The Court of Broken Knives
Empires of Dust, Book 1
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The Court of Broken Knives
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Narrated by:
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Colin Mace
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Meriel Rosenkranz
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By:
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Anna Smith Spark
About this listen
Perfect for fans of Mark Lawrence and R. Scott Bakker, The Court of Broken Knives is the explosive debut by one of grimdark fantasy's most exciting new voices.
They've finally looked at the graveyard of our empire with open eyes. They're fools and madmen and like the art of war. And their children go hungry while we piss gold and jewels into the dust.
In the richest empire the world has ever known, the city of Sorlost has always stood, eternal and unconquered. But in a city of dreams governed by an imposturous emperor, decadence has become the true ruler and has blinded its inhabitants to their vulnerability. The empire is on the verge of invasion - and only one man can see it.
Haunted by dreams of the empire's demise, Orhan Emmereth has decided to act. On his orders, a company of soldiers cross the desert to reach the city. Once they enter the palace, they have one mission: kill the emperor, then all those who remain. Only from ashes can a new empire be built.
The company is a group of good, ordinary soldiers for whom this is a mission like any other. But the strange boy Marith who walks among them is no ordinary soldier. Marching on Sorlost, Marith thinks he is running away from the past which haunts him. But in the Golden City, his destiny awaits him - beautiful, bloody, and more terrible than anyone could have foreseen.
©2017 Anna Smith-Spark (P)2017 HarperCollins PublishersCritic reviews
‘Anna Smith Spark is a dynamic new voice in the field of grimly baroque fantasy, a knowing and witty provisioner of the Grand Guignol, a cheerful undertaker strolling across the graveyard and beckoning you to admire her newest additions.’
Scott Lynch
‘This outstanding, unputdownable debut holds and horrifies like a blood-spattered tapestry. There’s rough humour, high drama and a love of story-telling that shines through every page’ -Daily Mail
‘A confident first novel with deep veins of vice and brutality running through it, heralding the start of an atmospheric new series’ -SFX
‘Smith-Spark’s style, like her story stretches the envelope of conventions . . . the writing is skilful, the descriptions evocative, the dialogue sparks entertainingly, while the plot twists, turns and branches sinuously . . . an innovative and entertaining debut’ FantasyFaction
‘This is a tumultuous, often nihilistic world – but also one where there is potential for great beauty . . . I had to keep on turning pages to see what happens next’ -SFandF Reviews
‘Beautifully inventive as it is brutally evocative . . . Anna Smith Spark’s voice is equal parts mesmerising as it is magical . . . Once you get into the flow of things, you’ve dragged along, sucked down into the depths, and when you come back up you’ll be gasping for air’ -Fantasy Book Critic
‘Fierce, gripping fantasy, exquisitely written; bitter, funny and heart-rending by turns’ -Adrian Tchaikovsky
What listeners say about The Court of Broken Knives
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Peet
- 04-23-19
cardboard characters
Colin Mace is a brilliant narrator, but the addicted prince quite unbelievable, please help me...
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Marco Selmo
- 06-24-21
A surprisingly charming book
This has been a pleasant surprise.
Anna Smith Spark has a way to merge ancient legends high poetry with the gritty, dirty and cruel reality in a way I never read before.
General:
The plot is interesting at first, it's a slow burner. The world building is well paced, not too much at one time. The fantasy elements are cool and kept vague and mysterious (appreciated it). Nations, families and languages, were a bit similar, so in audio form it's harder at first to keep them separated. I give only 4 stars for that minor thing and some choices torwards the end of the book I wished were different.
Narrator:
Both narrators were amazing, perfect for the setting and characters. The voices are different and don't mix. My only major issue, especially at the start, were Colin's odd pauses.
For some reason he breaks down phrases in a weird fashion, not only with other nations languages (which I would understand), but also with English ones.
You get used to it, but at first it halted the flow for me.
Other than this, the narration is perfect.
Content:
The story is good, the setting is super interesting for me. A mix of Paulo Cohelo's The Alchemist, Game of Thrones (on a smaller, manageable scale) with a sprinkle of fantasy elements (dragons!). I was engaged right away.
Being a grimdark fan, I was satisfied by the morally gray characters, their choices and their flaws. The battles were truly well written, quite gripping and crude. What sold the book for me are the details: we are in a world of jewels, silks and sand, where an emperor is regarded as a God, blood and ancestors are legends. it feels like an old tale from the Middle East... and then there's shit, gore, blood, sweat, tears, puke and addiction.
Now that's grimdark.
A great recommendation, I will certainly pick up the next book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AK Alliss
- 01-15-20
Dark, but beautifully written and performed
If you like your fantasy dark, unrepentant and well written, this is the book for you. A psychopath God King and his merry men set out to murder an Emperor with unexpected results.
The story can meander, but the writing and performances are so good it's not a chore. The violence does get a bit tedious, but I do feel it's meant to underpin the central protagonists exposure to it and what it has all cost them.
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