Paladin's Faith

by T. Kingfisher

Synopsis:

Marguerite Florian is a spy with two problems: a former employer wants her dead, and one of her new bodyguards is a far too good-looking paladin with a martyr complex. Shane is a paladin with three problems: his god is dead, his client is much too attractive for his peace of mind and a powerful organisation is trying to have them both killed. Add in a brilliant artificer with a device that may change the world, a glittering and dangerous court and demon-led cult, and Shane and Marguerite will be lucky to escape with their souls intact, never mind their hearts...

I was really hoping T. Kingfisher’s Paladin’s Faith would pick up the threads from Paladin’s Hope — you know, that epilogue! It did reference it, but the impact was relatively low, and instead Marguerite, Shane and Wren are teaming up to handle some courtly intrigue, maybe help get a world-changing invention out there, and of course, fall in love and feel intensely guilty about it (in Shane’s case, at least).

As ever, Kingfisher’s paladins are all running pretty much the same software, and Shane’s particularly self-hating. It took me a bit to gel with him as a character because of his intense self-doubt, but… I stopped noticing it so much partway through the story, so it did even out a bit. I wasn’t as into the relationship between him and Marguerite, but that also felt somewhat less of the focus than in other books.

There’s a lot going on here with the courtly intrigue, and I wouldn’t want to do too many spoilers, but I did get really into this after about 20-25%. There’s a fun cameo from the Clockwork Boys books, there’s some more stuff about how the gods work, a really epic moment for Shane…

And at the end, well, there’s another epilogue with an “oh shit” moment. Less so than Paladin’s Hope, because I wasn’t as invested in what happens there, but… yeah. I really wish there were more books now.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

Paladin's Hope

by T. Kingfisher

Synopsis:

Piper is a lich-doctor, a physician who works among the dead, determining causes of death for the city guard's investigations. It's a peaceful, if solitary, profession... until the day when he's called to the river to examine the latest in a series of mysterious bodies, mangled by some unknown force.

Galen is a paladin of a dead god, lost to holiness and no longer entirely sane. He has long since given up on any hope of love. But when the two men and a brave gnole constable are drawn into the maze of the mysterious killer, it's Galen's job to protect Piper from the traps that await them. He's just not sure if he can protect Piper from the most dangerous threat of all...

I absolutely sped through Paladin’s Hope, perhaps because it’s fairly self-contained and feels tighter than the previous books (with a lower word-count, too). It’s a romance for Galen and Piper, who’ve both appeared in the story before, and while there’s a samey-ness to the brooding and suffering nobility of Kingfisher’s paladins, overall it was still cute and effective (and honestly I found Galen’s worries about it among the most realistic, compared to Istvhan’s and Stephen’s).

I really enjoyed the monster-of-the-week nature of this book, somehow: Piper and Galen help out a gnole, Earstripe, in trying to get to the bottom of a bunch of dead bodies that have some kind of undefinable sameness about them. In so doing, they get themselves into a trap, a labyrinth that they have to work their way out of by handling what is basically an obstacle course — and of course the close proximity stirs up the chemistry between Piper and Galen, and the situation stirs up Galen’s nightmares…

Earstripe is a great third for their merry band; we get quite a bit of time with gnoles in this one, which for people who liked The Wonder Engine should be a draw (unless you’re a monster and find them annoying or something). Piper’s scientific fascination with all kinds of things is lovely, and particularly his interest in gnole anatomy and gnole culture.

As ever, Kingfisher’s storytelling is fun and her ideas fascinating. I wasn’t very happy about that epilogue, though, just because… how could you end there?! This big mystery that’s hovered around each book, and that’s where you end this one!? Is there going to be more about this?!

Yes, I just used up my entire quota of question marks and exclamation marks for the day.

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

Paladin's Grace

by T. Kingfisher

Synopsis:

While foraging for startleflower, perfumer Grace finds herself pursued by ruffians and rescued by a handsome paladin in shining armour. Only, to outwit her hunters, they must pretend to be doing something very unrespectable in an alleyway.

Stephen, a broken paladin, spends his time knitting socks and working as a bodyguard, living only for the chance to be useful. But that all changes when he saves Grace and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now, Stephen and Grace must navigate a web of treachery and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind.

I’ve been meaning to give T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series a try for a while, and the lovely new UK editions spurred me on. Paladin’s Grace is the first, and sets the scene well: Stephen is a berserker paladin whose god has died, struggling against their remaining uncontrolled berserker tendency and the legacy of violence the paladins left when, as their god died, they went berserk. The remaining living paladins now serve the Rat, who offers help to all who need it — and took in the broken paladins when they most needed it.

He stumbles into a meeting with Grace, a perfumer, who quickly ends up in everything over her head after previously running away from her abusive philandering husband. She doesn’t want protecting, and Stephen doesn’t quite dare have a relationship, but sparks fly and, anyway, sometimes you do need help even when you can stand on your own two feet.

It’s a lovely story of healing, for both of them, and also a bit of a mystery, set against a fascinating world with lots of moving parts, and stories going on of which Stephen and Grace are just parts. I loved Stephen and Grace as individuals and as a pair, and all the glimpses of the other paladins too, but also I’m really looking forward to reading more of the world, in the other Saint of Steel books and in Swordheart (also getting a UK reissue) and Clockwork Boys (already reissued in a nice hardback and on my TBR).

I am pleased that Istvhan and Piper get their own books, as I enjoyed both as characters. I’m less fussed about Shane, but since his book matches him up with Marguerite, that should be fun.

All in all, a lot of fun. For the ultimate endorsement: when I read the last 100 pages of this, I was unwise enough to be sat cross-legged on the floor, a dangerous prospect now I’ve reached the ripe old age of 35. Maybe some 35-year-olds can still do that comfortably, but my ability to do that for any length of time can best be described as limited.

Apparently I could do it just fine for the 40 minutes I spent raptly reading the last 115 pages of this without shifting an inch. I was somewhat less able to creak to my feet again afterwards, though…

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)