Paladin's Hope
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Description
From two-time Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes a darkly cosy queer fantasy romance with a thrilling murder mystery, set in the same world as Paladin's Grace and Swordheart.
Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary profession...until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.
Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the maze of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them. He's just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all...
Praise for T. Kingfisher:
'T. Kingfisher solidifies her place as natural and inevitable heir to the greats of her genre, while remaining clearly and unquestionably a unique voice in fantasy' Seanan McGuire
'Creepy, funny, heartfelt, and full of fantastic characters I absolutely loved' Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage
"Nettle & Bone brings Kingfisher's signature honesty and authenticity to a fairy tale setting: the result is refreshing, earnest but not naive, and deeply satisfying. I devoured it. This is one that's going to stay with me for a long time' Sarah Gailey, author of Magic for Liars
'A delight throughout' Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches
'T. Kingfisher uses the bones of fairy tale to create something entirely her own, written in gloriously clear and transparent prose' Emily Tesh, author of Some Desperate Glory
'Funny, frightening, and full of heart; I loved it' Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
'Charming and macabre, often both at the same time' A. K. Larkwood, author of The Unspoken Name
'Absolutely delightful and full of charm and truth' Naomi Novik, on Thornhedge
Book Information
Posts
Expectations fulfilled
This is the third paladin novel by Kingfisher for my and at this point, I know what to expect of course. A lot of paladin self-flagellation and "brokenness" because of the dead god, but the love story is cute and mildly spicy. I like Galen as one of the protagonists, he is a little more sassy than the other paladins so far, but the real highlights were Piper as lich-doctor (which is like a forensic doctor with a Touch of magic) and Earstripe the gnole. In comparison to the other novels this one is shorter, but that is a good thing, the second volume was too long in my opinion. It fits the structure of mysterious rooms and traps that are important for the plot. Overall a nice, relaxing read.
Längen am Ende, aber durchaus sehr spaßig
Ich hatte viel Freude mit diesem Buch das in einem, für mich, manchmal anspruchsvollen Stil geschrieben war. Kommt wahrscheinlich daher, dass Englisch nicht meine Muttersprache ist und die Charaktere nicht selten ältere Worte oder andere, speziesspezifische Grammatik verwenden, denn das worldbuilding ist sauber und unfassbar ansprechend. Die Charaktere und Nebencharaktere begeistern mich sehr und eigentlich wollte ich dem Ganzen bis zum letzten Drittel mehr Sterne geben, aber... Das letzte Drittel -.- Der Slowburn Effekt wird wieder aufgegriffen und, um Spoiler zu vermeiden umschreibe ich hier, eine mir unfassbar unsympathische Trope kommt ebenfalls zum Einsatz. Wenn man das Ende jedoch überstanden hat wird man mit einem wahnsinnig guten Epilog belohnt, der mich aus irgendwelchen Gründen ernstlich betroffen gemacht hat.
A debauchery of appels/ votes for Gnoles!
Looking for a short, fun but thrilling fantasy novel with both queer and trauma representation? Look no further! It's short enough that I didn't want to whack the MCs with a frying pan for doubting their feelings and long enough to draw up a nice amount of suspense about how exactly they are going to get out of the finicky situation they land themselves in.
uff UFFF
Ich weiß nichtmal. Es hat mich viel zu lange gebraucht, durch das Buch zu kommen. Vielleicht sollte es nicht als stand-alone gelesen werden, weil vieles nicht erklärt wurde. Ich hatte Probleme, in die Welt einzutauchen, fand Charaktere flach und die Storyline unwichtig. Nach dem Labyrinth hatte ich endlich das Gefühl, etwas im Buch anzukommen, für mich aber leider viel zu spät, um ein gutes Buch zu werden. Ich werde die anderen nicht lesen, weil mich die straighten Storylines einfach nicht interessieren.
Description
From two-time Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes a darkly cosy queer fantasy romance with a thrilling murder mystery, set in the same world as Paladin's Grace and Swordheart.
Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary profession...until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.
Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the maze of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them. He's just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all...
Praise for T. Kingfisher:
'T. Kingfisher solidifies her place as natural and inevitable heir to the greats of her genre, while remaining clearly and unquestionably a unique voice in fantasy' Seanan McGuire
'Creepy, funny, heartfelt, and full of fantastic characters I absolutely loved' Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage
"Nettle & Bone brings Kingfisher's signature honesty and authenticity to a fairy tale setting: the result is refreshing, earnest but not naive, and deeply satisfying. I devoured it. This is one that's going to stay with me for a long time' Sarah Gailey, author of Magic for Liars
'A delight throughout' Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches
'T. Kingfisher uses the bones of fairy tale to create something entirely her own, written in gloriously clear and transparent prose' Emily Tesh, author of Some Desperate Glory
'Funny, frightening, and full of heart; I loved it' Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
'Charming and macabre, often both at the same time' A. K. Larkwood, author of The Unspoken Name
'Absolutely delightful and full of charm and truth' Naomi Novik, on Thornhedge
Book Information
Posts
Expectations fulfilled
This is the third paladin novel by Kingfisher for my and at this point, I know what to expect of course. A lot of paladin self-flagellation and "brokenness" because of the dead god, but the love story is cute and mildly spicy. I like Galen as one of the protagonists, he is a little more sassy than the other paladins so far, but the real highlights were Piper as lich-doctor (which is like a forensic doctor with a Touch of magic) and Earstripe the gnole. In comparison to the other novels this one is shorter, but that is a good thing, the second volume was too long in my opinion. It fits the structure of mysterious rooms and traps that are important for the plot. Overall a nice, relaxing read.
Längen am Ende, aber durchaus sehr spaßig
Ich hatte viel Freude mit diesem Buch das in einem, für mich, manchmal anspruchsvollen Stil geschrieben war. Kommt wahrscheinlich daher, dass Englisch nicht meine Muttersprache ist und die Charaktere nicht selten ältere Worte oder andere, speziesspezifische Grammatik verwenden, denn das worldbuilding ist sauber und unfassbar ansprechend. Die Charaktere und Nebencharaktere begeistern mich sehr und eigentlich wollte ich dem Ganzen bis zum letzten Drittel mehr Sterne geben, aber... Das letzte Drittel -.- Der Slowburn Effekt wird wieder aufgegriffen und, um Spoiler zu vermeiden umschreibe ich hier, eine mir unfassbar unsympathische Trope kommt ebenfalls zum Einsatz. Wenn man das Ende jedoch überstanden hat wird man mit einem wahnsinnig guten Epilog belohnt, der mich aus irgendwelchen Gründen ernstlich betroffen gemacht hat.
A debauchery of appels/ votes for Gnoles!
Looking for a short, fun but thrilling fantasy novel with both queer and trauma representation? Look no further! It's short enough that I didn't want to whack the MCs with a frying pan for doubting their feelings and long enough to draw up a nice amount of suspense about how exactly they are going to get out of the finicky situation they land themselves in.
uff UFFF
Ich weiß nichtmal. Es hat mich viel zu lange gebraucht, durch das Buch zu kommen. Vielleicht sollte es nicht als stand-alone gelesen werden, weil vieles nicht erklärt wurde. Ich hatte Probleme, in die Welt einzutauchen, fand Charaktere flach und die Storyline unwichtig. Nach dem Labyrinth hatte ich endlich das Gefühl, etwas im Buch anzukommen, für mich aber leider viel zu spät, um ein gutes Buch zu werden. Ich werde die anderen nicht lesen, weil mich die straighten Storylines einfach nicht interessieren.