The Copper Promise

Wydrin, known as the Copper Cat, and Sebastian, a former knight, are two sell-swords plying their successful trade on the planet of Ede for the highest bidder. Little do they know what they’re letting themselves in for when they accept to accompany young Lord Frith to the ancient ruins of the Citadel. Frith, who saw his family murdered and his ancestral home taken from him, is out for vengeance, and he hopes he will find it in the fortress’s lower chambers. Maybe they should have been paying more attention to the other rumours as to what else was hidden there, as they inadvertently unleash a terrible monster set on destroying everything in its path …

I’m not normally a big fan of fantasy novels, but the premise sounded show more intriguing, with a female protagonist and the promise of danger, adventure, magic and just the right amount of humour, and I’m glad to say I wasn’t disappointed. The actions moves along at breakneck speed, taking unexpected twists and turns, so that at the end of the ride you realise you’d been holding your breath. I find it’s always a sign of an engaging book when you’re impatient to get back to it, or are trying to squeeze in just one more chapter before you have to get on with some work. The pages were turning as if by themselves, and I was often surprised to see how long I’d been reading or to find I was suddenly on page 55 (or 199, or 411). I do think the end felt a little rushed (how did Sebastian escape the clutches of the demon?) and the sheer amount of bloodshed and bone-crunching violence often made me grimace and flinch. Thank goodness there is some light relief in the form of Wydrin’s feisty and irreverent heroine, a melancholic zombie and the interplay between Wydrin and Lord Frith, which reminded me of a role reversal of the Han Solo–Princess Leia dynamic. By the end I was sad to see them go, and I do hope Jen Williams will allow the trio to set off on some more adventures; if so, I’m already putting my name on the waiting list.

(This review was originally written as part of Amazon's Vine programme.) show less

Putting aside around page 120. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this novel - it's got interesting and varied characters, a plot that moves along at a fair clip, and an easy, readable style (though the tendency to put dialogue and action in separate paragraphs confused me now and then). But it's just really not my sort of thing. The plot happens to the characters, not so much through them, and I am in general far less interested in putting to rights the awakening of a world-destroying, army-spawning dragon than I am in seeing a character overcome her own obstacles. Your mileage may vary; I'm moving on.

Jen Williams’s novel swaggered its way to the top of my to-read list with the ease of a roistering sell-sword in a shabby tavern. I’ve meant to read The Copper Cat for some time and I decided this was the perfect moment, as I inch closer to my holidays. A loving tribute to the golden age of sword-and-sorcery, The Copper Promise is a gleeful romp complete with an odd couple of mercenaries, a fledgling mage, haunted ancient ruins, magical artefacts, murderous gods, and even a dragon. Yet it’s written with a lighthearted modern touch and our ‘heroes’ are a well-drawn and diverse bunch. It’s a jolly good fantasy adventure, fresh and fun while affectionately respecting the genre’s conventions...

For the full review, please see show more my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/07/13/the-copper-promise-jen-williams/ show less

The Copper Promise in its full entirety came out earlier this year from Headline Books, but with nary a US release date in sight. I kept my eyes and ears open for any news on that. And waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I needed this book in my life. Being on the wrong side of the ocean be damned, I just went ahead and ordered my copy from the Book Depository. From there, this oh so gorgeous book found its way into my hands at last.

Was it worth it? You betcha! I craved for this book so hard because I thought it sounded amazing, and it happened to have a lot of things I like. We’re talking classic quest narrative here. And don’t forget mages, knights, and sellswords. Hey, there are even show more pirates! Oh, and did I mention the dragon? Not just any old dragon either, but a dragon god of destruction. Unleashed after an eternity spent imprisoned in the dark depths of the Citadel, all she wants to do now is tear the world asunder.

Enter an unlikely group of heroes who may be the world’s last hope. Unique and intriguing, the characters are what made this book so awesome. We have Lord Frith, jaded and broken, thirsting for revenge after witnessing his whole family killed by usurpers who then nearly tortured him to death for the secret location of his treasure vault. Then we have Sebastian, the exiled knight whose only crime was falling in love with another man. And last but not least, we have Wydrin, the cheeky mercenary who calls herself The Copper Cat. She’s great. And has a scary obsession with blades too, I might add.

I enjoyed how naturally the character relationships seemed to flow with the story. Each person had to overcome their own individual challenges at some point before coming back together again to resolve the final conflict, but this was done so artfully that their separations and reunions always felt so right. Somehow, characters were exactly where they needed to be but always in a way that made a lot of sense and didn’t feel forced. Plus, even with all these dynamics, there was still plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with everyone so all their interactions were always easy and entertaining to follow.

I think a lot of this had to do with the novel’s format. I was glad I knew something about it before heading into the book. The Copper Promise is actually a collection of four serialized novellas – Ghost of the Citadel, Children of the Fog, Prince of Wounds, and Upon the Ashen Blade. Together they form the overall story arc; every section being a part of a whole. In spite of this, I did also notice that each part had its own dramatic structure – a main conflict, rising action, etc. So in a way, it’s a bit like getting four exciting climaxes in a single book! But even with the almost seamless transition between the parts, if I hadn’t known about the serialized format I imagine reading all four of them together would feel like a pretty uneven ride with lots of ups and downs. It also gives the book that “pulpy” feel. I was prepared, so it probably wasn’t as distracting for me.

The important thing is, these four parts come together remarkably well, showing us the bigger picture. While it’s true that they still work as smaller narratives by themselves, it’s a lot more rewarding when you view it as a whole. I know I certainly enjoyed myself.

This is simply good adventurous fun with just a touch of grit. Sound good? Then you should definitely check it out too. show less

There is a great deal of fantasy available to us today. So The Copper Promise was a refreshing change. As much as anything the book never went anywhere I suspected it would go. New and interesting characters appeared on the side-lines leading our three protagonists on different routes and quests. While there was a main overarching storyline the best parts were when the tale was operating on a smaller scale in locales. I think this is perhaps because we learnt more about the characters, their histories and motivations. Several good turns of plot, a different magic system…..what was not to like.

This is an earlier series from Ms. Williams, who wrote my favorite fantasy of late, The Winnowing Flame series. It has much of the promise of that later series and hits some of the same beats. It's a thoroughly entertaining romp that would make a fun D&D campaign.
Wydrin and Sir Sebastian hire out as sellswords to Lord Aaron Frith, who wants to find the magic hidden beneath the Citadel to take revenge against those who murdered his family. They find much more than they bargained for when they free an ancient evil.
This is an entertaining read and a great start to this series. I'll definitely be continuing through the books.

Like dragons?

I said, Do You Like Dragons?

Honestly, this was the point, along with all the old gods that started waking up, that got my interest revving for this book. It wasn't so much the standard Sword and Sorcery stuff that filled the first two sections of the novel. It was written well, but it was very much the same kind of thing I've been reading for a long time, and it's been done. A lot. All the standard fantasy tropes, from awakening magic, thieves with hearts of gold, discovery of nobility in oneself, and even a bit, or a lot of mischief.

Later on, though? Big battles and old gods and one hell of an epic battle against a dragon that Just Won't Die.

I've been a big fan of Skyrm. Just think that with a much better story and a bit show more more epic and focused without the afterworld stuff and you'll have a good feel of this novel. :) I really got into it after all the magic and the big stuff started rolling, and this was what I was missing in the first parts of the novel.

I wasn't really looking for all the comfortable and standard tropes. But I did really enjoy the dragon and the gods. :) That was extremely fun. :) show less