The Tyrants Law

He's a terrible person, you know. But he's also not.

While reviewing the passages I highlighted a common theme appeared: love and betrayal. The Tyrant's Law explores the fine line between loyalty and betrayal and how if it's done for love all can be forgiven.

Pick any atrocity you want, and someone will be able to justify it out of something they can love. Anything can wear love like a cloak.

Clara is a self described loyal traitor. She does what she feels is just for the right seasons. Yet nearly every character The Tyrant's Law would probably describe themselves that way. Geder is alone and overrun with power, Cithrin betrays the love of a man for what she believes is right, Marcus is loyal and walks away from love for what is right.

It was easier for them not to weigh their loyalty against their conscience.

With every POV character we have had an opportunity to explore their motives, see them make an easy decision with difficult, or the opposite. What I am enjoying with The Dagger and Coin series is the characters and the journey they take, both literally and figuratively, through their world.

I'm afraid that all the world's like that. A long chain of men and women speaking what they believe as clearly as they can, and the truth leaking out like they were trying to hold water in their fists.

The third instalment in the series continues to move the story and grow characters. There has been a bit more exploration in the 'fantasy' aspect of the series and that is also adding to my enjoyment.
The Spider Blood goddess, awakening of Inys and the mythical relics from the time of the dragon age are sought and uncovered.

I'm fully committed to the series and will keep on charging to the finish line with only two books left.

I loved this book! The first book in this series was difficult to get into but I'm glad I did, since I enjoyed this one so much.

These books are rare fantasy novels that feel relevant to the modern world. As I write this in 2018, our world has become driven by people who feel only certainty, and have no respect for reality or honesty. Their followers surround themselves with reinforcing narratives and tune out the evidence that doesn't fit.

In a move reminiscent of good sci-fi, these books take that idea of belief as a weapon and turn it into a supernatural threat. The most dangerous thing in this fantasy world is false certainty, against which doubt is our only weapon. (Well, it's one of our two weapons: the other one is a magic sword. This is high fantasy, after all.)

In this book, we start to see the effects of that certainty: an evil empire has arisen, and the nations of the world are realizing how helpless they are against it. Our heroes, a little older and wiser than they used to be, are struggling to find a way even to fight it.

I've always enjoyed Marcus and Cithrin, but in this book we get to see a lot more of Master Kit and a whole new side of Clara Kalliam. Their adventures here are entertaining, but the looming advance of the Empire gives them a grim undertone. As a middle book, the conclusion isn't very conclusive, but in this case it just left me that much more excited for the next one.

I've turned around in my opinion of the villain Palliako: I used to despise him, but the more I read the more I sympathize with him. If he had been left to his books and his hobbies, he would never have harmed anybody, but it was just that isolation and social ineptitude that made him the vessel through which all this harm has been done. It's tragic. Of course, I still hope he gets his head chopped off.

My only complaint with these books is that the prose is a little clunky at times. The directness of the author's voice is effective at getting the point across, but sometimes leaves the more high-flying fantasy elements feeling flat.

Overall, highly recommended to fans of smart fantasy (start with the first book, of course).