Book Reviews: Sasha
A Trial of Blood & Steel by Joel Shepherd. Book 1.
I picked this book up with high expectations. It met with rave reviews at the book club, reviews of the good variety which is fairly rare. Many books never rise above “mild disinterest” so I felt I was missing out on something special, not having read it. Still, other things kept jumping the queue and I just never really got around to reading it until last week. I’m kind of kicking myself now.
The rave reviews were well deserved. I was drawn in by the characters and held firm by the story. In fact, I’m kind of glad Brendan was at work today because for first time I can remember, I actually talked to a book. That’s right. Just like the way (crazy) people talk to the people on TV and in movies, I was talking to the characters.
As always, I shall try not to go into too much detail (read: yammer on like a rabid fangirl).
The main character, Sasha (obviously), manages to be a strong female fantasy character without crossing the line into man-in-a-woman’s-body. She is surrounded by unique and distinct characters, all of whom add to the story instead of acting as page-fillers. The world and its cultures are well-formed and also distinct from each other, though with common elements as would naturally happen when cultures grow up next door to one another. The story builds up pace and by the end I felt like I couldn’t read fast enough.
Sasha is cheeky at best, at worst she’s impetuous, headstrong and profoundly quick-tempered. There are consequences to every badly thought-out action she takes, and those consequences impact upon not just her but the people she cares about too. As strong as she is, she is also swept up by events beyond her control. Her mentor, Kessligh, acts as a balance.
The cast of characters is massive, revolving around a few key figures but incorporating two major cultures and aspects of two others. Though there is an aspect of prophecy, a fantasy staple, nobody throws around any fireballs or calls down the wrath of any gods. They lived or died through their own abilities, their own wits or through luck. I never stumbled across any obvious deus ex machina plot turns (figurative or literal — both are genre hazards). At no point did I think, nobody is going to do that. Even for all her talents, Sasha doesn’t come across as some implausible wunderkind. She’s as human as her friends and her enemies.
All in all, it’s a well-crafted story and book 2 is now officially on my I-want list.