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The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)

Brian Staveley

Start date: December 21, 2015

Finish date: January 20, 2016

Discussion: Book Discussions

Discussion leader: Kivrin

Why we're reading this: Group Contemporary Fantasy Novel Discussion December 2015
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What Members Thought

Apr 04, 2015 Kevin Xu rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The only reason I picked up and started this book was because I was send a free copy from my friend as he really wanted to see what everybody thought of the book was. This book is not what I expected.

Not knowing anything about the book, and just judging from the cover and the friends I knew who had read the book I expected this to more epic fantasy like Brent Weeks or Sanderson, but was I wrong. This was in part maybe because Epic Fantasy all has to be huge door stoppers, which this one is cert ...more

32 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2020 Navi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, first-of-series, kindle, 500-pages-plus

What a great start to the series! I loved everything about this book - the detailed world-building, the fleshed our characters, the beautiful writing, the female representation, the action scenes, the political intrigue and so much more. I had to force myself to put this book down instead of reading it all in one sitting!

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Feb 03, 2014 Anmiryam rated it really liked it

Shelves: sff-2014, audiobook-2014

Great action sequences, strong characters, superb world building and a satisfying plot made this book an engrossing read for anyone who likes epic fantasy. The world that includes the Annurian empire is refreshingly not based on Northern European traditions, but instead draws upon the philosophy and religious teachings of East Asia, among other non-western cultures. There are monks, there are soldiers, there are courtiers and as we move between these distinct social worlds debut author Brian Sta Great action sequences, strong characters, superb world building and a satisfying plot made this book an engrossing read for anyone who likes epic fantasy. The world that includes the Annurian empire is refreshingly not based on Northern European traditions, but instead draws upon the philosophy and religious teachings of East Asia, among other non-western cultures. There are monks, there are soldiers, there are courtiers and as we move between these distinct social worlds debut author Brian Staveley easily shifts his language and perspectives without losing focus on the internal development of his central characters.

"The Emperor's Blades" is always exciting, rich with perfect details and well-considered characters. I especially loved that lengths that Staveley goes to in developing an entire vernacular that belong wholly to this world. It will be a long time before I remove the imprecation 'Kent-kissing from my internal lexicon.

The set up is classic, the Emperor Sanlitun, has been murdered and his children, Adare, Kaden and Valyn are also targets in what is early on revealed to be a wide-ranging conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of imperial power. Will the siblings be able to avoid being killed and join together to avenge their father? Kaden, eldest son and heir, has spent the last eight years as a novice at an isolated mountain monastery learning the ways of the "vaniate". It will take months for news of his father's murder to reach him, but already strange things are happening in the mountains. His younger brother, Valyn, has also spent the past eight years in training, but in his case he has been studying the ways of an elite warrior group, the Kettrel. His training is about to culminate in a dangerous rite of passage, Hull's trial. Even as he endures the remaining weeks of preparation, he is alerted to his father's death and sees the signs of the conspiracy's net posing a danger to him and his friends. Meanwhile, their older sister, Adare, is lat court in Annur where, despite being precluded from the line of inheritance because she's female, she has impressed her father her elevated her to the post of Minister of Finance. After burying her father, she turns her focus on the apparent culprit, the head of a religious order who has been gaining influence and building a personal army.

In this first of three projected novels, the emphasis is on Kaden and Valyn. For both their training will provide trials, risks and benefits that only become clear as the book flows onward. Staveley brilliantly adapts the fundamental teachings of zen buddhism and martial art training and expands them to incorporate a system of realistic, earned and hard-won abilities that give both young men capabilities as they seek to regain their rightful inheritance. No one here had special powers at birth. Any advantages are the result of study and struggle.

Kaden and Valyn's stories center on an elements of mystery which serve to unveil critical components of the complex world they live in. Staveley has thought through the history of how the world in these pages came to be and uses that knowledge to keep the story going. Revelations are perfectly paced and only occasionally overly foreshadowed.

The major flaw of this book is its portrayal of women. There is good here women are accepted as fighters and, though more reluctantly, as ministers. There's even a lesbian character and her sexual preference, once disclosed, evokes no condemnation or rejection (though her sexuality is one element of a plot arc that ends up making other characters suspect her of some pretty heinous crimes, which I didn't like).

Still, despite some effort to avoid the sexism that plagues fantasy epics, there were times when Brian Staveley resorts to unquestioning reliance on stereotypes of men and women I found upsetting. For the most part, women in this book are judged according to perceived sexual attractiveness. Because this is a patriarchy, women if not fighting are cast as wives, concubines, members of a sexualized priesthood, or prostitutes. Several plot developments are propelled by women becoming victims of sexual violence or coercion. These crimes are punished, but not by women, but by avenging male saviors, Kaden and Valyn. I was also frustrated by the lack of emphasis on the female 'Blade' of the title, Adare. She gets very few chapters here and her plot arc is so thin and under realized it may have almost come from another book. Adare has potential as a character, but in this first volume she is a pawn who falls into bed with the general serving as regent until Kaden can return to court -- don't worry, this may seem like a spoiler, but most savvy readers will see this development coming as soon as the characters are introduced. I hope she comes into her own in later installments and we get as much about her path as we do about Kaden and Valyn. If her part in the story doesn't take on more weight in the next book Staveley might as well have cut her from the picture altogether.

As of now, with the strong emphasis on Kaden and Valyn, if Staveley had wanted to break the mold a bit more, he could have made Valyn female and done away with the third sibling. If women can be Kettral, and a prince can be a Kettral, why couldn't a princess? Why did this world have to be a stinking patriarchy anyway?

Sorry, I got sidetracked by how angry I got with this aspect of the novel, but I don't want to leave anyone with the impression that I didn't think it was a great read -- it is a great read. Such a great read that I'm frustrated that I will have to wait until next winter to read the next installment.

Of course, don't expect me to keep quiet if it doesn't address some of my frustrations over female characters who are stripped of agency (not always, but many times) and the reliance on female sexual victimization to propel the plot.

P.S. I started by listening to this as an audible download and the narrator was the perfect choice and if you don't feel like reading this, you'll change your mind once you start listening to it. The added bonus to listening is that you will know how to pronounce some of the more complicated names. I dare you to know how you say 'Csestriim" without help. I'm not sure I can say it even after hearing it said numerous times.

...more

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Mar 25, 2014 Scott Firestone rated it liked it

The emperor's been murdered, and now his kids are in the crosshairs. His two sons are scattered--one living with a group of monks and the other training with an elite assassin squad. They're both dealing with their own training, mysterious happenings, and the threat of people coming to kill them like they did dear old dad.

Their stories were so similar that at times I'd forget which brother I was with, until something woke me to the fact that it was the monk or the assassin. The characterization ...more

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