“Knight's Shadow” by Sebastien de Castell – The Homeland Under Siege

Sebastien de Castell has set the stage in his first book of The Greatcoats series, Traitor's Blade, for adventures grandiose and innumerable in an epic and fantastic world complete with deadly swashbuckling and unforgiving politics.

In the second book of the series, titled "Knight's Shadow" , we follow Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats and master swordsman, as he investigates the murder of a duke in his family, all while the country is being plunged into civil war and chaos.

To make matters even more interesting, Falcio has found out one of his oldest and most dangerous enemies has actually poisoned him, drastically shortening the time left on his clock.

Revisiting the Epic World with Sebastien de Castell

Fantasy is understandably one of the most common genres authors tend to gravitate towards, presenting them with a blank canvas with innumerable paints at their disposal, a world of infinite possibilities and equally numerous tropes and conventions.

There are some who seek to bravely reinvent the wheel, while others such as Sebastien de Castell prefer to mostly work within the boundaries of what has already been achieved in an attempt to weave breathtaking stories banking on a whole lot more than mere novelty.

In the first book of The Greatcoats series, de Castell established an epic and marvellous universe for his fantastic adventures, and thankfully it was only the beginning as we get to explore it in greater depth in the second book titled Knight's Shadow.

For this excursion, the author takes us to a country on the brink of being torn apart by the rampant corruption spread through the highest levels of the hierarchy. With social balance teetering on the edge of an abyss, the murder of a duke and his family come at a very inopportune time, upsetting any semblance of stability which may have existed.

Our protagonist Falcio val Mond, First Cantor of the Greatcoats as well as a master swordsman, takes it upon himself to track down the elusive killer and bring him to justice at all costs.

However, the complicated task becomes even more so as the country is plunged into a state of chaos, disarray and civil war, threatening to consume everything before the end. To add one final spoke to Falcio's wheels, one of his oldest and greatest enemies has managed to poison fatally poison him.

An Expansive Experience

When the first novel ended I was slightly disappointed that we wouldn't get to explore the world in greater depth, at least not until the second chapter in the series.

Now that it's here at last, I am quite happy to say that my desires have definitely been satiated as Sebastien de Castell takes us on a far-reaching journey through which we experience the vast and awe-inspiring nature of this world.

We are given a more profound insight into the Greatcoats, their heart, their lament, the surprising fates that befell some of them and overall I feel like we have a much better sense of where they fit in this world.

In addition, we learn a fair bit about the country/kingdom itself, the tragic price of victory, the nigh-impossibility of sainthood, the corruption of power all rulers are tempted with, and we even get to make the acquaintance of a man with nine deaths.

We go on a tour of the stunning desert plains and city streets alight with raging conflict. While there is still a fair amount of the universe left to explore, the author really decided to flesh it out on a much greater scale, something that was even reflected by this book's length in comparison to the previous one.

That isn't to say it's stretched out or filled with padding... on the contrary, I found it to be even better-paced and developed than the first novel.

The Never-Ending Intrigue of Politics

While in the first book we were mostly watching Falcio accomplish a specific mission he was tasked with years ago, in this one there is a greater focus placed on the Greatcoats as a whole, and more specifically, the unforgiving political landscape they have to navigate.

As you might imagine, there is a vast cast of characters for us to become acquainted with, both new and old. While they understandably can't be as fleshed out as the main characters, I still found them to be much more detailed than most secondary characters would be in other novels.

The author made very proficient use of his wordsmithing abilities, describing each and one of them concisely and precisely.

I have to say, on the whole the travails Falcio went through in the first book almost feel like a walk in the park compared with this one. With plenty of twists and turns ahead of him, enemies lying in ambush, friends looking to deceive, and the poison running through his veins, Falcio has his work cut out for him, and we have a fast-paced and exhilarating story for ourselves.

There is seldom a lull in the action or a boring moment that will take you out of it; this is one of those 600-page books that ends up feeling like a short novel once you've ploughed through it in a couple of nights. Thankfully, there are already a couple of sequels to this series, so the binge certainly doesn't have to end here.

The Final Verdict

I can safely say that Knight's Shadow is not only every bit as good as its predecessor, but actually surpasses it in numerous ways and paves a very bright road forward for this series.

The story is as engaging as it can be, the universe is evermore enthralling and detailed, and most of the characters fall under the category of unforgettable.

If you enjoyed the first book in the series, then I highly recommend you keep on going with this one.

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Sebastien de Castell Personal site Sebastien de Castell is a Canadian writer who experienced many careers before taking up the pen, including archaeology, music, fight choreography, teaching and acting, just to name a few. His first couple of novels, Traitor's Blade and Knight's Shadow have generated a lot of interest, forming the start of the Greatcoats series