Wednesday, March 4, 2020

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Paladin's Grace by T Kingfisher




Paladin's Grace is the latest fantasy novel by prolific writer T Kingfisher (also known as chidren's fantasy writer Ursula Vernon) and the latest novel in her fantasy universe filled with paladins, assassins, lawyers, and more that began in The Clockwork Boys.  It's the second stand alone romantic fantasy novel in this universe for Kingfisher 2018's Swordheart so no foreknowledge of this universe is needed.  But as I've enjoyed nearly everything written by Kingfisher I've read - with her vibrant characters and incredibly witty dialogue - and loved Swordheart, I was excited to read Paladin's Grace as soon as it came out.

And Paladin's Grace is fantastic fun, a romantic fantasy between a broken Paladin and a Perfumer in a city dealing with a case of mysterious severed heads, a overzealous prosecuting priesthood, and an oddly incompetent assassin.  It contains a number of great characters, a really nice romance, and a really fun fantasy setting.  I don't think I love it quite as much as Swordheart, but I've reread parts repeatedly since finishing it, so yeah, this one's another winner.


------------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------
Three years ago, Stephen was a paladin of the Saint of Steel, a god which gave him the ability to be a controlled berserker in battle.  Then the Saint died, and Stephen and his fellow paladins felt lost at sea, without a purpose, working for the practical Temple of the White Rat in Archenhold just to have something to do, with nothing to look forward to in life.

Grace came to Archenhold only a few years ago with basically nothing of her own.  Now she works on her own as a perfumer, with no friends other than her landlord Marguerite - a spy for Anuket City - and her pet civette, always looking towards the day she'd need to drop everything and run once again.

But when Stephen is given an assignment to protect a healer on his rounds through the city - a city in which someone has been going around decapitating people - he finds himself run into by Grace, desperately trying to escape some goons of the Hanged Motherhood.  Soon Stephen and Grace find unable to not think about the other, even as they try to go about their lives....and run into a failed assassination plot, a foreign prince who values perfume, and the overzealous devotees of the Hanged Motherhood, trying to make Grace's life miserable in their bizarre pursuit of justice.

Together the two of will have to find out if there really is something for them in the future....assuming the city doesn't get them both killed first.
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Paladin's Grace returns to the world of Swordheart/Clocktaur Wars - which are also very recommended - although it features a bunch of new characters (Zale, the hilarious non-binary lawyer/priest from Swordheart, is the only returning character in a minor role).  It's mainly a fantasy romance between Grace and Stephen, with the story alternating between their viewpoints, as a whole lot of other potentially low fantasy stuff goes on around them, throwing their lives - well Grace's life mainly - into jeopardy.

And this works really well because as usual for Kingfisher, her character work is tremendous.  Both Stephen and Grace are kind of introverts - comfortable with people they know, but not with large groups of strangers, and both are very comfortable working on their own - Grace as she works on creating various sense, Stephen while he enjoys his hobby of knitting socks.  And both have serious trust issues due to their pasts, with very little they look forward to long term.  So when they meet, they're both perfect for each other and yet at the same time have such a hard time spitting out their interest in one another.  The resulting misunderstandings color quite a lot of the book, and feel so damn real - fortunately for both characters, they each have friends who are better at pushing them and interpreting the signs than they are.

The rest of the characters in the book are similarly great.  Yeah the guy who turns out to be the antagonist is incredibly obvious, but the main duo's friends and allies are terrific and with depth of their own, from Marguerite, Grace's spy landlord who tries to get her to go out more, to Istvhan, Stephen's best paladin friend who is both wise and incredibly snarky, to Bishop Beartongue, the leader of the Order of the Rat who is insanely snarky and goodnatured that I love her so much, etc.  I didn't even mention Zale, the lawyer priest who returns from Swordheart and remains great fun.

Put all these characters together with a plot that's really fun, dialogue that's incredibly clever and enjoyable, and Kingfisher's usual craft and you have a real winner.  Again, it's not quite as well done as Swordheart - as I mentioned the antagonist is obvious and the conflict's final resolution feels a little bit like it comes out of nowhere, but it's still incredibly lovely and fun and I finished this book in a single day when I really did not mean to do so.

So yeah, you should read this.  And Swordheart.  And Clocktaur Wars.  And whatever else Kingfisher comes out with in this universe.  It's all so great.


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