Twelve Blades in Contempt

The Epic of Egaisha #1

by Jorden Darrett

To her clan, she is nothing. She will use their contempt for change, and her strength for war

Aiya is a Ginju, a hidden assassin within the Egaishan Empire. As the black sheep of her clan, she grapples for a connection with her deity, ridiculed by her own family and forced into doing their biddings. Chafing under the heavy expectations of her father, a collision with a rival clan provides her with the chance to prove herself.

But a grievous mistake causes their plan to backfire, forcing Aiya to choose between loyalty to all she’s ever known or independence for all she’s ever loved. As civil unrest widens cracks in the empire, Aiya must decide for herself how best to forge her path. To protect her brothers and win respect in the land, she’ll need to turn a new leaf and oppose her clan and her empire. She must conspire with clans once held in contempt and reach new heights of power to create a new world of their own, in a world of spirits, deities and conniving lords. Along the way she will be forced to find her place, her morality and her strength.

Medieval Japan-inspired progression/epic fantasy, for fans of Mistborn and The Poppy War

Genres: Fantasy

281 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 5, 2023

Reviews

[Sara Jesus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great debut inspiring in the medieval Japan with a intresting concept between magic and dueling. Aiya, a hidden assassin of the Egaishan Empir, is forced to choose between loyalty and independence. She will became one of the main figures of the revolution that wants to end the reign of the empress.

I really like the world bulding, around all the clans and the political intriges. And I really loved Aiya frienship with Koiyi and with her brothers. Excited to read the second book, the end have a big twist that I did not expect.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative · Rating 3 out of 5]

I accepted a digital copy of this book from the author in consideration of a review. All opinions are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

Jordan Darrett sparked my immediate attention when he said his action scenes in TWELVE BLADES IN CONTEMPT were inspired by Evan Winters' THE RAGE OF DRAGONS. (This interview can be found on The Literary Apothecary's YouTube Channel)

"What we fight for is freedom, something we cannot, will not, live without."

This novel is the first in a medieval Japan inspired series titled The Epic of Egaisha. The Empire of Egaisha is in turmoil and war is breaking out between the clans. One of the ruling families puts their most powerful weapons into play: Ginju. These are secret assassins whose identities are a carefully guarded secret and each is able to connect directly with their family's deity, which gives them strength, agility and speed, to name a few.

"I desire to be strong and honorable above all else and so I honor my clan and the established order. Despite how I feel, I carry out my duties. Is that not strength?"

While I really enjoyed learning about the Ginju and each of the clans - their chosen deity and role in the Empire - I found myself most intrigued by the character of Aiya. She is the black sheep of her family, a Ginju who has trouble forming and maintaining the connection to the River deity. A Ginju is a coveted asset, yet her father treats her as though she is worthless and brings shame to their family. Aiya does not approve of her father's lust for power, the actions he takes to maintain his tight grip over their clan. Yet she obeys him because he is their leader.

Until a rival clan makes their power play - Aiya is then given the opportunity to use her abilities as Ginju to save rather than destroy.

I loved the premise, pacing and battle scenes in this one - a lot. I do think there was a bit of a disconnect or missed opportunity during a battle that took place involving several clans. I would have liked to have more information, a build up of what led to the Forgery war and how it was the different clans chose sides. We just jump in when Aiya joins the fray, after 8 days of battle and then it's over fairly quickly with a bit of an abrupt ending.

Since this took place in the medieval Japan era, I found it jarring to read modern terms such as "arm candy" and such. It wasn't something that occurred often, perhaps 3-4 times. I reckon I might be a touch nitpicky since I love reading literature from this time period, so it really popped out at me.

You can find this review and many more on my website, https://www.thenerdynarrative.com or if you prefer video format, you can find those on my BookTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/thenerdynarra...

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve Blades in Contempt is a great debut novel. It's jammed full of well done fight scenes, and it has an interesting magic system and some cool world building. Fans of Cradle will probably enjoy it as it has many similarities, though sadly Twelve Blades doesn't quite reach the very high bar set by Cradle but to be fair, very few books do.

The writing is great overall, but some of the word and phrase choices sort of pulled me out of the story at times. This is nitpicky, and I imagine most readers won't care. They were few and far between and never major.

All in all, this was a fun book. I'm looking forward to seeing what's next from Jorden.

[André · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Twelve Blades in Contempt is Jorden Darrett's debut novel and first book in the planned series The Epic of Egaisha Series. The setting is strongly medieval Japanese-inspired as you can already guess by the beautiful cover. The characters live in an empire (ruled by a seemingly immortal empress) where the different territories are ruled by clans. Each clan has a specific deity (River, Agriculture, Forgery, ...) to which they are connected. And for each clan the empress choses a few supernatural assassins - the ginju - who wield powers that are connected to their respective deity.
I thought this a rather interesting concept and though it was not thorougly explained it does leave room for interesting developments in the future. As does the worldbuilding in general.

The main character of the story is Aiya, one of the few ginju in the empire. She has problems connecting with her deity and therefore cannot access the power she is supposed to be able to wield. She is a daughter of the River-clan ruler and is swept up in the tide of political and military plotting, fighting and intrigues. There are other POVs throughout the story, mostly of other ginju.

I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the magic system and Jorden Darrett knows how to write fighting scenes and action in general. The pacing was fast, the storyline was sometimes a little jumpy for me, but kept me entertained.

What threw me off a little throughout the whole book was the language, especially the way the characters talked. It sounded too modern (I guess?) and often pulled me out of the story, but that is personal preference. Also the characters' voices were sometimes difficult to distinguish for me, many characters seemed very alike.

All in all, Twelve Blades in Contempt is a promising debut for readers that enjoy fast-paced and action-driven fantasy in an Asian-inspired world.

[chrys · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5/5 stars)

for a debut, this is a great book. the plot was very interesting and i wanted to know more about the characters right from the start. the fight scenes were well-written and definitely the highlights of the book for me, and the world building was complex but described in enough detail to be comprehensive.

i'd say that the main flaws of the book were the writing style, which was perhaps a little too simplistic for my liking (except, again, for the more action-packed scenes, which were great) and the infodumping during the fist couple of chapters. while this information was essential to understanding the story, it was given in large chunks that interrupted the flow of the plot and were added in a "stream of consciousness" way that felt a little random at times. it did take me a while to fully get into the story because of this. i would recommend breaking them down a little more, or having the characters present parts of it, e.g. by recalling their own experiences, whenever possible.

that being said, i think these are problems that can be easily fixed the more one writes, and since this is a debut novel, these issues would absolutely not prevent me from reading more from this author.

overall, a very promising debut that allows space for improvement. pretty good!

i received an advance review copy for free, and i am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Marie Chalupová (Levitara)]

This review is for the first edition and therefore the mentioned issues might have been addressed in the updated second edition.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am supposed to be honest and in this case, I really want to be because I can see this story has some potential, it just lacks in execution.

I really liked the historical Japan atmosphere of this world. It was well balanced so that it had just enough borrowed, with plenty of originality. What I was most interested in was the supernatural powers the assassins gain when they connect to their deity. There seemed to be some mysteries behind it. Especially since Aiya, our MC, for some reason, can't stay in contact. I was really curious about how it would develop.

Unfortunately, here came the first disappointment. This problem with the connection just resolved itself. I don't even consider this spoiler, as I feel this is something that is unnecessarily brought up in the synopsis. If I wasn't expecting it to be an important part of the story, it wouldn't have been that disappointing.

One of the biggest problems for me was the characters. We get quite a few POVs despite the shortness of the book and there is just not enough time to build a connection with them, even with Aiya. I didn't really feel much for her. Most of the time, she is reduced to being an observer. We see what she sees, but we don't really feel what she feels.

I found the story a bit confusing, the motivations of the characters a bit unclear. The prose is somewhat heavy-handed. Sometimes I had to re-read sentences and a few times I didn't really get what was being said even after re-reading them.

There is this buildup of stakes, but when we get to the final tense situation, it gets resolved in a really disappointing manner.

Now, I didn't necessarily dislike the book, I just couldn't really care much. On the other hand, the supernatural aspects and the setting were interesting. I believe that this book has potential. With more experience and a good editor, this could have been a more enjoyable read. I might actually pick up the sequel despite giving just an OK rating, to give the author another chance.

[Quinn Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I flip flop on whether I would give this book a 3 star review or a 2.5 star one, but taking into account the fact that this is the author's first book I've opted for the former.

This book is a very serviceable debut, providing interesting world building, fight sequences, and magic systems. However, within the author's writing style comes a very tangible sense that this is, indeed, a debut. Characters fall into very hard cut personality stereotypes (you can almost feel the bad guys twirling their mustaches), so you end up with protagonists who more or less feel indistinguishable from one another and being separated by vast distances from their enemies due to near cartoonist villainy. And by this I mean that the protagonists do murder to great extents, but the villains just seem like assholes because the reader needs someone to hate.

The first few chapters were a bit frustrating. It seemed as if the author wanted to instill a sense of mystery by retaining information, but also answered the questions the reader would ask with massive infodumps a mere chapter or two later.

However, I did take a break from reading the book, and when I returned (with my expectations a smidge lower) my reading experience improved vastly. Whether this was due to the problems earlier on in the book being relegated only to that stint of the story, or whether my expectations colored my experience it's difficult to say. What I can easily say is that the story was fun, to say the least. We're not looking at the next Great Big Thing, but it was a pleasant way to pass the time. The ending left a bit to be desired, in a way that I'm sure I as supposed to leave me wanting more but instead left me shrugging my shoulders and feeling indifferent to the idea of reading the sequel.

There's promise in this author to be sure, to be manifested in greater quantities for a future book.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Twelve Blades in Contempt in one sitting. While there are many chapter breaks, it didn't seem right to leave it hanging when the story never stops with relentless violent encounters. You could read it in more than one sitting if you wanted, but at the cost of the flow. A fast reader will be able to tear through it in a couple of hours and it can easily be read in a day.

Clans clash in epic warfare in Twelve Blades in Contempt, as promised by the title. Most of it is traditional forms of sword duelling with a touch of magic, so if you find duelling dull this book won't be for you. There are many blades, much contempt, a fair bit of cussing and screaming and yelling, and you will be satisfied by its brutal and slightly mythical ending which thankfully leaves room to explore the world in future books to discover what happens next, without being a total cliffhanger.

Jordan Darrett's first book is not one for the faint-hearted. Read it if you'd like a Japanese-inspired violent clash of clans from the point of view of a powerful woman coming into herself as a warrior and a Ginju... a magical ninja in touch with a deity. Bloodshed, duelling, dishonor and death is guaranteed.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has left me feeling conflicted. On the one hand, the world seemed pretty cool, and the premise for the story and characters' superhuman powers was intriguing. Also, the cover art was beautiful!

On the other hand, I never really connected with any of the characters and certain pivotal decisions they made throughout the story just seemed to happen suddenly, without much thought or reasoning. And then the story just kind of...ended? I understand that this is the first book in a series and that cliffhanger endings are a thing, but usually at least SOMEthing is resolved at the end of a book, even if many things get left for the next book. Anyway, overall, this wasn't a bad story, but I also didn't really enjoy it either, hence my 3-star rating.

For anyone wondering, in addition to violence, there's also a fair amount of profanity.

I received an e-ARC from BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[S.M. Cross · Rating 3 out of 5]

For context, I do enjoy books set in the feudal and medieval Far East. It took several pages to form a mental picture of exactly what was happening and to keep the characters straight. However, following a couple of assassinations and changes of circumstances, the curiosity set in. While the story is not based in Japan, Egaisha evokes that type of atmosphere and the Ginju, similar to ninja.

There are no samurai as such, but the similarities are there, and you are aware fairly early on that war is coming. The Ginju tend to be siblings and belong to different deities depending on their province.
Which side will they join?

I found the idea interesting, but the lapses into 20th and 21st century wording interrupted the flow of the story. At this point I cannot decide whether to re-read it, watch for the next installment, or neither.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

For being a debut novel, this book covers lots of territory, introduces multiple characters, and does an impressive amount of world building. The setting definitely has a medieval-Japanese feel, with characters much like ninjas called Ginju with the ability to tap into powers given by specific deities. There is a lot of very well written violence, which fits perfectly with the flow and feel of the story. I usually greatly enjoy this type of book, but sadly didn't this time. I never quite felt connected to the main characters enough to really care about their world or what was happening to them. There is also quite a bit of profanity which I really don't care for. But if that doesn't bother you, then this is a great story to pick up.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Voracious Readers Only*

[Bookworm]

DNF @ 34%

Received an ARC.

I felt the writing jumped all over the place and there were POV characters that were not really necessary. The book needed a glossary of terms as the book is "Japanese-inspired" but it seemed like a Japanese-inspired book using its own meaningless terms. Ginju instead of Ninja? Or Samurai? And the character names, one start with "SI" as the syllable. Japanese doesn't have SI, it has SHI. There was a typo on the main character's name as well.

I didn't want to continue reading.

[Suphatorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This debut novel was very engaging with beautiful and complex world building. The multiple fighting scenes was written well. However, the story did jump around a little bit at time making it kind of hard to follow along. I did enjoy reading this novel and I'm looking forward for the next book in the series to see how the rest of the story will unfold.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a great start to the Epic of Egaisha series, it does what I wanted from this book. It was a great time-period for the story and I enjoyed what was going on in this book. The characters were what I wanted based on the description and glad I could read this.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Stephanie Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the book
Highly recommend
Look forward to the next

[Buzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

A great debut fantasy. The conflict is set up early and continues throughout the story. I enjoyed the history of medieval Japan woven into the story. If you like history mixed with fantasy this is a story for you.

[Trip]

not for me

[Kindlelover 1220 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A historical fantasy story with some action and suspense. IMHO, the storylines jumps from here to there. But, I can tell you from personal experience that when I tell stories, I switch from one story from another. It didn’t bother me too much. It was an enjoyable story and had a good premise.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Raemonah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It has been three storms since anyone had been silenced with either blade, but tonight was not like other nights. Tonight she would wield them as she had in the past, strike down enemies, and feed the earth with their blood"

***minor spoilers***

Twelve Blades in Contempt is the first book in Jordan Darrett's The Epic of Egaisha series. This is a historical novel is inspired by medieval Japan following the journey of a girl named Aiya and her siblings during a time of war. Aiya and her siblings are what are known as Ginju- these are people who have formed a connection to their goddess (either Rain, River, Agriculture, Forgery, Stone, Mountain, Twilight, or High Noon). The purpose of the Ginyu is to serve their ruler as an assassin, but when that time comes for Aiya, everything that could go wrong does go wrong- deaths, betrayals, and even an all-out war (wow this book has everything).

As the war takes a turn for the worse, Aiya and her siblings must choose whether or not to betray their clan or remain with them and risk death at the hands of their enemies.


For a debut novel, Darrett had done a great job on the worldbuilding and building the meaning behind the Ginju assassians. The pacing was really fast though, in almost every chapter there was something new happening so there was never a dull moment while reading which is something I enjoy.

[Katarina (kekii) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)

Twelve Blades in Contempt is a debut that promises so much. The theme, the setting, the magical elements, all a recipe for a perfect read. I really enjoyed reading this book, and although I have some minor remarks on it, I was still invested in the story and can't wait to see how it develops later in the series.

Okay, so here's what I would want worked on and developed moving forward with the series: more on Aiya's power and the logistics behind it, the struggle and everything, basically I want to see it more detailed, with more time dedicated to developing that. Talking about Aiya, for some reason I didn't feel like she's the MC, sometimes I would forget about her presence. That was felt in nuances, but it did affect my reading here and there. Also, the profanities didn't fit almost none of the situations in which they were used. Throughout the whole book, this wasn't a huge issue nor did it make me want to quit reading, but I still wanted to state what I would put more focus on with the next book, although I am confident the story will only go even better from here.

[Miza · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first few chapter, i can’t grasp what the story is about… there is a lot of character and situation. The story started to make sense as i move on.

I received an e-advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.