Rating: 8/10
Synopsis
After barely surviving the attentions of the Knife That Parts the Night, Amra and Holgren are determined to end the threat posed by the remaining sentient, powerful Blades of the Eightfold Goddess. They are willing to risk everything to win their secret war, but can they succeed when their adversaries are cunning, powerful beyond measure, and utterly ruthless?
And even if they can, what will it cost them?
Review
“It is incredibly difficult, in case you were wondering, to dig an arrow out of a boot one-armed, using only a dagger, while lying on corpses in a drifting boat.”
This was another solid entry in the Amra Thetys series. A fast paced story that revolves around Amra and Holgren hatching a plan to destroy another blade of the Eight Fold Goddess.
As I said, this book is fast paced and really doesn’t ever let up. We are in Lucernis, where Amra and Holgren live, for the entirety of this story and I love it when the story centers around this city. This setting is the most fleshed out since it has been the main setting for the series and I absolutely love it. Lucernis has a distinct atmosphere where it feels like danger is around every corner. You never know when something will happen so it keeps you on the edge of your seat.
“In other words, as an expert at swimming in the shit, I could sense that this particular shit was not organic and natural, but rather manufactured, contrived. It was still shit, though.”
The sentient blades that Amra and Holgren are after all have intelligence and are powerful, but none are more genius than The Blade that Blinds and Binds. This blade has specific powers that gives it insight that no one else could possibly have and therefore is always one step ahead of the game in its attempt to destroy Amra and Holgren. It was high stakes from the start because of this and the stakes did not lessen throughout the story, they actually increased.
The action as always was well described, inventive, and very fun to read. Amra’s snark no matter what situation she is in kept the story light hearted even through the dark parts. New elements were introduced in this story that kept both the action and story fresh and original.
“You need a hand down?”
“You need a kick in the nutsack?”
This was more of a plot driven book, which is typical for this series and not a bad thing in the least. Since this is book 5 of a series I did not expect there to be a ton of character development as the previous 4 books, especially books 1 and 3, did a ton to get me invested in Amra already. We get a fair idea of what Amra’s future is going to look like in this entry and that was plenty to keep me invested in her story. Amra is a likable, hilarious, snark filled person who doesn’t take crap from anybody, even gods and goddesses. That is what I love about her character and that doesn’t change one bit throughout this story.
I love this series because of Amra, but also just because it is perfect when you just need a light read to take a break from SFF tomes or a fast paced, plot driven book to get you out of a reading slump. I really enjoyed The Thief Who Went To War and highly recommend this series.
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