The Court of Broken Knives

Empires of Dust, Book 1

By: Anna Smith Spark

Narrated by: Colin Mace, Meriel Rosenkranz

Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Perfect for fans of Mark Lawrence and R. Scott Bakker, The Court of Broken Knives is the explosive debut by one of grimdark fantasy's most exciting new voices.

They've finally looked at the graveyard of our empire with open eyes. They're fools and madmen and like the art of war. And their children go hungry while we piss gold and jewels into the dust.

In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous emperor, decadence has become the true ruler and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion - and only one man can see it.

Haunted by dreams of the empire's demise, Orhan Emmereth has decided to act. On his orders, a company of soldiers cross the desert to reach the city. Once they enter the palace, they have one mission: kill the emperor, then all those who remain. Only from ashes can a new empire be built.

The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Marching on Sorlost, Marith thinks he is running away from the past which haunts him. But in the Golden City, his destiny awaits him - beautiful, bloody, and more terrible than anyone could have foreseen.

©2017 Anna Smith-Spark (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Grim, gritty and fast paced, with great battle scenes! Anna Smith-Spark is one to watch." (Andy Remic)

"Holy crap this is good!" ( Grim Tidings)

"On a par with R. Scott Bakker." ( Grimdark Alliance)

A surprisingly charming book

This has been a pleasant surprise.
Anna Smith Spark has a way to merge ancient legends high poetry with the gritty, dirty and cruel reality in a way I never read before.
General:
The plot is interesting at first, it's a slow burner. The world building is well paced, not too much at one time. The fantasy elements are cool and kept vague and mysterious (appreciated it). Nations, families and languages, were a bit similar, so in audio form it's harder at first to keep them separated. I give only 4 stars for that minor thing and some choices torwards the end of the book I wished were different.
Narrator:
Both narrators were amazing, perfect for the setting and characters. The voices are different and don't mix. My only major issue, especially at the start, were Colin's odd pauses.
For some reason he breaks down phrases in a weird fashion, not only with other nations languages (which I would understand), but also with English ones.
You get used to it, but at first it halted the flow for me.
Other than this, the narration is perfect.
Content:
The story is good, the setting is super interesting for me. A mix of Paulo Cohelo's The Alchemist, Game of Thrones (on a smaller, manageable scale) with a sprinkle of fantasy elements (dragons!). I was engaged right away.
Being a grimdark fan, I was satisfied by the morally gray characters, their choices and their flaws. The battles were truly well written, quite gripping and crude. What sold the book for me are the details: we are in a world of jewels, silks and sand, where an emperor is regarded as a God, blood and ancestors are legends. it feels like an old tale from the Middle East... and then there's shit, gore, blood, sweat, tears, puke and addiction.
Now that's grimdark.

A great recommendation, I will certainly pick up the next book.

Dark, but beautifully written and performed

If you like your fantasy dark, unrepentant and well written, this is the book for you. A psychopath God King and his merry men set out to murder an Emperor with unexpected results.

The story can meander, but the writing and performances are so good it's not a chore. The violence does get a bit tedious, but I do feel it's meant to underpin the central protagonists exposure to it and what it has all cost them.

cardboard characters

Colin Mace is a brilliant narrator, but the addicted prince quite unbelievable, please help me...