REVIEW: Sword Catcher (Cassandra Clare)

Book: Sword Catcher

Author: Cassandra Clare

Premise: Since he was a boy, Kel was raised to be the Sword Catcher—the body double of a royal heir. Lin Caster is a physician from a community whose members still possess magical abilities. After a failed assassination attempt, Lin and Kel are drawn into the web of the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but is knowledge worth the price of betrayal?

What I loved about this book was the world building and the characters. Through Kel, we get to explore the aristocracy of Castellane and we get political intrigue. Through Lin, we see an ostracised community and poverty. The character development was amazing and you really get attached to them given the length of the book.

One thing I felt was lacking was an overarching purpose. There were mysteries that each character had to solve, but even then they were a bit non-committed and so the story felt a bit aimless. Hopefully book 2 will make it a bit clearer as to the direction.