Brainfullofbooks

 Kel dreams of greater things with his friend Cas—voyages, far off lands, and pirate gold—and in the end he gets a grander adventure than any he could have predicted.  His life is flipped upside down when he suddenly becomes the sword catcher: the body double to Prince Conor Aurelian.  Kel takes his place whenever necessary to protect the prince from danger.  Lin is a physician and that is no easy accomplishment.   She becomes a healer despite all the roadblocks in her path by simply being a woman.  But that is not the only thing that marks her as “other”.  She is one of the Ashkar: the only people to maintain a spark of magic after the sundering made all other remnants of it disappear.  These two unlikely friends are the main characters of Cassandra Claire’s Sword Catcher. The book constantly switches back and forth between their POV’s, so the entire story is told through their eyes.

The Jewish representation of the Ashkari people enchanted me.  reflecting historical Jewish experiences , the Ashkari are a part of society but also separate.  They’re tolerated—but barely—by the people of the city who look down on them and mistrust the Ashkari.  The emotional distance becomes a physical one with their ghetto like neighborhood. They even have a curfew.  At several points The characters make it clear that other cities have driven out the Ashkar because of hatred and even murdered them. One of the most prominent side characters is still traumatized by the slaughter of her people.  She barely escaped with her life to find a new home in a different city: it can’t be any clearer that the Ashkar were inspired by the Jewish experience.  Most fantasy books don’t have such representation—in fact I can’t think of a single other novel in the genre that does anything similar.  So, I applaud Cassandra Claire for drawing on Jewish culture, history, and experiences as inspiration for her latest book.

One of the most important aspects for readers is “ships” or relationships.  Who has feelings for who and who falls in love?  The good news is that while this book doesn’t have too much romance there are more than enough potential couples to “ship”.  Potential being the operative word.  Cassandra Claire seems to be hinting at two separate couples and I have to say I’m slightly disappointed.  I thought Kel and Lin would end up together, but it doesn’t seem so.  At least not yet, though Claire may lead toward that in the next books.  In fact, I heard that in one interview she claimed they were the ultimate romance of the book.  Since I didn’t hear that myself, I’m not sold.  It could be wrong, though I hope not. but it certainly seems that Sword Catcher is pointing in the opposite direction.  Despite that, there are hints that the current pairing might be shaken up in the future with secrets.  And there is also the question: with Lin being who she is can she and Prince Conor really end up together?

  I loved Sword Catcher but through the entire book I couldn’t help wondering what happened to Cas.  At first, I thought we would defintely see him again.  Maybe he would become a pirate who reconnected with his old friend when he attacked a ship and took captive who he thought was the prince but turned out to be Kel.  Or maybe he would turn out to be the mysterious figure of the ragpicker king: the ruler of the city’s underworld.  Unfortunately, all my hopes were unfounded.  I don’t think it’s spoiling anything to say that after the first chapter or so Kel’s first friend from the orphanage essentially disappears.  He never reappears and he isn’t even mentioned that often, leaving readers to question his fate.  It’s a mystery we as the audience may never have the answers to though I certainly hope we find out at some point.  It could be that she doesn’t plan to reintroduce him.  After all, in real life once people move or part ways they don’t always meet again.  My own hungry curiosity won’t let me believe it.  I have to know that he turned out okay.  And in any case, there are some tell tale hints she might.  She did make such a big deal out of him in the beginning, and she isn’t letting readers forget about him.  Then there is the marble. . .a little trinket that could turn into a telltale sign to confirm Kel’s identity to him later.  In any case, readers have a long time to wait before they get any more answers.  Casandra Clare’s book The Ragpicker King won’t come out until 2025 so we have a whole year to wait.  I know, it seems impossible to wait that long but time will fly by before we know it.