Adrian Tchaikovsky has a talent for creating stories with an amazing verve and intensity - both characters and the worlds in which they live. This ability is seen in both his Fantasy and Sci-Fi stories. Redemption's Blade is Tchaikovsky's latest Fantasy novel has strong characters, a beatific, striking environment in which they live and interact. The story of Celestaine - a female protagonist- with her companions struggling to rebuild a world nearly desolated by the Kinslayer. She faces formidable and dangerous enemies while striving to maintain her own humanity. Full of action and intense scenes, this is your next Fantasy novel, you will not be disappointed.

*Disclosure - I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Over the last few months I have been lucky to read three new Tchaikovsky books. As this was the first fantasy book of those three (the other two being war sci-fi) I had fingers crossed for a return to the heights of the Shadows of the Apt series. I was sadly disappointed.

The scope of this book is truly epic in every sense. The world we are thrown into has a diverse range of beings, species, cities, religions and beliefs and a rich history. The events follow on from the end of a tyrannical reign of the Kinslayer, a power-mad demi-god who tried to break the spirit of those races he didn't just wipe out. We see the Kinslayer-slayer Celestaine's attempts to do good in the aftermath of this war, and try to make one species whole again. This aim leads her on a journey across the world where we are introduced to a range of new peoples and places. The journey goes on from place to place, the company increasing all the while.

I have real respect for Tchaikovsky trying to do something new - tell the story that follows on from a somewhat typical fantasy tale. Sadly for me, the story that went before sounds so much more interesting and engaging - the besting of a truly despicable being. This story is instead something of an empty, largely pointless journey. The ending leads us to believe someone had been luring people with the promise of magical items, to come to him and ultimately their doom - however, the trail leading to him was not exactly clear and the chances of anyone following it would be minimal (let alone someone following it at exactly the right pace to witness certain key events!). The world-building is epic and yet completely forgettable. I found myself forgetting who people were, why they were doing things and I completely missed one major reveal in the final chapters, only to re-read and find that there pretty much was no reveal.

I am a fan of Tchaikovsky's writing style but for me this book was a struggle to get through. I had no feelings towards any of the characters and couldn't remember or care where they had been or why, or what had happened. Not a worthwhile investment of my time.

Okay, so, I was ecstatic to find I'd been approved for this one on NetGalley; CHILDREN OF TIME is one of my all-time science fiction favorites, and Adrian Tchaikovsky showed so much creativity and vividness in crafting that narrative that REDEMPTION'S BLADE was a hotly anticipated read for me.

Unfortunately, that vividness and rich language just isn't on display here. This tale of Celestaine seeking to right all the wrongs of a decades-past Kinslayer's rampage reads with all the narrative momentum of an accounting textbook. Often, I'd read a page multiple times without being able to pull any meaning there, and the deep characterization that made Children of Time so successful just wasn't present here, as far as I could tell.

As I was reading this book I kept wondering how I had missed the one that came before it. I would read more and then go and try to find out which book I had missed. It was quite distracting. It turns out I had not missed any other book, this is the first in a new series but I had to visit the author's website to figure that out. I'm still not 100% sure because even the information there leaves room for interpretation but I'm going with first-book-in-a-new-series. By this time I was about half way through the book. I can tell you positively that there is enough material in this one to show that a prequel could happen somewhere down the road. You see, the war went on for ten long, hard years with huge destruction and devastation to the land and only stopped because Celestaine, the Champion of Forith, killed the Kinslayer, the dastardly despot. Actually she had a little help with that but she's the one the ballads are sung about so she got the super-duper powerful sword. So Celestaine is a little upset that all this chaos has taken place and nobody is trying to make things right for those most damaged and hurt by it all. She can't help everybody (even though I think she might ultimately try) but she can pick a cause and try to right a wrong. Naturally Celestaine needs helpers with this project so she picks two Yorughan (who would have been her enemies in the war) to try to repair the damage done by the Kinslayer to the Aethani people. Let there be fighting and limbs chopped off and magic and tricksters and unusual creatures and so on and so on...…..

Feeling like I had been plopped down in the middle of a previous story wasn't a pleasant experience but I persevered and continued reading. This is a "cause" kind of story because Celestaine is going to keep going no matter what and never mind not having any plan. This fantasy world is huge with all kinds of peoples, nations, cities, creatures and conflicts. That Kinslayer was some kind of evil guy and I'll just bet there will be a second book telling us about even more of his atrocities so Celestaine and the gang can set them right. I would imagine I'll be right there reading along to find out what happens.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion Solaris for a digital galley of this novel.

Hoy vamos a hablar de un libro que ha creado mucha expectación y para comentarlo hemos decidido utilizar un formato novedoso en el blog. Como hemos podido disfrutar de la lectura de Redemption's Blade tanto Antonio Díaz como yo, hemos pensado transcribir esta conversación que hemos tenido respecto al libro. Espero que os guste.

Antonio: ¿No te parece inusual comenzar un libro por el final? En Redemption's Blade, Tchaikovsky empieza la historia cuando el "malo final" (Kinslayer) ha sido derrotado.

Leticia: Aunque es original en cierto punto, el comienzo de El Imperio Final de Brandon Sanderson parte exactamente en el mismo punto. Luego el desarrollo no sigue los mismos derroteros, afortunadamente. Yo lo que más destacaría del libro es el worldbuilding, ¿no crees?

A: Estoy de acuerdo. No sólo el worldbuilding es interesante y se aleja del canon tolkeniano (nada de elfos ni enanos, aunque hay una especie de orcos) si no que introduce muchas culturas, leyendas, fragmentos de mitología a los que da consecuencias o aplicaciones prácticas en la novela.

L: Creo que es un trabajo muy admirable, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que se trata de un universo compartido. La siguiente entrega de la saga After the War correrá a cargo de otra autora, en este caso Justina Robson. El hecho de que Tchaikovsky cree un mundo tan rico y que no sea solo para su provecho nos da una idea de su generosidad. Que sepamos, no existía una guía sobre la que trabajar, si no que ha dado rienda suelta a su imaginación.

A: Creo que la mejor prueba de que la editorial le ha dejado mucha rienda suelta a podemos ver en los Kelicerati, esa mente colmena de arañas que el Kinslayer deja sueltas por el mundo. Son consideradas enemigos por todos los bandos pero no son malvadas en realidad. Es una muestra de los grises de la novela.

L: Lo cierto es que en la novelas de fantasía más actuales estos grados de bondad y maldad, esos grises a los que te refieres son una parte fundamental. No es que sea especialmente sorprendente que el autor pervierta los estereotipos habituales de héroes y villanos, pero lo hace de una forma muy acertada y consecuente. El origen del viaje de la heroína está parcialmente fundamentado en su búsqueda de relevancia tras la guerra, aunque intente autojustificarse con otras razones.

A: Y esa es Celestaine, la protagonista, y la que se supone heroína que derrotó al Kinslayer y la que todo el mundo toma como referencia. En Redemption's Blade, Tchaikovsky introduce muchos personajes supuestamente heroicos que no lo son realmente. Gran parte del libro se invierte en estudiar esas figuras... y digamos que no sale ninguno bien parado. La guerra contra el Kinslayer sacude los cimientos del mundo y saca lo mejor y lo peor de cada uno.

L: Hablando de los personajes, hay dos secundarios que me encantan. Se trata de Catt y Fisher, dos ancianos coleccionistas de objetos mágicos. Aparte de su conocimiento enciclopédico sobre cualquier antigualla o adminículo con poder mágico, me resulta muy interesante también su rebuscado uso del idioma, que da lugar a situaciones cómicas muy divertidas. A veces parece que necesitan traducción simultánea para hacerse entender. El humor es algo que Tchaikovsky utiliza en muchas de sus obras, y aunque en este caso no era fácil hacerle hueco lo logra. Parece que ha utilizado el generador de misiones aleatorias del Skyrim para crear los nombres de los cacharros mágicos. ¿Te hicieron reir a ti?

A: Catty y Fishy, como se llaman el uno al otro, son desternillantes. Sí que me arrancaron alguna risa. No es un libro que permita mucho humor, porque el mundo está demasiado ocupado lidiando con las consecuencias del final de la guerra, con enemigos que se volvieron aliados contra el mal común y que ahora vuelven a mirarse con desconfianza y sociedades que se han virado hacia el fascismo. Y aún así, te ríes. También juega muy bien con los giros argumentales y las sorpresas.

L: Si, los giros argumentales están bien, pero el hilo conductor de la historia es prácticamente inexistente. La razón de la "aventura" parece mucho menos apremiante que otros problema acuciantes que hay en el mundo y la sucesión de lugares por las que discurre su viajes son cuando menos aleatorios y sin mucho sentido. Quizá buscaba mostrarnos una variedad de localizaciones, para dar más lucimiento al mundo creado, pero al final el nexo de unión entre los capítulos es prácticamente inexistente.

A: Al igual que pasa con Spiderlight, Redemption's Blade parece más una campaña de juego de rol de papel y lápiz transformada en novela que otra cosa. Sin duda es una excusa para poder mostrar el mundo a los lectores. Y hablando de Spiderlight, yo diría que ambas novelas tienen mucho en común (además de las arañas). Un grupo de héroes no tan puros, un enemigo imbatible (el Dark Lord en Spiderlight y el Kinslayer en Redemption's Blade), multitud de localizaciones, un humor muy fino y un worldbuilding muy trabajado con un sistema mágico un tanto difuso.

L: Sí que parecen cortadas por el mismo patrón, aunque sería injusto decir que todas las novelas del autor son iguales (mira Children of Time sin ir más lejos o Guns of the Dawn). Además, si un modelo funciona, ¿por qué no volver a usarlo? No me parece un autor encasillado si no un escritor con un marchamo propio reconocible por el lector. ¿Esto es una señal de calidad en tu opinión?

A: De calidad y de una gran producción. Tchaikovsky se estrenó en el mercado con su decalogía de Shadows of the Apt, pero ya había escrito varias novelas que nunca se vendieron. No tiene que haber muchos escritores a tiempo completo que puedan mantener una versatilidad de géneros, temas y formatos tan amplia (quitando Sanderson, siempre quitando Sanderson). ¿Te leerás la continuación con Justina Robson, Salvation's Fire?

L: He de reconocer que me llevé un chasco cuando supe que no lo seguía el mismo autor porque me estoy volviendo muy fan de Tchaikovsky. No conozco la obra de Robson, aunque Aliette de Bodard la recomienda mucho. Creo que sí la leeré porque el mundo es muy interesante, pero tengo algo de reserva sobre su contenido. ¿Y tú?

A: También ha sido una sorpresa para mí, desde el principio tenía la idea de que Tchaikovsky continuaría esta serie, pero admito que como hace muchos años que no he leído una serie de múltiples autores la curiosidad me puede. (Si te estás preguntando a que serie me refiero... tengo un pasado oscuro con la Dragonlance). La excusa perfecta para conocer a Robson.

Mi spiace sempre lasciare un romanzo in cui non trovo difetti, ma che semplicemente non mi interessa abbastanza da continuare.
E mi spiace ancora di più in questo caso: una premessa intrigante, una buona scrittura con tocchi di ironia ben dosati e l'uso dei topoi classici del fantasy per raccontare cosa succede 'dopo' sono tutti elementi che meritano, sebbene non si siano rivelati sufficienti per me.

The Kinslayer army has fallen ten years ago but the lands are still dangerous, and the people are left tattered and in shambles. Kinslayer and his army destroyed the people, their culture and the land. He created monsters that have no hope or future in this world they don’t belong too and are left in a miserable existence. Celeste and her group brought down the Kinslayer and now they want to help another group of people. The Aethani have had their wings cut, forced into slavery and therefore lost their spirit and hope for a better future. Celeste wants to restore their wings and give them a better future.

This novel was an interesting take on the classic high fantasy genre. Instead of the story being told before/during a great war it is told afterwards as a group is trying to help heal the lands and the people’s living within in. I loved reading about the lands and the destruction wrought onto it, how everybody was trying to heal the damage and move on. The background and world building in this novel was phenomenal, there was incredible depth given to everything, even minor creatures that are only seen once or twice.

The characters were good with every character given their own personality. Celeste starts to grow and change as the quest continues where she starts to question herself. I liked this growth of character as it took away her perfect hero status that was present in the beginning of the novel. There was a nonconventional romance building between Celeste (human) and Heno (Yorughan) which I can understand why some people would find gross but I thought it was a nice change from traditional relationships.

In summary, this is a great read and thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for this ARC.

The writing style really wasn't something I enjoyed in this and could not finish this book because of it.