#traitor's blade

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Traitor's Blade | Author: Sebastien de Castell | Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books (2014)

[shin-soumisa]

The second installation of the Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell is Knight’s Shadow. Picking up right where we left off in Traitor’s Blade, the trio are back and ready to protect the very kingdom that shuns them; Tristia. They are Falcio val Mond, Kest Murrowson, and Brasti Goodbow - First Cantor, Saint of Swords, and the best bowman in the world, respectively. These three have been left in a more troubling situation than before, with Dukes showing up dead, commoners getting weapons from an unknown supplier, mysterious knights in black tabards appearing to cut them down, and the Greatcoats taking the blame for it all.

This sequel packs more punch than its predecessor, going deeper into the nuances and intricacies of each character present. It gets really emotional at some moments and you can’t help but hang onto the page, feeling like you yourself are there, next to the character, in Tristia. Modestly genuine swashbuckle littered throughout the book both amused and charmed me, fit the setting, and attuned with the characters. When the moral of the story was presented; the meaning of the trio’s adventures and the justification of their exploits, I couldn’t help but agree. I would say that this book was a success, even better than the last, and with more to come in the series. If you liked Traitor’s Blade, or a mix between high fantasy and epic fantasy, a throwback to old fiction with lots of valour and epic moments, then this is the story for you.

[teenageread]

Review: Traitor's Blade

Synopsis:

Falcio is the first Cantor of the Greatcoats. Trained in the fighting arts and the laws of Tristia, the Greatcoats are travelling Magisters upholding King’s Law. They are heroes. Or at least they were, until they stood aside while the Dukes took the kingdom, and impaled their King’s head on a spike.

Now Tristia is on the verge of collapse and the barbarians are sniffing at the borders. The Dukes bring chaos to the land, while the Greatcoats are scattered far and wide, reviled as traitors, their legendary coats in tatters. All they have left are the promises they made to King Paelis, to carry out one final mission.

But if they have any hope of fulfilling the King’s dream, the divided Greatcoats must reunite, or they will also have to stand aside as they watch their world burn…

Plot:

It has been years since the death of King Paelis, and Falcio is still out doing his mission. King Paelis was the one that brought back the Greatcoats, traveling Magisters who upheld the King’s Laws and protected those the Dukes were unfaired to. As a Greatcoat, Falcio took his job seriously and was devastated when the King, his friend, asked him to step aside and let the Duke kill him, bringing an end to the Greatcoats. Now called Trattario, or tattered-cloak, Falico and his friends Brasti and Kest, travel the countryside, trying to make ends meet while being ridiculed by the general public. When the noblemen they were protecting died on their watch, the three former Greatcoats fled the scene where they ran into a caravan and managed to get work. Where Falcio still holds himself into fulfilling King Paeli's final wish for him, he also cannot watch the innocent get hurt. When tasked with protecting a child who shares the same name as his dead wife, Falico embarks on a horrendous mission that requires all the skills a Greatcoat has taught him, and takes on a task which requires the strength of a great man, one Falico may not be anymore.  

Thoughts: 

Sebastien de Castell wrote a wozer of a first novel, bringing us deep into Falcio’s world as a Greatcoat. With massive world-building, de Castell spends a long time making sure readers understood the importance of Greatcoats, their job in this world, and what it's been like for Falcio and their peers to lose that respect along with the loss of their King. Along with the history of the world, de Castell gives us the history of Falcio, and how he ended up being a Greatcoat after the death of his wife. Taken from the first person point of view of Falcio, we get to relive his history, his pain, and his current actions on how he’s living to fulfill his dead king's final wish. Where humor might not be the first thing to come to mind, Falcio is a pretty funny character, always having witty remarks, and talking too much, while being courageous as he fights for what is right. Where some readers might be turned off by de Castell’s over-explained writing style, it was pretty neat to hear from Falcio's perspective in battles as the writing is split between the fight itself, and Falcio’s explanation of the fighting style, his tools, and the training he’s done to prepare for these fights. With this type of writing style, the novel does take a bit to get through. Yet, like with all fantasy novels, there was a ton of world-building de Castell had to do, yet he did it in a gripping and emotional way, as it builds upon itself, with each battle revealing more about Falcio, each interaction showing his dedication for the king, and every loses to remind Falcio about how he lost his wife. For those into swords and justice with knights and dukes, this novel is definitely for you. De Castell also sets this novel up, so that you can read it as a stand-alone novel and get a good grip on the story, there are also a lot of loose ends that make you want to read the next novel, as there is much more to Falcio’s and the Greatcoats story than this one novel can provide.

Read more reviews: Goodreads

Buy the book: Amazon

[fiollaigean]

[fiollaigean]

Hi there!

Having read you awesome Whumptober fic about her, I was wondering if you had any headcanons about Valiana? I love her to pieces, and I'd love to read your thoughts on her.

Have a wonderful day!

Oh shit yeah! hold on let me see if I can put some of these thoughts to words

After Saint's Blood she makes a point to have Kest teach her the Grandanza. (or whatever that dance is called. you know what I mean, right? cool. moving on).

actually no I'm not moving on. you know what? Valiana was/is a professional noblewoman and Kest is Kest, they're both trained in formal ballroom dance and they do make a point to dance together at least once. I like to dance, and that's fun to think about. I've mentioned my thoughts about her and kest before but I think they're buds. good pals. they have offscreen bonding moments and they're all great.

oh no, bad thought. at one point, she does ask him to kill her if the adorasia takes over again and she can't fight it anymore.

her handwriting is immaculate

She has to unlearn so much toxic shit she picked up from Patriana (who, I think we can all surmise, was absolutely not a good parent). I think body image issues were definitely part of that, Patirana would constantly nitpick at her appearance and that shit sticks with you.

again, i project, but there are so many practical skills she never had to learn in Princess Mode that suddenly are necessary as a Greatcoat. How to repair horse tack. How to build a shelter when sleeping out in the open. How to tie a clove hitch. Other basic combat/survival/travel skills. One of the other main greatcoats will say something like, "your sword's getting dull, make sure you sharpen it" and she's faced with the realization that no one ever taught her to do this thing which she never needed to know but is now the most basic skill for her new line of work. She tries to figure it out on her own and usually doesn't get it right, and one of the others has to come along and help her fix it and teach her how to do it correctly. It's an utterly humiliating and exhausting learning curve to have to go through and she hates every minute but takes it like a champ.

TYRANT'S THRONE SPOILERS BELOW]

After Aline dies, she's afraid to let herself even think about it, because she worries that if she lets herself experience emotions too strongly it will weaken her defenses and let the Adorasia in the driver's seat again. This isn't so much a headcanon as much as "I will kidnap sdc and hold him hostage until he releases the Valiana POV chapter from when Aline is killed until the Trial cause my girl must have been Going Through It and I need to know someone was there for her please" there was a time she made Aline her entire reason for living she must have been fucking devastated when Aline died but unlike Falcio, she couldn't allow herself to go apeshit for so many reasons.

part of me says she's bi/aspec cause I'm bi/aspec and I say so. I do know she had a huge crush on dari. the nonsense with pastien (FUCK that guy) sets her back a ways in the whole "exploration of sexuality" department, as she intentionally distances herself from any kind of attraction or romantic feelings for fear of being betrayed again.

Adorasia means she's suffering from some level of mental fatigue constantly.

stimming helps. she stims cause i stim and i say so. but she can't let herself do it much in front of people cause everyone knows shes mad and is looking for the slightest excuse to declare her incompetent.

She gets lots of unflattering nicknames. Madwoman, Crazy Bitch, The Stark-Raving Duchess of Rijou.

But she's not the queen's iron for nothing and never gives them a goddamn inch.

also do you ever wonder if her title as The Queen's Iron was intentionally a contrast to the Iron Duke of DeMaris? cause I do.

I've never thought of her as a cat person before, but in knight's shadow her love language seems to be "you're in distress so i'm going to come over here and be quiet and just sit next to you" and that is very cat like.

her and darriana never stop being an absolute force of nature when they're together. They're similar enough to share a braincell in most matters but different enough in method of execution to balance each other out. sometimes they have "girls nights out" which sometimes involve getting wine drunk and complaining about everyone else and sometimes involve masked vigilante justice.

In a modern au her superpower is deciding to pick up a new hobby and proceeding to follow through actually excel at that hobby in the long term. my half-finished abandoned sewing projects hate her

so, yeah!

that's what i have darling and thank you so much for this ask, that was very fun to have an excuse to write this all out. I might think of more stuff later but honestly I have Things To Do Today and have to get going. cheers!

[fiollaigean]

so paelis was in love with falcio, right?

[fiollaigean]

Falcio "fuck them kids" val Mond

[wearethekat]

September Book Reviews: Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell

let me start out by admitting I very nearly dnf’d this one. not due to any bad points, it just wasn’t catching my attention. However! It was the only book I had in my bag and I was stuck with it.

This was a most excellent swashbuckling novel, but it did suffer from a mild case of Written by A Dude. All of the ladies were either Evil Sexy Temptress, Old Lady, or Noble Young Girl. to be fair, the characterization was fairly flat overall. 

but let me speak of this book’s good points! The highlight of the book was the relationship between the main character (disgraced swashbuckler) and the Noble Young Girl (12). He spends a big middle chunk of the novel trying desperately to keep this kid alive against all odds, and they have a genuinely touching relationship. Another bright point are the flashbacks to the disgraced swashbuckler’s relationship to the old king, and their struggles to make the country a better place.

 Aside from the obligatory torture scene, this was not at all grimdark. Main character is actually honorable and sensible about it too-- the first rule of their swashbuckling order is to run away and live another day if necessary, not to make a pretty show over honor.