Malevolent Seven by Sebastian de Castell

 With one foot firmly set in snark-land, and a tongue firmly in the cheek, Sebastian de Castell has given us a tale about heroes with a skewed moral compass who do not give a flying fuck unless it involves a monetary payment. 

     The tale is told from the POV of Cade, a wonderist AKA a Mage, or a wizard, and a man with a bit of a conscious. The current buyer of his services has rubbed Cade the wrong way, asking him to go beyond the agreed services Cade and his companions were paid to perform. As the story progresses Cade goes from cad to hero, a nice trope that has been a winner since Casablanca. Probably other stuff before that used the trope, but nothing comes to mind as it is late at night and I am taking shots of this bottle of Korean apple flavored Soju which is not my cup of tea but I need to make room in the fridge. 

     There is a very nice pace to the story. There are some nice plot twists along the way. There are secondary characters that are fleshed out. All elements that contribute to the readability of the book. I have to admit that Sebastian de Castell Greatcoats series is one of my favorites in the fantasy genre. If you have not read that series, you are missing out. It has a nice "3 Musketeers" vibe.  So, I went into the read with an inclination to like it. I also should admit I met Sebastian at World Con Helsinki and he is an extremely likable person.    

I do not know if this is a tip of the cap to the great 1954 Japanese film classic Seven Samurai. Or maybe it just that seven has so many symbolic meanings that lends itself to being in the title that sells. I hope this is a good seller. It is a good, humorous read, perfect for summer. 

Previous books I have read and love that have the same humorous writing style as this book are Nicholas Eames' King of the Wild, David Wragg's Black Hawks, and Mark Lawrence's Wheel of Osheim series. Not to mention everything Joe Abercrombie writes, 

Woman Of the Sword. A Warrior with Child-Care Issues? Yes, and it is a great read.

 The main character is one that I, as a reader, do not run into in most fantasy books. Yes, maybe a minor character or two in a few books I have read. Lidea is a mother with two children, a recent widow and a retired warrior. Normally the children are dead. Or grown enough to take care of themselves. The story opens up on Lidea, pre motherhood, the warrior in battle. The next chapter Lidea is burning the body of her dead husband, dealing with two children, ages 8 and 5, when the world crashes in. A good portion of the book is spent with the reader in the thoughts of Lidea, whose thoughts a lot of readers will identify with. The notion that you never had any true choices in life.  You changed what you wanted, because someone you loved wanted something else.  

       Things I really liked about this Book.

      The battle scenes are told through the eye of Lidea, a foot soldier, who gets a limited view of the battle.  Lidea changes sides after each battle, some by luck, sometimes with help of others. Having read Christian Cameron's Chivalry series, it is a concept I have ran across before, that foot soldiers change sides because it really does not matter who you fight for sometimes, rather it is based on who will feed and pay you. (A shout out for the really inexpensive Historical Fiction series Chivalry by Christian Cameron, who also has a cool YouTube series on Medieval weaponry and how to fight with them.)

      Anna Smith Sparks writing style. When Lidea suffers a metal breakdown the reader suffers with her as Spark's paints the pressure of the situation brilliantly. The reader gets torn apart emotionally as Lidea is torn apart by deceit, love and responsibility. 

 I hope some Hugo voters will nominate Borodin for this fabulous cover. I like it when the cover art is from a scene in the book, a throwback to those Fantasy books covers I loved as a kid.