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With swashbuckling action that recalls Dumas's Three Musketeers, Sebastien de Castell has created a dynamic new fantasy series. In Traitor's Blade, a disgraced swordsman struggles to redeem himself by protecting a young girl caught in the web of a royal conspiracy. The King is dead, the Greatcoats have been disbanded, and Falcio Val Mond and his fellow magistrates Kest and Brasti have been reduced to working as bodyguards for a nobleman who refuses to pay them. Things could be worse, of show more course. Their employer could be lying dead on the floor while they are forced to watch the killer plant evidence framing them for the murder. Oh wait, that's exactly what's happening. Now a royal conspiracy is about to unfold in the most corrupt city in the world. A carefully orchestrated series of murders that began with the overthrow of an idealistic young king will end with the death of an orphaned girl and the ruin of everything that Falcio, Kest, and Brasti have fought for. But if the trio want to foil the conspiracy, save the girl, and reunite the Greatcoats, they'll have to do it with nothing but the tattered coats on their backs and the swords in their hands, because these days every noble is a tyrant, every knight is a thug, and the only thing you can really trust is a traitor's blade. show lessTags
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Traitor's Blade is the first in The Greatcoats quartet by Sebastien de Castell. I love it when authors pay homage to one of my favorite classics, in this case Dumas' The Three Musketeers. A bit of warning first: this book reads more in line with the works of Scott Lynch and Joe Ambercrombie than it does Dumas so if you don't like it when bad things happen to your characters or don't like a grimdark-lean make sure you give this series a pass. Now, on to the review.
The King is dead and the Dukes ruthlessly rule of the country. The Greatcoats, the King's traveling Magistrates, have been scattered. Branded as traitors for standing aside while their King was murdered, their cloaks and their honor are in tatters. Yet there is still hope. show more Before his death the King charged each of them with a geas, a secret mission to fulfill the King's dream of unifying the country: find the King's Charoites.
I found the story to be an uneven read. The tale is told entirely from the first person point of view of Falcio, the first Cantor of the Greatcoats. The story jumps back and forth between past and present without warning or reason which kept jolting me from the story until I got used to it. Falcio is traveling with his two closest companions, Brasti and Kest, as they search for the King's Charoites. No one knows what the Charoites are or where to look for them, the King being rather vague with his instructions, so they are mostly following where rumors lead them. We are immersed in the friendship of these three, which was my favorite part of the book. The camaraderie and witty banter between the friends was a joy to read. The dialog has a great, somewhat sarcastic sense of humor that was a lot of fun.
de Castell really did his research when it came to writing rapier duels/fights. The action had an unrehearsed, breathless quality that felt very authentic.
Since the book focuses on Falcio, he is the character we learn the most about and has the best character development. For the remaining characters we're given either very basic backstories or just the barest of hints. I hope that future books help flesh out the remaining characters more.
And now for my main problems with the book. The plot is choppy at best and has a lot of randomness to it. There are way too many conveniences that allow characters to overcome some impossible situations. There is also as significant lack of world building. If the story had stuck with just being a swashbuckling adventure, I think it would have done better. Instead there is some magic thrown in that is neither explained nor built upon, just more of a "it shows up when it's needed' kind of convenience that was annoying. After giving us some truly fantastic fight scenes, the ending felt anticlimatic. Most of the plot twists happen just about where you expect them and at least two major scenes happen off screen, which was disappointing. Taking my warning from the beginning, there are also a couple of disturbing scenesof torture and rape .
Still, it was a pretty good debut novel. While the series shows promise, I'm not sure I'm in a big rush to read the second one just yet. I need a break between grimdark-ish books. show less
The King is dead and the Dukes ruthlessly rule of the country. The Greatcoats, the King's traveling Magistrates, have been scattered. Branded as traitors for standing aside while their King was murdered, their cloaks and their honor are in tatters. Yet there is still hope. show more Before his death the King charged each of them with a geas, a secret mission to fulfill the King's dream of unifying the country: find the King's Charoites.
I found the story to be an uneven read. The tale is told entirely from the first person point of view of Falcio, the first Cantor of the Greatcoats. The story jumps back and forth between past and present without warning or reason which kept jolting me from the story until I got used to it. Falcio is traveling with his two closest companions, Brasti and Kest, as they search for the King's Charoites. No one knows what the Charoites are or where to look for them, the King being rather vague with his instructions, so they are mostly following where rumors lead them. We are immersed in the friendship of these three, which was my favorite part of the book. The camaraderie and witty banter between the friends was a joy to read. The dialog has a great, somewhat sarcastic sense of humor that was a lot of fun.
de Castell really did his research when it came to writing rapier duels/fights. The action had an unrehearsed, breathless quality that felt very authentic.
Since the book focuses on Falcio, he is the character we learn the most about and has the best character development. For the remaining characters we're given either very basic backstories or just the barest of hints. I hope that future books help flesh out the remaining characters more.
And now for my main problems with the book. The plot is choppy at best and has a lot of randomness to it. There are way too many conveniences that allow characters to overcome some impossible situations. There is also as significant lack of world building. If the story had stuck with just being a swashbuckling adventure, I think it would have done better. Instead there is some magic thrown in that is neither explained nor built upon, just more of a "it shows up when it's needed' kind of convenience that was annoying. After giving us some truly fantastic fight scenes, the ending felt anticlimatic. Most of the plot twists happen just about where you expect them and at least two major scenes happen off screen, which was disappointing. Taking my warning from the beginning, there are also a couple of disturbing scenes
Still, it was a pretty good debut novel. While the series shows promise, I'm not sure I'm in a big rush to read the second one just yet. I need a break between grimdark-ish books. show less
DNF'd at 70%. This book was great fun at first, and I really enjoyed the writing style (1st person) and humor. The main characters make for an excellent trio, each with their own exceptional strengths - the all-rounder and idealistic squad leader, the deadpan protegee swordsman, and the wisecrack protegee archer. They had 3 musketeer vibes mixed with the kind of dark situational humor that Abercrombie puts to use, in a world where the good order has fallen. However, there were 2 main problems that eventually led me to put it down in frustration.
1st, the author split the party. Never split the party! The dynamic trio was the biggest thing this story had going for it, but the mc splits from them at around the end of the 1st act to do his show more own little side quest - that his companions say, and he himself admits, is more of an attempt to sulk his way out in a moment of heroism because of how mad he is at how the world has fallen apart. So, rather than continuing with his companions on a quest that was his dying king's wish, he runs around a city readers don't care about, trying to save a random girl, meeting (weird) side characters we don't care about.
The other big issue is how the women are written. This reminded me a lot of older fantasy because of the bravado and great companionship between male characters, mixed with bizarre torture, and 2D female characters. Here are the female characters relevant to the plot: A young princess who's being used as a political puppet who the male characters freely call a "stupid bitch who we should kill." Her mother and a major villainess who we get a super weird interlude with as she tortures the mc and animals (in horrific detail - no one asked for that - in a very Disney-villain "muahahaha" kind of way. Like, this is why we have protection against "cruel AND UNUSUAL" punishment - this is UNUSUAL all right...). Then there's the headstrong girl the mc is trying to save who gets to run around with him being kind of spunky and bossy (yawn). And then the ubiquitous priestess prostitute who drags our wounded mc off the street and instead of treating his injuries and letting him go to bed, ties him to it and forces him to have sex all night despite him repeatedly telling her to stop... because it would "heal" him from the grief over his dead wife. Oh yes, the mob rape and murder of his wife was the catalyst for our mc's journey years earlier.
So yeah... that's where I stopped reading. It seems a rule that classic fantasy or its imitators have to have weird noncon sex fantasies and unusual torture sequences (not necessarily separated), plus dead, raped wives, and this falls right in with that. I liked the male trio and might have stuck through to the end of the book if the party had stayed together, but since they didn't, I wasn't interested in continuing on considering the direction it took. show less
1st, the author split the party. Never split the party! The dynamic trio was the biggest thing this story had going for it, but the mc splits from them at around the end of the 1st act to do his show more own little side quest - that his companions say, and he himself admits, is more of an attempt to sulk his way out in a moment of heroism because of how mad he is at how the world has fallen apart. So, rather than continuing with his companions on a quest that was his dying king's wish, he runs around a city readers don't care about, trying to save a random girl, meeting (weird) side characters we don't care about.
The other big issue is how the women are written. This reminded me a lot of older fantasy because of the bravado and great companionship between male characters, mixed with bizarre torture, and 2D female characters. Here are the female characters relevant to the plot: A young princess who's being used as a political puppet who the male characters freely call a "stupid bitch who we should kill." Her mother and a major villainess who we get a super weird interlude with as she tortures the mc and animals (in horrific detail - no one asked for that - in a very Disney-villain "muahahaha" kind of way. Like, this is why we have protection against "cruel AND UNUSUAL" punishment - this is UNUSUAL all right...). Then there's the headstrong girl the mc is trying to save who gets to run around with him being kind of spunky and bossy (yawn). And then the ubiquitous priestess prostitute who drags our wounded mc off the street and instead of treating his injuries and letting him go to bed, ties him to it and forces him to have sex all night despite him repeatedly telling her to stop... because it would "heal" him from the grief over his dead wife. Oh yes, the mob rape and murder of his wife was the catalyst for our mc's journey years earlier.
So yeah... that's where I stopped reading. It seems a rule that classic fantasy or its imitators have to have weird noncon sex fantasies and unusual torture sequences (not necessarily separated), plus dead, raped wives, and this falls right in with that. I liked the male trio and might have stuck through to the end of the book if the party had stayed together, but since they didn't, I wasn't interested in continuing on considering the direction it took. show less
I've read this book 2 times now.
Both times, Sebastien de Castell's writing has made me laugh, has made me smile, has made me rage and has made me sob quietly in bed so as not to alarm my cats and husband in a broken, snotty mess.
There are only a few books and writers that can evoke that from me. I enjoy a lot of books. I find a lot of books, "well written," and "good," and "entertaining," but I find very few that I can say for a 100% certainty that have thrown me into a first-person, emotional juggernaut of escapism.
So, hello. Welcome to The Traitor's Blade, Greatcoats 1, the first-person, emotional juggernaut of escapism.
It's not for those who do not enjoy irreverent fuckery between soul-fasted comrades and long, hard, detailed show more looks at the darkness of the human soul regardless of what time or genre it's placed in.
I find that today, with the way shit is, re-reading and finally reviewing this book is timely.
This book is about hope and despair and humanity and a lot of the insanity that happens therein and I loved it, so, so much. That's why it is placed on my bookshelf as an, "Adored Timeless Reread," and why at least you should give it a chance.
This isn't just a good book. It is the story of the heart. Also, Sebastien, if you ever read this: you glorious emotional maestro bastard, you. Well done. show less
Both times, Sebastien de Castell's writing has made me laugh, has made me smile, has made me rage and has made me sob quietly in bed so as not to alarm my cats and husband in a broken, snotty mess.
There are only a few books and writers that can evoke that from me. I enjoy a lot of books. I find a lot of books, "well written," and "good," and "entertaining," but I find very few that I can say for a 100% certainty that have thrown me into a first-person, emotional juggernaut of escapism.
So, hello. Welcome to The Traitor's Blade, Greatcoats 1, the first-person, emotional juggernaut of escapism.
It's not for those who do not enjoy irreverent fuckery between soul-fasted comrades and long, hard, detailed show more looks at the darkness of the human soul regardless of what time or genre it's placed in.
I find that today, with the way shit is, re-reading and finally reviewing this book is timely.
This book is about hope and despair and humanity and a lot of the insanity that happens therein and I loved it, so, so much. That's why it is placed on my bookshelf as an, "Adored Timeless Reread," and why at least you should give it a chance.
This isn't just a good book. It is the story of the heart. Also, Sebastien, if you ever read this: you glorious emotional maestro bastard, you. Well done. show less
This book started off great. It ended great. And in the middle, it was also ... you guessed it, great. Someone suggested it on a FB group and I saw it was available on audio from my library so I picked it up. There are obvious comparisons to The Three Musketeers, which I haven't actually read, but there's also magic, but just a little of it.
Somewhere around the 1/3rd point I worried about it getting kind of repetitive, the 3 main characters facing off against other groups of guards and either just kicking their asses easily or through some cool witty idea. But then things changed. That kind of thing still happened, but there was so much more to it. I laughed a lot while reading this. I almost cried once or twice. So many cool ideas show more without a ton of world building or a million characters. I was just constantly impressed.
If I had to pick one bad thing, I would say that the villains were just too evil, but I loved everything so much I was able to almost completely overlook that. Looking forward to the other books in this series. show less
Somewhere around the 1/3rd point I worried about it getting kind of repetitive, the 3 main characters facing off against other groups of guards and either just kicking their asses easily or through some cool witty idea. But then things changed. That kind of thing still happened, but there was so much more to it. I laughed a lot while reading this. I almost cried once or twice. So many cool ideas show more without a ton of world building or a million characters. I was just constantly impressed.
If I had to pick one bad thing, I would say that the villains were just too evil, but I loved everything so much I was able to almost completely overlook that. Looking forward to the other books in this series. show less
All Falcio val Mond ever wanted to be was a Greatcoat, the men who roamed the country enforcing the king’s law. Now he has achieved it but there is no king. The Dukes, in their constant petty fights for power, have killed him and the greatcoats have scattered. They are seen by almost everyone as traitors, thieves, and worse. But Falcio refuses to stop wearing his greatcoat or trying to enforce the king’s law to protect the common folk even though it almost never ends well. He and his two best friends, Kest and Brasti also Greatcoats, have been reduced to guarding caravans. When the latest rich Caravaner they are supposed to protect is murdered while they are outside completely unaware, they are forced to flee.
They manage to find a show more spot with a new caravan carrying a spoiled noble woman the Dukes plan to place on the throne as a puppet princess. She is heading for Rijou, the most corrupt city in the empire and on the eve of Ganath Kalila, or Blood Week, seven days in which “there are no rules except one: what you can’t hold you don’t own”. Not surprisingly, the Duke’s sychophants use the time to win the Duke’s favour by killing those not in the Duke’s favour. When one such family is targeted and their home burned with a woman and her children inside, only thirteen-year-old Aline survives. Falcio swears to protect her and likely die in the process for no other reason than she shares his dead wife’s name.
Traitor’s Blade by author Sebastian de Castell is a kind of hybrid of high and realist fantasy. Falcio and the Greatcoats aspire to be real heroes and to do the right thing against all odds and at great risk to themselves despite the derision most people hold them in. There is some magic in their world but this is a tale more sword than sorcery. Even though pistols exist, swords and crossbows are still the weapons of choice and there is a great deal of swordplay throughout. In fact, if I have any criticism of the book, it is the amount and length of the swordplay but that is a minor criticism.
The story is more character- than plot-driven but fortunately, the good guys are extremely likable and the villains are the kind you like to hate. The world building is interesting and there’s plenty of action. It is the first in a series and, as such, much of the book is taken up with the back story and how they got to where they’re at. But the thing that sets this book apart and makes it a whole lot of fun to read is the humour which, although it is a bit on the blue side at times, acts as a nice counterpart to all the swordplay and violence. Admittedly, at times the tale is predictable but there are also, at times some real surprises to keep the reader guessing about what comes next.
Lately, fantasy seems to be divided between either grimdark or urban fantasy romance. Traitor’s Blade, with its clear ties to high fantasy as well as its obvious nod to classics like The Three Musketeers is a nice change of pace. It is one rollicking, swashbuckling romp and I am really looking forward to the next in the series. show less
They manage to find a show more spot with a new caravan carrying a spoiled noble woman the Dukes plan to place on the throne as a puppet princess. She is heading for Rijou, the most corrupt city in the empire and on the eve of Ganath Kalila, or Blood Week, seven days in which “there are no rules except one: what you can’t hold you don’t own”. Not surprisingly, the Duke’s sychophants use the time to win the Duke’s favour by killing those not in the Duke’s favour. When one such family is targeted and their home burned with a woman and her children inside, only thirteen-year-old Aline survives. Falcio swears to protect her and likely die in the process for no other reason than she shares his dead wife’s name.
Traitor’s Blade by author Sebastian de Castell is a kind of hybrid of high and realist fantasy. Falcio and the Greatcoats aspire to be real heroes and to do the right thing against all odds and at great risk to themselves despite the derision most people hold them in. There is some magic in their world but this is a tale more sword than sorcery. Even though pistols exist, swords and crossbows are still the weapons of choice and there is a great deal of swordplay throughout. In fact, if I have any criticism of the book, it is the amount and length of the swordplay but that is a minor criticism.
The story is more character- than plot-driven but fortunately, the good guys are extremely likable and the villains are the kind you like to hate. The world building is interesting and there’s plenty of action. It is the first in a series and, as such, much of the book is taken up with the back story and how they got to where they’re at. But the thing that sets this book apart and makes it a whole lot of fun to read is the humour which, although it is a bit on the blue side at times, acts as a nice counterpart to all the swordplay and violence. Admittedly, at times the tale is predictable but there are also, at times some real surprises to keep the reader guessing about what comes next.
Lately, fantasy seems to be divided between either grimdark or urban fantasy romance. Traitor’s Blade, with its clear ties to high fantasy as well as its obvious nod to classics like The Three Musketeers is a nice change of pace. It is one rollicking, swashbuckling romp and I am really looking forward to the next in the series. show less
Unlike much of the modern crop of leaden fantasy epics where every scene is drenched in mud and grey, happiness is nowhere around, and every portentous utterance is laced with doom — nothing against these epics, mind you, I love a lot of them, but c’mon, people, crack a smile, willya? — Traitor’s Blade is brisk, quick-witted, and most of all, fun. This is not to take away from the weight of its story; de Castell leavens his plotline with plenty of serious talk, conspiracies, corruption, double-crosses, and bloodletting. But damned if you don’t have a smile on your face by the last page. Traitor’s Blade is an epic that moves with the grace of an expert fencer and leaves me begging for more.
Read more at the Redeblog.
Read more at the Redeblog.
First published at Booking in Heels.
Seriously, I am very, very stingy with five star ratings. It has to be good to earn that stuff from me.
I probably would have picked up Traitor’s Blade a long time ago if I’d paid any attention to the plot. It’s essentially The Three Musketeers (which is one of my favourite classics) with a fantasy spin. The Greatcoats, an elite force dedicated to protecting the King, is disbanded due to the sinister machinations of power-hungry nobles. Three loyal ex-Greatcoats work to protect their monarchy in the name of justice, righteousness and fairness. Sound familiar?
I don’t mean that in a disparaging way, because it works so well. It’s a storyline that I don’t think has become tired in any event, show more but Sebastien de Castell puts such a fascinating spin on it that I wouldn’t have cared if every single one of them was called Athos. And, to be fair, it’s not like Traitor’s Blade attempts to hide its origins – they’re called Greatcoats, it’s hardly subtle!
Each member of the trio has their own personality, skills and little quirks, and I loved them all. Falco is the smart, tactical person with the troubled past, Kest is legendary with a sword and Brasti is a charming man who never misses a shot. All fantasy staples, yes, but it doesn’t feel like that. They’re all interesting, well-rounded characters, with whom I am more than willing to stick for another three books.
I love reading platonic, interesting friendships in books, and the relationship with these three men is full of bickering, teasing, absolute loyalty and the occasional punch to the face. It’s really well done and I hope it develops throughout the rest of the series.
Traitor’s Blade is written in a sort-of sassy, dry tone that fits perfectly with the characters. It strikes a perfect balance between accessibility and skillful writing. The dialogue is unstilted, the background information is seamlessly interwoven and the plot is just fast-paced enough. There are some dark moments (mostly in flashback-style memories), but on the whole its relatively light.
I actually have nothing negative to say about this book. At all. I’m actually a bit concerned about my mental wellbeing. I really, really loved this – it had everything I could ever want from a fantasy novel. show less
Seriously, I am very, very stingy with five star ratings. It has to be good to earn that stuff from me.
I probably would have picked up Traitor’s Blade a long time ago if I’d paid any attention to the plot. It’s essentially The Three Musketeers (which is one of my favourite classics) with a fantasy spin. The Greatcoats, an elite force dedicated to protecting the King, is disbanded due to the sinister machinations of power-hungry nobles. Three loyal ex-Greatcoats work to protect their monarchy in the name of justice, righteousness and fairness. Sound familiar?
I don’t mean that in a disparaging way, because it works so well. It’s a storyline that I don’t think has become tired in any event, show more but Sebastien de Castell puts such a fascinating spin on it that I wouldn’t have cared if every single one of them was called Athos. And, to be fair, it’s not like Traitor’s Blade attempts to hide its origins – they’re called Greatcoats, it’s hardly subtle!
Each member of the trio has their own personality, skills and little quirks, and I loved them all. Falco is the smart, tactical person with the troubled past, Kest is legendary with a sword and Brasti is a charming man who never misses a shot. All fantasy staples, yes, but it doesn’t feel like that. They’re all interesting, well-rounded characters, with whom I am more than willing to stick for another three books.
I love reading platonic, interesting friendships in books, and the relationship with these three men is full of bickering, teasing, absolute loyalty and the occasional punch to the face. It’s really well done and I hope it develops throughout the rest of the series.
Traitor’s Blade is written in a sort-of sassy, dry tone that fits perfectly with the characters. It strikes a perfect balance between accessibility and skillful writing. The dialogue is unstilted, the background information is seamlessly interwoven and the plot is just fast-paced enough. There are some dark moments (mostly in flashback-style memories), but on the whole its relatively light.
I actually have nothing negative to say about this book. At all. I’m actually a bit concerned about my mental wellbeing. I really, really loved this – it had everything I could ever want from a fantasy novel. show less
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- Canonical title
- Traitor's Blade
- Original publication date
- 2014-07-15
- People/Characters
- Falcio val Mond (First Cantor); Brasti; Kest Murrowson; Valiana; Aline; Patriana, Duchess of Helvor (show all 12); Jillard, Duke of Rijou; Trin; Feltock (Captain); Paelis, King of Tristia; The Tailor; Bal Armidor
- Important places
- Solat, Duchy of Aramor, Tristia; Rijou, Duchy of Rijou, Tristia; Duchy of Orison, Tristia; Phan, Duchy of Pulnam, Tristia; Duchy of Pertine, Tristia; Castle Aramor, Duchy of Aramor, Tristia
- Dedication
- To my mother, MJ, who once took me aside as a young boy and said, "Well, we need to make money and the easiest way to do that is to write novels." She never bothered to tell me that she'd never sold a book in her life.
- First words
- Pretend, just for a moment, that you have attained your most deep-seated desire.
Pretend, just for a moment, that you have attained your most deepseated desire. Not the simple, sensible one you tell your friends about, but the dream that's so close to your heart that even as a child you hesitated to speak... (show all) it out loud. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I felt her cheek rub against mine as she started giggling uncontrollably, and that's how we stayed for a few minutes more, while mad hopefulness surrounded us and spread like rainwater over the hard surface of the world.
- Publisher's editor
- Kerr, Adrienne
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- Iggulden, Conn; Harris, Charlaine; Alexander, Niall; Duncan, Dave
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- 813.6
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