Started: 05/08/21
Finished: 22/08/21
Spoilers: No
This was so much fun. I had an absolute blast reading this book and I can't wait to read the next one. A thoroughly entertaining read.
Characters
I love Hadrian and Royce! They almost give me Locke and Jean vibes, and their banter is top quality. Their loyalty to each other gives me feels. I just loved how strong their bond was. They completely trust one another, even when one makes a bad decision that will likely end in trouble, the other goes along with it cause nothing is going to separate them, not even danger.
And for once I enjoyed all the side characters. Alric, Arista, Myron, Thrace, Esrahaddon, I actually loved everyone. They all had a personality and stood out within the story. I don't think I've ever read a story in which I've cared about everyone, but here we are.
Plot
There're two books within one, and of the two, I preferred the first. The stakes felt more personal to the two main characters.
Book 1: The king has been murdered and Hadrian and Royce have been framed. To clear their names, they must kidnap the prince, free a wizard, and save a princess.
Book 2: A small village is attacked by a legendary creature and a deadly contest is announced to try and kill it. Hadrian and Royce get roped in by sheer coincidence and bad luck.
Despite being relatively small books on their own, book 1 felt like a full, well-developed book that hit all the necessary plot beats to feel satisfactory. Book 2 felt different to me. Though still a very interesting and entertaining story, it kept me thinking it was better suited as a novella. Just something about it didn't feel like a novel.
Perhaps it was the pacing--not slow necessarily, but a little stationary. So much time is spent in one place, in the village, considering how to fight the creature. The plot didn't seem to move much past this idea.
Even though book 1 is shorter than book two, it just feels longer because more happens.
Book 2, by page count, is longer, but far less happens, circling, rather than having much forward projection.
Yet, that being said, the ending of book 2 is far more epic than book 1. Absolutely loved the last five or so chapters of book 2, and the plot reveals regarding character secrets were so good. Definitely makes me want to continue reading this series.
Setting
At first glance, I would've said this was a low fantasy story, set in a world not dissimilar to our own with little to no magical elements in the book. Then suddenly and quite pleasantly, we get elves and dwarves and wizards. These classic high fantasy races were woven so casually into the world that it felt like these things were always there and I just hadn't noticed. Nothing felt shoehorned in, it just all felt like another layer of the world peeling back.
Writing Style
The writing, like everything else in this book, is top quality. I love how modern it sounds. I can't stand when characters speak in some kind of archaic dialect just because people in our world did hundreds of years ago. Fantasy does not equal history. It just sounds so stilted. Yet in Theft of Swords, the dialogue is wonderfully natural and smooth. Not to mention funny. As I mentioned, the banter is just awesome. Whether these two loveable rogues are talking to each other or talking to kings, it's done with beautiful nonchalance and dry wit.
Final Impression
I'll definitely be looking to buy the next book as soon as I can. I'm officially a fan of Hadrian and Royce. I'm especially excited as there're so many books with these characters. I can't wait to go on all these adventures with these guys.
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