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The Duelists Trilogy #3
Warlords and Wastrels
The epic conclusion to the fast-paced new adventure fantasy series, the Duelists trilogy, from one of the most exciting new talents in fantasy.
Vocho and Kacha may be known for the first swordplay in the city of Reyes, but they've found themselves backed into a corner too often for their liking.
Finally reinstated into the Duelist's Guild for services rendered to the prelate, who has found himself back in charge, Vocho and Kacha are tasked with bringing a prisoner to justice. But this prisoner is none other than Kacha's old flame Egimont. The prelate wants him alive, and on their side. However the more they discover of Egimont and his dark dealings with the magician, the more Kacha's loyalties are divided. Soon she must choose a side -- the prelate or the king, her brother or her ex-lover.
The fate of Reyes is balanced on a knife-edge...
Vocho and Kacha may be known for the first swordplay in the city of Reyes, but they've found themselves backed into a corner too often for their liking.
Finally reinstated into the Duelist's Guild for services rendered to the prelate, who has found himself back in charge, Vocho and Kacha are tasked with bringing a prisoner to justice. But this prisoner is none other than Kacha's old flame Egimont. The prelate wants him alive, and on their side. However the more they discover of Egimont and his dark dealings with the magician, the more Kacha's loyalties are divided. Soon she must choose a side -- the prelate or the king, her brother or her ex-lover.
The fate of Reyes is balanced on a knife-edge...
400 pages, Paperback
Published December 15, 2015
4 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Julia Knight
51 books85 followersOooh let's see. Um, loved fantasy since that first King Arthur book when I was about 8. I love all fantasy but particularly Epic, and I like a strong romance element too ( which is probably why that's what I write!)
I love Pratchett, Cherryh, Gaimen to name but a few, but heck I'll give anyone a go.
I love Pratchett, Cherryh, Gaimen to name but a few, but heck I'll give anyone a go.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 18, 2018
The last in this series which i enjoyed.
The worldbuilding is fantastic and really typifies the medieval/renaissance feel.
The characters are good and while the two main characters vocho and kacha are the main ones some others like dom and scar are good too. Petri aka skull was good too.
The pace was good and the tone was a good mix of humour action and drama.
Overall a fitting end to the series and one well worth reading .
The worldbuilding is fantastic and really typifies the medieval/renaissance feel.
The characters are good and while the two main characters vocho and kacha are the main ones some others like dom and scar are good too. Petri aka skull was good too.
The pace was good and the tone was a good mix of humour action and drama.
Overall a fitting end to the series and one well worth reading .
December 22, 2015
This was by far the best of the three. Writing a review for B&N soon. Will link when up.
January 8, 2018
Enttäuschendes Finale
Endlich wurden Vocho und Kacha wieder in die Gilde der Duellanten aufgenommen; ihr guter Ruf als beste Schwertkämpfer von Reyes ist damit wiederhergestellt.
Doch gleich ihre erste Aufgabe in den neuen Diensten wird zu einer schweren Prüfung für Kachas Loyalität. Denn sie sollen einen Gefangenen eskortieren, um den sich Kirche und König streiten - und der kein anderer ist als Kachas früherer Geliebter Egimont … (Klappentext)
Der nachfolgende Text kann Spoiler enthalten.
Der abschließende Band der Trilogie hat das selbe Probleme, wie viele anderen Fortsetzungen – er überzeugt mich leider nicht. Denn in diesem Band verändern sich die beiden heldenhaften Geschwister, die bisher mutig, witzig und stark waren, auf ziemlich unglaubwürdige Weise.
So z. B. Vocho. Gut, er ist ein Aufschneider, der es mit der Wahrheit nicht so genau nimmt, doch er hat das Herz am rechten Fleck und für seine Schwester würde er alles tun. Darüber hinaus ist er ein fabelhafter Schwertkämpfer und ein Weiberheld. Ich kann der Autorin ja noch verzeihen, dass Voch sich verknallt, denn das passiert in den besten Familien und er stellt sich dabei nicht einmal ein viertel so dumm an wie seine Schwester. Was mir aber aufstößt ist, dass er zu einem Drogenabhängigen mutiert. Die Hälfte seiner Szenen beschäftigt sich nur damit, wie er sich ungesehen seinen Stoff reinpfeifen kann. Wobei man bei der Schlussszene seines Charakters sich wenigsten nicht völlig das Licht beim Kopf an die Wand schlagen ausknipsen will.
In meine Augen viel schlimmer ergeht es Kachas Charakter. Sie wurde immer als starke weibliche Hauptrolle inszeniert, intelligent, mutig, fähig. Nun, im dritten Band fällt sie völlig in sich zusammen und gibt sich die Schuld an allem, vor allem dafür, dass sie ihren ach so geliebten Petri nicht retten konnte (der sie ja nur belogen und betrogen hat …). Darüber vergisst sie alles, die Leitung der Gilde, deren Gildenmeistern sie ist, ihren Bruder und die Welt um sich herum. Als sie endlich aus ihrem Schneckenhaus kommt, um ihren Auftrag zu erledigen, wedelt sie dem nächsten Scheißkerl hinterher, den sie natürlich auch retten will und der Petri ja sooo ähnlich sieht – man verzeihe meinen Sarkasmus an dieser Stelle. Als ihr klar wird, dass Petri noch lebt, sterben aber jegliche noch funktionierende Hirnzellen in ihr ab und ihr einziges Augenmerk liegt darauf, ihn zu retten (obwohl er sie töten will und ihren Bruder auch). Dabei bekommt sie, die ausgebildete Assassine nicht mehr mit, dass sie fast über den Haufen geschossen wird, geschweige denn das Leute mit Schwertern herumfuchteln oder das ihr Bruder in tödlicher Bedrängnis ist. Notiz am Rande: Vochs Love Interest ist vermutlich nur dazu da, dass er an dieser Stelle nicht stirbt. Der Schlussakt ihres Charakters gipfelt darin, dass sie davon läuft „um sich selbst zu finden“. Ich finde es wirklich ekelhaft zu sehen, wie Kass‘ starker Charakter innerhalb von 100 Seiten zu einer hirnlosen, einem Kerl hinterherheulenden Idiotin verkommen ist.
Vermutlich erscheint meine Rezi jetzt etwas hart, aber wenn ich Drogensüchtige und hörige Frauen sehen möchte, dann öffne ich einfach mein Fenster.
Einzige Cospel und Kachas hinterlistiges Pferd haben mich wieder uneingeschränkt erfreut. Tatsächlich war ich von der Handlung an sich auch nicht unbedingt angetan, oder von den neuen Charakteren.
Dieses Buch ist wieder einmal ein faszinierendes Beispiel, wie man gute Charaktere und eine starke Geschichte in nur wenigen Seiten zerstören kann. Tatsächlich hat mich dieses Buch auf so viele Arten frustriert, dass ich mich wundere es zu Ende gelesen zu haben. Aber schließlich habe ich (leider) dafür gezahlt. Übrigens ist der Klappentext so was von falsch, dass es fast schon peinlich ist.
Endlich wurden Vocho und Kacha wieder in die Gilde der Duellanten aufgenommen; ihr guter Ruf als beste Schwertkämpfer von Reyes ist damit wiederhergestellt.
Doch gleich ihre erste Aufgabe in den neuen Diensten wird zu einer schweren Prüfung für Kachas Loyalität. Denn sie sollen einen Gefangenen eskortieren, um den sich Kirche und König streiten - und der kein anderer ist als Kachas früherer Geliebter Egimont … (Klappentext)
Der nachfolgende Text kann Spoiler enthalten.
Der abschließende Band der Trilogie hat das selbe Probleme, wie viele anderen Fortsetzungen – er überzeugt mich leider nicht. Denn in diesem Band verändern sich die beiden heldenhaften Geschwister, die bisher mutig, witzig und stark waren, auf ziemlich unglaubwürdige Weise.
So z. B. Vocho. Gut, er ist ein Aufschneider, der es mit der Wahrheit nicht so genau nimmt, doch er hat das Herz am rechten Fleck und für seine Schwester würde er alles tun. Darüber hinaus ist er ein fabelhafter Schwertkämpfer und ein Weiberheld. Ich kann der Autorin ja noch verzeihen, dass Voch sich verknallt, denn das passiert in den besten Familien und er stellt sich dabei nicht einmal ein viertel so dumm an wie seine Schwester. Was mir aber aufstößt ist, dass er zu einem Drogenabhängigen mutiert. Die Hälfte seiner Szenen beschäftigt sich nur damit, wie er sich ungesehen seinen Stoff reinpfeifen kann. Wobei man bei der Schlussszene seines Charakters sich wenigsten nicht völlig das Licht beim Kopf an die Wand schlagen ausknipsen will.
In meine Augen viel schlimmer ergeht es Kachas Charakter. Sie wurde immer als starke weibliche Hauptrolle inszeniert, intelligent, mutig, fähig. Nun, im dritten Band fällt sie völlig in sich zusammen und gibt sich die Schuld an allem, vor allem dafür, dass sie ihren ach so geliebten Petri nicht retten konnte (der sie ja nur belogen und betrogen hat …). Darüber vergisst sie alles, die Leitung der Gilde, deren Gildenmeistern sie ist, ihren Bruder und die Welt um sich herum. Als sie endlich aus ihrem Schneckenhaus kommt, um ihren Auftrag zu erledigen, wedelt sie dem nächsten Scheißkerl hinterher, den sie natürlich auch retten will und der Petri ja sooo ähnlich sieht – man verzeihe meinen Sarkasmus an dieser Stelle. Als ihr klar wird, dass Petri noch lebt, sterben aber jegliche noch funktionierende Hirnzellen in ihr ab und ihr einziges Augenmerk liegt darauf, ihn zu retten (obwohl er sie töten will und ihren Bruder auch). Dabei bekommt sie, die ausgebildete Assassine nicht mehr mit, dass sie fast über den Haufen geschossen wird, geschweige denn das Leute mit Schwertern herumfuchteln oder das ihr Bruder in tödlicher Bedrängnis ist. Notiz am Rande: Vochs Love Interest ist vermutlich nur dazu da, dass er an dieser Stelle nicht stirbt. Der Schlussakt ihres Charakters gipfelt darin, dass sie davon läuft „um sich selbst zu finden“. Ich finde es wirklich ekelhaft zu sehen, wie Kass‘ starker Charakter innerhalb von 100 Seiten zu einer hirnlosen, einem Kerl hinterherheulenden Idiotin verkommen ist.
Vermutlich erscheint meine Rezi jetzt etwas hart, aber wenn ich Drogensüchtige und hörige Frauen sehen möchte, dann öffne ich einfach mein Fenster.
Einzige Cospel und Kachas hinterlistiges Pferd haben mich wieder uneingeschränkt erfreut. Tatsächlich war ich von der Handlung an sich auch nicht unbedingt angetan, oder von den neuen Charakteren.
Dieses Buch ist wieder einmal ein faszinierendes Beispiel, wie man gute Charaktere und eine starke Geschichte in nur wenigen Seiten zerstören kann. Tatsächlich hat mich dieses Buch auf so viele Arten frustriert, dass ich mich wundere es zu Ende gelesen zu haben. Aber schließlich habe ich (leider) dafür gezahlt. Übrigens ist der Klappentext so was von falsch, dass es fast schon peinlich ist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2017
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: One last battle! Will Kacha be able to choose or will Vocho’s lies be her undoing?
Opening Sentence: Vocho took a crafty swig from his little bottle, wiped his lips and slid the jollop back into its hiding place in his tunic.
Excerpt: Yes
The Review:
Vocho and Kacha are back in the guild, she is in charge and he is teaching. Although with his wound the dependence on the jollop is starting to get out of control. Meanwhile, Petri has found himself in the company of highwaymen. He is tasked with teaching them, and soon they begin to make more of a name for themselves and become even deadlier than before. Dom is searching for his daughter now that Alicia is dead.
His path leads him to Petri and the highwaymen he is with, but they just capture him and hold him. However, he does find his daughter soon enough. Kacha and Vocho are tasked with bringing an end to the highwaymen and to bring the new addition back to the guild. So they set out with some of the guardsman and everyone’s path will soon be entertwined. Petri is bitter and angry and Kacha still has gotten over his “death”.
Vocho is additcted to the jollop and slowly begins to develop a relationship of his own. So when Dom, Petri, Vocho and Kacha collide it isn’t what any of them expected. Soon they are all faced with the impossible questions. What is the truth? What will happen to Petri and Kacha? Will Dom escape?
This one wasn’t as fast paced as the others, but I did love that the point of views was back down to Kacha, Vocho and Petri. I enjoyed that quite a bit. Kacha is struggling with Petri’s death, well Vocho told her he was dead and her reaction when she finds out the truth is worth waiting for. I found the conclusion of their relationship a bit unfullfilling, but I am not mad. I really liked how the author tied it all up and ended things.
I admit I felt a little let down by the Clockwork God ending. I thought it might play a bigger part, but I have to admit a little, I liked how the author played that out as well. I almost felt bad for Vocho in this book, but I was glad to see that he finally grew up a bit and actually kind of did the right thing. I thought he had the sweetest ending. I kind of feel like Petri, Dom and Kacha were all kind of left a bit open ended and it leaves me wanting a bit more.
Notable Scene:
He shut his eye, but that didn’t stop him seeing the hot knife, hearing Eneko tell him he was weakness, stop him hoping for Kass, that she’d come. She hadn’t, she never would; she’d look at him and turn away from what he’d become, at how weak he’d been. Eneko was dead, and Petri couldn’t get his revenge on the dead, but Kass… He’d started this all that time ago because he loved her, because she’d shown him things he’d never seen before.
FTC Advisory: Orbit provided me with a copy of Warlords and Wastrels. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: One last battle! Will Kacha be able to choose or will Vocho’s lies be her undoing?
Opening Sentence: Vocho took a crafty swig from his little bottle, wiped his lips and slid the jollop back into its hiding place in his tunic.
Excerpt: Yes
The Review:
Vocho and Kacha are back in the guild, she is in charge and he is teaching. Although with his wound the dependence on the jollop is starting to get out of control. Meanwhile, Petri has found himself in the company of highwaymen. He is tasked with teaching them, and soon they begin to make more of a name for themselves and become even deadlier than before. Dom is searching for his daughter now that Alicia is dead.
His path leads him to Petri and the highwaymen he is with, but they just capture him and hold him. However, he does find his daughter soon enough. Kacha and Vocho are tasked with bringing an end to the highwaymen and to bring the new addition back to the guild. So they set out with some of the guardsman and everyone’s path will soon be entertwined. Petri is bitter and angry and Kacha still has gotten over his “death”.
Vocho is additcted to the jollop and slowly begins to develop a relationship of his own. So when Dom, Petri, Vocho and Kacha collide it isn’t what any of them expected. Soon they are all faced with the impossible questions. What is the truth? What will happen to Petri and Kacha? Will Dom escape?
This one wasn’t as fast paced as the others, but I did love that the point of views was back down to Kacha, Vocho and Petri. I enjoyed that quite a bit. Kacha is struggling with Petri’s death, well Vocho told her he was dead and her reaction when she finds out the truth is worth waiting for. I found the conclusion of their relationship a bit unfullfilling, but I am not mad. I really liked how the author tied it all up and ended things.
I admit I felt a little let down by the Clockwork God ending. I thought it might play a bigger part, but I have to admit a little, I liked how the author played that out as well. I almost felt bad for Vocho in this book, but I was glad to see that he finally grew up a bit and actually kind of did the right thing. I thought he had the sweetest ending. I kind of feel like Petri, Dom and Kacha were all kind of left a bit open ended and it leaves me wanting a bit more.
Notable Scene:
He shut his eye, but that didn’t stop him seeing the hot knife, hearing Eneko tell him he was weakness, stop him hoping for Kass, that she’d come. She hadn’t, she never would; she’d look at him and turn away from what he’d become, at how weak he’d been. Eneko was dead, and Petri couldn’t get his revenge on the dead, but Kass… He’d started this all that time ago because he loved her, because she’d shown him things he’d never seen before.
FTC Advisory: Orbit provided me with a copy of Warlords and Wastrels. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
January 19, 2019
Finally! I finally finished Warlords and Wastrels! Finally, I can say, with relief, that it is finished.
Maybe now, once I'm done scrubbing out the rot, I can clear my mind and move on to a better read.
Seriously though, I am so disappointed. What started out as a mildly interesting premise ended up turning into a sappy, cliche romance. The initially cool and interesting setting in book one is abandoned in books two and three and really that was the best part of the whole story. The writing was repetitive and trite. Significant, character building scenes, lost their meaning and impact because they were constantly brought up and restated and rehashed to the point that even the most brutal of character-building scenes (graphic torture) lost their meaning. The same plot device was used in literally every book. The characters don't grow and don't shine when they should be the focus of a whole scene. The characters disappoint when they should be epic and cool. And some character choices if both the main protags and side characters seen really left field and unnecessary ( really only there for the drama). Overall a very bleh book and a very bleh read. I'm so glad to be done.
Maybe now, once I'm done scrubbing out the rot, I can clear my mind and move on to a better read.
Seriously though, I am so disappointed. What started out as a mildly interesting premise ended up turning into a sappy, cliche romance. The initially cool and interesting setting in book one is abandoned in books two and three and really that was the best part of the whole story. The writing was repetitive and trite. Significant, character building scenes, lost their meaning and impact because they were constantly brought up and restated and rehashed to the point that even the most brutal of character-building scenes (graphic torture) lost their meaning. The same plot device was used in literally every book. The characters don't grow and don't shine when they should be the focus of a whole scene. The characters disappoint when they should be epic and cool. And some character choices if both the main protags and side characters seen really left field and unnecessary ( really only there for the drama). Overall a very bleh book and a very bleh read. I'm so glad to be done.
October 19, 2018
This was a really good novel, with lots of adventure and action though not a lot of mystery, really. The first two did better in that department, but this was very well written in it's own right and didn't really need the mystery aspect.
I wouldn't really say this was a "conclusion" to the trilogy, though. The plot of this novel is more of an "aftermath" story to the events of the first two in the series. It reminded me of Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold" and "The Heroes" in the "First Law" world: The character's story continues after the events of the main story, and major developments take place by the end, but it's not really necessary to the main story. It's there for those who want more after the main series.
Like I said, "Warlords and Wastrels"is every bit as good as "Swords and Scoundrels" and "Legends and Liars", and if you enjoyed those two you'll definitely enjoy this one. If more in the series came out that are like "Warlords and Wastrels", I'd definitely be interested.
I wouldn't really say this was a "conclusion" to the trilogy, though. The plot of this novel is more of an "aftermath" story to the events of the first two in the series. It reminded me of Abercrombie's "Best Served Cold" and "The Heroes" in the "First Law" world: The character's story continues after the events of the main story, and major developments take place by the end, but it's not really necessary to the main story. It's there for those who want more after the main series.
Like I said, "Warlords and Wastrels"is every bit as good as "Swords and Scoundrels" and "Legends and Liars", and if you enjoyed those two you'll definitely enjoy this one. If more in the series came out that are like "Warlords and Wastrels", I'd definitely be interested.
Read
May 22, 2023As the final book in the series, I was starting to get sad, thinking it was going to end badly. It didn't so I am feeling so much better. I think it ended best for the main characters, and I liked it. Kass and Vocho, the brother and sister heros of the series, had an outcome that was very satisfying, as did Dom and Petri. This whole series is a fun read and so worth the time and money. I enjoyed it.
August 10, 2018
I have to confess I had a hard time getting to the good parts of this story which is the tail end of the book where all the action and final resolution are. BUT! I am very satisfied with the ending.
So if you can slug through the first half of the book and endure the lead up to the end I think you'll be glad of the ending for all the main characters.
So if you can slug through the first half of the book and endure the lead up to the end I think you'll be glad of the ending for all the main characters.
February 29, 2020
Wow, no punches were pulled for our characters, brutal ending.
Read
February 17, 2016This review is for all three books in this outstanding trilogy. The boiled-down plot basically follows duelists brother and sister as they navigate political intrigue and deal with their lives that get turned upside down.
What made this series so enjoyable for me was the relationship between Kacha and Vocho, the brother and sister duelist. They have a complicated relationship, crafted by what I think of as an abusive father; mentally in Kacha’s case and physically and mentally for Vocho. Their childhood forged an odd bond, and the sheer hate-love relationship they have is simply a joy to read about as much as it is heartbreaking. We follow a few other storylines throughout the series, Petri being the other focus of the books. Petri was an interesting character himself, and he changed the most over the series, rather dramatically I might add. He is more involved in the political side; a needed storyline so we as the readers understand what the hell is going on as Kacha and Vocho spend a lot of the books in the dark.
Magic was handled nicely in this series. It wasn’t pretty, but it is strongly developed and the mages themselves are a complicated bunch. The world is quite interesting. Both religion and politics are fleshed out enough that anyone loving complicated worlds should be satisfied. For me, I skimmed just a bit during some descriptions, but none were terribly long or too drawn out for me to assign any negativity to them. I was just too wrapped up in the brother and sister’s story to care about the layout of a room. The writing reads super quick. The books are all under 400 pages, but I read them much faster than some other 400 page books. It was what I call accessible writing; something easy to follow and lacking poetic or flowery prose. Knight gets to the point rather quickly.
The first book was a great setup and really gets the reader invested in the characters. Especially Kacha and Vocho. I say them because I felt they were the most developed characters. Plus, as I said, I just loved their relationship. There were some flashback scenes into their childhood which was used to explain how they got where they were and some of their personality traits. They were done well, and I never felt as if they slowed the story.
The second book was simply amazing and moved at neck-breaking speeds. It, surprisingly enough, solved all the questions and major plot lines from the first book and any raised in the second. It was my favorite by far.
The third book was closure. It wrapped up the one remaining thread from book 2 that I didn’t think needed an ending. It was my least favorite, but that’s only because it focused a lot on Petri. Those interested and loving his character will probably enjoy book 3 the most.
I’ve mentioned how great Kacha and Vocho’s relationship is, but they stand alone quite well. Kasha is a sensible woman, strong and a badass. I found her a delight to read. She had a sheltered softness to her, but she could beat anyone in a duel. I enjoyed her struggles, her needs and how they shaped her, how she freed herself, how she grew. Vocho was simply fun. He was as complicated as his sister, but in an entirely different way. I did enjoy his character most. His carefree go-fight-and-deal-with-the-fallout-later attitude was great. Initially I found him a bit pompous, caring too much about what he looked like, about money, but then one little scene explained it and I fell in love with him. Cospel, their assigned servant, starts out with a small role which grows with each book. He quickly became another great character, adding some humorous dialog and playing off Vocho’s dialog brilliantly. Keep an eye on Dom in the beginning. I found him to be an equally entertaining addition to the cast. All of the characters stand on their own nicely, adding their own flare to the story.
Overall, I must say I was surprised by how much I loved this series. I highly recommend it to everyone.
You can read this and other reviews on my website: http://booksbylkevans.com
What made this series so enjoyable for me was the relationship between Kacha and Vocho, the brother and sister duelist. They have a complicated relationship, crafted by what I think of as an abusive father; mentally in Kacha’s case and physically and mentally for Vocho. Their childhood forged an odd bond, and the sheer hate-love relationship they have is simply a joy to read about as much as it is heartbreaking. We follow a few other storylines throughout the series, Petri being the other focus of the books. Petri was an interesting character himself, and he changed the most over the series, rather dramatically I might add. He is more involved in the political side; a needed storyline so we as the readers understand what the hell is going on as Kacha and Vocho spend a lot of the books in the dark.
Magic was handled nicely in this series. It wasn’t pretty, but it is strongly developed and the mages themselves are a complicated bunch. The world is quite interesting. Both religion and politics are fleshed out enough that anyone loving complicated worlds should be satisfied. For me, I skimmed just a bit during some descriptions, but none were terribly long or too drawn out for me to assign any negativity to them. I was just too wrapped up in the brother and sister’s story to care about the layout of a room. The writing reads super quick. The books are all under 400 pages, but I read them much faster than some other 400 page books. It was what I call accessible writing; something easy to follow and lacking poetic or flowery prose. Knight gets to the point rather quickly.
The first book was a great setup and really gets the reader invested in the characters. Especially Kacha and Vocho. I say them because I felt they were the most developed characters. Plus, as I said, I just loved their relationship. There were some flashback scenes into their childhood which was used to explain how they got where they were and some of their personality traits. They were done well, and I never felt as if they slowed the story.
The second book was simply amazing and moved at neck-breaking speeds. It, surprisingly enough, solved all the questions and major plot lines from the first book and any raised in the second. It was my favorite by far.
The third book was closure. It wrapped up the one remaining thread from book 2 that I didn’t think needed an ending. It was my least favorite, but that’s only because it focused a lot on Petri. Those interested and loving his character will probably enjoy book 3 the most.
I’ve mentioned how great Kacha and Vocho’s relationship is, but they stand alone quite well. Kasha is a sensible woman, strong and a badass. I found her a delight to read. She had a sheltered softness to her, but she could beat anyone in a duel. I enjoyed her struggles, her needs and how they shaped her, how she freed herself, how she grew. Vocho was simply fun. He was as complicated as his sister, but in an entirely different way. I did enjoy his character most. His carefree go-fight-and-deal-with-the-fallout-later attitude was great. Initially I found him a bit pompous, caring too much about what he looked like, about money, but then one little scene explained it and I fell in love with him. Cospel, their assigned servant, starts out with a small role which grows with each book. He quickly became another great character, adding some humorous dialog and playing off Vocho’s dialog brilliantly. Keep an eye on Dom in the beginning. I found him to be an equally entertaining addition to the cast. All of the characters stand on their own nicely, adding their own flare to the story.
Overall, I must say I was surprised by how much I loved this series. I highly recommend it to everyone.
You can read this and other reviews on my website: http://booksbylkevans.com
October 3, 2015
If you'd me, say, 50 pages into the first book of this series that it would be a low key recent favourite of mine by the time it finished, I would have been a little surprised, but Knight has such excellent characterization throughout that even if her plotting wasn't so good and twisty I'd still be really into it. After taking things kind of big in the second book, I think it's both a bold and really strong move on Knight's part to not try and raise the stakes again. Reyes has just survived a magical war that could have easily broken the city in two, all of the major antagonists from earlier in the series have been permanently dealt with (and there are no fake outs, no lame resurrections here) and fittingly for a series that first hooked me with how realistic the psychology of the leads (and their problems) was, our "heroes" are not ready for anything world-shattering. So instead, because of some good intentions, Kacha and Vocho and their friends get launched into a remote location where the story gets pared down to just the most important remaining characters and some new innocent (and not-so-innocent) bystanders, and a realistically harrowing environment that might wind up killing them all before blades, guns, or magic does. This is a really great little series and I think the reasons its great are reinforced by this third book's decision to go in a more personal direction, which doesn't mean it's even one iota less bruising for the viewpoint characters than that massive war in the second book was. So basically, this is just as good as the last one was, but all of my worries from my review of that one are handled, and in ways I didn't necessarily expect.
December 31, 2015
Ah...so this wasn't disappointing. Although, to be honest, I don't think that everything got quite as squared away as I would've liked. I know it's a trilogy, but one more book couldn't hurt...okay, I'm not going to beg. Nope. I'm just going to deal with the immense emotional fallout from this book series. Because, again honestly, there was quite a bit of that.
Actually, to mention what I liked/disliked I basically have to stick to spoilers. But, I can say that I continued to love the character arcs, even though I don't know if I was super in love with the main plot of this one. Maybe because the antagonist here was kind of a soft enemy after the enormity of the previous two books. However, since I wanted to read this just to find out what happened with characters, it wasn't such a bad thing that I wasn't at all impressed by the new group of enemies.
One last thing, I think for this series. I read that the author was one who dallied often in romance novels (or fantasy romance, whatever), and yet this series did not have an obnoxious or even significant amount of romance to it at all. So, I admit, I loved this entire series despite the overwhelming pain it caused me, but I don't think I'll dally in her other works, because romance is kind of terrible.
Actually, to mention what I liked/disliked I basically have to stick to spoilers. But, I can say that I continued to love the character arcs, even though I don't know if I was super in love with the main plot of this one. Maybe because the antagonist here was kind of a soft enemy after the enormity of the previous two books. However, since I wanted to read this just to find out what happened with characters, it wasn't such a bad thing that I wasn't at all impressed by the new group of enemies.
One last thing, I think for this series. I read that the author was one who dallied often in romance novels (or fantasy romance, whatever), and yet this series did not have an obnoxious or even significant amount of romance to it at all. So, I admit, I loved this entire series despite the overwhelming pain it caused me, but I don't think I'll dally in her other works, because romance is kind of terrible.
January 4, 2016
I had wondered at the end of book 2 on where they plan to go with Book 3 given how things were wrapped up but reading book 3 makes me realize maybe the whole point of the series isnt the relation between the siblings but ultimately a redemption song and a love story
Given how things ended in book 2 and with the sibling seemingly having it all, book 3 starts off on a sombre-ish note. The brother-sister pair end up not completely healed from the scars of book 2, physically and mentally and as always, end up dealing with it badly. Petri Egimont fares even worse as he tries to hide and survive while Dom has vanished in the wind with a quest of his own.
Given this cauldron, certain events bring together all of them, on opposing sides and the story really takes off. The easy mix of humor and action is actually undercut by pain, tragedy and suffering and makes us really care for the characters
Overall, the series ended well and almost fittingly bitter sweet. Its a great achievement given the entire trilogy was released within 2 months and led to a satisfying end
Given how things ended in book 2 and with the sibling seemingly having it all, book 3 starts off on a sombre-ish note. The brother-sister pair end up not completely healed from the scars of book 2, physically and mentally and as always, end up dealing with it badly. Petri Egimont fares even worse as he tries to hide and survive while Dom has vanished in the wind with a quest of his own.
Given this cauldron, certain events bring together all of them, on opposing sides and the story really takes off. The easy mix of humor and action is actually undercut by pain, tragedy and suffering and makes us really care for the characters
Overall, the series ended well and almost fittingly bitter sweet. Its a great achievement given the entire trilogy was released within 2 months and led to a satisfying end
May 7, 2016
This series was a great start that kind of had a dead point in the middle, then got really good again with this third book, then the last little bit was kind of a let-down. The book itself, the plot, the twists and surprises, the murder, it was all great. But the ending and how it finished was very unsatisfactory. It felt like it came out of nowhere. It made some big changes to the characters lives. I feel like if you’re going to make a big change, you need to hint at it, leave some little for-shadowing clues in the body of the work, etc. Don’t just throw someting at me at the last page. That was the only part of the book I didn’t like.
All in all it was a good conclusion and a nice finish to a fun and exciting story. Not a Joe Abercrombie or a James Patterson or a Gail Carriger, but still fun and lots of swordfights. And we all know swordfights are really the only reason I listen to audiobooks.
All in all it was a good conclusion and a nice finish to a fun and exciting story. Not a Joe Abercrombie or a James Patterson or a Gail Carriger, but still fun and lots of swordfights. And we all know swordfights are really the only reason I listen to audiobooks.
August 22, 2016
Any doubts I had about the way this series was going to end have been blown away in a massively powerful finish.
Following on from the action packed conclusion of Legends and Liars things return to normal, save for one very pesky loose end.
The climax of this series brought me so much joy and heartache as I read it. Julia Knight has done an amazing job growing these characters and making me give a damn about every single one of them. Underneath all the flash and bravado of the fights and witty remarks lies the heart of a brilliant character driven drama and it warmed the heart to see everyone get an end that truly felt deserved for them. I started this trilogy expecting so little, and I ended it with the biggest smile on my face. Totally blown away.
Following on from the action packed conclusion of Legends and Liars things return to normal, save for one very pesky loose end.
The climax of this series brought me so much joy and heartache as I read it. Julia Knight has done an amazing job growing these characters and making me give a damn about every single one of them. Underneath all the flash and bravado of the fights and witty remarks lies the heart of a brilliant character driven drama and it warmed the heart to see everyone get an end that truly felt deserved for them. I started this trilogy expecting so little, and I ended it with the biggest smile on my face. Totally blown away.
August 25, 2016
Less of a third part of a trilogy, more of an epilogue to a two part series, but interesting nonetheless. Tying up the loose end from the previous book - well, two, but one main one, the main three characters showed an incredible amount of growth. I read the first book not expecting much, but truly enjoyed all three books far more than I thought. Highly recommended if you like your fantasy a little politicy!
September 12, 2017
Swashbuckling, treachery, love, redemption, action, magic and a few gears and cogs and you have the making of a really fun book. This series was rather interesting and I seriously enjoyed the witty banter and the unique oddity of the world Julia Knight created for the Duelists Trilogy. I found the siblings compelling as they faced many difficult situations and tasks. I didn't however like the pervasive language and for that it lost a bot pf starage from me. Otherwise its a fun read.
May 6, 2016
One of those books where I found the first half a bit slow (characters recovering from the trauma of books one and two, lots of villain POV flashbacks), but like a rollercoaster once it hit the halfway point the plot really engaged and clicked along to the finish. I really liked Vocho's character arc.
May 26, 2016
Not as strong as the others, the narrative wasn't as balanced between the siblings as usual. Still, the ending was everything one could want. Someone gets the girl, someone rides off into the sunset.
July 12, 2016
excellent characterization combined with a twisty plot! good stuff!
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