After finishing Traitor’s Blade, I moved right along to Knight’s Shadow, the second book in Sebastien de Castell’s excellent Greatcoats series. Here is my review.
Review
The mystery at the heart of Knight’s Shadow is even more complex and intriguing than the one behind Traitor’s Blade. Someone is murdering the dukes and their entire families. And Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats, must discover who is behind the murders before the kingdom descends into a bloody civil war.
The novel’s twists and turns are the stuff of a well-plotted mystery tale. Except, unlike many mystery novels, we get the swashbuckling action and swordplay that makes Sebastien de Castell’s Greatcoats series so much fun.
There’s a lot going on in this novel, which begins right where Traitor’s Blade left off. Without spoiling the ending to that one, let’s just say that Falcio has seen better days. His band of Three Musketeers (err…Greatcoats) has grown by one, and another joins their ranks shortly after the book begins. So it’s more like the adventures of the Five Musketeers in this one.
All the memorable characters return in this sequel, including The Tailor, Kest, Brasti, Aline, and the new villain who emerged near the end of book one. The story also involves a good bit more of the Saints who inhabit this world like demigods, including one character wrestling with his newfound sainthood.
The witty dialogue is back, as is Falcio’s constant commentary since the story is once again told through his first-person point-of-view. These are two aspects that made the first book work so well. But it is the mystery in Knight’s Shadow that made the novel such a success for me. The question of who was behind the murders kept me guessing through the final big twist near the end.
Overall, Knight’s Shadow is a more than worthy sequel to Traitor’s Blade. Both books are fun, rollicking adventures, but they are great mysteries too. Which is why I’m looking forward to the third book in the series.