The Court of Broken Knives

Now this is grimdark. This story is extremely bleak and extremely morally grey in many places. Just the sort of thing that I enjoy!

The first area to be praised here is the world building. Anna Smith Spark has built an incredible world full of myth and interesting political machinations. Some of these political themes lurk in the background whereas some (particularly in the city of Sorlost) are front and centre to the plot, but the net feel is of a real living breathing world.

The main protagonist is at times likable in his childlike joy and at times very unlikable when he goes off on one of his drug fueled binges. His strangely childlike glee at things is touching though. Anna Smith Spark takes the classic unsuspecting prince in disguise and turns it on its head with a morally bankrupt and exiled prince forming the centerpiece of the story.

The casual disregard for life and the high stakes politicking give a cynicism to the story that in someways grimly reflects real life. You can certainly imaging some of these plots coming to pass back in the past.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I look forward to continuing on with the next novel in the trilogy. Bring on the grimdark!

There might be (or not) a story there, but no matter how hard I tried, i could not get past the writing in order to find it. It is the most un-musical, un-artistic, impossible to enjoy writing.
What do I understand by good writing, to make myself clear? Either art in words, like Gene Wolfe or Patrick Rothfuss, or ”straight to bussiness” (but still not just words), like Stephen King or PK Dick.
This is neither, and the opposite of both.
Did not like it? No, actually hated it.
Before buying it, please read the first pages...

The Yellow Empire cannot be invaded. Or, that's what the people living there believe. All of them except for Orhan. He can't shake the feeling that they are vulnerable to attack. Everyone has grown complacent. Orhan believes that the only way things will change and get better is by getting rid of the Emperor and all of his cronies. So, he hires a company of men to cross the desert and wipe them all out. They come highly recommended, but one man stands out. Marith. He is not just a soldier, he is so much more. I LOVED this book! The plot and the characters just sucked me right in from the start. One minute I felt bad for Marith, the next minute I thought he was a bastard, and back and forth it went. I'm still not sure. I highly recommend this book to everyone!