Publishing Information: Paperback; 384 pages
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co; 19 December 2009
ISBN 10: 0575084383
ISBN 13: 9780575084384
Series: The Cardinal's Blades (Book 1)
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Tyson
Back of the Book: "Paris, 1633. Louis XIII reigns over France ...and Cardinal Richelieu governs the country. One of the most dangerous and most powerful men in Europe, Richelieu keeps a constant, sharp eye on the enemies of the Crown to avoid their assassination attempts, thwart their spies and avert their warmongering. But he's up against people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, even going so far as to forge alliances with France's oldest and deadliest enemies. Spain, and the Court of Dragons. The nobility keep tiny dragonnets as pets; royal couriers ride tame wyverns, and lethal man-shaped scaled dracs ropam the country. But the power rising from the Court of Dragons is anything but mundane; the Black Claw sect draws on dragons as they once were: ancient, terrible, utterly merciless ...and poised to move against France. Faced with the growing threat from Spain, Richelieu summons Captain la Fargue, an exceptional swordsman, devoted officer and brilliant leader. If he's to turn aside the Black Claw's schemes, La Fargue and his legenday company of swashbucklers and rogues must be persuaded to once again risk their lives, fortunes and reputations for Richelieu, and for France. It's the biggest challenge yet for The Cardinal's Blades - and they'll need to be sharp ..."
I have to admit that the final decision to purchase this book and it's sequel was based on their covers. The covers are gorgeous. Although other reviews have played a part in the decision to buy it. The Cardinal's Blades is the Three Musketeers with dragons. Plenty of political intrigue and swashbuckling adventure.
The characters that make up the novel are interesting and some are more than two dimensional. Although a few of them do fall a little flat and I do not know if this is due to the fact that they were written that way or if is due to the translation from French to English. The Cardinal, Richelieu is as you would expect all-powerful and the right hand of the king. He is a secret wrapped in an enigma. You do not know what his true agenda is but you can always count on him doing whatever he must to keep himself in power and on top. He is in charge of a secret organization of highly skilled soldiers/spies/assassins known as the Cardinal's Blades. A few of the Blades are written quite well and are interesting but, a few of them are nothing but puppets that are necessary to round out the group. La Fargue is the leader of this group and there are a lot of facets to him as he holds a lot of his plans close to the chest. He has a lot of trust issues and is not entirely sure of the motivation for the resurrection of his squad. He also knows that there is more to his return than what is on the surface. He was able to maintain my attention through out the book. The rest of the group has an interesting dynamic, but there were times when their reactions were unimaginative and left me shaking my head. For a feared and legendary group of capable soldiers some of their actions seemed at odds with their mystique. It is a minor point of contention.
The world is just as you imagine it would be in the 1600s, with the exception of dragons. There are wyverns that can be used as mounts and small dragons that are used as household pets and messengers. I was lead to believe that their existence in the world would have a larger impact on history but it is not the case. They are in the background and used as an interesting side note in history. The biggest difference is that some dragons have undergone a transformation. They are human in appearance and aside from their eyes and a few behaviors we would consider odd, they are human. They are a secret society known as the Black Claw and are headquartered in Spain and use the political landscape of the two countries to promote their own agenda. At this time they are attempting to branch out into France and subvert the monarchy. It is not exactly clear as to why they are doing this other than to expand their influence. Since they are a secret society you think this could be done without a giant target on their back but they are not exactly subtle about their arrival. It is the main plot of the story. It is highly disappointing as I was hoping for large dragons found in lore and I came to find their were only slightly different from humans.
The book moves at a fairly decent clip. There are only one or two slow sections in the novel that do not take long to get out of before you are thrust back into action and the various conspiracies. There is not a lot of infodumps as we are just to acknowledge the dragon's existence and the fact that they have changed their appearance. To be fair, Pevel does explain why they have changed shape but it was a little different and seemed kind of odd.
The Cardinal's Blade is a decent read, it just does not live up to the hype. The fact that the novel totes that dragons live alongside humans is a bit of a misconception. Although the book leaves a lot to be solved for later sequels the main plot point is wrapped up nicely. I will give the second book The Alchemist in the Shadows a chance but if that novel does not improve then it is probably a series I will leave.
Plot 7
Characters 7
Style 7
Overall 7/10
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