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Sword Catcher

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Lin on the other hand, is brash and bullheaded, burning bridges faster than she can build them. Orphaned as a child and abandoned by her grandfather, Lin has had to fight for everything, learning medicine with significantly less resources than her male peers within the Ashkari or the malbushim (the Ashkari word for “outsider”) doctors in Castellane. Like Kel, Lin has an understandable but extremely narrow perspective: She does not immediately recognize imminent danger to one of her clients, and accepts invitations from curious people in terrifying carriages. (Kel does this as well; apparently “stranger danger” is not a commonly taught concept in Castellane.) However, also like Kel, Lin’s adolescent perspective is amusing rather than grating. I considered doing that too, (esp. because the writing wasn't much fun) but after 27% or so into the book, things changed, became interesting and stopped irritating me. Kel is taken from the orphanage to be brought up alongside Prince Conner, there to stand in, in case there is danger or risk - a Sword Catcher, so to say. So.. That didn't work in my favour at all. This was my first book by Cassandra Clare and it was a HUGEEE disappointment.

Our other pov character is Lin, shunned in the city and kept behind walls for being an Ashkar and looked down upon in her society for wanting to become a physician as a girl. He had not known what it meant to be needed by someone else: that it made you want to protect them. To his own surprise, he wanted to protect this boy, the Prince of Castellane.Kel is an orphan taken to the Palace for the protection of the Prince at the age of 10 and Kell was an Antari sold to the Palace around the age of 5, brought up knowing his duty to protect the Prince. I allowed the book to surprise me, to subvert the expectations I had built. For the first time in many years, I was not sure where a Cassandra Clare book would lead me, so used as I am to her style and patterns. It felt refreshing. It was thrilling. Review: Sword Catcherby Cassandra Clare If you have read A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab, this might not interest you much, and if you also love that book (series), you might even end up dnf-ing this one due to all the similarities you might find. Now, as someone who has finished the whole book, I'd say give it a go if the similarities aren't too bothersome for you. As for my thoughts, I guess, review to come. Two outcasts find themselves at the centre of world-altering change in Sword Catcher, the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the internationally bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

Or, perhaps more accurately, the theft of a boy’s life and future. Young orphan Kellian could never have expected a grand life in the vibrant port city of Castellane if fate had not intervened, but fate did. At the tender age of 8, he is removed from his orphanage and offered a unique position: to become Sword Catcher to Conor Aurelian, Prince of Castellane and heir to its throne. Kel will be raised in luxury in the palace alongside Conor, trained and educated as befits a royal, and given every advantage in life–with one notable exception: His life will never be his own again. Bespelled to resemble Conor, Kel essentially becomes Conor for any occasions where the prince might be in danger, or at which he would rather not put in an appearance. He is Conor’s double, his shadow self, tied forever to a person he both loves and resents–and from whom he might never be free. Character wise, I really liked Lin. I wanted to like Kel more, but he ended up being a bit bland. And maybe that’s due to the nature of his position at court where he’s meant to mirror Conor, but I was expecting an overly charming, charismatic person. He was capable and smart, but not particularly special. I look forward to seeing how he grows in the next book and if he will start to become more of his own person. Conor was fine. He was there to do just enough stupid things to cause some problems. But overall, the characters were fine, but they weren’t particularly compelling. There is a tiny bit of romance in this book, and I do mean tiny. Even with that, I didn’t really feel the connection between the characters, so if you’re reading this book for romance, you need to look elsewhere. The book even states “Forbidden Romance” as something you’ll find in this book, and I think that’s a stretch. If you enjoyed The Final Strife, The Mask of Mirrors, or City of Brass, I would recommend this book! I for one must agree with Martin on every point. Clare’s first high fantasy novel is set a wonderfully built world that’s introduced bit by bit, something fantasy often forgets to do. Moreover, Sword Catcher finds a triumphant balance between plot and character, but more on that later.Everything I look for in fantasy' - George R. R. Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Game of Thrones This felt quite different to Cassandra Clare’s other work. Even her writing style seems changed. If you’re going in expecting her usual romantic writing and beautiful pining, you won’t get that here. In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, a young orphan named Kel is stolen from his old life to enter a new one of luxury and peril. He’s to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double, shielding the Prince from all dangers. As his ‘Sword Catcher,’ he and Conor become close as brothers – yet Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor. In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill. I can definitely see influences from Martin’s own A Song of Ice and Fire series (whose editor Anne Groell also worked on Sword Catcher) in the politics of Castellane. You see it in the scheming of nobles and the indifference of the common folk. In the underworld of Castellane I found hints of Ketterdam from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, and even a glimpse of Rifthold from the early Throne of Glass books by Sarah J. Maas. Yet Sword Catcher feels wholly original, and while I could recognize the things I love about Clare’s writing in it, it’s completely new. For the first time in years with her novels, I truly wasn’t sure where the book would take me or how it would end. I long for its sequel, and I hope Clare continues on this road.

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