The Emperor’s Blades
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆
The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1) by Brian Staveley
I’m sure there’s a good story in here somewhere.
The world-building is incredible, full of fascinating characters, intriguing places, and unique creatures. The giant warbirds are awesome, and the assassins (whose name I honestly can’t even remember) are total badasses.
But here’s the problem: the writing is painfully bland. It takes a rich, imaginative world and smothers it under a flat, uninspired narrative that’s hard to push through. Even scenes that should feel intense and exciting lose their impact because the prose just drones on.
Honestly, even after finishing the book, I couldn’t clearly tell you what it was about. I caught myself zoning out more than once, bored and disengaged, which probably explains why I can’t remember half the names.
I really wanted to like this book, and the series as a whole. But after starting and stopping twice before, I only finished it out of sheer determination. I’ll likely continue the series, but probably not anytime soon. Maybe one day I’ll give it another shot, because the potential is definitely there.
