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Sword Catcher is the only book over 500 pages I read this year and I really enjoyed it. I’ll be reading its sequel soon in the New Year.

If you are like me, and don’t read much fantasy, this is just the right speed. The world building is not too complex, and the story is a building, slow burn– not as labyrinthine or leaping all over as many are (and which are just too much work for me to find fun). Also, lots of fantasy has complex names to keep track of; this one has Kel and also notably (check out that last name, almost spelled the same) Lin Caster, and they are both wonderful. Additionally, lots of fantasy gets intricate with changing everything about their world, but here, sapphires and rubies are still called sapphires and rubies, and other names are approximations of things we know, or the same words, used in unique ways. What I’m saying here is the writing and setting do not get in the way of the story, which I really appreciate.

Kel is the Sword Catcher, or body guard to the Prince. Lin is a healer who utilizes only the fringes of magic, which has been banished from most places. They are both aboveboard people who find themselves having to deal with the Ragpicker King (the name of the sequel that this book is clearly the set up for). With this many pages, all the characters are fully formed, and you do not know where it is all heading.

Neither spicy, sexy, nor gory, this is a good yarn, while clean enough to hand to a teenager– in other words, ideal for me. You might enjoy it too. I give it five stars, although I hear the next one is better!

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