The Emperor's Blades (Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne Book 1)

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Agenir • Alberto Saluzzo • Ben • Bernardo Bellone • Danbrown Leopardi • Demetri Certaldo • Giovanna Rossati • Rubio • Signora Sicilia • Wallach • Zaaro

Adare is one of the siblings but is only given about 6 chapters in the whole novel. She is constantly compared to others and her difficultly as a women in a man’s world is obsessed over. The author sets up a hyper-sexist world.There’s a scene near the middle of The Emperor’s Blades in which a class of Kettral cadets, ultra-elite warriors who fly massive hawks into battle, are undergoing their final test: Hull’s Trial. People who have read the book ask about this scene a lot, and about Kettral training more generally. They want to know if I’ve served in the military – I haven’t – and then they want to know where in the hell all the training material comes from. The answer (aside from lots and lots of reading about military training) is adventure racing. The Emperor's Blades are an elite unit within Ursus' Royal Guards who, as the name suggests, directly answer to the Emperor of Ursus and carry out "the will of Ursus itself" with extreme prejudice. However, they are more infamous for the horrendous legends surrounding their acts, such as the sinking of Simonch City, the massacre of an Elafian village, and their severe casualties in the Valley of the Setting Sun, earning them titles like the " Facerending Liches". [1] [2] These feats, combined with their inhuman appearances, have earned them both respect and fear from the Ursus people, as well as those who oppose them. The Emperor has been murdered, leaving the Annurian Empire in turmoil. Now his progeny must bury their grief and prepare to unmask a conspiracy.

Valyn—at 18 years old—is the second son of the Emperor who was sent away to train with the Kettral—the deadliest fighting force in the Annurian Empire. Personally speaking, Valyn was hands down my favorite POV character in the book. The Emperor’s Blades, as I mentioned earlier, are The Emperor’s three offspring which is also the three main characters of the novel. In my opinion, the world-building, the characterizations, and the writing were the most important points of this book, and whether or not you’re going to enjoy reading this novel will be decided heavily based on how much you love them. The Emperor’s Blades is a definitively character-driven story; throughout the whole book, we’ll be following the story exclusively from the POV of the three main characters: Kaden, Valyn & Adare. Staveley puts his protagonists to the test and is wise enough to allow them shortcomings even as they develop extraordinary abilities.” — Publishers Weekly The Emperor’s Blades follows along behind three of the Emperor’s children: Kaden (the heir), Valyn (the soldier), and Adare (the politician). Each chapters shining the spotlight on one or the other in turn, highlighting their unique struggles, as they are on the edge of maturity yet still trapped in their childhood roles. Sure, there is a bit of resentment of their duties and future roles as their father’s heirs, but their stories are definitely not young adult angst-fests or full-fledged “coming-of-age” tales, but rather a situation where the protagonists just happen to be young adults.

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All in all, the overarching plot was (or had the potential to be) a brilliant one – separate the three leads but have them be intrinsically linked and in danger, in a world that’s both intriguing and interesting, with mythology and mystery. Sounds great right? Well yes, except for the issues that played a big part in hindering me from fully enjoying the story. In his eagerness to save his brother, he had led his Wing directly into harm’s way, had ignored the signs, spurned sensible caution, and now, unless he figured some way to cut them all loose, they were going to die here in the shadow of an unnamed mountain at the end of the world. But as irritating as it was to watch Adare do the thing she knew she shouldn't be doing (b/c just couldn't help it?), Valyn was who really made me lose my mind: