Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)

by Kristin Cashore

In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her Uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to carry out his dirty work, punnishing and torturing anyone who displeases him. Breaking arms and cutting off fingers are her stock-in-trade. Finding life under his rule increasingly unbearable Katsa forms an underground Council, whose purpose is to combat the destructive behavior of the seven kings - after all, the Middluns is only one of the seven kingdoms, and each of them is ruled its own king with his own personal agenda for power. When the Council hears that the King of Liend's father has been kidnapped Katsa investigates ...and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap him, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced fighter who challenged her fighting skills, for the first time, as she and the Council rushed the old man to saftey? Something dark and deadly is rising in the north and creeping across the continent, and behind it all lurks the shadowy figure of a one eyed king ...

• ISBN10: 0575084502
• ISBN13: 9780575084506
• Publish Date: 22 January 2009 (first published 1 October 2008)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 November 2010
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[SilverThistle]

I liked this book, although I didn't realise it was Young Adult fiction when I bought it. It wasn't a huge problem but you can tell it's YA which results in it being a bit tame. If I was in any doubt that Graceling was a fantasy novel, I need look no further than the naming of locations. As usual the land is split up between rulers and the place-names have arrived at their monikers by virtue of compass direction. I forget exact names because they're not that memorable but if I said North town, West town, East town and South town then I wouldn't be far off the mark.

However, the idea of Graces more than makes up for the unimaginative geography. I love the idea of people with superpowers that are everyday talents boosted to infinity. A Grace can be anything from brilliant pastry chef to pitch perfect singer or someone might find themselves Graced with the ability to spot a lie at 50 paces. It's difficult to blend in though if you find yourself with a Grace, because you also find yourself with different coloured eyes....a dead giveaway.

image:

I thought the story itself moved along pretty fast but the romance element that ran through it wasn't really much of a romance and there wasn't enough spark to make what little there was believable.

I liked the ending and it got quite nailbiting towards the finale and the book is not without some really hateful characters who make you root for the heroine.....but I'm probably not going to read the rest of the series
.
It's worth reading though, just for the novel idea of the Graces.

[Rinn]

Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.

Oh Graceling. What a total and unexpected joy you were. From the very first page, with a thrilling opening scene, I loved this book so much more than I thought I would. We learn that in this world some people are born with Graces - great skills that vary from person to person, some rather useless and some incredibly useful. These people stand out from others by their different coloured eyes, and are actually shunned, or rather feared, for their abilities. The main protagonist, Katsa, has a Grace for killing. Or so it would seem.

And how I loved Katsa! Grumpy and anti-social, she is a character after my own heart. It's not often you see a character who is so vehemently against social interaction, though here it is partly because of her Grace and the way she is treated for it. Although working for her uncle, being used to torture or injure those whom he dislikes, she begins to rebel against him. Katsa proves herself to be very resourceful and strong-willed, she sticks to her ground and doesn't change her opinions or plans based on others. The best thing of all? She doesn't feel the need to change herself or her future plans for a relationship.

Po, whose name unfortunately conjures up images of a certain panda, was also a great character. Although it was obvious what would happen from the moment he was introduced in the story, the interaction between the two characters only served to make me want it to happen, rather than make me sigh in exasperation over any cliched events. Another independently minded character, he matches up to Katsa perfectly and the course of events surrounding him were at times quite surprising. For some reason, despite the description of him as being dark-haired, I still pictured him as looking rather like Fenris from Dragon Age II...


Just pop some earrings in and he's all set. (image source)

And I mustn't forget Raffin, Katsa's intelligent cousin, or Bitterblue, princess of Monsea. Bitterblue goes through a brilliant transformation in the few months she spends with Katsa and Po: from a shy and terrified to determined and brave, as well as caring. Even the very minor characters gave a strong sense of their personalities through actions or small back stories.

If you read my blog often, you probably know I am not one for romance. I don't like it at all as a genre by itself, and it has to be written in a certain way for me to enjoy it as part of another genre. Basically, it has to be natural. No insta-love, no undying declarations after a matter of days. Well I can tell you, the romance in Graceling was perfect: it developed over time, it was caring but not consuming, it was realistic. You know a relationship is well written when you're rooting for the characters, and I really was.

Kristin Cashore's writing style, like her character development, is wonderful - easy to read without being over-simplified, beautifully painted landscapes and images, enough background information without piling too much on the reader at once. That's the trouble with writing a fantasy, trying to achieve the correct balance between explaining enough about a new world, and giving away too much at once. Although I would have liked to have known exactly why the Gracelings are feared (I don't think it is ever really fully explained), there was nothing else I felt short of.

The plot was well-paced, giving the reader enough time to understand the state of the world, who ruled where, before moving on. There were enough exciting events and slower moments to keep it balanced, and I didn't crave for any extra action.

To finish it off: Graceling was an absolutely brilliant read. A proper fantasy tale, with some adventure and a little bit of romance thrown in, I think it would appeal to many - particularly if you've enjoyed the works of authors such as Tamora Pierce, Leigh Bardugo or Maggie Stiefvater. If you've been thinking about reading it: do it!

Now I have to wait for Fire, the sequel, to arrive at my library... it's going to be too long a wait!

[KitsuneBae]

For full Review, please visit Thoughts and Pens

Plot

Alright. Okay. So Graceling was a better book than Fire but generally, it wasn’t as impressive as I hoped to be. The first chapters were okay and I was actually flipping the pages like crazy. It was like being a house on fire where at the middle stage, everything went dull and gray.
There was so much potential that was wasted in this book. One, why did Cashore directed the heroes to go after Leck immediately when she could have created a twist along the way? And why did Randa—for his toughness and cruelty—just easily gave up on Katsa when he could have made efforts to make everyone’s life complicated? That would have been fun.
It’s just so hard to grasp that King Leck with his powerful grace was easily defeated. And it made him look like a warm up act. The story is poorly written like Cashore was in a hurry to be done with it. So yes, I also read the book without even bothering to stop and glorify how the story is unfolding. You can actually read the first chapters, skip the middle part and proceed to the ending. You will still understand it perfectly.

Characters

Despite my severe disappointment with this book, I am surprised to discover that I actually liked Po. He’s calm, focused, selfless and mature. Katsa’s okay but I didn’t like how she never overcame her fear of marriage. What’s up with Cashore with this one?
And Leck, the villain, was actually quite scary in Fire (the very first chapter that is). But in Graceling, he had lost that glory. I wish I had read more of him, to know him and to know what really pushed him to become evil. In Graceling, he only appeared near the end and was killed immediately. *sighs* I mean, come on!

Dialogues and Interactions

Dialogues and interactions weren’t really Cashore’s strongest points. Actually, looking back at the two books, I couldn’t seem to remember funny moments or exceptionally intense moments that would actually make your heart ache. I can’t even feel a lot of chemistry or be overwhelmed by Katsa and Po’s love for each other. There are books out there that even without the heroine and hero being together, you can still feel the love, the intensity of emotions that your heart will just cry and ache for them. Instead of this happening, I am merely annoyed of the fact that Katsa has to reiterate again and again that she doesn’t like marriage. And Po has choice whether to take it or leave it. Baahh!
And what about Bitteblue? She wasn’t a good actress. I can’t feel her loss. Perhaps I’m blind but I can’t see her agony of losing her mother. Yes, she was tough but it was hard to relate to her. The way she acted, it’s like she didn’t just lost the most important person in her life.

[mbtc]

Had a hard time making it past the setting and names to connect to the characters, but only at first. So refreshing to see a strong female lead!

[mrs_mander_reads]

I loved this from start to finish. I think the story is great, and the characters are so relatable. I wish earnestly that I had more from Po's pov, but otherwise, I'm exceedingly happy with the book. going to get the next one this weekend!!

[Angie]

I don't have much experiencing reading High Fantasy, but I can tell it's a genre that I'm going to end up loving, especially thanks to Graceling. I absolutely loved the idea of Gracelings: humans with "Graces," or heightened talents and gifts. These talents can range from extreme smarts in a particular subject, increased strength, to mind reading. Our main character, Katsa, has the Grace of killing. She could kill a grown man with her bare hands since childhood. Needless to say, she's pretty feared among the Seven Kingdoms. The king of her home kingdom is using her as his own personal assassin, but Katsa tries to incapacitate rather than kill when she can.

Katsa is truly a kick ass heroine! Not just because of her talent for killing, but she also refuses to conform to society's ideals of femininity. She wears trousers and loathes the gowns and jewels she must don for royal dinners. She'd rather run and practice her various fighting skills than take up lady-like pass times. She'll also pass on the tradition of marriage, and ignores all of the suitors her uncle brings to the castle. She reminds me a lot of Katniss from The Hunger Games. Both are skilled fighters, brave, stubborn, and generally unlikeable except by those closest to them.

Normally third person narratives are missing something for me, but in this case it really works. I couldn't imagine it told any other way. The author's writing has an almost fairytale-like quality to it, but I suppose that comes partially with the genre. I was easily engrossed in this story from the very beginning. The plot in the first part of the book is slower in comparison to part two, but I still loved getting to know the characters and trying to figure out who kidnapped Po's grandfather.

The second half is fast paced and exciting! There's a puzzle to be solved, a blossoming romance, plenty of action, and survival elements. It was a lot of fun to see Katsa and Po work out the extents of their Graces and practice on each other. Their romance was also sweet and steamy, although I always had this nagging feeling that it would not end well. Katsa is too stubborn, but Po is super understand, so maybe they can make it work?

I really enjoyed this one! It has an imaginative world, action, adventure, and romance. All things I love in books. I am sad to learn that the following books don't continue with Katsa and Po, but I am very eager to read more about little Queen Bitterblue.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[clementine]

I'm so delighted by how much I enjoyed this book. Fantasy is, like, the opposite of my thing - with the exception of Harry Potter, I steer quite clear of the genre. If I'm going to read something that's not 100% realistic, it's going to be dystopian. I don't know why, really; I don't have anything concrete against it, it's just never interested me. I don't even remember when or why I downloaded Graceling, but I did, and I'm glad.

I think what impressed me the most was the structure and the pacing of the story. There were parts where it meandered a bit, but it wasn't slow. It meandered purposefully. And then there were parts that were quick and exciting and kept me turning the pages. (Well, the metaphorical pages, since, like most books these days, I read it on my Kobo.) The plot was so tight; everything fit together perfectly, and it was all tied up beautifully. I know there are more books in the series, which I will most certainly get around to reading at some point, but it works really well as a standalone book, which I appreciate. It's not forcing me to read the next one to find out something I don't care about (cough, The Selection, cough), it's just quietly saying, "Hey, there's more if you're into that," and I am into that.

Now, you know I struggle with romances sometimes (okay, fine, like, all the time) because I find them highly unnecessary. But this one was written so beautifully, and believably, and it was integrated in the plot in a way that I felt strengthened it. The whole book wasn't about the romance, and Katsa was still a BAMF and she didn't spend pages upon pages angsting about Po and how Giddon loves her, blah blah blah. I'm glad the love triangle thing wasn't really done here, because that shit annoys me so much and it was very nice for Katsa to just be like, "Bro, I'm not interested," and move on with it.

I loved the characters; Katsa is seriously awesome. Like I've mentioned, sometimes the archetype of the spunky, sassy female protagonist doesn't work, but Cashore wrote Katsa in such a way that she felt believable. I really felt like I could root for her. Po may be a bit too perfect, but, whatever, I loved him, so I'll let it slide. And Bitterblue is just so... everything. Adorable, smart, badass.

Just, dude. Great writing, awesome characters, inventive premise, superb plotting. I think my main issue is that the whole reason behind the mission they went on was kind of sketchily laid out. Leck needed more screen time, so to say, more explanation. His kidnapping of Tealiff needed more of an explanation and probably more of a motivation. I kept getting stuck there, because the whole book kind of revolves around that and I just didn't feel like it was properly explored. Seriously, though, this impressed me so much and I would definitely recommend it both to people who love fantasy and those who are apathetic towards it!

[Amber]

I loved this! The ending though :( Bittersweet.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Graceling is an extremely refreshing and innovative addition to the fantasy genre. The story is told in a unique voice (Katsa’s thoughts mainly, though the narration is third person) that is truly half the fun of the book. The writing is lyrical, simple, and original—and though I would love to see a movie version of this, much would be lost in the translation from text to screen.

Along the same lines, Graceling is just filled with excellent quotes, made memorable by the combination of the voice and the thoughts that it presents. Readers may find themselves stopping often just to reread or ponder Katsa’s thoughts. One that struck me: “When you’re a monster, she thought, you’re thanked and praised for not behaving like a monster. She would like to refrain from cruelty and receive no admiration for it.”

The plot is exciting and contains a number of twists. Both Katsa’s personal growth and the main action are full of surprises. Even seasoned readers used to predicting the outcome of any novel will be hard pressed to know exactly where Graceling is heading. The ride is certainly a pleasure.

My one reservation comes from the type of feminist philosophy presented in the book. [Minor spoilers.] Katsa is very set against marriage, convinced that it will be the end of her freedom. Even if a husband were to let her be free, he would be allowing her freedom, so she would never actually be free. Therefore, she refuses to marry, even if she loves someone. Having sex with someone, however, is fine. Apparently being so intimate with a man that way is not giving part of herself away. So, paradoxically, sex is special, but really it is not. [End spoilers]

The line between Katsa’s independence and her selfishness is sometimes blurry because of her opinions on men and marriage. In her mind, being strong means you can never be in a committed relationship because then you might have to be bothered thinking of the other person instead of your own desires. I personally feel that her decision at the end of the book is completely selfish and an indication that she did not really love at all.

That said, Katsa’s philosophy did not spoil my reading of the book. In fact, I loved it. So while we may disagree on some extremely important life issues, Katsa and I would probably agree that she went on an extraordinary journey that is a story worth telling.

This review was also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.

Review originally posted at Simply Adrift.

I have to say that when I decided to read Graceling it was only because I read a great review of it from a blog that I love. Then when I came back to it it sounded pretty interesting yet I still didn’t quite expect this book.

The many reasons I loved this book!

The idea.

The whole idea of the ‘Graced’ was just pretty cool. Someone who has been ‘graced’ is someone that has some sort of special ability therefore the King they serve gets to choose whether he would like them to serve him and his lands or not. That was an interesting take on it, I like that this book wasn’t just about being ‘graced’. The abilities are all different and vary from graced to graced yet a graced person has two different coloured eyes so they are easily distinguishable.

It was interesting and the way this was done was exciting. The world that Cashore has created is exciting and thrilling. I was nose-in-book the whole time!

The kick ass main character.

I LOVED that Katsa was so strong, that she could fight and defend herself. It’s refreshing getting to read a female protagonist that doesn’t need anyone to protect her because she’s perfectly capable of doing it herself. I found Katsa fun to read because of her logic, because of the way she thought and because even though she was strong she wasn’t without flaws.

Katsa was brought up as a fighter and a killer thanks to her Uncle, whom is the king of Randa. That’s all she has known most of her life pretty much. Everyone has feared her since her grace of fighting was made known and no one is able to look in her eyes for very long because of that fear. So Katsa has steeled herself away from others, believing she is the killer everyone see’s her as. Yet she is a very interesting character that grows and matures throughout the book. Reading Katsa was a lot of fun.

It kept me guessing until the end.

I found myself trying to figure out what was going on, but every guess I had turned out to be wrong as more information was given. I loved it! I loved that it kept me guessing and that by the end I was still surprised.

The pacing is well done.

One thing I hate in books is slow pacing, the very short amount of time that it is written in – For example: In one week the MC falls completely in love after having said two words to the guy and nearly dies three times. When this happens it’s very annoying and unrealistic in my opinion. And the fact that not a lot is going on till the last quarter. Well this book is the complete opposite from that.

- The pacing is great, there aren’t any really slow moments, there’s always something happening that it kept me interested. There were a few times that were slower than others but it didn’t make me put the book down.
- The time span of the whole book is actually over a long period of time, quite few months? I’m not sure as it never states it, but it’s refreshing to read a story that takes place and develops over time and you never get bored in the process.
- The pacing of the events is good because it’s happening the whole way through. One after the other. The plot build up is exciting and it actually progresses from one ‘event’ to the next, it doesn’t just stand still till the last quarter where everything blows up and happens all at once.

I really did enjoy reading this book but Graceling does feel like two books. The first half is admittedly not as exciting or action packed as the second half but I was still very interested in what was going on. There was a hook that stopped me from wanting to put it down. I had the feeling of needing to know what happened next. And that’s a great thing.

The second half was packed with action and events that made my stomach twist in anxiety. By the end of the second half the first half of the book felt like it had been a year since I had read it because it felt like so much time had passed in between the very beginning of the first half and the end of the second. In my opinion that was thrilling.

Overall.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I was taken on an exciting journey and that’s something that I don’t feel very often. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series. I do know it’s quite different but the whole world that Graceling is set in is so interesting and has so much potential that I really want to read more stories that are set in it.

Graceling had me furiously turning page after page until I could no longer hold my eyes open to stay awake. I was thrown into the world and thoroughly enjoyed reading Katsa’s journey.

I recommend reading this book if you enjoy fantasy! It’s a must read!

If you liked books like The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Baker’s Boy by J.V Jones, Grave Mercy or pretty much any fantasy adventure then you will definitely love this!

Always,
Jordon

This review was originally posted on Simply Adrift