Bookworm Dreams

Traitor’s Blade is about Greatcoats. Greatcoats were law-enforcers who ensured that King’s Law was obeyed by everyone. (Kinda like gunslingers in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King, just with swords.) But now there is no king anymore and greatcoats are mocked and called trattari.

We had been heroes for a little while and now we were just traitors with useless pardons, no allies and no purpose.

Narrator of Traitor’s Blade is greatcoat Falcio val Mond, and what a story it is – mix of flashbacks and his current adventures. It’s always exciting, sometimes sad, but never boring. And all spiced up with Falcio’s dry sense of humor, even when he is explaining ordinary things in life. To get this kind of snark from narrator I usually have to read urban fantasy novels.

How they can transcribe the events of a man’s life from afar, I do not know. Some say they read the threads of fate, or they bond with a man’s mind and capture his thoughts to put down on paper. Others say they just make this shit up, since by the time anyone gets to read it the person it’s about is almost certainly dead.

And it gets even better if you are into fencing. Because Falcio has good advises from his long experience of sword-fights:

Once you get hit with the ball from a pistol, you really only have a few seconds to get the pointy bit into someone’s mouth before you fall down and die.

If you are not lover of things with pointy ends, but still like to fight. Do not despair. There are tips for you too:

When you’re fighting a crowd, it’s good to shout potentially threatening things like “Crossbows!” or “Fire!” or “Giant Flying Cat!” every once in a while.

But I am getting side-tracked. I almost told you The First Rule of the Sword. But I am not telling. Nope. For that you will have to read the book. 

Warmth and humor in Traitor’s Blade is only increased with banter of Falcio and his friends. A lot of people compare them to The Three Musketeers, but I found them more down-to-Earth. Like they are real and not just characters in a book. Their interactions reminded me of Cazio & his sword-fighting instructor z’Acatto from The Briar King by Greg Keyes (especially when they gossip about knights).

Another thing that I LOVED is Monster. I adore when a book features mythical creatures or animals with attitude and Monster had that in abundance. And again I am not telling more. My lips are sealed. Also, if I start I could not stop and would spoil half the book – so you really should appreciate my perseverance.

I think that was enough praise and fangirling. If you didn’t figure out until now, Traitor’s Blade is definitely getting a place on my Favorites shelf.

Now, what was bad? Nothing! Haha, just kidding. (Not really.)  There are some descriptions of torture scenes and brutal behavior that might be tough to read if you are too sensitive and squeamish. Also, Falcio is so slow sometimes. I would call him stupid but I loved him as character so I am being gentle. But some facts were obvious to everyone, except to him.

In The End

Traitor’s Blade will definitely be on a list of my favorite fantasy novels in 2014. I would recommend it to old fantasy readers who like sword-fights and conspiracies and to urban fantasy fans who would like to try fantasy genre. There is enough snark and action to make Traitor’s Blade a fun summer read.

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.