Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell (The Greatcoats #1)

8/10

After finishing a book like Brandon Sanderson’s ‘Words of Radiance’, it seems sort of unfair to start reading anything else straight away. The comparisons are going to be hard to avoid, and it’s hard to imagine that anything will be as good as what you’ve just read. Even as a reviewer with over 250 reviews under my belt, it is still hard to divorce myself from one book to the next.

With that in mind, I present to you ‘Traitor’s Blade’ by Sebastien de Castell, published in February of this year, and a complete and utter surprise.

I’m not necessarily the biggest fan of fantasy books which have allowed their technology to reach the gunpowder age, but Brian McClellan showed me that it can be done well. Traitor’s Blade does it well by virtue of not focusing on such technological advancements – guns exist, but they’re rare, slow to load, and useless in a close fight when someone has got a pair of rapiers.

And that’s the gist of the book – swords, honour, and unbelievable odds.

Our main character, Falcio, is the “first Cantor of the Greatcoats” and was responsible for the 150 men and women who would traverse the countryside of Tristia, doling out justice and punishment and hearing cases from the citizens. Except, something went wrong – the king who formed them, who they served loyally, was killed.

And they did nothing to stop it.

At Falcio’s orders.

There’s a lot of distaste for the Greatcoats, they’re hunted and ridiculed everywhere, and this creates an interesting environment for our heroes. Instead of being loved by everyone, or acting as antiheroes, they’re set against a world of antiheroes and villains while they try to make it through alive.

Sebastien de Castell is not a name I’ve heard of before, but he’s definitely one I want to keep an eye out for in the future. Great characters who fill the pages, a beautifully dirty world of hopelessness and hidden promise, and villains that crackle off the page. The flow of the story paced really well, especially with the way history was woven into the current events. When the main character was split from his supporting actors, I worried that we might lose something in the split – but the author handled it beautifully. I thought that the end was a little contrived, but I’m not sure whether that is the result of the author knowing how book 2 is going to progress or not – which in and of itself is not a great thing to rely on.

All in all, Traitor’s Blade was a fantastic read, and held up well despite that which had come before. Fun, fast paced, and with great characters that you'll love and hate, Sebastien de Castell had the chops to keep me entertained all the way through.