Skullsworn: A Novel in the World of The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne) Paperback – July 17, 2018

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Brian Stavely could write a book about paint drying and I’m sure I’d read it, as he is quite simply one of the most talented authors in fantasy today. His characterization and world building are second to none, his books extremely well crafted as he always manages to insert just the right about of humor in his books to lighten the overall dour subject matter of his novels. I also appreciate the freshness of Stavely’s works, each set in a unique fantasy world that feels alive, not at all like the tired medieval European trope that pervades fantasy, the characters that inhabit his world echoing his commitment to diversity. Skullsworn, Stavely’s standalone set in the world of his original trilogy continues these trends, the prequel novel focusing on Pyrre, one of my favorite characters from the original trilogy. Simply put, to say that I enjoyed Skullsworn would be an understatement, as Skullsworn not only continues the level of excellence began in the original Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne trilogy, it is quite simply a tribute to the fantasy genre and well worth your attention.As I said before, Skullsworn is a prequel set in the same diverse and complicated world created by Stavely in the original Unhewn throne series. However, if you’ve never read anything by Stavely, just not that you don’t have to have read the previous trilogy to dive right in. Skullsworn is set in the world of the Unhewn Throne, but as a prequel, it isn’t wedded to any of the events in that trilogy, nor is it a lead in to that trilogy. As a sidenote, in a particular brilliant opening, Stavely opens his work disarming the reader and dispelling all the stereotypes one may have about the Skullsworn assassins. If you’ve read the previous trilogy the opening reads like typical Pyrre, light, funny and hopelessly irreverent, but it grips the reader challenging them to think that if they’ve misread the Skiullsworn, what other things may they misread or erroneously conclude throughout the course of the novel. In short, it’s a great opening, with heavy foreshadowing yet I digress.For the uninitiated Pyrre, our main character, is a Skullsworn acolyte, a member of a religious order who worship the god of death, standing on the cusp of obtaining full priesthood. Yet in order to become a full priestess of death Pyrre has to pass one final test, killing seven in fourteen days, seven specific individuals who meet the qualifications of a song, the hardest being the person Pyrre loves. As one can imagine, this presents a level of difficulty for our heroine as she has never truly been in love and as the novel progresses, Stavely slowly peels back the curtain on Pyrre revealing the brokenness inside the woman which has twisted her in such fashion that love is nigh impossible. However, content to pass the trial, Pyrre along with her two witnesses an old Skullsworn named Kossal and his far younger Skullsworn paramour Ela to Dombang, Pyrre’s home city, all in the hopes of Pyre attracting the interest of the one man she once came closest to falling in love, Ruc Lan Loc. As it happens, Ruc serves as the commander of the occupying Annurian Garrison in her home city. What follows is a deadly tale of cat and mouse, Pyrre riling up her home city towards insurrection all in the hopes of Ruc allowing her to get close enough so that she can fall in love. It’s not the best plan but it’s all she’s got.In true Stavely fashion, the characterization throughout the entirety of the work are spot on. Every character speaks in a distinct voice, their motivations clear and understandable and each character adds something unique to the story. If anyone’s read the previous trilogy, one is probably expecting the same Pyrre we saw in that trilogy, but the Pyrre we see here is more uncertain, less sure of herself and has not really come to grips with what it means to serve the God of death, nor has she fully embraced the care free whimsical nature of her witness Ela. Ela on the other hand is most likely a full-fledged sex addict, but her treatsies both love and what it means to actually be in love are some of the best sections of the book. Moreover, while Pyree is serious, circumspect and introspective, Ela is simply hilarious, her carefree, whimsical nature at odds with what one would expect from a priestess of death. In short, Ela steals every scene she’s in, her characterization and interactions with her lover Kossal providing some relief from the otherwise serious, introspective and dare I say it suffocating nature of the book. However whimsical and fun loving Ela turns out to be, she’s perfectly balanced by Kossal, who’s gruff devotion to their shared God is at odds with Ela’s personality.I’d also be remiss if I didn’t comment on the setting of this book, the city of Dombang. In Stavely’s skillfull hands Dombang is transformed from a mere setting to a full-fledged character in its own right. Think of Venice, with its beautiful canals and throughways, but instead place it in the middle the Amazon river delta, where in this case any and everything in the surrounding jungle are trying to kill you. Out beyond the city walls are crocodiles, leopards, weaver spiders, poisonous snakes and all manner of other ugly that simply want to end your life. The atmosphere of the city is described as hot, humid, suffocating and miserable, most of the city only coming alive after the sun goes down in order to avoid the heat of the day. The setting expertly mirrors the pressure that Pyrre is under to complete her Trial and fall in love, and since the story is told from First person, the story is told in such an intimate point of view that the isolating, suffocating nature of Dombang is magnified. The setting simply works adding, a visceral reminder to the pressure Pyrre is feeling to complete her trial, giving the novel a more intimate, visceral feel that I enjoyed.What also makes Dombang unique is that it was only just annexed to the Annurian Empire in the last two hundred years. As such, it is an ancient city with its own pantheon of gods, the city laden with its own grievances, providing Stavely a welcome canvas to explore a myriad of other questions. What is it like for a conquered people to be assimilated into another society? What does it do to the psyche of a civilization when your gods whom you’ve believed in for centuries fail to protect you, does that stifle belief or does that belief become more fervent and crazed? How does one balance the cultural benefits of ‘civilization’, with the traditional values of a conquered people? However, as hinted before, the chief question explored by the novel is what is nature of love, what does it mean to be in love and how can one as broken as Pyrre even begin to fall in love, what does that look like and who would someone as damaged as Pyrre even fall in love with?The ending of the novel is climatic and comes with a nifty twist that I wouldn’t dare spoil here. Yet in a cool twist of fate, portions of the ending were actually forshadowed all the way back in the brilliant prologue. Just prepare for things to not be what they appear and if you are into the lore that Stavely has crafted in his other works, the ending provides a nice coda to the existing lore. Overall, I enjoyed Skullsworn, my only small gripe is that the Pyrre we see in this novel is not the Pyrre we see in the later trilogy. If you are looking for the irreverent, carefree Pyrre of old, the closest you’ll come is Ela. The book actually makes reference to this at one point, where Pyrre looks at a character and wishes that she could be just like them, full of life, jovial and fully embracing the freedom that comes when one is aware they could die any second. In the end, this makes sense as this is a coming of age story, the Pyrre we see here is more serious, cautious, and less sure of herself, which given the timeline works. In the end, this is a small almost negligible gripe and I would encourage everyone to pick up this book and give it a whirl. You will not be disappointed.

I became a fan of Brian Staveley after reading the Unhewn Throne series. That series was so superb that I will read anything by Staveley—no questions asked. If he releases it, I will read. His writing is that good. Skullsworn is a prequel to the Unhewn Throne series and focuses on one of my favorite characters—Pyrre. Unfortunately, I found the first two-thirds of this book slow and not especially interesting. However, the last third of the book alone makes this worth the read and an easy four star read. I don’t think its much of a spoiler to say there is a big fight at the end. One of Staveley’s strengths is his ability to write absolutely fantastic fights and battles. The fight at the end of this book and the big reveal is masterful writing. This can be read without having first read the Unhewn Throne series. But, there are lots of references to the series. It’s a quick enough read and I recommend this book.

Number one: Yay for getting an opportunity to learn how to make an â with my keyboard so that Dombâng was spelled correctly in this review! I know, it’s the little things that excite me, but I love learning new things like that. Mental associations being what they are, I’ll remember this little detail every time I read one of his books.Number two: this book has an indescribable beauty in its imagery that was at the pinnacle of poetic. For instance, I found my absolute favorite passage on page 16. To find a favorite passage that early in a book was impressive, to say the least. The passage was thus: “Music is inextricable from its own unmaking. Each note is predicated on the death of those before. Try to hold them all, and you have madness, cacophony, noise. A song, like life, is all in the letting go, in the knowing, the moment you begin, that it will end.” I cannot even begin to describe the exquisiteness of that metaphor of music for life and death. Brian used this image to describe why Ananshael, the God of Death, appreciated music. You can read so many things these three sentences alone. They can mean anything from death itself as an inevitable ending of life or the passage can be read as death being simply the beginning of another state of being. Or, they can represent the ending of one aspect of life and the beginning of another. This passage resonated with me in ways that were downright ineffable.The review:One can ask how a book about killing and death can be beautiful. I will argue that the deaths in this book are used as a vehicle to describe the peace and grace that death offers. I can further argue that the peace and grace that death offers is a direct counterpoint to life and living it to its fullest before dying. Knowing that one truly lived and didn’t simply survive. This book was as much about fully living as it was about Pyrre’s trial of giving tributes to Ananshael and (without spoilers), I believe that Pyrre’s journey described in the book ultimately brings her to a state of balance and an appreciation of both life and death.In Skullsworn, Pyrre sets out with two fellow priests Ananshael, of the God of Death on a quest that will see her a priestess if she succeeds her trial. She and her companion’s travel to Dombâng, a murky swamp town that Pyrre is intimately familiar with, having grown up there. Living in Dombâng began the process of tempering Pyrre into the hard steel and ultimately led her the priests and worship of Ananshael, and honed her to a perfect weapon. In order to complete her trial, Pyrre has fourteen days (Amazon incorrectly indicates ten days) to kill seven people who are specified in an ancient song, including “the one who made your mind and body sing with love / who will not come again.” Just one problem… Pyrre isn’t sure that she’s ever loved anyone… and, she isn’t even sure if she would know what love is even if it walked right up and smacked her in the face.Brian led Pyrre (as well as her companions) through several mental and emotional changes where she gained understanding and new visions of her life and her devotion to the God of Death. Her growth, as a character is remarkably done. Also, he made sure that the supporting characters were ones that the reader could identify with. They weren’t flat and one-dimensional. They were marvelous additions to this book as they enhanced its color, vibrancy, depth, and texture. There was just as much development devoted to the supporting characters as there was to Pyrre and that was a huge plus to me. His voice and cadence, like in the Unhewn Throne trilogy, was strong and steady without being overwhelming or strained. His pacing was deftly done, building tension and action at a pace that was fast, but wouldn’t lose the reader. Anyone who has read Brian’s Unhewn Throne trilogy already knows that he is a gifted world builder and Skullsworn strongly reinforces that gift. The imagery in this book was stunning and done with expert dexterity and skill.Skullsworn was a worthy addition to the world of the Unhewn Throne. I am greatly looking forward to forthcoming works from Brian.

Well the condition of book is perfect and I liked that it came with the book cover.This standalone is forgotten gem in fantasy world. It is very well written and it is on my top standalone fantasy book.

The novel Skullsworn follows Pyrre Lakatur in her way to become a skullsworn. It is centered on her and on one city. Deep in the jungle the city stirrs with danger and Pyrre is setting it on fire too. Playing a twisting game of betrayal and finding love, just to end it with a knife between the ribs. The book is a great read and similar to the main trilogy the reader knows only at the end what has really happend. A very nice read!

This is a great read if you like fantasy, full of great characters and great stroylines.

(vous trouverez la version complète de cette critique sur mon blog, adresse sur mon profil).Ce stand-alone, dérivé de la trilogie qui a fait connaître l’auteur, propose un solide contexte, une intrigue originale et complexe tout en étant facile à suivre, des personnages (ainsi que les dynamiques de leurs relations et leur évolution psychologique) au top, de savoureux dialogues, des scènes à forte charge émotionnelle, des combats spectaculaires. Dark Fantasy très sombre mais non dénuée d’humour, cette oeuvre, malgré le fait qu’elle soit en grande partie centrée autour d’une potentielle relation amoureuse, a su éviter avec brio tous les pièges qui attendaient un auteur moins doué ou expérimenté, notamment via l’absence de surenchère dans le côté tueur surentraîné ou dans le côté adulte et complexe de la relation entre Pyrre et Ruc. Une fin de mon point de vue très réussie achève, pour moi, d’en faire un livre remarquable.

I have loved Pyrre since reading the Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne and ever since I learned there was going to be a standalone novel about her I simply HAD to read it. (You can read this standalone without reading the Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne!)Pyrre is an amazingly written strong and complete female character, who truly came to live for me in this book. The book is told from her perspective and we learn a lot about her past, her life and the decisions she made in the past and makes during this story.The first half of the book I thought to be a bit slow but it really picked up in the second half to come to a powerful, unexpected, violent and brilliant ending in the last 50 pages.The harsh environment with a lot of deadly creatures made for a perfect background for this violent story that is about love in the broadest sense of the word.I would love to read more about Pyrre!