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The Grave of Empires #1
Seven Blades In Black
A young thief is being interrogated by her captors about a heist: every answer she gives is half-truth and half-lie. Every answer she gives leads to a flashback, revealing filled with tremendous action to the reader.
Written in a very accessible and engaging style, this is a story packed with attitude, a brilliant first-person POV, and a clever narrative structure.
Sykes has also created one of the most satisfying and original magical systems to match the story, and these elements come together in a very solid and satisfying way to create and innovative and eye-catching read. Full of energy, this is a positive and fun fantasy tale for the post-grimdark generation of readers.
661 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 2019
1008 people are currently reading
22670 people want to read
About the author
Sam Sykes
75 books1,214 followersSam Sykes is the author of Tome Of The Undergates, a vast and sprawling story of adventure, demons, madness and carnage. Suspected by many to be at least tangentially related to most causes of human suffering, Sam Sykes is also a force to be reckoned with beyond literature.
At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome Of The Undergates is his first book, published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, and Canada. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.
At 25, Sykes is one of the younger authors to have arrived on the stage of literary fantasy. Tome Of The Undergates is his first book, published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Holland, and Canada. He currently resides in the United States and is probably watching you read this right now.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 942 reviews
January 24, 2023
Well. Yikes. Took me too long to finish this book because I would often put it in a corner, the way one might put away a broom or umbrella when not using it, and pick up something more griping to read.
January 4, 2019
Ah, the usual caveat! I know Sam Sykes and I read this book as an Advance Reading Copy, an edition sent to me for free by the publisher. As always, this does not affect my review of the book.
Seven Blades in Black weighs in at a substantial 771 pages; the edition I have is a chunk! For fantasy readers who enjoy a complete immersion in a new world with a unique magic system, this book is for you. In a time when most new fantasies seem to be part of a trilogy or longer series, Seven Blades in Black is a stand alone story with a completely satisfactory ending. Even so, there is plenty of room in the world and setting for other tales to be told.
WHOOPS! Editing this! Unbeknownst to me at the time I posted this, this is book one of a trilogy! But I will repeat that I found the ending satisfactory! So if you want a great big read that can lead to even more big books, this is a solid entry point!
I try to refrain from spoilers in my reviews. Instead, I'll tell you that the narrator protagonist is a unique character. As her back story unfolds along with the action, pieces fall into place in a very satisfactory way. But it's not only the protagonist who is believable; the other characters evolve with the story. This is a story where the villains are as memorable as the heroes, and sometimes the dividing lines between them are narrow indeed.
There is action, humor and romance, as well as magic in a well developed setting. Its a solid read.
Seven Blades in Black weighs in at a substantial 771 pages; the edition I have is a chunk! For fantasy readers who enjoy a complete immersion in a new world with a unique magic system, this book is for you. In a time when most new fantasies seem to be part of a trilogy or longer series, Seven Blades in Black is a stand alone story with a completely satisfactory ending. Even so, there is plenty of room in the world and setting for other tales to be told.
WHOOPS! Editing this! Unbeknownst to me at the time I posted this, this is book one of a trilogy! But I will repeat that I found the ending satisfactory! So if you want a great big read that can lead to even more big books, this is a solid entry point!
I try to refrain from spoilers in my reviews. Instead, I'll tell you that the narrator protagonist is a unique character. As her back story unfolds along with the action, pieces fall into place in a very satisfactory way. But it's not only the protagonist who is believable; the other characters evolve with the story. This is a story where the villains are as memorable as the heroes, and sometimes the dividing lines between them are narrow indeed.
There is action, humor and romance, as well as magic in a well developed setting. Its a solid read.
September 24, 2020
UPDATE: $2.99 Kindle US today 9/24/20
I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
I quite enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
February 28, 2020
This book is a perfect example of why GoodReads needs half stars. It's a 3.5 for sure. Sam shows incredible promise as a fantasy author. I am excited to see his masterpiece. SBIB can close, but no cigar.
I was invested in the characters and world, but the story slumps and the lack of stakes at times prevented me from loving this book as much as I really wanted to.
Full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruieY...
I was invested in the characters and world, but the story slumps and the lack of stakes at times prevented me from loving this book as much as I really wanted to.
Full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruieY...
February 7, 2019
This is my kind of book. Fast-paced and funny, tempered with tender moments and some really excellent worldbuilding. The characters--from Sal the Cacophony to the entire supporting cast (especially the bad guys)--are colorful and complex. And if, like me and every other rational human being on the planet, you're a fan of Final Fantasy and anime, you'll find a lot to love in this series.
Also, there's a sword named Jeff. Need I go on? No. No, I needn't.
Also, there's a sword named Jeff. Need I go on? No. No, I needn't.
November 7, 2020
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Fares pick for my 10 readers, 10 recommendations challenge!
I am going to start with the elephant in the room before I can actually review this properly. I know that the author was accused of harassment earlier this year and he confessed that he was learning from his past mistakes. I may have skipped the book in normal circumstances but I actually got this book before all of that was revealed. I paid ~20$ for this and my friend Fares recommended it for my 10 readers, 10 recommendations challenge. There was no giving it back and I can’t give it to the library because there is not one. It was bound to stay on my shelves for ever and I decided that I will read it. A case of separating the art from the artist.
Now that that is out of the way, I can start this review by saying I actually enjoyed the book! It was a bit different from all the “serious” fantasy books I read. Sal is the main character and she is playing the role of an assassin throughout the story to get her revenge on fellow magicians who she has some history with. Sal is special in that she is morally grey, sarcastic, she has magical guns and she is a bitch most of the time!
The writing is sarcastic and funny, I don’t think I read many books with such a writing style and it makes the story easy to go through! The book is huge and I agree with the reviews saying that it is too long but the writing style made it a fast read anyway and although I would have cut a 100 pages to improve the flow of the story and reduce repetitions! But at the end of the say I didn’t think it was a bad story! Beware that there is a ton of cursing too, almost on every page so if you don’t like that this won’t work for you!
The world-building actually surprised me, I am a bigger fan of magic in form of spells and witchcraft over guns and weapons. The world had a lot of interesting magic which I like and I ended up liking Sal’s guns and sword too! I thought the world will be more limited but I was satisfied by what we got!
The characters were interesting too, even those that hadn’t much appearance in the story! I think the enjoyment of the story depends on how much you connect to Sal, if you like her then you will most definitely like the story, if you find her annoying and pretentious you will end up not liking the book! I mostly enjoyed her wits and character, although a few times I felt she was annoying and repetitive to be honest! I also liked Cavric and Liette. Sal’s companions!
Summary: I ended up enjoying the story as much as I expected to! I liked how different the story was executed but I think it could have been a bit shorter. Adult fantasy writers think they have to write big tomes to success which usually backfires and it minimally did here. I liked the writing, characters and world-building and the plot twists we had. Overall, I am satisfied by what I read and I still haven’t decide what to do with the rest of the series!
Fares pick for my 10 readers, 10 recommendations challenge!
“People were noisome, demanding, judgmental. Books gave everything and asked nothing more than to be taken care of.”
I am going to start with the elephant in the room before I can actually review this properly. I know that the author was accused of harassment earlier this year and he confessed that he was learning from his past mistakes. I may have skipped the book in normal circumstances but I actually got this book before all of that was revealed. I paid ~20$ for this and my friend Fares recommended it for my 10 readers, 10 recommendations challenge. There was no giving it back and I can’t give it to the library because there is not one. It was bound to stay on my shelves for ever and I decided that I will read it. A case of separating the art from the artist.
Now that that is out of the way, I can start this review by saying I actually enjoyed the book! It was a bit different from all the “serious” fantasy books I read. Sal is the main character and she is playing the role of an assassin throughout the story to get her revenge on fellow magicians who she has some history with. Sal is special in that she is morally grey, sarcastic, she has magical guns and she is a bitch most of the time!
The writing is sarcastic and funny, I don’t think I read many books with such a writing style and it makes the story easy to go through! The book is huge and I agree with the reviews saying that it is too long but the writing style made it a fast read anyway and although I would have cut a 100 pages to improve the flow of the story and reduce repetitions! But at the end of the say I didn’t think it was a bad story! Beware that there is a ton of cursing too, almost on every page so if you don’t like that this won’t work for you!
“Courageous read a lot of books. That’s probably why he was so angry all the time.”
The world-building actually surprised me, I am a bigger fan of magic in form of spells and witchcraft over guns and weapons. The world had a lot of interesting magic which I like and I ended up liking Sal’s guns and sword too! I thought the world will be more limited but I was satisfied by what we got!
The characters were interesting too, even those that hadn’t much appearance in the story! I think the enjoyment of the story depends on how much you connect to Sal, if you like her then you will most definitely like the story, if you find her annoying and pretentious you will end up not liking the book! I mostly enjoyed her wits and character, although a few times I felt she was annoying and repetitive to be honest! I also liked Cavric and Liette. Sal’s companions!
“No one ever gets the death they want,” I replied. “Just the one they deserve.”
Summary: I ended up enjoying the story as much as I expected to! I liked how different the story was executed but I think it could have been a bit shorter. Adult fantasy writers think they have to write big tomes to success which usually backfires and it minimally did here. I liked the writing, characters and world-building and the plot twists we had. Overall, I am satisfied by what I read and I still haven’t decide what to do with the rest of the series!
April 17, 2019
This is something you don’t see very often; a fantasy obviously inspired by westerns. It’s filled with outlaws, lone gunmen and our hero wandering the desert-like setting with a trusted steed (though in this case, the steed is a giant mean spirited bird, inspired by Final Fantasy’s Chocobos).
The plot focuses on Sal the Cacophony, who is awaiting her execution. She decides to give a last confession though, telling of the recent events that lead to her leaving several towns burning and countless lives lost. She tells us how she once was a completely different person. She tells of how she created a list of people who took her old life away and how she recently crossed off some of those names.
Sounds a bit like a fantasy Kill Bill, right? Well if you’re looking for that check out Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie (which fits that description much better and is also quite good). This isn’t a book about picking names off a list one by one. While names of course do get crossed off, this is closer to your classic quest story, where it focuses on the traveling and the goals, with the revenge being accomplished in the process of completing the quest. What makes this interesting though, is that Sal doesn’t really see the quest aspect, she only see the names on her list and will go through any length to cross them off (even if means doing some good to get them done).
The characters in this one are all a treat. What Sykes accomplishes is something of a marvel in terms of characters. Every villain who shows up, be they a one chapter event or plot important multi-chapter encounters, comes off as interesting and unique. Hell, my favorite one is a bounty which opens the book before the main plot kicks in gear, with a magic user who floats weapons around him during a duel, while having polite conversation and listening to opera. Each one is interesting enough that I wanted to know more about them.
While the side characters are great, two of our leads are downright wonderful. Sal is a delightful lead, bringing charm, humor and a badass protagonist filled with surprises. She’s a character who is scarred both physically and emotionally, yet has had to learn to live with it. She’s had to find a drive to keep going, and in this western style setting, she plays a classic drifting bounty hunter. The other character I really enjoyed is Liette, who comes off as something of a jack-of-all trades support character, acting as a combination of armorer, medic and mad scientist. She’s, if anything, more cynical that Sal, and yet more hopeful of things improving. I won’t say more about her than that, other than every scene with her was a delight and I wish she would have been used a bit more.
The book is also very funny. I found myself genuinely laughing throughout. Characters are very snarky and cynical, so the humor may not be for all, but personally it had me grinning throughout. There were many times I thought about posting an update quote, but I realized that so much of the humor needs context of the scene to make it funnier... but when you have that context, there are some dialogue gems here.
I do have a few minor complaints, but only two are really noteworthy. First off, the middle of the book drags quite a bit. There’s a lot of wandering around, looking for someone to kill and then going to the next checkpoint. The other is a slight annoyance with the character of Sal. In so many ways, she’s a very well written character. She’s funny, clever and I enjoyed seeing her outlook on things… but for someone so cynical, who has been betrayed so many times in the past and such, you would think that when things start going really well for her, she might possibly, just possibly, consider if things are going well because of a trap. I get that in most of these scenes, tensions are high and she’s dealing with a lot of conflicting emotions, but seriously, after a while I was counting the pages until she would get knocked out again.
Those complaints aside, this is an excellent fantasy novel. It is the first in a series, but it works very well as a standalone, while still leaving plenty more story to tell. Well worth your time and a solid 4/5 stars.
Oh, and if all I said before didn't make you want to read it, let me close by just saying that there's a sword in the book called Jeff. JEFF.
The plot focuses on Sal the Cacophony, who is awaiting her execution. She decides to give a last confession though, telling of the recent events that lead to her leaving several towns burning and countless lives lost. She tells us how she once was a completely different person. She tells of how she created a list of people who took her old life away and how she recently crossed off some of those names.
Sounds a bit like a fantasy Kill Bill, right? Well if you’re looking for that check out Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie (which fits that description much better and is also quite good). This isn’t a book about picking names off a list one by one. While names of course do get crossed off, this is closer to your classic quest story, where it focuses on the traveling and the goals, with the revenge being accomplished in the process of completing the quest. What makes this interesting though, is that Sal doesn’t really see the quest aspect, she only see the names on her list and will go through any length to cross them off (even if means doing some good to get them done).
The characters in this one are all a treat. What Sykes accomplishes is something of a marvel in terms of characters. Every villain who shows up, be they a one chapter event or plot important multi-chapter encounters, comes off as interesting and unique. Hell, my favorite one is a bounty which opens the book before the main plot kicks in gear, with a magic user who floats weapons around him during a duel, while having polite conversation and listening to opera. Each one is interesting enough that I wanted to know more about them.
While the side characters are great, two of our leads are downright wonderful. Sal is a delightful lead, bringing charm, humor and a badass protagonist filled with surprises. She’s a character who is scarred both physically and emotionally, yet has had to learn to live with it. She’s had to find a drive to keep going, and in this western style setting, she plays a classic drifting bounty hunter. The other character I really enjoyed is Liette, who comes off as something of a jack-of-all trades support character, acting as a combination of armorer, medic and mad scientist. She’s, if anything, more cynical that Sal, and yet more hopeful of things improving. I won’t say more about her than that, other than every scene with her was a delight and I wish she would have been used a bit more.
The book is also very funny. I found myself genuinely laughing throughout. Characters are very snarky and cynical, so the humor may not be for all, but personally it had me grinning throughout. There were many times I thought about posting an update quote, but I realized that so much of the humor needs context of the scene to make it funnier... but when you have that context, there are some dialogue gems here.
I do have a few minor complaints, but only two are really noteworthy. First off, the middle of the book drags quite a bit. There’s a lot of wandering around, looking for someone to kill and then going to the next checkpoint. The other is a slight annoyance with the character of Sal. In so many ways, she’s a very well written character. She’s funny, clever and I enjoyed seeing her outlook on things… but for someone so cynical, who has been betrayed so many times in the past and such, you would think that when things start going really well for her, she might possibly, just possibly, consider if things are going well because of a trap. I get that in most of these scenes, tensions are high and she’s dealing with a lot of conflicting emotions, but seriously, after a while I was counting the pages until she would get knocked out again.
Those complaints aside, this is an excellent fantasy novel. It is the first in a series, but it works very well as a standalone, while still leaving plenty more story to tell. Well worth your time and a solid 4/5 stars.
Oh, and if all I said before didn't make you want to read it, let me close by just saying that there's a sword in the book called Jeff. JEFF.
August 7, 2019
This was one of those stories that had a fun premise but which never quite managed to translate that into a decent story. It was a bit of a flop in truth and that was a shame as the blurb was fun and this seems like a book that was well liked by most of my fellow fantasy readers. I lasted 12 hours of the 20 hour audiobook before I pulled the plug. It just never hooked me at all. I soldiered on for a while as there was nothing offensive or particularly awful about it but it was pretty dull and I found I just reached a point where I had zero motivation to continue.
The premise was actually decent enough. This was basically a revenge western in a fantasy setting with all the added magic one might expect as well as a bit of humour to keep things from getting too dark. The set-up of the story was the exact same one as that found in Blood Song. The main character, Sal the Cacophony, was relating her tale to her jailer as she awaited her execution. It meant we got the story told in the first person format and had Sal as the sole POV character. I felt like it should have been a fun tale especially as Sal seemed likeable enough and Sykes tried to balance out the darker aspects of the story with a bit of humour but that it ended up flopping because I just never connected with Sykes writing. At no point was I ever sucked into the story. It was a shame really as this really should have been my sort of book.
There was nothing overly original to be had in this one. The story and characters were fairly standard for revenge western tales and the setting was fairly typical for fantasy series with vaguely 1800s era inspired worlds. I'm not going to moan too much about the lack of originality as I feel like this could have worked in the hands of a more talented writer.
If I had to single out a specific flaw (outside of the writing which I just did not connect with) it was the fact that the book was a bit too woe-is-me in tone. This is becoming a common complaint for me when reading modern fantasy as I feel like authors go overboard with the woe and the doom and gloom atmosphere to the point where their stories end up feeling like a ridiculous parody of proper dark fantasy! I've read a lot worse than what we got in this story but it was a mild annoyance and Sal's constant whining did annoy me a bit.
All in all this bore was a bit of a flop. I'm not having great luck with the modern fantasy series I'm trying of late. I guess it is a good thing the self-published fantasy market is in a golden era since the traditional big fantasy publishers are churning out a bunch of crap lately!
Rating: 2.5 stars. I'm rounding down to 2 stars as this one did not manage to hold me until the end.
Audio Note: I feel like Daisy May did this lacklustre story no favours with her performance. She was well-spoken but had no real talent for performing the story and breathing life into it.
The premise was actually decent enough. This was basically a revenge western in a fantasy setting with all the added magic one might expect as well as a bit of humour to keep things from getting too dark. The set-up of the story was the exact same one as that found in Blood Song. The main character, Sal the Cacophony, was relating her tale to her jailer as she awaited her execution. It meant we got the story told in the first person format and had Sal as the sole POV character. I felt like it should have been a fun tale especially as Sal seemed likeable enough and Sykes tried to balance out the darker aspects of the story with a bit of humour but that it ended up flopping because I just never connected with Sykes writing. At no point was I ever sucked into the story. It was a shame really as this really should have been my sort of book.
There was nothing overly original to be had in this one. The story and characters were fairly standard for revenge western tales and the setting was fairly typical for fantasy series with vaguely 1800s era inspired worlds. I'm not going to moan too much about the lack of originality as I feel like this could have worked in the hands of a more talented writer.
If I had to single out a specific flaw (outside of the writing which I just did not connect with) it was the fact that the book was a bit too woe-is-me in tone. This is becoming a common complaint for me when reading modern fantasy as I feel like authors go overboard with the woe and the doom and gloom atmosphere to the point where their stories end up feeling like a ridiculous parody of proper dark fantasy! I've read a lot worse than what we got in this story but it was a mild annoyance and Sal's constant whining did annoy me a bit.
All in all this bore was a bit of a flop. I'm not having great luck with the modern fantasy series I'm trying of late. I guess it is a good thing the self-published fantasy market is in a golden era since the traditional big fantasy publishers are churning out a bunch of crap lately!
Rating: 2.5 stars. I'm rounding down to 2 stars as this one did not manage to hold me until the end.
Audio Note: I feel like Daisy May did this lacklustre story no favours with her performance. She was well-spoken but had no real talent for performing the story and breathing life into it.
January 20, 2019
Exciting and inventive. I never realized how much I needed wizard-hunting gunslingers in my life.
Buy Sam’s book.
Buy Sam’s book.
April 25, 2020
I think I'll drop this to a 4.5 stars.
The exact same thing happened again, I was highlighting everything in the first half of the book then I stopped and was reading just to reach the last parts. It's a shame bc the second part had more action yet it didn't feel like it.
If I had to say something bad about this it's the pacing of the book and the action sequences were as compelling as they could've been too.
Other than that, I loved it, it was cool cool cool.
---------------------------------------------
4.99999999
We have a saying here (it's actually more of a gesture), when someone does something the hard way and ignores the easy way, you stretch your hand over your head, you grab the ear on the other side of your head and say this is my ear.
I feel some parts of the book did just that. It wasn't bad I just didn't have the mental capacity and the right environment to read this book. This book needed me to focus and I couldn't do that after like 30% mark and that's the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars.
It's a shame tho bc the writing is really good, I was highlighting like crazy at the first chapters of this but I guess you can be too good it's bad.
But that's all the bad things I can say about this. If you like characters with depths, if you like strong, cool badass female characters than this book is for you. If you have read Red Sister or Nevernight and enjoyed either the writing or the protagonists then you'll enjoy this. And if you have no idea what I'm talking but still likes to read about a girl firing magical bullets than this book is for you.
Now I must say this tho, if this book confirmed anything it's that I'm a total sucker for a good revenge story specially one narrated after the events took place and you know the fate of the protagonist, there's just something that keeps me gripped to see how did we get here XD
Sal the Cacophony is probably the coolest character I read about. I didn't say best I said coolest. Imagine if Mia Corvere from Nevernight decided to get her a gun that fires magical bullets and was one heck of a gunslinger. Yeah that's how cool.
And more than Sal the characters in this book are all amazing in their own way. They all have depths and the development of everyone good and bad was phenomenal!! And honestly only now that I'm writing this that I'm thinking that every character in this by the end has its arc and it's so good now to look back and see how they changed, I'm in aww!
Liette or maybe you know her by her other name Twenty-Two Dead Roses in a Chipped Porcelain Vase 😂. Cavric, Jindu even Tretta (and she wasn't featured that long, she basically just listened to Sal talking) they all weren't the same by the end. Can you really ask more than that from a book?
The exact same thing happened again, I was highlighting everything in the first half of the book then I stopped and was reading just to reach the last parts. It's a shame bc the second part had more action yet it didn't feel like it.
If I had to say something bad about this it's the pacing of the book and the action sequences were as compelling as they could've been too.
Other than that, I loved it, it was cool cool cool.
---------------------------------------------
4.99999999
We have a saying here (it's actually more of a gesture), when someone does something the hard way and ignores the easy way, you stretch your hand over your head, you grab the ear on the other side of your head and say this is my ear.
I feel some parts of the book did just that. It wasn't bad I just didn't have the mental capacity and the right environment to read this book. This book needed me to focus and I couldn't do that after like 30% mark and that's the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars.
It's a shame tho bc the writing is really good, I was highlighting like crazy at the first chapters of this but I guess you can be too good it's bad.
But that's all the bad things I can say about this. If you like characters with depths, if you like strong, cool badass female characters than this book is for you. If you have read Red Sister or Nevernight and enjoyed either the writing or the protagonists then you'll enjoy this. And if you have no idea what I'm talking but still likes to read about a girl firing magical bullets than this book is for you.
Now I must say this tho, if this book confirmed anything it's that I'm a total sucker for a good revenge story specially one narrated after the events took place and you know the fate of the protagonist, there's just something that keeps me gripped to see how did we get here XD
Sal the Cacophony is probably the coolest character I read about. I didn't say best I said coolest. Imagine if Mia Corvere from Nevernight decided to get her a gun that fires magical bullets and was one heck of a gunslinger. Yeah that's how cool.
And more than Sal the characters in this book are all amazing in their own way. They all have depths and the development of everyone good and bad was phenomenal!! And honestly only now that I'm writing this that I'm thinking that every character in this by the end has its arc and it's so good now to look back and see how they changed, I'm in aww!
Liette or maybe you know her by her other name Twenty-Two Dead Roses in a Chipped Porcelain Vase 😂. Cavric, Jindu even Tretta (and she wasn't featured that long, she basically just listened to Sal talking) they all weren't the same by the end. Can you really ask more than that from a book?
March 31, 2024
I feel like the author one day saw the term "disaster bisexual" and wondered what would happen if he turned up the "disaster" descriptor to 11.
An absolutely brilliant mash-up of secondary world fantasy and Western tropes follows the saga of an exiled mage-hunter, Sal the Cacophony. Her epithet is courtesy of her terrifying magical sidearm which she uses to hunt down Vagrants, also exiled mages, who are on a very specific list. The story is told through the framing narrative of Sal imprisoned by the Revolution, one of the major political powers (the anti-mage one) and being interrogated by a zealot who just wants to know what happened to a missing soldier. The other major power is the Empire, controlled by mages and the source of both the Vagrants and Sal herself.
As Sal's story unfolds there's an epic pursuit of a group of mages from Sal's list through wild lands as they attempt to enact a horrifying plan using terrible magic from another world. All while everything in the wild lands, the Empire and the Revolution all clash with Sal as the focus and catalyst of conflict.
This is an action-packed revenge drama with cool magic and a cooler characters. Sal is a masterpiece of a character, so damaged but with a complex morality of her own that sees her both trying to stop and avenge atrocities, but also mostly as a backseat to her personal vendettas. The relationships she develops through this are also beautifully realized, both in terms of the good things that each character has, but also in terms of the damage that relationships with Sal inevitably bring.
An absolutely brilliant mash-up of secondary world fantasy and Western tropes follows the saga of an exiled mage-hunter, Sal the Cacophony. Her epithet is courtesy of her terrifying magical sidearm which she uses to hunt down Vagrants, also exiled mages, who are on a very specific list. The story is told through the framing narrative of Sal imprisoned by the Revolution, one of the major political powers (the anti-mage one) and being interrogated by a zealot who just wants to know what happened to a missing soldier. The other major power is the Empire, controlled by mages and the source of both the Vagrants and Sal herself.
As Sal's story unfolds there's an epic pursuit of a group of mages from Sal's list through wild lands as they attempt to enact a horrifying plan using terrible magic from another world. All while everything in the wild lands, the Empire and the Revolution all clash with Sal as the focus and catalyst of conflict.
This is an action-packed revenge drama with cool magic and a cooler characters. Sal is a masterpiece of a character, so damaged but with a complex morality of her own that sees her both trying to stop and avenge atrocities, but also mostly as a backseat to her personal vendettas. The relationships she develops through this are also beautifully realized, both in terms of the good things that each character has, but also in terms of the damage that relationships with Sal inevitably bring.
April 9, 2019
"And I felt like I was choking on my own blood again. I felt like I was drowning on dry land. I felt like I wanted to tear my throat out so I could breathe again. I felt like I wanted to take out my gun and start shooting until things made sense.."
Well, fuck. If this isn't my jam, I don't know what is!
Sal the Cacophony (rad name, yeah?) felt as though she was a part of my soul. I related to her in many ways.. for awhile there, I was feeling personally attacked! Goddamn. Sarcastic, sweary, tattooed, self-deprecating, a bit surly yet trying to remain optimistic, tough, slightly jaded by some trauma in her past, enjoys a dirty joke or ten, loves whiskey.. but like, she's the way cooler badass fantasy version! Unfortunately, I don't have a gun that shoots magic or a sword named Jeff. YET.
Seven Blades in Black is burnt! Er.. lit. Whatever the kids say these days! But it's also literally on fire. The world within the pages known as the Scar, that is. The Scar is a devastated wasteland between two empires - the Imperium and the Revolution - who are at war. This is where we find Sal on her quest for revenge. She is on a mission to track down and kill the mages that have betrayed her by stealing her magic. As the story begins, Sal is arrested by the Revolution and is awaiting execution. Interrogated by Governor-Militant Tretta Stern about the trail of bodies that Sal has left behind and a soldier that has gone missing, she is set to be executed for her crimes. But first, Tretta wants answers.
Sidenote: How dope is this cover by Jeremy Wilson?!
I've followed Sam Sykes on Twitter for years now, although this is my first book of his that I've read. I'm so glad I finally took the plunge (I do own his other books, but it's me.. the broken record always rambling on about the never-ending TBR struggle..)
Sykes has said that this is his love letter to Final Fantasy and he unabashedly wears that influence on his sleeve here. There is a JRPG storytelling quality that is addictive as fuck and this has that and more. As a big fan of the Final Fantasy franchise and of JRPG's in general, this gave me the warm fuzzies. Oof.
"If it were possible to make love to books, I would.
Downstairs, Liette's shop was neatly organized and pleasingly sparse. Upstairs, Liette's parlor was a madwoman's design.
Every wall was lined with shelves and every shelf was positively bursting with books. Some of them were crammed to the breaking point, some of them sagged in the middle from the weight of heavy tomes, some of them just gave the fuck up. Books grew in piles and columns across the carpeted floor, a forest of paper and leather that seemed to blossom out of the floor. Books, opened and pages marked, lay in a haphazard spread across the table in the middle of the room and upon the armrests of the sofa facing it."
At almost 700 pages, I can't help but admire the sheer skill and cleverness of the plot that unfolds throughout this wrist-breaker. It never felt bogged down or excessively long. Sal's blood-soaked backstory was handled brilliantly by Sykes and added some truly gut-punchy moments. His timing is just utter perfection! Complex characters, great dialogue, intense action, a compellingly bonkers magic system, intricate worldbuilding, brutal violence, humor, romance, A FUCKING GIANT RIDING BIRD NAMED CONGENIALITY. I just adored this book so completely!
Seven Blades in Black is a fantastic beginning to the Grave of Empires trilogy and I'm eagerly waiting for the next installment!
::face pops out of your screen:: READ THIS BOOK!!
(HUGE thanks to Orbit Books for sending me a copy! I didn't even have to punch someone's grandma in the face.. SCORE!!)
Well, fuck. If this isn't my jam, I don't know what is!
Sal the Cacophony (rad name, yeah?) felt as though she was a part of my soul. I related to her in many ways.. for awhile there, I was feeling personally attacked! Goddamn. Sarcastic, sweary, tattooed, self-deprecating, a bit surly yet trying to remain optimistic, tough, slightly jaded by some trauma in her past, enjoys a dirty joke or ten, loves whiskey.. but like, she's the way cooler badass fantasy version! Unfortunately, I don't have a gun that shoots magic or a sword named Jeff. YET.
Seven Blades in Black is burnt! Er.. lit. Whatever the kids say these days! But it's also literally on fire. The world within the pages known as the Scar, that is. The Scar is a devastated wasteland between two empires - the Imperium and the Revolution - who are at war. This is where we find Sal on her quest for revenge. She is on a mission to track down and kill the mages that have betrayed her by stealing her magic. As the story begins, Sal is arrested by the Revolution and is awaiting execution. Interrogated by Governor-Militant Tretta Stern about the trail of bodies that Sal has left behind and a soldier that has gone missing, she is set to be executed for her crimes. But first, Tretta wants answers.
Sidenote: How dope is this cover by Jeremy Wilson?!
I've followed Sam Sykes on Twitter for years now, although this is my first book of his that I've read. I'm so glad I finally took the plunge (I do own his other books, but it's me.. the broken record always rambling on about the never-ending TBR struggle..)
Sykes has said that this is his love letter to Final Fantasy and he unabashedly wears that influence on his sleeve here. There is a JRPG storytelling quality that is addictive as fuck and this has that and more. As a big fan of the Final Fantasy franchise and of JRPG's in general, this gave me the warm fuzzies. Oof.
"If it were possible to make love to books, I would.
Downstairs, Liette's shop was neatly organized and pleasingly sparse. Upstairs, Liette's parlor was a madwoman's design.
Every wall was lined with shelves and every shelf was positively bursting with books. Some of them were crammed to the breaking point, some of them sagged in the middle from the weight of heavy tomes, some of them just gave the fuck up. Books grew in piles and columns across the carpeted floor, a forest of paper and leather that seemed to blossom out of the floor. Books, opened and pages marked, lay in a haphazard spread across the table in the middle of the room and upon the armrests of the sofa facing it."
At almost 700 pages, I can't help but admire the sheer skill and cleverness of the plot that unfolds throughout this wrist-breaker. It never felt bogged down or excessively long. Sal's blood-soaked backstory was handled brilliantly by Sykes and added some truly gut-punchy moments. His timing is just utter perfection! Complex characters, great dialogue, intense action, a compellingly bonkers magic system, intricate worldbuilding, brutal violence, humor, romance, A FUCKING GIANT RIDING BIRD NAMED CONGENIALITY. I just adored this book so completely!
Seven Blades in Black is a fantastic beginning to the Grave of Empires trilogy and I'm eagerly waiting for the next installment!
::face pops out of your screen:: READ THIS BOOK!!
(HUGE thanks to Orbit Books for sending me a copy! I didn't even have to punch someone's grandma in the face.. SCORE!!)
April 8, 2023
If you need a favour, you bring her flowers. If you need her forgiveness, you bring her jewellery. And if you need both, you bring her a book.
To me it's quite a challenge to write this review, but then again so was reading this very book to me at least. It almost literally started with a bang and I found myself immersed into this world from the start. You want to know what happened to Sal and how she has gotten to that point in her life. It leaves you in the search of answers.
This book is massive and I was really convinced from the beginning that this was going to become one of my favorite reads of 2019. Only that didn't quite happen. As the story progressed I grew more bored and it cost me a lot of strength to pay attention. Let me tell you something. I was very confused for almost the entire length of the book because not everything was explained properly. The author somehow assumed that I knew everything about this world and the war that had been going on, without having read this book before. That's how it felt to me.
X
People are wounds. They cut and they hurt and they bleed. Some hurt for a little while and go away. Some don't stop hurting until you make them.
So yeah, this book didn't turn into what I hoped it would be and for that I am saddened.
Books in the series:
↠ Genre: High Fantasy, Adult
↠ Pov: Third Person - Female
↠ Type: Book 1 out of 2? in the The Grave Of The Empire Series
↠ Rating: 2,5 stars
Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Last.fm
June 25, 2020
In light of recent events and as the victims of both Sam Sykes and Myke Cole speak out on the sexual harassment, misconduct, and assaults perpetrated by one or both, I have removed my review and will no longer be supporting this or other authors that have been accused.
Believe the victims.
Perhaps someday, these authors' actions will finally outperform their words of, "I need to do better." I hope they will. But regardless, no action can remove the harm they have done to women and young authors who looked to them for guidance and leadership.
Believe the victims.
Perhaps someday, these authors' actions will finally outperform their words of, "I need to do better." I hope they will. But regardless, no action can remove the harm they have done to women and young authors who looked to them for guidance and leadership.
August 24, 2022
Seven Blades in Black has one of the most memorable main characters. Sal the Cacophony (just the name alone kicks ass) is sarcastic, stubborn, destructive, obnoxious, basically a disaster. And I loved reading about her.
Unfortunately, Seven Blades in Black is also unnecessarily long. There definitely didn't need to be 700 pages, and somewhere around the halfway point the pacing became a real issue and I struggled through.
4 stars for a strong voice, original setting, and a fiercely disastrous main character.
Unfortunately, Seven Blades in Black is also unnecessarily long. There definitely didn't need to be 700 pages, and somewhere around the halfway point the pacing became a real issue and I struggled through.
4 stars for a strong voice, original setting, and a fiercely disastrous main character.
October 20, 2019
update: facendo la recensione sul blog mi sono accorta di quanto io l'abbia amato. Non me ne frega niente, questo si merita 5 stelline. È tra le mie nuove serie preferite, mi ha rubato un pezzo di cuore. Recensione qui: https://bookaddictedweb.wordpress.com...
*4,5
PAZZESCO! Perchè nessuno ne parla? Perchè nessuno elogia questo libro?
RAGA LEGGETELO TUTTI! Ma stiamo scherzando? Questo libro merita molte più attenzioni. Donate anche voi un po' di amore a questa storia su
Seven Blades in Black racconta di Sal the Cacophony che viene interrogata poco prima della sua esecuzione. Sal espone quindi la sua storia, ciò che l'ha portata ad uccidere, a vendicarsi e a distruggere intere città tra le fiamme. Apparentemente un semplice fantasy d'intrattenimento, SBIB è una storia che scava a fondo. Un racconto crudo, intenso e toccante sulla vendetta e su ciò che una vita dedita a questa possa portare. La vendetta è il tema centrale del libro, tutto vi gira intorno. Sal ne è schiava, è disposta a tutto pur di uccidere i responsabili del suo dolore e delle sue numerose cicatrici. E' una macchina, non è più capace di stringere rapporti. Riusciremo però a scorgere in lei dei momenti di sconforto e di debolezza che mi hanno davvero emozionata. Ho percepito forte e chiaro il suo dolore. Sal è un personaggio incredibile: ironica, determinata e divertente. Veniamo davvero a conoscenza di lei solo alla fine del romanzo perchè pagina dopo pagina scopriamo qualcosa di più sul suo conto e ne abbiamo una visione completa solo nel finale.
C'è anche un romance f\f che ho apprezzato tantissimo anche perchè ha un posto nella trama e non è inserito a caso. Anzi, è importante per mostrarci la difficoltà di Sal nelle relazioni. E comunque non è sdolcinato, state tranquilli. Perfaapproved.
Il mondo richiama al western con elementi steampunk, la protagonista viaggia nel deserto con una pistola magica di nome Cacophony che ha quasi una propria personalità. Ci sono macchine, motori e ingranaggi tipici dello steampunk. Ho apprezzato molto il sistema magico, esistono infatti diversi tipi di maghi come i Doormages che creano portali, i Maskmages che possono mutare la propria forma ecc. La cosa interessante è che per usare questi poteri è necessario donare qualcosa in cambio alla Lady, perciò un Doormages che può teletrasportasi tra i portali prima o poi perderà l'uso del corpo diventando paralizzato. Un Maskmages potrà assumere altre sembianze ma il proprio volto verrà cancellato. L'ho trovato magnifico.
Sono tantissime anche le creature magiche all'interno del libro, è un elemento che io adoro leggere in un fantasy e Sam Sykes mi ha accontentata. Il compagno della protagonista è proprio un enorme pennuto di nome Congeniality. Adoro.
Fantastico anche lo stile di scrittura, ironico e schietto. Crudo e violento. La protagonista sfonda la quarta parete per rivolgersi a noi e porci domande rendendo così più dinamica la vicenda.
SBIB è un vero e proprio viaggio tra un continente, Scar, distrutto dalla guerra in cui Sal seguirà le orme dei suoi nemici per spuntare quei fatidici nomi dalla sua lista nera. Un libro profondo ed emozionante che si concentra molto sulla psicologia della protagonista e sul suo dolore. Mi ha davvero toccata. E confermo: è perfetto per i fan di Nevernight.
Mi è piaciuto da impazzire, non vedo l'ora di leggere il seguito. Nel cuore sarebbero 5 stelline, ma devo essere oggettiva e dire che l'inizio è un po' ostico e si fa fatica a capire cosa stia succedendo.
Vola dritto nei migliori del 2019!
*4,5
PAZZESCO! Perchè nessuno ne parla? Perchè nessuno elogia questo libro?
RAGA LEGGETELO TUTTI! Ma stiamo scherzando? Questo libro merita molte più attenzioni. Donate anche voi un po' di amore a questa storia su
Seven Blades in Black racconta di Sal the Cacophony che viene interrogata poco prima della sua esecuzione. Sal espone quindi la sua storia, ciò che l'ha portata ad uccidere, a vendicarsi e a distruggere intere città tra le fiamme. Apparentemente un semplice fantasy d'intrattenimento, SBIB è una storia che scava a fondo. Un racconto crudo, intenso e toccante sulla vendetta e su ciò che una vita dedita a questa possa portare. La vendetta è il tema centrale del libro, tutto vi gira intorno. Sal ne è schiava, è disposta a tutto pur di uccidere i responsabili del suo dolore e delle sue numerose cicatrici. E' una macchina, non è più capace di stringere rapporti. Riusciremo però a scorgere in lei dei momenti di sconforto e di debolezza che mi hanno davvero emozionata. Ho percepito forte e chiaro il suo dolore. Sal è un personaggio incredibile: ironica, determinata e divertente. Veniamo davvero a conoscenza di lei solo alla fine del romanzo perchè pagina dopo pagina scopriamo qualcosa di più sul suo conto e ne abbiamo una visione completa solo nel finale.
C'è anche un romance f\f che ho apprezzato tantissimo anche perchè ha un posto nella trama e non è inserito a caso. Anzi, è importante per mostrarci la difficoltà di Sal nelle relazioni. E comunque non è sdolcinato, state tranquilli. Perfaapproved.
Il mondo richiama al western con elementi steampunk, la protagonista viaggia nel deserto con una pistola magica di nome Cacophony che ha quasi una propria personalità. Ci sono macchine, motori e ingranaggi tipici dello steampunk. Ho apprezzato molto il sistema magico, esistono infatti diversi tipi di maghi come i Doormages che creano portali, i Maskmages che possono mutare la propria forma ecc. La cosa interessante è che per usare questi poteri è necessario donare qualcosa in cambio alla Lady, perciò un Doormages che può teletrasportasi tra i portali prima o poi perderà l'uso del corpo diventando paralizzato. Un Maskmages potrà assumere altre sembianze ma il proprio volto verrà cancellato. L'ho trovato magnifico.
Sono tantissime anche le creature magiche all'interno del libro, è un elemento che io adoro leggere in un fantasy e Sam Sykes mi ha accontentata. Il compagno della protagonista è proprio un enorme pennuto di nome Congeniality. Adoro.
Fantastico anche lo stile di scrittura, ironico e schietto. Crudo e violento. La protagonista sfonda la quarta parete per rivolgersi a noi e porci domande rendendo così più dinamica la vicenda.
SBIB è un vero e proprio viaggio tra un continente, Scar, distrutto dalla guerra in cui Sal seguirà le orme dei suoi nemici per spuntare quei fatidici nomi dalla sua lista nera. Un libro profondo ed emozionante che si concentra molto sulla psicologia della protagonista e sul suo dolore. Mi ha davvero toccata. E confermo: è perfetto per i fan di Nevernight.
Mi è piaciuto da impazzire, non vedo l'ora di leggere il seguito. Nel cuore sarebbero 5 stelline, ma devo essere oggettiva e dire che l'inizio è un po' ostico e si fa fatica a capire cosa stia succedendo.
Vola dritto nei migliori del 2019!
October 5, 2019
This is a fantasy about a female bounty hunter, who stalks wizards, drinks a lot and talks to her gun. While there is nothing I can point my finger at as a bad item: story, style, ideas, it wasn’t an interesting and engrossing read, too much secondary to a lot of earlier published fantasy.
The story starts with the protagonist, Sal the Cacophony as a prisoner awaiting execution. She tells her story to her jailer, the idea recently used in The Ruin of Kings. Sal is depicted as “white hair, scarred face” with her job of hunting monsters (but men, not beasts), she is like Geralt from the Witcher series. They both in turn probably borrow heavily from Westerns, with a lonely gunslinger against the world, with the difference that while Geralt likes to keep silence, Sal like wisecracking (not always successfully).
Sal has a dark secret that haunts her and urges her to drink to forget. While this is a trope in a lot of novels, her particular secret is not very well done. Almost the whole book she hunts down a group of powerful renegade mages, called Vagrants, on the no man’s lands between aristocratic Imperium that depends havily on mages and the Revolution, a totalitarian society of magic nulls, who got access to magic infused severium, with which they craft engines of war.
The book is filled with action and battles, which for me read as an attempt to describe a tabletop wargame like Mordheim or Warmachine. Each mage is unique and so are most of the enemies Sal meet, which ought to show the richness of the setting, but for me shows an attempt to entertain by showing new shiny pictures again and again. It is often fine for younger readers (it would be for me like 30 years ago), but now I'd like to get more from a book.
The story starts with the protagonist, Sal the Cacophony as a prisoner awaiting execution. She tells her story to her jailer, the idea recently used in The Ruin of Kings. Sal is depicted as “white hair, scarred face” with her job of hunting monsters (but men, not beasts), she is like Geralt from the Witcher series. They both in turn probably borrow heavily from Westerns, with a lonely gunslinger against the world, with the difference that while Geralt likes to keep silence, Sal like wisecracking (not always successfully).
Sal has a dark secret that haunts her and urges her to drink to forget. While this is a trope in a lot of novels, her particular secret is not very well done. Almost the whole book she hunts down a group of powerful renegade mages, called Vagrants, on the no man’s lands between aristocratic Imperium that depends havily on mages and the Revolution, a totalitarian society of magic nulls, who got access to magic infused severium, with which they craft engines of war.
The book is filled with action and battles, which for me read as an attempt to describe a tabletop wargame like Mordheim or Warmachine. Each mage is unique and so are most of the enemies Sal meet, which ought to show the richness of the setting, but for me shows an attempt to entertain by showing new shiny pictures again and again. It is often fine for younger readers (it would be for me like 30 years ago), but now I'd like to get more from a book.
September 3, 2019
Seven Blades in Black was good but I hated the length of the novel. I really, really hated the length of the novel. It was far too long for my liking.
The novel was dragged out unnecessarily. I was bored, really really bored while reading novel. It's a miracle I didn't give the novel 3 stars.
The novel was dragged out unnecessarily. I was bored, really really bored while reading novel. It's a miracle I didn't give the novel 3 stars.
Read
January 9, 2021some things about the author have arisen so I will no longer be reading/reviewing his works.
if you would like to know more you can check out my review under the second book of this series
TW: mentions of sexual assault
if you would like to know more you can check out my review under the second book of this series
TW: mentions of sexual assault
April 10, 2019
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
While I enjoyed this book, it didn't completely float me boat. I think that this stems from me misconception that this was a standalone novel. After finishing this, I really do wish it was and I even know what the ending could have been. But I can hardly fault the author for writing a series can I?
I absolutely did love the main character, Sal the Cacophony. She is sarcastic, fierce, intelligent, stubborn, destructive, obnoxious, full of self-preservation, and kinda insane. I dig it. Sal is out for revenge. She is basically an outlaw who hunts down outlaw magicians for money and said revenge. With an AWESOME gun that might not be completely inert and a sword named Jeff! So why does Sal want revenge? I am not going to tell ye wretches that!
The world building in this one be fun. It has the feel of both a western and a fantasy. Basically there are four crazy factions - 1) the Empire with its magicians; 2) the Revolutionaries with their machines; 3) the Scar with its independent "neutral" city-states; and 4) the Vagrants who be renegade magicians with allegiance to nobody but themselves. I loved the magic in this world and how the trade for power works. This was one of the best aspects of the novel. I also very much enjoyed the other characters of Cavric, the proud, honorable soldier and Liette, the anti-social, book-loving scientist. I loved the ridiculously long and poetic names given to people of a certain standing. I even really enjoyed the framing of the story as Sal is in jail about to be shot for treason with the reader receiving her "confession."
But this did have problems. The book really moved up until the 50% mark and then the plot and pace slowed down substantially. Seriously, several large portions of the section from 50 - 75% could have been removed with no real change to the story. There was a large reveal that I thought was coming (it was) and it irked me. But then the author did some interesting things after that which drew me back into the story. And there was Sal. I loved her for the most part but she got repetitive A LOT in terms of both bravado and self-loathing after the half-way point. That could have been toned down a whole bunch for the sake of flow. And I was confused when the story didn't end like the writing led ye to believe it would.
I am glad I got to read this as I really did love the magic systems and Sal. While I would have preferred a standalone story, I be interested in reading the next book in the series. Just be forewarned should ye pick this up and go into it with the correct expectations. Cause the magic and Sal be worth it
.So lastly . . .Thank ye Orbit Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
While I enjoyed this book, it didn't completely float me boat. I think that this stems from me misconception that this was a standalone novel. After finishing this, I really do wish it was and I even know what the ending could have been. But I can hardly fault the author for writing a series can I?
I absolutely did love the main character, Sal the Cacophony. She is sarcastic, fierce, intelligent, stubborn, destructive, obnoxious, full of self-preservation, and kinda insane. I dig it. Sal is out for revenge. She is basically an outlaw who hunts down outlaw magicians for money and said revenge. With an AWESOME gun that might not be completely inert and a sword named Jeff! So why does Sal want revenge? I am not going to tell ye wretches that!
The world building in this one be fun. It has the feel of both a western and a fantasy. Basically there are four crazy factions - 1) the Empire with its magicians; 2) the Revolutionaries with their machines; 3) the Scar with its independent "neutral" city-states; and 4) the Vagrants who be renegade magicians with allegiance to nobody but themselves. I loved the magic in this world and how the trade for power works. This was one of the best aspects of the novel. I also very much enjoyed the other characters of Cavric, the proud, honorable soldier and Liette, the anti-social, book-loving scientist. I loved the ridiculously long and poetic names given to people of a certain standing. I even really enjoyed the framing of the story as Sal is in jail about to be shot for treason with the reader receiving her "confession."
But this did have problems. The book really moved up until the 50% mark and then the plot and pace slowed down substantially. Seriously, several large portions of the section from 50 - 75% could have been removed with no real change to the story. There was a large reveal that I thought was coming (it was) and it irked me. But then the author did some interesting things after that which drew me back into the story. And there was Sal. I loved her for the most part but she got repetitive A LOT in terms of both bravado and self-loathing after the half-way point. That could have been toned down a whole bunch for the sake of flow. And I was confused when the story didn't end like the writing led ye to believe it would.
I am glad I got to read this as I really did love the magic systems and Sal. While I would have preferred a standalone story, I be interested in reading the next book in the series. Just be forewarned should ye pick this up and go into it with the correct expectations. Cause the magic and Sal be worth it
.So lastly . . .Thank ye Orbit Books!
Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...
Want to read
January 16, 2019Who's got greedy fingers when it comes to NetGalley and wants to read all of the epic fantasies?
This girl!
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for an arc.
My WEBSITE
My INSTAGRAM
My WORDPRESS BLOG
This girl!
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for an arc.
My WEBSITE
My INSTAGRAM
My WORDPRESS BLOG
July 8, 2019
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2019/07/07/...
I don’t think I enjoyed this one as most others, but honestly, I believe it had more to do with my mindset going in than anything to do with the book. Seven Blades in Black is rollicking action-packed epic fantasy full of spellbinding magic, tantalizing intrigue, and bloody violent battles—in other words, pretty much everything an avid reader of the genre could ask for. That said, it is also a heavy clunker of a book and there’s a lot going on, resulting in plenty of highs but also many lows when it comes to the story’s pacing and interest.
The main setting of the novel is an area of the world called the Scar, a continent that has been torn apart by a brutal war against the Empire and the Revolution since time immemorial. At the center of it all is our protagonist, a feisty mage by the name of Sal the Cacophony. Sal is known throughout these parts as a quick-witted gunslinger who rides a giant bird, carries a thunderous sentient hand cannon, and wields a sword named Jeff. She’s quick at the draw and sharp as a blade, but she also has plenty of issues including a massive chip on her shoulder and a vendetta against the mages who betrayed her.
At the beginning of the book, we find out that Sal has been captured by the Revolution, robbed of her weapons and magic, and is awaiting execution. Under interrogation, she recounts her story, gradually revealing the sequence of events which led her to begin her journey of vengeance and how it ended with a trail of destruction and death left in her wake.
Sitting at over 600 pages, this is definitely a book that requires a substantial time investment and a fair bit of patience. Others have been able binge this one in a couple of days, but for me it was a struggle to motivate myself to even pick it up on most occasions. But like I said from the outset, this probably had little to do with the book itself and everything to do with me. My goal had been to find a fun fantasy to read for the purposes of unwinding and de-stressing, and when I heard about the swashbuckling action and witty humor in this, I thought it would be perfect. And to be fair, it did provide a fair amount of entertainment and excitement in a general sense, though as I soon found out after I started reading, the story was also a lot more complicated and not as easygoing as I had expected.
For one, the plot itself is fairly complex—gratuitously so, I felt at times. And while the time shifts were somewhat clever, there was also a forced quality to them, like I could feel the author’s hand in pushing the characters and events through to his desired storyline every step of the way. There were also numerous sections in the book that made me question whether they were really needed, like dense paragraphs of tortured melodramatic internal monologue or repetition of certain character or story themes. The thing is, lengthy books don’t typically pose a problem for me; usually when I find a doorstopper of an epic fantasy novel that is skillfully written and keeps me well engaged, I can breeze through them like any other. With this one though, there were certainly moments where I definitely felt the full brunt of its massive page-length and a mental countdown of how many pages I had left to go was on the back of my mind far more frequently than I would have liked.
Sal was also a difficult character to like. By design, she’s a cantankerous, belligerent piece of work. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly enjoyed my fair share of other “unlikeable” characters who come across endearing and charming even when they do nothing but act like jerks through the entire book. But something about Sal just rubbed me the wrong way. Her swagger, snark, and devil-may-care attitude seemed really artificial in the way she was written, and her anger and woe-is-me self-pity came across as overly dramatic. It made connecting to her nearly impossible, and once sympathizing with her became difficult, inevitably there also went much of my interest in Sal’s story or resolution of the conflict.
Again, I am very much a mood reader and I imagine I would have enjoyed this one a lot more had I been in the right frame of mind and more lenient towards some of the issues I mentioned. But as it was, I had expected a story line that flowed better and a more engaging conflict and main character. I will say however that the premise of Seven Blades in Black was unique, with a concept behind the main character that was solid and imaginative. The world-building was also phenomenal. For those reasons, I give this book 3 stars despite the weaknesses in the plot and story structure. To its credit, I do think that it managed to pull everything together for a great finale—perhaps not in time to wow me, but it did make me more open-minded to the possibility of checking out the next book (and I’ll know what state of mind to be in if I do)!
I don’t think I enjoyed this one as most others, but honestly, I believe it had more to do with my mindset going in than anything to do with the book. Seven Blades in Black is rollicking action-packed epic fantasy full of spellbinding magic, tantalizing intrigue, and bloody violent battles—in other words, pretty much everything an avid reader of the genre could ask for. That said, it is also a heavy clunker of a book and there’s a lot going on, resulting in plenty of highs but also many lows when it comes to the story’s pacing and interest.
The main setting of the novel is an area of the world called the Scar, a continent that has been torn apart by a brutal war against the Empire and the Revolution since time immemorial. At the center of it all is our protagonist, a feisty mage by the name of Sal the Cacophony. Sal is known throughout these parts as a quick-witted gunslinger who rides a giant bird, carries a thunderous sentient hand cannon, and wields a sword named Jeff. She’s quick at the draw and sharp as a blade, but she also has plenty of issues including a massive chip on her shoulder and a vendetta against the mages who betrayed her.
At the beginning of the book, we find out that Sal has been captured by the Revolution, robbed of her weapons and magic, and is awaiting execution. Under interrogation, she recounts her story, gradually revealing the sequence of events which led her to begin her journey of vengeance and how it ended with a trail of destruction and death left in her wake.
Sitting at over 600 pages, this is definitely a book that requires a substantial time investment and a fair bit of patience. Others have been able binge this one in a couple of days, but for me it was a struggle to motivate myself to even pick it up on most occasions. But like I said from the outset, this probably had little to do with the book itself and everything to do with me. My goal had been to find a fun fantasy to read for the purposes of unwinding and de-stressing, and when I heard about the swashbuckling action and witty humor in this, I thought it would be perfect. And to be fair, it did provide a fair amount of entertainment and excitement in a general sense, though as I soon found out after I started reading, the story was also a lot more complicated and not as easygoing as I had expected.
For one, the plot itself is fairly complex—gratuitously so, I felt at times. And while the time shifts were somewhat clever, there was also a forced quality to them, like I could feel the author’s hand in pushing the characters and events through to his desired storyline every step of the way. There were also numerous sections in the book that made me question whether they were really needed, like dense paragraphs of tortured melodramatic internal monologue or repetition of certain character or story themes. The thing is, lengthy books don’t typically pose a problem for me; usually when I find a doorstopper of an epic fantasy novel that is skillfully written and keeps me well engaged, I can breeze through them like any other. With this one though, there were certainly moments where I definitely felt the full brunt of its massive page-length and a mental countdown of how many pages I had left to go was on the back of my mind far more frequently than I would have liked.
Sal was also a difficult character to like. By design, she’s a cantankerous, belligerent piece of work. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve certainly enjoyed my fair share of other “unlikeable” characters who come across endearing and charming even when they do nothing but act like jerks through the entire book. But something about Sal just rubbed me the wrong way. Her swagger, snark, and devil-may-care attitude seemed really artificial in the way she was written, and her anger and woe-is-me self-pity came across as overly dramatic. It made connecting to her nearly impossible, and once sympathizing with her became difficult, inevitably there also went much of my interest in Sal’s story or resolution of the conflict.
Again, I am very much a mood reader and I imagine I would have enjoyed this one a lot more had I been in the right frame of mind and more lenient towards some of the issues I mentioned. But as it was, I had expected a story line that flowed better and a more engaging conflict and main character. I will say however that the premise of Seven Blades in Black was unique, with a concept behind the main character that was solid and imaginative. The world-building was also phenomenal. For those reasons, I give this book 3 stars despite the weaknesses in the plot and story structure. To its credit, I do think that it managed to pull everything together for a great finale—perhaps not in time to wow me, but it did make me more open-minded to the possibility of checking out the next book (and I’ll know what state of mind to be in if I do)!
March 13, 2021
"Неночь" на серьезных щах. И с лучшим сюжетом. И с интересной героиней. И без кринжовой порнухи... Ну не люблю я "Неночь", не люблю!
Героиня: go, girl, go!
Сэл Какофония - немытая тетка за тридцать с сомнительной моралью, черным юмором и проклятым револьвером, случайно оказавшаяся на стороне Добра. Потому что у Судьбы тоже есть чувство юмора, и тоже черное.
Если, конечно, копать внутрь Сэл километра два, то можно отрыть пару килотонн соплей в лучших традициях эмо. Но для начала Сэл надо поймать, а это не каждому удается... Только одному из трех! И только если Сэл бухая! И проиграла свой револьвер!
Март еще не кончился, а я уже нашла лучшую вайфу года!
Сюжет: антиквариат.
Seven Blades in Black состоит из перестрелок приблизительно как огурец из воды.
Сначала, значит, Сгущаются Тучи, Болят Шрамы и Развеваются Плащи. Потом Герой вспоминает былое. Злодей тоже вспоминает былое. Плащи Развеваются. Шрамы Сгущаются. Тучи Болят. Друзья Героя и Приспешники Злодея уже пожарили шашлыки и легли спать. Планеты сходят с орбит. Плащи Сгущаются. Шрамы Развеваются. Тучи Болят. Потому что Пафос. И Рок. И денег на экшн нет.
И наконец Злодей разрывает тишину неистовым криком:
- Будь прокляты небеса! Я утюг не выключил!
И слова его поражают Героя отточенным лезвием в самое сердце.
Потому что он, кажется, тоже утюг не выключил. И кофеварку. И воду на кухне. И кота не покормил... А ведь они тут уже два дня стоят!
И горячие слезы ностальгии стекают по моим щекам, и снова мне семнадцать и я залпом смотрю тридцать серий Наруто подряд, потому что ровно столько длится одна дуэль.
Короче, трава специфическая, и Seven Blades in Black за свои семьсот страниц может насмерть заебать Сгущающимися Шрамами. Особенно во второй половине, где Сэл go rogue больше обычного и начинает ехать крышей, главы превращаются в поток сознания, а шрамы сгущаются в каждом абзаце.
Но если вы фанат старых вестернов (или старых сененов), то это бесценно.
Мир: квадрат Малевича.
Солдаты Революции на волшебных танках или маги Империи с револьверами - все хорошие, все порядочные, все маньяки, все мертвы. Пафосно. И детально. Потому что смерть без пафоса - опера на ветер.
У автора отличная фантазия на крипоту и отличный талант рассказывать, но ничего не обьяснять и подвешивать читателя на крючок. И мне всю дорогу было дико интересно, как именно эти бедолаги умрут! Или не умрут... Не, ну а вдруг!
Романтика: мало.
Две страницы лесбийского ангста в начале и две - в конце. Эх, вся надежда на вторую книгу.
Итого: по составу это перфекшн. Но автор иногда перебарщивает. Если б редактор местами повыщипывал пафос со второй половины, то вышло бы пятьсот страниц и пять звезд.
А пока четыре с половиной и звание лучшей героини года.
Рекомендуется: если вы любите темное эпическое фентези, пафос, сарказм и плохих героинь с револьверами.
Саундтрек: Believer от Cherie Oakley.
Героиня: go, girl, go!
Сэл Какофония - немытая тетка за тридцать с сомнительной моралью, черным юмором и проклятым револьвером, случайно оказавшаяся на стороне Добра. Потому что у Судьбы тоже есть чувство юмора, и тоже черное.
Если, конечно, копать внутрь Сэл километра два, то можно отрыть пару килотонн соплей в лучших традициях эмо. Но для начала Сэл надо поймать, а это не каждому удается... Только одному из трех! И только если Сэл бухая! И проиграла свой револьвер!
Март еще не кончился, а я уже нашла лучшую вайфу года!
Сюжет: антиквариат.
Seven Blades in Black состоит из перестрелок приблизительно как огурец из воды.
Сначала, значит, Сгущаются Тучи, Болят Шрамы и Развеваются Плащи. Потом Герой вспоминает былое. Злодей тоже вспоминает былое. Плащи Развеваются. Шрамы Сгущаются. Тучи Болят. Друзья Героя и Приспешники Злодея уже пожарили шашлыки и легли спать. Планеты сходят с орбит. Плащи Сгущаются. Шрамы Развеваются. Тучи Болят. Потому что Пафос. И Рок. И денег на экшн нет.
И наконец Злодей разрывает тишину неистовым криком:
- Будь прокляты небеса! Я утюг не выключил!
И слова его поражают Героя отточенным лезвием в самое сердце.
Потому что он, кажется, тоже утюг не выключил. И кофеварку. И воду на кухне. И кота не покормил... А ведь они тут уже два дня стоят!
И горячие слезы ностальгии стекают по моим щекам, и снова мне семнадцать и я залпом смотрю тридцать серий Наруто подряд, потому что ровно столько длится одна дуэль.
Короче, трава специфическая, и Seven Blades in Black за свои семьсот страниц может насмерть заебать Сгущающимися Шрамами. Особенно во второй половине, где Сэл go rogue больше обычного и начинает ехать крышей, главы превращаются в поток сознания, а шрамы сгущаются в каждом абзаце.
Но если вы фанат старых вестернов (или старых сененов), то это бесценно.
Мир: квадрат Малевича.
Солдаты Революции на волшебных танках или маги Империи с револьверами - все хорошие, все порядочные, все маньяки, все мертвы. Пафосно. И детально. Потому что смерть без пафоса - опера на ветер.
У автора отличная фантазия на крипоту и отличный талант рассказывать, но ничего не обьяснять и подвешивать читателя на крючок. И мне всю дорогу было дико интересно, как именно эти бедолаги умрут! Или не умрут... Не, ну а вдруг!
Романтика: мало.
Две страницы лесбийского ангста в начале и две - в конце. Эх, вся надежда на вторую книгу.
Итого: по составу это перфекшн. Но автор иногда перебарщивает. Если б редактор местами повыщипывал пафос со второй половины, то вышло бы пятьсот страниц и пять звезд.
А пока четыре с половиной и звание лучшей героини года.
Рекомендуется: если вы любите темное эпическое фентези, пафос, сарказм и плохих героинь с револьверами.
Саундтрек: Believer от Cherie Oakley.
June 26, 2020
A novella stretched out to 661 pages, featuring a killer so inept that everyone she kills shows up five chapters later, absolutely fine, only to be “killed” again. Mark my words, the people Sal supposedly murdered at the end of this story will show up in the sequels. That’s how bad she is at that one job. Sykes is really funny on Twitter. He should confine his writing to there.
From the time I started this book to the time I forced myself to finish it, I read 12 other books. 12! That’s a red flag. I renewed it twice from the library. It has to go back today so I pushed through the second half yesterday.
The ideas in the book are initially intriguing, but they’re so boringly presented that I just, like, can’t even. Reading this book is akin to a gerbil running on an exercise wheel. It would be one thing if there were a point to the travelogue or if there were a compelling mystery to unravel, but there isn’t. The world feels like a Potemkin village (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potem...) and the characters less interesting than those in a screechy anime or badly-written videogame.
Here’s an example of why I found this book annoying (emphasis mine):
The names are cool. Sal the Cacophony. Vraki the Gate. Somebody the Thorn. Other Person the Breeze, or whatever. Clearly a naming convention taken directly from the comic book Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. By the time one of the monosyllabic characters shows up to do his best Lying Cat impression, the homage has already passed into tedium.
The short story version of this would probably be pretty good.
From the time I started this book to the time I forced myself to finish it, I read 12 other books. 12! That’s a red flag. I renewed it twice from the library. It has to go back today so I pushed through the second half yesterday.
The ideas in the book are initially intriguing, but they’re so boringly presented that I just, like, can’t even. Reading this book is akin to a gerbil running on an exercise wheel. It would be one thing if there were a point to the travelogue or if there were a compelling mystery to unravel, but there isn’t. The world feels like a Potemkin village (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potem...) and the characters less interesting than those in a screechy anime or badly-written videogame.
Here’s an example of why I found this book annoying (emphasis mine):
He waved a hand. His eyes glowed a faint purple behind his mask. From the table, a teacup rose of its own volition and into his hand.To paraphrase Inigo Montoya, “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”
The names are cool. Sal the Cacophony. Vraki the Gate. Somebody the Thorn. Other Person the Breeze, or whatever. Clearly a naming convention taken directly from the comic book Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples. By the time one of the monosyllabic characters shows up to do his best Lying Cat impression, the homage has already passed into tedium.
The short story version of this would probably be pretty good.
April 14, 2019
I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley.
Whatever else they say, they'll say Sal the Cacophony did the right thing. Now and again, at least.
Those of you who have been following my reviews for awhile will realize what an absolute anomaly it is for me to read a high fantasy book that comes in at around 700 pages at all, much less to give it five stars. Usually I find myself nodding off when a book hits 400 pages, but even though it definitely took me awhile to read this I never once found myself getting the least bit bored.
If you're like me and you love the idea of high fantasy books, but often find them to be either very dry or just completely lacking in interesting female characters then this book is definitely a breath of fresh air. Sal is the kind of loud-mouthed morally ambiguous protagonist that you almost never get to see in a female character, and she's bisexual to boot! If there's anything I love more than tough but lovable queer lady magic users then I can't think of it at this moment. Maybe if she was also a pirate? Oh well, we can't have literally everything. ;)
The story and the world-building is also very interesting. I like the many different types of magic that we saw in this first installment and also the different creatures that Sal fought as well. The one thing I wish we had learned a bit more about was the Cacophony itself, but from the last chapter here I'm guessing that is something that will be explored in the second book. Definitely a very unique world overall. Can't wait to read the second book!
Whatever else they say, they'll say Sal the Cacophony did the right thing. Now and again, at least.
Those of you who have been following my reviews for awhile will realize what an absolute anomaly it is for me to read a high fantasy book that comes in at around 700 pages at all, much less to give it five stars. Usually I find myself nodding off when a book hits 400 pages, but even though it definitely took me awhile to read this I never once found myself getting the least bit bored.
If you're like me and you love the idea of high fantasy books, but often find them to be either very dry or just completely lacking in interesting female characters then this book is definitely a breath of fresh air. Sal is the kind of loud-mouthed morally ambiguous protagonist that you almost never get to see in a female character, and she's bisexual to boot! If there's anything I love more than tough but lovable queer lady magic users then I can't think of it at this moment. Maybe if she was also a pirate? Oh well, we can't have literally everything. ;)
The story and the world-building is also very interesting. I like the many different types of magic that we saw in this first installment and also the different creatures that Sal fought as well. The one thing I wish we had learned a bit more about was the Cacophony itself, but from the last chapter here I'm guessing that is something that will be explored in the second book. Definitely a very unique world overall. Can't wait to read the second book!
October 16, 2019
Do not really know why this did not click with me. It might have been the back and forth in time, it may have been some answers came in too late to make me care who Sal killed or why. I do know I really wanted to like this more than I did. There is also the possibility I listened to the audiobook and my head was somewhere else. Daisy May did a fine job in narration so no worries there. So just my head !
May 10, 2023
"This is all I'm going to leave behind." She reached up, traced the scar over her eye with two fingers. "Even before this, before the gun, before the list, I didn't have much to my name but corpses, It's only gotten worse since then. This story, what I did, is all I have left to give."
She let her hands drop. She closed her eyes.
"Everything else is just dust and scars."
*A huge thank you to Orbit books for sending this book my way! As always, that does not effect my review.*
A sentient gun, murder birds and a sword called Jeff.
If that isn't enough to get your attention, 1) what the f*ck is wrong with you?? 2) there's more.
Seven Blades in Black is right at the top of my list next to Kings of the Wyld and if you know me, you know that's really saying something. This book brings so much to the fantasy genre table. There's incredibly rich world building, a uniquely hilarious but earnest voice, and a magic system that will have you taking quizzes to see what kind of mage you are. *badass skymage here😏* But wait, there's more! I'm a huge sucker for f/f relationships but it's so rare to find one written as genuinely as this one. The antagonist is my favorite shade of morally grey, as well. I could sit here all day and talk about how much I loved this book but instead how about you pick it up for yourself. Oh, and if I could go back I'd avoid reading the blurb. In my opinion, it spoils information I wish I would have discovered while reading.
Word Building 8/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Plot 8/10
Pace 9/10
Intelligibility & Writing Style 9/10
Characters 9/10
Diversity 8/10
8.7/10 5⭐
She let her hands drop. She closed her eyes.
"Everything else is just dust and scars."
*A huge thank you to Orbit books for sending this book my way! As always, that does not effect my review.*
A sentient gun, murder birds and a sword called Jeff.
If that isn't enough to get your attention, 1) what the f*ck is wrong with you?? 2) there's more.
Seven Blades in Black is right at the top of my list next to Kings of the Wyld and if you know me, you know that's really saying something. This book brings so much to the fantasy genre table. There's incredibly rich world building, a uniquely hilarious but earnest voice, and a magic system that will have you taking quizzes to see what kind of mage you are. *badass skymage here😏* But wait, there's more! I'm a huge sucker for f/f relationships but it's so rare to find one written as genuinely as this one. The antagonist is my favorite shade of morally grey, as well. I could sit here all day and talk about how much I loved this book but instead how about you pick it up for yourself. Oh, and if I could go back I'd avoid reading the blurb. In my opinion, it spoils information I wish I would have discovered while reading.
Word Building 8/10
Enjoyment 10/10
Plot 8/10
Pace 9/10
Intelligibility & Writing Style 9/10
Characters 9/10
Diversity 8/10
8.7/10 5⭐
November 10, 2019
Sal the Cacophony: Mad, bad and dangerous to know. And that would be the case even if she wasn't so-named for carrying a shockingly destructive magic weapon (the aforementioned Cacophony, sort of a demon-gun that fires magical shells that do various terrible things).
So as things begin, she's been captured and is being interrogated before her (presumably not undeserved) execution; the book is mostly in first-person as Sal relates the events that brought her to her cell, but punctuated by occasional third-person sections from the interrogator's point of view.
As it turns out, Sal has a mission: There's a group of people who betrayed her and left her for dead, and now they're names on a list and she's dedicated herself to crossing those names out; and if a few towns get destroyed in the process, and if bodies start stacking like cordwood, well ... omelet; eggs; you know how it is.
A lot of fun this one was. Sam Sykes has never shied away from wearing his influences on his sleeve; in this case, he's doing some very heavy riffs on Final Fantasy and other JRPG's, and on anime, to great effect. I look forward to seeing what happens to the rest of the names on Sal's list.
So as things begin, she's been captured and is being interrogated before her (presumably not undeserved) execution; the book is mostly in first-person as Sal relates the events that brought her to her cell, but punctuated by occasional third-person sections from the interrogator's point of view.
As it turns out, Sal has a mission: There's a group of people who betrayed her and left her for dead, and now they're names on a list and she's dedicated herself to crossing those names out; and if a few towns get destroyed in the process, and if bodies start stacking like cordwood, well ... omelet; eggs; you know how it is.
A lot of fun this one was. Sam Sykes has never shied away from wearing his influences on his sleeve; in this case, he's doing some very heavy riffs on Final Fantasy and other JRPG's, and on anime, to great effect. I look forward to seeing what happens to the rest of the names on Sal's list.
January 14, 2024
”Don't tell me you're going to act surprised that a woman who shoots people for money went looking for trouble."
Sal the Cacophony, once an Imperial mage, is now a bounty hunter for rogue magic-users, fellow Vagrants who have broken away from the Imperial after the heir was born without magic.
Her highest goal is killing the Prodigies, mages who can cast magic without cost and are the most vile and dangerous people out there.
Sal tells her story minutes before she is scheduled to be executed. In this sense, it reminded me of Blood Song by Anthony Ryan and Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff.
She’s such a badass, snarky, grey character. She appears prickly, arrogant, and utterly uncharmingly sassy.
The magic system was extremely satisfying: you want power; you must Barter where you get what you pay for. This is what makes the Prodigies so powerful and scary.
This explores relationships and love and hope amidst grimdark topics. What it means to have someone to come back to, what we place our ideals in.
We have all these operas that talk about the truth in great, elegant terms: wings that liberate us from lies, light that we shine into darkness. But that's just opera. That's not the truth. Truth is clumsy, angry, sputtered through tears and apologies and accusations.
Whilst this was fun, I think it might have worked better as a standalone. I feel quite satisfied at how it finished off so probably won’t be continuing the series.
I think the fight scenes started to feel slightly repetitive, but I say that with the caveat of someone who isn’t a fan of continuous fight scenes. Yet Skyes managed to make each one unique and kept me engaged longer than most others would have.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed the Blackwing by Ed McDonald or Blood Song by Anthony Ryan.
Bookstagram
Sal the Cacophony, once an Imperial mage, is now a bounty hunter for rogue magic-users, fellow Vagrants who have broken away from the Imperial after the heir was born without magic.
Her highest goal is killing the Prodigies, mages who can cast magic without cost and are the most vile and dangerous people out there.
Sal tells her story minutes before she is scheduled to be executed. In this sense, it reminded me of Blood Song by Anthony Ryan and Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff.
She’s such a badass, snarky, grey character. She appears prickly, arrogant, and utterly uncharmingly sassy.
The magic system was extremely satisfying: you want power; you must Barter where you get what you pay for. This is what makes the Prodigies so powerful and scary.
This explores relationships and love and hope amidst grimdark topics. What it means to have someone to come back to, what we place our ideals in.
We have all these operas that talk about the truth in great, elegant terms: wings that liberate us from lies, light that we shine into darkness. But that's just opera. That's not the truth. Truth is clumsy, angry, sputtered through tears and apologies and accusations.
Whilst this was fun, I think it might have worked better as a standalone. I feel quite satisfied at how it finished off so probably won’t be continuing the series.
I think the fight scenes started to feel slightly repetitive, but I say that with the caveat of someone who isn’t a fan of continuous fight scenes. Yet Skyes managed to make each one unique and kept me engaged longer than most others would have.
I would recommend this if you enjoyed the Blackwing by Ed McDonald or Blood Song by Anthony Ryan.
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