Last year, KNIGHT'S SHADOW was hands-down the most enjoyable book I read all year. This year, SAINT'S BLOOD seems destined to take that title.
Sebastien de Castell's Greatcoats series centers around three men -- Falcio, Kest and Brasti -- who were once the king's elite judicial swordsmen, bringing law and justice to a fragile kingdom. But their king is long dead and the Greatcoats have long since been scattered to the wind, each assigned a personal mission from the king.
In the previous two books, Falcio and his friends have found the king's daughter, Aline, and taken steps toward placing her on the throne and returning justice to their kingdom. In addition to Aline, they have found several other young women who, while they each bring different personalities and skills to the table, match Falcio, Kest and Brasti in their determination and belief in a brighter future for their kingdom. By this point in the series, the women are often the drivers of the plot, standing side by side with the "Three Musketeers"-esque heroes we have followed throughout the series.
All three books are anchored by Falcio's heart-on-his-sleeve point of view, providing a voice that reminds me in some ways of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden. In one moment, he can be trading barbs with Kest and Brasti, and in the same page de Castell turns the screws and suddenly creates an unexpectedly emotional moment. Somehow, de Castell has captured the humor of Scott Lynch and the poignancy of Robin Hobb. It's an awe-inspiring combination, and makes for an emotional roller coaster.
de Castell's dialogue crackles throughout, from the familiar banter of Falcio, Kest and Brasti to the face-offs between the trio and their seemingly overpowering enemies. Each character has their own voice, from Kest's unerring pragmatism and calculation to Brasti's irreverance and refusal to take anything seriously.
All three books have a touch of noir in them, especially SAINT'S BLOOD, as Falcio seeks to figure out who has begun killing saints and why they are doing it. Like the best noir heroes, Falcio spends almost the entire book injured in one form or another, never gaining enough time to fully recover before moving on to the next emergency, then next battle, the next crisis that could cost him everything he loves. The pace never slows down, as Falcio and his friends race from one crisis to the next, and every time Falcio seems like he's going to get a moment to catch his breath, the other shoe drops.
These seemingly never-ending challenges have taken their toll on Falcio over the course of the series, making him an even more interesting character. In SAINT'S BLOOD, he still carries guilt after he was forced to cut off Kest's hand in KNIGHT'S SHADOW, but even that guilt is overshadowed by the emotional aftereffects of the torture he suffered in that same book. de Castell writes that fear in an incredibly visceral manner, making you feel Falcio's terror as he relives the worst moments of his life.
While we never get their points of view, the other characters also grow and develop. We see Kest struggle to adapt to the loss of his hand, watch Aline and Valiana grow up in surprising ways, and even see Brasti change as he relies more and more upon humor to mask his genuine fear and concern for his friends.
The doubt and pain and fear of all these characters make Falcio's determination all the more inspiring, and his victories -- however short-lived they may be -- all the more enjoyable.
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