Seven Blades in Black

sigh.

okay.

so i actually really liked this book in the beginning. the story is started and framed in a way i've recently loved in another book (Empire of the Vampire) where the main character is imprisoned and made to tell their life story. sal had a cool character design and a badass name and always seemed to come out on top not in the way that she was massively overpowered but more in the way of “this mf just won't die” which is always a fun main character archetype in my opinion. i thought i'd be obsessed with this book and that i'd devour the sequels. 

i did not.

first let me list what i liked about this book:

• the world and atmosphere were awesome. a mix between fantasy, sci-fi, and western but it somehow WORKED. the conflict between the imperium and the revolution wasn't seen as black and white but rather in shades of grey (more on the scale of everyone is bad rather than everyone is both bad and good, but i still appreciated the message) the whole “magic vs machinery” idea this book had going was also cool, kinda giving me steampunk vibes.
  • i appreciate how that comes through even on a smaller scale: i.e even the “villain” characters being dynamic and complex, so we feel sympathy for them and understand why they're doing what they're doing.
    • tretta willing to do whatever it takes to find out what happened to cavric, the mages that were a part of the crown conspiracy not just wanting to overthrow the imperium because the heir was a nul, but specifically because they knew he wouldn't understand the Bargain and the sacrifices mages have to make to get their power, etc etc
• some quotes that i really enjoyed, spoilered just in case:
  •   “What am I doing wrong that you'd choose this over me?”
  • ‘When you see the aftermath of a battle, you want to imagine something dramatic. You want to see corpses strewn about, tossed from where the massive explosions ripped apart the land. You want to see the lone carcass on the hill, his cold hands still wrapped around the banner he died trying to plant in the soil. You want to see some kind of meaning to it. But you only ever get that in opera.'
  • ‘Hell of a thing, I guessed, to see something like this, to look at what you've been fighting for, what you've been killing for, without the glorious operas and the marching songs and the tapestries. Hell of a thing to look at it and just see the blood and the bodies.'
  • ‘I had no regrets. Kresh had to die for a lot of reasons. And it wasn't that I felt hollow, either—anyone who tells you that revenge is empty is someone who doesn't try hard enough at it.'
  • ‘It was like he wasn't even dead. Or not dead enough. I wondered if he ever would be. If any of them would be.'
  • ‘“And realistic to you is... a house?” “A nice house.” “You could have more.” “You didn't ask what I could have. You asked what I wanted.” “I did.” He laid his hand on top of mine. It felt warm. “And you want me?” “I want everything.” I looked long to the sky overhead. The sun began to set. The clouds became orange with its dying light. “And you.”'

the worst fight she had ever had.

It was one of those that when you are reading you are engaged but the moment you put it down you don't have the urge to pick it back up. But it might be because I didn't get that far into it. 
Hoping to try again some time soon.

I was not hooked by page 200 (almost a third of the way in). And I found the main character's inner monologue repetitive and boring. (Mostly told in first person).

I randomly found this title when I was in my Final Fantasy phase (and to be fair, when am I not) so I was on the lookout for fantasy books that were inspired by it or drew from it.

I found this had a bit of a rough start. Sal, our main character, at first comes across as you average stereotypical badass tough female “men writing women” character. Thankfully that evolves later on, though she still remains a hard character to root for as she is very self-sabotaging. I can like that kind of character when I really get a sense of where they're at and I can see myself in that position, but this unfortunately wasn't it.

I really loved the side characters like Liette and Cavric. To the point where I couldn't understand why they kept putting up with Sal, when she just kept giving them shit over and over.

The world felt great, the story was entertaining enough to not put me into another slump (lmao) and it was overall pretty enjoyable. Apparently this is part of a series though, and I think I'm fine with leaving it here.

Good Story, Good Twists. too much swearing for my taste.

Interesting Magic system. and lots of questions at the end

*I voluntarily read and reviewed and ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. *

Now, I should start by admitting that I've gotten out of practice with reading longer books (450+ page books) and westerns and sci-fi books have always been hit-and-miss for me. This book is over 700 pages and a mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and western – pretty much guaranteeing that I would have to slog through this book.
And yet, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 

Did I have to read this in sections and at times force myself through them? Yeah, totally.
Did the writing get on my nerves at times? I mean, yeah? I thought it was a bit wordy. 

But the story is awesome. I ADORE Sal and the side characters. The fact that she is telling this as a confession while arrested, made me giddy. The scenes in present time were such fun– although I also used them as my stopping points. 

I did think this was going to be a standalone too, so the ending had me confused, but I'm onboard to read the next one. If you like snarky, sarcastic anti-heroes set on revenge set in a complex world – this is a book you should read. 

It was okay. It started off too slow, and the events really only started happening halfway through. I didn't care for the writing style. I had a really hard time getting into the book.

Executive Summary: This book was very uneven for me. I was reluctant to pick up a book by Sam Sykes and I'm reluctant to continue on with this series.

Full Review
Humor is subjective. Personally, I don't find Sam Sykes twitter antics funny. I follow a lot of his friends and often time they get mixed up with his antics. I mostly just roll my eyes and ignore them.

So when Sword & Laser chose this for their October 2019 pick, I wasn't sure how I felt. I decided if I was going to read it, I'd see about borrowing a copy from the library in case I didn't enjoy it.

My results were a bit mixed. I'm not a fan of anti-heroes anymore. I do like cool magic systems though, and this definitely had that.

The humor (as probably expected) didn't really land for me. I don't feel like there was a lot of it, which surprised me a bit given his Twitter persona and that probably helped this books cause.

Inevitably though, I found this book too long, and slow in places. Whenever I was getting into the story, things seemed to slow down and my attention would drift.

The world building much like the magic system was good though. I am curious to find out what happens next. I'm just not sure I'm THAT curious to pick up the sequel later this year.

Seven Blades in Black is violent, messy fantasy with a surprising emotional core. Fast-paced is an understatement. This book is an action movie over and over, and nothing every goes easy for the characters. I wouldn't normally pick this book up from the description, but the magic system is great and Sal is a ruthless, pragmatic, and yet deeply sympathetic anti-hero. Sam Sykes said that he was partially inspired by Rin from The Poppy War, and I can definitely see it. The single-minded protagonist, even when they are aware of the damage their actions cause. The other interesting piece here is that Sal is bisexual and has relationships either shown or alluded to with men and women, and this does not feel forced in the way that 90% of the lesbian/bi women in stories written by straight men do. Sal and Liette's relationship is deep, tragic, and easy to invest in. Sal and Jindu's is more mysterious, but still very real. Sal's relationship with Cavric is subtle, platonic, but still emotionally invested. In short, Sal is not defined by her sexuality, but it is an important note in a very nuanced character. While again, the actual story is not to my typical tastes, the character study of it kept me reading to the end, and I'd be interested to read the next book.

Wow! That was a ride. What a ride! Sam has probably given me the read of this year and it was an amazing experience sharing the seat with Sal the Cacophony. Sam Sykes delivers a character to cherish and the story telling is top class. We come across a range of characters who grow on you slowly and if you are looking for a flawed character who has seven shades of black then this could have been the alternate title. And while the cast takes center stage lets not take anything away from the settings where all the action happens and the history on how they were created. All in all highly recommended and can't wait for the next in line!

Short Review: An epic set in an unusual fantasy world that soon reveals itself to be a psychological exploration. Worth a read, though emotionally exhausting.

Longer Review (possible minor spoilers): This book revealed itself to me in stages. It opens in what seems a bit like a cliché fantasy: An adventurer, called Sal, walks into a bar in a village, various characters sit around, the bartender knows more than he lets on. This adventurer is apparently a very experienced adventurer hunting a renegade mage, OK slightly interesting. Then things kick off and we discover that Sal “the Cacophony” is a gunslinger with a very interesting and special gun who is hunting down everyone on a specific list...but why?

We slowly discover more about the world - which I found really fascinating, yet the adventure and the western/fantasy world, even the great characters we meet, ended up taking a back seat as we slowly realise that the centrepiece of the book is really the very complex and compelling personality, motives and past of our main character and narrator: Sal.

My advice is to avoid all spoilers about Sal. Read the book but be ready for an emotional ride - especially in the latter third.

It shouldn't need to be said for a western-fantasy hybrid about a manhunter, but there are many violent scenes. Our narrator, Sal, adds a lot of humour which most of the time softens the edges - but in some sections things get pretty serious. They never made me want to put down the book because they never felt gratuitous - there was always a plot, pacing or character reason - but different readers may have different tastes.

Of 102 pages, 5 were content and 97 were Charlie Brown adults; “Wanh Wanh Wanh”.

Damn! That was a great book. Roll on part 2.

This book was fantastic! See my full spoiler-free review here - https://youtu.be/3YvQHYlnWtI

Recommended for anyone who loved Kings of the Wyld, Kingkiller Chronicles, unbeatable smart-ass-overconfident ass-kicking characters.