Alexander Darwin

I received this novel from the author, through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

In his afterword, author Alexander Darwin touches on the subject of middle book syndrome, the point in a series that can either make it or break it: now that I have read Grievar’s Blood I can say with total assurance that this book does not only make the series, but it also expands on the characters’ journey and on the view of the world in which the story is set, and does so in a gripping, page-turning way.

Where The Combat Codes focused mainly on the characters of young Cego, rising star in the Grievars’ training school, and of Murray Pearson, former Grievar Knight turned scout for fighting talent, Grievar’s Blood adds two more POVs to the story, Solara Halberd and Silas the Slayer and through them gives us a deeper, wider understanding of this world and its social and political forces at work. All of the characters - old and new - are on some form of quest here: Cego needs to learn more about himself and his talents after the momentous revelation on his origins, a discovery that has a profound impact both on his personality and on the way he interacts with his friends. In the previous book I enjoyed the theme of found family in this group of young trainees, and here the strength of the bond linking them is stressed even more once Cego finds himself facing a quite unexpected turn of events in what proved to be a very compelling narrative thread: the team’s reaction to what is happening is both heartwarming and harrowing, and leads to a detailed trial scene that kept me on the edge of the seat for the whole run. It’s interesting to note, though, that Cego’s journey is not front and center in Grievar’s Blood: the bold move of having him share the limelight in equal measure with other characters pays off in the end, because the uncertainty about his fate that colors the last quarter of the book adds even more strength to the pivotal scene where the present leg of his journey ends to start a new one. Apologies for these quite cryptic comments, but I don’t want to spoil anything here…

Murray, after the shocking discoveries he made in the previous book, is a rudderless man who has turned to drinking himself into a stupor, literally touching bottom, physically and spiritually until something awakens him and gives him a new purpose: finding Sam, Cego’s younger brother. His commitment to this goal takes him back to his former self, and we see him taking great risks and paying a huge price for his actions: I am amazed at the kind of beatings this man can take and yet be back on his feet again, never surrendering to obstacles once he finds again a purpose in life. In the course of the first two books of this series I have grown very fond of Murray: this grizzled, blunt, grumpy individual has unexpectedly carved a place in my heart, and I hope of seeing more of him in the final book.

In The Combat Codes Solara Halberd was described as a very committed, very serious young woman whose life has been focused on becoming a Grievar Knight and making her father - an eminent fighter - proud of her accomplishments. Here, on the heels of a huge personal tragedy, we see her leave the Lyceum on an almost impossible quest, to which she brings the same determination she applied to her studies and training. Where she might have previously appeared as merely ambitious and a little self-centered, here she exhibits a many-layered personality that comes across at its best in her dealings with another young trainee, N’auri: the growing friendship between these two girls is a delightful addition to the story and also brings some welcome female presence that was slightly missing in the previous installment.

And finally we come to Silas: the way Cego remembered his older brother - capable, focused but also affectionate - clashes with the person represented here, a cold-blooded fighter who crushes his opponents with cold, surgical detachment. The nickname “Slayer” seemed perfectly tailored for a character I was ready to dislike, to say the least - that is, until more was revealed about his personality and, more important, the ultimate goal he is pursuing here, and which ties in closely with the huge twist toward which the author has been leading his readers, carefully managing the various narrative threads that combine toward the end into a breath-taking payoff which, in turn, holds the promise for a quite spectacular conclusion in the next book.

When reading The Combat Codes I was often curious to know more about the world in which this series is set, and Grievar’s Blood did indeed reveal more details about it, particularly where the Daimyo - the actual rulers of the world - are concerned: there are several interesting glimpses into their mindset and customs, and in the social and political machinations they surround themselves with, but the most intriguing detail about the foundations of this society, and the origin of Grievar Knights, comes from a bitter musing from Silas:

The Grievar [...] are characters in this world they’ve built made to play a very specific part [...] fight in their arenas, settle their disputes [...] With them looking down on us from above, watching us fight and bleed and get buried, all to serve at their pleasure.

It’s in this small seed that the riveting turning point at the end of the book finds the means to expand the story and its scope into a tale which grows from the relatively small-scale conflicts of the fighting arenas to an epic battle for freedom and dignity:

We who are not bound by the world they build
We who are free to fight
We who will fight to be free

Given what I’ve learned in this second volume, I can hardly wait to see what Alexander Darwin has in store for his readers in what promises to be the impressive climax of a gripping series.… (plus d'informations)

I have to confess that when Alexander Darwin contacted me about reading and reviewing The Combat Codes I was initially dubious because of the martial arts angle which features prominently in the story, since it’s not exactly my cup of tea, but a swift research online showed me that there was a good measure of character development in the book, and that was enough for me to take the proverbial plunge. Now I’m very glad I accepted because this novel offered much more than I expected, both story-wise and where characters are concerned.

The world in which the story is set has a long, bloody history of violent wars between nations; presently they have been set aside thanks to Grievar Knights, dedicated warriors who act as champions for the various factions: they meet in ritual combat in the arena and any dispute is settled with the outcome of the fight.

“We fight, so the rest shall not have to.”

Grievars follow a set of rules, the Codes (each chapter starts with a quote from them, and is relevant to the events that take place in the story): they dictate not only the kind of moves allowed in combat, but also the moral tenets every fighter must adhere to, and these rules have been rigorously followed for a long time, but in recent times they have been abandoned in favor of more “modern” techniques and more performative physical enhancements.

Murray Pearson is a former Grievar Knight, once famous and powerful, now fallen into almost oblivion: he spends his days drinking and scouting for talent to be turned into Grievar champions in the prestigious Lyceum, the city’s academy where fighters’ skills are honed to perfection. Cego is a young boy barely surviving in the depths of the city: he has no memory of how he ended there, only flashes of a former life on a remote island, where he and his two brothers were taught the way of the Grievar by an old mentor. Captured and forced to fight in the slave pits, a travesty of the Grievar arenas, he catches Murray’s eye who sees an enormous potential in the boy and manages to get him enrolled in the Lyceum.

While he grows as a fighter and future Grievar, Cego starts to learn more about himself and his abilities, forms bonds of friendship with his team-mates and also deals with some unsavory characters who test his temperament and his respect for the Codes. Meanwhile, Murray is conducting something of an investigation into the dealings at the Lyceum, and both his search and Cego’s journey will take the readers toward a surprising revelation that will certainly lead to new and intriguing narrative paths in the next books of the series.

Where the novel’s structure holds a certain kind of familiarity - the old mentor, the young apprentice learning new skills, the school setting with its challenges, the adversarial bully, and so on - the story is carried by a very engaging prose that makes for a compelling reading, aided by the slow revelation of a very complex world in which elements of fantasy and science fiction seamlessly blend together to build the intriguing picture of a dystopian background in which technology and magic live side by side. One of the details I found most intriguing is the link between the Circles (the fighting arenas) and the substance from which they are built: depending on the base element, the Circle takes on a specific color and can exert an equally specific influence on the fighters - either in mind or body - and therefore influence the outcome of a fight.

Another intriguing facet comes from the “present” evolution of the fighting rules: the Codes seem to be slowly losing their impact on the style and mindset of the Grievars, the use of enhancing drugs taking the place of more intensive training or as a way of increasing stamina. Older Knights, like Murray, perceive this phenomenon as a departure from the honorable way of fighting they were taught, while the younger generations see it as a way of gaining an edge against their opponents. It’s interesting to see how a young person like Cego feels a compelling need to remain faithful to the Codes, while feeling the pressure to perform better and better and therefore be an asset for his nation - a dichotomy that will take an interesting turn as the story goes on…

And speaking of Cego, I enjoyed his coming-of-age journey, from the grim depths of the slave pits to the excellence of the Lyceum, from the loneliness of the outcast to the glory of championship and the rewards of friendship and found family: throughout all these experiences, he manages to retain a certain form of candor, a deep capacity for honesty and appreciation for friendship that quickly endeared him to me and made me follow his progress with keen interest. And since this leads to discussion of the combat itself, I have to say that I appreciated these descriptions as well, to my surprise: as I mentioned at the beginning of the review, martial arts are not within my sphere of interest, but I found the depictions of Grievar fights very well detailed and quite cinematic, so that it was not hard to see them in my mind’s eye and they ended adding to my enjoyment of the novel.

The momentous revelation at the end of the book represented a big surprise for me and while it did not close the story on an actual cliffhanger (for which I’m very grateful…), it did promise interesting developments for the future, so that I’m more than looking forward to the continuation of this series.… (plus d'informations)