I know, I know. I could easily have finished Paladin’s Faith by T. Kingfisher yesterday if I hadn’t been social. But it wasn’t “responsibility” social, it was “relaxing” social. And also I got to pack boxes of books and will at some point gain an additional bookshelf, so it’s a very good thing.
Now, the book. I suspected on Thursday that the series will eventually have seven volumes, one for each of the Saint of Steel’s surviving paladins. Kind of like I think that Swordheart will be one of three, but that’s slightly irrelevant to today’s post. The point being that only seven paladins survived the Saint of Steel’s death, and I’ve now read four books where one of those paladins is the romantic lead. First Stephen, knitting his socks. Then Istvhan who found a woman nearly as big as he is…most of the time. After that, Galen found a man who understands and complements him. Now it’s Shane, the paladin who was raised in the temple of the Dreaming God, and would have preferred to hunt demons instead of being a berserker.
Although the two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Anyway, there’s three paladins left; Marcus (I think that’s his name?), Wren, and Judith. There’s the revelation from the end of Paladin’s Hope to deal with, which led to Judith up and leaving the Temple of the White Rat between books three and four without a word. But it’s not particularly relevant right now.
I suppose before I really dive into Paladin’s Faith I should start by looking at the cover and seeing what it tells us. This one’s in green tones, and uses many of the same fiery designs as Paladin’s Strength. There are rats and skulls as usual, plus a snowflake and a tower. The center image is a broken sword (think Narsil’s hilt from The Lord of the Rings) above a grasping hand. The fingers are crooked like claws, which gives it a negative connotation.
Now, in most cases a broken sword is a symbol. It represents something shattered, something broken, something that might or might not be made whole. (Since romance is as important as plot in these books, the “made whole” aspect could be assumed.) Broken swords are still sharp, with their jagged edges, and can cut you, even kill you.
Of course, a broken sword could also just be a broken sword. It is remarked in at least one of these volumes (maybe today’s?) that the Saint of Steel’s paladins are somewhat rough on their gear. Someone asks one of them if his sword has a name. The paladin is utterly confused. Unless the sword was very special and indestructible, or close enough to it, why bother? Yes, he’ll have to get another, but it’s clearly not the first time. He’s a berserker. If his sword breaks, he keeps going.
So, even though the hand in conjunction with the broken sword implies a negative connotation, sometimes a broken sword is just a broken sword in need of replacement or repair.
Shane is not the lead we’re introduced to first though. That would be his love interest, and as with Paladin’s Hope, this is a character we’ve seen before. Although, like with Piper last book, you could be forgiven for forgetting Marguerite. She’s not been seen since Paladin’s Grace.
Marguerite is a spy. She is also friend to Grace, Stephen’s perfumer love. And she would serve as Grace’s agent while using those perfumes to acquire information. She was originally sent to Archenhold by her masters, but problems arose and she ended up working for herself.
Since she disappeared rather suddenly in Paladin’s Hope, she’s been lying low. However, something very important has come up. We learned in Paladin’s Strength that Morstone and its Sealords have a monopoly on the salt trade and protect it viciously. But an artificer has come up with a device that would allow others to produce the salt they need and thus compete with the Sealords. Specifically to compete with the spy and trade network known as the Red Sail. Some of whom have promised they won’t harm Marguerite…others who will go to great lengths to kill her. The right and left hands know absolutely nothing about what the other is doing, so to speak.
Marguerite has brought this information to the Temple of the White Rat because she knows that the Rat and its operations stand to benefit as much as the next person. Plus, it could break the Sealords’ hold over Morstone and perhaps allow for an actual government to rise up there, relieving some of the Rat’s burden there. All she wants is for Bishop Beartongue to lend her a couple paladins to protect her and provide cover while they go figure out where the artificer is, and then get said individual to safety where even the Red Sail can’t touch them.
The paladins are Shane (obviously) and Wren, allowing us to actually get to know one of the two women for the first time. I mentioned that Shane grew up in the Dreaming God’s temple. This is obviously going to become relevant. Not just because early in their journey the two Saint of Steel paladins end up helping some Dreaming God paladins (and priests) deal with a demon. But because the Dreaming God’s people warn them that they’ve heard rumors of an old and powerful demon up north, although they haven’t been able to find out exactly where it’s hiding.
As you can see, there is a lot going on in this book. Hardly surprising, given how much longer it is than the third. Of course, the third is the shortest in the series by a long shot.
But I do appreciate that we have recurring characters beyond the obvious, a chance to meet people who were only faceless names before, a chance to see what effects previous adventures have on the world, and a gradual unfolding of some of the deeper mysteries that readers always want to know. There’s so much going on in this world, not unlike our own, and the most surprising events can have ramifications for our heroes.
The story is also very clearly not over. Like Paldin’s Hope, Paladin’s Faith has a bit at the very end hinting at a future story direction. But I suspect that the one seen here won’t be followed up until that seventh volume. Or at least, not followed up in the specific way that any reader would want until then.
There are, I’ve mentioned, two other novels in this world. The two oldest, I think. (The second of them seems to have been released the same year as Swordheart and I don’t actually feel like looking up their exact dates right now.) I’m not entirely certain what Vernon’s current project is. I don’t remember if she mentioned that at the Q&A in March, and even if she did, she’s definitely got some ADD or ADHD diagnosis which implies that the book she ends up releasing next might not necessarily be in the same specific series she’s been primarily working on for the past four years or so. She does have multiple series and multiple worlds, so while I might have a preference, I’d rather see her working on whichever book inspires her most at the moment. I don’t want books to become a chore for the author.
I mean, I know writing books is real work. But there’s a difference between Vernon putting out whichever book interests her most next and Mercedes Lackey churning out another Valdemar book because that’s her flagship series and the publisher demands one a year to keep sales up.
Plus Valdemar isn’t necessarily romance and romance is having a field day right now. Hence why “romantasy” is the new big thing. Because romance means a lighter read with a happier ending, but many of the people wanting that are still motivated by an actual story and plot in addition to a feel-good romance. And fantasy is great. Let’s have magic and nonhumans and all sorts of fun stuff.
I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye on Ursula Vernon writing as T. Kingfisher and what she releases. I’ll probably have to go back and get those other two books as well. I overlooked them in part because they seem to be more steampunk and that subgenre’s always been hit and miss for me. But I’ve trusted the woman this far and I doubt she’s going to lead me astray. At least, not with The Kingfisher’s books. The ones under her own name I’ll have to consider as the opportunity arises. But Paladin’s Faith was just as good, if not better in some ways, than all of its predecessors in this series and I’m so happy to have finally read it.
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