Customer Reviews

Broken Blade (A Fallen Blade Novel)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Until a small handful of years ago, Aral had been a Blade of Namara. He had been a human weapon, honed to the finest edge possible by the training of the temple. The Blade of Justice made flesh. His purpose was to bring death to those who deserved it, as ordered by his goddess, Namara. Since he was a child, Aral had been bonded to Triss, a dragon-shaped Shade that lived in his shadow. The powers Triss wielded became an extension of Aral's will. However, five years ago the Emperor of Heaven killed Namara and her followers had been executed. Very few Blades survived.

Aral and Triss now keep a low profile. Aral is a shadow jack, doing occasional shady jobs and drinking himself unconscious. When a mysterious woman named Maylien hires Aral to deliver a secret message for a high wage, he knows that there must be a catch. But Aral is bored and Triss prods him to take the commission. Aral soon discovers that Maylien never intended for him to deliver the letter but rather to witness a clandestine meeting between the Baroness Marchon and Devin Urslan, a former Blade. Until now Aral had believed Devin to be dead. Instead, his fellow Blade is alive and has become a traitor to the priesthood. Worse, having learned that Aral is alive too, Devin intends to coerce Aral into helping him create an army of assassins unbound by any ethical restriction.

In the meantime, Aral is busy helping Maylien gain the baronial seat. Maylien is the true heir to the Barony of Marchon. Currently her wicked sister holds the position and the people suffer because of it. In order for Maylien to take the baronial seat, she must kill her sister in a proper duel. Problem is that Maylien must get close enough to her sister so she can issue a blood challenge.

***** FIVE STARS! This is the first of a new series filled with multifaceted characters, layered plots, and the type of quixotic scenarios that only the imagination of Kelly McCullough could possibly create. The author, once again, crosses genres. (I expect him to break the Fourth Wall [between fiction and reality] any day now.) And though a secret order of assassins has been done by writers in the past, McCullough goes the extra mile. The main characters are magical and each has a unique familiar with various abilities that they share with their human. Of course this also means that any weakness the familiar has could become a serious problem should a foe learn of it.

Stories by Kelly McCullough are one-of-a-kind - just like him. I found Aral's world to be compelling and highly addictive. Brilliant! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Dark and complex and real, "Broken Blade" protagonist Aral Kingslayer is a former assassin fallen on hard times, with not much left but his sense of humor and his own shadow. Fortunately, Aral's shadow is Triss, a fiercely loyal Shade familiar who draws magical power from the unknowable realm of the everdark.

I grew up devouring Anne McCaffrey's "Pern" stories, and finding Kelly McCullough's new novel "Broken Blade" was like discovering a grown-up version of a treasure from my childhood. Like the dragons of Pern or the daemons of Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy, McCullough's Shades are more than just loyal comrades. Aral's familiar Triss is a dragon-shaped shadow, fierce and earnest and wounded. But he's also a wild card in Aral's nature--a deeply bonded but independent agent who can disrupt Aral's romantic relationships or transform his odds in a fight.

Did I mention there was fighting? Aral Kingslayer's Order of Namara, a group of religious assassins devoted to Justice, has been ruthlessly destroyed. Now Aral is hunted man, trying to figure out what justice means in a changed world. With urgent, fluid prose, McCullough drives his protagonist from sword fight to assassination to betrayal, leaving readers desperately eager for the next volume in the trilogy.

The Broken Blade series reminded me of a lighter version of the book Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick (a fantastic book if you haven't read it.)

Broken Blade is perfect for a fan of political/hierarchal conspiracy in a fantasy series.

Aral is a fantastic broken character that readers will love to learn more about, in fact this was one of my favorite parts of the story. McCullough does a fantastic job creating an engaging yet realistic tale of how a once great assassin and religious follow could be broken made into the "jack" acting outside the law we see today. It's fascinating hearing Aral's stories how he killed the king, and how he grew up with his fellow followers of Namara. Not only that but the idea that if a religious follower's goddess died, what the ramifications would be, is a fascinating premise.

Of course Aral isn't the only interesting character in the book, I also enjoyed Triss. Triss is Aral's shadow familiar who also looks a little like a dragon when he's not impersonating Aral's shadow. Triss has cool powers, and is definitely his own established character. The only issue I have with Triss is that Triss isn't as complex as I'd want him to be. He's strong and makes a great sidekick but sometimes I'd be nice if he was a little bit more, or if we knew more about his kinds back story. That said I realize this is an unreasonable expectation as detailing more of Triss's back story and adventures could in itself be an entire new series.

That said, this book isn't just great characters and intricate political plots, it's also filled with some heart pounding action. As Aral is forced to confront great foes and powerful former friends, the story is positively bursting with excitement. McCullough also does a great job creating an interesting world of magic and ramifications. I'd have liked a bit more of a run through with what is possible in this world, but I'm sure readers will get a greater grasp on it as the series goes on.

All in all Broken Blade is a fun first book. It's got action, appealing characters (especially the librarian), great back stories, and an interesting magic system. Because of all of these things I'd recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to the next in the series, Bared Blade.

[...]

I will begin this by saying I loved every one of the Cybermage books. I was sad to see them end. So when I saw that the author had a new work out, I was very excited to read it. I will tell you now, this book does not even appear to be written by the same person. One of the first rules of writing is to show not tell. The author breaks this rule right and left. It is the book's biggest weakness. There is so much exposition in this story that I found myself SKIMMING huge sections just to get to the main action. This story, already a relatively short 266 pages could have been edited down to nice 150 or less easily. Where I flew through the Cybermage books, I slogged through this one, only finishing it because I rarely leave a book unread after I start it. The second problem with this book is utterly unlikeable characters. I had so little sympathy or respect for Aral, the central character of the novel, that I couldn't care less what happened to him. Even though you KNOW because the books spends a lot of time TELLING you that Aral was once quite an awesome sacred assassin, you don't buy it all. He is not particular sharp, innovative, or skilled, though you are TOLD he is by the author. The other central characters in this book, Maylien, Devin, and Sumey, are given similar weak treatment. You never understand what really motivates these characters to do anything. And I actually think Maylien is the worst female character KM has written. She has no depth at all. There is no reason to care about her so the reader again could care less what happens to her. Finally, the dialogue in the novel is inane. It reads as if written by a 14 year old. And not a skilled one. I could go on: poor world building, undeveloped magic system, weak plotting...really, there is nothing really good about the book.

The only reason I did not give this 1 star is because the shade concept is interesting. Triss has potential though he is not near as interesting nor as well developed as Ravyn's computer familiar.

I don't think I will be reading any more of this series. Honestly, this book was just bad. I can't believe KM wrote it. I expected much more of an author who wrote such a strong first series.

I almost never give a 5 star review but really I did love this book. This is the story of a once great assassin divinely ordained to deliver jusctice often to those who normally justice cannot touch. The idea of this book is really original not a person who fell from grace but one whose goddess was killed. Instead of trying to get revenge he finds that his whole sense of self disappear as his meaning for living and all his friends die with her.

Bad

- I thought the main character could of been a little bit more bad ass. But that is not to say he is not just that I would of liked to see him be a little more.

Good

- Great character development you feel for Aral and Triss for what they lost. You see how they want to be more than what they are now and how much it hurts them to see how far they have fallen. Aral's character is compelling as he gives not excuses but at the same time owns up to his mistakes. Triss is his constant companion and really they are all each other have.

- Magic system was interesting and explained enough to give you a working knowledge but I think in the next books it will be more fully fleshed out. Which I will eagerly wait for.

- The female lead was developed nicely and you could see in her a dual personality of who she is fighting against who she wants to become. She is used to one style of living and now must change everything about herself to be who she thinks she must.

- The world and the background are frankly amazing you get to see Arals past history through his memories and I thought it was done just enough not so much as to distract but enough for you to really see how far they have fallen.

Overall

A really great book with a lot to offer a reader interesting world, good characters that are fleshed out, fun plot with some interesting turns. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy with a clear conscience and I will be reading the sequal.

I had first heard about the book earlier this year and later again when Anne Sowards specially mentioned it in her Fantasy Book Critic interview as well. I had caught up with the author's previous work, the Webmage series earlier this year and very much enjoyed the technology laced, Greek mythology inspired narrative. After learning more of the book and its setting, I was very curious to see how the author would handle the story and the characters.

Aral Kingslayer was a blade(assassin) of Namara, the Goddess of justice and was exceedingly good at his vocation. Delivering justice as per Namara's directions, the world was a safer place. However the other Gods didn't like Namara's meddling and soon banded to dispose of her and her acolytes. Since that day Aral has slowly spiraled into a life without meaning and he has tried to escape within the swirly confines of whiskey. The story then begins with Aral finding himself down on his luck again and seeing trouble approach in a red dress. He is then asked to deliver a message for a fee which deems the entire endeavor a very risky one. Unsure of whether to take the offer and what his benefactor's intentions are, he hesitates. But his shadow familiar a dragon named Triss forces him to take the job as it means that the job will bring in the much needed money as well give Aral something to do besides slacking off. He then agrees to take the job and goes to deliver the message however the fly in the pie turns out to be that he's not just a messenger. He is intended to see what happens when two particular people come to meet & what it is they have to discuss.

The story to begin with is a dark one, usually in such situations the protagonist often has a something to back upon, however in this story the murder of the Goddess is something which has led to this situation. The main character of Aral is not overtly heroic; he's an assassin to begin however his actions were always dictated by the Goddess. While this sounds very cool, there's a duality to his action, from the eyes of the Temple, Aral & the rest of his comrades are the arms and weapons of justice. Doing their best to correct the imbalance of the world however if seen from a viewpoint of a neutral party or even those who were affected by Namara's actions. Her temple and its assassins seem no more than crazed magical warriors who decide to kill people as per the wishes of their Goddess. This ambiguity is a bit touched upon the author and never fully revealed, leaving the readers to draw their own conclusions. Aral's character however is a deeply troubled one and he's lost his way since the fall. The characterization by the author fleshes out the main protagonist very nicely and also showcases a lot of his personality along with that of his familiar Triss, significantly highlighting the reasons behind Aral's fall and his subsequent attempt to live a life of some meaning.

The overall plot thread is a mystery as the author slowly doles out the clues and the reader along with the main protagonist have to string them together to figure out the real happenings. The world setting created in this series is also something which draws the reader in to the story and makes sure that the reader realizes that a lot of thought has gone in the making of this world. There's also the currency, the calendar of 370 days spread over 11 months of 32 days each, also each month being further divided into 4 weeks of eight days. This and much more is packed into this 300-odd paged story, this creative world building really helps the reader to immerse themselves and ingrain themselves within this world. The world and backstory however are barely scratched in this series opener and with atleast two more volumes to be released, there will definitely more to know and read about.

One of the points wherein the story might lose the reader interest is the lack of pace in the middle third of the book wherein things are sprung on the main characters. While there were quite some revelations, the pace got flagged amidst it all and this might detract from the reading experience. Another thing which is only hinted at but never clearly touched upon is the pivotal event of the Goddess's death, these traumatic events casts a long shadow over almost all of the events in the book and however beyond a few conversations not much is clarified. Perhaps the author wished to reveal his cards a bit later but some more shedding of light would have helped in understanding the depth of the tragedy. The ending while a quick one is definitely a satisfying one and this helps to overcome all the aforementioned hurdles. The author leaves more than enough threads up in the air for the sequel Bared Blade and for the readers to linger a bit more in the world of Aral and Triss.

CONCLUSION: A strong beginning to a new fantasy-mystery hybrid series which proclaims that Kelly McCullough is definitely not a one-series wonder. Broken Blade hits all the right points and while still having some vagaries to its name, it does effectively manage to captivate the reader to the world of the Fallen Blades.

Loved it. For those that loved his WebMage series - Kelly does it again. Great book - could not put it down.

This was a pretty good book.

The book features a former assassin for the Goddess of Justice who is down on his luck. He's down on his luck because the goddess for whom he and his order of assassins worked has been killed by the other gods, virtually all of his former order executed, and as a result of his depression and the bounty on his head he is reduced to a drunken thief for hire. The story is about how this "broken blade" begins to find a purpose for his life and gain his self respect.

The main character is nicely fleshed out. The supporting characters could use a bit more depth; the bad guys a lot more...with the exception of one villain, they are basically cutouts. The one bad guy who is somewhat developed, though still insufficiently so in my opinion, is the main character's former best friend and former member of the main character's now-destroyed order who has "turned to the dark side" (my metaphor). We never truly get to understand why this former friend has turned evil.

But the story is good. It moves briskly for the most part and the action scenes are well written. The underlying world the author has created is interesting.

I will buy a sequel.

If you're a fan of the WebMage series, here's another hard-to-put-down novel for you. If you're new to McCullough's writing, then this is a great starting point for you. McCullough is able to create extremely compelling characters and spin them into complex but fascinating tales. Bravo.

This new direction for Kelly McCullough is engrossing with wonderfully flawed yet good-hearted, redeemable characters that are worth rooting for. The world building is complex, but not distracting. The characters make full use of the world, which has an Asian flavor without resorting to typical Asian cliches. The plot twists keep you guessing, and the cultural development of the assassins' religion is worth mourning. Eagerly awaiting more in the series!