The Emperor's Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, #1)

by Brian Staveley

The emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life path on which their father set them, their destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods. Kaden, the heir to the Unhewn Throne, has spent eight years sequestered in a remote mountain monastery, learning the enigmatic discipline of monks devoted to the Blank God. Their rituals hold the key to an ancient power he must master before it's too late. An ocean away, Valyn endures the brutal training of the Kettral, elite soldiers who fly into battle on gigantic black hawks. But before he can set out to save Kaden, Valyn must survive one horrific final test. At the heart of the empire, Minister Adare, elevated to her station by one of the emperor's final acts, is determined to prove herself to her people. But Adare also believes she knows who murdered her father, and she will stop at nothing - and risk everything - to see that justice is meted out.

• ISBN10: 076533643X
• ISBN13: 9780765336439
• Publish Date: 26 August 2014 (first published 14 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 10 February 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

[ayla_abbott]

Great is the book that features three young adults that don't bitch and moan and rebel and have angst all over the pages.

The three protagonists knuckle down and train and make rough choices and in all cases believe that their teachers want the best for them even if it's (very) painful at the time. All of them struggle with their emotions but all three of them are capable of control in a way that a lot of young protagonists aren't written to be. It's not a YA book so we don't need to hash out the emotions, just experience them and grow.

Took me half the book to realize that's why I wasn't bored with the long buildup comprised mostly of just training.

And in the end I'm genuinely interested in all three of them now that they've passed their tests.

[ross91]

The only thing I didn't like about this book was Adare.
Everything else was amazing.