Sword Catcher

De: Cassandra Clare

Narrado por: Christian Coulson, Fiona Hardingham

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Two outcasts find themselves caught in a web of dangerous magic and dark secrets that could change the world forever in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

“Everything I look for in fantasy.”—George R. R. Martin

A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.

Lin Caster is a physician from a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. But despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the ruler of Castellane’s criminal underworld. But as long-kept secrets begin to unravel and forbidden attractions arise, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Expert worldbuilding, swordplay, and politics, a colorful cast of characters, and a story that kept me reading from the first page to the last.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin

“A gorgeously built world of decadence, betrayal, and grand adventure. From the decadent and drunken parties of the nobles, to the dens of crime lords in the Warren and Maze, to the Sault, where the devotees of a lost goddess are penned, the city of Castellane makes the perfect backdrop for a delightful cast of characters to befriend, betray, and romance one another. This is Cassandra Clare at her cleverest, twistiest and most heart-stopping—a triumph of a book.”—Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Night

“Clare plunges us into a thrilling world built with precision and brimming with enchantment. Her spellbinding cast of outlaws, healers, royals, and rogues will have you questioning your allegiances with every delicious turn of the plot. This is fantasy at its finest.”—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hell Bent

“Sweeping yet intimate, rich with romance and intrigue, Sword Catcher is Cassandra Clare at her magical best. In pages packed with sumptuous descriptions, Clare gives us a kingdom’s worth of characters—including Kel the ‘sword catcher,’ trained to protect his prince at all costs, and Lin, a young physician of an outcast people—forced to navigate a web of tangled loyalties between the loved ones they cherish and the powers they serve. This book will break your heart and leave you wanting more!”—Helene Wecker, New York Times bestselling author of The Golem and the Jinni

“A sumptuous feast of a book, vivid and delicious and heady. Cassandra Clare’s trademark skills are on full display here: epic worlds, wrenching romances, heart-slamming plot twists, Dickensian characters. I can’t wait to visit Castellane again.”—Kelly Link, bestselling author of White Cat, Black Dog

“A charming return to the big fat fantasy novels of happy memory, with a modern character-driven narrative. Vivid and clever.”—Scott Lynch, bestselling author of the Gentleman Bastard sequence

Good start, a little bloated

I was hesitant to get into this novel by Cassandra Clare, despite many recommendations from readers and friends I trust. Why? Because, I, as many of you, I’m sure, bear the scars of the Mortal Instruments series. That series started off strongish (for YA), but petered out quickly and terribly, carting me limply to its conclusion like a bedraggled horse. I was left reminded of why, as a general rule, I detest novels written by a fanfiction writer who has failed to leave habits and tropes long trodden in the depths of the internet. I vowed never to make such a mistake again.

But against my better judgment, I was finally beaten down by many voices, swallowed my pride, and picked up Sword Catcher at Barnes & Noble during my annual Christmas spree. I opened it in the holiday lull, and – to my great surprise – I never set it down.

Sword Catcher demonstrates leaps and bounds for Clare as a writer, particularly in her character development and voice (and yes – she does fairly successfully transition to an adult fantasy tone). It is an intriguing story from start to finish, growing the tension as the tale unfolds. It ends on a significant cliffhanger without real resolution of its many plotlines – which does make it feel clearly like a first chapter that must be read in concert with the still-to-come sequels. But as long as you do not mind a book which ends in its climax (and yes, I think there are some who will very much mind this non-stand-alone structure), you will enjoy the ride. It feels rather like series one to a television show – fun to watch, but you suspect as it ends that you’ll look back and consider it a prologue to the real story which follows. Kel is an intriguing character whose role is fascinating and just unique enough, in my opinion; and Connor is equally fun to follow. I also very much enjoyed the side characters and the slow unravelling of ancient legends and myths as the present time moves forward. I also found Clare’s dip into more adult themes (and scenes, and language) refreshing after reading her more PG works of the past.

Was it perfect? No. At times, Clare does fall back into a somewhat irritating habit of spending fifteen sentences to say what should take one. Certain scenes – especially the many parties – seem to take a looooooong time to reach their climax, in which a bit too much description is given (like most successful authors, it seems Clare has a bit more power than her editor). I also found our main female character – Lin – rather grating, particularly at the beginning of the story. The novel is structured to alternate viewpoints between Kel and Lin, and Kel’s story is set up so well at the beginning that diverging into Lin felt like unwanted commercials between a gripping football game. Lin’s independence is appreciated, but her blatant stupidity when it comes to understanding other humans (especially the very obvious romance angle which comes as a surprise to nobody but Lin) and her quick burst to temper do irritate with their repetitiveness. Unlike Kel’s story, I found Lin’s predictable – which is perhaps why I did not enjoy it as much. Having said that, the political commentary of her people and the side characters in her subplot I found very interesting and compelling – her grandfather in particular (though he bridges both stories, so perhaps that is why).

Other negatives? Info dumping is a definite issue in this book, so if that’s not your thing you will be angry. Also, see the above note regarding the ending – which will definitely rub some people the wrong way. ALSO… the romance (while predictable from basically the first meet-cute she sets up) is not a particular development in this book, making the ‘forbidden love’ tagline a big stretch. Romance is never my thing in fantasy, so I didn’t really care – but some might.

One final note – I have seen rumours online that Clare ripped off V.E. Schwab in this novel. These rumoured are fuelled, I expect, by Clare’s dubious past with plagiarism issues. I will say that my very first thought when I picked this up was ‘Why is his name Kel?’ (Kell Maresh, as many will know, was the protagonist in Schwab’s Shades of Magic series). I was wary from the jump on this – not only because plagiarism is obviously immoral, but also because personally I cannot stand Shades of Magic (see my rant reviews there) and do not seek more Schwab in my life. However, I will say that while I’m no super fan of either Schwab or Clare, there is not much similarity between Sword Catcher and Shades (or any other Schwab work) aside from the name and the presence of a prince-brother relationship in a kingdom in crisis. Which, to be frank, is a fantasy trope old as time. I have seen some complaining about magic stones and containing/isolating magic users… again, I don’t think this is new territory for Clare, but it also wasn’t anywhere near new territory for Schwab. Magical talismans (many times stones, also rings, wands, voids, runic symbols… take your pick) are older than the written word in fantasy and fairy tales. And suppressing magical users / fear of magical beings is just as old. It is fairly rich to gift these tropes to Schwab alone (or Clare, for that matter).

All in, I would give this about 3.5 stars. It does not touch the best of all fantasy, but it is among the best of 2023, in my humble opinion. Worth the read.

Looking forward to the next book

The book started off really good, then got slow around chapter 5, then picked back up a bit. It didn’t have me hanging on every word, but I understand that it was laying a foundation for the series so I can’t complain. I cannot wait for the next book to come out as Cassandra Clare is one of my fav authors so I know the series will be amazing.

Very good.

Very good, you should read it.
It’s long as hell, but if your into this sort of thing it’s great.

Loved!

Slow start but loved everything about this book and now I can’t wait for book 2.

marvelous

Cassandra Claire is brilliant. I look forward to the next installment of this series.