Book Review: Traitor’s Blade 

By Sebastien de Castell 

5 Stars 

Traitor’s Blade by Sebastien de Castell begins with Falcio val Mond, a member of the King’s shunned travelling magisters, the Greatcoats. Five years after the King was killed by his own nobility, the Greatcoats surrendered readily before the Dukes and were named traitors. They were demobilized and scattered, most becoming thieves and bandits to survive their new way of life. Falcio, for his part, travels with his two close comrades in order to fulfil the King’s final order - “find ‘the Charoites’.” 

Opening up with the Greatcoats’ last hope, Lord Tremondi of Chevor, and his tragic fate, Traitor’s Blade takes you across the vast Kingdom of Tristia as Falcio searches for his King’s Charoites as well his own lost humanity, two quests seeming to have long become hopeless. The experience through De Castell’s world of medieval fantasy was one which I thoroughly enjoyed. As I read each word and through each page, I felt as though I was living Falcio’s fascinating and sombre life as it played out on the page. It seemed as though I was experiencing the events before me instead of simply reading words and sentences. Though, at times, the depictions of female characters were lacking in realism and depth, de Castell excelled in that aspect better than most other male authors of this genre. This swashbuckling tale of idealism and friendship, a throwback to older and just as thrilling fantasy novels, is bound to take you on such a ride that you will come back changed. 

Reviewed by Ayesha 

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