox get together to create a sort of murder mystery that owes something to Juliet McKenna's approach to character and motivation, KJ Parker's tales of cities under siege, and maybe even Mark Charan Newton's Drakenfeld.
Protagonist Lena Sturm is no natural investigator, however, and her approach to the wrongful execution of a Sky priestess (Lena was the executioner, natch) involves fists, blunt objects, plenty of swearing, and immovable objects meeting besieging armies. She is both helped, hindered, and guilt-tripped along the course of the investigation by the orphan beggar Deppel, and her own erstwhile employer, the city's head councillor Maier.
If it takes Lena a little too long to work out the course of events, you can forgive her - her past has come back to haunt her, and she really isn't dealing with it well. You can tell the author had a devil of a time just keeping her alive, she kicks against authority so much.
One quibble: Lena quizzes Maier twice in separate chapters about one important character towards the end of the book, but it does seem that Knighton has forgotten the first instance by the time he writes the second to judge from Maier's differing reactions. Other than that, a hard-fought investigation in the depths of a grim city, with some classy siege and action sequences nicely balanced by characters with both breadth and depth.
Protagonist Lena Sturm is no natural investigator, however, and her approach to the wrongful execution of a Sky priestess (Lena was the executioner, natch) involves fists, blunt objects, plenty of swearing, and immovable objects meeting besieging armies. She is both helped, hindered, and guilt-tripped along the course of the investigation by the orphan beggar Deppel, and her own erstwhile employer, the city's head councillor Maier.
If it takes Lena a little too long to work out the course of events, you can forgive her - her past has come back to haunt her, and she really isn't dealing with it well. You can tell the author had a devil of a time just keeping her alive, she kicks against authority so much.
One quibble: Lena quizzes Maier twice in separate chapters about one important character towards the end of the book, but it does seem that Knighton has forgotten the first instance by the time he writes the second to judge from Maier's differing reactions. Other than that, a hard-fought investigation in the depths of a grim city, with some classy siege and action sequences nicely balanced by characters with both breadth and depth.
August 12, 2025
a very good Mix of fantasy and a murder mystery with an executioner with secrets as the investigator. Fascinating world and lots of complexity to dive into to. Loved it!
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
March 15, 2025
Lena is a great character with lots of skeletons in her closet and a pretty bad temper. She sets herself on the path of detective, bent on finding out the truth, partly out of sheer bloody mindedness - I can definitely sympathise with that - and her sense of honour, but its the bloody mindedness I identify with. The world is both familiar enough to readers of fantasy to relate to and with enough original details of its own to make it compelling. The pace is fantastically balanced with plenty of action, keeping the story moving and avoiding being predictable. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would certainly read more stories set in this world. I suspect there are many things we don't yet know about.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews