BOOK REVIEW: The Emperor’s Blade by Brian Staveley ★★★★☆

Brian Staveley is a fantasy writer and his first novel has won the David Gemmell Morningstar Award (2015) and Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy & for Debut Goodreads Author (2014).

The Emperor’s Blade is the first book from the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, followed up by The Providence of Fire (2015) and The Last Mortal Bond (2016). The Last Abbot of Ashk’lan and Skullsworn are two standalone novels but are part of Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne Universe.

This has to be one of the best openings that I’ve read (so far).

Rot. It was the rot, Tan’is reflected as he stared down into his daughter’s eyes, that had taken his child.

Damn! I wasn’t expecting that, nor was I expecting this to be an intense book. Within the first 50 pages or so you’re introduced to nearly twenty characters (including minors). I had to make a note on some scrap paper (I’m terrible at remembering names). The world building had great foundations (map provided) which I can see expanding into the following books.

So this is how the story goes.

The Annurian Emperor has been murdered. His three children who are in different parts of the world must unmask a conspiracy. The Emperor's daughter, Minister Adare, hunts her father's murderer in the capital. The heir to the empire, Kaden studies in a remote monastery under the Blank God's disciples teaching in their harsh ways. Lastly, Valyn who’s training for the empire's deadliest fighting force, the Kettral, hears the news and warning from a dying soldier. It’s up to Valyn to complete his training and save the heir.

The concept of the Kettral training is severe that I don’t want to be a warrior. Many authors tell the reader that the main character is a worrier etc. but Staveley shows what it takes to become a soldier through tough training and the dangerous Hulls Trial. The way the author styled and wrote it was descriptive but not overly done that I lost my bearings.

I must admire the magic system Staveley has created because it’s something that I haven’t come across. ‘Leeches’ are magicians who have a ‘well’ from which they draw all their power and if they are separated from their well, they have no power. It can be from controlling elements like metal or emotions etc. This isn’t seen as praiseworthy because leeches in Annur are hated but once in the Kettral it can be used proactively.

It’s pretty good for a high fantasy novel but there were some things which I didn’t like.

The book heavily focuses on Valyn and Kaden’s storyline and I didn’t read much about their sister Adare, who actually had more of a role because she’s stuck in the capital searching for her father’s killer. She had four chapters and that moved more quickly than her brothers. Kaden’s story dragged slowly on and Valyn’s story perked up at times. That said, I didn’t really connect with the characters, except for Valyn as his story was more action-packed and moved on. At times I wondered why Kaden’s wasting his time at the monastery but that was answered later on.

I had hoped for some strong female characters in a man’s world but Stavely’s female characters came across as sexual interests for other characters (Ha Lin and Salia) or were just very angry (Gwenna) with life or heartless (Annick). I hope the other books address the issues.

Even after those little minor issues, I’ll complete the trilogy because I can see the potential. If you’re a fan of high fantasy novels then yes I do recommend The Emperor’s Blade but if your more into badass female characters that are not seen as sexual interests then this would probably be a miss for you.

Rating 4/5 Stars
Publishers: Tor
Publication Date: October 9th, 2014 (First Published January 14th, 2014)
Genre: High Fantasy Adventure