I loved this practically from the first line. By about the halfway point I stopped praying it would stick the landing and scuttle my enjoyment – I knew it wouldn’t. And it didn’t.

Seven Blades in Black is a Final Fantasy-inspired, glorious cascade of explosions and guns and magic and murderbirds and swearing and dust and blood and heartache. And monsters.

The worldbuilding is beyond rich. Sykes has not only created one culturally distinct, ferocious nation with interesting history, magic, creatures and conflicted people. He made two. At war with each other. I don’t know which one I loved more: The Revolution with crazy mechs and cool coats and guns? Or the Empire with war mages and blades?

All with one woman set on cutting destructive, vengeful havoc through the violent no-man’s-land middle of it.

I adored Sal. I was worried at the start that her glibness, sarcasm and antiheroine attitude might grate over time. It didn’t. She’s more than that and having the story told mostly in first person to let the reader in on her inner workings was a very good choice here.

The side characters are well-rounded and play off Sal nicely, particularly her main crew Liette and Cavric. Liette and Sal’s dynamic is heartbreaking and adorable in turns, and Cavric was one of the better takes on a disillusionment arc I’ve read. The Vagrants Sal is hunting down have enough to them to be distinct opponents with their own reasons for their actions (though these vary in depth) and provide plenty of personality and power for Sal to throw down against.

The writing is great, too. Sykes has a wonderful run-on descriptive style and the prose is consistently riddled with humour and some of the best cursing I’ve seen printed.

The pacing is mostly break-neck, with a slower interlude at about the two-thirds mark, which honestly, just means it’s any other book’s regular pace.

I wouldn’t expect the bawdy, vibrant tone and style of this to suit everyone, but if you’re up for a high-action, modern fantasy this should be on your radar.

I got this as an advance copy, but I’m going to buy a copy. I need this on my shelf. I need to be able to lend it to people. I need to be able to pick it up and read snippets because the writing and world is that much fun to experience.

I want to read it again.

I want the next one now.

An advance copy of this book was kindly provided by Gollancz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve said this before but, for me, a five-star rating is more of a gut feeling than anything else. It’s that need to keep reading, to find out the end, to keep journeying with the character(s) even beyond the last page. This was, for sure, a five-star read for me, I haven’t really left this world yet even though I’m already 15% into the next book. I’m going to try and articulate all the things I liked about this book but you’ll have to excuse me if it comes out a bit garbled...

The worldbuilding! I loved the world these characters inhabited. The magic system was one of my favourite things, the idea that different kinds of magic have a different ‘price’ or ‘trade’ is nothing particularly new but it came across so well in this story and it was used in a very clever way throughout the book. I also thought that the conflicts and cultural clashes were clever but still made sense within the story, you get the sense that the main character, Sal, is a part of something much bigger than just this story, which is always a win for me.

I also thought that the ‘technology’ was really well done, the various means of transport, from riding on the back of giant birds to huge ships, are a great indication of the richness of the world Sykes has created here. I can’t wait to read more set in this universe and to expand it even further. There’s something a shade of steampunk in it without feeling aggressively ‘coggy’. It’s great - what more can I say?

Sal as a character, just...yes. I found myself getting vibes of Spellslinger in this book - though it’s not as YA as Spellslinger is, which is obvious from the western/fantasy crossover but also it’s the no-nonsense humour of the characters. If you’re the kind of person who clutches their pearls when they hear a swear word then maybe skip this one. Sal is a great example of a character who knows that they’re not exactly morally good but instead of having a crisis about it every five minutes she embraces it and gets on with what she’s doing. It was so refreshing to read this kind of character and I have a feeling Sal is someone to whom I’ll be comparing fantasy heroines in the future…

This book is a punch in the face - but in a good way. I pretty much loved everything about it. It was quippy without feeling smug and that’s not something easy to pull off. I honestly can’t wait to read more.

My rating: 5/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Seven Blades in Black is available now!

Ahhhhhhh this was so frickin' amazing!!!!! I have no words- the writing was witty and perfect, which is why the humour worked. The characters were awesome and I love how thick this book is- can't wait for the next one!!!

Seven Blades in Black is a novel which has a lot of potential. There are some excellent parts but there are also some rather glaring weaknesses which stop this book from being as amazing as it could have been.
The story sounds amazing. It focuses on Sal the Cacophony, a Vagrant and a bounty hunter who hunts down her fellow vagrants and kills them in increasingly bloody ways. The book begins after Sal has been arrested and is awaiting execution and she is telling her story. The narrative shifts between third person in the present and first person as Sal is telling her tale. It works well to separate the two timelines.

Sykes has created an excellent world, very interesting and dark and it feels realistic. The magic system is well done and easy to understand and I love what Sykes has done with both of them. Sykes is a great writer who can easily engage the reader and for the most part the pacing moves along quickly.

The characters are equally as good. Sal, especially comes across as a badass wonder as well as vulnerable when she needs to be. As a protagonist, Sal is fantastic. I love her strength, her determination and her sweariness. She’s awesome. Her weapons are equally awesome and they really help to make her look like a complete badass. The supporting characters are also interesting, I enjoyed reading Tretta’s reactions to Sal’s story and I found Cavric to be a very good character. Liette was all right, she did annoy me at times, especially near to the end.

However, there are several problems with Seven Blades in Black. It’s too long for starters. The novel starts and ends very strongly but I found my attention waning several times around the middle of the book. It does drag quite a lot in the middle and I think it would have been better if the story had been shorter. Another problem is that the story is rather formulaic and repeats itself several times, which is one of the reasons the middle section dragged so much. A lot of the story is taken up by Sal hunting the other Vagrants, which is not a problem but the story repeats itself over and over. Sal hunts down another Vagrant, fights them in a borderline suicidal way, gets badly injured and Liette and Cavric have to make sure she doesn’t die… over and over again. It feels repetitive and I was not fond of that part of the story at all.

Seven Blades in Black is an interesting concept with a well built world, interesting magic system and cool characters but it is not entirely successful in its execution. There is a lot to enjoy in the book but there are some parts in the middle of the book that are far too drawn out and drag the pacing of the story down. The novel begins and ends well but it would have been better if it had been slightly shorter with fewer repetitions in the story. It is a novel that could have been excellent but it just falls slightly short of being amazing.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

4.5 Stars

You've heard his laugh before. Everyone has. It's the giggle of the cruel child who kicks a dog and lies to his parents' faces. It's the chuckle of a man who knows a woman isn't allowed to say no to him without losing teeth.

#FantasyAThon

Ok this was kind of an add in for FantasyAThon for me but I am totally counting it because this is a fantasy book and a half. Part dark fantasy, part weird western, and all frenetic action with kick ass magical gun toting MC, this was an epic read.

Sal the Cacophony is a Vagrant - an Imperial magic wielder who has gone rogue. An outlaw basically. Hated and on the hit list of both sides of a war for dominance between the Imperium and the Revolution (non magic wielders who rose up out of their oppressed state to take the mages on), Sal is a wanted woman and not in a good way. But then Sal doesn't much care for popularity, she has a schedule. She has a list and she's checking off names. And she absolutely won't stop until she's crossed off each and every one of them for what they did to her.

I love a good revenge arc, especially in fantasy, but they are phenomenally difficult to pull off - at least with the reader still caring about the character. On one hand, it's tempting to go down the 'error of your ways route' (which is rarely ever satisfying) or down the 'I have made a hollow mockery of my life' route (which IMO is NEVER satisfying and smacks of contrivance. The best revenge arcs, IMO, are those which deliver - think Mia Covere in Nevernight or Arya Stark in ASoIaF. Basically, if an author tells me that they have a super competent, terror inducing MC on a mission of revenge at the centre of their story, then she had better be killing people. This doesn't mean that you can't have them grapple with trying to hold onto the last shreds of their humanity btw. In fact if you can work that in, it makes for a far more satisfying arc. Sykes does a really great job of this. In many ways, Sal isn't a likeable character at all, but I was riveted as the narrative unfolded.

The world building was woven in very deftly. No info dump, very little description. Sykes makes good use of chain of association imagery and the reader learns things as they need to know them. Honestly, I could have done with a few more reflective, descriptive scenes to break up the furious pace and action of the book, but that's a very minor quibble. The magic system is gritty and well worked out. It's not actually that great a deal to be a mage.

And then there are the other characters. In particular Revolutionary guard, Tretta, Freemaker - Liette and Low Officer of the Revolution, Cavrac. (Not to mention the names on the list!) All the characters were complicated and well rounded, making for very satisfying interactions with Sal.

Sal, fyi, is bi or pan. There's no on page label and perhaps it doesn't matter - it might be jarring to try and squeeze that in. She's definitely into more than one gender though. Sal is cynical, wise cracking, utterly ruthless and yet not devoid of humaneness - it doesn't hold her back, it just makes her choices more painful. By turns amusing, vulnerable and driven, Sal is a great action antiheroine.

All in all, this was a really good book. Highly recommend for fans of grimdark and dark fantasy, especially if you like a dash of weird western.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and Orbit!

I’ll admit it took me a while to fully get immersed into this story. But once I did, wow. What a ride. I’ll admit I’m not usually a big fan of lots of action sequences since I much prefer character moments and political intrigue, but this kept me hooked. The setup probably helped since this is like a story within a story featuring an unreliable narrator.

Sal the Cacophony is due for execution. Before that happens, Governor-Militant Tretta wants to know exactly what happened to one of the Revolution’s officers. There, Sal begins her tale.

Sal’s tale is sad one, an angry one, a bitter one. As a character, she leans to the blacker side of the gray scale than a white and she has definitely done some things which by all accounts would make her a villain. But things are never that simple. Not exactly. I think this is what makes her such a compelling character. Her story is twisted, it’s sad. It’s the story of someone who was idealistic, who trusted her friends and was betrayed for it. For that, it’s understandable that she’d seek revenge.

Following the author’s twitter account, I saw that he describes this book as a ‘love letter to Final Fantasy’. With what I know of Final Fantasy, I can see that. This is a bit on the dark side, but I can see why it can be seen as a homage. There are giant birds, inventive machinery, magic drugs, and otherworldly monsters. Aside from that, I really liked how the world-building and magic system was done.

In this world, there are two main forces: the Imperium and the Revolution. The Imperium is basically ruled by mages who worship the Lady Merchant and can hear her song. Their magic comes from that song which they describe as the true art which ‘nuls’- or non-mages cannot hear. Thus, the Imperium is derided as an empire ruled by decadent and hedonistic mages by the more austere Revolutionaries with their more militaristic society. Plus, the mages love their opera. I liked the opera references and I wished they were expanded upon more because I was really interested in the music aspect and I wanted to know more about it.

I specifically loved how give-and-take the magic system here is- in fact, it’s called a Barter with the Lady Merchant. For their magic, the mages have to sacrifice something whether it’s their dreams, their personalities, and even their bodies. For that, the mages like to talk about the sacrifices they make a lot and also why many may not be happy to be ruled by someone who isn’t a mage. I really liked how this works and I think I’m becoming a fan of magic systems wherein there’s a real cost to using magic besides fatigue. It really ups the stakes, increases tension, and I like this approach better overall.

The plot moves quickly and it’s really full of action sequences. If you like a lot of fight scenes in books, you will love this. However, there are a lot of character moments in between the action which I appreciated, and of course, the scenes where Sal is telling her story.

For the most part, this is a fairly straightforward story and any twists it may have, I did see coming. That’s not a bad thing as I greatly enjoyed this story regardless.

Overall, I highly recommend Seven Blades in Black to anyone who likes their fantasy on the darker side, their heroes a little grayer, and anyone who enjoys a whole lot of action.

Sal the Cacophony and Jeff the Sword!?! Need I say more 😉 I had not read any of Sam Sykes previous books (I will rectify that immediately) so had no idea of his style or characterisation, he developed both the world and characters smoothly and enjoyably, there is a dearth of Fantasy books at the minute and finding a niche to fill can be challenging for authors I would surmise, Sam Sykes fills this niche very well and I look forward to the next book in this series

This was my first Sam Sykes novel and I didn't know what to expect. It took me a long time to finish this book as it is around 700 pages and I didn't have much time to read so I was basically reading it a couple chapters at a time. Overall I would say it is a good High fantasy story and if it sounds like your thing, you should read it.

The story follows Sal the Cacophony. She is our main character and I grew to enjoy her character. She is a flawed, angry and sometimes funny character who is out for revenge. I believe she is also bisexual and we need more fantasy with bisexual characters!

The book is in Sal's first person POV which i didn't mind but whenever I read a book where the character is telling the story, I have to wonder if the version of events is true or not.

What I liked?
Map - I love a map and I loved the little hand written notes on the map!
The writing - it was very detailed and the action scenes were great! They worked so well and although I still have a few questions, I hope they will answered in the next book.
The worldbuilding - the magic, beasts and armour etc were all well thought out and everything was built up really well. There was so much thought put into this world! It was also a little gritty and dark in places which I enjoyed.
The humour - this book has humour in it and the characters quip back and forth which was a nice added touch.
The animal companion - Sal has a horse as a companion and I just love an animal companion.

What I disliked?
It took me a long time to get interested in the story. I didn't have time to really sit down and read a good chunk of this so it took me longer to get invested.
The pacing - it seemed really fast to me in places.
Parts of the magic system also felt a little complex - for Hugh fantasy readers it would probably be easier to understand but I haven't been reading much high fantasy this year.

If you love strong witty characters in high fantasy then this book is for you. Also if you love the Final Fantasy games then this is also for you as Sam said that this book is his love letter to the games and you can see that.

1st person POV is one of my favourites, especially when the character is snarky and sarcastic. Sal was hilarious and I loved reading her POV, she made it all the more interesting. She is out for revenge and she will do anything to get it but she's also not unredeemable. She gets beaten down but keeps getting up and fighting. I certainly wouldn't want to be on her list!

The other characters are just as well written and developed. I loved Liette and her utter confidence in her intellect and abilities (and yes a bit arrogant as well), Her relationship with Sal was both heart breaking and adorable (I loved the snarky back and forth). It's great to see a bisexual main female character in a fantasy, we need more.
Cavric , what a sweet delusional man. He somehow kept hold of his kindness and goodness even through all the situations that Sal dragged him into. I found it hilarious when he finally lost his temper, it kind of reminded me of a angry kitten (but with more swearing).
And of course I can't not mention Sal's loyal "stead" Congeniality. I'm a big fan in animal companions and I enjoyed her surly temper and greediness. She always seemed to help safe the day though, even if it was probably just to get more rabbits.

The best thing about this book is the humour, from Sal's narrative to the weirdly polite fight at the beginning. The interactions between the characters whether they are friend or foe were nearly always amusing. Also a sword named Jeff? That made me chuckle every time.

The story is fast paced and for such a long book it's packed with action. I would have liked a bit more detail in Sal's back story though.
I found the magic system interesting and complex, I enjoyed learning about all the different types of mages, their powers and the price they pay for them.

In all this was a solid read, if you like dark gritty fantasies with humour and complex entertaining characters this is the one for you.