Sword Catcher
Discover the magical Sunday Times bestseller from the author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles
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4.8 • 5 Ratings
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
‘Everything I look for in fantasy’ – George R. R. Martin
Two outcasts find themselves caught in a web of dangerous magic and dark secrets that could change the world forever . . .
From the author of the Shadowhunter Chronicles, Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare is start of a riveting epic fantasy series with expert worldbuilding, political intrigue and swordplay.
*This edition includes an exclusive extract of The Ragpicker King, the spellbinding sequel to Sword Catcher*
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One was raised to rule. One was trained to die . . .
In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, Kel is an orphan, stolen from his old impoverished life to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double. As his ‘Sword Catcher’, he and Conor will become as close as brothers. Yet Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor.
Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracized for its rare magical abilities. After a failed assassination attempt pulls her and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, who rules Castellane’s criminal underworld. But as long-kept secrets are uncovered and forbidden attractions blossom, will their discoveries plunge their land into war – and nations into chaos?
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‘Spellbinding’ – Leigh Bardugo, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ninth House
‘A triumph of a book’ – Holly Black, No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Book of Night
‘Vivid and clever’ – Scott Lynch, bestselling author of the Gentleman Bastard sequence
Sword Catcher was a top ten Sunday Times bestseller w/c 5th October 2024.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestselling YA author Clare (the Shadowhunter Chronicles series) makes her adult debut with this enchanting if somewhat bloated fantasy, the first in a series. Kel is the Sword Catcher, bodyguard to Conor Aurelian, Prince of Castellane. Having sworn his undying loyalty to Conor ("I die that he might live forever"), Kel's sole job is to keep the prince safe. When the prince's reckless choices land him in hot water with slumlord Prosper Beck, Kel turns to the enigmatic Ragpicker King, criminal ruler of the underworld, for assistance. In alternating sections, readers are also introduced to Lin Caster. Lin is an Ashkar, those born with the only remaining magic left in Castellane and exiled behind the city-state's walls. As a healer, however, Lin is able to enter the city, and the two narratives intertwine when Lin is called to heal one of the royals and she and Kel meet. Clare drops readers into this ornate and unique world and plants seeds for forbidden romance, dangerous magic, and brewing war to be harvested in later installments. The book at hand, however, lacks a sense of urgency, and Kel's sections outshine Lin's, making the pacing a bit uneven. Still, this multilayered epic is sure to be a hit with Clare's many fans.
