Book Review :: Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare
ISBN: 052562001X
Series: The Chronicles of Castellane #1
Published by Del Rey Books
on 16 July 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 624
Goodreads

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.

Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword Catcher--the body double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He and Conor are as close as brothers, but his destiny is to die for Conor. No other future is possible.
Lin Caster is a physician from a small community whose members still possess magical abilities. But despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend without access to forbidden knowledge.

After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the ruler of Castellane's criminal underworld. But as long-kept secrets begin to unravel and forbidden attractions arise, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war--and the world into chaos?

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What is Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare about?

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare is a fantasy set in the city-state of Castellane, where nobles and criminals alike are chasing wealth, power, and the next thrill.

Kel is an orphan who was taken from his old life to become the Sword Catcher – the body double of Prince Conor Aurelian. He’s been raised alongside the prince, trained in combat and statecraft, and the two are as close as brothers. But Kel knows his purpose: to die in Conor’s place if it comes to it. No other future exists for him.

“I am the Prince’s shield. I am his unbreakable armor. I bleed that he might not bleed. I suffer that he might never suffer. I die that he might live forever.”

Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a community with magical abilities who are required by law to live behind walls within the city. She’s a physician who ventures out to treat the sick, but she can’t save her best friend, who has an illness, without access to knowledge she’s forbidden to have.

A failed assassination attempt brings Kel and Lin together, and the two are pulled into the orbit of the Ragpicker King – the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each exactly what they want. But the deeper they go, the more they realise there’s a conspiracy running through the whole city, from the lowest streets to the highest seats of power.

As secrets come apart, they have to decide what they’re willing to risk. Because what they’ve found could start a war – and change everything.

My thoughts on Sword Catcher

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I went into Sword Catcher – probably one of the reasons it’s been sitting on my bookshelf since it came out in 2023 (I read this in 2026, oops).

Being incredibly familiar with the Shadowhunter world that Clare created (yes, I’m still reading them, and yes I am up to date), I knew it was going to be interesting reading something from Clare that wasn’t in this world.

And she did not disappoint.

Characters

I loved the characters in this book. Kel (while I didn’t like his name because Kel is one of the main characters in one of my fave series by VE Schwab, A Darker Shade of Magic, and it was off-putting reading about another ‘Kel’ that wasn’t my Kel, ya know?) is this man with a purpose, even if that purpose is just to be Conor when needed, die in place if needed. He knows his fate, he knows his role.

Conor and Kel’s brotherly dynamic is really… sweet? It’s based on mutual respect, I’d say, and they’re super close. Lin was pretty badass. She’s willing to do pretty much anything to get what she needs to save her bestie, and while that lands her in some pretty close calls, she keeps at it.

“Power is an illusion. Power exists because we believe it does. Kings and Queens—and yes, Princes—have power because we grant it to them.”

The Ragpicker King is sooooo mysterious!! The second book is literally called The Ragpicker King, and I’m excited to learn more about him and see what that’s all about.

There are other characters which weave in and out of the story, some of which you like and some of which you want to fall off a cliff, which is great for a fantasy book like this. Just what we want.

Kel is definitely my favourite, and I did get a little bit bored with Lin at times.

Worldbuilding

Some reviews I’ve checked out on Goodreads have not loved the worldbuilding, saying there was a lot of dumping of info and how it wasn’t that built out … but I actually really like it. I think when Clare drops another Shadowhunter book, we all already know the world – we’ve been in it since City of Bones in 2007 (I was 16 years old!), that we don’t need a recap.

This is a whole new book series, in a completely different world, and so when you’re used to an author who has mainly been in one world, we’re gonna need to be brought up to speed.

I actually really enjoyed the world and how it was outlined and built out for us. And I”m looking forward to more of that in the next book.

The plot

The story was a little bit off in terms of pacing – perhaps a little harder to get through at the beginning, but then the second half really clipped along – but the plot was easy to follow, with just enough twists and turns and ‘what’ to keep you reading.

There’s quite a bit of politics, which I don’t looooove in a book, but I found myself mostly enjoying that throughout. When you’re a Sword Catcher to the Prince, there’s gonna be politics. That’s just how it is. But it wasn’t so much that I didn’t like it.

There are the two main storylines going on … there’s Kel and Conor, and then there’s Lin. And I definitely thought they would be more interconnected sooner in the story, and while there is crossover, it’s not really until much further into the book that they are really become one story.

There’s a bit of everything in this book – court intrigues, mysterious characters with hidden agendas, secrets, a touch of romance (although see point further down), drama, death, friendships, family … It’s a goodie.

Writing

As I mentioned, I’m very familiar with the Shadowhunter world, having read all the books, some of them more than once. The writing in Sword Catcher felt different. And I don’t know if that’s just because it’s a bit of a different genre (more fantasy than supernatural), or that she has so many books under her belt now, or that the Shadowhunter series just has that vibe to it … unsure.

But this one felt different. It wasn’t like I was reading a Cassandra Clare book at all – and I don’t say that in a bad or good way, just a way – which was really interesting.

“As a scholar once said, the only difference between a poison and a remedy is the dose. The deadliest poison is not fatal in a single grain, and milk or water can be lethal if you consume too much of it.”

Warning: NOT a romantasy

I will say, though: this is not a romantasy book. There is next to no romance in this book (a little but not really comment-worthy), so I don’t know why it’s labelled and has been promoted as such. I fear we’re slapping ‘romantasy’ on every book these days just because it’s arguably the more popular genre at the moment.

But if you’re going into this with ‘romtansy’ in mind … scratch that from your brain before you start.

Okay, overall thoughts

I’m sure you get this idea: I really enjoyed this book. I was definitely surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

For some reason, I thought this was a duology, but it’s called ‘The Chronicles of Castellane’, so there are definitely more books to come. Book 3 is called The Bone Conjurers, and there is no date for that one yet. Book 1 came out in 2023, book 2 came out in 2025, so I’m thinking 2027 makes sense.

Have you read Sword Catcher by Cassie Clare? What did you think?