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The Two of Swords #1-8
The Two of Swords, Volume One
"Why are we fighting this war? Because evil must be resisted, and sooner or later there comes a time when men of principle have to make a stand. But at this stage in the proceedings," he added, with a slightly lopsided grin, "mostly from force of habit."
A soldier with a gift for archery. A woman who kills without care. Two brothers, both unbeatable generals, now fighting for opposing armies. No one in the vast and once glorious United Empire remains untouched by the rift between East and West, and the war has been fought for as long as anyone can remember. Some still survive who know how it was started, but no one knows how it will end. Except, perhaps, the Two of Swords.
World Fantasy Award-winning author K. J. Parker delivers the first volume of his most ambitious work yet-the story of a war on a grand scale, told through the eyes of soldiers, politicians, victims, and heroes.
A soldier with a gift for archery. A woman who kills without care. Two brothers, both unbeatable generals, now fighting for opposing armies. No one in the vast and once glorious United Empire remains untouched by the rift between East and West, and the war has been fought for as long as anyone can remember. Some still survive who know how it was started, but no one knows how it will end. Except, perhaps, the Two of Swords.
World Fantasy Award-winning author K. J. Parker delivers the first volume of his most ambitious work yet-the story of a war on a grand scale, told through the eyes of soldiers, politicians, victims, and heroes.
502 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2017
273 people are currently reading
1659 people want to read
About the author
K.J. Parker
134 books1,683 followersK.J. Parker is a pseudonym for Tom Holt.
According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.
According to the biographical notes in some of Parker's books, Parker has previously worked in law, journalism, and numismatics, and now writes and makes things out of wood and metal. It is also claimed that Parker is married to a solicitor and now lives in southern England. According to an autobiographical note, Parker was raised in rural Vermont, a lifestyle which influenced Parker's work.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
January 30, 2020
A sort of divine symmetry that suggests to me that our heavenly Father has a wicked sense of humour, at the very least. At the worst, He wants us to carry on slaughtering each other till there’s nobody left.
Once upon a time there was the Greatest Empire the world has known. Now it’s divided into Eastern and Western lesser empires, with a small but powerful nation in between (Blemya) and several barbarian tribes at the borders. I have the slight suspicion that these details are not important in the economy of this grand epic about continuous warfare. That’s why the author is not bothered to include detailed maps with the story. Even people’s names are mostly irrelevant, seeing as many of them are summarily killed in action soon after they are introduced. A more exact description is that they are the chess pieces on a vast game board, moved around at the whim of fickle gods or of secret organizations.
Senza’s elder brother Forza was reckoned to be the most promising soldier of his generation, already in command of a battalion at the age of twenty-one. It was a shame he was on the other side.
Each side of the game board (Eastern and Western empires) has its own genius tactician, an unbeatable general that can secure temporary ascendancy in the field of battle by disregarding the cost in men and materials needed for victory. With his signature black tinted humour the author describes the Belot brothers as purveyors of fine carrion to discerning crows everywhere
But are Senza and Forza Belot the main players on the game board? Despite the horrendous number of bodies they leave behind, there seems to be multiple other forces at play here. Most important of all there is a secret cult that worships a Blacksmith instead of a Mason and uses a modified set of Tarot cards for advancing its devious plans.
The Great Smith makes us. Sometimes we come out right, sometimes we don’t. Some of us are so badly flawed, we go in the scrap. Some of us are worth making good.
The Great Smith works on us through us; we are his hands and tools, his anvil and hammer. To make us good, He inspires us with awareness of our error, which leads us to recognition and repentance.
I wish I could be more specific, but this first out of three volumes of the collected novellas that comprise “The Two of Swords” is mostly about introducing the players to the board. Each chapter is focused on one of the Tarot figures, with some clever transitions from one player to the next, something like a relay race where the story of one character is continued by a secondary actor who takes center stage in the next chapter. We have an Archer (Teucer), followed by a Thief (Musen), an Assassin (Telamon) , a Musician (Oida) , a Chamberlain (Daxin, the Grand Logothete of Blemya) , An Emperor, a Spy (Pleda) and of course the two generals who apparently represent Spears in the secret Tarot set.
I am oversimplifying things here in order to organize my thoughts in preparation for the second collection of novellas. I don’t mind so much being utterly confused so far into the proceedings, as I am quite familiar with the style of unfortunate developments in the best laid plans of mice and men that K J Parker has deployed in most of his fantasy epics.
You go through life thinking the Wild Cards know it all; they’re wise and cunning, and their carefully distilled plans run the world. Then you actually get involved in one, and you find out the bastards are basically just making it up as they go along.
If I were to reduce my review to the absolute minimum yet still hope to attract new readers to this unique kind of storytelling I would say the books are extremely clever and wickedly fun!
“The enemy’s not the problem, far as I can see. It’s the daft buggers on our side we want to worry about.”
or,
“It’s not a very nice job, I’m afraid.”
Oh dear. That usually meant either sex or killing somebody. On balance, she’d rather it was killing. Both were grossly intimate, but a killing is over far more quickly. Also, she was better at it. “Go on.”
This is not your typical epic fantasy where you check out your brain before you step into the merry-go-round of evil overlords, secret heirs and magic fireballs. It’s full of surprises, of twists and turns that will challenge what you think you know about the world and about morality.
The best quote from the novel is already in the blurb, but I want to preserve it also here in my review for future reference:
“If they’re really not that different from us, what are slaughtering each other for?”
He sighed. “Honour,” he said. “Moral imperatives, to defend our country and our way of life. Money, of course, and eternal glory, and to defend our trading interests. Because we’re right and they’re wrong. Because evil must be resisted, and sooner or later there comes a time when men of principle have to make a stand. Because war is good for business and it’s better to die on our feet than live on our knees. Because the fire god is on our side, and it’s our duty to Him. Because they started it. But at this stage in the proceedings,” he added, with a slightly lopsided grin, “mostly from force of habit.”
May 12, 2022
This trilogy originally appeared as a series of enovellas that Orbit published; as such, each volume contains 7 or 8 novellas. That stated, the novellas are all related in a unique way. Each chapter gives us a third person narrative of one aspect of an ongoing war that has been going on for years between two empires; a civil war really, as the empires were under one rule until they split. The setting is typical Parker-- a basically stagnant feudal world that has been largely unchanged for a 1000 years or so, even as politics rearranges the borders on occasion.
We start off with a group of peasant provincials being drafted; at the end of this story, Parker hands off the tale to an agent of the 'Lodge', a quasi religious order of 'craftsmen', who operate behind the scenes, using assassination and other techniques to alter the political landscape for (as yet) unknown reasons. Some of the characters include a famous 'neutral' singer, two of the aforementioned peasant draftees, one of the kings, the two generals of the two empires and so forth.
Each empire, basically East versus West, has an unbeatable general at the helm, who also happen to be brothers. The war has been dragging on for a long time with the population and economies almost in ruins. Parker deftly shifts POVs and characters in each novella, but gradually you see that many of the characters return in later chapters, albeit not a featured characters. I really enjoyed the 'hand-offs' from one chapter to the next; typically, this involves someone from the last story now becoming the main character.
Also, as usual in Parker's fantasy, there is no magic or anything here, just an alternative world that he fleshes out as he goes. Lots of snarky dialogue pulls the various stories along. Some of the stories/chapters are stronger than others, but all help to build the story. Good stuff! 3 solid stars.
We start off with a group of peasant provincials being drafted; at the end of this story, Parker hands off the tale to an agent of the 'Lodge', a quasi religious order of 'craftsmen', who operate behind the scenes, using assassination and other techniques to alter the political landscape for (as yet) unknown reasons. Some of the characters include a famous 'neutral' singer, two of the aforementioned peasant draftees, one of the kings, the two generals of the two empires and so forth.
Each empire, basically East versus West, has an unbeatable general at the helm, who also happen to be brothers. The war has been dragging on for a long time with the population and economies almost in ruins. Parker deftly shifts POVs and characters in each novella, but gradually you see that many of the characters return in later chapters, albeit not a featured characters. I really enjoyed the 'hand-offs' from one chapter to the next; typically, this involves someone from the last story now becoming the main character.
Also, as usual in Parker's fantasy, there is no magic or anything here, just an alternative world that he fleshes out as he goes. Lots of snarky dialogue pulls the various stories along. Some of the stories/chapters are stronger than others, but all help to build the story. Good stuff! 3 solid stars.
February 8, 2020
Some books just need to be read multiple times.
February 11, 2019
K.J.Parker originally released the Two of Swords in 19 e-novellas over the course of 18 months starting in 2016. This book brings volumes 1-8 together for the first time. Subsequent volumes will be released in November and December this year.
Two of Swords is about war. The first point to say is there are plenty of characters to get to grips with. In the first third of book we get Teucer and Musen who are conscripted into the army, so we see war from their point of view.
In the second third the focus shifts to Oida and Telamon who are diplomatic spies. In this section we see all the machinations that go into spying.
In the final third we get the two Belot brothers,
both unbeatable generals but for opposing armies, by the way they absolutely hate each other.
No one remains untouched by war, this book explores the many issues from these characters perspectives.
As ever Parker deftly weaves an intricate story with skill. The writing can a times be mesmerising. There is also a level of depth to the characters that we’ve come to expect from Parker. On the whole a brilliantly conceived story. I’m more than sure that Parker will pull one or two plot twists along the way.
Two of Swords is about war. The first point to say is there are plenty of characters to get to grips with. In the first third of book we get Teucer and Musen who are conscripted into the army, so we see war from their point of view.
In the second third the focus shifts to Oida and Telamon who are diplomatic spies. In this section we see all the machinations that go into spying.
In the final third we get the two Belot brothers,
both unbeatable generals but for opposing armies, by the way they absolutely hate each other.
No one remains untouched by war, this book explores the many issues from these characters perspectives.
As ever Parker deftly weaves an intricate story with skill. The writing can a times be mesmerising. There is also a level of depth to the characters that we’ve come to expect from Parker. On the whole a brilliantly conceived story. I’m more than sure that Parker will pull one or two plot twists along the way.
August 17, 2019
A continuation of my KJ Parker read fest, and the first one I’ve read that isn’t standalone. Really enjoyed it.
The POV style used here was fascinating - 3rd person POVs are used to drive the storyline for a dozen to several dozen pages before being set aside to allow the story to move along, using other POVs, with continuity provided by them having been introduced to us at some point in the preceding section. I did wonder whether the former POVs we’ve sometimes invested some time in understanding would reappear again. At least in this first volume sometimes this is the case.
I particularly enjoyed the start with an introduction to this complicated world through the eyes of naive village boys conscripted as archers into an army they don’t know, and a conflict they don’t understand, between two Empires in virtually permanent conflict. We later move onto POVs including a female assassin/spy, a likeable but incompetent Chancellor, brother generals on opposite sides of the conflict, an Emperor, and then his food taster! Plus some others. So quite a range of characters.
There’s also the Lodge, a sort of Masonic club to which a sizeable minority of the population belongs. As with the Masons, it was once a craftsman's guild but is now a sort of Old Boys Club (with female members too) that helps out other members. And it may also be playing a role in this conflict ridden world. Apparently important is a set a playing cards used by many lodge members for gaming but which some feel has fortune telling properties similar to Tarot Cards.
I don’t think I’m saying too much because this is a most complicated and detailed world, although I hadn’t a problem keeping up with its many facets as unveiled in the story.
Typical Parker world, pre-industrial with no magic, and human characters only. Typically, as well, the pace can be very relaxed. This seems to be the Taste test that divides people into those who enjoy his style and those who don’t. I enjoy it. For me, the ‘meanders’, be it wandering journeys where people get lost, descriptions of detailed processes or the doubts and analyses some of the POVs engage in, allow one to appreciate the characters and world in the detail that a good Epic requires. I recall several pages devoted to one of the general’s thoughts as he tries to decide whether or not he’s being manipulated, in a back and forth doubting manner which I thought was very realistic when you find yourself in a genuinely confusing dilemma.
Lots of nice one liners and observations by POVs, though the book isn’t intended to be humorous in overall tone. I still don’t know what the overall aim of the plot is, whether any of the sides are, overall, goodies or baddies, and who could or should come out on top!
I hope the next two volumes keep up this excellent standard.
The POV style used here was fascinating - 3rd person POVs are used to drive the storyline for a dozen to several dozen pages before being set aside to allow the story to move along, using other POVs, with continuity provided by them having been introduced to us at some point in the preceding section. I did wonder whether the former POVs we’ve sometimes invested some time in understanding would reappear again. At least in this first volume sometimes this is the case.
I particularly enjoyed the start with an introduction to this complicated world through the eyes of naive village boys conscripted as archers into an army they don’t know, and a conflict they don’t understand, between two Empires in virtually permanent conflict. We later move onto POVs including a female assassin/spy, a likeable but incompetent Chancellor, brother generals on opposite sides of the conflict, an Emperor, and then his food taster! Plus some others. So quite a range of characters.
There’s also the Lodge, a sort of Masonic club to which a sizeable minority of the population belongs. As with the Masons, it was once a craftsman's guild but is now a sort of Old Boys Club (with female members too) that helps out other members. And it may also be playing a role in this conflict ridden world. Apparently important is a set a playing cards used by many lodge members for gaming but which some feel has fortune telling properties similar to Tarot Cards.
I don’t think I’m saying too much because this is a most complicated and detailed world, although I hadn’t a problem keeping up with its many facets as unveiled in the story.
Typical Parker world, pre-industrial with no magic, and human characters only. Typically, as well, the pace can be very relaxed. This seems to be the Taste test that divides people into those who enjoy his style and those who don’t. I enjoy it. For me, the ‘meanders’, be it wandering journeys where people get lost, descriptions of detailed processes or the doubts and analyses some of the POVs engage in, allow one to appreciate the characters and world in the detail that a good Epic requires. I recall several pages devoted to one of the general’s thoughts as he tries to decide whether or not he’s being manipulated, in a back and forth doubting manner which I thought was very realistic when you find yourself in a genuinely confusing dilemma.
Lots of nice one liners and observations by POVs, though the book isn’t intended to be humorous in overall tone. I still don’t know what the overall aim of the plot is, whether any of the sides are, overall, goodies or baddies, and who could or should come out on top!
I hope the next two volumes keep up this excellent standard.
February 21, 2018
4/5 Rating Review first posted at MyLifeMyBooksMyEscape
The amount of planning that went in to telling this story...
*Disclaimer: I received an review copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for nothing... yeah, told me I didn't have to read, review, or even make a post I got it!
**The Two of Sword series was originally a serial novella series from 2015 through the end 2017, with a single novella coming out each month. There were 19 parts in total, and upon collection, they were broken up into a 3 volume set. The Two of Swords, Volume 1 contain the first 8 novellas.
You ever read one of those books, where when you finish it - or are maybe still reading - you have to take a second and appreciate in awe the amount of time and planning that the author must have put in? That was the exact type of reaction I had after the 6th novella.
Normally, I'd go quite a bit more into the set up of the plot with what characters are going to do this and that, but to be honestly... that is actually 100% the plot of volume 1.
The reason I can't go into it anymore than that is because of the way the story is told: rather than a certain number of select POV characters, instead, what Parker does is he chooses a different character for each novella, and from their POV he tells how the war, the story, is progressing. Don't get confused. This is not, "Oh, DJ. I've read tons of novels where they change POV characters back and forth, going bouncing around the timeline." No, not that is NOT what I said. Each POV character he only uses only once.
How the story goes is we stary off with Tuecer, a skilled archer. With him are a group of his friends, that included another man called Musen. The next POV is Mucen. In Mucen's POV we meet another character X, and after Mucen is done, we go with X. With X, we meet Y, and then the next novella is with Y. You see how it goes?
The craziest part about all this? For each following novella, he always picks up the second after the previous POV ended. Not a moment is overlapped or skipped in the timeline between POVs, and it reads smoothers that you could possibly imagine.
For me to tell you about what each character is like would be a spoil because some characters you meet first in another POV, but when you get their own POV you then learn who they really are. For me to even tell you what characters get a POV (outside of Tuecer and Mucen) would be a spoil, because then you will know which characters are still alive and in which direction the story may be be going! Really, one of the only things I want to tell is that, to put it simply, the main character of this story is the war itself - for the Volume 1, at least.
The other thing I want to tell you about is the craftsman guild. Which is literally what sounds a like. A guild for craftsman. This has a very small role at start, barely noticeable in first few novellas, but by the end, you begin see Parker has something up his sleeve. What the craftsman have, or know how to do, is read Tarot cards. (Wait. Don't go anywhere. Stay with me for a sec.)
I know nothing (shout out to my man up in the North) about Tarot cards, thus I have no idea if the cards he talks about and how to interpret them are the real thing or not. But these decks of cards, while they don't have a major role per say in the first volume, undoubtedly hold secrets, and I'm sure if you could decipher the clues Parker is laying down for the reader in the story, there would be quite a reward at the end. A matter a fact, each chapter titled is named after after one of the cards, and coincides with a specific character.
The biggest issue I had, and it was right about when I had the realization of what Parker was doing that I was able to accept this, is that he is using the characters to tell us about the war. I loved Tuecer. He is still my favorite. But we don't get anymore POVs outside of his first. For someone who is a character-reader first, this can be hard to swallow. When he wasn't back by novella 4, I scanned though the book and saw he was nowhere to be found... but that was also when I began to look to what exactly what Parker was trying to do... and then, after the 6th novella, it suddenly all clicked with me and here I am writing this glowing review for The Two of Swords.
One last thing, that I must mention, is the pacing: this novel can be very slow at moments. If you have read anything by Parker before, you know exactly what I am talking. I would not call it a slow burn, but its more like little extra facts and world building, that you don't necessarily need to know, but do help develop the world and story. I know some readers LOVE his prose and this aspect of his writing does not bother them. For me personally, it all depends on how caught I am in the story. If I'm glued to it, I read and love every second; if not, I have a tendency to skim over paragraphs.
This a essentially an alt-history story, so for those slow moments, I could see some readers saying it feels like they are reading a history book. Outside of the handful of slow moments, I am highly doubtful that many readers could have anything bad to say about the plot.
To tell this story how Parker is: passing it off from one character to the next, as they meet each other; having it so the story is always moving forward, never leaving any gaps out... the amount of planning that must have gone in to that? I cannot even imagine.
Breakdown of novellas:
Part One: 4/5
Part Two: 4/5
Part Three: 3.5/5
Part Four: 4/5
Part Five: 4/5
Part Six: 4/5
Part Seven: 4/5
Part Eight: 4/5
4/5 Rating
-DJ
The amount of planning that went in to telling this story...
*Disclaimer: I received an review copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for nothing... yeah, told me I didn't have to read, review, or even make a post I got it!
**The Two of Sword series was originally a serial novella series from 2015 through the end 2017, with a single novella coming out each month. There were 19 parts in total, and upon collection, they were broken up into a 3 volume set. The Two of Swords, Volume 1 contain the first 8 novellas.
You ever read one of those books, where when you finish it - or are maybe still reading - you have to take a second and appreciate in awe the amount of time and planning that the author must have put in? That was the exact type of reaction I had after the 6th novella.
There is a war that has been going for longer than anyone can remember, for reasons that nobody seems to know; all that is known that war between the East and West Empires, is fought between two of the greatest militantly minds that have ever lived - and who also happen to be brothers.
Normally, I'd go quite a bit more into the set up of the plot with what characters are going to do this and that, but to be honestly... that is actually 100% the plot of volume 1.
The reason I can't go into it anymore than that is because of the way the story is told: rather than a certain number of select POV characters, instead, what Parker does is he chooses a different character for each novella, and from their POV he tells how the war, the story, is progressing. Don't get confused. This is not, "Oh, DJ. I've read tons of novels where they change POV characters back and forth, going bouncing around the timeline." No, not that is NOT what I said. Each POV character he only uses only once.
How the story goes is we stary off with Tuecer, a skilled archer. With him are a group of his friends, that included another man called Musen. The next POV is Mucen. In Mucen's POV we meet another character X, and after Mucen is done, we go with X. With X, we meet Y, and then the next novella is with Y. You see how it goes?
The craziest part about all this? For each following novella, he always picks up the second after the previous POV ended. Not a moment is overlapped or skipped in the timeline between POVs, and it reads smoothers that you could possibly imagine.
For me to tell you about what each character is like would be a spoil because some characters you meet first in another POV, but when you get their own POV you then learn who they really are. For me to even tell you what characters get a POV (outside of Tuecer and Mucen) would be a spoil, because then you will know which characters are still alive and in which direction the story may be be going! Really, one of the only things I want to tell is that, to put it simply, the main character of this story is the war itself - for the Volume 1, at least.
The other thing I want to tell you about is the craftsman guild. Which is literally what sounds a like. A guild for craftsman. This has a very small role at start, barely noticeable in first few novellas, but by the end, you begin see Parker has something up his sleeve. What the craftsman have, or know how to do, is read Tarot cards. (Wait. Don't go anywhere. Stay with me for a sec.)
I know nothing (shout out to my man up in the North) about Tarot cards, thus I have no idea if the cards he talks about and how to interpret them are the real thing or not. But these decks of cards, while they don't have a major role per say in the first volume, undoubtedly hold secrets, and I'm sure if you could decipher the clues Parker is laying down for the reader in the story, there would be quite a reward at the end. A matter a fact, each chapter titled is named after after one of the cards, and coincides with a specific character.
The biggest issue I had, and it was right about when I had the realization of what Parker was doing that I was able to accept this, is that he is using the characters to tell us about the war. I loved Tuecer. He is still my favorite. But we don't get anymore POVs outside of his first. For someone who is a character-reader first, this can be hard to swallow. When he wasn't back by novella 4, I scanned though the book and saw he was nowhere to be found... but that was also when I began to look to what exactly what Parker was trying to do... and then, after the 6th novella, it suddenly all clicked with me and here I am writing this glowing review for The Two of Swords.
One last thing, that I must mention, is the pacing: this novel can be very slow at moments. If you have read anything by Parker before, you know exactly what I am talking. I would not call it a slow burn, but its more like little extra facts and world building, that you don't necessarily need to know, but do help develop the world and story. I know some readers LOVE his prose and this aspect of his writing does not bother them. For me personally, it all depends on how caught I am in the story. If I'm glued to it, I read and love every second; if not, I have a tendency to skim over paragraphs.
This a essentially an alt-history story, so for those slow moments, I could see some readers saying it feels like they are reading a history book. Outside of the handful of slow moments, I am highly doubtful that many readers could have anything bad to say about the plot.
To tell this story how Parker is: passing it off from one character to the next, as they meet each other; having it so the story is always moving forward, never leaving any gaps out... the amount of planning that must have gone in to that? I cannot even imagine.
Breakdown of novellas:
Part One: 4/5
Part Two: 4/5
Part Three: 3.5/5
Part Four: 4/5
Part Five: 4/5
Part Six: 4/5
Part Seven: 4/5
Part Eight: 4/5
4/5 Rating
-DJ
July 9, 2019
I did feel I was smacked around the cheeks with a wet fish after reading this one. My head is still spinning with the complexity of the various lands, characters, the shady secret society and a very different set of tarot cards.
The story is told via various characters POV ranging from the uneducated farm labourer to an Emperor. These characters are all quite likeable but at times brutal. And brutality is the hub of the book - lots of senseless battles and wars for no reason other to have them and a feeling of so what if the other side wins. Will anything change?
The story is told via various characters POV ranging from the uneducated farm labourer to an Emperor. These characters are all quite likeable but at times brutal. And brutality is the hub of the book - lots of senseless battles and wars for no reason other to have them and a feeling of so what if the other side wins. Will anything change?
February 3, 2018
Solid fantasy with well plotted story arc. Each chapter is a different character. Might have worked better in the monthly novella release that it originally was. Will read book 2.
June 13, 2018
Although I went into The Two of Swords with the highest of hopes, I am finally surrendering to the fact that I am just not that into it.
There are several problems here that dissuaded me from finishing this:
1) I was 40% of the way into the novel and still didn't know the central conflict of the story, and that is way too long. I enjoy a slow burn, but, come now. If Tolkien had held back the news about Sauron and the Ring until Frodo was actually joining the Fellowship, nobody'd still be reading. I get that Parker wants to tell An Epic Tale, and I don't expect a dissertation in Chapter Two, but in the first tenth of the novel I'd like to have an idea of the stakes.
2) Parker isn't a bad writer, but he's not a great one, either. His prose can be so clipped as to be confusing, and I sometimes found myself reading sentences twice before I understood them. He also has this weird thing about rarely using character's names, which is a problem when the reader is trying to learn strange fantasy appellations. It's like he bought stock in pronouns, or something.
Also, his characters almost uniformly talk in a flippant, off-hand style, and it became hard to distinguish between them. If the author has done his job, the reader should be able to tell who's talking without having to be told. Not the case here.
3) As a fan of the sand-beneath-your-feet writing philosophy, I am OK with authors revealing information on a need-to-know basis. The problem with Swords is that, evidently, Parker does not feel the reader needs to know--anything. There's a lot going on here, and the reader is expected to sort it out without much assistance from him. I felt I wanted to keep a notebook, and that is too much commitment for a fantasy novel.
Since I didn't even finish The Two of Swords, I give it one star. Maybe other, more hardy, readers will have more regard, but I have better things to do with my time.
There are several problems here that dissuaded me from finishing this:
1) I was 40% of the way into the novel and still didn't know the central conflict of the story, and that is way too long. I enjoy a slow burn, but, come now. If Tolkien had held back the news about Sauron and the Ring until Frodo was actually joining the Fellowship, nobody'd still be reading. I get that Parker wants to tell An Epic Tale, and I don't expect a dissertation in Chapter Two, but in the first tenth of the novel I'd like to have an idea of the stakes.
2) Parker isn't a bad writer, but he's not a great one, either. His prose can be so clipped as to be confusing, and I sometimes found myself reading sentences twice before I understood them. He also has this weird thing about rarely using character's names, which is a problem when the reader is trying to learn strange fantasy appellations. It's like he bought stock in pronouns, or something.
Also, his characters almost uniformly talk in a flippant, off-hand style, and it became hard to distinguish between them. If the author has done his job, the reader should be able to tell who's talking without having to be told. Not the case here.
3) As a fan of the sand-beneath-your-feet writing philosophy, I am OK with authors revealing information on a need-to-know basis. The problem with Swords is that, evidently, Parker does not feel the reader needs to know--anything. There's a lot going on here, and the reader is expected to sort it out without much assistance from him. I felt I wanted to keep a notebook, and that is too much commitment for a fantasy novel.
Since I didn't even finish The Two of Swords, I give it one star. Maybe other, more hardy, readers will have more regard, but I have better things to do with my time.
November 25, 2020
\(♡v♡)/ I'm a misanthrope too, hence I really liked it
KJ Parker isn't for everyone and the Two of Swords Trilogy (formerly released as a 23-part monthly serial) is NOT really a fantasy novel. It's more of a cynical commentary on the human nature with and without power.
I guess you could say it's an alternative world not unlike ours, with a pseudo-European antiquity setting. In this world, an Empire (possibly an empire similar to the old Byzantine Empire) is split in two parts, the Eastern and the Western, and a war has been raging for decades without any resolution. The poor starve and dwindle in the countryside while a secret organization seems to hold all the strings and two brilliant brothers try to outsmart each other on the battle fields, that never seem to hold a decisive victory for either of them. In short, it is a mutli-faceted, multi-POV story of a war as a hungry beast that devours everyone and everything.
KJ Parker is quite the cynic. I'm not sure the same holds true for Tom Holt (the other name he writes under), but all the KJ Parker books, stories, novellas I read have the same bleak, pessimistic view of human nature, especially when couples with a position of power or authority. In short he believes people suck and can't be trusted. I tend to strongly agree with that sentiment. Which is why I like KJ Parker's works. He brings out the worst in people, and since he has a wise sense of humor, it's fun to watch his characters deconstruct their own immorality.
So, if you're into that kind of thing, try some of his works. Maybe start with a shorter one though, this trilogy is a deep dive right from the start. For starters, I recommend "Prosper's Demon". It's around 150 pages and very entertaining.
KJ Parker isn't for everyone and the Two of Swords Trilogy (formerly released as a 23-part monthly serial) is NOT really a fantasy novel. It's more of a cynical commentary on the human nature with and without power.
I guess you could say it's an alternative world not unlike ours, with a pseudo-European antiquity setting. In this world, an Empire (possibly an empire similar to the old Byzantine Empire) is split in two parts, the Eastern and the Western, and a war has been raging for decades without any resolution. The poor starve and dwindle in the countryside while a secret organization seems to hold all the strings and two brilliant brothers try to outsmart each other on the battle fields, that never seem to hold a decisive victory for either of them. In short, it is a mutli-faceted, multi-POV story of a war as a hungry beast that devours everyone and everything.
KJ Parker is quite the cynic. I'm not sure the same holds true for Tom Holt (the other name he writes under), but all the KJ Parker books, stories, novellas I read have the same bleak, pessimistic view of human nature, especially when couples with a position of power or authority. In short he believes people suck and can't be trusted. I tend to strongly agree with that sentiment. Which is why I like KJ Parker's works. He brings out the worst in people, and since he has a wise sense of humor, it's fun to watch his characters deconstruct their own immorality.
So, if you're into that kind of thing, try some of his works. Maybe start with a shorter one though, this trilogy is a deep dive right from the start. For starters, I recommend "Prosper's Demon". It's around 150 pages and very entertaining.
January 17, 2025
6/10 stars
My full review for all three books on my blog.
My relationship with K.J. Parker’s books is somewhat complex. I love the worldbuilding of these novels, creating the alternative history of the late years of the Roman Empire with precision and care worthy of an engineer, and the engineer’s dispassionate and anatomical focus on the process of slow, unstoppable crumbling of what had been probably the most powerful and technologically advanced community in human history. The love of technology is one of Parker’s most memorable traits – his peans about aqueducts, cathedral domes, indoor plumbing are not only endearing but also highly educational. There is both awe and regret lurking in his descriptions of the imperial might – what humans can achieve, and what they can destroy.
Parker’s trademark droll style dripping with cynicism is also usually right up my alley, and the grand vista of human folly and destruction that he paints on the alt history canvas looks horrifically alluring when viewed through his detached, irony-hued lens. Armies are raised and mowed down like so much wheat, individual humans turned into uncountable pawns on the chessboards of generals and emperors and treated with the same ruthlessness and indifference as the game pieces. The war grinds everything to dust and broken bone, and Parker’s detached, almost off-hand descriptions paint this gory reality in exquisite detail.
[...]
I bet you can sense the “but” coming… The one aspect that Parker fails miserably in developing, and is bracingly consistent across all of his books I have read, is the characters’ arcs. Parker treats his characters like pieces on a chessboard, or cards in hand – complete, finite, not reactive, and expendable. They don’t grow, they don’t change, they don’t feel much beyond the requisite mechanical interaction with the world. Psychologically speaking, they are inert. Sure, in Parker’s world everybody wears a mask or doesn’t breathe too long, but his characters are an unknown even to themselves. So when the plot calls for something more personal than a massacre on the battlefield or a devastating, city-wide fire, Parker is at a loss on how to achieve even half of the effect that comes so seemingly effortlessly to him when describing humanity’s plight as a whole. His protagonists are puppets with the strings for everyone to see. But because there is nothing animating them beyond the plot’s requirement for action, once they have been used they can be removed from the scene and nobody will care. Even the main characters suffer from this indifference – though I feel that it’s perhaps not intentional neglect but rather the author’s inability to imbue them with a semblance of emotional life.
[...]
Score: 6/10 (first novel 8/10, second novel 7/10, third novel 5/10)
My full review for all three books on my blog.
My relationship with K.J. Parker’s books is somewhat complex. I love the worldbuilding of these novels, creating the alternative history of the late years of the Roman Empire with precision and care worthy of an engineer, and the engineer’s dispassionate and anatomical focus on the process of slow, unstoppable crumbling of what had been probably the most powerful and technologically advanced community in human history. The love of technology is one of Parker’s most memorable traits – his peans about aqueducts, cathedral domes, indoor plumbing are not only endearing but also highly educational. There is both awe and regret lurking in his descriptions of the imperial might – what humans can achieve, and what they can destroy.
Parker’s trademark droll style dripping with cynicism is also usually right up my alley, and the grand vista of human folly and destruction that he paints on the alt history canvas looks horrifically alluring when viewed through his detached, irony-hued lens. Armies are raised and mowed down like so much wheat, individual humans turned into uncountable pawns on the chessboards of generals and emperors and treated with the same ruthlessness and indifference as the game pieces. The war grinds everything to dust and broken bone, and Parker’s detached, almost off-hand descriptions paint this gory reality in exquisite detail.
[...]
I bet you can sense the “but” coming… The one aspect that Parker fails miserably in developing, and is bracingly consistent across all of his books I have read, is the characters’ arcs. Parker treats his characters like pieces on a chessboard, or cards in hand – complete, finite, not reactive, and expendable. They don’t grow, they don’t change, they don’t feel much beyond the requisite mechanical interaction with the world. Psychologically speaking, they are inert. Sure, in Parker’s world everybody wears a mask or doesn’t breathe too long, but his characters are an unknown even to themselves. So when the plot calls for something more personal than a massacre on the battlefield or a devastating, city-wide fire, Parker is at a loss on how to achieve even half of the effect that comes so seemingly effortlessly to him when describing humanity’s plight as a whole. His protagonists are puppets with the strings for everyone to see. But because there is nothing animating them beyond the plot’s requirement for action, once they have been used they can be removed from the scene and nobody will care. Even the main characters suffer from this indifference – though I feel that it’s perhaps not intentional neglect but rather the author’s inability to imbue them with a semblance of emotional life.
[...]
Score: 6/10 (first novel 8/10, second novel 7/10, third novel 5/10)
June 26, 2018
4.5 stars. I absolutely love K.J. Parker, and the Two of Swords testifies to every reason why.
The story sweeps across the havoc wreaked by two fractured monarchies of a once-united Empire, waging a bloody and lifetime-long war with each other for reasons no one remembers. POV shifts every few chapters, and is never repeated: the plot is carried along like a parcel, character X passing it off to character Y, who transports it for 75 pages or so until handing it to Z, etc. and so we see the war and its effects from every perspective across three kingdoms, gathering snippets of intelligence along the way.
Parker's style is exemplified here; one of his greatest strengths is often also the most common criticism leveled against him. Swaths of passages are devoted to detailing the intricacies of various subjects (the making of paper and ink from scratch, musical theory, etc.) Depending on taste, this can result in boredom or fascination. The way he does it leaves me riveted (edge-of-your-seat tarot card painting? That takes writing skill). There were about ten pages mid-way through that began to grow tedious; fortunately I was saved by a timely bloodletting. Aside from that trifle, I was riveted.
Highly recommended! Buying volume two today.
The story sweeps across the havoc wreaked by two fractured monarchies of a once-united Empire, waging a bloody and lifetime-long war with each other for reasons no one remembers. POV shifts every few chapters, and is never repeated: the plot is carried along like a parcel, character X passing it off to character Y, who transports it for 75 pages or so until handing it to Z, etc. and so we see the war and its effects from every perspective across three kingdoms, gathering snippets of intelligence along the way.
Parker's style is exemplified here; one of his greatest strengths is often also the most common criticism leveled against him. Swaths of passages are devoted to detailing the intricacies of various subjects (the making of paper and ink from scratch, musical theory, etc.) Depending on taste, this can result in boredom or fascination. The way he does it leaves me riveted (edge-of-your-seat tarot card painting? That takes writing skill). There were about ten pages mid-way through that began to grow tedious; fortunately I was saved by a timely bloodletting. Aside from that trifle, I was riveted.
Highly recommended! Buying volume two today.
April 10, 2019
They could see the gate clearly. It was open. "There's got to be some perfectly simple explanation," someone said.
(Yes, Daxen told himself, I can think of one. But it can't be that, because there aren't any bodies. There's no smell. Two hundred thousand bodies, at least a week in the hot sun, there'd be a smell all right. But the only smell was jasmine, from the fields to the east where they grew it for the perfume trade. So it couldn't be that. The end of the world would never smell like jasmine.)
Parker is bleak, but never grimdark: his bleakness is real, but descriptive: it posits a possible better world, if we can make it through the bleak. You can only have hope if there's a reason to despair, and Parker gives us lots of reasons to despair. But there is hope, and humor, and humanity.
(He's also particularly on his game in this: sparkling prose, wonderful black humor, hilarious antiquities provenance jokes.)
February 14, 2018
This is very Parker. Quite rambly. (Or are those odd little details of the meadery path actually all not just relevant but important?) Rife with coincidence, usual blackly funny. (Or is there a Sinister Hand behind it all?) Featuring a pair of it's-complicated-but-murderous brothers.
Originally delivered as serial fiction, the story is told in relay, the main character of one chunk passing the narrative baton to the next. Each section also peels back another layer of wrapping around what's really going on... or perhaps each section gives the puzzle-cube a turn so we're looking at a new face. Things Are Afoot. All the characters are fascinating and faceted and--of course, for Parker--highly capable.
I feel like I still have no idea what's really going on, but it was great fun to read, and I'm looking forward to more from the second and third volumes.
Originally delivered as serial fiction, the story is told in relay, the main character of one chunk passing the narrative baton to the next. Each section also peels back another layer of wrapping around what's really going on... or perhaps each section gives the puzzle-cube a turn so we're looking at a new face. Things Are Afoot. All the characters are fascinating and faceted and--of course, for Parker--highly capable.
I feel like I still have no idea what's really going on, but it was great fun to read, and I'm looking forward to more from the second and third volumes.
September 28, 2022
Damn. I read this in three days. That doesn't normally happen in my life now, not with being a grownup. But it was impossible to put down. Besides just how well it's written, I have to remark upon the structure of it. How it isn't beholden to a single character, how the time and location jumps are so huge and so expertly focused on what's important, not the minutae that can bog down epic fantasy. The mystery is revealed as the characters' focus is; the village archer who leads the book off doesn't know anything, but the general and emperor who close the book off know more and more (but not everything). it's a welcome change from a lot of epic fantasy and I've already ordered books two and three!
June 9, 2018
I disliked this book as I found that, because it was so boring, it was hard to read. There was nothing that made me want to read on, the characters were unclear and the plot was all over the place.
December 2, 2018
Really good. Totally unexpected as I picked the book up in a 3 for £5 sale. A couple of small sections bogged down but that could also be the slower pace I have been reading recently.
April 15, 2021
Parker undertakes to depict the cost, waste, and self-perpetuation of war from numerous perspectives.
First we see it at the ground level, from the point of view of conscripted youths who've never left their farms, have nothing at stake, and don't understand or care about the causes of the current conflict. Then we shift to the POV of schemers and plotters, spies and assassins and politicos driving the war behind the scenes. Next we get the military POV, leaders of armies trying to anticipate and outwit one another without getting all their men killed in the process. We work our way up to the emperor himself, for whom war is mostly about the national treasury and his own disloyal relatives, then we finish up with secret, powerful Masonic infiltrators and plotters.
The structure of the novel is unusual: several chapters following farmboy conscript Teucer, until he gets sent across the sea and we switch to his fellow conscript Musen. Six chapters of Musen's POV until he gets sent across the sea, then we follow his handler, the Mason assassin Telamon. Then Daxin, the prime minister of a country Telamon visits, then the general of one of the competing empires, and on down the line.
There's a quirky theme running through tied to tarot cards. The members of the secret society are ranked by card: an Eight of Swords far outranks a fledgling Two of Swords. Tarot decks are revered by adherents, and the emperor collects them. Readings are held regularly. The POV characters are, in order:
--an Archer
--a Thief
--an Assassin
--a Minister
--a General
--an Emperor
--and a Spy.
Ends on a massive collection of cliffhangers. I have never encountered so many great, unresolved plotlines in one place before.
Hard to assign a conclusive rating to a story so open-ended, but so far it feels like a good-not-great four stars.
Idle note: I've long thought that Parker was horrid at naming his characters, but he nadirs in The Two of Swords with a diplomat named Cruxpelit.
First we see it at the ground level, from the point of view of conscripted youths who've never left their farms, have nothing at stake, and don't understand or care about the causes of the current conflict. Then we shift to the POV of schemers and plotters, spies and assassins and politicos driving the war behind the scenes. Next we get the military POV, leaders of armies trying to anticipate and outwit one another without getting all their men killed in the process. We work our way up to the emperor himself, for whom war is mostly about the national treasury and his own disloyal relatives, then we finish up with secret, powerful Masonic infiltrators and plotters.
The structure of the novel is unusual: several chapters following farmboy conscript Teucer, until he gets sent across the sea and we switch to his fellow conscript Musen. Six chapters of Musen's POV until he gets sent across the sea, then we follow his handler, the Mason assassin Telamon. Then Daxin, the prime minister of a country Telamon visits, then the general of one of the competing empires, and on down the line.
There's a quirky theme running through tied to tarot cards. The members of the secret society are ranked by card: an Eight of Swords far outranks a fledgling Two of Swords. Tarot decks are revered by adherents, and the emperor collects them. Readings are held regularly. The POV characters are, in order:
--an Archer
--a Thief
--an Assassin
--a Minister
--a General
--an Emperor
--and a Spy.
Ends on a massive collection of cliffhangers. I have never encountered so many great, unresolved plotlines in one place before.
Hard to assign a conclusive rating to a story so open-ended, but so far it feels like a good-not-great four stars.
Idle note: I've long thought that Parker was horrid at naming his characters, but he nadirs in The Two of Swords with a diplomat named Cruxpelit.
December 1, 2025
Book Seventy One of 2025: I bought this book somewhere between seven and ten years ago (I think) and it has languished on my bookshelf ever since. It has probably moved house with me about four different times. Then my mate asked how my list of unread books was going (not well), and I picked this one off the shelf to read next.
"So much to do and only me capable of doing it"
I've enjoyed a few other of K J Parker's stories, so I sort of knew what I was getting in for. I didn't realise this was essentially eight novellas, each linked to the next by the appearance of the next character. It is about a war - a shapeless, map-less war, because the details don't really matter much, and a shadowy organisation that dwells across the empire.
It made me think about perspectives, and the way our lives interweave and intersect. How a small choice can ripple across your entire life.
"My duty and my fault"
"So much to do and only me capable of doing it"
I've enjoyed a few other of K J Parker's stories, so I sort of knew what I was getting in for. I didn't realise this was essentially eight novellas, each linked to the next by the appearance of the next character. It is about a war - a shapeless, map-less war, because the details don't really matter much, and a shadowy organisation that dwells across the empire.
It made me think about perspectives, and the way our lives interweave and intersect. How a small choice can ripple across your entire life.
"My duty and my fault"
May 1, 2018
I'll have to wait through the rest of the books to see if this will be a five-star, but it definitely has the potential to be.
I always forget how much I enjoy Parker's writing: crisp, witty, pessimism. And this book's method of setting in motion a vast machine of warfare and players through something of a relay-race handoff of character perspectives was really enjoyable. Empires are in motion. The players are in place, what is the game being played, what are the stakes, and what will be the outcome? Can't wait to find out!
Full disclosure: I did receive a complimentary copy of this from a publishing agent, with no strings attached.
I always forget how much I enjoy Parker's writing: crisp, witty, pessimism. And this book's method of setting in motion a vast machine of warfare and players through something of a relay-race handoff of character perspectives was really enjoyable. Empires are in motion. The players are in place, what is the game being played, what are the stakes, and what will be the outcome? Can't wait to find out!
Full disclosure: I did receive a complimentary copy of this from a publishing agent, with no strings attached.
October 31, 2018
This book is made up of eight of the twenty-four serials that make up the series. Its serial origins are clear apparent in the various inconsistencies and overall poor pacing, they didn't fit together well.
I was expecting more from an author I usually enjoy.
I was expecting more from an author I usually enjoy.
November 5, 2022
Dnf 27% through
December 24, 2018
3.5 stars. Some great dry humour in this one - I must have laughed out loud at least a dozen times. Also a bit of mystery, interested to see where this one goes.
January 15, 2021
Well written and paced book.
The jumping narrative can be a bit jarring at first and the amount of time passed during the stories can be hard to get a handle on. However, Parker’s quick characterization makes each story extremely fun, sad or tense.., depending on how the war is going. In addition to this parkers cynical look at the governments in the war makes the reader question who they are rooting for as every faction commits various war crimes in the belief that they are serving the greater good. Hands down the best part of the book is the mysterious cult that most of the major characters are a part of. While the cult is extremely powerful no one seems to know what it’s purpose is. The book just sort of ends but that’s to be expected in a serialized story.
The jumping narrative can be a bit jarring at first and the amount of time passed during the stories can be hard to get a handle on. However, Parker’s quick characterization makes each story extremely fun, sad or tense.., depending on how the war is going. In addition to this parkers cynical look at the governments in the war makes the reader question who they are rooting for as every faction commits various war crimes in the belief that they are serving the greater good. Hands down the best part of the book is the mysterious cult that most of the major characters are a part of. While the cult is extremely powerful no one seems to know what it’s purpose is. The book just sort of ends but that’s to be expected in a serialized story.
August 11, 2019
NOTE: This is a review of all three volumes, because it's really a single book, published in three chunks.
I so enjoyed Parker’s most recent book, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, that I immediately went looking for his earlier work. And I found this three-volume epic, and it’s a doozy. The whole thing runs to some 1,500 pages, by the way, so carve yourself out some time for it.
It’s the story of the late stages of a ten-war being fought between the Eastern and Western Empires (which used to be united, before the Civil War some time earlier), with a couple of independent, semi-neutral states being caught up in events against their will. The setting is reminiscent of 4th century Byzantium as it might have existed in a slightly different world, which gives the author both a recognizable framework within which to work but also the freedom to redraw geography and rewrite history in the service of the plot.
There’s also the more personal war between brothers Senza and Forza Belot, each of them the greatest field general in one of the two halves of the Empire, and each of them dedicated to killing the other. (If that ever happens, the war will be over, since the surviving brother is guaranteed to make mincemeat of the enemy’s remaining armies.) Another major factor is the Lodge, a secret society that permeates all levels of society throughout the world, and which has its own agenda, which is unknown to everyone else -- including the reader until late in the story.
Parker’s method is to have a character tell part of the story from his own perspective, and then to be replaced as narrator in the next section by a supporting character from the previous section. So we see the world and learn its history and that of the war from the perspective of an illiterate but very skilled young archer from a rural district who gets drafted. And then a thief and Lodge member who gets caught up in things he doesn’t understand. And then a skilled female secret agent and assassin for the Western Empire. And then each of the Belot brothers in turn. And then the world’s greatest musical artist, to whom borders mean nothing, but who is almost certainly more than he seems. And then a series of other disparate types, each of whom sees things and understands things the others don’t, even including one of the emperors -- and his food-taster. This process continues through the second volume, though the focus gradually narrows as the major plot-lines become clearer. The third volume zeroes in on just a couple of the characters whom we have gotten o know so well, with everyone else in a supporting role -- and most of them have changed a great deal over the course of the story.
All of this means that we also get worldbuilding of a much broader and deeper scope than you would ever expect of a fantasy novel, even a thick one. Parker is highly original in his portrait of his world, and a little sneaky, too. When certain events occur late in the story, you’ll pause and remember some incident from the first volume and think, “So that’s what that was about!” It’s all conveyed in a beautifully written, highly immersive, often sardonic style that I found totally absorbing. And in addition to the fun and the sheer galloping action of the story, the author also has some perceptive things to say about the nature of nationhood and personal independence and loyalty. I recommend this epic very highly indeed.
I so enjoyed Parker’s most recent book, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, that I immediately went looking for his earlier work. And I found this three-volume epic, and it’s a doozy. The whole thing runs to some 1,500 pages, by the way, so carve yourself out some time for it.
It’s the story of the late stages of a ten-war being fought between the Eastern and Western Empires (which used to be united, before the Civil War some time earlier), with a couple of independent, semi-neutral states being caught up in events against their will. The setting is reminiscent of 4th century Byzantium as it might have existed in a slightly different world, which gives the author both a recognizable framework within which to work but also the freedom to redraw geography and rewrite history in the service of the plot.
There’s also the more personal war between brothers Senza and Forza Belot, each of them the greatest field general in one of the two halves of the Empire, and each of them dedicated to killing the other. (If that ever happens, the war will be over, since the surviving brother is guaranteed to make mincemeat of the enemy’s remaining armies.) Another major factor is the Lodge, a secret society that permeates all levels of society throughout the world, and which has its own agenda, which is unknown to everyone else -- including the reader until late in the story.
Parker’s method is to have a character tell part of the story from his own perspective, and then to be replaced as narrator in the next section by a supporting character from the previous section. So we see the world and learn its history and that of the war from the perspective of an illiterate but very skilled young archer from a rural district who gets drafted. And then a thief and Lodge member who gets caught up in things he doesn’t understand. And then a skilled female secret agent and assassin for the Western Empire. And then each of the Belot brothers in turn. And then the world’s greatest musical artist, to whom borders mean nothing, but who is almost certainly more than he seems. And then a series of other disparate types, each of whom sees things and understands things the others don’t, even including one of the emperors -- and his food-taster. This process continues through the second volume, though the focus gradually narrows as the major plot-lines become clearer. The third volume zeroes in on just a couple of the characters whom we have gotten o know so well, with everyone else in a supporting role -- and most of them have changed a great deal over the course of the story.
All of this means that we also get worldbuilding of a much broader and deeper scope than you would ever expect of a fantasy novel, even a thick one. Parker is highly original in his portrait of his world, and a little sneaky, too. When certain events occur late in the story, you’ll pause and remember some incident from the first volume and think, “So that’s what that was about!” It’s all conveyed in a beautifully written, highly immersive, often sardonic style that I found totally absorbing. And in addition to the fun and the sheer galloping action of the story, the author also has some perceptive things to say about the nature of nationhood and personal independence and loyalty. I recommend this epic very highly indeed.
January 17, 2018
Amazing wasn't able to set this down. I'm ashamed I don't have volume 2 on it's way to me or on my book shelf. It's a fantasy story which shows the point of view of major and minor characters in a war, so you'll have perspective of things from multiple sides. Very intriguing and semi-complex the twists were well done and this book suprised me multiple times, this arthur seems to have an unique style of writing in my small reading tenure of fantasy books I have not encountered before. Totally refreshing and a definte reccomend.
April 24, 2018
4.5 stars.
My next step with K.J. Parker should have been to continue the Engineer Trilogy, but it just so happened that I had time to kill on the evening I bought this book, and couldn’t resist starting it. In fact, Parker’s novels all seem to take place in the same world, so it didn’t even feel like straying. The Two of Swords has only confirmed my admiration for him as a writer. I’d go so far as to say I love his books. They’re knotty, cynical, pragmatic fantasy without a hint of magic, and the general flavour is what you might get if Machiavelli settled down to write an alternate-universe version of the Byzantine Empire. Stuffed full of double-bluffs and double-agents, this series takes us into the heart of a long-lasting war, spurred on by the personal enmity between the opposing generals – who also happen to be brothers. Two brothers; two armies; two empires; and one secret international fraternity, who may not be as neutral as they’ve always claimed to be…
For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/04/24/t...
My next step with K.J. Parker should have been to continue the Engineer Trilogy, but it just so happened that I had time to kill on the evening I bought this book, and couldn’t resist starting it. In fact, Parker’s novels all seem to take place in the same world, so it didn’t even feel like straying. The Two of Swords has only confirmed my admiration for him as a writer. I’d go so far as to say I love his books. They’re knotty, cynical, pragmatic fantasy without a hint of magic, and the general flavour is what you might get if Machiavelli settled down to write an alternate-universe version of the Byzantine Empire. Stuffed full of double-bluffs and double-agents, this series takes us into the heart of a long-lasting war, spurred on by the personal enmity between the opposing generals – who also happen to be brothers. Two brothers; two armies; two empires; and one secret international fraternity, who may not be as neutral as they’ve always claimed to be…
For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/04/24/t...
August 4, 2019
A not-quite-fantasy genre military novel in which, culturally, tarot-like cards play a divinatory role as well as serving as the grounding commonality of a faction-spanning guild called the Lodge. As with many of Parker's novels, Two of Swords is deep on military life, leadership, and talk of strategy, but as is also the norm for this author, the characters are vivid with mannerism, dialogue and realistic motivation. If you're unfamiliar with him, Parker fits somewhere on the line of Martin and Cook for the depth of character presented within an imaginary world, but the use of a "real-world" setting in lieu of something more magical might surprise those readers. This was a enjoyable first volume in this collected trilogy, and the novel might be hard to categorize except that it is extremely enjoyable to read.
April 2, 2018
Ok, but nothing happens.
If you haven't read anything by Parker before then don't start with this one!
This very much feels like a standard Parker novel but nothing happens.
The characters are likeable, if slim on personality, and there is the usual cynicism and occasional humour but the plot is grindingly slow.
So little happens in the book it doesn't even feel like it is building anything the way the first of a trilogy often does; instead it just feels pointless, like the first few chapters of a novel have been stretched beyond all sense.
Hopefully the rest of the series is much much better.
If you haven't read anything by Parker before then don't start with this one!
This very much feels like a standard Parker novel but nothing happens.
The characters are likeable, if slim on personality, and there is the usual cynicism and occasional humour but the plot is grindingly slow.
So little happens in the book it doesn't even feel like it is building anything the way the first of a trilogy often does; instead it just feels pointless, like the first few chapters of a novel have been stretched beyond all sense.
Hopefully the rest of the series is much much better.
February 18, 2022
The POV shifting really makes your brain work. Fun characters in an interesting world. Love that you think you're in for standard story of a simple boy overcoming his humble background. Then of course you never hear his POV a single time the rest of the trilogy.
Hard to explain why I love them so much. Probably wouldn't be the same unless you were very familiar with fantasy books and tropes, to appreciate how this works to consistently subvert them.
Hard to explain why I love them so much. Probably wouldn't be the same unless you were very familiar with fantasy books and tropes, to appreciate how this works to consistently subvert them.
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