Skullsworn (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #4) in Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy"

Jun 08, 2017 Jason Waltz rated it really liked it

Shelves: fun, fantastical

So this was an interesting book. I did not finish Staveley's trilogy with the intention of reading this title any time soon. If his next book had been about Valyn, yes, would have read it immediately. Pyrre, while a cool character, was peripheral, interesting but not compelling. Then of course, life intervened and a friend handed me the book right at the time I was moving cross-country. Naturally it became the book I traveled with. So perhaps the tumult of such a large move contributed to my fra So this was an interesting book. I did not finish Staveley's trilogy with the intention of reading this title any time soon. If his next book had been about Valyn, yes, would have read it immediately. Pyrre, while a cool character, was peripheral, interesting but not compelling. Then of course, life intervened and a friend handed me the book right at the time I was moving cross-country. Naturally it became the book I traveled with. So perhaps the tumult of such a large move contributed to my frame of mind at the onset, but this book did not excite me for several days/pages. In fact, I grew rather irritated with the writing and the main character's incessant pining for 'love.' Her internal personal analysis was rather tedious - but the other characters and the interludes of action were exciting and a crescendo was rising.

Now I arrived in my new state, mostly settled into my new home, and truly settled into my new patio reading nook. Possible mind frame adjustment. Book notched it up. Quite a few notches to be frank. Never reached the level of 'I must stay up till I finish' addiction, but definitely a joy to read with a pull to discover more. And you know what? Despite a remaining 'grrr' feeling at her continued internal angst over love, Pyrre became fantastic. This truly was a great story, well-told, filled with intrigue (personal and larger-scope), danger (personal, social, community, even empiric), lots of beautiful bladed ballets of battle quite eloquently drawn, good dialogue and good motivations. Not a character to complain of or ignore, which is rather impressive in itself, and an awesomely created city/community/culture.

I do not think Staveley the next big fantasy writer I've seen attributed to him in a few places. He wrote an interesting trilogy that had great moments, characters with great moments, and perhaps some of the best battle unit interactions, training, etc., around, but nothing I grew obsessed with, no one I wanted 'to be' - I left his series entertained and interested in pursuing the story of one character, who was essentially leaving the world we'd been part of throughout the trilogy come its end, so it was neither the story nor the world that drew me. A nice aspect to this book is that it pre-dated the trilogy and featured a character other than the stars of the trilogy. One does not have to read the trilogy first to understand a thing in this book. Obviously there are always nuances that contribute to further embracing and clarity, but this book can stand alone while simultaneously enhancing Pyrre's story in the trilogy by providing the depth of her background and motivations. There is a different style to the writing of this book as well, so like it or not in this instance, it's not repeated in the trilogy.

I do like this book, and I think it Staveley's best effort yet. I recommend it. ...more

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