Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare by Cassandra Clare

Book Review

Pauline Morgan

One of the considerations an author has in creating a setting for a science fiction or fantasy novel is the world-building. The result has to be coherent in so many aspects. George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series is a good example, as is Jim Butcher’s The Aeronaut’s Windlass. Cassandra Clare has shown in Sword Catcher, the same kind of world-building skill. Like others, she had drawn on some aspects of known human societies which make the reader feel comfortable in what could be an alien setting.

            The city-state of Castellane is well defended and prosperous. It is surrounded on three sides by mountains and the sea on the fourth. Beyond its boundaries are a wealth of divergent nations with their own characteristics and ambitions. Castellane’s wealth comes from a dependency on trade, and if it lacks anything, it is agriculture. The territory itself is divided. The wealthy live on The Hill. Here are opulent mansions and areas of entertainment, including high-class brothels for the amusement of the rich. A wall separates it from the areas where the less privileged live and work and includes markets, temples and academies. It also includes an enclave known as The Sault. Here lives a population of Ashkari. It is a self-contained community, and readers will draw parallels with Jewish communities. In Castellane, they are a valued group, and the King’s chief advisor is always Ashkari, though they may be persecuted in other nations. Because they keep to themselves and observe their own customs, they are regarded with suspicion by some, thus, they don’t venture out of the enclave at night without an escort.

            The Sword Catcher of the title is Kellian Saren. As a ten-year-old boy, he was taken from an orphanage to the palace to act as a double for Prince Conor. It is not an unknown concept in reality or fiction. Churchill’s reputed body doubles and the Japanese film Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior) are examples this novel has built on. Renamed Kel Anjuman becomes the constant companion of Conor, his presence being explained as being a cousin fostered in the household, but his true purpose is to be the foil for any assassination attempts. He will take Conor’s place when danger is suspected and a magically imbued talisman casts a glamour over him, fooling onlookers into thinking he is Conor. The Sword Catcher is a well-kept secret, but as part of the household, he grows up sharing Conor’s playmates and later is part of the group of seemingly callous rich scions of the Charter Families who control different aspects of trade. While he expected to stay close to Conor, he does have some private life. He also knows he can be sent back to the slums at any time but has developed a fierce loyalty to the Prince.

            Because money is never an issue, Conor’s friends have grown into dissolute young men, and their lavish, careless lifestyles will be an anathema to many readers. The exception was Antonetta, who had faded from the group as they grew older. Her mother was grooming her not just to take over the family Charter, but she had ambitions to marry Antonetta to Conor o an unlikely prospect as he would be expected to marry for political reasons. Kel is drawn to Antonetta but knows he will never have a chance to marry her.

            As a contrast to the debauched behaviour of the super-rich are the Ashkari. Lin Castor is a physician who has fought hard for her skills – women are not normally accepted for training. Her motivation is to find a cure for Mariam, her best friend, who without her skills is going to die soon. Partly because of the reputation she has built up treating the people in the town, and partly because of her grandfather’s positon as the Ashkari adviser to the king, Lin is called to treat Kel’s injuries when he is mistaken for the Prince, and again when Conor needs healing. Thus, she finds herself involved in the fringes of politics and discovers that Conor is not as arrogant as she first thought.

            Politics plays a big part in this society. The heads of the Charter families not only vie for better deals but to have more influence at court. They are painted as greedy for power and wealth, though they are willing to spend on lavish parties. Castellane’s wealth is envied by other countries, and an advantageous marriage with Conor would give them a foothold, though the suspicion is that in some alliances that would open the door to more than just a partnership. Malagasi, where the King was fostered as a child, is under the impression that there is a long-standing agreement that Conor will marry their Princess Elsabet. However, no-one has told Conor, and when he announces he has agreed to marry a princess of Sarthe, plans have to be rapidly rethought.

The presence of the Sault on Castellane is another source of political tension. In the interludes between chapters, the history of the Ashkari is told as extracts from old texts. They are a people in exile as long ago they resisted and destroyed the Sorcerer-Kings, who had become too powerful. The events also destroyed most magic except for that which Ashkari healers can use in their work. As sorcery is outlawed in most countries, the Ashkari are regarded with suspicion, to the extent that Malagasi violently expelled the community that used to live there. If readers find resonance with the Jewish histories in our world, I doubt that this is accidental.

There is a lot packed into this book, and although some of the attitudes could be uncomfortable to some readers, the novel is peopled by strong and compelling characters. There are plenty of unexpected developments in this book, and it comes highly recommended from this reviewer. I look forward to the next volume in the series.