All Hallows Reads - Sword Catcher

This post is a long time coming. Why, I hear you ask? Because I have been reading my limited edition Advance Reader Copy of Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare for approximately FOUR MONTHS!

Ok, a bit of backstory is needed. But at the start of Summer this year, the lovely people at Black Crow PR emailed if I fancied going to a limited edition event for Cassandra Clare’s upcoming novel, Sword Catcher, her first adult fantasy novel. I replied very quickly saying yes, and thought nothing of it. I just thought it would be the publisher chatting about the book and meeting up for other bloggers who I haven’t seen in years (investigation only been to one book blogger event this year and I think that was the first time in a while due to work and COVID). And I knew Cassandra Clare would be at the event, but I thought that she was only there to say hi and have a quick chat as even well-known authors need a holiday. So, off I went after work, feeling sudden very anxious and very old (everyone at the event was SO YOUNG! I felt like a fossil in blogging) and, out of nowhere, I was gifted a beautiful, limited edition hardback proof and then, Cassandra Clare did a signing!

I knew that I was going to read this very slowly. I wasn’t going to rush. I was going to savour, but I hoped this would hold my attention. I thought this would take me a month or two. Maybe even the whole summer. Not well into autumn (though have you seen the UK weather lately?!). But, ha-ho! We’re here so let’s get chatting!

Title and Author: Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Tor/Pan MacMillan

Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: Gifted by UK publisher and PR Company, Black Crow PR, in exchange for an honest review/reaction

Buy From (Affiliate): uk.bookshop.org

In the city-state of Castellane, young orphan Kel is taken from his old life in the vibrant, lush world of royalty and peril. He becomes the young prince, Conor’s, guard and body-double: his Sword Catcher. He has one purpose: to die protecting the Prince. 

Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracised for its rare magical abilities. But soon, her path and Kel crossed and get pulled together by events outside of their control via the ruler of Castellane’s criminal underworld, the Ragpicker King. 

But things are happening in Castellane. The Ragpicker King is losing his grip on the criminal underworld, whispers of an attack on the royals and the Charter families and people are beginning to double cross each other. If everyone isn’t careful, things will spiritless out of control and will end in fire and blood…

I am going to admit this: I thought I had left Cassandra Clare behind. I enjoyed my time in the Shadowhunter world, but I felt that I had outgrown it and wanted something more from it. But, when I first heard of this, I got quite excited. Nervous and excited. It’s something new, something different, something more grown up, but can Cassandra Clare pull this off? 

In a word: yes. Yes, she does. 

This feel very different from Shadowhunters and in a good way. This book had a deliciousness to it. It was a grown up fantasy, so she knew she could world-build and we would go along for the ride. We had new mythologies, people, power struggles, political intrigue and double-crossing (both in the highest and lowest courts in the land) and these characters felt more grown-up and mature (though that doesn’t mean they didn’t make some dodgy decisions, but you understood why the decision was made). 

Plus, Cassandra Clare’s writing felt different compare to her Shadowhunter books (my last being Chains of Gold, though I am considering trying to audiobook Chains of Iron sometime next year). It felt more mature and it felt far more confident. Cassandra has grown as a writer and you can see it in her writing. 

I am going to admit that some fans might not long this. The first 150 or so pages are very world-building so the pace is much, much slower and this book is far more character driven than the Cassandra Clare books I have read in the past. But, stick with it. Once you get to a certain point in the book, the world makes sense and it helps you understand the characters and their choices due to how they’ve grown up and the world/culture around them. 

Also, this is the first book in a series, so you have to go into this knowing that things happen in this book that will kick off the series. Some happen very quickly and others happen very late in the game. And you will have to wait for the sequel, The Ragpicker King, as it is scheduled to come out in 2025 and we don’;t know how long this series is going to be… 

But I enjoyed myself hugely reading this. I enjoyed taking my sweet time, savouring this political fantasy and I am very intrigued to see where Cassandra Clare goes next with these characters…