A stolen boy. A spoiled prince. A shunned girl.
And a city as bright and dangerous as a blade.
Sword Catcher
Cassandra Clare
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Two outcasts find themselves caught in a web of dangerous magic and dark secrets that could change the world forever in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.
“Everything I look for in fantasy.”—George R. R. Martin
A POPSUGAR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
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?
The story continues on March 4, 2025...
The Ragpicker King
Cassandra Clare
In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.
Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.
Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.
Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.
As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.
Praise for Sword Catcher
“Sword Catcher gave me everything I look for in fantasy: mystery and magic (not too much, not too little), expert worldbuilding, swordplay and politics, a colorful cast of interesting characters, and a story that kept me reading from the first page to the last, with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. It’s a big thick book, but it left me wanting more. When’s the next one coming out?” — George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A gorgeously built world of decadence, betrayal, and grand adventure. From the decadent and drunken parties of the nobles, to the dens of crime lords in the Warren and Maze, to the Sault, where the devotees of a lost goddess are penned, the city of Castellane makes the perfect backdrop for a delightful cast of characters to befriend, betray, and romance one another. This is Cassandra Clare at her cleverest, twistiest and most heart-stopping—a triumph of a book.”
— Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Night
“Clare plunges us into a thrilling world built with precision and brimming with enchantment. Her spellbinding cast of outlaws, healers, royals, and rogues will have you questioning your allegiances with every delicious turn of the plot. This is fantasy at its finest.” — Leigh Bardugo #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hell Bent
“A sumptuous feast of a book, vivid and delicious and heady. Cassandra Clare’s trademark skills are on full display here: epic worlds, wrenching romances, heart-slamming plot twists, Dickensian characters. I can’t wait to visit Castellane again.” — Kelly Link, bestselling author of White Cat, Black Dog
“Sweeping yet intimate, rich with romance and intrigue, Sword Catcher is Cassandra Clare at her magical best. In pages packed with sumptuous descriptions, Clare gives us a kingdom’s worth of characters -- including Kel the “sword catcher,” trained to protect his prince at all costs, and Lin, a young physician of an outcast people -- forced to navigate a web of tangled loyalties between the loved ones they cherish and the powers they serve. This book will break your heart and leave you wanting more!” — Helene Wecker, New York Times bestselling author of The Golem and the Jinni
“A charming return to the big fat fantasy novels of happy memory, with a modern character-driven narrative. Vivid and clever.” — Scott Lynch, bestselling author of the Gentleman Bastard sequence
“Clare makes her adult debut with a whirlwind epic fantasy featuring secret plots, ancient magic, and hidden identities [in] a series full of twists and turns. Clare expertly balances the needs of a satisfying plot with dropping tantalizing hints of what’s to come in future installments. Her worldbuilding is instantly immersive, and the many characters are all detailed and memorable…A wonderfully enjoyable series opener.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Clare drops readers into this ornate and unique world and plants seeds for forbidden romance, dangerous magic, and brewing war to be harvested in later installments . . . This multilayered epic is sure to be a hit.” — Publishers Weekly
Photo: © Sharona Jacobs
Cassandra Clare
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