An interesting book. It could have been really good but Williams prose can often be slightly confusing. The concepts behind the pattern-based magic were never really explained. The best character, by far, is Eyul the Emperor's-knife. When the Pattern Carriers are described, it is often from a perspective which shifts between individual and multiple outlooks and that can make it confusing. A fairly well thought out world, but not enough explanation of the existing power structures make for many questions that pop up during the tale. I understand that this is the 1st book and perhaps more will be fleshed out in the upcoming books. I can't say I am intrigued enough by the characters or the world to hunt down the other two books in the series. If you like a decent fantasy read go for it, but if you are looking for something that will be a new outlook this isn't the series. It has a writing style reminiscent of the Tales of the Black Company series without really drawing you into the stories and characters like that story did. I didn't care for the setting of the book. Also didn't relate to any of the characters in the book, this might be partially due to the culture portrayed in the book and most of the characters being royalty.I felt the magic system was left unexplored and unexplained, and I really enjoy learning more about the magic of fantasy books....so that was a big disappointment.I am not sure if I will continue with the series or not, there are so many other series to keep up with that I like more. Given the choice between starting a new fantasy fiction series and continuing this one, I would be hard pressed to continue this series as I found it to be rather uninteresting in the end....never felt like there was a big reveal for all the build up and secrecy.
What do You think about The Emperor's Knife (2011)?
Read the first few chapters or so....just didn't hook me at all. Returned back to the library.
—Timia2001
Excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and am immediately diving into the second one.
—marizza
this was really well written, great pacing, and great characters.
—deedee
