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…
Review
“Our nation is weakened by a system that breeds a visceral hatred so deep that most people would as soon see the world burn as stay as it is, but lack the will to try and change it.”
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I don’t know why I didn’t get to this one sooner. I love pretty much everything in this book. Dialogue, action, story, characters – all top notch. Just the concept of sword-wielding magistrates who sing is an excellent hook. I have finished the book and I still can’t tell who’s my most favorite among the MC trio.
“My name is Falcio Val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, and this was only the first of a great many bad days to come.”
I also can’t tell which was my favorite fight scene in the book. Generally after a while, fights become tedious in fantasy books if there’s no emotion or transformation taking place. But not in this one, I couldn’t wait for the next action scene and there were plenty. The swordplay was exquisite and the way the characters get out of each scrape is ingenious. I also love the Deadpool-esque fourth-wall breaking narration during fight scenes by Faclio. It’s so good. A lot of stuff about magic and the world is explained through this way but it isn’t info-dumpy or draining at all. Instead, it feels so right and well done for the tone of this story. It worked very well for me and I’m a fan.
Coming to the writing, I completely enjoyed that too. Right from the first chapter (which by itself was such a perfect hook) I was captivated. The story is explained alternatively via past and present timelines and I enjoyed that a lot too. In some books the flashbacks disrupt the pacing or are overused but not in this one. The author strikes a genius balance between the two and it flows so smoothly. Coming back to dialogue again, it is a definite highlight for me. It is natural, believable, and reflects each character’s background appropriately. The banter and foul language is on point too. Two other quick things I want to mention are songs and great speeches. I have been wanting songs back in fantasy books for a while now and I’m happy to have found books this year that have songs in them. Falcio’s speech towards the end of the book was excellent. It is a fun, action story but moments like that gave this one a lot of heart and emotion, moving it from liked to loved category for me.
‘No man breaks the Rock,’ I repeated. ‘But look into your neighbour’s eyes and tell me what you see. Do you see the Rock there?’
De Castell also absolutely sticks the landing with an explosive climax and some mind blowing revelations. He leaves the reader wanting more but not in a cliff-hanging way. I’m definitely going to pick up book 2 very soon. Overall there were some rough edges here and there but I can’t give it any less than 5 stars because of the sheer amount of enjoyment I got out of it.
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