Poisoned Blade
- Authors: Kate Elliott
- Series: Book 2 in the Court of Fives series
- Type: Novel
- Genres: Young adult fantasy
- Rank:
- Rating: 4.5 based on 404 reviews
- Release Date: August 16, 2016
- Print length: 480 pages (Hardcover)
About the book
In this thrilling sequel to World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's captivating young adult debut, a girl immersed in a high-stakes competition holds the fate of a kingdom in her hands.
Now a Challenger, Jessamy is moving up the ranks of the Fives - the complex athletic contest favored by the lowliest Commoners and the loftiest Patrons alike. Pitted against far more formidable adversaries, success is Jes' only option, as her prize money is essential to keeping her hidden family alive. She leaps at the chance to tour the countryside and face more competitors, but then a fatal attack on her traveling party puts Jes at the center of the war that Lord Kalliarkos - the prince she still loves - is fighting against their country's enemies. With a sinister overlord watching her every move and Kal's life on the line, Jes must now become more than a Fives champion.... She must become a warrior.
Accolades
Praise for Poisoned Blade
Jes makes for a worthy heroine, as bold and daring as she is endearing. One of the best things about this series is that the characters--heroes and baddies alike--are vividly real, their motives and emotions often fierce but always recognizable.
Kate Elliott adds to her fantastical Court of Fives series with Poisoned Blade, and fans won't be disappointed.
Anyone who things Young Adult fiction can't successfully handle themes like a culture's endurance in defiance of colonialism, the myriad socio-economic factors leading toward revolution, or racial and/or gender inequality, needs to read these books.
With strong characters and vivid worldbuilding that refuses to oversimplify individuals, cultures, and the opposing forces they represent, this sequel to Court of Fives (2015) blends emotional intelligence, passionate idealism, and realpolitik in a plot ending at the cliff's edge of revolutionary change. At once nuanced and thrilling--a worthy sequel.
Stellar description and pacing. [Elliott's] eye for detail is extraordinary, and descriptions of court life are very evocative.
About the author
