The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
Locke Lamora meets a bunch of video game quests in this immensely entertaining yet derivative summer blockbuster of a novel
The Silverblood Promise was one of the most hyped fantasy books of the year and pretty much figured in a lot of the most anticipated book lists of the year. After finishing this book over a 5-hour train ride, I am happy to say the hype is warranted. The Silverblood Promise is like a typical summer blockbuster but the comparison to a video game is closer to reality. The book has quite an easy pace to it and a lead character easy to root for. Add in a fun, smart, snarky, & adorable sidekick, a murder investigation that morphs into something big and sticky yet funny situations, this book is a total winner. BTW there is a gorgeous cover to immediately entice you in also.
Lukan Gordova, as he is introduced, presents an almost Locke Lamora type of character – sneaky, charming, accomplished liar and cheat – an almost friendly rogue but also one who hides a significant history of being a disgraced heir of an ancient house, that causes him pain and regret. The dying words of his estranged father captured in 3 blood written words fills him with a new purpose and he embarks on a journey to Saphrona, the city of merchant princes to find a person his father had written down. This marks where the book starts to resemble a video game, wherein Lukan has to complete quest after quest while seeking to find what this father meant. Lukan’s mission gets increasingly complicated as he runs into a variety of characters – a blind man who may not be blind, a forger with an agenda of her own, the premier master thief of Saphrona, the king(s) of the underground as well as the inquisition and the nobility of Saphrona among other – even as his mission morphs into a larger conspiracy. Lukan also finds himself with a loveable sidekick named Flea, an 11-year-old girl from the streets who brings all the experience and savviness that Lukan lacks.
“I believe in the strength of steel, friend Lekaan! In the color of courage, in the —” “Language of lies?”
There is a certain deliciousness to the writing itself – the book is incredibly easy to read and follow and there is significant relish in the character interactions. The pitter-patter nature of the dialog with every character striving to get in the last (snarky) word is almost a combination of Aaron Sorkin & MCU and you can’t help but stifle many a chuckle at the situations Lukan finds himself in. You can count on Lukan to make a bad situation worse at any given instant. The banter between characters is quite funny and provides the soul to this book. James Logan has built the world incredibly and makes the city of Saphrona a living breathing entity in itself. While the action is predominantly just focused on Saphrona, the author teases ancient history of this world as well as provides tantalizing hints to the other worlds that exist. There is also a tease on magical system in this world akin to what neural drives of Jaeger pilots in Pacific Rim experience and there is a Sandworm-equivalent Water Worm in this world that acts as a public executioner. There is just so much to cover and yet these are just the teases to the primary mystery at play and how it influences Lukan’s actions.
“ I don’t take well to idle threats” “There was nothing idle about it”
The video game nature of quest upon quest however casts a slightly negative impression on Lukan. For most parts, Lukan comes across as a character with pretty limited agency and given his tendency to shoot his mouth, someone who can make any bad situation unfailingly worse. It is possibly towards the last section of the book that we feel Lukan is someone who has now taken charge – obviously there is a plan that is more seat of the pants than anything to avoid the impending catastrophe but those sequences demonstrate his resourcefulness and quick thinking. It is, in fact, Flea who acts as the wiser older head despite being very young. As a child of the street, who has seen many hardships, Flea demonstrates the kind of ruthlessness and decisiveness that Lukan lacks despite Lukan being the lead of the story on paper. Flea acts like the audience surrogate for Lukan’s increasingly worsening and desperate situation and delivers many a cuff to Lukan as the audience mostly would want to.
“I appreciate your wits and courage, Master Gardova, if not your subtlety”
“We play the roles we best suited for. My expertise lies in deception and pulling certain strings from the shadows, as you put it. Yours, Master Gardova, appears to lie in making a nuisance of yourself”
“He can think on his feet and seems to know his way around a fight—” “Those are two of my better qualities”, Lukan said with a grin “—although he could certainly learn to keep this mouth shut”
The book is very difficult to put down as the situation becomes increasingly dire and Lukan caught in the middle of it. Literally, every Chekov’s gun that the author places goes off and tantalizingly teases what else lies in store in the upcoming books. Spoiler alert: Lukan’s quest continues as another clue comes to light and he now has to travel to yet another place. Again, technically that isn’t a spoiler but a feature of how James Logan has structured this series. I quite look forward to reading the other books and hopefully, they aren’t too delayed.
“You can’t escape the past, Lukan. It’s our lifelong companion, always at our side”
The Silverblood Promise is a summer blockbuster written as a video game that is a good fun fast-paced read that while being derivative, never feels old or hackneyed. Come for a revenge based murder investigation novel and stay for some of the most fun situations, intriguing characters, and tantalizing world-building stemming from the mind of James Logan. A total blast end-to-end
Rating – 4.5 Water-Worms on 5