Cav's Place

I wanted something light, that would be quick and easy to read, to finally start this year’s reading list, and the fact that it still took me too long to finish is not the fault of the book, The Cardinal’s Blades definitely checking those boxes. It’s a swashbuckling adventure set in an alternate history, with some fantasy elements that largely remain in the background and main characters who can fight their way out of just about anything thanks to incredible skills with sword and pistol and an even more incredible amount of luck. There is a moment when things may seem different, but then it’s made clear that hardly anything can really happen to them, no matter the odds or the situation, so you can just read along, without any concerns. And the short chapters and the sequence of the scenes also help to keep you reading.
Of course, you shouldn’t expect any depth from something like this. The setting and atmosphere are suitable but little more than just what’s necessary, the characters are stereotypical, any mysteries are solved either quickly or not at all, and there’s no room for words of wisdom or thought-provoking moments. And knowing that all encounters will be over quickly and the main characters will always come out on top means that there’s hardly any tension either. But it is rather weird that other injuries are shrugged off or healed in no time, but one particular one remains throughout the book. And the last part seems like an awfully rushed attempt to tie up all the loose ends but still finish with a cliffhanger that struck me as both unnecessary and pulled completely out of nowhere.

Rating: 3/5