Audio #Review: TRAITOR'S BLADE by Sebastien de Castell

TRAITOR'S BLADE

Author: Sebastien de Castell
Series: Greatcoats #1
Source: Audible
Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books
Publication Date: March 6, 2014
Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary:
Falcio is the first Cantor of the Greatcoats. Trained in the fighting arts and the laws of Tristia, the Greatcoats are travelling Magisters upholding King’s Law. They are heroes. Or at least they were, until they stood aside while the Dukes took the kingdom, and impaled their King’s head on a spike.

Now Tristia is on the verge of collapse and the barbarians are sniffing at the borders. The Dukes bring chaos to the land, while the Greatcoats are scattered far and wide, reviled as traitors, their legendary coats in tatters.

All they have left are the promises they made to King Paelis, to carry out one final mission. But if they have any hope of fulfilling the King’s dream, the divided Greatcoats must reunite, or they will also have to stand aside as they watch their world burn…

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

This was okay but nothing overly special. I thought it started strong but then slid a little bit but picked up at the end. It was written in an interesting way and I thought the narrator was really good for the audiobook but it felt like there was something missing from the actual story line itself.

I was having difficulty at some times understanding when scenes were in the present and when they were in the past. And how some of them related to one another. I thought that there could be a better way to narrate between the two and demonstrate how and why Falcio was so taken by the King. There wasn't enough in my opinion even though I know there was an "explanation" there.

I felt like it got off track at some points too - there were plot points that didn't seem to quite fit together in my opinion. It felt like there were detours in this one that I didn't want to take. There were times I would have liked to see more of the action rather than panning away from it because it wasn't Falcio who was involved. Like one of the characters had an EPIC sword fight ... and we didn't get to see it? What's the point then? It's such a cop-out!

But I did enjoy it. I thought it was a cool and interesting fantasy novel and I will probably check out the rest of this series. Especially if I can get them as an Audible Daily Deal like I did for this one.