Some are Graced with dancing, some with weaving, some with story-telling. Not Katsa. Katsa possesses the despicable Grace of killing. To her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, she is a mere tool. The perfect assassin, who can not only kill quickly and quietly but one that can also be paraded in front of his rivals at dinner. Intimidating even in silks and jewels. Not one (or even ten together) of his elite guards can best her in a fight. The only person who comes close to matching her skills is a visiting Lienid prince, Graced with fighting. Po seems to know what she is going to do before she even makes a move. Training with Katsa provides Po with the perfect excuse to stay in the Middluns while he searches for the person who kidnapped his grandfather. And that's how it begins. Katsa's life changes in ways she never expected as she accompanies Po on a journey to investigate this mysterious occurrence.
Katsa's struggle with humanity, trying to prove that she isn't just a monstrous killer, was excellent. The characters were three-dimensional and intriguing. The world that Cashore created had the flavor of other fantasy realms that I've encountered, but was different enough to distinguish itself from the I've-read-this-before abyss that many novels are falling into these days. My only qualm concerning this book was that it was the tiniest bit predictable. Only in a few instances, though. Overall, I liked it very much. I'd like to bestow 6 out of 7 oddly-colored eyes upon Graceling and add that I am looking forward to Kristin Cashore's future exploits in the YA realm.
In need of something chocolate and delicious,
3 comments:
The first thing that really caught my eye about this was the cover. I heard that it was able to be confused with Tamora Pierce work, but perhaps I'm thinking of the wrong book? It doesn't sound completely similar.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for the OK on the rating system. I really appreciate it =) Maybe blogging will help me become creative.
Ah! Same here! I frequently fall into the "ooooh shiny cover" trap, and the books turn out to be awful, but I was pleased to see that it was not the case here.
Best of luck on your adventures in the blog-o-sphere, Leigh.
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