edemaruh Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 The Emperor's Blades - Brian Staveley This doesn't come out until January but was able to get an ARC and was not disappointed. Great entry into a new fantasy series. When reading I was reminded of the better parts of Acacia and the narrative world building structure reminded me a bit of the Way of Kings. It does have some of the familiar tropes of fantasy but I found that Staveley was able to build a very interesting world that feels epic. It was a bit slow until the end but feel like that it was almost a necessity similar to that of The Way of Kings or some parts of The Wheel of Time because when you are attempting to create a new world of a grand scale it tends to take some time for all the pieces to move into the right places for the action to happen. Getting great reviews so far over at Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17910124-the-emperor-s-blades Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I just finished it. Not a bad book but nothing that really impressed me, though I will say it picked up some steam in the last third. I want to gather my thoughts a bit more before elaborating I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Ahlstrom Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 I read this a few months ago and quite enjoyed it. Grittier than a Brandon book (there was an offscreen rape that really annoyed me, and plenty of onscreen language and people being really mean to each other). One thing I liked was the main characters being siblings but not interacting until the end. However, it didn't strike me as the beginning of a super long series. Maybe I'm wrong. Eh, this doesn't sound like much of an endorsement, but I definitely want to read the next one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Off screen rape annoys you? Did this becomes a forum of rape and fire and I missed it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrddin Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 This book looks interesting. Has anyone else read it yet? ETA: The Kindle edition of the first 7 chapters are available for free on Amazon. Going to read them tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 The name sounds familiar but it appears that this is his first book. Maybe he's just got a good Author's name. I may try the free samples but I think I'd need to see some more momentum from reviews on here first. Will keep an eye out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I read it. Pretty generic and your enjoyment early on will depend on how much you enjoy a teen getting 'trained' by monks who torture him (think the prologue of Long Price Quartet being stretched out for half a book). Also the cover says it follows three siblings but the sister gets almost no screen time despite having the more interesting policical angles to work with.The last third is better, he does a good job with the more action focused parts of his book. Not a failure but perhaps getting a bit too over hyped.Edit: huh, guess I already responded. My bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrddin Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Edit: huh, guess I already responded. My bad. Well, you did say you wanted to gather your thoughts before elaborating. :) Glad I jogged your memory. Thanks for the longer review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I read it. Pretty generic and your enjoyment early on will depend on how much you enjoy a teen getting 'trained' by monks who torture him (think the prologue of Long Price Quartet being stretched out for half a book). Also the cover says it follows three siblings but the sister gets almost no screen time despite having the more interesting policical angles to work with.The last third is better, he does a good job with the more action focused parts of his book.Not a failure but perhaps getting a bit too over hyped.Edit: huh, guess I already responded. My bad. I kind of enjoyed the Long price prologue (thought it worked as a short story in of itself) but I do loathe (magic) kids at school. Maybe it'll turn out to be like the "first law" books where the sequels are a lot stronger but given Skynjay's thoughts I'll have to wait for the inevitable sequels to arrive. If I was reading more often I'd maybe give it a shot but I'm not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Ahlstrom Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Off screen rape annoys you? So does onscreen rape. Which this book doesn't have. But when a character is shown to be strong and capable and then an offscreen rape happens to her, it feels like a big cheat. You've spent much of the book showing me she can take care of herself, and then the crucial moment that she's unable to take care of herself happens offscreen? I have a problem with that. Not that I want to see it onscreen, but it comes off as a plot device rather than actual character development. I consider this a flaw in the book, but otherwise it has many redeeming qualities and is a page-turner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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