Knife Sworn (Tower and Knife Trilogy, #2)

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Knife Sworn (Tower and Knife Trilogy #2)

by Mazarkis Williams (Goodreads Author)

3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 · rating details · 48 ratings · 12 reviews

After spending most of his life in captivity, Sarmin now sits upon the Throne of Cerana. But his reign is an uneasy one. And the emperor’s own heart is torn between two very different women: Mesema, a Windreader princess, and Grada, a lowborn untouchable with whom Sarmin shares a unique bond. In times past, a royal assassin known as the Emperor’s Knife served to defend the...more

Hardcover, 346 pages

Published November 13th 2012 by Night Shade Books (first published October 25th 2012)

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Nov 13, 2012 Jessica Strider rated it 5 of 5 stars

Pros: tight storytelling, several interesting viewpoints, complex characters

Cons: no book one synopsis/reminders

A year as Emperor hasn't brought Sarmin or his empire peace. His army, under General Arigu at the command of the previous emperor, has attacked Fryth. In an attept to mitigate the army's evils, Sarmin invites a Fryth envoy to discuss peace between their nations.

Cuious about the gifts of concubines he has received, Sarmin sends the untouchable Grada to follow the slave caravans that tra...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Ranting Dragon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: stephan

http://www.rantingdragon.com/review-o...

One of my favorite reads of last year was Mazarkis Williams’s epic debut The Emperor’s Knife. Needless to say, when I was offered a review copy of Knife Sworn, I jumped at the opportunity. Knife Sworn continues the story of Sarmin, who had been locked up in a tower by his brother, the Emperor, for most of his life, and of Mesema, once a young foreign girl, brought to Nooria to marry Sarmin against her will. Like Williams’s writing, these characters have ma...more

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Nov 13, 2012 Dragana rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: lovers of high fantasy or fantasy in middle-eastern setting

Shelves: fantasy, from-netgalley, assassin, magic, arabian

I read 'The Emperor's Knife' (first book in this trilogy) last week. If you have read my review, you probably noticed that although some concepts and ideas were very original, when you calculate all the flaws the book was just an average read to me.
So I tentatively started reading 'Knife Sworn'. After all this book would be a deal-breaker to me, it will decide if I will continue to read this series or give up.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the 'Knife Sworn'. It's surprising to s...more I read 'The Emperor's Knife' (first book in this trilogy) last week. If you have read my review, you probably noticed that although some concepts and ideas were very original, when you calculate all the flaws the book was just an average read to me.
So I tentatively started reading 'Knife Sworn'. After all this book would be a deal-breaker to me, it will decide if I will continue to read this series or give up.

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the 'Knife Sworn'. It's surprising to see how much Mazarkis Williams's style matured and improved in a year. While I was reading, I felt like he read my review and worked on all the things that really bothered me in 'The Emperor's Knife'. Of course that is not possible, except if he does not own a time traveling machine. :)

All the good things from the first book are still here in 'Knife Sworn': character driven story and show don't tell principle of writing. But switches between different points of view are not so sudden anymore. There is less tension because of chapter per character concept, but I feel it was worth it, because the story flow feels much smoother now.

Whose point of view we now have, since half of them were killed in the first book?
Sarmin is the main storyteller of course. He is now the emperor and he tries to applies all those ideals of peace to his country. To spice up the things and give us some different perspectives and views of events, we also have Grada, Nessaket and Rushes (a servant girl).
You all for sure remember Grada. I complained how I simply could not understand insta-love between Sarmin and her. I hoped that listening to story from her point of view would help, but I still don't understand and do not like her very much.
Nessaket, on the other hand, was a real surprise. We get to know what drives her actions and I think that you could never look at her and think of her as power-grabbing stops-at-nothing b...h again. Mazarkis Williams really managed to breathe a soul to her character.

'Knife Sworn' touches some interesting subjects. It shows us that seizing and getting control of the empire is the easy part. Healing & ruling it fairly are the hard ones.
What will Sarmin do, when the best advice he gets is: "You should find a new place, Sarmin emperor. This one is undone."
"How a man who could not rule himself might speak for a nation and heal the emptiness that threatened to consume them all"?
Read the book to find out. ;)

This book does not end in real cliffhangers but there are a lot of revelations and new decisions in the end that I can't wait for the next book to be released. I need to find out what will happen next!

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on Amazon and my blog. (less)

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May 11, 2013 Marius rated it 2 of 5 stars

Why do i continue reading this?
To say this series is twisted is an understatement.
The primary character is a weak ass emperor who can barely walk.
There is not one character in the book that doesn't have several screws loose, ok that's a lie, there is not one character that even comes close to sanity.
After the first book i was expecting that at least Sarmin would climb the stairs half way to sanity.
Nope, sure he doesn't talk with the paintings anymore(well he tries, but they don't answer).
And the...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Bane of Kings rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: epic-fantasy, fantasy, netgalley, notable-2012-releases, 2012-releases-read, 25-best-2012-releases

”A fantastic, original and character-focused follow up that will satisfy readers of The Emperor’s Knife.” ~The Founding Fields

Warning! There are spoilers for the first novel in the trilogy, The Emperor’s Knife, which I strongly recommend that you read before reading this one.

The Emperor’s Knife, Mazarkis Williams’ debut, was an awesome read, so when I found out that Knife Sworn, the sequel – was available on NetGalley with some decent cover art, I jumped at the opportunity, and thankfully, I ha...more ”A fantastic, original and character-focused follow up that will satisfy readers of The Emperor’s Knife.” ~The Founding Fields

Warning! There are spoilers for the first novel in the trilogy, The Emperor’s Knife, which I strongly recommend that you read before reading this one.

The Emperor’s Knife, Mazarkis Williams’ debut, was an awesome read, so when I found out that Knife Sworn, the sequel – was available on NetGalley with some decent cover art, I jumped at the opportunity, and thankfully, I had my request accepted. Now, several pages later, I found myself at the end of another great, if slow-moving, instalment of The Tower and Knife Trilogy, and I can’t wait to see what Williams provides us with in the final outing.

After spending most of his life in captivity, Sarmin now sits upon the Throne of Cerana. But his reign is an uneasy one. And the emperor’s own heart is torn between two very different women: Mesema, a Windreader princess, and Grada, a lowborn untouchable with whom Sarmin shares a unique bond. In times past, a royal assassin known as the Emperor’s Knife served to defend the throne from menace, but the last Knife has perished and his successor has yet to be named. Sarmin must choose his own loyal death-dealer . . . but upon whom can be he bestow the burden of the Knife-Sworn?

The originality of the concept and the setting was one thing that drew me into The Emperor’s Knife. Everything that was good about that book carried on over to its sequel, making it arguably the better of the two. Whilst it may not have been a page turner, Knife Sworn was nonetheless a great read, character-focused and enjoyable.

Sarmin is the main storyteller as half of our dramatis personae from Book 1 don’t make it to the sequel. Grada is another character who gets a lot of page time, and they are both developed further in this book. Characters are a strong point of Williams, and Knife Sworn shows that he can write them well. We get a varied and strong cast, with no perfect or archetypical characters here, even if Grada’s story is perhaps the most uninteresting, as we don’t gain anything from having her POV in here, which is a real shame and one of my two main issues with this book.

Read the full review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/12/.... (less)

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Mar 24, 2013 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

(There may be some minor spoilers in here)
Williams writes with the same magnificent prose as in The Emperor’s Knife. I really love her writing, it’s so complex, so deep, intimate and lyrical. For both The Emperor’s Knife and Knife-Sworn this is a big plus. But this isn’t a book you can read easily, due to the complexity Williams puts in her writing, you really have to keep your head in the game ‘cause otherwise a lot of information will get lost on you.

The book got off to a rather slow start, wi...more (There may be some minor spoilers in here)
Williams writes with the same magnificent prose as in The Emperor’s Knife. I really love her writing, it’s so complex, so deep, intimate and lyrical. For both The Emperor’s Knife and Knife-Sworn this is a big plus. But this isn’t a book you can read easily, due to the complexity Williams puts in her writing, you really have to keep your head in the game ‘cause otherwise a lot of information will get lost on you.

The book got off to a rather slow start, with a lot of random scenes describing the aftermath of the destruction of the Pattern and the Pattern Master on the people and on Sarmin. We meet the two new additions to the imperial family and there are some new mysteries introduced, this all mixed with a background of military, political and religious tactics. It could have used a stronger beginning to grab the attention of the reader right at the start, but I’m all for giving books a chance, so I read on without complaint.

It took a while for the story to get a grip on me. In the first book I never really had a connection with the story, though it fascinated me. Around page 100 of “Knife-Sworn” I was finally drawn in and it didn't let me go. I don't know what changed, but there was some sort off click that made me immerse myself in the story. It was much easier to keep reading and to feel emotions while reading some of the chapters. Especially the chapter where Sarmin sees the memory of Gallan and how that ended really touched me. The unfairness of it all, the cruelty left a deep impression on me.

Knife Sworn is, just as its predecessor, an intriguing and fascinating book. The author resolved the problem of the pattern at the end of the first book, but not all is well in Nooria. First all were connected with each other through the pattern, sharing grievances, pain and joy alike, but now everyone's abruptly alone again. This loneliness haunts the citizens of Nooria and it is referred to as "the Longing". People take drastic measures to escape this longing (suicide, drugs,...), but out of the desert comes an old faith, banished from Cerana years ago, promising to unite the people once again. But is there truth in this promise? And with people desperate for a new connection with their fellow Unpatterned, is there any way to stop it when there's something darker beneath the smooth words of the Mogyrk priests?
To top it off, The Longing is not all the Pattern has left behind. At each anchorpoint used by Helmar for his Pattern, a nothingness is consuming everything in its path. What is it, and can it be stopped?

Lots of intrigue and mystery in this second book of the Tower and Knife series, just how I like it. And this time I did connect with some of the characters. Williams gave more dimension to her characters, showing sides that were hidden in the first book and created more depth.
The author sets yet again a scorching pace, with twists and turns every few pages, throwing obstacles on our character's paths and introducing questions that trouble character as well as reader. Though in the first book the pacing was a bit too fast to my liking, I had no problem with it this time.

I really enjoyed “Knife-Sworn”, more so than I did “The Emperor’s Knife”. This shows to me that Mazarkis Williams is only growing with every new book and I’m hoping the third book “The Tower Broken” will be even better. I’ll certainly be reading it as soon as it hits shelves (or if I’m lucky and I can snatch up a review copy somewhere, even sooner!)
(less)

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Nov 10, 2012 Shaheen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: pammacau, netgalley

It was great to get back into the world that Mazarkis Williams has so skilfully created, and I am pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Knife Sworn. This book is a lot more polished than its predecessor and the story flows more smoothly. The return of many of our favourite characters, and the introduction of some intriguing new ones, make Knife Sworn an interesting and engaging read.

It’s been a long time since I read Knife Sworn, and I dearly wish I’d had the time to re-read it. Williams begi...more It was great to get back into the world that Mazarkis Williams has so skilfully created, and I am pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Knife Sworn. This book is a lot more polished than its predecessor and the story flows more smoothly. The return of many of our favourite characters, and the introduction of some intriguing new ones, make Knife Sworn an interesting and engaging read.

It’s been a long time since I read Knife Sworn, and I dearly wish I’d had the time to re-read it. Williams begins his novel without recapping or explaining what had occurred in the last book – which meant that I floundered for the first few chapters until I remembered who was whom and how they were connected to Sarmin and Beyon. Once I got my bearings, however, I was able to enjoy the adventure and intrigue that the author lays out for us, and I can’t say I was the least bit disappointed.

One of things that really stands out about this author is the methods he employs to tell his story. He is very much a fan of show rather than tell, and so while we get to see Sarmin do certain things and make certain decisions, his motivations are not exactly clear until later on. This caused some confusion for me but I think ultimately added to the story, because I was always curious as to what he could see that I couldn’t. I think Sarmin was a more sympathetic character when he was the underdog, and now as Emperoer he’s become conflicted and lost, and I found myself sometimes losing patience with him.

In contrast, Grada’s passages confused me because I couldn’t place her actions into the larger scheme of the novel until fairly late – I’m not sure if this was intentional or not. My favourite chapters are definitely those told from Nessakit’s point of view – the author does such a wonderful job of realising her hopes, fears, dreams and schemes, and I found myself simultaneously feeling incredibly sorry for her and wishing for her death.

I have to mention the romance in this book – having been disappointed in the romantic element in the first book I was pleased that this one doesn’t dwell on unnecessary entanglements between the characters. This is not to say that the book is devoid of romance all together – but it comes across much more subtly and is nuanced by Sarmin’s conflicted feelings between Mesema and Grada.

Overall, Knife Sworn is a commendable accomplishment and showcases the growth Williams has undergone as a writer. This series brings a new and exciting facet to the genre of Fantasy, and fans would so well to acquaint themselves with it. The book ends with the hardening of Sarmin’s stand regarding the ruling of his Empire and leaves readers breathless for the next instalment: it’s obviously going to be a game changer. I can’t wait!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .(less)

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Dec 06, 2012 Libby Lanser rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Medieval fantasy fans, multicultural interests

Recommended to Libby by: Mazarkis Williams

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 14, 2012 PopcornReads rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mazarkis-williams, assassin, conspiracy, death, environment, family, fantasy, fiction, loss, magic, old-gods, politics, relationships, secrets, sorcery, suspense, travel, war

We reviewed The Emperor’s Knife, Book #1 in the Tower and Knife series by Mazarkis Williams, when it was published late last year. I’ve been anxiously awaiting Book #2 and it’s finally here. Knife Sworn picks up fairly soon after The Emperor’s Knife ended. For those of you who haven’t read Book #1, this series blends court intrigue, political conspiracy, thriller and fantasy into a world that’s absolutely fascinating. Read the rest of my review at http://popcornreads.com/?p=4942.

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Mar 25, 2013 Neida rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow!! As good or better than the first . I really enjoy this world setting. The magic system is original, characters old and new are engaging and the story is tight and fast paced. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the third book. A joy of a read!!!

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Mar 05, 2013 Miles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Weak sequel.

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Feb 14, 2013 Nathan Washor rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mazarkis evokes an original tale in Knife Sworn. Characters are deep and complex. The world is filled with mysterious arcana that must be understood to save it from nullification. The writing is enchanting. Buy this book and enjoy!

More review to come, but I am on a deadline at work...

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May 13, 2013 Hypervorean added it

coming up!

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Jul 22, 2012 Michelle marked it as to-read

Shelves: crits, 2012, owned

This will be great.

That is my evaluation from the ~1/4 I read.

I'm excited and can't wait to read it. :)

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Shelves: tower-and-knife

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About Mazarkis Williams

Mazarkis Williams is a writer with roots in both the US and the UK, having worked in and been educated in both countries. Each year is divided between Boston and Bristol and a teleport booth is always top of the Christmas wish-list.

Mazarkis has degrees in history and physics, and a diverse set of interests accumulated while mispending a hectic youth. Cooking has always been a passion, and in addit...more

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The Emperor's Knife (Tower and Knife Trilogy, #1)

The Tower Broken (Tower and Knife Trilogy, #3)

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Knife Sworn (Tower and Knife Trilogy #2)

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