So...I picked this one up just because it was compared to Locke Lamora on the cover, but...no. Not even close. I was also reading it because I was under the weather and wanting something entertaining. It even failed that test. I didn't care about this dude or his sword. His ambitions seemed lame and his traits narrative-driven. Ex. skill in climbing walls. Just a "meh" from me.

It’s pretty rare for a book to really surprise me, since I normally already know quite a bit about the book, be it from reading reviews written by friends of mine or because I found it in a catalogue and it piqued my interest. ‘The Boy with the Porcelain Blade’ is a book that was on my radar since last year. It popped up quite a bit on social media, so my expectations were high. I can’t say all of them were met, but this was a great, solid debut novel. The story itself succeeded in surprising me and giving me a story that was unique and intelligent, at times a bit crazy and overall very imaginative.

The main character and the focus of this book is Lucien ‘Sinestra’ de Fontein. He is an Orfano, a deformed orphan that was left on the steps of the noble houses, or the Great Houses as they are called here. Lucien isn’t the only Orfano, there are a few of them and it is a big mystery where they’re from and what the reason is for their deformities. All of them have different disfigurements and though they are all accepted in one of the Great Houses, they aren’t loved. They are looked upon with fear and sometimes horror. But for some reason the nobles educate them and give them a chance to earn the name of their families. All these Great Houses can be found in the vast castle of Demesne, all of them linked and involved in constant rivalry, assassinations and political intrigue like only noble houses in a Fantasy tale can. The King also lives in this castle, but no one has seen him in years. He rules his Kingdom of Landfall mostly through his majordomo, a repulsive, old creature that walks around cloaked, with an impressive staff and a collection of swarming flies in the fold of his cloak.
It’s pretty clear from the very beginning that Lucien is having a tough time in the castle. We meet him as he is waiting to enter the testing chamber for his final trail, at age 18. Failing can mean expulsion or even worse, death. Taking the test is Maestro Superiore di Spada Giancarlo, the man Lucien hates most and probably the man who hates Lucien the most too. What happens during this test is the beginning of a rollercoaster of a tale that will push Lucien to his limits and beyond.

I absolutely loved the setting of this book. It has a definite Italian feel to it, from the decorations in the chambers to the clothing and the names. Having seen many Western, Oriental and desert settings in the books I’ve read lately, this Italian atmosphere was new and fresh. It also fitted the story perfectly. If something is typical about tales set in historical Italy, it is that it is full of arrogant nobility, intrigue, assassinations and lavish costumes. All of this can be found in ‘The Boy with the Porcelain Blade’.
The concept of the ‘Orfano’ is also very interesting. It’s all very mysterious: their ancestry, their deformities, the fact that Lucien for example bleeds clear fluid that turns blue and that Dino cries tears of blood. It gives them all something dark and gothic. When the truth about them was revealed I was a bit flabbergasted. I definitely hadn’t seen that one coming and I’m still not sure if I really like the explanation or not. I guess opinions will be divided about this plot twist. It’s a startling one and frankly also a pretty weird one. If this is something you like, this book will be a real hit for you.

In between the chapters where we follow Lucien in the present there are flashback chapters. This way of storytelling has become common in Fantasy books and here it was a very good addition to the flow of the story. It takes us back to key points in Lucien’s past where we learn little bits of information that all come together smoothly in the action-packed climax.
Lucien’s character was one I clicked with immediately. He was fleshed out really good and took you along in his story like you were there. Giancarlo was another character that was masterfully written, so cruel and treating Lucien so unfairly that it made my skin crawl.
I fell in love with Dino, though he isn’t particularly a character that has a lot of moments in the spotlight, he was just written in this certain way that charmed me from the very beginning. The other characters all have a distinctive role and none of them felt flat or unnecessary, everything just knitted together wonderfully.

Den Patrick’s writing is very good, no doubt about it. I read the book in just a few sittings, totally immersed in the story and the writing. He knows how to captivate his audience.
I liked ‘The Boy with the Porcelain Blade’, it’s a really good book and a great debut. It does have a few shortcomings and the major plottwist made me frown a bit. Like I said before, I’m still not sure how I feel about it, it’s either genius or weird. But if I look at the book as a whole, then I have to admit that it is a well written, dark book full of mystery, intrigue and awesome swordfights. Bring on the next book in the Erebus sequence!

Politics, love, and ravens. Well written, and nice way of showing how a character has evolved.

Beautifully written.

The book was okay, and it had an amazing concept. But the book lacked excitement for me, and it was ,at times, difficult to keep up with book. For me it was also one of those books where I had to force my self in to reading, and that is wrong. Reading should be a choice, not an obligation.
So overall the concept of the book was good, but still eh?!

Now what to call this one? Most of the action takes place in a castle, like 95% of the book (makes me think of Mervyn Peake). There is somewhat of a Gothic Darkness over the whole castles area. A king who no one sees and who seems to be immortal. People going missing and of course the Orfanos. The king has ordered that they should be treated well so they are all in "school". Some of these Orfanos are very deformed while some like Lucien got lucky, he has no ears, but it ends there. They, the nobles, and everyone really have their own intrigues and lots of backstabbing going on here.

The whole fantasy feel is also different. The world is Italian of a sort, but then some names and myths are mentioned. It made me think that a bunch if Italians got on a ship and got ship wrecked on a mythical island. And there they are stuck, for all time and we can't find them. And island of their own horror.

The book is told through flashbacks of his life growing up and the tests he had to take. And present time when he gets into trouble. The end is open in a way, it has a conclusion for him, but I do wonder about what happens next.

I liked it. At first I was not sure about the flashbacks cos I really wanted to know what would happen to Lucien, and not see what happened before. I do hate waiting.

It had a got set up, putting you in the middle of the action and letting you slowly work things out, but some of the writing was confusing, In certain places it felt like a sentence or two that would have situated the view point was missing.

Before you jump in to this book I think it's fair that you be warned that is a rather dark book and that sexual assault plays a key role in the plot. This warning is a spoiler, which is why I've hidden the entire review. It's not discussed in detail but the entire story does hinge on it.

The format of the story was a bit off-putting at the beginning as it is laid out with one chapter in the present and one chapter in the past. It was easy to get used to and there was some added tension with the two story lines headed for a collision near the end. By the end of the book the use of this story layout was a good method of exposition without actually taking a foray in to the dreaded morass of the info dump. The use of this device took some careful crafting on the part of Den Patrick and he handled it very well, using it for character development, back story, and to create tension. I have seen similar devices fail and make books unenjoyable and I was glad to see it employed properly here.

The story revolves around a rather small central cast of characters with Lucien being at the forefront as the protagonist. He is Orfano, a small protected class, all of whom are deformed in some manner. It is not evident why the Orfani are protected, educated, and trained and it is clear that they do not know either. Lucien is a rather stereotypical rebellious teenager and even though the trope is obvious he is written well enough to be engaging and interesting.

The world building is interesting as it is limited to a single castle like entity and some very small range of land beyond it. The factions are, from a high level, multiple houses with varying degrees of influence, a king who is never seen by his people and his majordomo, the staff, and the Orfani. These factions provide a nice backdrop for a story that's all about intrigue to begin with. While some of the intrigue doesn't become apparent until about halfway through the book it's easy to look back and see that it was there before it was noticed and I really liked that.

I am glad the cast was kept relatively small because the relationship development between the characters was rather important to the overall story and a larger cast would have most likely led to bogged down slog of a read, which this wasn't. There are some chapters that are a little bit of a slog but that's only because you want to get back to whichever story line was more interesting. I suppose this might be a downside of using that device as I found myself skimming to get back to one or the other more often than I'd like. Of course I forced myself to slow down and in the end it was worth it.

The ending, while satisfying, felt a little rushed as the alternating chapter device came to its inevitable slamming both storylines together. I really like how the story ended but I wish it had been handled with a little more care. It's not often I say this but I would have liked an extra chapter or two giving a little more detail at the end just so it didn't feel as forced.

While The Boy with the Porcelain Blade is the first of a series it does not end in a cliff hanger. I appreciate this because I fell that the cliffhanger is used all too often and it's become rather trite in most instances. There is plenty more that could be told about this world and I expect that I will enjoy the rest of the series as much as I enjoyed the first installment. If you like a lot of intrigue and don't mind the subject matter then I would recommend this book.