Traitor's Blade, the first book in the Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell, follows three Greycoats — once heroes of justice, now pariahs and traitors — questing to fulfil promises they made to their dead King Paelis while battling the evil dukes of the land.
What I liked ✅ a unique writing style, witty, humorous, with great character banter ✅ I'm not crying, you're crying, but I swear if the horse dies I'm tearing this book up ✅ complex characters — protagonist Falcio is witty and interesting, and plenty of intriguing female characters, from heroes to the most despicable female villain ever ✅ the fencing and archery scenes are very well written — de Castell has obviously studied the technicalities of the two arts ✅ the enjoyment factor of this book is high
What I didn't like ✖ the biggest deus ex machina ending I've ever read ✖ the last four chapters were rushed and lame — too many dramatic reveals, 11th-hour rescues and miraculous saves from death ✖ lack of world-building — not enough information on the magic system or the powers of the Greycoats to make it believable ✖ a lot of "What the heck?!" moments which were not explained or set up — the scene with the prostitute, "break the rock" scene, that scene where the Greycoats talk with their swords... ✖ the plot could have been better plotted — the inciting incident in chapter one is quickly forgotten, Kest and Basti are removed from Act II, Falcio's motivations for protecting Aline were shaky at best, we don't really start feeling for Falcio as a character until halfway through Act II. Rating 3.5/5 🌟 Genre: fantasy Verdict: RECOMMENDED ✅ QOTD: you're the lead character in a fantasy book! What animal is your traveling companion?