After relishing Sebastien de Castell’s Crucible of Chaos, I went back and finished his earlier Greatcoats series. The third book, Saint’s Blood, sets up the tale that unfolds in Crucible of Chaos, and it turned out to be one of my favorite Greatcoat books.
Falcio Val Mond, the First Cantor of the Greatcoats, continues his mission to place the late king’s daughter, Aline, on Tristia’s throne. Former Greatcoat Valiana is serving as the Realm’s Protector until Aline comes of age. Also, Falcio’s fellow Greatcoats, Brasti and Kest, are still by his side, providing witty banter and comic relief throughout the tale. Aside from the ever-scheming Dukes, everything might be relatively calm in the realm—except someone is killing the Saints.
The first to fall is the Saint of Mercy, who has been trapped in an iron mask that was driving her mad and stealing her powers. When Falcio’s love interest, Ethalia, becomes the new Saint of Mercy, the threat becomes personal. Falcio must stop the killer, or else Ethalia will meet the same horrible fate.
More so than any other book in the series, Saint’s Blood delves into the true nature of Tristia’s gods and the demigod-like Saints, adding to Castell’s worldbuilding, which reaches near perfection in his follow-up series beginning with Crucible of Chaos. The book also introduces the Cognari, members of a religious inquisition who set out to impose Church rule over the kingdom in light of the threat to Tristia’s deities.
Falcio’s quest to protect Ethalia and find the Saint killer drives the story, which takes some dramatic—and tragic—twists. The novel also further develops the treacherous Dukes, who have been part of the series since its beginning, and sets up Falcio’s last gambit to place Aline on the throne. But that story must wait until the final installment in the series.
De Castell’s European-style kingdom of Tristia, with its Musketeer-like Greatcoats and scheming lords, has become one of my favorite fantasy destinations. The swashbuckling duels (there’s at least one in every book) and intricate mysteries enhance the experience, but it’s Falcio’s knack for solving problems with his mind more than with his blades that makes these books work so well. Couple this with de Castell’s penchant for putting his characters in unimaginably terrible situations from which there is no apparent escape, and you end up with a truly unforgettable tale.
I’ll follow up soon with my review of the fourth and final Greatcoat book, Tyrant’s Throne. In the meantime, I’ve already started the sequel series to the Greatcoats, The Court of Shadows. So far, it’s been brilliant!