Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
seven blades in black (Sam Sykes)
Title: seven blades in black
Author: Sam Sykes
Publisher: Orbit Books
Publication Date: TODAY!! (paperback/e-book)
ISBN: 978-0316363433
Source: NetGalley
While I enjoyed this book, it didn’t completely float me boat. I think that this stems from me misconception that this was a standalone novel. After finishing this, I really do wish it was and I even know what the ending could have been. But I can hardly fault the author for writing a series can I?
I absolutely did love the main character, Sal the Cacophony. She is sarcastic, fierce, intelligent, stubborn, destructive, obnoxious, full of self-preservation, and kinda insane. I dig it. Sal is out for revenge. She is basically an outlaw who hunts down outlaw magicians for money and said revenge. With an AWESOME gun that might not be completely inert and a sword named Jeff! So why does Sal want revenge? I am not going to tell ye wretches that!
The world building in this one be fun. It has the feel of both a western and a fantasy. Basically there are four crazy factions – 1) the Empire with its magicians; 2) the Revolutionaries with their machines; 3) the Scar with its independent “neutral” city-states; and 4) the Vagrants who be renegade magicians with allegiance to nobody but themselves. I loved the magic in this world and how the trade for power works. This was one of the best aspects of the novel. I also very much enjoyed the other characters of Cavric, the proud, honorable soldier and Liette, the anti-social, book-loving scientist. I loved the ridiculously long and poetic names given to people of a certain standing. I even really enjoyed the framing of the story as Sal is in jail about to be shot for treason with the reader receiving her “confession.”
But this did have problems. The book really moved up until the 50% mark and then the plot and pace slowed down substantially. Seriously, several large portions of the section from 50 – 75% could have been removed with no real change to the story. There was a large reveal that I thought was coming (it was) and it irked me. But then the author did some interesting things after that which drew me back into the story. And there was Sal. I loved her for the most part but she got repetitive A LOT in terms of both bravado and self-loathing after the half-way point. That could have been toned down a whole bunch for the sake of flow. And I was confused when the story didn’t end like the writing led ye to believe it would.
I am glad I got to read this as I really did love the magic systems and Sal. While I would have preferred a standalone story, I be interested in reading the next book in the series. Just be forewarned should ye pick this up and go into it with the correct expectations. Cause the magic and Sal be worth it.
So lastly . . .
Thank ye Orbit Books!
Goodreads has this to say about the novel:
Among humans, none have power like mages. And among mages, none have will like Sal the Cacophony. Once revered, now vagrant, she walks a wasteland scarred by generations of magical warfare. The Scar, a land torn between powerful empires, is where rogue mages go to disappear, disgraced soldiers go to die and Sal went with a blade, a gun and a list of names she intended to use both on. But vengeance is a flame swift extinguished. Betrayed by those she trusted most, her magic torn from her and awaiting execution, Sal the Cacophony has one last tale to tell before they take her head. All she has left is her name, her story and the weapon she used to carved both.
Vengeance is its own reward.
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I just bought this because I kept seeing so much buzz about it. But man, it’s chunky! Not sure when I’ll actually tackle it
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It is long but it does move quickly. The characters are extremely fun so I do think ye will enjoy it. It is also one that I think can be read in smaller bites without ruining the story because there are natural pauses in the storytelling itself and ye can take a break when the characters do. I hope ye love it. Thanks for reading. Arrrr!
x The Captain
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Good to know! Yeah I’ve heard a lot of good about the main character. I’m thinking I’ll enjoy this one too.
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Sal sounds wonderful, I may have to try this at some point😊
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Sal is lovely and nuts. Worth reading this book to meet her.
x The Captain
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I want to try this one, but I’m having such a hard time getting over the cover. It’s so bad!
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I agree, I thought for sure the publisher would have changed the cover after people started talking about it…
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It would be forgivable to a degree if it was self published but it’s not. I cringe every time I see it!
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I really don’t know what in the world they were thinking. Everyone hates it. So who was the oddball that picked this?
x The Captain
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It looks like they took a stock design photo and photoshopped a random face from a magazine and an arm onto it. It’s actually worse than most self published covers. It would have been better in all black with just the words of the title and author’s name.
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Dude. I so agree. Actually all black with just the title would have made more sense for the work itself. Anything would have been better than that mess!
x The Captain
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I thought they were going to change it too! Ugh.
x The Captain
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