 | Blade of Dream parallels Danial Abraham’s novel Age of Ash, also set in the sprawling city of Kithamar. The two novels share a gritty, visceral sensibility and realistic characters struggling to make their place in the world, but I found Blade of Dream more cohesive and enjoyable than the first novel. A wealthy merchant’s son, Garreth, and heir to the throne, Elaine, are the two main characters of this story. A few chapters are written from the perspective of the guard captain, Senit, another blue-cloak guardsman, Kannish, and an Inisch woman-god Aunt Thorn— among others —but the heart of the book is shared by Garret and Elaine. Both characters struggle with their sense of duty and their desire to wrest some joy from the world before they are consumed by the roles they’re expected to play. |
Garreth, as eldest child, will inherit the family business—a duty that weighs heavily. Here he describes the cutthroat competition among the merchant houses of Riverport, the trading enclave in Kithamar:
 | The merchant houses of Kithamar were at constant war with each other, but it was a war fought with favors and alliances and a firm eye on how to wring advantage out of every situation without quite crossing the law. That it was usually bloodless made it no less intense. In another passage: . . . the slow and civilized battle of money and time, the triumph or ruin of a rival house or the despair of one’s own collapse. Riverport moved through the hours of light and darkness with the deliberate, studied violence of a wrestler bending his opponent’s leg until the joint gave way. That was commerce, and it ran its course without pity. |
Elaine, heir to the throne, feels equally burdened by her position:
 | The great secret of noble blood is it gives you everything because it costs you everything. When her wild-hearted cousin invites her to a night of revelry in a Riverport warehouse, Elaine uncharacteristically agrees. They disguise themselves in masks, but the party is raided. Elaine barely escapes into the river—whose currents are more powerful than she anticipated and she struggles to swim it. |
Meanwhile, two of Garreth’s closest childhood friends are in the city guards, and he agrees to accompany them when they raid an underground party in a warehouse. While waiting for them, a water-soaked woman comes out of the river and hides behind the wall where he’s sitting. Rather than turning her in to his friends, he smuggles her home—and the two have a lovely night together, although both know they can never have more than this one stolen evening.
The romantic longing between the lowly merchant and the king’s heir weaves the plot together. There are compelling subplots:
- Garreth’s family makes a desperate bid to save the family fortune, and ugly secrets are revealed
- Captain Senit schemes to capture his long-time nemesis, Aunt Thorn
- Kannish and the other guardsman give us an inside glimpse of life as a city guard
- Aunt Thorn the god-woman plays her own long game.
 | We get an inkling of a secret god-battle when Elaine speaks with the High Priest of the Temple. He says: “They say there are gods in the streets here and there are. But they are yoked. The Temple brings all traditions together and weaves them into one thing, and that thing is Kithamar. The thread that binds us all together.” |
One of the things the author does very well is create physical sensations that put the reader inside the action. Here Garreth kills a man during a sword fight:
The blade pushed into the hard cartilage of the man’s windpipe with a crunch that was unlike anything he had felt. It was just a bit of vibration carried from the steel grip to hand to wrist, but Garreth knew that it was death.
The blade pushed into the hard cartilage of the man’s windpipe with a crunch that was unlike anything he had felt. It was just a bit of vibration carried from the steel grip to hand to wrist, but Garreth knew that it was death.
 | Another richness is that even secondary characters have moments of grace. Captain Senit is a standout. Here an innkeeper gives him a pep talk after a day gone wrong: “And who’s not a fool? Who gets from the birthing chair to the grave with dignity? . . . We’re all fools. Everyone. That’s why we hate fools so much. They’re the echoes of when we were vulnerable in front of the world ourselves, and that’s hard for us to forgive.” |
And the dialogue crackles, as in this conversation between the dessert baker and head cook of the palace discussing changes when a new prince is crowned:
“That means we’ll be seeing less of that scarred-up fucker form Daris then. Always coming through on errands for the prince and that priest of theirs.”
“I like [him]. You don’t because he’s foreign and he didn’t appreciate your hardcakes.”
“They were fucking good hardcakes.”
“That means we’ll be seeing less of that scarred-up fucker form Daris then. Always coming through on errands for the prince and that priest of theirs.”
“I like [him]. You don’t because he’s foreign and he didn’t appreciate your hardcakes.”
“They were fucking good hardcakes.”
The novel is full of twists and turns, some echoing events in Age of Ash, but the story unfolds in a standalone format. By the climax, all of the story threads merge together as our heroes make a valiant attempt to save the city from an ancient evil.
Blade of Dream is a suspenseful fantasy novel with compelling characters, an exciting story, and a thoroughly satisfying ending. Highly recommended.
Blade of Dream is a suspenseful fantasy novel with compelling characters, an exciting story, and a thoroughly satisfying ending. Highly recommended.
Read other novels by Daniel Abraham: Age of Ash (also set in Kithamar);
The Dragon’s Path, The King’s Blood, The Tyrant’s Law, The Widow’s House, The Spider’s War
(part of the Dagger and the Coin series)
Other gritty lived-in fantasies: Memories of Ice, Fire Logic, City of Stairs, City of Blades, City of Miracles
The Dragon’s Path, The King’s Blood, The Tyrant’s Law, The Widow’s House, The Spider’s War
(part of the Dagger and the Coin series)
Other gritty lived-in fantasies: Memories of Ice, Fire Logic, City of Stairs, City of Blades, City of Miracles
